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June 7-8 - Sat Sun-          [Ca 1956]
Eastern Seaboard Conf.
[[Note]] conference - Nte Palace 111 E. Houston near 2nd [[?]][[/note]]

[[underlined]]Draft Labor Policy[[/underlined]]

The nation faces a developing depression. As the International Executive Board of the United Steel Workers of America said at its March 17th meeting. "It's no recession in the durable goods industries. It's real dangerous." As AFL-CIO President Meany warned: "Unemployment is feeding on itself."

The toll of depression industries and cities keeps growing as "unemployment feeds on itself". And to add to the misery, soaring monopoly-manipulated prices "feeds" on the people.

Like the robber crying "thief!". big business attempts to shift the blame for rising prices upon labor's just wage demands instead of its own profit-seeking greed.

How is this catastrophe being met?

[[underlined]]By Government: [[/underlined]]

President Eisenhower is playing the modern version of Hoover's ill-fated role, while on the contrary, the Democrats are far from repeating a modern version of FDR's New Deal role. As a result of the new Republican-Dixiecrat alliance, the way is barred to tax outs, the cry for sorely needed public projects to build schools, hospitals, highways goes unheeded, the appeal for extension of unemployment compensation is met with the offer of a piddling Administration bill that perpetuates all the inadequacies of State regulation while granting some slight extension. Meanwhile, relief rolls mount and city after city confronts budget crisis, while the unemployed face hunger and delay.

President Eisenhower and Vice-President Nixon gave leaders of industry a helping hand at their recent conference at the Waldorf-Astoria. Ike warned labor to cast into "oblivion" its traditional yearly demand for wage increase, while Nixon "forecast(corrected spelling)" new anti-labor legislation despite forthcoming Congressional elections.

[[underlined]]By Industry: [[/underlined]]

To big business depression is not a signal of misery and suffering. It is a call to maintain their profits by lay-offs. It is an opportunity to use hunger against labor, to sharpen the competition for jobs, set employed against unemployed, white against Negro, young against old, men against women, native against foreign-born. It is the time to try to take back the gains labor has made, to weaken or destroy trade union, increase speed-up, tighten working conditions.

It is this long awaited opportunity to settle with organized labor that "big business" sees in the developing depression.

That explains the arrogant announcement of General Motors to terminate its contract with UAW on May 29th.

That explains the inciting appeal of the labor-hating Senator Goldwater to the NAM "not to be soft with labor".

That explains the union busting offensive of big business around the "Right-to-Work" laws and the host of labor "regulating" measures proposed by the McClella Committee.

Big Business intends to use the depression to literally "beat the brains in of organized labor.

[[underlined]]By Organized Labor:[[/underlined]]

Faced with this critical situation, how is organized labor responding:
Of all segments of the population, it has responded with the greatest alarm, the most constructive program, the most militant action.

Basing itself upon its decision to fight for wage increases as the primary step in expanding purchasing power, the recent AFL-CIO Conference on Unemployment advanced on the whole a good legislative program calling for:

1. Extension of both the period and coverage of Unemployment Compensation embodied in the Kennedy-McCarthy Bill.
2. Increasing personal exemptions from $600 to $700.
3. Enactment of the Kelley-Neuberger Bill for a multi-billion dollar school construction program.
4. Enactment of a broad housing program.
5. For a great Public Works program.
6. Extend Minimum Wage coverage; enactment of the Morse-Kelley Bill.