EXTENSIVE PICKETING

Chronicle (Levin), 29 March 1949, Page 5

EXTENSIVE PICKETING

Press Association)

Union's All-out Bid To Stop Carpenters Working

(Per

AFQKtAiN-P) Mai-ch ^8, The- (Jarpmitots ' umua leacjlert made an aii-out drive from eam> tnis m.orning tq prevent tne carpenters and joiners from startmg m g work after neariy sjx vveeks: absence. Many pf thein went back tq their ^pbs f ollowing the master ouilders) vyeekend. aunouncemeat that they would be - re-engagea. 3ome stayed pn, bpt others. weri persuaded by ' pickptprs o anu sirokesmen to go home. The union eanrpaign s.preac •rom the city assenibly points fot workers' transpprt to factories and housing coristruction jqbs. The police were called to the \Ves ; Ley fcstate hnusiug block at Qwai raka where a demonstratioi. against one firrn was staged by 20 unionists. An aeeurate estimate of tlu number of carpenters who return ed to work was not possible to.light, The smaller builders i ported attendances of up to 75 and 100 per cent, but eomparatively small numbers reported at the big eontractors5- jobs. Dozens of carpenters, however, telephoned their former employers and tqld them that they would stara work after the mass meeting in ' Carlaw Park tomorravv. It was not expected that the' carpenters would return to work m large numbers. today. Many of the 1600 unionists found temporary work after their dismissal on February 17, and most of them would have tu give a week Y: notice to their present employers, and the announcement that their union had been deregistered and that former employers were prepared to re-engage them was made only last Saturday. Pickets succeeded in keeping about 20 joiners away from the factory of one fimn today. They waited in the str'eet for them. at about 7.30 a.m,. Spveral of th| joiners expressed • disapp.ro val^ of :the pifcketing" tactics, "but - kai cl they had no aiterriative but to. re| turn hqme. Five 'jpinefs lstartec| work at the Morningside Timber Company's faefory, but they were not there for lbng. Two unioii rep.resentatives-#Atered the factory after gettiug permission fro.m ' •' T^e'Toremarii- r-'Th ey told the meii to stop work "and the joineri. agreed. Twelve union joiners usually work at the factory and the other seven were expected to start tomorrow. Three union representatives at] tempted to enter a city jqinery factory during the morning to speak to. a few unionists who hacl resumed work, but they were refused permission by the management and left.