f- “War camps, were freed by /oward Berlin. . fhese American soldiers. recently in Nazi prisoner- the Red Army in its advance They are on the deck of a ship in Odessa nd soon hey ll be bound for home. o Retain 4 Hiive rebuke administered by prank and file to Trotskyite- enced factional opposition Bae pledge when UAW mem- q yoted two to one in favor of \ing their promise to the na- ‘ery reeional division of the 'V, including Canada, voted '° in the referendum. This 't was considered particular- Potable in view of the con- erated activities of strike-in- Pting cliques in areas such Elint and Detroit in Michigan, ) the notorious oposition to p sledge by CCF strategists in © da. '€ soldier members voted 93.1 | cent for the pledge. This t unanimous vote was con- d a pointed and smashing to those who have par- _their strike- favoring policy form of so-called “protec- for the boys overseas. Pa- union officials in the as in Canada, are report- considering the result of Idier vote to be a warning or-on how. antagonistically ‘men in the fox holes view ‘the Detroit area, where the 7 has ‘suffered from .a num- fof “wildcat” stikes engin- i! by factions under pro- © leadership, a recent edi- ! reprinted in a Detroit trom the “Stars and €S,7 overseas _ soldiers’ E, Was’ seen as underscoring: the referendum has now 2d to be the decided opinion =e fighting men. sults. - in the referendum ~ JAW Vote Majority Pledge fietes of the United Attomotite Workers who are now ving in the armed forces voted almost 12 to 1 in the union's qnt referendum on maintenance of the no-strike pledge. louncement of this significant result added weight to the -varied from a low of about 55 per cent voting “Yes” in regions Shot through with factionalism to a high of 87.4 per cent voting affirmation in Galifornia. In district after district where Trot- skyite disruption had been hold- ing the limelight for some time, the rank and file repudiated them with strong votes in favor of the pledge. These who opposed the pledge fad organized special ‘‘rescind- ers” committees and had used every weapon of propaganda and actual strike instigation in their attempt to swing the vote. While some of the results -indi- eated that they had been able to sow some confusion, yet even in the centers where they were sup- posed to have their main strength they were unable to muster a majority. ~In the Flint region where the rescinding move originated, the “Yes” vote was 56.6 per cent. The Pontiae region, notorious for Trotskyite influence and domination, went 63.9 per cent for the pledge. Region 1D, Mi- chigan, where rescinder strength was thought to be powerful un- der the influence of local pro- strike officals, brought another surprise with a rank and file vote of 74.3 per cent for the pledge. In Canada the vote was com- plicated by the fact the Cana- dian region of UAW has not given a no-strike pledge, yet the area rejected CCH influence and and voted 54.2 oe: cent for the pledge. Voume 1, No. 22, April 7, 1945 4 Labor-Employer Asreement For Postwar Period Reached inUSA Charter Signed To Ensure Peace NEW YORK—USS. }And Progress In Industry labor and business have signed a charter of principles to streng- then their war-formed unity and as a postwar industrial relations guide to insure full production and employment through mutual cooperation. The charter was signed by Eric Johnston, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, GIO president Philip Murray and AFL president William Green. Jchnston expressed the hope that the National Association of Manufacturers, which criticized the charter as “premature” ‘and full of “‘generalities,’’ will join. Declaring that increased pros- perity involves “the highest de- gree of production and employ- 2 sade xo |ment at wages assuring a stead- ily advancing standard of liv- the charter pledges its sponsors to recognize ‘the rights of “private competitive capital- ism” and of labor “to organize and to engage in collective bar- gaining with management.” In- ternationally, the charter backs “Inereased foreign trade,” aid to “the devastated or undeveloped nations” and an international se- curity system “capable of pre- venting aggression and assuring lasting peace.’ ~~ 39 ings, The fcellowinge 12 leaders were designated members of a pro- posed 15 or 20 member committee to implement the charter’s pur- poses: Murray, R. J. Thomas and Sidney Hillman for the CIO; Green, George Meany and Robert Watt for the API: and for indus- iry Johnston, Henry J. MKaiser, leading: shipbuilder, Edward Thomas, president of the Good- vear Tire & Rubber GCo., Paul Hoffman, president of the Stude- baker Motor Co., Otto Seyferth, president of the West «Michigan Steel Foundry Co., and David Zellerbach, president of Crown- Zellerbach Corp. The charter fol- lows: CHARTER “We in management and la- bor tirmly believe that the end of this war will bring the un- folding of a new era based upon a vastly expanding eco- nemy and unlimited oportuni- ties for-every American. This peacetime goal can only be attained through the united effort of all our people. Today we are united in national de- fense. Tomorrow we must be united equally in the national interest. Management - labor Resounding +: victories were scored in many regions. Toledo voted 71.8 and Indiana 78.2 per cent in favor. Similar results were registered in Cleveland, I- Iinois, Kansas and Texas and the Fast. The South, Region 8, voted 83.8 per cent ‘Yes.” While the actual figures are not yet available, the total na- tional percentage was recorded at 64 for the pledge, 34.7 against, and 1.3 spoiled ballots. _ couraging in lifting unprece- unity, so effective war preducticn to dented heights, must be con- tinued in the pest-war period. To this end, we dedicate our joint effort te a _ practical Partnership within the frame- work of this code of princi- ples: © Increased prosperity for all involves the highest degree of production and employment at wages assuring a steadily ad- vancing standard of living. Im- proved productive efficiency and technological advancement must, therefore, be constantly encour- aged. @ The rights of cies prop- erty and free choice of action, under a system of private com- petitive capitalism, must con- tinue to be the foundation of our nation’s peaceful’ and prosperous expanding economy. Free com- petition and free men are the strength of our free society. @ The inherent right and re- sponsibility of management to direct the operations of an enter- prise shall be recognized and preserved. So that enterprise may develop and expand and earn a reasonable profit, man- agement must be free as well from unnecessary governmental interference or burdensome vre- strictions. 6 The fundamental rights of labor to organize and to, en- gage in collective bargaining with management shall be re- cognized and preserved, free from legislative enactments which would interfere with or discourage these objectives. | Through the acceptance of col- lective bargaining agreements, differences between manage- ment and labor can be disposed of between the parties through peaceful means, thereby dis- unavoidable strife threugh strikes and lockouts. @ The independence and dig- nity of the individual and the en- jsoyment ef his democratic rights are inherent in our free Ameri- can society. Our purpose is to cooperate in building an econo- mic system for the nation which will protect the individual against the hazards of unem- ployment, old age and physical impairments beyond his control. © An expanding economy at home will be stimulated by a vastly increased foreign trade. Arrangements must therefore be perfected te afford the de- vastated or undeveloped na- tions reasonable assistance to encourage the rebuilding and fevolopment of sound economic ‘systems. 7 “International ‘trade can- net expand through subsidized - competition among the nations for diminishing markets, but can be achieved only through expanding world markets and ihe elimination of any arbit- rary and unreasonable prac- tices. @® An enduring peace must be secured. This calls for the es- tablishment of an international security organization, with full participation by all the United Nations, capable of preventing aggression and assuring lasting peace. 2 “We in management and la- bor agree that our primary duty is to win complete victory over Nazism and Japanese militarism. We also agree that we haye a common joint duty, in cooperation with other ele- ments of our national life and with governments, to prepare and work fer a prosperous and suStained peace. In this spirit we agree te create a national commiites, composed of repre- sentatives of business and la- ber organizations. This com- mittee will seek to promote an understanding and sympathe- tic acceptance of this code of principles and will propose such national policies’ as will advance the best interests of our nation.” Ask Protection For Polish Sailors LONDON.—The central coun= cil of the Polish trade unions in Warsaw has requested the Brit- ish, Trades Union Congress to protect members of the Polish Seamen’s Union, following a re- port from the Lublin radio re- cently that the Polish govern- ment-in-exile, through its minis- ter of shipping Kwapinski, is conducting a violent campaign against the seamen’s union. The Warsaw body expressed resent- ment at the attempt by “the re- actionary -inspired Information Committee in Tondon”’ to ‘dis- rupt the Polish Seamen’s Union by creating a rival_organization. The appeal adds that the 500,000 members of the Warsaw unions are united for “the rapid de- struction of Hitlerism and vic- tery according to the principles of the Crimea conference.” During 1944, the Dutch resist- ance movement have gathered and distributed to the families of Underground fighters $540,000 monthly.