Page ACCION OCTOBER, 1949 Supreme Court. Continued from page 1)
RESOLUTION ON CIO AUTONOMY Panama Canal Issues Personnel Manual WE REJECT THE SPLITTING CONCEPT OF CONFORM OR GET OUT Court Declares Intent The Supreme Court brushed this argument aside and said that Congress did not intend that American wage scales would not follow the American flag for such a reason.
Mr. Justice Reed, who wrote the decision for the majority, declared on this point. Since drastic change in local economy was not a deterrent in these instances, there is no reason for saying that the wage hour provisions of the Act were not intended to bring these minimum changes into the labor market of the bases. Under the terms of the lease, we feel sure that the House of Assembly of Bermuda would not also undertake legislation similar to our Fair Labor Standards Act to control labor relations on the Base.
The recently issued personnel manual by the Panama Ca nal will be a real benefit and service to the employees and to the union. In addtion to including classifications and pay rates, the new issue also contains bonus rates, and regulations dealing with overtime compensation, holiday pay, dis ability relief, eligiblity cards, employments, personnel forms, transfers, training, promotions and demotions, discipline, employee grievances, termination of service, reduction in force, indebtedness, leave of absence, subsistence charges and general definitions.
Citizens and Non Citizens Alike It is significant to note that the Supreme Court makes no distinction between citizens and non citizens regarding the coverage of the law. Citizens and non citizens alike, according to the Supreme Court, receive the protection of American labor standards.
The Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938 applies only to em ployees engaged in inter state commerce and does not apply to government employees. Con gress did not apply this law to government employees because it assumed that the government had established wage scales sufficiently high so that this group of workers did not need the protection of the law.
Contract Workers Covered Another significant part of this decision is that employees of private contractors operating in the Canal Zone are covered by the law and must be paid a 40 cents minimum wage and given the order benefits afforded by the WageHour Act. This applies to noncitizen employees as well as citizen employees.
Employees of the government, however, being exempted from this law receive a minimum wage 10 cents per hour less than those working for private contractors.
This far reaching decision of the Supreme Court deals another blow against the outmoded and unjust Caribbean Wage Scale. Sooner or later this colonial wage concept must yield to the overwhelming weight of logic, public opinion, judicial opinion, and the power and strength of the union movement.
Following is the text of the resolution adopted at the Conference on Autonomy and Democracy in the CIO by the so called leftwing unions last month in New York City: At a crucial time when it is faced by bitter attacks of employers and a growing crisis causing loss of livelihood for millions of Amercian workers, the labor movement finds itself engaged in bitter internal strife.
The recent edict of the majority of the CIO Executive Board that would deprive international unions of representation and jurisdiction unless they sacrifice their autonomous rights, can only have the effect of further inflaming division and strife within the labor movement, and thereby play into the hands of the employers.
The trends within the national CIO toward the destruction of autonomous rights have already resulted in physical violence against so called dissidents, in suicidal raiding of one CIO union by another, in the use of CIO funds and officials machinery to embarrass and harass CIO unions whose only crime is that their leaders carry out the democratically arrived at policies of their own membership. Mass expulsion of unions is threatened by top CIO leaders under the slogan of conform or get out.
This conference urges Phillip Murray to return the CIO to its founding principles of autonomy and democracy. It was in pursuance of these policies that CIO remained united, grew strong and gave such effective leadership to American workers.
We recall to President Murray his own words addressed to the Automobile Workers Convention in 1947, when he said: We never determine the course of action of our affiliates. They were sovereign autonomous unions, and in matters of great moment we got together and we considered and advised each other, but in the end we left the ultimate decision to each of the International Unions for important policy decisions. There is a reason for that. hope the day never comes in the history of the CIO when it shall take upon itself the power to dictate or to rule or to provide by policy methods of dictation and ruling that run counter to the very principles of true democracy.
The dues paying membership of CIO unions, confronted today with growing unemployment, part timing speed up, discrimination, the evil devices of the Taft Hartley law, police brutality on picket lines, injunctions and all the rest of the anti labor arsenal, demands a united labor movement based upon democracy, equal rights, solidarity, freedom of discussion, freedom of criticism and respect for autonomy and jurisdiction. For many years the CIO was that kind of labor movement. We want to keep it that way.
We CIO officers, local executive board members and shop stewards, in Conference assembled, express our firm resolve to struggle for that unity. We reject the splitting concept of conform or get out. We condemn any attempts to further divide the labor movement by policies of interference with the internal problems of international unions by the national CIO, or by the use of CIO funds and machinery to harass affliliates of the CIO, or any policy of expulsion or dissolving of unions and their jurisdiction. We express without qualification our resolve to fight to remain within the CIO and to exert all our influence to return the CIO to its founding priciples of democracy and autonomy. We express support to all unions in the CIO against attempts to deny them representation or to interfere with their jurisdiction.
Therefore be it Resolved, that this Conference call upon the National Convention of the CIO to re affirm the founding principles of the CIO and to reject the conform or get out edict. We urge all leaders of CIO unions to view the extreme danger of the course that is being charted by the conform or get out edict, and recognizing that danger to help reverse this policy. Let us build that democratic unity within CIO neces sary to win a better standard of living and security of employment for all American workers in the epic struggles that lie ahead.
The union has long sought such a compilation since it experienced great difficulty in assembling all the many regulations and amendments affecting its members. Although the new manual does not include all regulations with which the employees are concerned, it contains those of ma jor importance in a convenient and usable form.
Contains Disciplinary Guide An interesting feature of the manual is a list of offenses with corresponding disciplinary measures for the use of foremen and supervisors.
The offences listed include such items as unauthorized absences from job, failure to observe safety precautions, loafing during work hours, causing unrest among fellow employees by various forms of agitation, immoral or indecent conduct possession of narcotics.
The disciplinary measures recommended range from a sim ple letter of warning to discharge.
In connection with the disciplinary guide, the manual states: the general use of this table is recommended as a means of achieving uniformity in disciplinary actions for similar offenses throughout the Canal Railroad organization.
Expectant Mother has Hard Time in Camp Bierd The Case of the Unwanted Books duted from your pay anyway, the timekeeper continued.
Urged By Union Years Ago An employee of Camp Bierd Commissary, who was an expectant mother, filed an application for full leave accumlation, plus the 240 hour sick leave on August 15th to become effective on September 3rd. On the day the employee was due to go on leave, the manager registered his objetions and refused to give his approval.
Several weeks ago, a Marine Division employee was handed 30 in commissary books as a deduction from his salary by the gold timekeeper. But didn order these. said the employee in surprise. They ve already been deducted from your salary, and you ll just have to take them. was the reply. If you don take them, they ll be deThis didn make sense to the employee, so he took the matter to Roland Dean, organizer. In answer to Dean appeal, the Assistant Chief of the Payroll Buraeu said that the employee would not have to be penalized beeause a mistake was made. He said that the books could be returned and the error corrected.
Timekeepers please take notice!
It will be recalled that over two years ago, Local 713 urged the adoption of a similar procedure so that disciplinary measures might be standardized throughout the Canal RailRoad organization. At the time the union pointed out that two employees committing the same offense under similar circumstances in two different divisions of the Panama Canal might be given very different penalties.
Six copies of the manual have been made available to the union and stewards and members, who are interested, may refer to them at either the La Boca or Cristobal offices of Local 713.
La Boca. Continued from page 1)
The union attempted to negotiate the matter and brought a copy of the leave regulation to demonstrate the employee rights.
Nothing was accomplished until an appeal was made to the Supervisor of Retail Stores who quickly ordered approval of the leave request.
Five Death Benefits Payments in August and September Local 713 extends its sincers condolence to the families of those members of the Union who passed away during the months of August and September.
Payments, under the UPW Death Benefit Plan, have been made to all beneficiaries.
many residents complained that they were unable to sleep. Others awoke to find their clothes covered with SOO and dirt om the fire.
Employees in the Union La Boca office were the closest to the fire and complained of being unable to work so distressing was the discomfort.
The Master of TransDECEASED Charles Adams Joseph Daisy portation of the Panama Railroad has been requested by Local 713 to have the material burnt at a more distant place from the residence area to spare our members any further suffering.
ACCION Published once a month by UPW CIO LOCAL 713 PUBLICITY COMMITTEE Wilfred Wason, Chairman Victor Carew Editor REPRESENTATIVES Peter Forbes Anderson Dow, LeRoy Innis, Christopher Hare.
wood, Thomas, BENEFICIARY Emelia Adams Henrietta Daisy and Ufita Daisy Miriam Wray and Perline Wray Rhoda Greenidge. Erlene Hoyte and Andrea Hoyte Henry Wray Joseph Gr. senidge William Hoyte BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL ERNESTO CASTILLERO