Under a New Leader

Labor in defense industries will largely depend on Philip Murray. Mild-mannered, tough as a rizzar and as sure of himself as any Scot, Murray declared at C. I. O.'s recent, raucous convention: "C. I. O. assumes complete jurisdiction over every major defense industry in the U. S."

Last week, beginning his new job as C. I. O.'s president, Murray took hold of his problem.

Settled was the Vultee Aircraft strike at Downey, Calif., which had dragged on through twelve days of haggling, had held up $84,000,000 worth of U. S. Government and British orders for training planes. Its chief organizer was slick, veteran Wyndham Mortimer, of United Automobile Workers. Just before a settlement was reached R. J. Thomas, president of the auto workers, carried to the strikers some strong words of advice from Murray and the Defense Commission's Sidney Hillman. The final terms raised the basic pay of workers from 50-c- to 62-c- an hour, provided for 16 months of operation at Vultee without strikes on the part of workers, or lockouts on the part of management. Employes lost twelve days' work, $203,240 in wages, gained an annual boost of $1,315,000.

Also settled was a strike in the Aluminum Co. of America plant at New Kensington, Pa. When middleaged, belligerent Employe Fred Ross objected to paying up his union dues and the management refused to cooperate by firing him, union men struck. Idle for a week were 7,500 men. Again Murray and Hillman interceded. Ross was transferred to the company's plant at Logan's Ferry. C. I. O. strikers, having lost an estimated $250,000 in wages, returned to their jobs, resumed work on aluminum orders required in defense production.

Signs of a new, sane policy under Murray came none too soon, for:

> A new anti-strike bill was offered in Congress by Virginia's Congressman Howard H. Smith. It provided life sentences for saboteurs, outlawed the closed shop in defense industries, required a 30-day notice of intention on the part of strikers.

>Before the Attorney General was a 2,500-page report by FBI on Harry Bridges, West Coast longshoremen's leader, often accused of being a Red.

>A voluminous Dies Committee "Red Paper" reiterated charges of widespread Communism in Labor's ranks, particularly in shipping, communications, transportation, and munition plants, made new charges of Reds in the aircraft industry. Mortimer and Lewis H. Michener, fellow organizers of the Vultee strike, were both accused of being Reds.

Murray, anxious to preserve Labor's gains, make new ones, at the same time save Labor from a witch hunt, had his work cut out.

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