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Show AFL Criticizes CIO Geneva Portal Pay Suit Union's Jurisdiction Raises Question Of Demand Legality Indicative of the violent Jurisdictional Juris-dictional battle being waged for union control of workers at Ce-neva Ce-neva Steel Co., an American Federation Fed-eration of Labor spokesman Tuesday Tues-day bitterly attacked the United Steel Workers of America (C I O) for rushing into court with a $2,300,000 portal to portal back pay suit against the steel firm. At the same time, officials .of the steel company, through Paul Sullivan, public relations director, pointed out that since the AFL and not the CIO is official bargaining bar-gaining agent at the plant, there is a question as to legal status of the CIO suit The United Steel Workers of America late Tuesday filed In federal fed-eral district court .a suit for recovery re-covery of $2,300,000 in portal to portal pay for approximately 2000 workers during the last three years. ' 'Only Do Harm' "This case. In the long run, can only do harm to the workers involved, in-volved, because it is poorly drafted," draft-ed," declared C. R. Van Winkle, P r o v o representative for the AFL. "It appears to have been filed for publicity purposes. "The case was drafted hastily and is not based on facts. The travel time case is a complicated one and apparently the CIO has not taken the many factors involved in-volved into, consideration, if they are aware of them." Mr. Van Winkle declared that "the AFL on the other hand is carefully studying the matter before be-fore filing its case. The suit Is a friendly one with a good chance of being successful in establishing the rights of the workers, and one which will be of lasting benefit to the workers." 'Extravagant Claims' "We feel that the extravagant claims of the CIO, in this and other cases, can only do harm to the workers' rights." ' R. V. Glass, vice president of Geneva Steel Co, said he had no official comment on filing of the CIO suit. Other officials of the firm, however, besides pointing out that the A FL is official bargaining bar-gaining agent at the plant, also explained that any suit covering time prior to July, 1946, will Involve In-volve the federal rovernment. The plant was operated for the government until that time.. The CIO suit, based upon the allegation that each of 2000 workers work-ers spent an average of 43 minutes min-utes each shift within the steel firm's portal for which no remuneration re-muneration was received, seeks an average of $1100 per worker. Suit was filed by Charles A. Graham and Edward J. Scheune-mann, Scheune-mann, Denver attorneys, and A. M. Ferro, Salt Lake counsel for the UUh action. It cites the 1938 fair labor standards act. Chief plaintiff is Charles J. Smith, district director, United Steel Workers of America. Also named plaintiffs with union mem- bers were L. E. Farley, president, local 2701, and Jack L. Jones, local secretary. |
