Hopes Fade For Settlement Of Coal And Steel Disputes

Chronicle (Levin), 1 October 1949, Page 5

Hopes Fade For Settlement Of Coal And Steel Disputes

(N.Z.P.A,

—Reuter.

Copyright)

Eeceived Friday, 7 p.m. NEW YORK, September 29. The United States industrial outlook darkened today awhen with over lialf a million coalminers still striking hopes faded for a settiement of the steel industry dispute. Fresh violence occurred in some eoalfields and the bnffalo plant of the Bell Aircraft Company where the poliee threw teargas bombs from a helieopter to rout the piekets battling with nonstrikers. At Dalles (Oregon) the State poliee with rifles and fixed bayonets stood by to prevent a repetition of yesterday's attack by longshoremeu on nonumon labourers. Federal Government mediators in "Washington admitted unofficially that the chances of the steel companies and Steelworkers' Union reaching an agreement had grown slimmer.

All mediation efforts this morning failed and the Steelworkers' Union headquarters in Pittsburgh is preparing telegrams giving final strike instructions for transmission to local branches. Several steel companies began banking their furnaees preparatt.ry to closing the mills as the strike deadline of midnight tomorrow approaelied. The violence reported in the coal strike grew out of efforts by some nonunion miners to work nnder an armed guard. A dynamite explosion seriously damaged snrface equipment at a mine near Pittsburgh after a striking miner had been arrested on the mine ptoperty. A two-hour gun battle occurred near a small opencast mine in Alabama and a unionist vvas critically injured. There appeared no likelihood of the miners returning to the pits taken over by the State Governor under an emergencv declaration. An official spokesman in the State capital, Eiehmond, said the Governor would trv to operate only nonunion opencast mines im&er poliee protection. There were two mild clashes at the Bell aircraft plant at Buffalo as nonstrikers sought to pass the picket line established by women. Twenty-five poliee, an undetermined nuinber oe unionists and nonstrikers were hurt in the clashes. A helieopter was ordered into the i'ray during the second clash and the bombardment of teargas bombs from it, added to the ground barrage of smoke bombs thrown by the poliee, ended the clash in ten minutes. Both clashes occurred when nonstrikers arrived in motor convoys. The first began when women piekets attaeked the nonstrikers with stieks whereon plaeards were mounted and the men strikers quickly jumped into aetion with fists, sticks and stones. One hundred club-swing-

ing poliee raced into the battle' and drove the attackers back from the plant 's gates. The second clash occurred a few minutes later when a second convoy arrived accompanied by poliee reinforcements. As soon as the strikers renewed their attack the poliee unloosed the teargas and smokebomb barrage for the first time in the sixteen-weeks-old strike. Twenty strikers, kicluding some women, were arrested. Today 's clashes followed the company's refusal to resumc collective bargaining as requested by Federal mediation officials. A ten cents hourly wage increase plus pensions are the union 's rnain elaims.