February 10, 1949 ACCION Page TODAY TRENDS 0 ОО EDITORIAL UNCLE DUDLEY ALL OUT ORGANIZING SAYS: By FOSTER BOURNES DRIVE STARTS IN FEBRUARY If the of really want Even in the midst of bedlam and stentorian shouting a ed to investigate. discrimina thin small voice pipes up courageously and is heard. NEWSPEAK STRENGTH NEEDED FOR tion, they didn have to come PAPER. The Civil Service Reporter of Washington, 81st CONGRESS all the way to the Canal Zone. commends the UPW on its fight against violations of the PreThey could have sent a com sident FEPC Order, and against discrimination!
An organizing drive to make every employee of the Canal mittee to look into the discri They say This is a fearless and outspoken appraisal of Zone a Union member was launched on February 1st following mination practised by their own discrimination in Government service which does exist, in weeks of planning and preparation by the Executive Boards and unions in the States.
spite of official denials. What the article failed to point out Steward Councils of each Chapter. The drive is to be carried on is that much discrimination is so intangible, and has been for a period of three months until April 30th.
Considering all the anguish accepted so long that the overt instances which can be proven The Executive Board of Local 713, in instituting the drive, ed wails emitted by local news are only a symptom of the whole dreadful problem. a procalled for an all out effort on the part of every officer and ste papers over the dropping of blem which must be solved for the sake of common decency ward to sell the union to those employees who have neglected the 25 differential for certain and fair play.
to do their share in upholding the organization and in helping gold employees, we like to The UPWA has taken quite a beating lately because of to work for improvements in wages and working conditions which see one little tear shed over its alleged following of the Communist Party line. Whether The Local has already achieved. silver wage scales.
or not any of its members are Communist (and in these days In an appeal to all the Chapters, President Ampudia declared, anyone who mutters behind his hand that spy probes may There is an urgent need to raise the minimum wages of the so Things must be getting tough make good reading, but why doesn Congress DO something called silver workers and to provide every employee with a in the Commissary Division about the housing shortage, is apt to be called a Communist substantial increase in wages. The need for a decent retirement these days. We can remember by somebody. THE UPWA DOES GO TO BAT FOR ITS MEMsystem is obvious. There is a crying need for more adequate the days when they used to BERS and does DARE to differ with the prevailing trend on housing. These athings we can obtain only if every employee give a sandwich and a bottle controversial subjects. Bien Gracias Amigos.
realizes that he must be part of our organization and adds his of soda to the employees once strength to the union.
a year when they worked at When the cost living spirals upward, it carries every The sist Congress has recently convened and our Interna night completing the annual thing along with it except wages. That not good for the tional Union will put on a legislative drive to secure the passage inventory. This year, if you eat consumer as a rule, but it hits hardest at the low income of basic legislation which will help the silver employees. The on the Commissary it ll cost group, since a cost of living index does not distinguish betSuccess of the legislative drive will depend on the success of our you 20 cents.
ween economic classes. That is when workers are compelled organizing drive. Acceptance of our bills will depend on the to fight for one of two things. Prices must come down, or strength and the numbers supporting our union.
wages must go up to compensate for the devaluation of cur From our past experience know that all officers and Did you read those letters of rency. This principle holds if the standard of living is not stewards will give their utmost cooperation in this drive.
protest when a local newspaper to be impaired, and since we too are hitched to the high cost The Executive Board of each Chapter has been constituted columnist pointed out how you of living we join forces with those who clamor for substanas the organizing committee for the Chapter and is responsible can feed a family on 20 a tial across the board increase for silver employees NOW.
for all Chapter activities in the drive. Block Captains and their week? We wonder what the assistants have been appointed to canvass all areas in the various communities and make personal contact with all non members.
readers would have said if they If figures, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics were shown how to feed, clothe, The publicity committees and educational committees in the Chapmean anything so far as a subsistence budget goes, then the house, and adequately care for ters have prepared comprehensive programs to assist the stewards silver employees are beyond the pole. It is indeed difficult a family on 18. 00 weekly and members in the drive.
to figure out, even theoretically, how to subsist on a wage the average silver wage.
Altho last year drive provided a bargain rate or concesscale so far below the emergency budget figure. Therefore sion on the reinstatement fee the present drive makes no concesWe are calling for an upward revision of the existing wage sions and the reinstatement fee remains at 00. However, all scales so as to secure a more adequate alignment between those employees desiring to reinstate will be able to do so by understand people are present wage rates and what is considered even sub standard making partial payments or installments on the 00 fee.
patching up the holes in their for American workers. If we bawl, loud and long, it is beapartments these days with the Charts and graphs have been prepared to depict the progress cause the squeeze has become unbearable. We feel that Gostock of a certain weekly news vernment. our employer. must take notice, must legislate of each Chapter in the drive and their standing from week to paper.
week. Altho no definite prize for the winning Chapter has yet if necessary to narrow the ever widening gap between wages been decided upon it is expected that the Chapter taking first and prices.
This comes straight from the place at the culmination of the drive will be properly awarded.
minutes of the Metal Trades Already Gatun Chapter has challenged Gamboa, the winner in last year drive and Cristobal has hurled a challenge to BalCouncil meeting of December OVER 100 COMMISSARY SECTION HEADS 19, 1948: Brother Jones stated boa. It is foreseen that with these challenges already made, RECEIVE GRADE BOOSTS that his committee (the Local competition for first place and between individual chapters will New Position of Commissary Manager Ordered AFL committee which will conbe very keen.
duct the AFL group) hopes to Regional Director Brodsky, commenting on the organizing Over one hundred section In addition, the employees show the Latin American dedrive, emphasized that now, more than ever, we must show all heads in commissaries through who headed the commissaries those enemies of our union who have not failed to malign us at legation that there is no disout, the Isthmus were upgraded at Madden Dam, Summit, and crimination shown here, but last month as the log jam was every opportunity, and who have recently intensified their attacks, Cocoli (now Rio Grande) are that we do believe in segregathat Local 713 can fight back and fight back in increasing numcleared on many appeals that now classified as Commissary tion, and we shall try to show bers. The three months of the drive must be months of activity had been made by the union Managers. They were formerthem our side of the story and for every member of the union. Every member must become an with the Administration, ly classified as Section Heads get them to understand our siorganizer. 100 membership is the most effective answer to but are now moved into the tuation if possible. Is it any These grade increases came our critics.
newly as a result of a comprehenwonder we got a whitewash?
created positions of sive survey made of Commis Commissary Manager A, grasary section heads by the Perde 10, and Commissary MaS. THE OF The worst part about the socalled of Investigating sonnel Office following a num nager B, grade 11. Continued from page 1)
Committee is that the Canal ber of protests made by the Zone will reek for months from Union on classifications. Most ATLANTIC SIDE (Continued from page 2) suffered a drastic change of heart and are now going to make of the employees involved the stench of the red herring every effcrt for better working and living conditions for this they dragged across the trail moved up either one, two, or huge maltreated group. Below is an excerpt from the mimeographsuccess. He declared, cf discrimination.
three grades. This is the first time that ed minutes of the Canal Zone Metal Trades Council of its meetthe UPW CIO has been called ing on December 19, 1948: But maybe we didn read correctly. Let move on in the mi upon to participate in the car Meeting with the Governor December 14th about the visit nutes and see what else they say. On page 8, we read the fol nival celebrations. We have of the Committee, this discussion led into the question lowing: accepted this invitation with of housing Panamanians in the Canal Zone. The Governor motion was made, duly secorded and passed, that the the understanding that the agreed that there was nothing in the treaties that required the Legislative Committee recommend that the Metal Trades Council members and friends of the housing of citizens of the Republic of Panama in the Zone, adopt the new bill as presented by the Legislative Representa UPW CIO will help, to the but stated it was good policy as it assured a reliable supply tive, as a substitute for the McCarran amendment and, that he best of their ability, in makof labor and was done mainly for this reason. The Committee, be instructed to do all in his power to have it passed at the ing our participation a resonBrothers Jones, Price, Dillman and the President pointed out 81st session of Congress.
ant success.
that as the former Governors had always said there was no So they are still pressing for the McCarran amendment, or more building sites in the Zone and always gave that as one a substitute. How this contrasts with the mournful tears shed of the reasons the McCarran Amendment coudn be put into by the of every so often over the lamentable plight ACCION effect and that we felt that the Panamanians should be moved of the silver employees. The whole picture is so ludicrous into the Republic of Panama since they claim they are always that it is not difficult to imagine some of official Published once a month by being discriminated against in the Canal Zone and surely they saying, Look how we kick em around now. Wait til we get UPW CIO LOCAL 713 wouldn object to living in their own country, which we are them in the of Then they ll actually be paying for PUBLICITY COMMITTEE led to believe is the greatest country in he world. Also as the the privilege of being kicked around. Ho! Ho! is that a riot.
Wilfred Wason, Chairman has just announced that they are going to demand What you also forgot to mention is that many of Victor Carew that our government build them better houses and furnish more international unions officially practise discrimination against recreation, amusement and schools. If the things the fur their own colored members. Some of the unions bar colored Editor nish are not good enough they should move into the excellent members from voting for officers or on policies. Others bar REPRESENTATIVES quarters and attend the shows and schols and buy their groceries them from holding office. Still another type of discrimination in the Republic where they surely will get better treatment as is to put all colored members in separate Jim Crow locals from Peter Forbes, Anderson it is their own, and then we would have more room for hous the white members.
Dow, Victor McCarthy, ing the Citizens in the Canal Zone.
This all adds up to such a frightful record of deceit, treaLeRoy Inniss, Christopper This sarcastic attack hardly sounds like the good neighborchery, duplicity, and hypocrisy that we wonder how any selfHarewood, Thomas.
policy to a group of employees that they are trying to organize. respecting organization could stomach it. BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL ERNESTO CASTILLERO