THREAT OF STRIKE

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 234, 3 October 1935, Page 18

THREAT OF STRIKE

SHIPPING DEADLOCK. PACIFIC COAST WORKERS. ENFORCING AGREEMENTS. . (From Our Own Correspondent.) , f SAN FRANCISCO, September 11. With more than a dozen big steamers deadlocked in ports of the Pacific seaboard, there have been threats of another general strike similar to that of July, 1934, when San Francisco underwent one of the worst Hjjpups in its annals. The longshoremen and other maritime workers of the West have been endeavouring to secure better working conditions, including higher wages and reduced hours of labour, but the shipowners have firmly resolved to refuse any of those demands for the thousands of'dockmen, who have adopted a disgruntled mood and there have been repeated threats of a general walkout. Tho present upheaval had its genesis in British Columbia ports, where lionunion men were reported to luive loaded several steamers, and when these ships arrived in San Francisco with their cargoes the longshoremen refused to unload the goods. In _ one case the Point Clear remained tied up in San Francisco for several weeks, with heavy picket lines maintained in front of the vessel at the docks. ' After that other ships were brought to a standstill in various other Western ports, including San Pedro, Wilmington, and some of the Pnget Sound ports. A most delicate situation developed in San Francisco when the President Pierce and tho President Coolidge of tho Dollar round-the-world service were deadlocked by the several crews walking out in a body over eonio trifling grievance. One boat was supposed to liavo a man working aboard whom the crew disapproved as°to his credentials. On the other some steward-wa-s objected to. The United States Government took a hand, as the mails to the Orient from the United States were lying idle and undispatollable. Nearly twenty mails accumulated on the docks. The newspapers and shipowners furiously attacked the attitude of the strikers, and ultimately the International Seamen's Union ordered tho strikers back on the job and the mails and cargoes were loaded aboard and the liners departed for the Orient to the intense delight of a large number of passengers. This proceeding only temporarily mitigated the difficulty and the old demands of the longshoremen and other marine employees remained unsolved. Agitation Protested. Pacific Coast business generally needs to be awakened to the necessity of sticking together against union agitation amidst seamen and waterfront workers, in the opinion of Mr. Alfred 11. Mundin, North-west business representative, who paid a visit to Los Angeles for a series of conferences with business leaders. Mr. Lundin is president of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce and an attorney in that seaport, but he went to Los Angeles not only in his Seattle civic capacity, but as president of the Washington State Industrial Council and a« a representative of the Industrial Relations Association of Oregon and of the Portland Chamber of Commerce. "Representing business and industry in Washington and Oregon,'' he said, "I have come to Los Angeles to demand for them that Pacific shipowners and waterfront employers strictly enforce the terms of existing agreements with maritime unions or, in tho public interest, terminate them." "Violations of agreements were used and are being employed as a club by the marine unions in an attempt to force closed-shop conditions on lines of business and industry not directly concerned with waterfront controversies. As an illustration, the Pacific Northwest recently passed through a disastrous strike in its basic industry—the lumber business. Although a violation of the Longshoremen's Board agreement, Puget Sound longshoremen refused to handle lumber because of a dispute in that industry. "That is why we sny that unless these agreements are honestly observed all business, and industry, including shipping, is certain to suffer disastrous consequences." Australian Leader. San Francisco appears to be the focal point of the whole shipping controversy. The longshoremen arc led by Harry Bridges, the Australian-born clever president of the Longshoremen's Federation, and he has been busy attending conferences in New York, San Francisco. Portland. Seattle and elsewhere. lie was said to be in line for the national presidency, but lost out to an Eastern leader. The newspapers made much of this• contest and played him up against his opponent. lie was charged with being a Communist in consequence of engineering last year's San Francisco general strike, which proved abortive. A movment was started to have him deported back to Australia, but that failed. He had taken out his first naturalisation papers to become, an American citizen and permitted the period of securing the final certificate to expire recently. The agitation to deport him was then renewed, but the authorities declared he could not be deported for that reason. He has frequently been credited with declaring that another big general strike was imminent on the Pacific Coast.

Sam Darcy. attending the recent Moscow Communist congress, said such a strike was threatened. Darcy, who has not yet returned to San Francisco, will fare deportation proceedings for allegedly giving wrong information when registering for votinsr, that is, different data on bis birthplace.