Mr. Green's Inning

Something very like a major crisis, political and financial, loomed before John L. Lewis' three-year-old C.I.O. last week.

In Milwaukee, a regional meeting of representatives of 46,000 United Automobile Workers loyal to embattled President Homer Martin condemned Leader Lewis' proposed intervention in their troubled union affairs, voted to suspend their 5-c- monthly dues to C.I.O.--a move highly ominous if Homer Martin succeeds in retaining control of his 400,000-member union. Having lavished on steel and textile organization and on politics a great part of the reserve funds of his own United Mine Workers (the unsuccessful attempt to nominate U.M.W. Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Kennedy for Governor of Pennsylvania cost C.I.O. and U.M.W. a whacking $503,000), Mr. Lewis is confronted by the fact that President David Dubinsky of the International Ladies' Garment Workers, C.I.O.'s best-heeled union, has threatened to walk out unless his attempts to conciliate C.I.O. and A.F.of L. succeed. All this was calculated to put grey streaks in Miner Lewis' big black thatch and to create jubilation in the heart of his onetime colleague, Miner William Green.

"The thing that we knew would happen is happening," crowed Laborman Green, meeting with other A.F.of L. bigwigs in executive session in Atlantic City to prepare for the Federation's convention in Houston next month. Since the breakdown of C.I.O.-A.F. of L. peace negotiations last winter, William Green has rapidly gained confidence, and last week he was feeling sure of himself. After a parley with three of Mr. Dubinsky's vice presidents who set out to extend another feeler to Mr. Lewis in Washington, Mr. Green announced that the next peace move would have to come from C.I.O., that in the meantime A.F. of L. would be glad to take disillusioned C.I.O. unions back into the fold, whole or piecemeal.

To show that he meant business, Mr. Green described the progress of A.F. of L.'s new International Maritime Federation, "the biggest effort we have ever made in the maritime industry." A double wedge to pit Harry Lundeberg's dissident Sailors' Union of the Pacific against C.I.O.'s West Coast longshoremen and A.F. of L.'s Atlantic longshoremen against C.I.O.'s National Maritime Union in the east, the Federation, said Mr. Green, was starting with 25,000 members, aiming at 500,000.

During this busy week Mr. Green was sought out by the "John L. Lewis of France," Leon Jouhaux of the potbelly and off-centre goatee, whose aggressive political unions are a great concern of Premier Edouard Daladier. M. Jouhaux, en route to an international labor conference called by the "John L. Lewis of Mexico," big-eared Vicente Lombardo Toledano, made a pilgrimage to Atlantic City to discuss with Mr. Green (who is boycotting the Mexico City conference as "communistic") the problems of Labor in relation to world peace and war. Not mentioned was the John L. Lewis of the U. S.

In William Green's eyes, the main obstacle to his resuming his position as the topdog of U. S. Labor is the superior favor enjoyed by his enemy with the present President of the U. S. In spite of a long telegram which Mr. Green sent to Hyde Park outlining the A. F. of L.'s objections to the reappointment of Donald Wakefield Smith to the National Labor Relations Board, the President promptly did as he was requested not to do. Mr. Green was able to announce, however, that the President agreed with him in principle that the Wagner Act should be amended by the next Congress, without endorsing any of A. F. of L.'s specific proposed amendments. These include: 1) separating the administrative and judicial functions of NLRB; 2) protecting the right of any group, however small, to bargain on a craft basis; and 3) permitting an employer to advise his employes regarding the choice between two "legitimate" unions.

A blow to Mr. Green, however, was the news at week's end that United Mine Workers had signed contracts with 22 of the Harlan County, Ky. coal operators many of whom had been scheduled to stand trial for violating the Wagner Act. Mr. Green, who has been trying to sign up the operators with his rival Progressive Miners of America, charged that the quid pro quo was a "brazen and unlawful" deal arranged by Mr. Lewis under which NLRB would withdraw its charges against the operators, the Department of Justice would quash its criminal indictments. This was promptly denied by U. M. W., NLRB, and the Department of Justice.

Growled John Lewis: "Green's statement is characteristic of "what might be expected from any traitorous renegade."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.