Strategic Sit-Down

When a young David union attacks a big Goliath industry it takes a careful aim. Last week the United Automobile Workers of America, out to organize the motor industry, concentrated its attack on a plant making parts and accessories. Without carburetors, starters, brakes, the country's great assembly lines must come to a halt.

Paralyzed was Bendix Products Corp.'s big accessory, plant at South Bend, Ind. one morning last week when most of the day shift employes, sitting down at their machines, refused to work. Just before noon Works Manager John P. Mahoney's voice boomed out over the factory public address system, ordered all employes to check in their tools, go home. Most of the 4,300 workers obeyed, but 1,100 sit-downers sat pat.

Bendix workers are divided between a company union and a unit of U. A. W., an affiliate of the Committee for Industrial Organization. Last winter the National Labor Relations Board ordered a plant election to decide which union should represent workers in collective bargaining. Bendix refused to countenance the election, got an injunction to back up its refusal. An appeal from that injunction was scheduled for hearing next month when impatient United Automobile Workers, claiming that Bendix was discriminating against them in favor of company union members, last week demanded a closed U. A, W. shop, sat down. Said President Vincent Bendix: "This is contrary to law, as every citizen has a right to work, whether he belongs to a union or not."

With the heat turned off in the big plant, the sitters--800 men, 300 women-- were reported bundling to keep warm. On the second day the company began turning the heat on & off every few hours. Unperturbed, the sitters produced concertinas, danced, found messengers' roller skates, skated. Games of bridge, poker and pinochle got started. Youngsters got up an amateur hour. "It's a picnic!" they shrilled to friends outside.

At its South Bend plant Bendix makes brakes for Ford, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Lincoln, Packard, Hudson, Nash, Cord, Auburn; carburetors for Ford, Nash, General Motors, Hudson, Chrysler, Plymouth, Studebaker; other parts for many another U. S. automobile. Last week Bendix could supply none of these customers. Two U. S. Department of Labor conciliators met with Bendix and union representatives to thrash out the differences, interrupted their week-long conferences only to go to the Notre Dame-Northwestern football game.

In Racine, Wis. last week directors of J. I. Case Co. (farm machinery) voted a 6% bonus to all of its 1,700 employes who should be at work on Dec. 1. Joker was that the Case plant had been shut tight since Oct. 27, had no immediate prospect of reopening.

Like Bendix's, Case's trouble grew out of a company union v. United Automobile Workers triangle. Early last October several C. I. O. leaders were discharged. Fortnight later the rest of the union staged a sit-down protest, forced the company to shut the plant. Last fortnight U. A. W. filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Two days later company union men complained that U. A. W. men were tossing bricks through their windows, asked the company to move out of Racine. Replied Case's Vice President H. H. Biggert in a newspaper advertisement last week: "You may be assured your request ... is receiving every consideration."

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