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Show Letters To The Editor For over four years this nation engaged in an unprecedented defense de-fense program and fought a world wide war that engaged every effort and thought of the people. During this war we not only raised a huge fighting force, but trained and equipped it while at the same time supplying and feeding our allies. It was a tremendous trem-endous job and it was well done and when truthful and honest men evaluate this effort, organized organ-ized labor is going to receive a great part of the credit. Despite the fact that attempts were made to exaggerate the occasional oc-casional disputes that caused a work stoppage, ninety nine and nine tenths percent of the American Amer-ican workers were on the job long hours, working hard for victory. Also our government began be-gan the compiling and releasing of figures on strikes that somehow some-how or other seeped into the press, and showed the true story. So when the war ended the attempt at-tempt to discredit organized labor lab-or had failed dismally. The American people were not bo dumb as had been imagined. Lot us for a moment look at labor's record. Over 3,000,000 members of organized labor were in the armed services. No other class or group of people in the United States had as large a pro-nortion pro-nortion of their numbers m the armed services. More bonds were bought and held by the members of organized labor than by any other group, taking into consideration consid-eration the relative income of each group. While prices contin- ued to skyrocket, despite assurance assur-ance from our government that prices would be controlled, wages wag-es remained frozen, and many workers families would have suffered suf-fered real hardship if every member mem-ber of the family abel to work had not been employed. And yet labor disputes, despite aggravation, aggrava-tion, remained at the unprecedented unprece-dented world wide record of less than one tenth of one percent. Truly a record, in fact a greater percentage of the armed services were A.W.O.L. or in the brig than workers were on strike. So much for the war. How a-bout a-bout the reconversion period? about 500,000 are on strike. What does this amount to? One third of one percent of the workers work-ers of the U.S. Involved In labor disputes and many of these disputes dis-putes could have been avoided if management had wanted to a-void a-void them. Don't forget that many firms could make more money by closing down than by continuing to operate. Why? Because Be-cause of the repeal of the excess profit tax. Today in Australia that country coun-try is faced with the same problem prob-lem that the U. S. is. There, 600,-000 600,-000 workers are on strike. The reason for these strikes are much the same as they arc in this country. coun-try. In proportion to population, in the United States 10.000.000 would be jobless on the basis of the Australian figures. While fieurcs aren't available as to other countries this will serve to show that the U. S. is not the (See Letters to the Editor page 8) i LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (Continued from Page One) only country affected and that the present strikes arc not peculiar pecul-iar to this country. Now a brief word as to the rea-ons rea-ons for these strikes. First, the the most important reason is a, 30 cut in income of most of the 1 workers of the U. S. This was caused by the reducing of the work week from 48 to 40 hours. Such a cut in income is a hard blow for the average worker in the face of increasing prices Second it should be noted that most strikes arc occurring in industries in-dustries in which the wage scales have always been somewhat low, that is the mass production industries. in-dustries. Third, it should be not ed that most of the strikes arc occurring oc-curring in industries where the history of collective bargaining and recognition of unions has ac-currcd ac-currcd but recently which leads the thinking person to wonder if many of the. corporations involved involv-ed are actually bargaining in good faith. In other words if they are not actually more interested in breaking the unions than in reaching a fair agreement and aiding the reconversion program. And last but not least members of labor unions are interested in peace. Industrial peace as well as world wide peace. No leader of labor can or will lead his union into a strike simply to increase his own power or to increase the power of his union unless his members are with him. Labor unions go on strike by vote of the membership and the members voted overwhelmingly for the present day strikes, and RIGHT OR WRONG, are behind their leaders 100. Spencer Madscn, Business Agent, Local 1498 United Brotherhood of Carpenters Carpen-ters and Joiners. E. C. Wall, Myton, Utah . ' |