TELEPHONE STRIKE IN FULL SWING

Chronicle (Levin), 9 April 1947, Page 5

TELEPHONE STRIKE IN FULL SWING

PICKET LINES G'UARD MGST EXCHANGES Received Tuesday, 8.40 p.-m. WASHIN GTON, April. .8. ' No basis for the settlement of t-ke nation-wide telephone stri'ke was i-n sight this moriiing. Labour' Department officials retained the hope that a. solution miglit be found within 48 hours'-but the President of the Nationai Federation of Telephone Workers, Mr. Joseph Bejrne, said tliey had received no proposal froni the Government to settle the strike and the union had settled down for a long strike. The Governor of New Jersey, angered by the refusaf of employ-ees of the Bell Tele.plione Gompa.ny of New Jersey to return to work after the State seized, the co-rnpany's facilities, an nouneed fhat' he AvauM imanedititely' seek legislation to .put "teeth" in the new anti-strilce law. Unions affiliated with National Federation of Telephone Workers, representing 287,000 workers, are striking for a general wage inerease of 12 dol lars weekly, increased pensions, longer vacations and faster promotions. In New York, four unaffiliated unions re.prese.nting 35,000 employees of the New York Teiephone Company, demand wage increases ranging from 12 to 21 dollars weekly and otlier terms similar to the demands of the N.F.T.W. In an off-shoot of the telephone strike, 60,000 Western Electrie Company employees st-ruc-k with demands similar to the telephone strikers. Strikers formed picket lines at exchanges in most cities.. Dial services, also leased wires servin-g the Press and radio, were not interrupted and it is not expected that thev will be aft'eeted unless through equipment breakdowns caused by lack of mai-n-tenance. *. . T'he impact of the strike is heavies.t on subscribers without dial services and on iong-dista'nce callers. In an endeavour to serve their needs, superv-isors aricl other" management personnel took over as many manually o.perated -switc.h boards as possible, giving priority to ; emerg'ency calls.