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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 12, 1955)
MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUKB KLEVB3I iteslwortcere: Union IJJay Open Negotiations for Guaranteed Annual Uage Thupidtr. Mir ItSS Union Doesn't Want To Renew Long Term Auto Industry Pacts Detroit U.R) The auto in dustry and the CIO United Auto Workers, knee-deep in negotia tions for new labor contracts, agree on one thing: The five year contracts signed in 1950 worked out fine for everyone concerned. The industry enjoyed un interrupted production. The workers lost little time from strikes. Most of them averaged better than 40 hours of work a week. Their pay envelopes grew fatter from automatic cost-of-living increases. Now, as the 1950 contracts are about to expire, the industry would like to negotiate similar long term agreements. , But the union doesn't want them. It would like the new con tracts to run for one year, or at the most for two years. This is one of the major areas of disagreement in the negotia tions now under way between the union and the auto pro ducers. How firm either side intends to stand remains to be seen. UAW President Walter Reu ther admits the union made a wise decision in signing five year contracts in 1950. The union made steady advances under the contracts. Through the c o s t-of-living formula and the automatic "im provement factor" increases, auto workers got pay boosts totaling 44 cents an hour during the period. At General Motors, which turned out half the nation's cars 200 Eighth Graders Visit Crater High Central Point About 200 eighth graders from School Dis trict 6 and four elementary dis triets toured Crater High school yesterday afternoon during the annual Eighth Grade visitation day. Students from elementary schools in Central Point, Gold Hill and Sams Valley, and from Howard, Lone Pine, West Side and Oak Grove elementary school districts toured the build ing after a short program. '" in the five years, the workers lost an average of only 33 min utes per man each year because of work stoppages. In 1954, only three minutes per man were lost. For the industry, sales and production boomed between 1950 and 1955 and the auto com- Youth Legislature Delegates Leave Four Medf ord delegates to the annual Youth Legislature at Sa lem left here by car this morn ing for the three-day session at the State Capitol. They were accompanied by Bob Jones, secretary of the Med ford YMCA. The youth govern ment program is for delegates from Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y clubs throughout Oregon, who prepare bills for introduction to the mod el legislative session, and follow them through the same pro cedures used by the real legisla ture. Medf ord delegates include Charles Langston, reporter for the group; Larry Tolle, sergeant at arms, and Pat Johnston and Johnny Vale. The group will return Satur day evening. Lowell Edwards (few Crater Lions Leader Lowell Edwards was elected president of the Crater Lions club at a recent election, it was announced today. He and other new officers will be installed at a meeting at Tally Ho inn in June. . Also elected were Dan Dwyer, Paul Shaffer and Marvin Hart, vice-president; Jim Armson, sec retary; Jack McCray, treasurer; Cliff Ouellette, tail twister; Lee Mmkler, lion tamer, and Dr. Jack Ingram and Lon Skinner, directors. Lloyd Evans is immediate past president of the club, and served as chairman of the election com mittee. " panies experienced their great est expansion in history. Gen eral Motors, for example, re ported it had created 141,000 new jobs during the period de spite a decline in defense jobs the last two years. The manufacturers have left no doubt they would like to sign five year contracts with the UAW again. GM President Har low H. Curtice said recently: "When it was signed in 1950, it was the hope of both, parties that this agreement and the ad ministration of it in good faith would bring about an era of in dustrial peace; that it would mean stable jobs with good pay; uninterrupted and high volume production, and would, in short, be beneficial to the employees, the shareholders, the suppliers, the customer and management. Fulfilled Promise "That it" has fulfilled the promise held for it is now a mat ter of record." The union doesn't dispute this, but doesn't want any new long term contracts. Why? Reuther said the five-year agreements wouldn't be a good buy for unions at this time. Be- ca use of automation, the rapid shifting of job classifications and other-factors, a union would be unwise to tie itself to more than a one or two year contract, he said. Despite Reuther's stand, there could be a compromise, The union wants a guaranteed an nual wage plan even more than it wants a shorter contract. There is a possibility the com panies might yield a guaranteed annual wage in return for another guarantee of five years of labor peace. Right now, how ever, this is only speculation. ROUGH RIDE Miami ' Beach U.R) Stafford L. Perpall, bank messenger for the Saks Fifth Avenue branch store, told police the worst part of being held up for $6,000 was the ride three robbers forced him to take in his own truck. "They stuck a gun in the back of my neck," Perpall, 37, said. "One sat on me and every time we hit a bump I was jabbed by the gun. Low in calories ... , -"CliV helps keep my jC g -waistline slim! Doesn't spoil J? .... Sca-lla iofflooiig (Do. 600 N. Grape o Medf ord Phone 2-2339 Industry's Biggest Pay Hike Demand Being Considered Pittsburgh 4U.R) Possibly the highest wage demand ever made in the history of the CIO United Steelworkers today faced the nation's basic steel industries. The industry, currently oper ating at near capacity, was asked to grant a "substantial" wage in crease for some 600,000 basic steel workers represented by the USW now earning an average $2.23 an hour. The industry was also asked to give earliest pos sible consideration to a guaran teed annual wage. Indicates Wage Demands USW President David J. Mc Donald indicated demands adopt ed by the union's wage-policy committee here Wednesday may exceed 18V4 cents an hour. "In the' past we've gotten in creases of 18V4 cents an hour (in 1946) and 16 cents an hour," Mc Donald said, "but I don't say that is a substantial figure as of to day." The powerful policy group's demands paved the way for nego tiations with the steelmakers producers, headed by U. S. Steel Corp., traditional industry pace setter, are currently operating at 96.7 per cent of practical ca pacity. McDonald said he will serve as chairman of a union nego tiating committee for all of the "Big Six," which in addition to U.S. Steel includes Bethlehem, Republic, Jones & Laughlin, In land Steel and Youngstown Sheet & Tube. "We will definitely press' for settlement with all six companies at the ' same time," McDonald said. ' The 'steelworker chief said he hopes "to have agreements writ ten before the June 30 deadline." The USW will be free to strike after that date if its wage de mands are not met. Guaranteed Annual Wage While present basic steel in dustry contracts with the, union allow discussion only on wage rates in this year's negotiations, McDonald said wherever per mitted the union "definitely" will demand a guaranteed annual wage. A number of fabricating steel companies whose contracts ex pire this summer do not have such a ban on demands outside wages. The USW ' represents an other 600,000 workers in the fab ricating industry. : In adopting its undisclosed wage demand, the 170-man wage policy committee said the "eco nomic needs of the members of the USW, their increasing pro ductivity, the prosperous state of the industry, and the economic situation of the country as a whole" require the basic steel industry to give "favorable con sideration" to the request ' Child Guidance Group To Meet The second annual meeting of the Southern Oregon Child Guid ance Clinic association will be held at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 16, in St. Mark's church guild hall, Fifth st. and Oakdale ave. All members of the association, many of whom joined during the recent membership drive, are invited to attend. The speaker will be Mrs. John Hills Gubser, assistant superin tendent of the state department of education, whose topic will be "An Ounce of Prevention." Her talk will be at 8:30 p.m., follow ing a social and business meeting. Officers and directors of the as sociation which is organized to operate the Child Guidance Clin ic here, will be named. Dessert will be served at the beginning of the meeting, and music will be furnished by the Ashland High school orchestra. No admission will be charged, but a collection will be made to defray expenses of the refreshments. Total U.S. milk production for the calendar year 1955 :will probably equal that of 1954, the U.S.D.A. has reported. " ; Jackson County Men Qualify as Engineers Six Jackson county men have received certificates for practice of professional engineering, it has been announced by the state board of engineering examiners. There were 101 certificates . is sued this week by the board in Portland. . , Medf ord men are William War ren Brawn, Elwood Brewster Hedberg, Robert F; Scherzinger and Robert Mathias Smith. Dale Cobleigh,. Phoenix, and Allen A. Akin, , Ashland, also received their certificates. The certificates were issued after the men succesfully passed the state engineering examina tion. - Colored Pictures Of China Slated Colored pictures of South Chi na and Hong Kong will be shown tonight at the Medford Assembly of God, 1108 West Main St., by the Rev. and Mrs. Harland Park who have served as missionaries in China for more than 24 years. The service will begin at 7:45 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Park expect to return to Hong Kong early in June after having been in the States for. a year on furlough. For nine years Mr. Park served as superintendent of the South China field for the Foreign Mis sions Department of the Assem blies of God. The public is Invited to attend the service. Margaret's Romance Back on Front Pages London KU.R) A statement by the Queen's chaplain that he was "not very happy" about the Church of England attitude to ward divorce brought Princess Margaret's reported romance back to the front pages today. The tabloid Daily Mirror re ported the statement by the Rev. Charles Earle Raven under a front-page banner headline. Next to it was a picture of Princess Margaret as she appeared at a folk dance festival Wednesday night. : " Reports of Margaret's rumor ed romance with RAF Group Capt. Peter Townsend, a divorc ed man, have periodically made the British front pages for the past two years. . The Church of England doesi not recognize the remarriage of divorced persons and the juxta position . of Raven's statement and the princess' picture revived all the Tumors. ' TOUGH CODGER Bronte, Ont. (U.R) -Alfred Wright, 100 years old today, re called that during his "pretty good life" $ he ; ' smoked,, drank JAIL BREAK Columbus,' Miss. U.R) The next time a jail break is reported in Columbus, authorities are going to ask, "Which way?" Sheriff C. E. Farmer said Harry Burjis and Lewis Montgomery, after escaping the county jail, broke ito the city jail to free their suspected accomplice and fled after almost succeeding. Ther4 are 64 mountain peaks in the United States 14,000 or more feet above sea level. NO FALSIES ALLOWED Washington U.R)-- "Falsies" won't be allowed in this year's Miss Washington contest. Radio station WWDC, the contest's sponsor, said "current styling of swim suits is so graceful that the insertion of extra padding would detract rather than add to the overall picture." Dtad Ilu for Sunday Classified ia at noon Saturday. Buying MILK Today? Rtach for . GILLIAN'S SchUling Golden Wfest the coffees with that special Western avor: Enjoy the pleasant company of really good coffee. Jack and Mollie Young Proprietors 842 SISKIYOU BOULEVARD - PHONE 7041 Open 8 A.M. to 8 P.M. - Seven Days a Week WE GIVE A SIMULA MID) iTMC U UU VI I Imumc HEADQUARTERS FOR llll - PLUS - complete; beer & WINE selection nE PAPER E NAPKINS Ideal for Picnics 10 Plcgs. $noo SWANSON'S OLEO Healthful-Economical i100 5 lbs. for . U Chefs Frozen Chicken IPDES floo 4 for ... . Standby Strawberry Preserves 12 0x.Sixe 4 for r . . . . , Birdseye Frozen Strawberries tri aa Delicious- $1 W U 4 for Bananas Golden. Ripe 7 Pounds for ... n 00 Carrots Tender.- Crisp 3 bunches fori . . . . 7 Snobby Golden Juicy 5 lb. cello bag Oranges Open 8:00 td 8:007 Days Week GRADE A CHUCK Beef Roasts lb. 45' LEAN PODK STEAK ... lb. 45c YOUNG, TENDER PAN READY FRYERS lb. 5Cc GRADE A BEEF v RIB STEAKS .... lb. 4Sc FRESH LEAN ALL MEAT : GROUND DEEP . ,3-lbs. S1.Q0 Custom Work Call 2-6466 'Killing jf Cutting . -Wrapping Curing Also . . . QUICK FREEZING Weekend Specials at The Ashland Mm O f(0 Meat Market 842 Siskiyou. Bttukvard - Al Alhanu and cussed as much as anyone."
