Press: Victory & Defeat

The American Newspaper Guild—which recently reported 13,328 members to its foster parent, the Committee for Industrial Organization—divided victories last week with the press associations.

United Press editorial employes chose the Guild 277-to-84 as their nation-wide bargaining agency, opened the way for immediate negotiations between U. P. management and Guild authorities, who seek to cut the U. P. work week to five days and make other changes in U. P. employment conditions. Although the Guild demanded a National Labor Relations Board poll in May, delay followed a U. P. challenge that all bureau managers, even those with only one assistant, were executives and ineligible to vote. While the N.L.R.B. held hearings which decided this point in U. P.’s favor, the nimble Guild made valuable use of the delay with systematic, successful electioneering.

Associated Press employes, already on a five-day week, learned last week that a Guild-proposed contract for the New York office had been studied and flatly rejected by the A.P. board of directors a fortnight ago. Throughout extended negotiations with New York A. P. officials the Guild insisted upon a Guild shop under which all new employes must join the Guild within a stated period.

The A. P. directors balked on these restrictions, suggested instead that a bargaining agent for all employes in A. P.’s 60 offices be determined before further discussions are held.