The Organizer (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1934-09-12

              UNITED
LABOR
ACTION
m ilPI
SMASH THE
CITIZENS
ALLIANCE
TWO TWENTY-FIVE
SOUTH THIRD STREET
VOLUME 1, NO. 43
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 12,1934
PRICE TWO CENTS
Lockout at Arrowhead Co.
Local 574 Wins Majority
Daily Press
Buries Truth
Union Represents 61
Per Cent of Workers
The final reports on the elections bring the good news that
Local 574 has won the right to
represent 61% of the employees
involved.
By a series of mathematical acrobatics, the press has attempted
to create the impression that the
Union was defeated. Much has
been made of the fact that the
Union won less than half of the
166 firms. Representation of
firms was not the issue. The
Union is interested in • the men
who work for these firms.
In the first place, the elections
have revealed that there were 21
firms which had no employees involved. The press points to this
as an indictment against us. We
didn't invite these firms into the
controversy. They just homed in
because they saw a chance to get
in a few blows at the workers.
And secondly, the mathematician-journalists failed to take
this fact into consideration when
they concocted their phoney analysis. So you can just throw the
whole paper in the waste basket
and forget that they ever thought
about the subject.
The following table shows the
final results:
Total
Firms Votes
Won by 574      62      724
Ties „     15       102
Total won and tied     77      826
Won by bosses     68      536
No vote     21      	
Score: Union 2 84, Bosses 77
Committee to Propose
Organizational Plans
to Petroleum Workers
Meeting to Be Held Friday,
September' Tf ~"
Totals
166    1362
Under the law, if the Union
wins a majority of the votes, it
becomes the representative of all
the workers involved in the election. Conversely, if the Union
loses a majority of the votes, it
can reprerent none of the workers.
The Union won 62 firms in
which a total of 724 votes were
cast. Therefore, the Union represents all of these 724 workers.
It is true that all of these workers do not belong to the Union.
However, it is. equally true that
the non-members will be quick to
join when they see the gains
which the Union will bring to
them.
In 15 firms a tie vote was cast,
representing a total of 102 votes.
In these cases, the Union wins
the riirht to represent the 51 who
voted for it. Technically, the other
51 are not represented, but the
facts are that these workers will
receive the same benefits that the
union workers receive, and they
too will be quick to join.
Representation means the right
of the Union to bring benefits to
the workers. The Union has established the right to bring benefits to 826 of the workers who
participated in the election. They
represent 61 % of the workers
who voted.
Representation was lost to the
remaining 39% of the workers—
temporarily.    Plans  have  already
been made and the work is under
(Continued on page 3)
The petroleum workers division
of Local 574 has taken up anew
the problems of organization work
and negotiations with the employers.
At a closed meeting held last
Friday, the immediate organizational problems of the oil workers
were outlined by members of the
Organization Committee, and a
plan of action was outlined.
As the first step in carrying out
this plan, a sub-committee of six,
consisting of three station attendants, two drivers, and one maintenance man, was elected. This
committee has been instructed to
confer with the leading committee of the Union and bring in a
definite program for the consideration and approval of the membership in the oil group at their
next meeting.
The petroleum drivers, station
attendants, warehouse and maintenance men will meet again Friday, September 14, 9.p. m., at 225
South   3rd   Street
The decisions made at this meeting will determine the future policy of the organized petroleum
workers.
If you are a petroleum worker,
and a member of Local 574, it is
important for you to attend.
Request Filed for Wage
Arbitration in 77 Firms
Coal Workers Meet Monday
With the coal season rapidly approaching, it becomes necessary
that the Union watch carefully to
see that the coal bosses continue
to live up to their agreement.
The Union has sent letters to
all .the companies involved, reminding them • that they are expected to return the workers to
their jobs according to their seniority rights and that they must
continue to pay the Union scale.
For the purpose of a general
check-up on the present conditions, and to hold ■ a consultation
about the winter program for the
coal workers, a meeting will be
held at 225 S. 3rd St, Monday,
Sept. 17, at 8 p. m.
If you are a coal worker, employed or .unemployed,- it is important that you be at this meeting.
"In accordance with the terms of
settlement, Local 574 has already
filed with the Regional Labor
Board a formal request for arbitration of the wage scale for those
workers who voted for Union representation.
- Grant Dunne and Farrell Dobbs
will represent the Union in the
arbitration.
Those members who are employed by firms not a'part of the
166 and who did not participate
in the elections are already represented by the Union and will be
paid the scale arrived at through
the arbitration.
We list below the "77 firms who
have been called upon to meet
with the Union representatives to
arbitrate the wage scale.
Acme Transfer Co.
American  Fruit & Produce Co.
Aslesen,   K.
Armstrong  Transfer  Co.
Bearman Fruit Co.
Belzer Fruit Co.
Bennett-Bailey  Lumber   Co.
Boutell Bros.
Bach Transfer Co.
Boyd Transfer Co.
Brugger  Bros. Transfer Co.
Casey Hoban Transfer Co.
Cameron Transfer Co.
Cardoza Furniture Co.
Central   Supply  Co.
Commercial Transfer & Storage   Co.
Cooperman Fruit Co.
Dakota Packing Co.
Davis & Ruben Co.
Donaldson  Co.,  L.  S.
Falk Paper Co.
Foote Lumber Co.
Freidman  Fruit Co.
Glenwood-Inglewood  Co.
Gamble-Robinson Co.
Glidden  Co., The
Hall Hardware Co.
Hecks Transfer Co.
Hempel Transfer Co.
Jacob Feinberg & Co.
Jensen  Lumber  Co.
Johnson  Paper & Supply Co.
Jordan-Stevens Co.
Katz  Packing Co.
Katzmarek" Co., O. M. S.
Kedney Warehouse Co.
Land-OrNod  Co.
Landry. Transfer  Co.
Landers-Morrison-Christianson
Company      ~      .
Lambert Transfer Co.
Log Cottage Co.
Luger  Furniture  Co.
Malat Co., Phil
Minneapolis Transfer & Warehouse Co.
Melone-'Bovey  Lumber Co.
Minneapolis - St. Paul Truck
Terminal
Morris Fruit Co.
Murphy Transfer & Storage Co.
Naas Bros. Fruit Co.
Nash Coffee Co.
Nathanson Fruit & Produce Co.
Neisen-Turner   Co.
New England Furniture & Carpet Co.
North West Fruit & Produce
Company
North West Terminal Co.
Olson Fruit Co., Eng
Palmer Co., S. G.
Pratt's  Express  Co.
Reliable Transfer Co.
Rifkin & Co.
Rose Bros. Lumber & Supply
Company
Rosenzweig & Sons Co., J.
Saliterman  Fruit Co.
Sawyer-Cleator  Lumber Co.
Schirmer & Strasburg Transfer
Company
Skellet Co.
Stacy Co., E. P.
Stem Co., Leon  K.
Swanson,   Inc.,  Nels
Sterling  Cartage Co.
Thompson Lumber Co.
U. S. Fruit Co.
Westlund - Westerberg Lumber
Company
Widholm Transfer Co.
Williams Hardware Co.
Witt's Market House, Inc.
Wunder-Klein-Donohue Co.
Bosses Fear   !
Organization
Machinists' Union
Forms Picket Line
574 to Give Stag Party
At its regular meeting Monday
evening the local union set up a
committee which will be more than
busy during the coming days.
The proposal for a huge stag
party was received with enthusiasm by the members. The understanding is that this will be something different in the way of stags.
Judging by the composition of the
committee, the members and their
friends will have the time of their
lives.
The date and place will be announced later when plans have
been perfected.   ■
Two hundred workers, employees of the Arrowhead Steel Products Co., were locked out Monday
morning when they came "to the
plant located at 1101 Stinson blvd.
This company, which has grown
rich through the sale of wrist pins,
pistons, and other steel and aluminum, auto parts, has consistently refused to pay the workers a
living wage.
The workers in the, factory
turned to the union for help. The
International Association of Machinists had already enrolled the
majority of the workers in this
plant and had opened negotiations
with the management.—
The meager wages paid by Arrowhead, 35, 40, 42 cents ner
hour, in return for labor, which
in most cases requires considerable skill, created a condition of
dissatisfaction. The employees of
the company in full accord with
their committee and Herman Huss-
man, business agent for the machinists, ■ demanded an agreement
with the union.
The employers launched an
under .cover campaign to intimidate the workers and discredit the
union. Failing in the initial effort to keep their employees from
organizing, the bosses gave an evasive reply to the unions demand
for negotiations by an overt play
for a blacklist. They suggested
that the union officials submit the
list of employees who were members of the union—to be checked
against   their   payroll.
Hussman, an experienced union
organizer, refused to consider this"
arrogant demand, and in turn proposed to proceed in an orderly
manner through the Regional Labor Board. The union addressed
the Board. The Board in turn, on
September 6, advised the union
that the Arrowhead had agreed to
submit its payroll lists to the Regional Labor Board.
-Later developments prove that
the Arrowhead Co. had no intentions of adhering to the method
of open negotiation.
While writing the union and the
Labor Board that they were willing to submit to a test to determine whether or not the union
was to represent the employees,
they proceeded with plans to set
up a company union. The bosses
called the workers together Tind
used all, or almost all, of the
familiar tricks of the bosses to
set up "company representation,"
an old boss scheme, and promised
to "settle" with the workers without the help of the real  union.
When the workers rejected
these proposals, the bosses realized that they must either deal
with the workers through their
own organization or prepare for a
fight. They chose the most vicious course possible. They decided
to lock the workers out.
This company, which is closely
connected with the large banks
and the Citizens Alliance, carried
through the lockout in the most
cowardly manner. The notice,
which instructed the workers to
call for their final check and announced the closing of the plant,
Was posted on Sunday, Sept 9,
at 11:30 a. m. It was dated Sept. S
in order to give the public the
impression that they had notified
the workers on the last day of
(.Continued on page 2)
Make Minneapolis a Union Town