U.S. MINERS’ STRIKE FOR PENSIONS RESULTS IN COMPROMISE

Grey River Argus, 14 April 1948, Page 3

U.S. MINERS’ STRIKE FOR PENSIONS RESULTS IN COMPROMISE

LEADER TO BE TRIED FOR ALLEGED STRIKE CALL WASHINGTON, April 12. Mr John L. Lewis, president of the United Mineworkers, to-day called off the soft-coal miners’ strike for pensions, stating there has been a settlement which provides for pensions of 100 dollars monthly for miners aged 62 or older with 20 years’ experience and who retired after May 28, 1946. The settlement was reached at a meeting of the Miners’ Pension Fund Trustees about an hour before Mr Lewis was due to appear in the Federal Court on contempt charges. The settlement is a compromise on Mr Lewis’s demand for 100 dollars monthly for miners aged 60 with 20 years’ service. The settlement was reached by a two to one vote. The operators’ representative voted against it. The compromise was made outside the framework of the Taft-Hartley La bour Law, which was originally framed to prevent mass strikes, particularly by the miners. The United Mineworkers’ district leaders in Pittsburgh have ordered members to resume work to-morrow These orders affect 91,000 miners in Central and West Pennsylvania. The owners in West Pennsylvania reported that some mines began operating this afternoon and more were expected to resume with the night shift. It was expected that production to-morrow would he about 40 per cent, of normal. The nits in Kansas and West Missouri are also reported to be working. Some union districts would prefer to await a decision in the contempt case against Mr Lewis before resuming. It seems likely that they will ignore Mr Levis’s “recommendation” that they return to work. The strike is estimated to have idled 600.000 workers in mining and allied industries. It reduced steel production to 22 per cent, below capacity, and perhaps cost the nation 215.000 new cars and trucks. The miners are estimated to have lost 27,000,000 dollars in wages in the four weeks walk-out. The coal production loss was about 40.000,000 Lons. ,LEWIS TO BE PUT ON TRIAL Mr Lewis has been sent for trial on a charge of contempt of the Federal Court, "in that he ordered the strike. Mr Lewis has insisted that he never called Ihe slrike, but merely notified the miners t hat the operators bad dishonoured their contract with tlie union. . , , r In keening with lus argument. Mr Lewis to-day technically did not call off the strike as .such, but simply advised the miners that, their contraci “is now honoured”. When the Federal Court sat to-day. Mr Lewis did not appear, but his lawyers were present. The assistant Attorney-General, Mr Graham Morrison, who was in the courtroom when the strike settlement was communicated to him, told reporters that the Government intended to' press the contempt charge. Federal Judge Alan Goldsbprough, who fined Lewis for contempt in 194 r, ordered him to stand trial on April 14, on the contempt charge. After hearing argument from tne Government and Lewis’s counsel, Judge Goldsborough ruled that the settlement of the pension disoute had not cleared Lewis of the contempt charge. . ... It is thought that many miners will await the outcome of Lewis’s trial before resuming.

Australian Coal Board’s Action Against Strikes SYDNEY, April 13. There has been a decision by the Joint Coal Board that it will no longer act to settle disputes while miners are on strike. The decision has been accepted as a challenge by Mr. I. Williams. General President of the Miners’ Federation. The Board will gazette orders on Thursday prohibiting any officer of the Board from taking part in any conference on an existing strike and prohibiting mine managers from blowing the "no work” whistle for any cause without permission of the Board's representative. These decisions are part, of the Board’s plans against petty stoppages. It intends also to set up pit-top conciliation committees. The General Executive of ihc Miners’ Federation strongly attacked an application by the Board to the Coal Industry Tribunal for the tightening up of holiday pay conditions in Ihe miners’ award and threatens “industrial action” if the Board persists.