Tom Girdler Signs

Cried Republic Steel's Tom Girdler: "I'll go back to the farm and dig potatoes before I sign with the C.I.O." That was in 1937, during the "Little Steel" strike. Last week, like Bethlehem Steel and Henry Ford before him, Girdler signed.

The agreement, evidence to the New Deal of Tom Girdler's eagerness to get ahead with national defense, is a formal recognition of collective bargaining procedure, in effect at most of Republic's plants for the last two years. It requires Republic to dispense with elections, accept a certificate by the National Labor Relations Board that C.I.O. has a majority in eleven of the company's 15 plants, including South Chicago. Certificate will be issued after an NLRB check of payrolls against union membership. Other provisions: 1) S.W.O.C. may petition for certification in other plants; 2) workers fired after the strike will receive back pay and vacation money, less any money earned elsewhere; 3) all company unions at Republic's Buffalo plant will be "disestablished."

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