1 Industrial injury-frequency rates for selected manufacturing industries, third quarter 1946, with cumulative rates for 1946-Continued 1 The frequency rate represents the average number of disabling industrial injuries for each million employee-hours worked. A few industries have been omitted from this table because the coverage for the month did not amount to 1,000,000 or more employee-hours worked. Number of establishments shown are for September. Computed from all reports received for the month; not based on identical plants in successive monthsNot available. Includes all ordnance classifications formerly shown separately. * Includes "Pulp" and "Paper and pulp, integrated"; formerly shown separately. 145 106 109 11.8 12.7 13.0 12.5 12.8 15.3 23.3 24.4 24.4 24.8 25.9 30. 2 26.3 31.7 29.3 27.4 15. 1 52 204 27.1 36.0 Labor-Management Disputes Significant Recent Controversies, December 1946 WORK stoppages at the year's end were at the lowest level since VJ-day. Not only was the number of strikes less than in any previous postwar month, but workers involved and idleness were also well below the early part of 1946 when reconversion problems resulted in widespread labor-management controversies. At the close of 1946, records of the Bureau of Labor Statistics disclosed that approximately 160 work stoppages were in effect. Practically all of these labor-management controversies were local in character and small in size, involving but a total of about 47,000 workers. By contrast, at the end of 1945 nearly 200 stoppages were in progress involving over 350,000 workers. Idleness resulting from strikes in late December 1946 was only about one-eighth as great as a year earlier. Oakland General Strike Economic activity in the Oakland (Calif.) area was disrupted December 3, 1946, when the Alameda County Central Labor Council and Building Trades Council (both AFL) called a community-wide stoppage in which an estimated 50,000 workers became involved. Public transportation, newspapers, restaurants, service stations, as well as many stores and factories, were affected. The strike action stemmed from an incident on December 1 when Oakland police escorted loaded trucks of merchandise through picket lines at the Hastings Clothing Co. and the Kahn Department Store where members of the Retail Clerks International Protective Association (AFL) had been on strike since late October to enforce demands for union contracts with the two establishments. The Retail Merchants' Association, of which the two struck stores were members, had refused to recognize the union as bargaining agent until the union submitted evidence that it represented not only a majority of the workers employed by the two stores but also a majority of the clerks employed by all members of the association. A state of emergency was proclaimed on December 4 by the Oakland City Council, following indications that gas, electricity, water, and telephone service might be cut off in support of the strike. A business and industrial emergency committee also was established to assure food and other basic supplies for the area. The same day, however, brought a promise of relief from the crippling effects of the stoppage. Officers of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers (AFL) ordered their members to observe their contracts and return to work regardless of the results of negotiations then in progress. Later, union representatives meeting with city officials and Federal conciliators agreed to reopen negotiations, provided the merchants' association would limit discussions to unionization of the Kahn and Hastings stores. The AFL unions agreed to terminate the general stoppage early December 5, if the local authorities, through the city manager, would promise not to provide police escort for "professional strike breakers" and the police would be impartial in legitimate labor disputes. Upon receipt of such assurances union leaders issued a backto-work order. Transportation service was resumed, and many establishments reopened that same day (December 5). The strike at the Hastings and Kahn stores continued, however, and was still in effect at the end of December. Strike of St. Paul School Teachers Discontent over low salaries in the face of rising living costs resulted in a number of work stoppages and threatened strikes among public school teachers in the last 3 months of 1946. The largest of the stoppages involved over 1,100 teachers in St. Paul (Minn.) who remained away from their classrooms from November 25 to December 27. The strike was called by the local joint council of the American Federation of Teachers (AFL) after the St. Paul City Council, sitting as the board of education, failed to meet the teachers' demands for retroactive wage adjustments, higher salary ranges, and an increased city budget for school improvements. The council, sympathetic to the teachers' problem, declared it was unable to meet their demands because of expenditure limitations in the city charter. Following the establishment of picket lines, Governor Thye of Minnesota met with members of the city council, local members of the State legislature, and representatives of the teachers' joint council. Subsequently, the Governor named an eight-member committee "to go into session until some solution is worked out." Members of the St. Paul Parents and Teachers Association supported the teachers in their demands by participating in picketing and by stating that the "strike policy (is) thoroughly justified and required by the present deplorable circumstances." Settlement was reached December 27 after the City Charter Commission approved a proposed amendment, to be submitted to St. Paul voters at a special election, providing funds for increased salaries and school improvements. In addition, the city council, sitting as the board of education, approved salaries ranging from $2,400 to $3,600 effective January 1, 1947, with the maximum to rise to $4,200 on September 1, 1947. The preceding range in salaries was reported as from $1,300 to $2,600. Work Stoppages in November 1946 FEWER work stoppages occurred in November 1946 than in any preceding month of the year, except February. Preliminary estimates of the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that November's total of 310 new stoppages was about one-third less than the 450 recorded for October. The number of workers directly involved (450,000) in November labor-management controversies was dominated by the bituminouscoal stoppage which began November 21 and terminated December 7. This dispute accounted for about three-fourths of the workers and one-half of the month's estimated lost time of 4,750,000 man-days. Including disputes which continued from earlier months, about 570 stoppages, involving approximately 620,000 workers, were in effect at some time during November. TABLE 1.-Work stoppages in November 1946, with comparable figures for earlier 1 Period periods 1 1 All known work stoppages, arising out of labor-management disputes, involving 6 or more workers and continuing as long as a full day or shift are included in reports of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures on "workers involved" and "man-days idle" cover all workers made idle in establishments directly involved in a stoppage. They do not measure the indirect or secondary effects on other establishments or industries whose employees are made idle as a result of material or service shortages. 2 Preliminary estimates. Activities of the United States Conciliation Service, November 1946 During November 1946 the United States Conciliation Service terminated 1,034 disputes involving 318,484 employees-27.7 percent fewer cases than were terminated during the previous month. New assignments to disputes also declined during the month, 1,036 assignments having been made in November as compared to 1,288 in October. In November 81.3 percent of all work stoppages were the result of failure to agree on recognition or wage issues. Compared with October wages were a relatively more important reason for work stoppages in November, while grievances became a less important cause. Stoppages caused by disputes over grievances dropped from 18.4 percent of all strikes in October to 11.1 percent in November, while those involving wages rose from 53.1 percent of all work stoppages in October to 67.3 percent in November. TABLE 2.-Cases closed by the United States Conciliation Service in November 1946, by type of situation and method of handling ber ers Num-Work-Num- Work- Num-Work- Num- Work-Num- Workber ers ber ers ber ers ber ers Includes 28 arbitration cases in which settlements were reached by the parties during the course of the arbitration proceeding. Labor-Management Policy for U. S. Conciliation Service DEFINITE steps for strengthening voluntary procedures in handling industrial disputes by the Conciliation Service of the United States Department of Labor were recommended by its Labor-Management Advisory Committee, in a recent statement of policy, unanimously adopted, which constituted the first public action of the committee.1 In stressing the need for preserving maximum flexibility in the mediation program of the Service at this time, the Committee emphasized the fact that, with the lifting of Federal wartime wage and Press release, U. S. Department of Labor, December 16, 1946 (S47-648). |