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Show THE SEARCHLIGHT If The AFL Were In The Driver’s Seat? The United does steel industry Steelworkers not have and of a single related fabricating America—CIO. The contract entire in the plants are Searchlight’s organized almost information industry. is that 100% the by the A. F. of L. | United States Steel Corporation and all of its operating subsidiaries have bargaining contracts with the CIO. The industry’s personnel relationships are simplified by bargaining with one great international union. The relations between the United Steelworkers and the steel operators are amicable and cooperative. With that leverage it would not be difficult for the United Steelworkers—CIO to exert pressure on United States Steel Corporation to give the CIO a closed shop agreement covering the Geneva Steel Plant. Indeed, the contracts already existing between the United Steelworkers and If the methods U. S. Steel are United of the Steel to give corporation Steelworkers—CIO Metal it an Certainly, interpreted Trades situation enter into to some were to Council—A. agreement if the by covering were individuals forget F. of its L., it as extending to the democratic would principles put enough Geneva and Plant. adopt pressure on the U. S. Geneva. reversed, a pre-production the A. F. of L. closed shop would not agreement hesitate with its to force Metal the Trades Council. Under stead of such hostile circumstances the toward M. Eldred Business Royle But the CIO believes in political lieves that Geneva production workers wages and employment standards. competition and let the Geneva agency. Fortunately for Geneva Agents for keeping business agents from are Therefore production production a construction wages into production ers who cling to the A. F. of L. be the CIO the and Geneva wage—a approved by the wage War door be open grateful in- for them. to meet the A. F. of L. in open of L., the CIO has a decided edge at Geneva. carry-over Of for all workThe business negotiated Labor it prefers the A. F. agents know they are promising the impossible. They know the wage prevailing in the industry will Geneva to workers make their own choice of bargaining workers, the A. F. of L. is not in the driver’s seat. preceding. page) promising the ought and labor democracy. It practices democracy. It beare entitled to a voice in the determination of their AFL Abandons~ (Continued Combine—AFL by Board. However, most production workers prefer the ClO. And about 2500 workers—skilled men—are to be brought here from other steel centers to provide a ‘‘know-how’’ production nucleus of key men. Those men are virtually A large percentage of othall CLO members. er Geneva workers also are CIO. So it appears that in the absence of the usual pre-production collusive agreement, so beloved by It also appears that Doctor John P. Frey should instruct P. P. to talk less and think more. The estimable doctor should impress upon P. P. that the people of Utah are a stubborn lot and won’t be pushed around—even by a super-duper AFL organizer from Los Angeles. On his own behalf P. P. should note that once the common herd hereabouts has sueceeded in forcing a little clean democracy onto the statute books, it proposes to keep it there and have it enforced—even though the slick schemes of the business agents’ combine are thereby disarranged. And finally, the A. F. of L. should re-exIt amine its recent policies and methods. should take heed of a few important things— (Continued on following page) |