Auckland Carpenter's New Union Registered

Chronicle (Levin), 27 May 1949, Page 3

Auckland Carpenter's New Union Registered

AUCKLAND, May 26. "We now exist as the Auckland Carpenters ' Union within a 56-ihile radius of Auckland," said Mr. R. J. Peter, president of the new union after a meeting of the executive tonight. Offieial word of the Tegistration of , the union had been reeeived from the Department of Labour. That registration showed that the Government recognised that the new body had freedthe most strongly held Communist union in the country. The union was Starting off afresh and had reeeived • nothing from the old union. Mr. Peter said the old body had amended its rules soine time ago so that the national union now had complete control of Auckland branch funds. The new union had about 900 members eompared with 2200 carpenters in the Auckland area, according to Department of Labour figures. Four hundred other men were still working on carpenters' jobs and would now be required to join the new union. There were 700 ' ' fence-sitters ", some of whom might have taken work in other industries or might have left the Auckland district. A further 190 carpenters were still working under contract to the old union, Mr. Peter continued. Those contracts would have no legal status ,as they would be superceded by the new carpenters' award. The executive of the union had drawn up claims and those would be submitted to a meeting of members for ratiflcation before conciliation claims were filed.