U.S. COAL STRIKE NOW CRITICAL

Grey River Argus, 7 November 1949, Page 5

U.S. COAL STRIKE NOW CRITICAL

Steel Coys. Make Offers (Rec. 10.5) WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 The strike of the soft coal miners has now been in progress for seven weeks. There were no big developments to-day in the coal strike. Additional settlement offers, were, however, to have been made by the individual steel companies to the ■ United Steel workers,.,whose members struck thirty-six days ago, over their demand for pensions for their members. Government officials said that the coal strike has now reached a “critical” stage. Mr John Battle, executive VicePresident of the National Coal Association said that the current cold weather in the eastern United States would accentuate the rapid depletion of the stock coal piles which already were “near the danger point’? at the beginning of November. Settlement offers in the steel strike were announced by the Republic Steel Coy., the nation’s third largest producer; and by Jones and • Laughlin, of Pittsburgh. Ten thousand steel workers employed by the Timkin Roller Bearing Company of Ohio, have struck. They did so when the company refused to accept a preferred basis for a pension plan. Settlement negotiations between the Inland Steel Company, Indiana, - and the United Steel workers’ Union I were reported to have been broken. _. off.