U.S. Shipping Workers To Return To Jobs

Press, Volume C, Issue 29557, 5 July 1961, Page 15

U.S. Shipping Workers To Return To Jobs

(IV Z.P.A.-Keuter—Copyright) NEW YORK, July 4. Shipping workers in ports on American coasts are under Court order to end an 18-day strike and return to work. A union attempt to have the order stayed was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals last night.

American shipping companies made immediate plans to send their luxury liners and other vessels back to sea.

Judge Charles Clark, of the United States Appeals Court, told union lawyers last night that he saw “no proper justified cause” to interfere with a Federal ' ourt decision by Judge Sylvester Ryan Judge Ryan put a temporary end to the strike by issuing a restraining order and sending the strikers, reported to number about 80.000. back to work.

A Court hearing on Friday will rule on the Justice

Department's application for a Court injunction extending the temporary back-to-work order for the full 80-day “cooling-off” period called for under the Taft - Hartley labour law. Earlier yesterday. President Kennedy invoked the act, declaring in a statement that Hawaii’s food supplies were approaching a critically low level. He asked the Justice Department Io seek the injunction Mr Kennedy’s move came after a three-man Presidential board held hearings between disputants in New York and presented its findings :j the White House. Mr Kennedy said reports from the board and eight Government agencies on the result of the 18-day strike clearly showed that a continuation would endanger the country’s health and wellbeing S>’ch a finding is I necessary before the Tafti Hartley law is invoked I As the temporary restraining order went into effect, the United States Lines call’d back its engineers and announced that the 34.000-ton liner America would sail for Europe tomorrow afternoon Her sister ship, the United States, is due to sail on Friday. Under the Court order, the unions involved must send their men back to work or risk contempt-of-Court action If the 80-dav injunction is granted on Friday. Federal mediators will try to effect a settlement and Presiden* Kennedy's fact-finding board will report on the state of negotiations at the end of 60 days* Fifteen days before the injunction expires the union members wilt vote on the shipowners’ final offer If they reject it, the strike

legally can resume when the 80-day period expires. The key issue in the dispute was a union demand for the right to organise' crews on “flag-of-conveniience” ships—American-owned vessels flying Panamanian. Liberian or Honduran flags. The strike, which involved six unions and several groups of shipowners and their bargaining organisations, tied up hundreds of ships in ports on 'he Atlantic. Pacific and Gulf coasts. Several sets of agreements reached during the strike released some of the ships involved but hundreds still were affected. There were several outbreaks of violence during the strike as supporters of different unions clashed during negotiating sessions and non-s’rikers tried to cross picket lines set up at oil refineries by striking unionists An “almost chaotic form of collective bargaining and labour - management relations" existed in the maritime industry, the board said in its report to Mr Kennedy yesterday. Union rivalry and divergent interests between labour and management “present serious obstacles to pattern bargaining which is characteristic of so many American industries,” the board said When he ordered the TaftHartley move, Mr Kennedy directed the Secretary of Labour (Mr Goldberg) “promptly to prepare for submission to Congress proposals for improving our mechanism of dealing with national emergency strikes" During his election campaign. Mr Kennedy said the Taft-Hartley Act did not give the Government enough alternative routes of action to promote settlement of major strikes. •