Summit County Labor News

No "Right-to-Work" Law for New York; Quill Is Reelected

Governor Averell Harriman promised the 600 delegates to the 10th biennial convention of the Transport Workers Union in New York City that "there will be no right-to-work' law in this state as long as I am governor." The governor spoke to the delegates on the closing day of the convention, which re-elected Michael J. Quill, the only International President in the 21-year history of TWU, extended his term from two to four years and raised his salary from $12,000 to $14,820 a year, without dissent.

Opposition was encountered, however, on the proposal to change the union constitution to provide for international conventions every four instead of every two years. However, after more than an hour of spirited debate, the four-year proposal was overwhelmingly approved. Interim conventions may take place on petition of a third of the membership.

Also re-elected were Matthew Guinan, International Secretary-Treasurer, with a pay increase of $2,340 to $12,740 annually, and Frank Sheehan, International Director of Organization, with a pay boost from $9,400 to $11,700 a year. Their terms of office also were increased from two to four years. Gustav Faber was continued as International Secretary-Treasurer emeritus.

In electing Vice Presidents and members of the 45-man Executive Board, the convention left two Vice Presidencies and three other Executive Board posts vacant, with the proviso that they would be filled from Local 234, of Philadelphia, now in trusteeship.

Quill promised the delegates from the local, whose 7,000 members make it the second-largest in TWU, that the trusteeship would be ended as soon as conditions made it possible. It was placed under trusteeship as a result of alleged mishandling of local funds by officers, whom the Executive Council of TWU ousted.

In the final sessions the convention:

Commended leaders of AFL-CIO for "their efforts to rid the labor movement of crooks, racketeers and all those others who use trade union organizations for self-aggrandizement."

Welcomed creation of ethical practice codes and called on the AFL-CIO Executive Council "to eliminate from them any provisions which may tend to reflect adversely on the historic rights and privileges of the fifth amendment."

Called for full enforcement of the ethical practice codes.

Urged continuance of negotiations for general disarmament, and suggested that "if agreement to stop nuclear weapon tests is not reached in the near future, our government should announce the trial suspension of nuclear tests in the hope that other nations will also suspend their tests."