A. F. of L. Test

Last year the American Federation of Labor, out to capture the open-shop automobile industry, threatened an industry wide strike (TIME, March 26, 1934). President Roosevelt staved it off by setting up the Automobile Labor Board. Up to last fortnight the Board's plant elections showed that A. F. of L. commanded only 8.6% of automobile workers' votes. Having furiously repudiated the Board early this year, the frustrated Federation has lately turned once more to crying: "Strike!"

"Bluff!" have cried most observers.

Last fortnight A. F. of L. was ostensibly forced into a test of strength when the Toledo local of the Federation's affiliated United Automobile Workers Union called a strike in General Motors' Toledo plant. Its 2,340 workers made all transmissions for Chevrolets and Pontiacs. Claiming 90% of the plant's employes, the Union demanded a contract guaranteeing its recognition. The company's retort was to shut down the plant indefinitely, call for a showdown on the issue of A. F. of L. supremacy by making its own offer of wage and collective bargaining adjustments. This offer the union promptly refused.

Though giving the strike his blessing, A. F. of L.'s soft President William Green cagily covered his line of retreat by declaring that the Toledo local had acted without headquarters authorization. Even Francis J. Dillon, A. F. of L.'s tall-talking Detroit organizer, "hoped for" a speedy settlement.

Early last week, after a seven-day deadlock, the Federation ripple began to look like a sizeable wave. First, 2,300 workers in Cincinnati's Fisher Body and Chevrolet assembly plants walked out in sympathy with the Toledans. Same day. Fisher Body shut down its Cleveland plant. With production lines snapped by failure of the transmissions link, Fisher Body and Chevrolet assembly plants in Janesville, Wis., Atlanta, Kansas City, St. Louis, Baltimore, Tarrytown, N. Y., Buffalo rumbled to a halt. By week's end 30,000 men in 16 General Motors factories were idle, most of them because 2,320 men in Toledo were no longer supplying transmissions. With confidence renewed by the Federation's showing, Organizer Dillon boasted: "A. F. of L. controls the three keys to the automobile industry--transmissions, carburetors and ignitions."

At mid-week Madam Secretary Perkins dispatched her hard-driving Assistant Secretary and No. 1 trouble shooter, Edward F. McGrady, to sue for peace. In Detroit he closeted himself with General Motors' Executive Vice President William S. Knudsen and Organizer Dillon, shortly emerged with a compromise offer for the Toledo union. When the union turned down his offer, Conciliator McGrady returned to Detroit for more conferences, predicted that unless the strike was settled, 125,000 men would be idle by this week's end. In Toledo some 800 non union General Motors employes formed an independent association, pledged themselves to return to work this week. As General Motors prepared to begin manufacture of transmissions at Muncie, Ind., Toledo union officials agreed to a workers' poll on the company's original offer, to be conducted this week by the Department of Labor.

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