Steel Job Done

Harry Hopkins. WPAdministrator, making a speech at Scranton, Pa. last week, tossed his hearers a prophecy: within six months U. S. Labor will have completely organized the mass production industries. "And," he added, "nobody will be talking about it. It will be accepted as a fact."

Three days later the biggest labor election yet held bolstered up the Hopkins prophecy. Two months ago U. S. Steel, kingfish in the heavy industry pond, voluntarily began signing contracts with C. I. O.'s Steel Workers Organizing Committee (TIME, March 15). The small fry of the steel industry rapidly followed suit. Only possible obstacles to complete organization of Steel were the major independents, Bethlehem, Crucible, Inland, Jones & Laughlin, Republic, Youngstown Sheet & Tube, National, American Rolling Mill. Fortnight ago the storm broke over them with a brief 36-hour strike in Jones & Laughlin, which was settled when the management agreed to stake all on a labor election to determine by majority vote whether or not S. W. O. C. should have exclusive representation for all Jones & Laughlin workmen (TIME, May 24).

The outcome of that election kept Industry and Labor guessing. At 6 a. m. one morning the balloting began and continued till 1 a. m. next morning. Only excitement took place off-stage when Philip Murray, head of S. W. O. C., charged that Republic Steel had sent seven company policemen, some of them formerly employed by Jones & Laughlin, to interfere with the election. Jones & Laughlin denied knowledge of their presence, Republic said they were merely sent as observers, but warrants were issued for their arrest. Meanwhile at Pittsburgh and neighboring Aliquippa, 24,000 of Jones & Laughlin's 27,000 workers filed quietly through the National Labor Relations Board's polling places in the plants, cast ballots voting "yes" or "no" on representation by S. W. O. C. Near dawn next morning the Labor Board announced that 17,000 men, 70% of those who voted, had plumped for S. W. O. C.

Said Horace Edward Lewis, chairman of the company:

"The Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation is gratified that such an important issue has been so amicably settled by peaceful and democratic methods, under the provisions of the Wagner Act.

"Now that the election is over and our employes have made their decision, let us forget the tension of the past few weeks and cheerfully apply ourselves to our duties, as there is much for all of us to do with our order books better filled than for some time past."

The size of C. I. O.'s victory suggested that other major independents would not experiment with elections in hope of blocking C. I. O., for whereas U. S. Steel had merely recognized the S. W. O. C. as representative for union members, Jones & Laughlin was bound by the terms of the election to recognize it as representative of all its employes. Crucible Steel quickly signed an agreement with S. W. O. C. on the same terms as U. S. Steel. Although there was still the possibility of strikes in the cases of other independents, notably Republic and Youngstown (who said they would bargain with S. W. O. C. but not sign written contracts), C. I. O. had apparently done most of its job of organizing Steel. Year ago Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel & Tin Workers, not then tied up with C. I. O., had only 8,000 members. Early this week, it claimed to have signed contracts through S. W. O. C. with 140 steel companies employing 325,000 of the industry's some 550,000 workers.

Alarmed by these and other strides of C. I. O., William Green met in Cincinnati with the spokesmen of 102 A. F. of L. unions to plan a counteroffensive. Observers expected them to call for a doubling of present A. F. of L. dues (1-c- per member per month). This increase would have to be voluntary, since only an A. F. of L. convention can alter the dues. Claiming that A. F. of L. unions still have 3,500,000 members, having taken in 1,000,000 members to make up for the round 1,000,000 lost when C. I. O. split off), the A. F. of L. might count on $35,000 a month extra, enough to hire 100 new organizers to go after the ''business'' now being rounded up by John Lewis.

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