I realize that these are great problems for your honorable administration, due to the large amount of "political and unpolitical racketeering" which we have throughout our country. However, if the "iron hand" is used, some of them are bound to be eliminated, and the people of this great land of liberty will soon enjoy continuous happiness and prosperity. I am closing with best wishes for your continued success, and trust that Easter will bring, to you and yours, long life and continued happiness. Sincerely yours, Hon. JOHN LESINSKI, House Office Building, ALFRED P. ADAMO. JANUARY 24, 1935. Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. LESINSKI: The undersigned wishes to call your atention to my case, which is openly a case of discrimination against an American citizen and the right to make a living. In 1932, I was laid off at the Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich. Since then I have tried to get rehired. However, Mr. Dumire, head of the Dearborn welfare, and Chief Carl Brooks of the police department, openly state for political reasons my record such that I can't be reemployed at the Ford Motor Co. Again, I wish to state that these men have me on a blacklist, and this list no doubt goes to other plants, as everywhere I go they call up Ford's for reference. I am turned down. In the plant my former foreman states I was a good worker and he would be glad to get me back. My welfare investigator told me that Mr. Dumire has ordered that everybody with a bad record at Ford's to be cut off the welfare. As for my record, all I've been ever guilty of is working politically for the Democratic Party. I would like to get some action regarding my case, and yet I know there are many more who are in the same position as I and are waiting for the same information. Hoping you can do something about this matter of investigating into these cases of discrimination. Yours, truly, NICK M. ROMCEVICH. WM. V. FAYETTE. PAUL KRAUSE. Mr. LESINSKI. And I have here a cost sheet sent me by Luster Dairo, of 593 Superior Boulevard, Wyandotte, Mich. (The cost sheet above referred to is as follows:) JOHN LESINSKI, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. JANUARY 8, 1935. "the DEAR SIR: The following figures will show to what a sad ending we, workers of America ", are drifting. We know our Government officials cannot do it all, but when two labor-saving devices such as these can save the company half of the wages and lay off 65 percent of the men, we know we cannot buy back our production. This will create a surplus and head us for another depression. In my opinion the manufacturers have failed to live up to the National Recovery Act. New 3-Hi mills: Old 2-Hi rough mills: $0.145 Rougher .113 .069 .069 Charger .062 Piler Piler .069 Catcher $0.596 × 75=$44.70, wages paid for average 8-hour turn of 75,000 pounds. $1.386X75=$103.95, wages paid to produce same 75,000 pounds of iron on 2-Hi mills. $103.95-$44.70=$59.25, saved in wages alone by the company on 75,000 pounds through one operation. This is over and above the profit made on the 2-Hi. The 3-Hi mill will turn out in 8 hours about the equivalent of three 2-Hi mills working 8 hours each. Therefore, only 7 men are used on this mill and 8 are laid off. $0.275×200=$55, wages for average turn of 200,000 pounds on pack shears. $108.40-$55=$53.40, saved in wages by the company in 8 hours shearing of 200,000 pounds. $0.542×200=$108.40, wages that are paid to shear 200,000 pounds on hand shears. The pack shears takes the place of about 4 hand shears, thereby taking 11 men off the job. I think we would be able to take care of ourselves, if we were given a 6-hour day, 30-hour week and the company union outlawed. This would be half the battle as it would take care of approximately half the unemployed and shortly create jobs for many more which would lessen the number at the gate daily. Under these conditions we could take care of many things too numerous to mention here. If we were not clubbed down when we try to organize we could take care of such cases as the one that happened the other day. A man cut his wrist and had five stitches put in and then was told to go back to work. He said he didn't see how he could work. Then the doctor laughed and as a joke asked the nurse to make him out a compensation check. Men are told to join the social relief association which I would say is a bastard brother of the company union. We asked the management for a government supervised election instead of their "drag-to-the-pole-and-vote company union" but were refused. When we asked the men to sign a petition for the government election, said petitions not being allowed in the plant, we found a foreman at each bank on pay day to intimidate the men. No working man can afford to remain idle for a year as George Hynes of the Great Lakes Steel Co. was forced to do. When he ws ordered back on the job by the Labor Board, the committee was told by the company that it could not be done. Refer to files of old National Labor Board for the Hynes case. I am chairman of the mill committee of Michigan, Steel Lodge No. 4 of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers of North America, but I am writing as an individual and not as an official. Yours truly, LUSTER DAIRO, 593 Superior Boulevard, Wyandotte, Mich. P. S.-Please excuse mistakes as I have been working in the sheet mill for 33 years, since I was 13 years old, and not in college. Mr. LESINSKI. I have here an editorial published February 10, 1935, in reference to the Henderson and Lubin report. This editorial was taken from one of the Detroit papers. (The editorial above referred to is as follows:) MORE MAN-HOUR FACTS NEEDED The report of Messrs. Henderson and Lubin for the National Recovery Act on labor conditions in the auto industry finds.that, due to increased technological efficiency and other factors, the number of man-hours required to produce a motor car has declined tremendously since 1929. One large manufacturer, is said, turns out a car a day for each 16 men employed, as compared to one for each 24 employes in 1930. A few days ago we took occasion to point out that, based on labor employment figures submitted to the National Recovery Act by the industry itself, it would appear that more man-hours actually were used to make a car in 1934 than 5 years ago. We should like very much to have the truth about this matter and vainly, so far, have urged a Government survey of it, not merely in the auto industry but in all industries. It seems important to us to know, with 47,000 families still on the welfare rolls in Wayne County, what the prospects for reemployment really are in this industry. It is important to the men unemployed, to Detroit, to Detroit taxpayers. As for the balance of the Henderson-Lubin report and the charges it makes regarding labor conditions in the industry, we shall defer judgment. We are convinced the industry as a whole wants to correct the matters complained of and actually is trying sincerely to do so. Moreover, we recognize that these abuses are no uniformly chargeable to all of the companies, a fact, indeed which contributes largely to the difficulty encountered by the industry in attempting to correct them. That is particularly true of the speed-up, which, where unreasonable, in effect is a form of competition at the expense of labor. The National Recovery Act, with the cooperation of the industry, has attempted to eliminate wages and hours as a factor in competition between rival manufacturers, but we know of no rule or form of agreement by which the speed-up can be checked. In this, as well as in regard to other abuses charged by the report, the public must depend on the social conscience of this industry, which has been noted for its generous treatment of labor and now, happily, is showing signs as never before of an enlightened attitude on this subject. We might add that enlightened self-interest is sometimes, as much as competition, the life of trade. Mr. LESINSKI. I am also submitting a copy of a letter received regarding the Ohio oil industry and their workmen. (The letter above referred to is as follows): E. E. Zeck, 447 Welathy Avenue, SE., Grand Rapids, Mich., worked for the Ohio Oil Co. in charge of bulk plants at Mansfield and Bucyrus. Mr. Bell was State manager and had orders to live within the code of restrictions of labor. When Bell died, R. R. Webb took his place and then my orders were to make the men sign their time slips to work 40 hours per week and receive 47 cents per hour. We were to work as long as we desired and sometimes they put in 360 hours per month. Work consisted of delivering gas and oil to the various stations. The stations work 48 hours per week, receiving $12 to $15 per week, depending on population. They were not paid for any additional hours. Mr. Laughbaum worked at Bucyrus. Mr. Callahan worked at Mansfield. Mr. LESINSKI. That concludes all the data I wish to present, Mr. Chairman. Mr. WOOD. That will conclude the hearing this afternoon. The committee will adjourn. (Whereupon, at 4 p. m., the committee adjourned.) LABOR DISPUTES ACT TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 1935 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 10 a. m., Hon. William J. Connery, Jr. (chairman), presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order. We now have under discussion H. R. 6288, "a bill to promote equality of bargaining power between employers and employees, to diminish the causes of labor disputes, to create a National Labor Relations Board, and for other purposes." And our first witness will be Mr. Francis Biddle, chairman of the National Labor Relations Board; and I suggested to Mr. Biddle that he proceed for about 15 minutes with a general statement, and then the committee will ask him questions. We have another witness that we want to hear this morning; and as the bonus bill is called up in the House this morning it will be necessary for us to adjourn promptly at 12 o'clock so that we can all be there. I would like to say at this time for the benefit of the committee that tomorrow Mr. Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, will be a witness, and then we will recess until a week from tomorrow. Then we will hear Mr. Emery of the National Manufacturers Association and then, if it is agreeable to the committee, in respect to the hearings, we will hear from Madam Perkins, the Secretary of Labor. Mr. WOOD. That is perfectly agreeable to me. STATEMENT OF FRANCIS BIDDLE, CHAIRMAN NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD Mr. BIDDLE. Chairman Connery and members of the committee, I should like to approach this bill which I carefully read and know thoroughly from three different angles. The first approach about which I will speak very briefly is the economic purpose behind the bill. That seems to me to carry out what I believe to be the economic theory, if there is one theory behind the "new deal." As you know it was expressed in the preamble of the N. I. R. A. by stating that the act was to remove obstacles to the free flow of interstate and foreign commerce; to induce and maintain united action of labor and management under adequate Government sanctions and supervision and this particularly I stress--to increase the consumption of industrial and agricultural products by increasing purchasing power. |