Textiles About 70,000 workers, represented by the Textile Workers Union (CIO), struck on February 16 at more than 160 woolen and worsted mills. Most of the mills affected by the strike are located in the New England and Middle Atlantic States. Before the work stoppage occurred, the union had proposed a 2-year contract calling for a wage increase of 15 cents an hour, a cost-of-living escalator clause, an annual wage improvement factor of 6 cents an hour, and employer-financed pensions. The strike began after negotiations between the union and the American Woolen Co. had become deadlocked. Contract negotiations affecting approximately 110,000 cotton textile workers, represented by the Textile Workers Union (CIO) in the Northeastern States, began on February 23. Existing contracts in this area were scheduled to expire on March 15. Union members were alerted for a possible strike, if an agreement on a new contract had not been reached by that date. The union proposed an immediate wage increase of 12 percent, an automatic wage increase of 7 percent in each of the next 2 years, a cost-of-living escalator clause, and employer-financed pensions of at least $100 a month. Meat Packing The United Packinghouse Workers (CIO) and the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen (AFL), on February 11, reached agreement with three major meat-packing companies— Swift, Armour, and Cudahy-on a wage increase of 9 cents an hour for about 100,000 packinghouse workers. The wage rise was negotiated under a reopening clause in existing contracts which expire in August 1952. It is subject to the limitations of wage stabilization regulations. Both unions threatened strike action if the wage increase is not approved by wage stabilization authorities. In early March, a 3-man panel, appointed by the Wage Stabilization Board, met in Chicago to consider the parties' claims as to the permissibility of the wage adjustment under existing stabilization regulations. Shipbuilding The Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers (CIO) and the Bethlehem Steel Co., on February 19, reached agreement on wage increases ranging from 18% cents an hour for laborers to 23 cents an hour for first-class mechanics, effective January 1, 1951. The agreement, which is subject to the limitations of wage stabilization regulations, was reached under wagereopening provisions of an existing contract that expires December 31, 1951. Labor Union Affairs United Labor Policy Committee. On February 16, the United Labor Policy Committee-composed of leaders of the American Federation of Labor, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and the Railway Labor Executives Association-rejected a wage formula which was proposed by the industry and public members of the Wage Stabilization Board. With the rejection of the formula, the ULPC instructed the labor members of the Board to submit their resignations to President Truman. The wage regulation proposed by the public and industry members of the Board (Regulation No. 6) permitted a 10-percent increase in wages since January 15, 1950, subject to the approval of the Economic Stabilization Administrator. In contrast, labor members of the WSB had proposed a more liberal formula permitting wages to be increased by 12 percent in the period June 15, 1950, to December 15, 1950, and additional wage adjustments after that period conforming to rises in consumer's living costs. The ULPC emphasized that its decision instructing the labor members of WSB to resign did not reflect merely a protest against the wage regulation proposed by the public and industry members of the Board. The committee explained that this action was taken also because they felt that labor had not been given appropriate representation at policy-making levels in the defense mobilization program and their views had been rejected by the Office of Defense Mobilization in deference to the recommendations of what it ter med "big business." 936023-51 On February 27, Economic Stabilization Administrator Eric A. Johnston approved the basic 10-percent pay increase regulation (No. 6) that was proposed by industry and public members of WSB. He recommended, however, that the Board liberalize provisions of the regulations pertaining to other economic benefits. He suggested that escalator clauses, annual wage improvement provisions in recognition of increased productivity, and health, welfare, and pension provisions contained in collective bargaining agreements in effect on January 25 be allowed to operate through June 30, 1951, even where they would exceed the 10-percent wage increase limitation. He also suggested that the liberalized regulation should provide for the correction of "hardships and inequities." A meeting of the Wage Stabilization Board was held on February 28, but labor members did not participate. On that date, the United Labor Policy Committee met and decided "that all labor representatives of our respective organizations serving on existing defense mobilization agencies shall resign immediately." The committee contended that "there is absolutely no desire on the part of Mobilization Director Charles E. Wilson to give labor a real voice in the formulation of defense policy." It also criticized the price, wage, and manpower policies pursued by the stabilization agencies under Mr. Wilson's guidance. On March 1, the Economic Stabilization Administrator issued General Regulation No. 8 which modified existing wage control regulations. This regulation permitted cost-of-living wage increases under escalator clauses in contracts agreed to before January 25, 1951, even if these increases, together with other wage increases, should exceed the 10-percent formula contained in the regulation issued on February 16. Senate Labor Committee Reports. Reports were issued by the majority members of three subcommittees of the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee which have been investigating labormanagement relationships in the Bell Telephone system and in the oil-tanker and Southern textile industries. The telephone report described a deterioration of bargaining relations between the Communications Workers of America (CIO) and the closely integrated Bell system. The basic cause was the alleged practice of the parent company, American Telephone and Telegraph, of referring such "national" issues as wages and pensions to regional and departmental levels for collective bargaining. The report on the tanker industry charged the Cities Service Corporation Marine Division with unfair labor practices. These included labor espionage, delaying tactics in opposing the recognition of the Seafarer's International Union (AFL), company unionism, and discriminatory hiring. The textile report found that self-organization and collective bargaining were steadily retrogressing in the Southern textile area, as a result of organized employer campaigns. Much of this, the report claimed, was in "shocking violation" of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947. A minority report issued subsequently stated that these findings were "neither objective nor... factual." 1 Prepared in the Bureau's Division of Industrial Relations. See Monthly Labor Review, March 1951 (p. 310). Publications of Labor Interest EDITOR'S NOTE.-Correspondence regarding publications to which reference is made in this list should be addressed to the respective publishing agencies mentioned. Data on prices, if readily available, were shown with the title series. Cooperative Movement The ABC of Co-op Finance. By Leslie A. Woodcock. Chicago, Cooperative League of the USA, 1950. 35 pp. 25 cents. Rural Health Cooperatives. By Helen L. Johnston. Washington, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Credit Administration, and Federal Security Agency, Public Health Service, 1950. 93 pp., bibliography, illus. (FCA Bull. No. 60; PHS Bull. No. 308.) 30 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington. Based chiefly on a study of 48 rural health cooperatives in the United States, this report describes their methods and purposes, areas where they are, how they started, membership, facilities, staff, problems, assets, and benefits, and characteristics of groups offering prepaid service. A final section appraises the cooperatives in terms of accomplishments and possibilities. Buying and Selling by Cooperatives in Europe. By Glenn E. Riddell and John H. Heckman. Washington, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Foreign Agricultural Relations, 1950. 73 pp., map, illus. (Foreign Agriculture Report No. 51.) Results of two field studies made to determine the ability of cooperatives in western Europe to buy or sell products that cooperatives in the United States normally sell or buy in those countries, and the possibility of further trading transactions. Most of the material relates to farmers' marketing associations, but there is some information on the central organizations of the consumers' cooperative movement. Helping People Help Themselves. By Wallace J. Campbell and Richard Y. Giles. Washington, Public Affairs Institute, 1950. 72 pp. (Bold New Program Series, No. 6.) 50 cents. Deals with cooperatives under the Point Four program of technical aid to underdeveloped areas. The first part of the publication shows how cooperatives can be of assistance in carrying out the program, in terms of experience in various countries (India and Pakistan, Palestine, Nova Scotia, Jamaica, Denmark). The second part deals with the adjustment of industry under the program, including use of the cooperative method. Die Entwicklung der Konsumgenossenschaften von Ihrem Neuaufbau seit 1945 bis zum 31. Dezember 1948. Berlin, Konsum Hauptsekretariat, [1949?]. 160 pp. Statistical data on development of consumers' cooperatives in the Soviet Zone of Germany from 1945 to the end of 1948, with explanatory text written from the peculiar point of view of a Communist-controlled organization. Housing The Housing Situation, 1950: An Analysis of Preliminary Results of the 1950 Housing Census. Washington, U. S. Housing and Home Finance Agency, Division of Housing Research, 1951. 30 pp., charts; processed. The Relationship Between Slum Clearance and Urban Redevelopment and Low-Rent Public Housing. Washington, U. S. Housing and Home Finance Agency, Office of the Administrator, 1950. 15 pp. The approach to these operations under the Housing Act of 1949 is described as one of greater flexibility within each separate field combined with coordination and mutual assistance. A Summary of the Evolution of Housing Activities in the Federal Government. Washington, U. S. Housing and Home Finance Agency, Office of the Administrator, 1950. 24 pp. 10 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington. Farm Housing in the United States and Recent Farm Housing Legislation. By Paul E. Grayson. (In Journal of Farm Economics, Menasha, Wis., November 1950, pp. 590-603. $1.25.) Housing and Redevelopment—A Portion of the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital and its Environs. Washington, U. S. National Capital Park and Planning Commission, 1950. 40 pp., chart, maps. (Monograph No. 3.) 25 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington. Facts About Housing Credit Controls: 1- Through 4-Family Residences; Multi-Unit Residences. Washington, U. S. Housing and Home Finance Agency, Office of the Administrator, 1951. 10 and 8 pp. 5 cents each, Superintendent of Documents, Washington. Housing Policy and the Building Industry, [Great Britain]. (In Planning, P E P (Political and Economic Planning), London, November 20, 1950, pp. 81-100.) Industrial Accidents; Workmen's Compensation American Standard Safety Code for Ventilation and Operation of Open-Surface Tanks. New York, American Standards Association, Inc., 1951. 23 pp., diagrams. (Z9.1-1951.) 75 cents. How You Can Work Safely. [Cleveland, Ohio], Gray Iron Founders' Society, Inc., [1951?]. 14 pp., illus. Industrial and Safety Problems of Nuclear Technology. Edited by Morris H. Shamos and Sidney G. Roth. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1950. xiii, 368 pp., bibliographies, diagrams, maps, illus. $4. Lectures and panel discussions at a 3-day conference held at New York University in January 1950. One of the four parts of the volume deals with hazards, safety measures, and insurance problems; the other parts cover activities of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, radiochemistry and isotopes, and the radiochemical laboratory. Evaluation of Industrial Disability. New York, Oxford University Press, 1950. 89 pp., illus. $4. Manual of nontechnical instructions to industrial physicians for measuring the degree of injury to joints, prepared by committee of Industrial Accident Commission of California and California Medical Association for use in workmen's compensation cases. Workmen's Compensation Payments, 1949. (In Social Security Bulletin, Federal Security Agency, Social Security Administration, Washington, December 1950, p. 18. 20 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington.) Includes statistics (preliminary), by State, on compensation payments, source of insurance, and medical and hospitalization costs. Workmen's Compensation in New Mexico. By Robert W. Thomas, Jr. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico, Department of Economics, 1950. 179 pp., bibliography; processed. $2. Examines operation of the State program, appraises the law, and makes recommendations. Subjects covered include coverage, benefits, medical care, attorney fees, unsafe working conditions, and insurability of coal miners. The State law, according to the analysis, covers principally extra-hazardous occupations, does not provide for a State insurance fund, and is court-administered. Industrial Hygiene Eyes and Industry. By Hedwig S. Kuhn, M.D., St. Louis, C. V. Mosby Co., 1950. 378 pp., bibliographies, charts, forms, illus. $8.50. Second edition of a book first published in 1944 under the title Industrial Ophthalmology. It offers a comprehensive program for effective utilization of vision in industry, by an ophthalmologist of wide industrial contacts. Selective placement in jobs according to vision requirements is considered basic in the program, together with pre-employment and follow-up testing of vision and a plant program for correcting defects. Among subjects discussed are eye hazards, injuries and plant treatment, eye protection, and illumination. A chapter is devoted to blind workers in industry. Handbook for Photofluorographic Operators. Washington, Federal Security Agency, Public Health Service, 1950. 69 pp., diagrams, illus. (Publication No. 18.) 45 cents, Superintendent of Documents, Washington. Answers the more common questions arising in the daily operation of photofluorographic machines used to take miniature X-ray chest films for tuberculosis detection. Briefly outlines the problems of radiation hazards and control, and precautions which the operator must take to protect himself and others. Industrial Hygiene Survey, Coal Mine Industry, State of Washington. [Olympia?], State Department of Health, Industrial Hygiene Section, [1950?]. 43 pp., map, diagrams, illus. (I. H. Bull. No. 4.) Cardiovascular Disease in the Steel Industry. By Lawrence T. Smyth, M.D. (In Industrial Medicine and Surgery, Chicago, January 1951, pp. 35-37. 75 cents.) Investigation of Occupational Dermatoses in the Citrus Fruit Canning Industry. By Donald J. Birmingham, M.D., and others. (In A. M. A. Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Medicine, Chicago, January 1951, pp. 57-63. $1.) Q Fever Studies in Southern California. By R. J. Huebner, M.D., and J. A. Bell, M.D. Observations on the Epidemiology of Q Fever in Northern California. By E. H. Lennette, M.D., and W. H. Clark, M.D. (In Journal of the American Medical Association, Chicago, February 3, 1951, pp. 301-309, charts, bibliographical footnotes. 45 cents.) Q fever is an occupational hazard to workers handling infected livestock or its products. Well over a third of a group of 300 infected persons worked in livestock industries. Industrial Relations Analysis of Strikes, 1927-49. Washington, U. S. Depart- The Economic Impact of Collective Bargaining in the Steel and Coal Industries During the Post-War Period. By Albert Rees. Chicago, University of Chicago, Industrial Relations Center, [1950?]. 15 pp.; processed. On the basis of a study of trends of wages, costs, and prices, the author concludes that collective bargaining has not been an inflationary force but has "merely reflected fundamental inflationary trends generated elsewhere in the economy." The new types of collective agreements with elastic provisions such as escalator clauses are also viewed as essentially noninflationary. Inflation is caused by "more fundamental economic forces." If we again fail to get at the real causes of inflation, "it will not be the fault of collective bargaining." Employer's Obligation to Produce Data for Collective Bargaining. By Herbert L. Sherman, Jr. (In Minne "Featherbedding"-A List of References. Washington, Association of American Railroads, Bureau of Railway Economics, Library, July 31, 1950. 16 pp.; processed. Collective Agreements in the Tobacco Industry, [Canada]. (In Labor Gazette, Department of Labor, Ottawa, February 1951, pp. 168, 169; Collective Agreement Studies, No. 14.) A Works Council in Action: An Account of the Scheme in Operation at Bournville Works. Bournville, England, Cadbury Brothers, Ltd., 1950. 48 pp., charts, illus. 1s. Recht und Gerechtigkeit in der Mitbestimmung-Ein Evangelischer Ratschlag. By Eberhard Müller. Stuttgart, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1950. 82 pp. (Der Deutschenspiegel, Band 36/37.) Labor participation in management-termed Mitbestimmung in German-is discussed in the light of Protestant theology and ethics, and proposals are submitted for settling the issue in West Germany. Industry Reports-General [Reports Prepared for Building, Civil Engineering, and Public Works Committee, International Labor Organization, Third Session, Geneva, 1951]: I, General Report; II, Welfare in the Construction Industry; III, Seasonal Unemployment in the Construction Industry. Geneva, International Labor Office, 1950 and 1951. 88, 39, 97 pp., respectively. Reports I and III, 50 cents; Report II, 25 cents. Distributed in United States by Washington Branch of ILO. The Joint Maritime Commission and the Maritime Work of the I. L. O. (In International Labor Review, Geneva, November 1950, pp. 337-363. 50 cents. Distributed in United States by Washington Branch of ILO.) Labor Conditions in the Japanese Cotton Spinning Industry. [Osaka?], All Japan Cotton Spinners' Association, 1950. 21 pp. A separate report on cotton industry wages was also published by the Association in the latter part of 1950. Labor Conditions in the Japanese Raw Silk Reeling Industry. [Tokyo?], Japan Raw Silk Reelers' Association, 1950. 17 pp. Report on Labor Situation in Japan Covering Synthetic Fibers, Woolen Spinning, and Hard and Bast Fibers. [Tokyo?], Japan Chemical Textile Association, 1950. 20 pp. Labor Organizations The U. S. Labor Movement. (In Fortune, New York, February 1951, pp. 91–93, 161, et seq., illus. $1.25.) Directory of Labor Organizations in New York State. New York, State Department of Labor, Division of Research and Statistics, 1950. 122 pp. (Special Bull. No. 228.) 50 cents. Stores and Unions: A Study of the Growth of Unionism in Dry Goods and Department Stores. By George G. Kirstein. New York, Fairchild Publications, Inc., 1950. 246 pp., bibliographical footnotes, illus. $7. The author traces the history of trade-unions in retail trades; reports, with emphasis on cause and effect, on major strikes in the industry; and analyzes the attitudes toward unions that may be expected on the part of management and employees. One chapter treats in detail the place of employer associations in collective bargaining in the retail trades. Bargaining by employer associations, although not unique in this industry, plays a more important role than in most industries. The final chapter deals with the impact of unionism on stores, and illustrates by relevant labor-management contract clauses the methods adopted to deal with some of the more important problems arising between management and union employees. Report [of] Third International Trade Union Conference of the E.R.P. [European Recovery Program], Rome, April 17-20, 1950. Paris, Trade Union Advisory Committee-E.R.P., 1950. 112 pp., illus. Thirty-Ninth Annual Report on Labor Organization in Canada (for the Calendar Year 1949). Ottawa, Department of Labor, 1951. 95 pp., chart. 25 cents. Organized Labor in Guatemala, 1944-1949: A Case Study of an Adolescent Labor Movement in an Underdeveloped Country. By Archer C. Bush. Hamilton, N. Y., Colgate University, 1950. Variously paged, bibliography; processed. (Area Studies, Latin American Seminar Reports, No. 2.) $2.50. Soviet Trade Unions-Their Place in Soviet Labor Policy. By Isaac Deutscher. London and New York, Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1950. 156 pp. 78. 6d. net. $1.75. Short historical treatment of Soviet trade-unions, describing their struggle to influence labor policy and their final complete subjection to state control. Describes the various measures taken by the Soviet Government to promote productivity in the face of the workers' discontent with living and working conditions. Manpower Fact Book on Manpower. Washington, U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1951. Variously paged, maps, charts; processed. Free. |