Negotiations Continue in Los Angeles Lumber Strike

No settlement has been reached in the Los Angeles lumber strike as we go to press. Negotiations are still continuing between representatives of the employers and the unions.

The lumber industry at Los Angeles Harbor was tied up Saturday, June 17, when a strike was called by the San Pedro Local 2ffi7. Lumber and Sawmill Workers lJnion, A. F. of L. and Local 235, Engineers and Carrier Operators lJnion, A. F. of L. C.I.O. longshoremen refused to pass picket lines, resulting in a shut down of lumber ship operations.

The strike spread to the retail lumber yards in the Los Angeles district Wednesday, June 21, following failure of negotiations between the employers and representatives of Los Angeles Local 2788, Lumber and Sawmill Workers IJnion, A. F. of L.

The unions demand I 40-hour week instead of the 't4hour week, prevailing under the old contracts which expired June 4, with no.decrease in pay.

About 1200 men are out at the 17 wholesale lumber plants at the Harbor, and 180o men in the retail lumber yards in the Los Angeles district. 26 of. the 28 retail lumber companies represented by the negotiating committee are affected by the strike.

Mayor Bowron of Los Angeles called a conference of employers and representatives of the unions at his office Wednesday morning, June 21, to renew negotiations in an effort to settle the strike.

Following the Mayor's conference it was stated the u,nions had withdrawn a notice it had sent to the employers to the effect that no settlement would be made in either the Harbor or Los Angeles district unless settlement was satisfactory to the other union, and the Harbor employers withdrew a compromise offer they had made of a 5 per cent wage increase in an effort to avert the strike. This put the negotiations back to the original demands of the unions.

The employers still adhered to their contention that because the Harbor area involves wholesale establishments and the Los Angeles district involves retail establishments, the situations are entirely different and it is necessary to negotiate separate contracts for the Harbor and the Los Angeles district.

Secretary-Manag'er Kenneth Smith of the Lumber and Allied Products Institute, Los Angeles, issued a public statement on June 21 explaining the employers' position, in which he said in part:

"The public should realize that two distinct controversies are being faced by the lumber industry, they involve two sets of employers and three different union organizations.

"If the members of the uptown union, Local 2788, f.ail to start work in Los Angeles retail yards Wednesday morning they will be taking this action because the retail employers uptown refuse to make negotiations of a new agree- ment with their own workers contingent on the wholesale owners and lumber handlers at the water front reaching a satisfactory agreement with two groups, harbor union, Local 2@7, and harbor engineers, Local 235, whose members have refused to work lumber ships and harbor yards since last Saturday.

"Harbor employers were trying to reach agreement on their fifth successive contract with No. 235 and No. 2ffi7 when the walkout there occurred. Refusal of the uptown union, Local 2788, to bargain collectively uptown without strings attached to the harbor situation ended the effort to reach an agreement on the third contract between uptown employers and the uptown local.

"At no time in the past have these two groups of employers and unions bargained collectively for a joint agreement.

"So completely different are the two operations, at the harbor and uptown, and so widely divergent are the ownerships, that the two employer groups must stand on independent bargaining with the different unions if they are to stay in business.

"This is indicated clearly by the fact that the 17 harbor employers offered a 5 per cent wage increase and a 4G hour week, to run from Monday to Saturday noon, as a compromise to the union demand for a l4l per cent wage i.ncrease and a 4o-hour week to run from Monday to Fridaf in an efiort to prevent a tie-up.

"This compromise never was referred to the union membership for acceptance or rejection and the walkout occurred before the employer group could act on the union's refusal.

"Now, in uptown Los Angeles, owners of retail yards meeting on numerous occasions with union representatives offered a continuation of the expiring contract, carrying a minimum 65-cent wage and 44-hour week, without change to 4Ghour week demanded by the union.

"Employers took this position because economic conditions would not make possible concessions in either decreasing hours or increasing wages. While small home construction is at a high peak and building permits have been better than in the past few years, heavy construction today is at a standstill locally and the volume of business through uptown retail yards is down.

"\Mith all these differences in ownership, type of business and personnel involved, the uptown employers received an ultimatum from the unions stating:

" 'By this means we wish to inform you that no agreement will be acceptable to any one of the above-mentioned organizations, Locals 2ffi7, 2788 and 235, unless a satisfactory agreement has been reached with each of the others.'

"Because of this uptown employers take the position that Local 2788 no longer has the ,power to bargain collectively for uptown employees. It is obvious that it would be fruitless to continue to bargain with Local 2788 when the final agreement must be contingent on Locals 2&7 and 235 at the harbor entering into agreement with different employers.

"The situation is the same as if the employers refused to enter into an agreement unless other employers entered into other agreements with other employers-all satisfactory to the first group. Such a situation could not be termed p willingness to bargain or negotiate in good faith.

"lJptown employers have spent much time with union agents and in negotiations on the representation that Local 2788 is the proper bargaining unit for our employees.

"'We stand ready at all times to bargain with this agency but must have its assurance that it has the power to consummate these negotiations with a contract; and such powir must not be contingent on a satisfactory contract being entered into between another locai and different employers in a different place and dealing with an entirely different branch of the industry."

Further conferences were held Thursday, June 22, in the office of United States Conciliation Commissioner Lyman N. Sisley in the Federal Building. One was between Harbor district employers and representatives of Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union 26O7 in the morning. The other was between Los Angeles district retail yard employers and the same unions Los Angeles Local 2788.

A compromise proposal made by the employers of the Harbor district was turned down by the San Pedro union. Of this compromise rejection, J. A. Privett, spokesman for the Harbor employers, made a public statement on June 27 in which he said:

"The public should have a clear understanding of what the union has rejected from us.

"In the face of the poorest economic conditions and future prospects that the i.ndustry has encountered within a number of years, the employers made the following compromise ofier and they are at a loss to understand its rejection.

"Einployers offered to meet the request of the union to reduce the work week to 4O hours, Monday-Friday, and pay time and one-half for work done on Saturdays, Sundays or in excess of eight hours on any work day.

"They offered also to raise the present minimum wage of 65 cents an hour to 7O; to raise the present 67/2 rate to 72, an increase of.7.7 per cent and 6.6 per cent respectively; and to raise all other classifications carrying a higher rate 5 per cent, rvhich would bring the highest present rate of $r.l2Y2 to $1.18.

"This represents an offer to increase the straight tirne payroll by more than 6 per cent and this will not represent the total expense to employers because of the overtime which it would be necessary to pay when working boats on Saturday."

Following a conference on June 27, Federal Conciliation Commissioner Sisley said that further conferences will be held when another proposed contract is drafted by the employers of the Harbor yards. No date was set for the meeting.

Meanwhile, another meeting between representatives of the striking workers in the Los Angeles retail yards and employers was held the afternoon ol June 27.