Word: unionism
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Dates: during 1930-1939
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...stop A. F. of L., John Lewis asked the operators under contract to him to formalize their present, informal recognition of his supremacy by writing a "union shop" into a new agreement. This would guarantee that for the next two years only Lewis miners could get jobs in most coal mines. The operators refused. Miner Lewis then asked them to waive a clause in the old contract, which in effect forbade his men to strike, thus freeing him to fight A. F. of L. encroachment by making it costly for the employers. The operators refused. He then offered to keep...
Last week, as a "final offer," the operators' spokesmen proposed not only to continue checking off (i. e., collecting) the dues of Lewis miners, but to deduct an equal amount from nonmembers' paychecks as well and hand it over to the union. In addition, they would promise to deal only with the Lewis union in so far as the Wagner Act permits. John Lewis pondered it, finally agreed with his own lawyers that it was probably illegal...
...Norfolk, whence much coal is transshipped by water to eastern cities, bunkers were nearly empty. Manhattan subways reduced service to the point where trains at peak hours carried four instead of the usual three passengers per seat. When all but a few A. F. of L. and non-union mines shut down last week, less than a month's supply for the U. S. remained aboveground, and much of that was hoarded by big users. Madam Secretary squeaked in Washington: "It is a very delicate and difficult situation...
...many pickets ganged up on Everett docks that local police called help from Boston, charged the union line, dodged rocks, pitched tear gas bombs, jailed 36 strikers. The union put gas masks on its pickets, threatened to bring in enough seamen to trounce the police...
Trouncing big Standard Oil of New Jersey, Socony-Vacuum and three smaller companies with tanker fleets was the task taken on by National Maritime Union's tough, rock-fisted President Joe Curran. From Galveston to Portland his pickets patrolled the docks, laid up 75 slick, oil-toting tubs. Purpose: to persuade the lines to increase wages and prefer union men for jobs. Because 14 other companies were willing to dicker, their tankers continued to run without hindrance and the Atlantic Seaboard faced no oil shortage comparable to that threatening in coal (see p. 18). For most people, a surprising...