Summit County Labor News

Asks Labor's Aid in Strike
Against Akron Mortician.

In a letter addressed to all AFL and CIO union bodies in the county, James A. Rogers, secretary of International Union of Operating Engineers Local 821, this week asked for their support of the strike against Adams Funeral Home in Akron.

The strike was called on January 16th, the letter states, after the company declined to bargain with the local on demands already accepted by four other Akron funeral homes.

The letter also charged that eight other Akron funeral directors, evidently attempting to act as strike-breakers, were assisting the Adams company.

The following is a complete copy of the letter sent to all Labor bodies in the area:

"This letter is to advise all AFL CIO Locals and their members, of the strike breaking efforts of a group of the members of the Summit County Funeral Directors' Association at the strike which involves the Adams Funeral Home, 791 E. Market Street, Akron, Ohio.

"The Adams Funeral Home, after two meetings, refused to grant contract demands, which have already been granted by four Union Funeral Homes in this City, to their employees. But, instead of negotiating, they accepted and helped to promote an organized effort of this group of Funeral Directors who are members of the Summit County Funeral Directors Association to break the strike. Adams Funeral Home has worked these strike breakers, doing the work that is normally done by the employees on strike.

"The following is a list of the Funeral Directors who worked as strike breakers at Adams Funeral Home, and the funeral homes which they are associated with:

Vic Schermesser - Schermesser Funeral Home, 1446 S. Main St., Akron.

E. L. Baldwin -- Eckard Funeral Home, 760 E. Market St., Akron.

Joe Ray - Weller Funeral Home, 1930 Front St., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

George D. Buffington-Long Funeral Home, 293 E. Market St., Akron.

Steve Kertesz - Kertesz & Son Funeral Home, 936 S. Main St. Akron.

Bob Gordon - Gordon Memorial Home, Inc, 809 Copley Rd., Akron.

Paul Hummel -- Hummel Funeral Home, 500 E. Exchange St., Akron.

Edward McCafferty-Cunningham-McCafferty Funeral Home, 682 E. Buchtel Ave., Akron.

Bill Reid-McGowan-Reid Funeral Home, 247 S. Stow Ave., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

We urge you to read this at two consecutive regular meetings and ask the members to govern themselves accordingly."

In conjunction with the appeal for Labor aid in the strike against Adams, Mr. Rogers filed affidavits with the National Labor Relations Board charging unfair labor practices both by the Adams company and various other Akron funeral directors.

One affidavit, signed by Jack Welsh, president of A B C Ambulance Service of Akron, asserts that Vic Schermesser, head of the Schermesser Funeral Home, 1446 South Main St., told him on December 18 that Secretary Rogers was "looking for a bullet, and that he would get it, too, if he fooled with him."

The conversation is alleged to have taken place in the Schermesser Funeral Home when Welsh went there to pay his respects to the family of a deceased friend.

The Welsh affidavit says: "He went on to say that before he would permit the union to come into his funeral home, he would close his doors or sell out and move. He also made the statement there were different ways to handle any trouble, such as a bullet in the head, which were his exact words. He also said that Jim Rogers was stirring up a lot of trouble, or was making an attempt to; that Jim Rogers was looking for a bullet, and that he would get it, too, if he fooled with him."

In another affidavit sent to the NLRB, Rogers swore that on January 18th Tom Kucko, of Kucko Funeral Home, 355 Grant Street, told him of strike-breaking action planned by other funeral directors in an effort to aid Adams.

His affidavit reads:

"He (Tom Kucko) informed me that the funeral directors had their meeting the night before and that each has an agreement to throw all of their resources to break the strike at the Adams Funeral Home, and he informed me that he intended to live up to that agreement, even though it might mean pickets on his place. He said that it was a calculated risk and that they also had discussed that at their meeting, but they also were to assume that risk in their efforts to break the strike."

Three employees of the Adams Funeral Home--Ronald H. Stamfle, Charles William Carr and James K. Black--made an affidavit sent to the NLRB that charged Loran A. Vaughan, funeral director of the company, about the middle of December threatened to sell his business and throw them out of employment.

Their affidavit reads:

"I called you boys in to tell you we have two buyers for the funeral home, one of them from out-of-town, and this is no idle threat; and if they buy, they will have their own employees, and you boys will be out of a job."

Vaughan also is alleged to have said: "In order to meet the union demands, we would have to go into the show room and price ourselves out of business, and that we are not going to do; and if you strike, we will close and lock our doors; that is it."