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Show I i ' f f - , r 1 - C j mt 1 . . f jr-. . . "H 'ft ..,.. . I f X u ,v k N ' ' VV V k v : f - tl III : f ; . ... ,' 1 1 f ,--r". ! I ; ,. 1 if i 2 L 1- t - t .-1, 11-1 ,tr 1 i - C-Jk $aaA Utah AFL-CIO President Ed Mayne discusses labor with Winters Middle School eighth graders. AFL-CIO Pres. Visits Mid School students after they graduate, and Ed Mayne answered saying there were apprenticeship schools which teach a variety of skills to young workers. A grass roots movement was begun by Utah AFL-CIO last summer in order to help people better understand what the organization is about, said Mr. Mayne after class had ended. ' There are approximately 70,000 members in the AFL-CIO in Utah and close to 14.2 million members across the country. Ed Mayne is George Meany's counter-part for the state and is the youngest president ever to be elected in Utah. He was 31 years old when elected on August 15 of last year. According to government statistics, sta-tistics, Mayne said, 98 percent of all contracts are settled without strikes or violence and he added the public should be made more aware of how AFL-CIO benefits not only workers, but the country as a whole. "A lot of people do not understand what organized labor is all about," said Ed Mayne, President of Utah AFL-CIO, to a group of eighth graders at Winters Middle School Monday. Mr. Mayne, along with Tim Rice, Director of Public Relations for the state's AFL-CIO visited Dr. Simmons' class and told of the background and primary purpose of labor in America, as well as how it effected the country's history. Mayne said organized labor sometimes frightens fright-ens people and conjurs up images of strikes and violence. Yet, the AFL-CIO President explained that the organization is made up of working men and women who, at one time, suffered indignities and were forced to join together in order to have a more powerful voice. "The struggle for union representation repre-sentation was a long and hard one," Tim Rice told the students. It was pointed out in a movie, which was shown in class, entitled "Land of Promise," that textile workers once made 11 cents an hour, working six days a week. "Workers yearned for a better life," the film's narrator, Ralph Bellamy said. The film went on to show how organized labor was responsible for creating better communities in towns and cities in the United States. Before unions were allowed, men and women met secretly to discuss their grievances grievan-ces with management. And then the Wagner Act was passed which made it possible for workers to join unions. It was labor's "first real chance," the film pointed out. " Organized labor fought for better community schools for over a century, the movie demonstrated, demonstrat-ed, as well as safer working conditions, retirement pay, and health benefits. "Land of Promise" Prom-ise" concluded with the words of national AFL-CIO President, George Meany: "What is good for America is good for labor labor movement." Dr. Simmons asked how can the AFL-CIO help |
