Many Miners Work in US.

Northern Advocate, 9 April 1947, Page 5

Many Miners Work in US.

(12.15 p.m.) WASHINGTON, A.pril 8. The president of the United Mine Workers’ Union (Mr John L. Lewis) has telegraphed district presidents instructing miners lo resume work ;.s fast as each mine is certified safe. His telegram said: “Let us all hope that the Federal Government's belated efforts to establish safety in mines will not prove to be a spasmodic gesture and will pave the way for mandatory safety legislation by Congress.” The United Press estimates that sott coal production now is 75 per cent of normal. Almost as soon as Federal inspectors came out of many large pits in the northern area miners returned to work. Thousands of miners did not wait for a Federal inspection in the southern area.

MAY RESTORE FINES The Government is planning to ask the court on Thursday to restore the fine for contempt of court recently imposed on the United Mine Workers’ to the full amount of 3.500,000 dollars, in view of the current cessation of work.

The fine was reduced to 700,000 dollars when Mr Lewis agreed to retract the notice terminating the contract with the Government as operator ol’ the mines, which would have resulted in a strike beginning on A.pril 1. Mr Lewis instead called a week's stoppage of work in memory of the Centralia Mine victims.

He will now be accused of bad faith and subterfuge and of violating the Supreme Court's anti-strike injunction. About 800,000 workers are directly involved in the coal mine and telephone strikes which began this morning. an earlier message stated. The coal mine dispute already is affecting the steel mills, and railway workers are being laid off.

TELEPHONE OPERATORS Unions affiliated with the National Federation of Telephone Workers, representing 287,000 workers, are striking for a general wage increase of 12 dollars a week, a union shop, increased pensions, longer holidays and faster promotions. No basis for a settlement of the telephone strike was in sight this morning. Labour Department officials retained a hope that a solution might be found within 48 hours, but the president of the National Federation of Telephone Workers (Mr Joseph Beimel said he had received no proposal from the Government to settle the dispute and the union had settled downfor a long strike.