STRIKE HALTS BRITISH SUPPLIES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 309, 30 December 1940, Page 6

STRIKE HALTS BRITISH SUPPLIES

5200 WORKERS. U.S. WAGE DEMAND. AIRCRAFT FACTORY. COMMUNIST INFLUENCES?

(0.C.) SAX FRANCISCO, Nov. 25

Of vital importance to both Great Britain and the United States was the crucial strike that broke out in the town of Downey, in Southern California, where ">2OO specialised aircraft workers ceased work owing to a wage dispute, abruptly terminating work on 84.000.000 dollars worth of training planes and lighting warcraft of the United States rearmament programme and vital bombing and fighting warplanes on contract to be supplied to the British Government. Day after day the strike dragged on while contending parties argued the points in dispute. The men demanded that the minimum wage of 50 cent<| an hour should be raised to (1.5 cents. After much wrangling the employers consented to this figure when the workers went back to their original demand for the minimum to he set at 75 cents per hour.

This strike occurred at the factory of the Yultee Aircraft Company, near Los Angeles, and special representatives were sent by plane from Washington to bring the strike to a hurried termination.

The strikers were adamant in tlieir demands and when everything seemed certain of a resumption of work in turning out the warplanes in mas* production, another bitch developed when the workers shied at a -proposal by Mr. l?ol>ert Millar, "president of Vultee, that in the proposed two-year contract there should be a clause prohibiting any further outbreak of striking. This clause was denounced 'by the 5200 strikers, whose loader argued that the. right to strike could not be arbitrated and must be eliminated from the proposed settlement contract. While hunof pickets patrolled the vicinity of the Vultee factory, the discussion of the dispute moved to the Biltniore Hotel in Los Angeles, where many important Federal representatives argued with the strike lenders and their committee on the -one side and the company officials on the other. It was later hinted that the Government might institute strong action unless the strike were settled promptly, as it was halting the United States rearmament programme for national defence against aggressor nations.

Waahington Intervene!. Major Sidney Simpson, of the War Department, and Arnold Tolles, of tho Defence Commission, went into a series of conferences with Lyman Sisley and Captain Ed. if. Fitzgerald, local Federal conciliators. The strikers were represented by Lou Miehener, West Coast director of the C'.1.0. United Automobile Workers of America, which called the strike. Major Simpson, War Department labour adviser, emphasised 111 undertaking his inquiry into the dispute that the Department was interested in two things—continued production of equipment necessary for national defence and maintenance of fair labour standards. It was stated that the strike for higher minimum wages w«s not for Vultee workers alone, but was virtually a test case for the hundreds, of thousands of aircraft workers throughout the United States. While tho Federal representatives met beliind closed doors, a group of 17 Army Air Corps pilots from MolTett Airfield, San Francisco, arrived by train and took delivery of 17 basic training ships needed in the national defence programme for training new pilots. Encountering no opposition from raindrenched pickcts marching in front of the company gates, the officers, under Major John A. Macreadv, entered the plant and in the face of driving rain took the planes off the runway and later in the day flew them to San Francisco, after once returning to Downey through inclement weather.

The 17 planes had been accepted l>v the U.S. Army prior to tlio plant walkout. No company employees wore used in preparing tlie ships for the tako-off, the work being done by the Moffett Field officers. Big Warplane Ordera. The training planes, known as BT-13's, were wheeled from Vultee's newly completed 1000-foot long hangar and shop,

where 20 additional ships of the same type stood, almost completed, in position where they were left when the strike was called. More than 100 other slii]W of the same type were in various stages of completion in the mammoth shop. They were part of an order for more than 2,">(MI of the planes. Jt was stated by the company officials that the rise in wages they o lie red totalled 1,100,000 dollars while, they would not receive any increase in the contract prices entered into with the British and United States Governments.

During the discussions Lou Miehener said: "We contend that a 50 cent an hour minimum' is not arbitration material. President Koosevelt not so long ago made a speech in which he pointed out that sound national defence first and foremost must Ih> predicated upon a standard of living that is worth defending. 1 submit to you that a 50 cents an hour minimum does not represent this American way of life." The company replied that "fully 87 per cent of our wage-earning employees get more than 50 cents an hour minimum."

Tho conferences of the disputants proceeded hour after hour through the night until dawn, when the parties concerned recessed for a few hours sleep. They met again, and still the points in dispute were unsolved. More officials were rushed from Washington, and the deadlock became a national affair and worked up tremendous discussion throughout the country. It was at this stage that the cries of "Communist influences'' began to be bruited about in Washington. The strikers vehemently denied that there were any Communists among the ranks of the 5200 men who had walked out at Downey. Then Major Simpson quit the scene, when it was asserted that he had hindered the process of reaching a settlement of the strike. Dr. Stillman, head of the Conciliation Service, was rushed by plane from Washington and another arrival was I>. J. Thomas, president of the United Automobile Workers of America Both co-operated with those already on tho ground striving for a formula to settle the paralysis of 84,000,000 dollar contracts.

"No Strike" Clause. Wyndham Mortimer, strike leader, said his committee had met and had instructed their negotiators not- to yield on tlie '"no strike" clause. "There are two things we cannot accept," Mortimer said. "First, a 110 strike clause; and second, a compulsory arbitration clause. In view of the low wage, levels in the aircraft industry, it would he impossible for us ever to push up wage levels to a point compatible with an American standard of living If the clauses were accepted. We do have some compulsory arbitration in contracts with companies in otlu\r industries where wages are higher." "Well, I guess the conference is over," was tlie glum comment of Richard W. Millar. Yultee president, when informed of the union position. "We have had this thing blow up in our face once and we. don't feel we would be discharging our obligation under the National Defence set-up if we risk recurrence of this strike. We gave up certain points which cost the com-

pan J" a considerable amount of money, pursuing the Government mediator's proposal, which included no strike, no lockout and arbitration clauses. We thought we were buying security. We don't think the public, the National Defence Commission or our stockholders would thank us for following a course of expediency only to have this thing break loose again later. The union has warned ns they expect to make further demands after the lirst of the year. While we are willing to arbitrate anything, we think it essential to both parties to be bound by such arbitration. More, than industrial peace is involved in this position."

"Foreign Dictators." The prediction of Representative Costello, Democrat, of California, that Congress would require compulsory arbitration in national defence production disputes unless the strike at Vultee were settled promptly was a reply to '"foreign dictators," he said. '"For months foreign dictators have been boasting that tlie United States would never lie a vital factor in the war because sabotage and strikes would cripple our material production as soon as it got fairly started. Can tho American democratic system meet the situation, or do we follow tho road of France—which couldn't meet it— to ruin?" Costello said. *

Commenting 011 intimations of Communist influence in the Vultee dispute, Wyndham Mortimer said: "We say this strike was called by low wages in aircraft —not by Communists or any other 'ists.' Of course, Martin Dies thinks that any working man who wants more than 20 dollars a week is a Communist. He demonstrates this again. Dies' attack is a form of intimidation intended to split the union and destroy the confidence of the workers in their chosen leaders."

Martin Dies is the Government Committee head who has been investigating anti-American activities throughout the United States and has unearthed some most startling evidenee of spies, plotters, Communist and German espionage figures.