spring and wire industry
Richard Frankensteen addresses the workers of Murray Body Co. during
their 1937 sit-down strike Detroit, Michigan.
from 1930s phantasms from the right: how to make up stories with numbers
Members of the Local 2
Committee were: Brother Hall from Spring & Wire; Brother McDonnell
from Stamping; Brothers Sanders and McWilliams from Trim; Brother Smith
from Frame (Ecorse plant); and Brother Manini, Vice President.
BROTHER MANINI: Last week we were confronted by the
management
of
the Murray Corporation,
which included the President of the
organization. It was the first time that he had ever met with
the
union, as all previous negotiations were done with the manufacturing
manager, Mr. Earl; and the Industrial Relations Manager, and so forth,
but this time the half-owner of the corporation, Mr. Whitman, was
there, and Mr. Avery, and presented us with a problem that is the most
serious problem that has ever confronted us, even in the time when we
first had our strike.
Now, the problem that he presented us with is the fact that we have entirely lost all of our business unless there is a future change in the policy of receiving pay.
In other words, a suggestion was made that we take a wage cut and an increase in our efficiency or possibly an incentive plan.
Now, the incentive plan that he proposed to us was to take a base rate of twenty-five per cent less than our standard rate at the present time and in the event that we increased our efficiency ahd showed a good incentive we could bring ourselves to our present rate, which would be no wage cut, only that we would keep them from losing their business on the prices that are quoted elsewhere.
Now, our competitors in the frame industry are A. O. Smith of Milwaukee and Budd Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, and their rate(s) I understand are considerably below ours. In bodies Briggs used to be our competitor but at the present time we understand that Briggs is practically going to do all of Chrysler's work and no Ford work, and that the Ford Motor Company is filling out this new stamping with the body businessand naturally their rates are anywhere from fifteen to twenty per cent below ours. So, of course, Ford wouldn't send his work out to us if they can build bodies cheaper than we can.
Now, the problem that he presented us with is the fact that we have entirely lost all of our business unless there is a future change in the policy of receiving pay.
In other words, a suggestion was made that we take a wage cut and an increase in our efficiency or possibly an incentive plan.
Now, the incentive plan that he proposed to us was to take a base rate of twenty-five per cent less than our standard rate at the present time and in the event that we increased our efficiency ahd showed a good incentive we could bring ourselves to our present rate, which would be no wage cut, only that we would keep them from losing their business on the prices that are quoted elsewhere.
Now, our competitors in the frame industry are A. O. Smith of Milwaukee and Budd Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, and their rate(s) I understand are considerably below ours. In bodies Briggs used to be our competitor but at the present time we understand that Briggs is practically going to do all of Chrysler's work and no Ford work, and that the Ford Motor Company is filling out this new stamping with the body businessand naturally their rates are anywhere from fifteen to twenty per cent below ours. So, of course, Ford wouldn't send his work out to us if they can build bodies cheaper than we can.
L.A. Young (n=2400), Region 1
We are confronted with this situation immediately because it has got to be done in the next thirty days because that is when prices are going to be quoted on these jobs and we have not got a single job for 1940, and we don't like to accept a wage cut in the first place.
In other words, we don't know whether the company is serious in their proposal and that is why we have come up here, because we figured that you felllows are broader to a situation like that, and have more experience. We figured that it was too big a job for us to handle. What we would like for you people to do is to set up a committee of one or two to come with us in the negotiations with the management.
They said they would be perfectly willing to meet with any of you people. That they would be perfectly willing to meet with Mr. Murray, or Mr. Hillman if necessary. That they would, if need be, lay their books open to them and let them decide what they would do about this thing.
I would be more than happy if you peole would start the ball rolling by setting up a committee, in the event tht you people thought it was too big even for you to handle then you could refer it to the CIO. I think that you people more than likely can take care of it yourselves without bothering the bigger people. I would like to close with that and in the even(t) that I have left out anything I can call on my fellow committeemen.
I also have a statement of the financial standing of the corporation and the loss they had last year, but all corporations of any size have lost money last year. That is, anyway, they did not make any amount of profit, or the amount of profit that they had in the previous years. That is not the argument that I want to use that these fellows lost money. The argument that I want to use is that competition is so keen, not on the basis of efficency but on the basis of wage rates, and I think it is unfair competition.
pp. 1-2
CHAIRMAN THOMAS: Are there any remarks?
BROTHER SMITH: I would like to talk on this frame situation. In Milwaukee you have A.O. Smith under the AF of L as one of our competitors, we are not worrying about them; but Midland Steel of Cleveland, when I was in Cleveland as a delegate I fould out they they are paying seventy-five cents on the line, and eighty cents in the die room. We are paying eighty cents to a dollare and thirty cents in the die room.
Now, Budd Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia I fould out when I was in Cleveland that they are not even organized. Their average wagge is 74 cents and ours is 94.85 cents. The Parish Manufacturing Company we don't know anything about.
The next one we don't know about is Fords, we don't know about that.
Then we come to City Stamping. They took a job away from us. They tell me that they are paying eighty-five and ninety cents an hour.
BROTHER REUTHER: Then, Youngstown Steel Car Co. that is another competitor. I want to leave this with the chairman if you possibly can notify us find out what these rates are because we don't want to go down unless we know it is true. Wedon't want to take a cut.
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: We have had quite some arguments amongst ourselves after the proposal was made to us in regards to this incentive system of wage cuts, which is really what it means.
In our Executive Board meeting we were taking it up and we saw that we would probably get involved with the International and we are now here today to lay this case before you fellows because we know that we can't take any action over there that is not okayed by you people here.
Furthermore, as Brother Smith stated, you know more about this thing than we do and we are very young in the labor movement and although we we have got hellish good intentions they probably can fool us a hell of a lot easier than they can you fellows. Therefore, I would like to make a plea that one or two or possibly all of you can sit in there and listen to the same story that we have heard.
BROTHER HALL: I would like to say a few words for the spring industry. The management of the company called my shop committee in one day last week and wanted to know what we thought would be a fair rate of efficiency for the next year. He showed us what we had run this last month, this current month I should say, and all our departments had run anywhere, one department at eighty-eight per cent for one day but outside of that they had run from eighty to ninety-eight--98.7 per cent. That was up to last Thursday for the entire month.
He explained to us that they work an eight[ty] per cent basis as well, if we are making 93 that is really 100. He wanted to know if we could give him a fair idea of what we would run next year so they could go out and bid on those jobs according to that. So we got together and we thought it over and talked it over and we figured that we could give them on the rate of what they had been getting, we could assure them of 95 per cent, which I think was fair, bcause they had been running around 95 on an average for the whole shop.
But what we are up against is that McInerney [Spring & Wire also in Passaic N. J.] in Grand Rapids [photo 1 and photo2] is paying ladies 31 cents and men 41 cents. We pay ladies 70 cents and men anywhere from 85 cents to $1.05. So, you see that it is quite a difference. McInerney today is working six days a week three shifts and we are having an awful time working one shift and a half and it is going down every day. Outside from that we have Audry (?) and they are cutting in on us.
We have Great Lakes in Chicago, and we have one down in New Jersey. They can get that stuff made down there and shipped in to Detroit cheaper than we can make it on account of their wage scale.
What we would like to get at is to get McInerney and these places right around the east do not bother because the are quite a[ ]way away. If we could get these places in Michigan organized so that they can, so that they will have to pay a rate of wages as we do, we figure we could get somewhere with it. It would be fair competition. We would like, if possible, to get those organized as soon as we can. pp. 3-4
BROTHER KRAMER: Yes.
BROTHER MANINI: They have one plant where they pay a fairly good rate but when business goes down there they underbid the other tool and die shops, regardless of price, then they go to the people and say, "We can get this job providing you make a certain cut." I understand they underbid they underbid us $25,000 on a die program. I think on that program we figured they bid $72,000.
BROTHER KRAMER: I want to mention one thing for the benefit of the committee, City Auto Stamping at present is a Martin shop. They do go in here quite some time ago and take a five-cent an hour cut but that was voted on by the members of that particular department and two days ago when I was out to the management prepresenting our faction in the shop I asked the management if they have anything aanywhere as to a supplementary agreement where the price reduction was put into effectand where it was voted and accepted by the body and they said, "No, the committee oif these particular die makers have accepted that." I said, "Of course, you understand that that may be in effect now but I feel that when this situation is settled that you had better figure right no on that five cents an hour that you have taken, because I am going to appear before the NLRB and try and get that back." Since that time we have been able to divide and now we have 85 per cent on our side and two weeks ago they had a nomination and election and now we have a complete set of officers and Bargaining Committee and as soon as Maurice Sugar can get in here, I am trying to arrange a meeting with Maurice and thir lawyer in regard to the matter of who they will bargain with. Up to the present day they have refused to bargain with us and are still bargaining with Martin.
I think before this week is over the situation will have been straightened out. I was happy to get this information. Now, I will explain about this other, they have a shop called City Machine & Tool, which is owned by them. City Mahine & Tool does this work and in other words, the Martin faction gets the work at the City Stamping and when the work goes down they go into the unorganized plants and they take the difference between $1.50 at the City Auto shop and they go over to the other plants and take 85. Up to the present time I merely want to inform you that there hasn't been an anti-Martin shop but it has been a pro-Martin shop and I feel reasonably sure that in about a week, before this week is over I know that the moment we convince the company or force the company to recognize our Bargaining Committee and our set of officers I am sure that we will eliminate them as competitors.
That shop has always been and was the highest paid workers in this area and they were way up and they were considered one of the best die shops in the country.
Of course, Martin got his foothold in there and he was able to get the committee and the die workers to go in and agree to take this five-cent an hour cut.
BROTHER MANINI: We have never come before the International and they have never checked their books.
BROTHER REUTHER: Is the company willing that we send our auditors to check the company's books?
BROTHER MCAULAY: Can you give us some of the rates?
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: The lowest rate is $1.05 and runs up to $1.15; and some of the lowest assembly rates are 85 and run up to 95 cents.
BROTHER MCAULAY: What is your production speed?
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: In headlining, headlines we put in a Ford standard coupe in eighty minutes.
BROTHER MCAULAY: Eighty minutes.
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: Eighty minutes.
BROTHER MCAULAY: Do you know how many men?
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: Two men, that is forty minutes for two men.
BROTHER MCAULAY: On one headline?
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: Yes.
BROTHER REUTHER: How does your production efficiency compare with that of Briggs on a similar job?
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: Now, last year we were both doing Ford jobs, but I couldn't tell.
BROTHER REUTHER: How would the efficiency in your plant, since the company has raised the question, how does it compare with the production at Briggs and also the rates?
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: We have comparable rates with other body companies in Detroit on a par with any of them and the efficiency in our plants I must confess is damn low. In other words we, according to Briggs, and Dodges, we got a picnic.
BROTHER REUTHER: Is that true about the whole plant?
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: Over in paint and trim that is true as to my division.
BROTHER MANINI: I can answer on this one particular department since the news leaked out there was some hundred or so hours in the red and in one day they went eight hours into the black, since the scare went out.
BROTHER REUTHER: How many men?
BROTHER MANINI: Around 300 men. I was speaking of, at the present time, about 100 men there. The entire metal finishing and press room, about 300 men but this increase was on a matter of about 100 men.
BROTHER KRAMER: Could I ask you one question. Did the City Auto Stamping take away a job on dies or on stamping?
BROTHER MANINI: They did take our International Roofing, and our International Harvester Roof away from us. However, we are not objecting on that.
BROTHER KRAMER: The dies are the problem and not the stamping?
BROTHER MANINI: Yes.
BROTHER HALL: That is a seperate plant from my plant.
BROTHER LAMOTTE: I would like to ask the committee if efficiency was not discussed in the argument with the company, would that effieciency itself, would that take up the slack or did you ever discuss it in that light?
BROTHER MANINI: We did, in certain departments and possibly in the main plant we could increase our efficiency maybe fifteen, maybe twenty per cent. I doubt like hell if we could do it in the Jackson plants, and Ecorse, five and six plants, fender plants. I doubt like hell if we could raise five or ten. They have a good efficiency basis. We have got to meet our competition there on this question of rates and that is what is hurting us.
BROTHER LAMOTTE: If you raisse your efficiency that much that will have a hell of a lot to do with the rates.
BROTHER MANINI: In Flint 1 we may meet that on the basis of increasing our efficiency and in the other plants I doubt like hell if we can raise our efficiency enough to take five cents out of competition.
BROTHER MCDONNELL: Here is the sort of song and dance we got. Over in 5 and 6before they called us in to tell us about this 25 per cent cut they told us that on the basis of efficiency at present time that we could fill up our plants. That was on Monday and on Friday of the same week the management of plant 5 and plant 6 told us this, then the general manager and the president of the Murray Body, when they called us in Friday, told us we didn't have anything, nothing to do. That is, after we finished out this orderand that job that we have right now, that we were going to lose them, such as the Lincoln fender. When we started that Lincoln, each mans doing six fenders a day, and they called me and a few other boys to tell us that they had put a dollar and a half on each one of those fenders. Now, finally the boys figured out that we could do a couple of more, so they did eight a day and then they called us in again and told us, "We are still putting a dollar bill on each one of those fenders." Today on the same fender they are doing eighteen a day and they are still losing a coule of pennies.
Now I don't know, of course,the job is tht we could jump it up to still twenty or twenty two cents a day, but at this rate of jumping all the time what sense is it? Then we have other jobs that they click off pretty good and I don't think that you can get efficiency on these jobs. Such as the Ford fenders, they just seem to bang right along. Not at a fast gait but an easy gait. They are complaining on that. These men are working just about as good as anybody would want anybody to work on a fair rate.
Then, again, on tool and die, at this time last year we had 648 men and that ws the personnel of the tool room; today I thinkit is fifty-four men that are only working four days a week. And, they told me Wednesday that they would still have to cut this down.
Now, these fellows know that in Philadelphia the wage scale, for all occupations in the tool and die room is from ten to twenty cents lower than we are paying and they have asked us to ask you fellows if you would give them any sort of program of what you are going to do in Philadelphia. Take these fellows, they can them at the drop of the hat and stuff them in the window, almost anything they please, they feel that if that situation continues they won't have anything over there. These men over here, we are down right at this time with our tool and die makers down to 1927, that will give you an idea of how these men who have worked there for years today are out on the street and the cases are pretty pitiful from the angle that they can't get a job any place else. So this is about as good as I can tell you about this thing.
BROTHER MANINI: I would say around a hundred men.
BROTHER MCWILLIAMS: I would say easy that.
BROTHER KRAMER: The reason I ask you fellows is so that you may get it straight and so that you can check it firtuer. The City Auto Stamping [City Machine and Tool] has an ordinary tool force of sixty-five men and working twenty-three men, that is all they are working. They have worked for weeks so I am just giving you this with the idea that I am beginning to wonder if we did get that job that we are accused of, we only got twenty men working as the City Auto Stamping [City Machine and Tool] right at this particular time.
BROTHER MANINI: You people are blending that work, you are guaranteeing these people a year round job. That is the story I received that they are guaranteeing a year 'round job by blending that work. When we get the job we put on the force and push the job cut.
BROTHER KRAMER: The reason I am asking these questions is so that I will have something. I know that there are about twenty-three men and they work on an average of 3 days a week. Is that the place where they have got these reduced rates?
Yes, Now, I said the City Auto Stamping, I meant to say the City Machine and Tool. Now, the City Auto Stamping over there, they are pretty busy. They have a different rate of pay. There is about the same difference, for your information, between the City Auto Stamping and the City Machine and Tool as there is between the City Auto Stamping and Briggs. So the competition, if they are doing it over at the City Auto Stamping, is not as keen as if they were doing it at the City Machine. Unless they are shoving the Briggs work, and they are doing the other work at the City Auto Stamping. This is the reason I am asking all of those questions. Up until were were able to get that division I had little or no information from Martin, in fact they don't talk to me, half of those guys.
Now they are expecting at any time now to have trouble with tool and die in Philadelphia because they have not renewed their contract with the various tool and die manufacturers.
BROTHER ADDES: I would like to add this one thing --
BROTHER MCDONNELL: Was that the Crosley job? That was the only thing that we ever got. Was that the only one they did get at the City Auto Stamping?
BROTHER KRAMER: I don't know what job they did. All the information that you have given me now is all new to me because you see, as I sasy,up to the Cleveland Convention, the City Auto Stamping was pro-Martin but they always had a good shop up until the split. In other words, a renewal of their contract was the first time since 1933 that they have not had any raise and prior to that they have had raises as high as from five to ten cents an hour. It has been a sho that we have held up as an example to all our shops in this territory as being a high-priced shop and from the things that you tell me, they are actually suprising to me, although I knew that here some time ago they went in with the men and told them that the only way they could get a certain job was by taking a five cent an hour decrease in pay, otherwise they would not get the job. And those men, toolmakers, would be out of a job.
Hooven came back and told the tool and die men, Hooven is one of Martin's stooges, he said, "There is a job we can get from the International Harvester and we can get that job only on a decrease of five cents an hour." The die makers voted to accept the five cents an hour in order to fill the die room up with work. Nothing was mentioned about Briggs.
BROTHER MANINI: Our rates are comparable.
BROTHER HALL: McInerney in Grand Rapids, and Great Lakes of Chicago. I understand that L.A. Young and Falls have smaller factories out in the small outlying districts that are paying less than the fellows in Detroit.
BROTHER REUTHER: There is something here, I don't know whether you want me to discuss it here now, but I have one spring plant in my local [174] and they don't, that is Precision Springs, die springs and things like that, but your trouble is with cushion springs.
BROTHER MANINI: Cushion springs.
Here is what he want us to do. He wants to do this if we can get the various committees, now if we can get L.A. Young to get their management and Jinson and Fall Spring and Precision Spring, if we get all the spring companies in Detroit who are dealing with the union and have the highest wage rate in Detroit, if we can get these people to come together and have a joint management meeting and committee meeting and you people send people from your spring plants and other plants in Detroit, we can sit down and map out a program and send an Interntional representative to the Association's meeting and the fellows will work wth us when we try to break this thing down.
Peterson tells us our committee was there two weeks ago, that the spring companies in Detroit are technically equipped and strong enough, if they work as an organized group with the support of the union working in a concerted program they could lick the God damn sweat shops up-state.
I think that is the sort of approach that is necessary in this industry. We have got to begin to work as an organized group with the organized group of manufacturers who are willing to accept the union. In Precision we have a closed shop, this fellow says, "The Union is here to stay and I am going to live with it and I want to work with the union and lick these others."
Peterson thinks that L.A. Young and some of the other companies here that are being pushed like Jenks & Muer will cooperate if we do that sort of thing and we can get before the Association of Spring Manufacturers and set up a blanket agrement in the spring industry and we can begin to squeeze these little fellows who are operating little shops and slave shop wages. If this can't be done through the Association then we might get Peterson and these fellows in Detroit to lead a movement for setting up a new association in the spring industry the same as they did in the clothing industry. In the clothing industry they had to help an advanced group of employers. In the clothing industry they started with the white goods industry and they had to help these fellows set up a whole new association and together they licked the sweat shops in the clothing industry. These are the possibilities that we have got to explore. If you fellows can go the management and get them to agree in a joint meeting like that in Detroit so they can work out a caucus in the Association, I think you might move this thing.
Jenks and Muer is a big company and I think if they start squeezing in one way and we send organizers to Grand Rapids we can begin to do a job. I would like to see if you fellows would cooperate.
BROTHER HALL: Jenks and Muer, there we have a very fair administration to work with. They are very fair and willing to work wth us. I will agree to that. We can get them to do something about McIneryny(sic) because they have Chrysler work Dodge work and all of that that we used to have and they are working three full shifts and that is what is pinching us and we have a hell of a time working one and half shifts. Half of the time our day shifts go home anywhere from 9:30 in the morning up to four in the afternoon.
BROTHER CODY: I believe that this damn thing is more than just a coincidental thing. Today in Milwaukee the committee from Local 73 is in conference with the mangement of something just exactly like this.