Toledo Union Journal

Friday, February 19, 1954 Your Union And Mine By Richard T. Gosser Vice-President, UAW-CIO

I write this column today not only for the benefit of the workers in the plants, who are members of our union, but also for the benefit of the employers in this community, because I realize that employers often read my column more closely than the workers.

The Toledo Industrial Development Council has been established. In my opinion it can be one of the greatest things that has ever happened to Toledo, provided the whole community works together to make it a success. And I would like to emphasize that this includes the employers, as well as labor and the general public.

As I said in the meeting in the Commodore Perry Hotel in which the TIDC was formed, its establishment does not give any employer the right to take advantage of his workers. Labor made certain pledges in forming TIDC and we believe that those are reasonable pledges which will ultimately prove of great benefit to the union movement in Toledo. But they are not to be regarded as an excuse for a wholesale raid by some employers on labor's rights. I would like to point out a few of the things that have happened since the TIDC was established.

There have been some indiscriminate discharges of workers, designed only to provoke trouble. Other employers have refused to grant any wage increases this year, regardless of their financial position. The most vivid example of the attitude that some employers are taking is a case where a local industrialist who has dealt with unions for years attempted to hire non-union labor to construct an addition for his plant. That move was an obvious attempt to stir up trouble.

I could spend a week telling how certain employers are trying to take advantage of the present situation in Toledo. I want to warn these employers that labor in Toledo will not stand for such tactics. The unions are doing everything within their power, including contributing money, to expand industry and open up more job opportunities in Toledo. It is up to the employers to do their part by working with labor, and not against it, to build the city of Toledo.

We in Toledo have a big task ahead of us. It will take years to accomplish and it demands the whole-hearted cooperation of everyone, big or small, in the city. I appeal to every Toledo employer to help us win the goal of a bigger, more prosperous city.