:).i4i
Given B>
DEPOSITORY Vr^-<*'''
INVESTIGATION OF IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE
LABOR OR MANAGEMENT FIELD
HEARINGS
BEFORB THS
SELECT COMMITTEE
ON IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE
LIBOR OR MANAGEMENT FIELD
EIGHTY-FIFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
PURSUANT TO SENATE RESOLUTIONS 74 AND 221, 85TH CONGRESS
MARCH 31 AND APRIL 1, 1958
PART 26
Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Improper Activities in the
Labor or Management Field
INVESTIGATION OF IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE
LABOR OR MANAGEMENT FIELD
HEARINGS
BEFORE THE
SELECT COMMITTEE
ON IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE
LABOR OR MANAGEMENT FIELD
EIGHTY-FIFTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
PURSUANT TO SENATE RESOLUTIONS 74 AND 221, 85TH CONGRESS
MARCH 31 AND APRIL 1, 1958
PART 26
Printed for the use of the Select Committee on Improper Activities in the
Labor or Management Field
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1958
Boston Public Librtry
Superintendent of Documents
JUL 7 -1958
SELECT COMMITTEE ON IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR OR
MANAGEMENT FIELD
JOHN L. McCLELLAN, Arkansas, Chairman
IRVING M. IVES, New York, Vice Chairman
JOHN F. KENNEDY, Massachusetts KARL E. MUNDT, South Dakota
SAM J. ERVIN, Jr., North Carolina BARRY GOLDWATER, Arizona
PAT McNAMARA, Michigan CARL T. CURTIS, Nebraska
Robert F. Kennedy, Chief Counsel
KUTH Young Watt, Chief Clerk
II
CONTENTS
United Automobile Workeks, AFL-CIO, and Perfect Circle Corp. Page
Appendix
Testimony of —
Baer, Robert G 10267
Berndt, Raymond H 10282, 10309, 10321
Carper, Paul 10363, 10375
Crum, Paul 10339
Fromuth, Allen 10339
Griffin, Kenneth 10327
Hoffman, Clyde 10270, 10350
Miles, Lvnnville 10308, 10320
Prosser, William 10258, 10269, 10373
in
EXHIBITS
Introduced
on page
1. Map showing location of Perfect Circle plants at Hagers-
town, New Castle, and Richmond, Ind 10259
lA. Affidavits of George Waters, Ray Anderson, Harold
Wantz, Leslie King, Chalmer Juday, Merrel Beyer,
John Metzker, Walter Grunden, Esther Mitchener,
and Herschel Bollinger, employees or supervisors of
Perfect Circle Corp 10259
IB. List of incidents of violence at New Castle Foundrv
during Perfect Circle strike of 1955 10259
IC. List of criminal and civil causes growing out of Perfect
Circle strike of 1955 10259
ID. Affidavit of Paul Crum, Ray Hail, Paul Reed 10259
IE. Plat showing Perfect Circle property line 10259
IF. List of incidents of violence at Hagerstown and Richmond
during Perfect Circle strike of 1955 10259
IG. Affidavits in case No. 35-CA-654 before the National
Labor Relations Board concerning the discharge of
strikers at the Richmond machining plant of the
Perfect Circle Corp 10259
2. Letter dated November 12, 1948, to National Labor
Relations Board, Cincinnati, Ohio, from John Bartee,
international representative, region 3, UAW-CIO 10286
3. Letter dated July 11, 1955, to all Perfect Circle UAW-
CIO members from Raymond H. Berndt, director,
region 3, UAW-CIO 10288
4A. Special notice, "Strike vote date" 10288
4B. Notice, "Important special meeting for local 156 mem-
bership" 10288
4C. Notice, "Strike vote" 10288
5. Article from the United Automobile Worker of September
1955 10289
6. Article from the United Automobile Worker of October
1955 10289
7. Full page ad "UAW-CIO agrees" which appeared August
29, 1955, in the Indianapolis Times, Indianapohs Star,
Indianapolis News, New Castle Courier-Times, and
Richmond Palladium Items 10290
8. Report of the Chief of Police of the City of New Castle
listing names of people and gun permit numbers 10291
9. Press release incorporated in New Castle Courier-Times
article, July 22, 1955, stating the management's posi-
tion 10292
10. Photograph showing a group of people marching down the
middle of the street in front of the Perfect Circle plant.. 10293
11. Photograph of Robert Ford, victim of shooting, and his
wife, taken 1 day after the shooting 10294
12. Photograph of Paul Carper immediately after having been
shot 10294
13. Photograph showing someone shooting from the top of the
fire escape at the plant 10294
14. Photograph of Henry Gibson after being hit bv a charge
of buckshot ' 10294
15. Photograph of the inside of the room in which a bullet
emerged from the wall after hitting the outside of the
house 10295
16. Photograph of the State Pohce entering the plant 10296
17. Photograph of guns being taken from the plant by the
State Police 10296
IV
Appears
on page
10381
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
10382
10383
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
C*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
(*)
CONTENTS V
Introduced Appears
on page on page
18. Telegram sent to Indiana Governor George N. Craig on
October 7, 1955, by UAW-CIO Region 3 Director Ray-
mond H. Berndt 10296 (*)
19. Copy of telegram dated October 18, 1955, addressed to
Hon. George Craig, Governor of Indiana, signed by
Walter Reuther 10297 (*)
20. Rough draft of statement of Carl Batchfield, president of
local 370, presented to the membership 10298 (*)
21. Photograph of damage done to the house of Kenneth
Griffin 10338 (*)
22. A group of photographs showing vandalism done to the
property of several employees during the Perfect strike. 10347 (*)
23. A group of photographs of mass picketing during the
early stages of the Perfect Circle strike 10348 (*)
24.. A group of photographs taken during the raid of August
15, 1955, showing cars being turned over 10348 (*)
25. Plat showing the entrance to the Perfect Circle plant 10352 (*)
26. A group of photographs taken October 5, 1955, showing a
large group of demonstrators near the main gate en-
trance to Perfect Circle plant 10356 (*)
Proceedings of —
March 31, 1958 10257
April 1, 1958 10327
*May be found in the files of the select committee.
INVESTIGATION OF IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE
LABOR OR MANAGEMENT FIELD
MONDAY, MARCH 31, 1958
United States Senate,
Select Committee on Improper Activities,
IN THE Labor or Management Field,
Washington^ D. C.
The select committee met at 11 a. m., pursuant to Senate Kesolution
221, agreed to January 29, 1958, in room 357, Senate Office Building,
Senator John L. McClellan (chairman of the select committee)
presiding.
Present : Senator John L. McClellan, Democrat, Arkansas ; Senator
Pat McNamara, Democrat, Michigan ; Senator Barry Goldwater, Re-
publican, Arizona; Senator Karl E. Mundt, Kepublican, South
Dakota ; Senator Carl T. Curtis, Republican, Nebraska.
Also present : Robert F. Kennedy, chief counsel ; Jerome S. Adler-
man, assistant chief counsel; John J. McGovern, assistant counsel;
Ruth Young Watt, chief clerk.
The Chairman. The committee will be in order.
(Members of the committee present at the convening of the session
were: Senators McClellan and Curtis.)
The Chairman. We start this morning an investigation into the
Perfect Circle difficulty.
I am going to ask the chief counsel to make a brief statement of the
case for the record.
Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Chairman, we are looking into the matter of
the strike by the UAW against the Perfect Circle Co. during 1955,
and the violence that occurred in this strike.
We are going to inquire into the violence that occurred during the
strike and try to determine how much violence there was, and the
responsibility for it.
According to our preliminary investigation, there was a good deal
of violence, including some shooting at strikers as well as people
within the plant ; and in addition to that, most of it directed against
nonstrikers and people associated with the company.
We are going to examine into that, and we have called, as our first
witness, Mr. William Prosser, who is president of the Perfect Circle
Corp. We expect to develop some testimony with him this morning,
and then we will have some direct testimony from a union representa-
tive this afternoon, and then Mr. Prosser or a representative of the
company will be recalled for some cross-examination as well as the
union member will be recalled for cross-examination.
10257
10258 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
We also expect to call a number of witnesses, Mr. Chairman, 2 or 3
possibly, who personally experienced or ^yere recipients of violence or
vandalism, or their homes were the recipients of vandalism.
The Chairman. Is there anything further ?
Mr. Prosser, will you be sworn, please ?
You do solemnly swear that the evidence you shall give before this
Senate select committee shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Prosser. I do.
TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM PEOSSER, ACCOMPANIED BY CLYDE
HOFFMAN, COUNSEL
The Chairman. State your name, and your place of residence, and
your business or occupation.
Mr. Prosser. My name is William Prosser. I am president of the
Perfect Circle Corp., Hagerstown, Ind.
The Chairman. Do you have counsel representing you today ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes; Mr. Hoffman.
The Chairman. Will you identify yourself for the record, please ?
Mr. Hoffman. My name is Clyde Hoffman, and I am counsel repre-
senting the company here.
The Chairman. Mr. Prosser, I believe you have a prepared state-
ment.
Mr. Prosser. Yes, I do.
The Chairman. Was it filed within the rules ?
Mr. Kennedy. I am afraid because of the difficulty we had definitely
scheduling the hearings, that I told Mr. Prosser if he could get his
statement in this morning it would be satisfactory, which he did.
The Chairman. Do you have extra copies of it ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes, sir; we do.
The Chairman. May I have one so that I may follow it when you
read it?
Mr. Kennedy. I also want to straighten out another matter for the
record at this point.
I had stated, on page 9059 of part 22 of the Kohler hearings, when
Mr. Mazey was testifying, that we had uncovered a good deal of paint
bombing done to the homes during the Perfect Circle strike. I was
mistaken on that.
There was vandalism, but as far as the paint bombing was con-
cerned, paint being put into light bulbs and being thrown into homes,
I was mistaken in my remarks, and I would like to get the record
straight on that, or as far as that is concerned.
The Chairman. All right, shall we proceed ?
All right, Mr. Prosser.
Mr. Prosser. At the time under consideration, I was vice president
and general manager of the corporation.
The Chairman. You will have to speak a little louder, I can't
hear you.
Mr. Prosser. At the time under investigation, I was vice president
and general manager of the company, and I might say that I am
greatly interested in the objectives of your committee, and I will
be very happy if my testimony contributes in any way to the solution
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10259
of the problems involved in working out fair and equitable legislation
on this problem of labor-management relations.
I have additional material here with me, including the chronology
memorandums of the strike, a transcript of the arbitration hearings,
list of the criminal and civil cases resulting from the strike, and a list
of incidents of violence at the three plants, and various affidavits sup-
porting our testimony.
The Chairman. As we go through your prepared statement, I
suppose you will refer to these documents, and we can make them an
exhibit at that time.
Mr. Prosser. I will present those for exhibits now.
The Chairman. Well, let me get them identified.
I will let them all be filed in bulk at this time, as exhibit No. 1,
and we can mark them appropriately, 1-A, 1-B, and so forth, as we
go along, so as to pick them up later.
We can distinguish one from the other in that way.
You may proceed.
(The documents referred to were marked "Exhibit Nos. 1, 1-A,
]-B, 1-C, and so forth," for reference, and may be found in files of the
select committee.)
Mr. Prosser. On July 25, 1955, the UAW-CIO called strikes at
the four Indiana plants of Perfect Circle for which they had bar-
gaining rights. These include our main plant at Hagerstown, a
foundry at New Castle, and two plants at Kichmond, Ind.
The strikes were called because the company would not agree to
include a union-shop clause in the contracts under negotiation. We
do not think it was for the benefit of the workers that the union
wanted a union shop. Our wage offer was higher than any in the
piston-ring industry.
The wages and benefits our employees received were well above the
average for the industry. Two of our major competitors who granted
a union shop years ago offered at the time less employee benefits than
we and have wage rates that average 20 to 25 cents per hour below
ours.
There was never any question in our minds about the union shop
being the critical issue of the strike.
In the closing days of negotiations before the strike began, Mr.
William Caldwell, the union international representative, warned us
that if we had a strike it would be a dirty one. Mr. Carl Evans,
president of the Hagerstown local of the union, made the following
statement to Mr. Paul Crum, personnel manager, several days before
the strike —
If a strike occurs, it will be the roughest thing you have ever seen. There vv^iii
be outside people come in, cars will be overturned, and someone will get hurt.
It will not be like the 1948 strike. This time we (the union) will have
enough to keep everybody out.
Mr. Carl Batchfield, president of the New Castle local, said they
would strike unless they got the union shop and added that they had
to have a union shop because they couldn't persuade enough em-
ployees to join the union voluntarily, so they had to have a means
of forcing them.
Attached are the statements of members of the union who attended
meetings prior to the strike and withdrew from the union because
of intended violence.
10260 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Tlie Chairman. Is that a part of the documents that you have
submitted ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes. That is not a part of the material I just gave
you, it is attached to the copies of the statements which I gave you.
(At this point, Senator Mundt entered the hearing room.)
Mr. Prosser. The membership of the union in the 4 plants con-
cerned did not represent a majority of all of our employees in those
4 plants, and in each of the 3 plants at Hagerstown and Richmond
the imion memberships did not represent the majority of the em-
ployees in the respective plants.
Furthermore, we did not believe that any of our employees should
be forced to join the union as a condition of work in our plants. We
recognized that we would minimize trouble and violence by closing
our plants for the duration of the strike. But we believed that the
strike would not be widely supported by our employees, and thought
those who wished to work had a right to work during this strike.
Naturally, we did not wish to lose our customer business in our highly
competitive industry. For these reasons, we decided to continue to
operate the plants.
And, thus, it was that the stage was set for a strike, marred with over
200 incidents of violence, violence which began with hundreds of irre-
sponsible imported pickets who swarmed around our plants in an effort
to keep workers away, then moved into the communities where workers
lived, to intimidate them and their families.
The objectives of this violence were to keep employees from working
and to keep the company from operating.
On July 26, 1955, the first day of the strike at the Hagerstown plant,
a large group of strangers, 700 or 800 in number, led by international
representatives of the union, descended upon Hagerstown, a town of
1,800 population, in the early hours of the morning, prior to the com-
mencement of the first shift, and massed in front of the entrances to
the plant.
As nonstriking production workers and management and office per-
sonnel approached the plant these demonstrators blocked their way,
and by threat of force and violence prevented them from entering the
plant. There were numerous instances of violence on this morning,
and it was apparent that any attempt to gain entrance to the plant
could only result in serious trouble and injury to employees.
Employees were therefore advised by the company to leave the area
of the plant and not to return until notified to do so.
All during the rest of the day some of the strangers milled around
on the street and in front of the plant in a disorderly and menacing
manner. Others roamed the streets of Hagerstown and frequented the
taverns and liquor store.
By 3 p. m. it became necessary to close the taverns and the liquor
store to prevent possible trouble and property damage.
On July 28, 1955, the company obtained a restraining order against
mass picketing from the Superior Court of Wayne County, Ind., limit-
ing the number of pickets at the Hagerstown and Riclimond plants to
five at any entrance.
This brought an end to mass picketing and demonstrations in these
two areas.
As soon as legal picketing was restored at Hagerstown and Rich-
mond 65 to 70 percent of the employees returned to work and continued
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10261
to work through the strike. Employees in these three plants petitioned
the NLRB, in August, for decertification of the UAW as their bargain-
ing agent.
After months of delaying techniques by the union the elections were
held, and by a vote of almost 2 to 1 the UAW was voted out, and is
still out.
It was a different story in New Castle. The union apparently de-
cided to concentrate their efforts on cutting off the supply of castings
for our machining plants. If they could do this they would close the
plants in Hagerstown and Richmond.
They contacted our outside sources, Liberty Foundries, at Rockf ord,
111., and the Sparta Foundry, at Sparta, Mich., in an effort to stop
shipments. They were successful in stopping shipments to Hagers-
town and Richmond.
The union also tried to induce several of our larger customers not
to install our rings during the strike. This effort was not very suc-
cessful. At New Castle the union continued from time to time to put
on mass demonstrations and shows of force and violence in the area of
the New Castle plant in defiance of a restraining order issued by the
circuit court of Henry County on August 1, and of the law enforce-
ment agencies.
On August 5, 1955, a large group of union demonstrators, including
the director, Raymond Berndt, and other officials of region 3 of the
United Automobile Workers, gathered on the approaches to the plant
and menaced nonstriking workers and management personnel on their
way to work.
On this morning automobiles of the workers were damaged by
stones hurled at them by the demonstrators and employees were other-
wise menaced and intimidated and stones and chunks of concrete were
thrown through windows at the plant.
On the morning of August 15, 1955, the union conducted a hit and
run demonstration at the New Castle plant. Just before work hours
a large group, estimated to be in excess of 250 persons, gathered on the
main approach to the plant and blocked a bus carrying nonstriking
workers to the plant.
The bus was stoned and several workers on the inside sustained
minor injuries. The bus proceeded on to the plant. A group of the
demonstrators followed within the plant enclosure and further dam-
aged the bus and turned over four cars parked within the fenced-in
area.
The local international representative and an international repre-
sentative from the office of region 3 of the union were present on this
occasion. The latter was one of the group that entered into the plant
enclosure, and participated in the violence.
This demonstration was publicized in the newspapers of this country
and in the foreign press. The overwhelming majority of the persons
participating in all these demonstrations were not strikers but
strangers.
On September 10, 1955, three employees en route to the home of one
of them some distance in the country from New Castle, were ambushed
by a group of 15 or 20 masked men. These three employees got away,
but it is reasonable to assume that the results would not have been
pleasant had the attackers gotten ahold of these men. This incident
10262 'IMPROPEK ACTIVITIEIS IN THE LABO'R FIELD
created considerable tension among the nonstriking workers as well
as in the community as a whole.
By this time tlie acts of vandalism on the part of strikers had be-
come a formidable and alarming total. Windows in the homes of non-
strikers had been broken, their cars had been damaged and they had
been ambushed and slugged.
The nonstrikers, particularly those who lived outside of the city
limits of New Castle, did not have police j^rotection. They had fear
for their safety and the safety of their families. They wanted to
know what kind of protection could be given them. As a result of
their concern, an appeal was made to Governor Craig for State police
assistance to protect against vandalism, but State j)olice assistance
was not forthcoming.
On the morning of September 19, 1955, a large number of pickets
massed at the entrance of the New Castle plant. It became apparent
early in the morning that the pickets were not going to permit anyone
to enter the plant.
Officials of the union informed police authorities that if any attempt
was made by anyone to ent«r there would be bloodshed. As a result
of this show of force and threats of violence, the union kept the plant
closed until September 27, 1955, at which time the New Castle police
force broke up the picket group, and arrested 48 of the pickets.
During this period that the plant was closed down by the miion,
rumors were current that the New Castle plant would be dynamited
and that machinery and equipment would be destroyed so that oper-
ation of the plant could not be continued.
As a result of these rumors, the company became alarmed for the
safety of the plant and of the employees in the plant. The plant was
virtually unprotected and it was quite possible for the threat of its
destruction to become an accomplished reality.
Consideration was given to the employment of professional guards
for the plant but this action was vetoed because of the stigma that
usually attaches to the employment of armed guards imder a strike
situation.
It was decided to place responsible men from management {person-
nel in the plant to protect it and to establish communications with the
outside in the event of any trouble. Four men went into the plant
under the cover of darlmess and with assistance from police officers.
The telephone cable into the plant had been severed and communi-
cations with the outside were cutoff. Tliese men did not have ade-
quate supplies or means of protecting themselves or plant property.
The four men went into the plant early on Sunday morning, Sep-
tember 25, and on Monday afternoon, the 26th of September, Mr.
Juday, the New Castle plant manager, dropped into the plant grounds
in a helicopter and took supplies in to them.
He also took six shotgmis into the plant. These guns were intended
for the protection of the men and the plant property, there being no
one else in the plant at the time. These four men were liberated when
the police broke up the picket line on the morning of September 27.
During the week following September 27 and prior to October 5,
1955, the rumors multiplied that there would be a raid on the plant
and that machinery and equipment would be destroyed. On October
4, 1955, we heard that there would be a very large demonstration on
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10263
tlie follo^ying day, that people would, be brought in from all over
the State of Indiana and from Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, and
Tennessee, that demonstrators would enter the plant, drag the workers
out and destroy the machinery and equipment.
There was also the rumor that men would be brought in from
Kentucky to dynamite the plant.
A raid on the plant during the night for the purpose of destroying
machinery and equipment was considered a distinct possibility. It
was decided that eight carefully selected men should be asked to stay
in the plant overnight. The men were selected, 4 of them from the
New Castle plant and 4 of them from the Hagerstown plant, and they
stayed in the plant during the night of October 4.
Senator Curtis. Can we have a little better order ; I can't hear ?
The Chairmax. I know that we are not very comfortable in this
small committee room, and we hope this afternoon that we can get
the caucus room back. So be as careful as you can about noise.
It is a little difficult to hear the witness. I wouldn't be able to hear
him except that I am able to follow here as I read his prepared state-
ment. Be as quiet as you can.
Mr. Prosser. These man were armed and instructed not to use
arms unless the plant was broken into, or unless, in the event of a
demonstration on the following day, demonstrators should break
through the entrances or fences to the plant.
They were told to shoot low in front of people if they had to fire.
They were given instructions to take every precaution possible to do
no more than to intimidate men trying to storm the plant but to keep
them outside.
On the morning of October 5, a crowd estimated all the way from
1,500 to 5,000 descended on our New Castle plant, A smaller group
converged on a side gate, forced it open and started toward the plant.
One of the eight employees designated as guards, fired in front of
these invaders and they fled. Following the breakthrough, guns were
fired both from the inside and outside but we know of no shots being
fired into or close to the large mass of "peaceful pickets" as the press
reported that Walter Keuther had stated on the afternoon of October
5, 1955.
Four persons inside the plant were injured by gunfire, one being
a woman, who was shot in the high. I was not present at the time of
the mass demonstrations at Hagerstown and Kichmond.
Mr. Hoffman, who was in the New Castle plant on October 5, and
eye witnesses to the other demonstrations, are better qualified than I
to answer your cpiestions on the details.
I wish to emphasize, however, that the first shot from us was not
fired until the demonstrators had broken into the plant grounds and
showed every intention of entering the plant. Immediately after-
ward, plant officials gave orders to stop firing. There was some firing
after this time from inside the plant by policemen and by employees
who had not been armed by us and who disregarded instructions.
Apparently these employees had armed themselves for self-protec-
tion. It was common practice at that time for workers to carry guns
in their cars for their own protection. I might mention, also, that
the first shots on October 5 came from outside the plant on the north
side.
10264 IMPROPER ACTIVITIHS IN THE LABOR FIELD
(At this point, the following members were present: Senators
McClellan, Mimdt, and Curtis.)
After the National Guard was brought in and order restored in
New Castle, the plant was again opened and continued to operate.
On November 29, 1955, after 4 months and 4 days of union-inspired
violence and lawlessness, the strike was settled.
It was settled on essentially the same terms as had been offered
the union 4 days before the strike began and upon which agreement
had been reached at that time with another CIO union, a steelworkers
union, at our Tipton plant. This agreement, I should like to empha-
size, did not include the union shop.
To repeat, there is no question in my mind but that our strike was
instigated by the international union to force us into a union-shop
agreement. They expected us to be a pushover and became desperate
when the majority of our employees refused to support them and the
company could not be intimidated.
Our company is not antiunion. We do not fight unionism. We
actually accepted miionism willingly and without any controversy,
having recognized the New Castle local in 1937 without an NLRB
election. We only fight what we consider to be union abuses.
It is important to note that during this entire strike not one of the
many unfair-labor-practice charges made by the union was upheld
by NLRB. Generally speaking, our relations with the local unions
have been good ever since we first voluntarily recognized the New
Castle UAW local. The exceptions have been when the international
has tried to force a union-shop agreement.
In fact, during the trouble at New Castle, Mr. Carl Batchfield,
president of the local there, stated in a letter to the New Castle
Coui'ier-Times, September 3, 1955 :
At our Perfect Circle foundry at New Castle, although we have had good
relations, we have not had a good contract.
Our offense so far as the UAW-CIO was concerned was that we
would not accept compulsory miionism and that we refused to be
frightened into submission.
Evidences of the occurrences and the pattern of force and violence
followed by the union during the strike of 1955 is well documented
in the investigation by the National Labor Relations Board, the arbi-
tration of discharged strikers, and in the hearings on unemployment
compensation. Most of the evidence has been presented to this com-
mittee in the form of testimony and affidavits.
From this evidence, it is apparent that the union had a strike plan
involving the use of outside help and such force and violence as might
be necessary to prevent the struck plants from operating. It was also
apparent that the international miion was instrumental in the devising
of this plan.
The active leadership of the international representatives of the
union in the demonstrations and their participation in the conduct of
the strike clearly established the responsibility of the international
union for the unlawful acts of the strikers.
We have heard officials of the international union claim in con-
nection with the Perfect Circle strike and other strikes, that they did
not approve of violence, and disclaim responsibility for it.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10265
We believe that the United Automobile Workers International
Union is a responsible organization and that it has ability to curb
abuses within the union.
It has the ability to prevent violence of the sort that occurred
over a 4-month period in the Perfect Circle strike.
To merely denounce such violence, in the face of its long continu-
ance, and to disclaim responsibility is but to encourage it.
The fact that William Caldwell is still the international representa-
tive dealing with our New Castle plant, indicates that his superiors
w^ere not greatly disturbed over his encouragement of the unlawful
violence during our strike.
We believe that there is need for legislative measures which will
clearly define to the union, the employees, and management the nature
of unlawful violence, the responsibilities for it, and which will provide
adequate penalties. Unlawful demonstrations, mass picketing, and
violence would soon cease to be the pattern in labor disputes if the
employees believed their jobs were in jeopardy when they occurred.
Until steps are taken in this direction, violence w^ill continue in labor
disputes and unions will attempt to evade responsibility with glib
words of abhorrence against violence and the claim that it does not
stem from union orders.
It is to be hoped that this and other investigations will throw
some light on the subject of violence in labor disputes and may re-
sult in constructive legislation to help prevent the recurrence of ex-
periences such as ours.
I would like to read excerpts from three of these affidavits in
support of some of the statements I have made.
The Chairman. What you are reading is excerpts from affidavits
before the National Labor Relations Board and are now official
documents ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct. This is an excerpt from a statement
of Joseph H. Bales on Plan of Union To Use Force and Violence,
from an affidavit in National Labor Relations Board investigation :
I attended 3 or 4 union meetings in the montti or 6 weeks just prior to the
start of the strike on July 26, 1955. At these meetings Bill Caldwell was in
charge and when he discussed the possibility of a strike he assured us that it
would not be like it was in 1948 ; that we would have plenty of help and no one
would go in and out of the plant while the strike was on.
He said that if anyone needed their heads to be bashed in, there would be
someone to take care of it. He insisted that this was the time that Perfect
Circle would be brought to its knees and nobody would stop it. He promised
us that the international union would be behind us with a $2 million strike
fund to take care of us while we were on strike and no one had an excuse for
going back to work.
Also excerpts from a statement of Kenneth McCarty on Plan of
Union To Use Force and Violence.
A day or so before the union meeting held to take a strike vote, Kenny Am-
merman, then chairman of the bargaining committee, told me that they (the
union) were intending to bring in thugs to do their dirty work. He said he did
not go for that kind of stuff. He mentioned that the thugs were to be brought in
from all over if the strike should start.
I should like to mention that Mr. Ammerman resigned from the
strike committee and took a job outside and worked during the entire
period of the strike.
10266 IMPiROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOK FIE1.D
Also from a statement by Clyde Wisener on Plan of Union To Use
Force and Violence.
In the final planning Bill Caldwell told us that if it was necessary we might
have to knock them in the head to keep them out. He went on to tell us that
he would get us out of jail if we were put in for knocking heads and that wfr
would have plenty of help to keep the plant shut down and there would be
plenty of money if it was needed.
That concludes my testimony, gentlemen. Thank you.
The Chairman. As I understand your testimony, the real issue was
the union shop ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. You had no serious problem involving wages or
working conditions ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. And the strike was called according to your testi-
mony and the supporting documents with approval of the inter-
national union?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. And the international union representatives
directed the strike?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. They predicted violence and annoimced there
would be violence before the strike was called ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. Do you know what the strike vote was ?
Do you have that information ?
Mr. Prosser. No. We don't have any knowledge of the niunber of
people that attended the strike vote or the nature of the vote.
The Chairman. Do I understand that they did not have, the
union did not have, a majority membership of your employees at the
time the strike was called ?
Mr. Prosser. They did not have a majority, taking all four plants
together.
The Chairman. Did they strike all four plants ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes. They did not have a majority in any of the
three plants at Richmond or Hagerstown. They did have a majority
in the New Castle plant.
The Chairman. In other words, in 1 of the 4 plants they did have
a majority of the employees as members of the union?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. At three they did not have a majority and in the
overall they did not have a majority ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. Have you made a contract with the union since ?
Mr. Prosser. For the New Castle plant.
The Chairman. For the one plant where they had a majority?
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
The Chairman. You do not have a contract with them at the other
three plants?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. Do they still maintain or operate unions at the other
plants ?
Mr. Prosser. We have an independent union at the Hagerstown
plant and no unions at the two Richmond plants.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10267
The Chairman. Were you present on the picket line or did you
observe the picket line yourself at different times?
Mr. Prosser. Toward the end of the New Castle affair I was. I was
not there during; the demonstrations at Hagerstown or at the time that
the strike started.
The Chairman. Did you observe any representative of the interna-
tional present ?
Mr. Prosser. Personally ?
The Chairman. Yes, sir.
Mr. Prosser. No, sir.
The Chairman. You couldn't say, then, from your personal knowl-
edge, whether the picket lines and the things that were occurring on the
picket line and around and about the plant, you could not say of your
personal knowledge whether that was directed by an international
representative ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct. However, I believe we have affidavits
from other people who can substantiate that fact.
The Chairman. How long did the violence continue ?
Mr. Prosser. I would say that it started on the morning of the 26tli,
when the strike started, and it continued during the entire affair.
The Chairman. Over what period of time ?
Mr. Prosser. Four months.
The Chairman. How was the strike settled ?
Mr. Prosser, Well, it was settled after the three plants at Richmond
and Hagerstown had the union decertified, leaving only the New Castle
plant. At that time, the National Guard was in tlie New Castle area.
The union refused to bargain under those conditions, so we actually
met in Chicago and settled the strike in Chicago.
The Chair3ian. You only made a contract for one plant?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. You read somewhere in your statement, I believe,
that it was settled on substantially the same basis you had offered to
settle it before the strike occurred ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. There may have been some minor differences, ac-
cording to your statement, but what were the differences between your
proposal prior to the strike and the basis upon which you actuallv
settled it?
Mr. Prosser. Mr. Baer handled those negotiations. I will have to
ask them. They were not of sufficient significance that I can remem-
ber them.
The Chairman. You will have to be sworn, sir. Do you solemnly
swear the evidence you shall give before this Senate select committee
shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help
you God?
Mr. Baer. I do.
TESTIMONY OP G. ROBERT BAER
The Chairman. State your name, your place of residence, and busi-
ness or occupation.
Mr. Baer. My name is G. Robert Baer. I reside in Hagerstown,
Ind. I am general manager of the Perfect Circle Corp.
21243— 58— pt. 26 2
10268 IMPROPER ACrrV^ITIHS IX THE LABOR FIELD
The CiiAiRMAX. Did you participate in the settlement of the strike?
Mr. Ever. Yes, I was chairman of the negotiating committee that
arranged for the settlement of the strike and the conclusion of the
contract with the New Castle local of the United Auto Workei-s.
The essential difference of the settlement over what had been offered
prior to the strike was contract duration. Normally our contracts
were for periods of 1 year, generally from July to July. However,
we had spent 4 months of that first year in negotiating, so rather
than have just a 1-year contract both the union and the company
agreed to make it a vear-and-a-half contract, to run until July of
1957.
In connection with that, a prearranged wage increase was agreed
upon to be made effective July 1, 1956, when under normal circum-
stances we would have been negotiating a new contract. Those are
the essential differences between what the settlement was and what
had been offered.
The Chairmax. That contract only applied to one plant?
Mr. Baker. Yes.
The Chairmax. How was the strike settled with respect to the
other three plants ?
Mr. Baer. The strike was settled when the National Labor Rela-
tions Board decertification elections resulted in the locals being decer-
tified at the Hagerstown and the two Richmond plants.
The Chairmax. So the union could no longer contend that it
was the chosen representative, bargaining representative, of the em-
ployees of those plants ?
Mr. Baer. That is correct.
The Chairmax. That automatically settled the strike insofar as
your having further to negotiate with the union.
Mr. Baer. That is correct.
The Chairman. \Yliat happened to the strikers at those plants?
Did they return to work ?
Mr. Baer. Wlien the decertification elections were over, virtually
all of the strikers applied for reinstatement. There were a group of
strikers at the Hagerstown plant and the Richmond machining plant,
who were denied reinstatement because of unlawful activities during
the strike.
The Chairman. What was the total damage done to the plant as a
result of the violence and vandalism, at all of your plants ?
Do you have an estimate of the total damage ?
Mr. Baer. I don't know that we ever did make an estimate of the
total damage. I don't know of any such estimate that was made.
The Chairman. There was d;amage done, as I understand.
Mr. Baer. Yes.
The Chairman. To the plant ?
Mr. Baer. To the New Castle foundary, particularly. Almost en-
tirely at the New Castle foundry, windows broken, that was the main
damage.
The Chairman. Have you had anv trouble since the strike was
settled ?
Mr. Baer. No, our relationship with the UAW at New Castle has
been very satisfactory since that time. "\Ye concluded contract nego-
tiations last July satisfactorily.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10269
TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM B. PROSSER— Resumed
The Chairman. Is it your contention, Mr. Prosser, that all of this
trouble was caused by the international union, in meeting and direct-
ing the local union there to this activity ?
Mr. Prosser. That is a rather difficult question to answer yes or no.
Senator. I don't believe that our employees, as a group, were inter-
ested in the main issue. If you remember correctly, about that time
several companies had recently given in on the union shop issue, and
I think that the local international representative believed that he
could put on a successful strike, and that because of that the inter-
national decided that this was the time to get a union shop out of the
Perfect Circle Corp.
The Chairman. Do they have a union contract at the shop where
you made a contract?
Mr. Prosser. I beg your pardon ?
The Chairman. Did you give in and do you have a union shop at
the plant where you have a union contract with them ?
Mr. Prosser. No, sir. We settled the strike without having a union
shop.
The Chairman. Without having a union shop ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
_ The Chairman. Have you had any trouble in negotiating a contract
since then ?
Mr. Prosser, Nothing unusual.
The Chairman. I mean no particular trouble. You have been able
to do it ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes, sir. In fact, sir, we contend that our labor rela-
tions have always been good. Once in a while we have had a strained
union relation, but I would like to draw a distinction between em-
ployee relations and union relations.
The Chairman. All right, Mr. Counsel, I was just trying to get my
bearings.
Mr. Kennedy. I don't have any questions at this time.
The Chairman. Senator Curtis.
Senator Curtis. There are just one or two things that I think maybe
the record ought to be clearer on. In reference to these papers that
were handed up as exhibits, I hold in my hand a group of affidavits
numbered lA. It is not my purpose to read any part of them into
the record, but I want to identify them as exhibits. They appear to
be the affidavits of George F. Waters, Kay Anderson, Harold Wantz,
Leslie King, Chalmer Juday, Merrel Beyer, John Metzker, Walter
Grunden, Esther Mitchener, and Herschel Bollinger.
Can one of you witnesses tell me in a general way what those affi-
davits are about?
Your associate could be sworn.
Mr. Prosser. I would prefer that Mr. Hoffman answer the question
if he can be sworn.
The Chairman. All right.
You do solemnly swear the evidence you shall give before the
Senate Select Committee shall be the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Hoffman. I do.
10270 OIPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD
TESTIMONY OP CLYDE HOFFMAN
Mr. Hoffman. Those affidavits
Senator Curtis. First perhaps you better state what your position
is with the company.
Mr. Hoffman. My name is Clyde Hoffman. I am an attorney in
this matter, counsel for the company. All of those affidavits pertain
to the break-in of the gate, and the entrance into theyard and turning
over the car, and approach to the plant entrance on the 5th of October.
Senator Curtis. Are the affiants employees, management, or both?
Mr. Hoffman. All of those are employees. Well, most of them are
supervisors. Most of them are not workers in the shop.
Senator Curtis. This one lady who gave an affidavit, Esther Mitch-
ener, is she part of management ?
Mr. Hoffman. No, she is a worker in the shop.
Senator Curtis. Is she the lady who was shot inside ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right, she is the one that was shot.
Senator Curtis. I hold in my hand exhibit 1-B, which is entitled
"Incidents of violence at New Castle foundry during Perfect Circle
strike."
How was that list tabulated and by whom ?
Mr. Hoffman. That list, the tabulations weremade by the personnel
manager at that plant, ancl were made as the incidents were reported
to him hj the persons involved.
Senator Curtis. What is the personnel manager's name ?
Mr. Hoffman. Allen Fromuth.
Senator Curtis. Do you know whether or not he received direct
information from someone involved before they were listed on here ?
Mr. Hoffman. I would say that either he or persons working with
him received that information.
Senator Curtis. Under his direction ?
Were statements taken from any of these people? Do you know
that?
Mr. Hoffman. Eecently, no.
Senator Curtis. No, I mean at the time this list was tabulated.
Mr. Hoffman. No, there were no statements taken at that time.
Notes were kept on it.
Senator Curtis. Notes were kept of the individuals ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Curtis. Are those notes still in existence ?
Mr. Hoffman. I believe Mr. Fromuth has a complete record of
those.
Senator Curtis. They are not numbered, but how many incidents
are supposed to be set forth here ?
Mr. Hoffman. Well, I can't say as to the one list. As I recall,
there is between 180 and 190 on the two lists. There is also a list for
the Hagerstown and the Richmond area.
Senator Curtis. I hold in my hand exhibit 1-C, which is entitled
"Criminal and civil causes growing out of Perfect Circle strike of
1955."
Do you know about that list ?
Mr. Hoffman. Generally, yes.
Senator Curtis. What is it and how is it tabulated ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10271
Mr, HoFFMAx. "Well, tliat was a list, taken from a record kept as
the cases were filed or cases were brought in the courts.
Of course, the list, the long list there, is a list of 48 pickets that
AAere arrested at the time of the mass picketing was broken up on
the 27th of September.
Senator Curtis. And this list shows the date of the action, who the
defendant was, and what the otfense is.
I notice here some disorderly conduct; throwing rocks at some
one's car, and another one, "malicious trespass," and "throwing rocks
at bus."
Do you know who compiled that ?
Mr. Hoffman. Oft'hand, I cannot say.
Senator Curtis. Do you know how many criminal cases arose out
of this that were actually handled by the courts ?
You can supply that. Is that all right ?
Mr. Hoffman. Offhand, I can't say.
Senator Curtis. It says, "Criminal cases in city court." What city
Avas that ?
Mr. Hoffman. City of New Castle.
Senator Curtis. And then there is another list here, which says,
"Criminal contempt suits in Henry Circuit Court." Where is that
court located ?
Mr. Hoffman. The Henry Circuit Court is located in New Castle.
New Castle is the county seat of Henry County.
Senator Curtis. Then there was one civil case that is referred to
on this list.
Mr. Hoffman. Yes.
Senator Curtis. I hold in my hand exhibit 1-B which appears to
be the affidavit of one Paul C. Crum. Do you laiow about that?
Mr, Hoffman. Yes, that is an affidavit. His affidavit is also in-
cluded in the NLRB affidavits.
This is a short-end form of that affidavit, pertaining to the mass
demonstration and violence at the Hagerstown plant on the 26th of
July 1955.
Senator Curtis. Now, who is Paul Crum ?
Mr. Hoffman. Paul Crum is the personnel manager at the Hagers-
town plant.
Senator Curtis. And it recites his personal observations?
Mr. Hoffman. His personal observation of what went on there
that day.
Senator Curtis. He was there ?
Mr. Hoffman. What did you say ?
Senator Curtis. He was present ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, he was present ; and he is i^resent now in the
room.
Senator Curtis. And this affidavit is an abbreviated form of an
affidavit that is a part of the NLRB proceeding?
Mr. Hoffman. Of their hearings, yes, sir.
Senator Curtis. Now, I hold in my hand exhibit 1-F which says,
"Incidents of violence in Hagerstown and Richmond during the Per-
fect Circle strike." By whom was that compiled ?
Mr. Hoffman. Offhand, I cannot say. There is a party in the room
that can, I believe, tell how that was compiled. I believe he was re-
sponsible for it.
10272 IMPROPER ACTIVITIEIS IN THE LABOK FIELD
Senator Curtis. But it is similar to the list that we referred to a
bit aj^o? It is similar to the list in regard to New Castle, only it
pertains to two other locations, Hagerstown and Richmond; is that
right ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right. The records were similarly kept, but
in two of the plants, I don't know who did keep the records.
Senator Curtis. And it is your understanding that interviews were
had and notes made and the list tabulated ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Curtis. I just have one question. Is there any one here
who can tell what international representatives were present at any
time at any of these plants ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes. Mr. Crum for Hagerstown, and Mrs. Fromuth
at New Castle, I believe, can identify most of the international repre-
sentatives.
Senator Curtis. They are here ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, they are here.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Chairman, that is all I have at the present
time. Have these been received ?
The Chairman. They have been received.
Senator Curtis. That is all.
Senator Mundt. Mr. Prosser, you have made a most distressing and
disturbing report of conditions especially at New Castle, in view of
the testimony which we have had from various people in the UAW
to the effect that violence in unionism is a page out of the past, out
of the twenties, and the thirties, and the forties, and that it has not
been occurring in recent years.
Your testimony is a much more direct and specific indictment of the
UAW in this area than any of the testimony we received in connection
with the Kohler strike.
I wish we had had it before us prior to the testimony of Mr. Reuther,
because I would have liked to have asked him some questions about it.
I presume that there will be UAW witnesses, however, who can
present the other side of that picture, because if what you say stands
up by testimony of eyewitnesses, it seems to attach a considerable
degree of violence to officials of the UAW.
Are the affidavits which you have submitted and about which Sen-
ator Curtis has questioned you, supportable by witnesses who are alive
and available to this committee ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes.
Senator Mundt. All of this evidence that we have, if it is chal-
lenged, can be supported by living witnesses ?
Mr. Prosser. I believe so ; yes, sir.
Senator Mundt. On page 2 of your statement, after mentioning 200
acts of violence by what you call hundreds of irresponsible immported
pickets, you then say that on July 26, the 1st day of the strike, at
Hagerstown, a large group of strangers, seven or eight hundred in
number, led by international representatives of the union, descended
upon Hagerstown, a town of 1,800 population.
Now, my question grows out of a question that I asked Mr, Reuther
with regard to Clinton, Mich., where substantially only half of that
number, about 400 outsiders, were led into Clinton, Mich., by Mr.
Mazey, and Mr. Reuther said that this was one case that had happened.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD 10273
He said as far as he knew there only were 1 or 2 other cases of
record where that type of thing occurred, and he agreed with me that
that would not be a proper type of activity in which the international
representatives of the UAW should engage.
I am curious to know whether you can speak out of first-hand knowl-
edge as to the verification of this statement, or whether you have some
other witness in the room who can speak from first-hand knowledge,
No. 1, that there were seven or eight hundred outsiders brought in to
conduct this strike and to reinforce the strike, and whether in fact it is
demonstratable that they were led by international representatives of
the UAW, despite the testimony that we had last week on the very
same subject.
Mr. Prosser. I notice I point out that Hagerstown is a town of
] ,800 population. That is a pretty small community.
Senator Muxdt. That is right, and Clinton, Mich., was 1,600 popu-
lation, and also a small community, and at that time Mazey, presum-
ably at a low boiling point, according to his statement of expression,
had said, "We are going to show these employers in small towns that
they can't fight a strike."
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Mundt. I am startled to find this same kind of testimony
coming now in a town of about the same size, and it is very important
that we know or we are sure whether or not there were in fact seven
or eight hundred outsiders, and especially whether they were, as stated
here, led by international representatives of the union.
I want to find out whether you can verify that as a personal observer,
or if not, who you can call who can substantiate it.
Mr. Prosser. I don't think anybody can say definitely that there
was between 700 and 800. That is the figure commonly estimated by
the people present at the time.
Mr. Crum is one of our witnesses here today, and he is in the room,
and he was outside in this crowd, and I would say also, that the sheriff
of Wayne County was there at that time, and would confirm that
estimate of seven or eight hundred.
Senator Mundt. If this statement is challenged, and if it is not
challenged we can accept it as fact — but if it is challenged by a
UAW witness, we could then call the Sheriff of Wayne County or
Mr. Crum for personal testimony on this point ; is that right ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct. "
Senator Mundt. That is all.
Mr. Prosser. I could give you the names of the two international
representatives who were there, if you think that is important.
Senator ]\Iundt. That would be very helpful, if you will do that.
Mr. Prosser. Mr. William Caldwell was definitely there.
Senator Mundt. He is the man that you referred to previously in
your testimony ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
I would like to qualify this next one, because of the circumstances
surrounding it. I understand that he was not known to anybody in
Hagerstown on that day. but he was identified the following day, and
that is a man from, I believe, Detroit, by the name of Neal Edwards,
or from Anderson, I beg your pardon, from Anderson, Indiana.
The Chairman. What is the name ?
10274 B/IPROPEE ACTIVITIEIS IN THE LABO'R FIELD
Mr. Prosser. Neal Edwards.
Senator Mundt. From Anderson, Indiana ?
]\Ir. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. And the following day he was identified as having
been there on the day that these seven or eight hundred outsiders
were being brought in ?
]\Ir. Prosser. If I remember correctly, he drives a green Mercury.
Senator Mundt. I can understand nobody was sitting out there with
a counting machine, counting whether you had 727 or 842, but some-
one made the estimate. That was made by the sheriff, was it, and by
Mr. Crum?
Mr. Prosser. Mr. Crum, I would say, was responsible for the figure
that I used here.
Senator Mundt. For the figure?
Mr. Prosser. Yes.
Senator Mundt. How did you know that they were outsiders in-
stead of strikers ? Was Mr. Crum in a position to know who worked
in the plant?
Mr. Prosser. He has lived in Hagerstown for many years and our
plant has been there for 65 years, and I would say that our employees
know the ]3eople in Hagerstown by sight.
Senator Mundt. And the sheriff would be familiar with the people
who work in the plant ?
Mr. Prosser. To a lesser degree ; yes, sir.
Senator Mundt. But would know the people in the community,
probably ?
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Mundt. On page 3 you touch on what may or may not
have been a boycott activity, and I don't quite understand it.
You said, speaking about this, that the union cut oft' your supply
of castings. You say —
They contacted our outside sources, Liberty Foundries, at Rockford, 111., and
Tthe Sparta Foundry at Sparta, Mich., in an effort to stop shipments.
Is that a statement you can prove ?
Mr. Prosser. I believe so.
Senator Mundt. How would you go about it ?
Mr. Prosser. Well, I personally had several conversations with
the management of those plants, and I would have to depend on their
statements as to what they were told.
I would like to point out, Senator, that both of these foundries were
sources of supply prior to the strike. At that time our business was
such that we were not able to produce enough castings in our own
foundry, and we were buying outside castings.
In the case of liberty, they were told by an international representa-
tive whom I can't name that our Tipton plant was on strike and that
it was a UAW plant. Of course, we had told the management it
was not a UAW plant, and they told the union, their local boys, so
the president of that union and 2 or 3 of his associates came down
to Tipton to investigate the situation and they found that it was a
steelworkers' plant, and it was not on strike.
They went back and told us that they would produce all of the
castings that we wanted as long as we did not transfer them to any
of the UAW plants which were on strike. So they did take care of
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10275
that. In the case of Sparta, their president at that time, Harold
Vaughn, told me that he was told by his union that if he shipped
any castings to our plants that his place would be closed down.
He said that he was told it would not be closed down for that
reason, "But we will find another good reason that you won't operate.''
He said that he felt that they had an obligation to keep the industry
going, being one of the large original equipment customers, and so
they agreed to ship castings to our Tipton plant and also to our
Canadian plant which also has a steelworkers union, and so both
sources continued to ship castings to our plants which were not on
strike. That was of great assistance to us because it enabled us to
supply the other two plants entirely from the New Castle plant.
Senator Mundt. Did both or either of them discontinue shipping
castings to the plants which were on strike ?
Mr. Prossek. They both did.
Senator Mundt. They both did ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. How do you keep a plant operating without
castings ?
Mr. Prosser. We operated our own plant at New Castle at a high
enough rate of capacity to keep the other two plants operating.
Senator Mundt, I see. You had to rely on your own sources of
supply at the New Castle plant, which was the one that they ulti-
mately stoned ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. Was this a UAW union at the Sparta plant ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes.
Senator Mundt. Was it also UAW union at the other plant?
Mr. Prosser. Yes, it was.
Senator Mundt. So that they were working with members of their
own union in other plants to shut off your supply as a means of bring-
ing you to your knees, if it could work ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. Precisely, when you say the point of dispute was
a union shop, did that mean that they were trying to establish in
your plant a contract whereby you could employ only union men or
did it mean that you could employ union men or nonunion men pro-
vided after a certain stipulated time they joined the union?
Mr. Prosser. The latter case.
Senator Mundt. The latter case ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes, sir.
(At this point, the following members were present: Senators Mc-
Clellan, Curtis, and Mundt.)
Senator Mundt. How long did they work before they belonged to
the union ?
Mr. Prosser. 30 days.
Senator Mundt. What they were trying to establish by this strike
was a situation so that no employee not a member of the union could be
employed by you for longer than 30 days ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. On page 4
Mr. Prosser. I might also say, Senator, for the benefit of the UAW,
as long as the present management is in control of our company, that
10276 IMPROPER ACTIVITIEIS IX THE LABOR FIELD
will continue to be our policy, because we oppose compulsory union-
ism as a matter of principle.
Senator Mundt. I believe since that strike the legislature of the
great State of Indiana has taken that same position, if I understand
what I read in the papers correctly.
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. So you have some reinforcement for your position
now.
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Mundt. On page 4 you say —
On August 5, 1955, a large group of union demonstrators, including the director,
Raymond Berndt.
Who was Kaymond Berndt, and he was director of what?
Mr. Prosser. He is director of region 3, and I believe is going to be
the next speaker.
Senator Mundt. He is an international
Mr. Prosser. He is the regional director in Indianapolis, for the
State of Indiana, and I believe part of Kentucky.
Senator Mundt. He wasn't mentioned before. You mentioned
Caldwell and you mentioned somebody from Anderson, Ind. This is a
third international representative ?
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Mundt. I wasn't sure whether he was a director of some
local situation, but he is an international director.
Mr. Prosser. A regional director.
Senator Mundt. Further down in the page you say —
The local international representative and an international representative from
the office of region 3 of the union were present on this occasion.
Can you identify those ?
Mr. Prosser. The local international representative would be Cald-
well and the other gentleman is John Bartee.
Senator Mundt. John who ?
Mr. Prosser. Bartee.
Senator Mundt. Is this a fourth international representative now ?
Mr. Prosser. Well, he is another international representative. I
believe he is located in South Bend. He is under the same regional
director.
Senator Mundt. How do you spell Bartee ?
Mr. Prosser. B-a-r-t-e-e.
Senator Mundt. This is a fourth international representative that
you have now cataloged ?
Mr. Proser. Yes.
Senator Mundt. Up to August
Mr. Prosser. We have pictures of him inside the fence, if you would
like to see them.
Senator Mundt. If it becomes a point of controversy, we may want
to see them. Maybe he will deny he was there. If he denies it, a
picture would be interesting evidence, of course.
On August 15, when you are describing violence, I would like to
ask you whether there have been any violent acts on the part of the
company up to this time. One of the positions that the UAW wit-
nesses have taken which impressed me with some validity was violence
against violence and that the UAW has been using violence as a
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD 10277
retaliatory tactic. I would like to know up to August 15, 1955, if
there had been any acts of violence against strikers, union officials,
or against union members.
Mr. Prosser. I know of none, and you can extend that date up to
the settlement of the strike. I know of no violence on the part of the
company.
Senator Mundt. There were no charges of violence with the com-
pany against the NLKB ?
Mr. Prosser. Unless you include the October 5 incident.
Senator Mundt. That is where you were being attacked and trying
to defend your plant.
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Mundt. How about prior to the October 5 incident ?
Mr. Prosser. I know of no violence.
Senator Mundt. If there was in fact violence, it would not be re-
taliatory to other violence prior to October 5 ?
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Mundt. On page 5 you say —
On the morning of September 19, 1955, a large number of pickets massed at the
entrance of the New Castle plant.
That would be indicative to me that that was mass picketing on that
occasion ; is that correct ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. I think you said you had secured a court order
against mass picketing prior to that time.
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. So this would be in direct violation of the law.
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. I believe about a week after that, as a matter of
fact, the police, acting in conformity with the court order, broke up
that illegal picket line and arrested 46 of the pickets ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. Were any of them convicted?
IMr. Prosser. Not to my knowledge.
Senator Mundt. Wliat happened to the case ?
Mr. Prosser. I don't know.
Senator Mundt. Does anybody know ?
Mr. Hoffman. I believe that there were— no; on this I do not be-
lieve any were convicted on this charge. It seems that the local prose-
cutor or officials felt that the charges that were brought, the manner
in which the charges were brought, were not well taken, and for that
reason I believe the cases were thrown out.
Senator Mundt. Since they did not return to a mass picket line,
they simply let the cases expire ?
Mr. Hoffman. We can only assume that.
Senator Mundt. On page 6, you talk about Mr. Juday, and he
came into the plant area in a helicopter to provide supplies for the
men who were guarding the property, and you say he also took shot-
guns into the plant.
Was September 25 the first time that the company armed itself with
shotguns as a defensive gesture ?
Mr. Prosser. September 26, yes.
Senator Mundt. 25 or 26.
10278 rMPROPEK ACTrnTIES IX THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Prosser. Tlie guards in that plant are more of the night watch-
men variety and have never carried arms or haven't carried arms for
years. I don't know if they ever did or not.
Senator Mundt. So September 25 or 2G was the first time that you
had armed your people inside the plant with shotguns ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. We cannot hear testimony, then, in this case as in
the Kohler case, that one of the reasons for violence was in anticipa-
tion of the fact that shotguns which had been put into the plant might
be used. This came after these acts of violence and some of the arrests
had been made.
Mr. Prosser. Well that, you must remember, followed the period
when there were so many rumors about the destruction of property.
During that time, from September 19 to September 25 the plant was
entirely unprotected.
Senator Mundt. And it also followed the occasion when the police
had arrested the strikers ?
Mr. Prosser. No. It was prior to that. You see, that is when the
men got out of the plant, was after those pickets were arrested.
Senator Mundt. One day after that.
That is right. It followed the September 19 situation where you had
this mass of picketing at the entrance of the Xew Castle plant, how-
ever?
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Mundt. You keep talking a lot about rumors, that your
plant was going to be dynamited, that it was going to be attacked,
they were going to move in and destroy the machinery in the foundry,
which was helping to keep the other plants up. Where did you pick
up these rumors ? What kind of rumors were they ? Did they seem
to be substantiated well enough to take action on them? You can
hear a lot of rumors in a town of 1,800 people.
Mr. Prosser. Well, they were significant enough that when the
National Guard was in there, I believe on three different occasions,
they brought in demolition people and had the plant searched them-
selves because they had heard there was dynamite in that plant.
Senator Mundt. So there would seem to be some substantiation for
the rumors ?
Mr. Prosser. Well, just that they were prevalent. I don't know
how you would pin down where they started.
Senator Mundt. This is one way to test a rumor. Ultimately, did
anything happen in the nature of a mass demonstration or an attack
upon the plant which pretty well corresponded with the rumors you
had heard as to the type of activity or as to date or any other thing?
Mr. Prosser. AVell, the October 5 riot was rumored the day before,
and employees were called up by some of their friends in other plants
and advised not to go to work. A man here in the room, Mr. Fromuth,
who was in management, received two calls personally advising him
not to go to work.
Senator Mundt. Specifying the date ?
Mr. Prosser. Specifying October 5.
Senator Mundt. And on October 5, the results of that day tended
to shore up that rumor ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD 10279
Mr. Prosser. That is correct. I might also say that Captain Dillon
of the State police had reports from over Indiana that there would be
a mass demonstration the following day.
He discussed it with Mr. Justice, the chief of police, and also Mr.
Hoffman, the day before it occurred.
Senator Mundt. What is Caj^tain Dillon's first name ?
Mr. Pkosser. Captain Dillon ? Eobert Dillon.
Senator Mujstdt. Capt. Kobert Dillon. On page 8, you say :
It is important to note that during this entire strike, not one of the many
unfair labor practice charges made by the union was upheld by the NLRB.
Generally speaking, our relations with the union have been good —
and so forth.
The exceptions have been when the international union has tried to force a
union shop agreement.
On what do you base your testimony that it was the international
union that was attempting to force the union shop agreement?
Mr. Prosser. I would prefer to have Mr. Hoffman or Mr. Baer
answer that in detail. The reason I make the statement is because of
the introduction of that into a previous strike, and the fact that in
1953 there was considerable agitation for a strike by the international
representative, but that the local officers would not support him and
he had to abandon the idea.
Senator Mundt. If either ]\Ir. Baer or Mr. Hoffman cares to de-
lineate further on that, I would be happy to hear them.
Mr. Hoffman". I might say that in 1958 I happened to be counsel
for the corporation at that time, and for an interim joeriod in charge
of the negotiations, handled the negotiations.
We had a strike that has had 8 weeks. It was a wage reopening,
and legally the union could not raise other issues under the contract,
but they did raise the union shop issue, and the strike was over the
union shop issue.
At that time, two international representatives were in charge of
the negotiations and the strike, and it was very evident that they were
the ones that were pushing for the union shop in all the negotiations,
and in any contacts with the international representative at that time
it was the international representatives that were actively pushing the
union shop.
Again, in 1953
Senator Mundt. At that point, let me ask you : Is there any evi-
dence that international representatives in pushing for the union shop
were merely carrying out the desires or the wishes of the union mem-
bers who worked in the shop, the local people ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is pretty difficult to delineate, other than to
say that in the atmosphere and the activity present it appeared to us
very strongly that the international representatives were the ones that
were pushing for the union shop.
I don't believe the employees alone would have risked contract viola-
tion under those circumstances.
Wlien conciliation came in, in the final stages of that strike, the
conciliator told them, told the union, that they were definitely in an
illegal position in that strike. The strike was somewhat like this one.
From 65 to 70 percent of the employees continued to work throughout
10280 IMPRiOPER ACTIVITIEIS IX THE LABOR FIELD
the strike in the Hagerstown plant. Richmond at that time was not
organized.
The foundry continued to operate under similar conditions.
It did not have the big demonstrations in the areas of the plant,
but there was a lot of the vandalism and violence to the persons and
properties of employees at that time. Then in 1953, during contract
negotiations, the union shop issue was raised. In final stages of that
it appeared that there would be a strike. We understood that a
strike vote had been taken. At that time Mr. Caldwell appeared to
be strongly in favor of a strike, and certainly the principal issue, one
of the principal issues, was the union shop. Fortunately, we were
able, in conference with the president of the local union and chairman
of the bargaining committee, I believe, to convince them that they
should not strike over the issue.
In the final meeting, the president of the local, 370, in New Castle,
took a position against the strike, and that avoided the strike in 1953.
So all during that period, the three strikes that were had, we can
say at least the international representatives were very conspicuous
in their demands for the union shop.
Senator Mundt. Mr. Prosser, on page 9, you say :
It is apparent that the union had a strike plan involving the use of outside
help and such force and violence as might be necessary to prevent struck plants
from operating. It was also apparent that the international union was instru-
mental in the devising of this plan.
As I understand it, you have witnesses who were at meetings, present
in being, who heard Mr. Caldwell make those statements, and you can
produce them if your statement is challenged ?
Mr. Prosser. That is right. Those were the affidavits that I read
after my statement.
Senator Mundt. I may have some questions growing out of a study
of the affidavits, which, of course, I have not had a chance to look at.
But I wanted to find out for the record whether or not, if that state-
ment is challenged, if the statement is challenged that the international
union was instrumental in the devising of this plan, including the
use of outside help, including the use of violence and force, whether
you had in being, witnesses who were present who could testify that
they heard Mr. Caldwell make those statements.
Mr. Prosser. They are available.
Senator Mundt. And you say also on page 9 :
To merely denounce such violence in the face of its long continuance and to
disclaim responsibility is but to encourage it. The fact that William Caldwell
is still the international representative dealing with our New Castle plant indi-
cates that his superiors were not greatly disturbed over his encouragement of
the unlawful violence during our strike.
You use the words there "encouragement of the unlawful violence
during our strike" and on that point, I take it, you also have witnesses
available if that statement is challenged ?
Mr. Prosser. Well, I believe the same witnesses would tell about his
promotion of the idea of using violence. You will remember he was
present most of those times. He wasn't on October 5. He was in
court at that time being tried.
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Prosser. I beg your pardon. He was just sitting there.
Senator Mundt. Sitting in court.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10281
Mr. Prosser. I want to point out, and I think it is significant, in
this statement of Kenneth McCarty where he says that Mr. Ammer-
man, who was chairman of the bargaining committee and carried
on negotiations, that Ammerman told him that they were intending
to bring in thugs to do their dirty work.
He said he did not go for that kind of stuff. As a matter of fact,
Mr. Ammerman resigned from the bargaining committee and accepted
a job outside of the bargaining committee, and, as a matter of fact,
he went on our guard force and was on the guard force and worked
during the entire strike.
Senator Mundt. I remember your reading that excerpt from the
affidavit and I thought it was pretty impressive. I am wondering
whether Mr. Kemieth Ammerman is available, should his statement
be challenged and he should be needed as a witness.
Mr. Prosser. He is still working for us.
Senator Mundt. Those are all the questions I have, Mr. Chairman,
except I may have some growing out of the affidavits.
But those are all I have growing out of the testimony.
Senator Curtis. I have one or two very brief ones.
The Chairman. Senator Curtis.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Prosser, concerning the violence that occurred,
there were two types of or two areas of violence, were there not, one
at the plants in the picket line and related thereto, and then you also
had violence on homes and highways, is that right ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. Who were the victims of the home violence ? Were
they your employees ?
Mr. Prosser. Yes. They were the nonstriking workers.
Senator Curtis. The nonstriking workers ?
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Curtis. Do any of the three of you who have been sworn
there know what kind of violence would be perpetrated at these
homes ?
Mr. Hoffman. It would be shotgim blasts into the house
Senator Curtis. Into the side of the house or windows ?
Mr. Hoffman. Windows, inside the house, and there were cases
where it went clear through the siding. There are pictures, I think
the staff have pictures and we also have pictures, of what occurred.
There were also along toward the end of the strike, and that was after
October 5, it stepped up a bit and it became rifle shots instead of
shotgun blasts and stones.
Senator Curtis. About how many people's homes were molested ?
Mr. Hoffman. There were, I would say, in the neighborhood of
between 190 and 200.
Senator Curtis. Incidents of
Mr. Hoffman. Well, no, that included ambushes and molestations
on the streets, and all types of violence to the persons or property, cars
and otherwise.
Senator Curtis. Approximately how many homes were molested ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Baer. I will have to count them.
Senator Curtis. What would they do at these homes besides shoot
in them with a shotgun and later on a rifle ?
10282 IMPROPER ACTIVITLEB IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. IIoFFiMAN. That was mainly it, there was some i>aintj not too
much, there was paint thrown on stone houses.
Senator Cuetis. On the outside of the house ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes.
Senator Curtis. Do you know of any paint thrown on the inside ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, there were instances of paint being thrown on
the inside.
Senator Curtis. Could you name those instances ?
Mr. Baer. Geneva Landrith— —
Senator Curtis. ^Vliat is her address ?
Mr. Baer. That was a house that was ransacked. That is not the
one. Gladys DeCorci had the outside of her home smeared with paint.
I don't have those addresses here. Mary Murray had her car and house
smeared with paint.
jNIargaret Starbuck had a bottle of paint thrown through the window
of her home and paint sj)lattered over the room. "We have a picture
of that.
Senator Curtis. You do have a picture of that ?
Mr. Baer. Yes.
Senator Curtis. "VVliat is her address ?
Mr. Baer. I don't have her address.
Senator Curtis. You don't even know what town it is ?
Mr. Baer. It can be
Senator Curtis. It can be furnished ?
Mr. Baer. Yes, it can be.
Senator Curtis. I believe that is all.
The Chairivian. I think we will be able to occupy the caucus room
this afternoon. There is a meeting being held here which is expected
to conclude by 2 :30, So for that reason, we are recessing until 2 :30
this afternoon, and we will reconvene in the caucus room.
("\"\niereupon, at 12 :35 p. m. a recess was taken until 2 :30 p. m. of
the same day, with the following members present : Senators McClel-
lan, Curtis, and Mundt.)
afternoon session
The Chahoian. The committee will be in order.
(Members of the committee present at the convening of the session
were: Senators McClellan, Mundt, and Curtis.)
The Chairman. Mr. Prosser, will you stand by, and we will want
further testimony from you later.
Call the next witness.
Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Ray Berndt.
The Chairman. Do you solemnly swear that the evidence you shall
give before this Senate select committee shall be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Berndt. I do.
TESTIMONY OF EAYMOND H. BERNDT, ACCOMPANIED BY
JOSEPH L. EAUH, JE., COUNSEL
The Chairman. State your name, and your place of residence, and
your business or occupation.
Mr. Berndt. Mr. Chairman, my name is Eavmond H. Berndt. I
reside at 2105 South Wallnut Street, at South "Bend, Ind.. and I am
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10283
the director of UAW region 3, which comprises the States of Indiana
. and Kentucky,
The CiiAiRMAX, All right, sir, you have counsel? Mr. Rauh is ap-
pearing for you ?
Mr. Berndt. Mr. Rauh is appearing as counsel.
The Chairman. Do you have a prepared statement ?
Mr. Berndt. Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared statement, and I
would just like to say that there are a few typographical errors in the
; statement, and I wish the committee would make such corrections in
.the statement.
The Chairman. Was the statement submitted in time ?
Mr. Kennedy. I don't think so.
The Chairman. I understand this statement was not submitted
within the rule, but there is a circumstance attending this particular
hearing where we feel we should waive the rules, because we have all
been under such pressure of haste and so forth that it hasn't been
convenient to do it.
Without objection, the rule will be waived, and you may proceed to
read your statement, Mr. Berndt.
Mr. Berndt. On Thursday, March 27, 1958, local 370, UAW, as-
signed a supplementary agreement with the Perfect Circle Corp., pro-
viding for a 5-cent-an-hour wage increase for its 245 employees at the
New Castle, Ind., plant for which the UAW is collective bargaining-
agent.
The local 370 negotiating committee and representatives of the in-
ternational union participated in these negotiations under a wage-
reopening clause in our current contract with the Perfect Circle Corp.,
and I signed the agreement on behalf of the international.
The contract containing this wage-reopening clause was negoti-
ated— without a strike — in July 1957.
In other words, since the 1955 strike, UAW local 370 and the re-
sponsible representatives of the international union involved in these
negotiations have successfully sat at the bargaining table with the
representatives of the Perfect Circle Corp. on two occasions and
reached agreements without the necessity for strike action.
I cite these facts to make clear to this committee that while relations
between UAW local 370 and the Perfect Circle Corp. cannot yet be
described as harmonious, we have nevertheless been able to resolve our
serious and continuing differences on economic matters at the collective
bargaining table and not by jungle w\arfare.
This committee should bear in mind that the Perfect Circle situation
in 1955 was in no sense representative of the UAW.
The 646 members of the UAW employed in the four Perfect Circle
plants in 1955 represented less than one twenty-fifth of 1 percent of the
1,500,000 members of our union.
The contract was one of 2,600 that our union negotiates periodically.
The violence which occurred was an isolated instance provoked by the
hostility of an untypical company not yet fully accepting in good
faith its collective bargaining responsibility.
Even taking as limited a sample as Indiana, for purposes of com-
parison, this single strike must be weighed against the 112 collective
'bargaining agreements arrived at in Indiana without strikes in 1955
21243— 58— pt. 26 3
10284 IMPIliOPER ACTIVITIEIS IN THE LABOR FIEIiD
and the. 5 UAW strikes in tliat State in that year, none of which
resnltecl in any violence whatsoever.
The members of our union hokl strong views both as to our current
differences on economic questions with the Perfect Circle Corp. and as
to the merits of the dispute which led to bloodshed in 1955.
The ugly wounds ripped open at that time heal slowly. The UAW
member who carries a bullet wound inside his chest today and those
whose scar tissue bears physical proof of the 1955 violence cannot
easily wipe out the memory of that nightmare.
But even the worse wound is covered over and begins to heal after
80 months. With the passage of time, the desire to forget makes it
easier to forget.
The fact that new contracts have been negotiated with only verbal
exchanges across the bargaining table and that grievances and day -to-
day problems in the plant have been processed over a ^i^-year period
indicates that a climate is beginning to develop in which some da if
mutual trust and confidence can emerge.
In view of these facts, the members and leadership of local 370 and
of the UAW International Union deeply regret that this committee
has seen fit to investigate the Perfect Circle strike of 1955.
I hope and pray that it will not rekindle fires which have ebbed or
died.
On our part, we pledge that while we will give the full facts as we
understand them concerning the 1955 strike, we shall exercise restraint
so that recrimination and assessment of blame do not erode the fragile
bridge of understanding which we have begun to erect between local
370 and the Perfect Circle Corp.
I hope and pray that the company's representatives will do likewise
and that the members of this committee will give full consideration to
the need for constructing harmonious labor-management relations,
rather than destroying the beginnings that have been made.
I hope, too, that this committee will bear in mind the fact that the
current contract between Perfect Circle Corp. and local 370 expires
on July 1, 1958, and that within 60 days the men in this room repre-
senting the union and those representing the company must again sit
down at the bargaining table to negotiate a new contract.
Let me state at the outset of my testimony concerning the 1955
strike, as President Reuther did before this committee, that our union,
like the company, is composed of imperfect human beings. We do
not claim perfection — either now or in 1955.
The Perfect Circle Corp. management made serious errors, includ-
ing some that were a threat to the very lives of human beings. And,
in all honesty, we must say that the members of our union, under in-
tense provocation and in the heat of emotional bitterness, made some,
too.
So far as it is possible for one human being to do so, I shall outline
for you the background and conduct of the 1955 strike, omitting
neither the justice of our fight nor the faults vre may have committed.
The princi]3al points I shall make may be summarized in the foh
lowing manner :
1. The Pei'fect Circle Corp. had a long history before the 1955
strike of resistance to unionization of its employees, and frequent
challenges of the union's right to represent its employees in collective
bargaining.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10285
2. The Perfect Circle Corp. forced its employees to strike for con-
tractual provisions and benefits its chief competitors and customers
were already pa3ang.
3. The Perfect Circle Corp. refused to include a provision for
effective arbitration in its contract and refused repeated offers made
by both impartial outsiders and the UAW to arbitrate the issues in
dispute and thereby avoid or end the strike.
4. The Perfect Circle Corp. imported shotguns, high-powered
rifles, and other weapons into its plant.
5. The Perfect Circle Corp. attempted to operated its plants dur-
ing the strike, using strikebreakers and scabs to replace the striking
workers who had up to 27 years of seniority.
6. The Perfect Circle Corp. committed many acts to provoke re-
sentment and retaliation by the striking employees.
7. The Perfect Circle Corp. shot unarmed strikers and UAW mem-
bers while they were marching outside the company's gates, Avhile
the UAW sought to discourage violence.
8. The Perfect Circle Corp. had no need for importing arms or
shooting in alleged self-defense, since it already enjoyed the overly
friendly cooperation of public officials including members of the police
force.
9. Although Perfect Circle Corp. instigated this strike, prolonged
it unnecessarily by refusing to arbitrate, instigated violence by its
actions and ousted the UAW from 3 of its 4 plants, the strike of local
370 had to be settled eventually at the collective bargaining table.
Let me now sketch in the details of this corporation's antilabor
policies :
1. The Perfect Circle Corp. had a long histoid before the 1955
strike of resistance to unionization of its employees and frequent chal-
lenges of the union's right to represent its employees in collective
bargaining :
Before the 1955 strike, tlie Perfect Circle management had chal-
lenged the UAW in 10 different representation or decertification elec-
tions at the 4 Indiana plants and had forced its employees to strike
3 times for economic justice and union recognition.
During the period prior to 1955, the company had apparently used
Anthony Doria's notorious UAW-AFL and was found guilty by the
NLRB of unfair labor practices.
Let me recite briefly the history of anti-UAW tactics employed by
Perfect Circle prior to the 1955 strike. There were 4 UAW' locals
involved at the company's 4 Indiana plants— local 370 at New Castle,
156 at Hagerstown, 832 at the Richmond machine plant, and 1203 at
the Richmond foundry.
Perfect Circle workers voted to organize UAW local 370 at New
Castle in 1937 but were forced to strike to win recognition. This was
during the period when many employers were resisting NLRB elec-
tions in the hope that the Wagner Act might be declared unconstitu-
tional.
Next the company at New Castle nurtured an independent union,
the Perfect Circle employees union, which on November 10, 1941, pe-
titioned for an NLRB election. This company union beat the UAW
by 18 votes (138 to 120).
10286 IMPROPER ACTIVTTIEIS IN THE LABOR FIELD
However, the employees at New Castle soon realized their mistake.
Stuck with the company union for 1 year by terms of the law, they
voted 83. lo percent in favor of the UAW on November 5, 1942.
The UAAV (local 370) was certified as the collective bargaining
agent on November 11, 1942, and has not been challenged in an NLRB
election since that time.
I would like to add without the union shop which Mr. Prosser op-
posed, we still have today a membei-ship between 90 to 95 percent of
local 370 in New Castle.
The Chairman. How many employees are there in that plant now^
Mr. Berndt. To the best of my knowledge, approximately 240.
The Chairman. Two hundred and forty there ?
Mr. Berndt. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. All right.
Mr. Berndt. On the same date, that the UAW won the NLRB
election to represent the Perfect Circle employees at New Castle, it
also won a separation election by a 56.6 percent margin at Hagers-
town, where local 156 was established as the bargaining agent on
November 11, 1942.
With the help of Anthony Doria's UAW-AFL, the Perfect Circle
management began its drive to replace the UAW-CIO in 1951.
On Februar}^ 19, 1951, the corporation filed for an NLRB election
to decertify the UAW as collective bargaining agent for the Hagers-
town employees.
Perfect Circle claimed that Doria's union appeared to represent
a majority of the employees and only an election could settle the
issue.
It refused to negotiate a new contract until the vote was taken.
When the election was held, with 608 employees eligible to vote,
the Doria union received 16 votes to 406 for the tJAW.
At the Richmond foundry, UAW local 1203 was first certified as
the collective bargaining representative in an election held June 12,
1952. Of 109 employees eligible to vote, 67 voted for UAW and 37
for no union.
Once again the company instigated a Perfect Circle independent
union to petition the NLRB for a new election on October 11, 1954.
This time the UAW defeated the independent company union 41 to
23, wath 7 votes for no union.
At the Richmond machine plant, UAW local 832 lost the firet
NLRB election on November 3, 1948, as a result of unfair labor prac-
tices committed by tlie Perfect Circle Corp. The UAW lost by 9
votes, 77 to 86, and objected to the election.
Mr. Chairman, I woidd like to enter exhibit No. 1 which is the
letter to the NLRB, dated November 12, 1958, relative to this decer-
tification election.
The Chairman. Just a moment. Are you introducing a document ?
Mr. Berndt. It is our exhibit No. 1.
The Chairmx\n. This November 12 letter, 1948, to the National La-
bor Relations Board, from John Bartee, may be made exhibit No. 2.
(Document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 2," for refer-
ence and will be found in the appendix on p. 10382.)
The Chairman. All right.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10287
Mr. Berndt. The NLEB found the company guilty of improperly
influencing the vote and ordered a new election 5 months later. By
the time the second election was held, on April 1, 1949, the com-
pany was able to get a majority of the machine plant employees at
Richmond to vote against the UAW.
Finally, however, on March 30, 1951, the UAW was able to get
a third NLRB election at this plant. This time, with 237 employees
eligible to vote, the UAW won with 117 votes to 112 for no union.
On top of the representation elections, the Perfect Circle Corp.
had forced its employees to go on strike 3 times before 1955 to win
economic justice.
The first strike waged by the UAW against the Perfect Circle
Corp. was in 1937, when the Hagerstown plant was forced to strike
to win recognition of the union.
In 1945, the foundry workers at New Castle had to strike for
8 weeks over company attempts to reclassify jobs.
Another 8-week strike was waged by the UAW at both the New
Castle and Hagerstown plants beginning on November 9, 1948, and
extending to January 1949.
Over 87 percent of the membership voted for the strike. The chief
issues then, as in 1955, were wage increases, union security, pensions,
and group insurance improvements.
It wasn't until the very end of the 1955 strike — in November 1955 — ■
that the Perfect Circle Corp. management was successful in ousting
the union at the three plants where it had failed before the strike.
It is interesting to note that at the fourth plant (at New Castle,
Ind.) where most of the company-instigated violence took place, the
company was not successful in ousting the UAW, which still repre-
sents the workers there today.
Not only did the company have a long history of antiunionism
before the strike, but its conduct of negotiations before and during
the strike clearly indicated its intention of provoking a strike and of
challenging the union's right to represent Perfect Circle employees
in collective bargaining.
Sixty days prior to the July 25, 1955, expiration date of the col-
lective bargaining agreement between the UAW and the Perfect
Circle Corp., the presidents of each of the four Perfect Circle UAW
local unions received a letter from the corporation, giving the nec-
essary 60-day notice of intention to terminate the contract.
In its letter, the company asserted that "our decision to take this
action stems from the substantial increase in dues recently instituted
by your international union."
This issue was raised by the company in an obvious attempt to
evade collective bargaining in good faith. It was another attempt to
stir up dissension in the UAW.
The increase in dues referred to by the company was a $5 tempo-
rary increase for a 4-month period that had been overwhelmingly
voted in April 1955, by the 3,000 delegates to the UAW's 1955 Inter-
national Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
Every UAW member in the United States and Canada who earned
more than $200 a month paid the $5 dues increase during the 4-month
period which ended in August 1955, at which time the dues reverted
to the normal monthly amount which, in most cases, was $2.50 per
month.
10288 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
(At this point the following members were present: Senators Mc-
Clellan, Mmidt, and Curtis.)
During the 60-day period preceding the strike, some 16 meetings
were held between the Perfect Circle management and the joint union
committee representing the four Perfect Circle locals.
At the final negotiating session on July 21, 1955, the issues remain-
ing unresolved were wages — (the company offered a 10-cent per hour
package against the union's request for the standard industrywide
package of 21 cents per hour) ; compulsory arbitration, supplemental
unemployment benefits, union shop, retirement and insurance benefits,
wage inequities and several individual plant issues.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to insert at this point that Mr. Prosser
made quite a point this morning of saying that the union shop was the
only point at issue. I think that Mr. Prosser has every right to be-
lieve that, but this was our economic package at that time. These
were the issues yet remaining unsolved. I would like to at this point
introduce another exhibit. It is a letter by myself to all the Perfect
Circle-UAW members, mailed to their homes under date of July 11,
1955, setting forth the issues that were presently under negotiations at
the bargaining table.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 3.
(The document referred to was marked exhibit 3 for reference and
will be found in the appendix on p. 10383.)
Mr. Berndt. In all four UAW local unions during the week before
the strike, the company's final proposals and the union's demands
were outlined to the membership. In each case, the members voted
overwhelmingly by secret ballot to strike on July 25, 1955, when the
contract expired.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter as evidence the notices that
called for the secret strike vote meetings in the various local miions.
The Chairman. They may be made exhibit 4A, B, and C.
(The documents referred to were marked exhibits 4A, B, and C
for reference and may be found in the files of the Select Committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. At local 156, Hagerstown,
the strike vote was 131 for, 43 against.
In local 370, New Castle, the vote was 134 for strike action, 9
against.
At local 832, Eichmond, the strike vote was 63 to 20 against.
At local 1203, Richmond, the strike vote was 16 to 3 against.
Thus, with 656 employees eligible to vote, 415 or nearly 66 percent
participated in the strike votes. Of those participating, 82 percent
(340) voted in favor of a strike and only 18 percent (75) against.
A month after the strike had started, on August 25, 1955, the com-
pany again made clear its intention of wiping out the union.
On that date, representatives of the State labor commission called
both sides to a negotiation session at the Warren Hotel in Indianapo-
lis. The union was represented by the presidents of the four AITW
Perfect Circle locals. International Representative William Caldwell
and myself. The company insisted that the UAW could bargain only
for employees of the New Castle foundry, since petitions for decertifi-
cation of the UAW at the Richmond and Hagerstown plants had been
filed with the NLRB during the preceding weeks by various individ-
uals employed by tlie company.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10289
Since negotiations had begun jointly for the four Perfect Circle
plants, the company's insistence on bargaining only for the New
Castle f OTUidry, let to the breakdown of negotiations.
Although the UAW at this point was still the legally designated
bargaining representative for all four plants, the company took a
position once again wliich it knew would disrupt bargaining and pre-
vent a solution to the dispute.
2. The Perfect Circle Corp. forced its employees to strike for con-
tractural provisions and benefits its chief competitors and customers
were already paying.
Perfect Circle maiuifactures piston rings, which it sells mainly to
the major auto corporations.
Prior to the July 25, 1955, strike at Perfect Circle, the UAW had
already reached agreement, without the necessity of a strike, with
the major auto corpoi'ations and hundreds of other supplier lirms on
the same basic benefits for which the Perfect Circle Corp. forced its
employees to strike.
The September 1955 issue of the United Automobile Worker news-
paper reported that companies employing more than 822,500 UAW
members had agreed to new contracts including supplemental un-
employment benefits and other improvements.
I would like to at this time introduce another exhibit wliich is a
copy of the newspaper article that I just referred to.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 5.
(The document referred to was marked exhibit 5 for reference
and may be found in tlie files of the Select Committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Thank you, sir.
Before the strike erupted at Perfect Circle, the Sealed Power Corp.
of Rochester, Ind., and Muskegon, JMich., Perfect Circle's competitor
company, had already signed a contract providing the same benefits
for which Perfect Circle forced its workers to strike.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter as an exhibit an article on
the signing of the Sealed Power agreement referred to in this article.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 6. All of these exhibits
are just for reference.
(The document referred to was marked exhibit 6 for reference
and mak be found in the files of the Select Committee.)
Mr. Berndt. For example, the new 3-year contract, negotiated in
September 1955, and signed October 1, 1955, with the Sealed Power
Corp. provided for a package increase estimated at 20.9 cents per
hour at the Muskegon plant and 22.1 cents per hour at the Rochester,
Ind., plant.
The Rochester, Ind., plant contract provided for a supplemental
unemployment benefits plan, with company contributions starting
in September 1956 and benefits payable in 1957.
It also provided for an 8-cents-per-hour general wage increase, a
6-cents-per-hour annual improvement factor, an improved cost-of-
living factor, an extra paid holiday, and a pension plan conforming
to the industry pattern. The Muskegon improvements were similar.
Mr. Prosser has raised that the Perfect Circle Corp. were already
ahead, but as I indicated earlier, these were our contract demands at
that time, and if they were contract demands they were evidently
not in the agreements since they were contract demands.
10290 IMPROPER ACTIVITIEIS IX THE LABOR FIELD
Three, the Perfect Circle Corp. refused to include a jn-ovision for
effective arbitration in its contract and refused repeated offers made by
both impartial outsiders and the UAW to arbitrate the issues in dispute
and thereby avoid or end the strike.
Apart from the various economic issues, the major deterrent to a
contract was the company's refusal to agree to a provision in the
contract for compulsory arbitration. The union proposed that the
losing side in an arbitration case pay the cost of the arbitrator. The
company refused to agree to inclusion of a compulsory arbitration
clause, insisting upon retention of a veto over the questions that might
be arbitrated.
After the strike had been underway for nearly a month, the
Indianapolis News said in an editorial :
The differences are not so great but that they could be settled around the
arbitration table.
On behalf of the UAW, I immediately accepted this offer. In a full-
page advertisement in five leading Indiana newspapers — the In-
dianapolis Times; the Indianapolis Star; Indianapolis News; New
Castle, Ind., Courier; and the Eichmond, Ind., Palladium Item—
I offered on behalf of the UAW to submit the strike issues to an
impartial arbitrator.
I would like to offer this as an exhibit, the full-page ad that I
referred to.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit Y.
(The document referred to was marked exhibit 7 for reference,,
aaid may be found in the files of the select committee. )
(At this point. Senator Goldwater entered the hearing room.)
Mr. Berndt. The ad, in part, says, and I quote :
The UAW-CIO will join you in selecting an arbitrator to decide the unsettled
issues in the dispute, with the understanding that both parties will be bound by
the decision of the arbitrator.
The UAW-CIO further agrees that if an arbitrator cannot be mutually agreed
upon within 10 days, that the Secretary of Labor, James P. Mitchell, shall be
requested to appoint an arbitrator whose decision shall be final and binding on
both parties.
This offer to accept an impartial arbitrator designated by Secretary
Mitchell was noteworthy because the president of Perfect Circle "on
leave" at that time was Assistant Secretary of Commerce Lothair
Teetor. Teetor's brother, Ralph, was acting president of the company
in his absence.
But the Perfect Circle Corp. flatly rejected the offer to arbitrate,,
saying that arbitration was "against its principles."
This morning we heard from Mr. Prosser, who said that the union
shop was against the principles of the corporation.
Little mention was made of the fact that it was against the prin-
ciples of the corporation to arbitrate grievances, nor did the company
suggest that we delete the union shop issue and arbitrate the balance
of the disagreement between the parties.
The UAW again repeated its offer to arbitrate on September 22,.
1955, in a letter I sent to Mr. Ralph Teetor. Once again the com-
pany said "No" for the same reason — matters or principle were in-
volved and it couldn't submit matters of principle to an arbitrator.
In other words, the Perfect Circle Corp. opposed impartial arbi-
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10291
tration — both as a means of administering the contract during its
lifetime and as a means of arriving at a new contract,
4. The Perfect Circle Corp, imported shotguns, high-powered rifles,
and other w^eapons into its plant.
I previously mentioned the second offer by the UAW to arbitrate
the dispute, w^iich was made on September 22, 1955; in my letter,
I pointed out that I was renewing my appeal because the union had
learned that the company was attempting to secure gun permits for
those who were going through the picket line to work at the New
Castle plant.
As a result of subsequent investigation, the union has learned that
various company officials or members of their family obtained gun
permits from the police department in the city of New Castle — all
before the shootings of October 5, 1955,
Following is a list of the company personnel who obtained such
permits, the date of the permit and the gun for which it was obtained :
Lester Juday (brother of plant manager) ; permit granted August 15, 1955;
Harrington-Richardson .32 pistol.
Lester M. Juday (same); permit on September 10, 1955; Smith & Wesson
-.38 pistol.
Hilda Juday (Chester Juday's wife) ; September 12, 1955; Smith & Wesson
,32 pistol.
Chalmer Juday (another brother of plant manager) ; August 27, 1955; High
Standard .22.
Chalmer Juday (same) ; September 12, 1955 ; Smith & Wesson .38.
Hazel Juday (Chalmer's wife) ; September 20, 1955 ; Marieta .25 automatic.
Cecil Traxell (scab) ; September 21, 1955 ; Tver Johnson .32 (?) .
Charles W. Hoover (scab) ; September 16, 1955; Colt .25 automatic.
I would like to enter as an exhibit at this time a report from the
chief of police of the city of New Castle listing the names of the
people and the permit numbei-s.
The Chairman, That may be made exhibit 8,
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 8" for refer-
ence and may be found in the files of the select committee,)
Mr, Berndt. a minor incident before the shootings of October 5,
1955, illustrated the high emotional pitch which the company had
created,
Robert Payne, a Perfect Circle minor executive, installed a spot-
light in front of his house. One evening when the son of a local ceme-
tery caretaker turned his car around in the driveway, shots rang out
from the Payne house. Two hit the car, but narrowly missed the teen-
ager inside.
It was reported, of course, that the company flew part of its arms
cache into the plant during September,
After the shootings took place, October 5, the State police entered
the plant and took out enough weapons "to fill four table tops," The
arsenal that had been accumulated inside the plant included low-
and high-powered rifles, shotguns, pistols, and revolvers — and
ammunition.
In its own press release of October 6, 1955 — the day after pickets
outside the plant were shot from inside the plant — the company
stated :
Plant and community officials had advance warning that this attack could
be expected. Firearms to be used for protection were taken into the plant with
the full knowledge of the local law enforcement agency.
10292 IIMPBOPE'R ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD
5. The Perfect Circle Corp. attempted to operate its plants during
the strike, using strikebreakers and scabs to replace the striking
workers who luid up to 27 years of seniority.
Instead of negotiating or arbitrating its differences with the UAW,
the Perfect Circle Corp. made clear its intention of breaking the
strike and the union.
Before the strike began, the company announced that it intended
to keep the plant open and to continue operating during the strike.
The part of the press release that was incorporated in the Courier
Times, in New Castle, Mr. Chairman, I would like to insert the press
release as part of the management's position as indicated by the press.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit No. 9.
(The document referred to was marked "exhibit No. 9" for ref-
erence and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. When the strike started the company hired new em-
ployees, used management and office personnel on production work,
and kept those who went through the picketline at work.
Many of these company employees were armed and went through
the picketline with full police protection.
6, The Perfect Circle Corp. committed many acts to provoke
resentment and retaliation by the striking employees.
In addition to the company's intransigent attitude in collective bar-
gaining and the incidents already related of the company's acts of
provocation, the Perfect Circle Corp. carried on a broad campaign
to create an atmosphere of resentment on the part of its striking
employees.
During the strike the company used virtually every antiunion
technique known to management.
Perfect Circle sent supervisors to the homes of strikers to attempt
to intimidate or induce them to return to work.
Perfect Circle supplied its mailing list to the wives of 9 company
officials and supervisory personnel, who sent 3 separate letters to the
wives of the striking workers, urging a return to work. The letters
attacked the union shop as "tribute without representation" and com-
pared the practice to life under communism.
The company provoked an incident at the New Castle plant on
August 15, 1955. Although the plant had been shut down from the
beginning of the strike, the company announced that it intended to
reopen the plant for work on August 15 and had hired new employees
to replace strikers.
On the morning of August 15, 1955, there was a demonstration in
front of the plant by about 150 UAW sympathizers. The demon-
stration was orderly until a bus chartered by the company and filled
with scabs entered the Plum Street approach to the plant.
At this point, the anger of the crowd erupted spontaneously.
Stones, bottles, and bricks were thrown; windows of the bus were
broken, but no one in the bus was injured.
Immediately following the bus incident, about 18 or 20 persons
reportedly ran through the open gates of the plant and overturned
several cars belonging to Perfect Circle supervisors and the company
attorney.
Nine men were arrested and booked at police headquarters on dis-
orderly conduct and malicious trespassing charges. They were later
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10293
released when the Henry County prosecutor, Fred Hall, refused to
enter official charges against tliem.
Hall expressed irritation with the Perfect Circle Corp. because it
would not file contempt of court charges against the persons previ-
ously enjoined by the local court from picketing activities.
Later, when several of the strikers and tlieir leaders were cited for
contempt, they were tried and found innocent.
On September 27, 1955, the entire New Castle Police Department,
with the exception of one officer, led by Mayor McCormack and Police
Chief Clarence Justice, descended on tlie picketline at Perfect Circle
and arrested some 49 pickets.
On October 3, 1955, 35 members of the UAW, including the officers
of the locals, received letters from the company notifying them of
their discharge from the company due to their activity on the picket-
line during the strike.
These discharges, on top of the company-instigated arrests, im-
portation of weapons into the plant, and other provocations, led UAW
locals in New Castle and surrounding communities to sponsor a de-
monstration in front of the company's New Castle plant on October
5, 1955.
It was on this day that the company violence came to a head.
7. The Perfect Circle Corp. shot unarmed strikers and UAW mem-
bers while they were marching outside the company's gates, while
the UAW sought to discourage violence.
October 5, 1955, was a rainy, soggy day. The pickets and their
fellow UAW members marched down the middle of Plum Street past
the outside of the plant in a peaceful demonstration of trade union
solidarity.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to offer a photograph to indicate the
size of the group marching down the middle of the street, and cer-
tainly even Mr. Prosser this morning did not go so far as did Senator
Mundt in saying that the mass of people rushed the plant gates. They
are walking by the plant gates, as the photograph would indicate.
The Chairman. The picture may be made exhibit No. 10.
( The document referred to was marked "exhibit No. 10" for refer-
ence and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Thank you, Senator.
Suddenly, an aerial bomb was fired into the air from the plant,
followed by shots from the plant. The crowd ran for cover. The
firing continued from inside the plant.
The company had, on various occasions after the October 5 incident,
indicated through various press releases that they had fired into the
crowd, and no mention had been made until this morning, when Mr.
Prosser made the statement, that a shot other than from the company
had been fired from outside the plant.
This is a new contention on the part of management, and certainly
we are prepared to present people who will verify that from their
point of view they heard no other shot until such time as the shots
were fired into the crowd.
At least half a dozen demonstrators were wounded. Their shocked
friends dragged them out of the line of fire ; they gave them first aid.
The worst hit UAW member — Robert Ford — was rushed to a hos-
pital. First rumored dead, he was actually wounded in the neck
and cnest by fire from a high-powered rifle from inside the plant.
10294 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
The bullet struck his collarbone, where it became imbedded, thus
saving his life. The bullet is still there today. Mr. Ford was to
have been a witness but has been excused because of the recent tragic
death of his wife.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to present this photograph of Ford
the day after the shooting as an exhibit.
The Chairman. This is a photograph of the man that was shot, and
his wife ?
Mr. Berndt. That is a photograph of the man who was shot, and
his wife.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 11, for reference.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 11" for refer-
ence and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Thank you, Mr. Senator. A high-powered rifle bullet
fired from inside the plant passed through both legs of Paul Carper,
another UAW member from nearby Anderson.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter as an exhibit a photograph of
Mr. Carper, immediately after having been shot tlirough both thighs.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit No. 12.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 12" for refer-
ence and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Thank you.
A UAW photographer, James Yardley, risked his life to photo-
graph a company employee shooting at Carper from the plant. Buck-
shot peppered the legs of Henry Gibson, a UAW member in New
Castle.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter this blown-up exhibit which
has in the corner an enlarged segment of the center of the picture,
showing a person shooting from the top of the fire escape at the
plant.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 13.
(The document referred to was marked "exhibit No. 13" for refer-
ence, and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Thank you, Mr. Senator.
From the exhibit just presented, the committee will notice that
this is a riotous day on which people were attacking the plant and
causing propertj^ damage. The blown-up photograph will show there
are no broken windows in the plant, nor cars turned over. Buckshot
peppered the legs of Henry Gibson, a UAW member in New Castle.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to present a picture of Henry Gibson
immediately after being hit by a charge of buckshot.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 14.
Mr. Berndt. Thank you, Mr. Senator.
(The document referred to was marked "exhibit No. 14" for refer-
ence, and may be found in the files of the select committee. )
Mr. Berndt. A bullet and buckshot barrage emanating from the
plant laid down a fusillade of fire all around the plant. A stray bullet
crashed into the bedroom of a little girl who lived across the street
from the plant. It narrowly missed killing her.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter an exhibit of the inside of the
room in which this bullet emerged after hitting the outside of the
house and the girl's room. The girl is in the picture.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10295
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 15.
(The document referred to was marked "exhibit No. 15" for refer-
ence, and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. According to the company's press release the next
day-
management personnel had to use shotgun fire to repel the rioters in order to
protect the lives of those in the plant and to prevent the plant property from
being overrun by the howling mob.
It is significant that in its first press release, the company admitted
that it fired the first shots with weapons it had stored up previously,
although it claimed this was done to protect property from a howl-
ing mob.
The facts are the marchers were peaceful. No damage was done
to the property of the company. Police were on hand — both inside
and outside the plant. No reasonable person could have assumed that
the marchers had any intention of making an attack on the plant.
The firing from the plant, mifortunately, provoked a few of the
demonstrators into going to their homes and getting squirrel rifles
or other small arms to return the fire.
IJAW President Walter P. Keuther first entered personally into
trying to resolve the dispute immediately after the shootings of
October 5, 1955.
On October 5, 1955, a UAW international executive board meeting
was underway in Detroit. The meeting had begun on October 3, and
continued until October 7.
As a m Jitter of the executive board, I received word during the board
meeting of the New Castle shootings. As soon as I could get through
to New Castle by phone, I relayed President Reuther's instructions
to the strikers to refrain from retaliatory violence— no matter what
the provocation.
I stressed President Reuther's strong instruction that retaliatory
violence would solve nothing and that the issues would still have to be
resolved at the bargaining table.
Within hours of the firing on October 5, President Reuther sent tele-
grams to Gov. George Craig and Secretary of Labor James P. Mitchell,
calling upon both the Federal and State Governments to conduct a
complete and thorough investigation to pin down the responsibility
for the "merciless shooting of UAW-CIO members in New Castle,
Tnd.," and repeating the UAW offer to negotiate, mediate, or arbitrate
the issues in dispute.
President Reuther's telegram of October 5 to Secretary of Labor
Mitchell said in part:
The full moral responsibility for the unfortunate violence which occurred in
New Castle must rest squarely on the shoulders of the management of the
Perfect Circle Co., because of its refusal to negotiate, mediate, or arbitrate the
present dispute.
Instead of meeting its responsibilities at the bargaining table the Perfect Circle
management has armed strikebreakers and carried on acts of provocation and
violence.
We call upon you, Mr. Secretary, to lend your good oflSces to put an end to the
company provocation which brought about today's tragic incidents and to
enforce upon this company enough sense of social and moral responsibility so
10296 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
that the matters at issue can be settled through the normal processes of
democratic collective bargaining.
We renew our earlier offer of arbitration of the issues, including our proposal
that you shall name the impartial arbitrator in the event that the company and
the union cannot jointly agree on a person to fdl that post.
President Keuther's telegram to Governor Craig concluded by urg-
ing him —
to order a thorough and complete investigation to bring to justice those responsible
for Wednesday's violence and to assist the Secretary of Labor in whatever way
possible to resolve the issues in dispute.
A detachment of State police, under the command of Capt. Robert
Dillon, entered the Perfect Circle plant a few hours after the shootings
and removed "enough guns from workers inside the plant to fill four
tabletops." This stopped the shootings and violence immediately.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter as an exhibit a photograph taken
at the time of the State police entering the plant. The photograph
shows the type of guns laying on the table inside of the Perfect Circle
plant.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 16,
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 16" for refer-
ence, and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Mr. Chairman, I would further like to enter an exhibit
of the same guns being taken from the plant by the State police imme-
diately after the photograph that I had introduced earlier.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 17.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 17" for refer-
ence, and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Thank you, Mr. Senator.
But Governor Craig, vacationing in Florida, ordered the Indiana
National Guard into New Castle on October 6. Backed by Sherman
tanks and machine guns, 600 members of the Indiana militia escorted
through the 5-man picket line at the New Castle plant the same scabs
and company supervisors who had fired on the pickets October 5.
When Indiana newspapers complained about the Governor's ab-
sence from the State, he flew back to Indianapolis. He claimed he
wanted to arrange a truce and seek a settlement. The truce turned out
to be another order by Craig, sending National Guard troops into all
three towns where Perfect Circle had plants and keepmg the plants
open for scabs to enter.
On Friday, October 7, 1955, 1 wired Governor Craig protesting the
dispatching of troops into New Castle and urging that the Governor
convince the Perfect Circle Corp, "to settle this dispute by arriving
at a fair agreement with UAW-CIO either by negotiations or
arbitration."
Mr. Chairman, I would like to submit as an exhibit the full effect
of the wire to Governor Craig.
The Chairman. That may be made exhibit 18.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 18" for ref-
erence, and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. "On Saturday, October 15, 1955, the Governor's execu-
tive secretary, Horace Coats, asked me to sign agi^eements setting
forth these provisions :
1. Both the Perfect Circle management and the UAW-CIO would
instruct and direct their employees and their members, respectively.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10297
to refrain from any violence in the controversy at the Indiana plants
of the Perfect Circle Corp.
2. That when the signatnre of both parties was secured to these
agreements, martial law would be withdrawn and negotiations look-
ing toward a settlement of the dispute would be resumed. These
negotiations were to have been resumed at 10 a. m. on Tuesday, Oc-
tober 18, 1955.
I signed the agreements and I immediately again instructed and
directed UAW members that they were to refrain from any kind of
violent action — no matter what the provocation on the part of the
management. When I signed the agreements, which Mr. Coats de-
scribed as secret, I was speaking for the UAW International and for
President Reuther.
On Monday afternoon, October 17, 1955, Governor Craig issued a
statement to the press that President Reuther's personal commitment,
which he already had through me, was necessary to prevent further
violence in New Castle. The Governor also violated his i^ledge to
secure a resumption of negotiations that would end the dispute and
he did not withdraw the martial law from New Castle.
On Tuesday afternoon, October 18, 1955, President Reuther there-
fore dispatched a telegram to the Governor, in which he said in part :
The only assumption which I and my associates in the UAW-CIO, the Per-
fect Circle workers, and UAW-CIO members generally can draw from your
actions is that you have suddenly seen an opportunity to use to your own per-
sonal political advantage a collective bargaining dispute that exists only be-
cause an irresponsible and recalcitrant management prefers violence and blood-
shed to the peaceful and sensible procedures of industrial democracy.
We can only regard the about face in your pledge to see that negotiations
were resumed on Tuesday — a pledge which was witnessed by two United States
Federal labor conciliators — as a serious breach of good faith which in simple
language represents a doublecross of the Perfect Circle workers and the people
of Indiana out of your deference to this management and the lunatic fringe
of reactionary industrialists which it represents.
Throughout the course of this dispute, the union has been ready at all times
to mediate, conciliate, or arbitrate our differences. The management has re-
jected all such offers — from us or from any independent source. Any manage-
ment which refuses to place its case before the judgment of an impartial third
party obviously has little faith in the merits of his ovpn case. Yet it is this
kind of management which you chose to befriend in your public statement of
yesterday which was also in violation of your pledge to see to it that negotia-
tions were resumed today.
On the basis of the foregoing facts, it is the position of the UAW-CIO that
the Perfect Circle management is solely responsible for the violence that has
occuiTed, is solely responsible for the strike that exists, is solely responsible
for the failure thus far to reach an agreement that would end this dispute, and
that you have violated your word to our union to see to it that negotiations
were to resume today.
However, in order that there be no misunderstanding on your part or on
the part of the general public, I wish to inform you that I thoroughly and
completely endorse the instructions and directions by Mr. Raymond Berndt to
UAW-CIO members to refrain from any kind of violent action, regardless of
any provocation by the company, and that I am issuing the same instructions
to the officers and members of T"AW-CIO Local 370 over my name.
I would like to, Mr. Chairman, offer as an exhibit the complete text
of this telegram from which I have just read in part.
The CiiAiEMAX. That may be made exhibit 1 9.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 19" for refer-
ence, and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Berndt. Thank you, Mr. Senator.
10298 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
At tlie same time, President Reuther telegraphed the president of"
UAW I^cal 370, Carl Batchfield, and the members of local 370, the-
full text of his letter to the Governor and called their attention par-
ticularly to the final paragraph of the wire.
The teletype on file at the UAW international headquarters in
Detroit indicates that the text of the telegram was delivered to Mr.
Batchfield in time to be read that night at a membership meeting of
local 370.
Mr. Berndt. No. 8 is the next nmnber. I would like to offer this
exhibit of the notes that were transcribed at the time of the trans-
mission of the message to Carl Batchfield, for presentation to his^
membership.
The Chairman. They may be made exhibit 20,
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 20" for refer-
ence, and may be found in the files of the select committe.)
Mr. Berndt. No. 8, the Perfect Circle Corp. had no need for im-
porting arms or shooting in alleged self-defense since it already
enjoyed the overly friendly cooperation of public officials, including
members of the police force.
The close tieup between Perfect Circle and the local public and
police officials was clearly evident.
Mayor Lester Meadows in Richmond and Mayor Paul McCormack.
in New Castle continually played the company's game in their strike-
breaking activities.
Councilman Chesley Juday of New Castle, who worked closely
with Mayor McCormack was none other than the plant manager of
the Perfect Circle Corp. plant in New Castle and the man responsible-
for amassing the arsenal.
The police moved a Christmas shanty from the town to the Perfect
Circle employees parking lot and used it as a police headquarters.
This was the same open parking lot outside the company's gates on
which UAW members were later shot.
The company also supplied the police force with breakfast each day-
in the company cafeteria for a month. It even provided the policemen
with goatskin gloves to wear while on duty at the plant.
Periodically, Plant Manager and City Councilman Juday met with
Mayor Paul McCormack and Police Chief Clarence Justice at city hall
to plan the joint police-company activities for that day.
A policeman who received full pay from the city during the period
of the strike was also simultaneously employed by the corporation to
fly a plane to observe and report on the activities of the UAW repre-
sentatives.
For example, the plane would usually hover over the house of UAW
International Representative William Caldwell, follow his car to
the plant and also to any other plants he visited from Perfect Circle,
reporting over the plane's radio to police vehicles on the ground.
It is interesting to note that an aroused public reacted sharply to
the tactics of the Perfect Circle Corp.
The day after the shootings at New Castle, the administration in
Washington announced that Ix)thair Teetor had resigned as Assistant
Secretary of Commerce and returned to the Perfect Circle presidency.
A few days later, on October 10, 1955, Secretary of Labor Mitchell
publicly criticized both the Kohler Co. and the Perfect Circle Corp..
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10299^
with his statement that "those two are not typical attitudes of Ameri-
can management."
Mr. Chairman, it appears quite by coincidence that the committee has
chosen these two particular companies as typical cases for UAW prob-
lems of violence.
I think that probably some members of the committee ought to dis-
cuss this with Secretary of Labor Mitchell since he has made the
statement and the statement is not attributable to us.
In New Castle, Paul McCormack, the mayor who called for and
directed the National Guard activities and directed local police in their
procompany activities, was defeated by Democrat Sidney E. Baker
in the November 1955 elections.
Chesley Juday, the Perfect Circle plant manager in New Castle who
had been a member of the city council for two terms, sought reelection
and was badly defeated. He ran last in a field of 18 candidates.
In Richmond, Mayor Lester Meadows, who had played the company
game during the strike, was defeated by the first Democratic mayor
to be elected in 35 years.
9. Although Perfect Circle Corp. instigated this strike, prolonged
it unnecessarily by refusing to arbitrate, instigated violence by its
action and ousted the UAW from 3 of its 4 plants, the strike of local
370 had to be settled eventually at the collective bargaining table.
Unfortunately, the Perfect Circle Corp. succeeded in its union bust-
ing. Under the notorious provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, which
permitted the nonunion scabs to vote, the UAW was decertified as
collective bargaining agent at 3 of the 4 Perfect Circle plants on No-
vember 10, 1955.
Accordingly, the strike officially ended at the Hagerstown and Rich-
mond plants on that day.
At the Richmond foundry, the vote to decertify was 35 for the UAW
and 45 for no union, with 13 challenged votes out of 99 eligible to vote.
At the Richmond machine plant, where 248 were eligible to vote, the
tabulation showed 96 votes for the UAW, 138 for no union and 4 chal-
lenged ballots.
At Hagerstown, the vote to decertify the UAW was 233 for the
UAW and 475 for no union.
Negotiations to settle the Perfect Circle, New Castle strike were
finally begun as a result of a series of telephone conversations between
UAW Secretary-Treasurer Emil Mazey and James Mitchell, Secre-
tary of Labor.
Negotiations took place in Chicago, on November 22, 26, 27, and 28,
1955.
A contract to terminate the strike was finally achieved on Monday,
November 28, 1955. The contract was ratified by the membership of
UAW Local 370 on Tuesday, November 29, by a vote of 86 to 72.
UAW Secretary-Treasurer Mazey personally appeared at the meet-
ing and presented the terms of the settlement and argued- for its ac-
ceptance.
The principal obstacle to obtaining membership approval of the
contract was the fact that 7 of 37 leaders of the local union who had
been discharged by the company, were to have their cases submit-
ted to arbitration.
21243— 58— pt. 26 4
10300 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Twenty-two of the 37 discharges were reinstated immediately upon
termination of the strike; 8 of the discharges were given 30-day
suspensions.
There was a strong feeling in the local 370 meeting that the strike
should not be terminated unless and until the company agreed to rein-
state all of the discharged workers, including the seven whose cases
were to be arbitrated.
Among the cases that went to arbitration was that of the president
of the local union and the entire negotiating committee.
Of the 7 arbitrated cases, 3 resulted in reinstatement and 4 in dis-
charge of strikers.
Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, thus ended the Perfect Circle strike.
The entire episode, we believe, was best summarized by an editorial
which appeared in the October 8, 1955, edition of the Louisville
Courier-Journal, published in nearby Louisville, Ky. That editorial
stated :
In its approach to the union's contract demands, the company seems to have
returned to the lawless harshness of the twenties.
It openly recruited strikebreakers, previously stacking guns inside the plant.
This was wanton provocation, in face of the mounting tension among New Cas-
tle workers, and management must be held mainly responsible for the serious
shooting there.
More than a month ago the union offered to submit the dispute with its grow-
ing tension, to arbitration. The company refused on the ground that questions
of principle cannot be subjected to possible compromise.
It also refused to continue negotiations until a decertificatiou petition, filed
by nonstriking workers at two plants, has been decided by the National Labor
Relations Board.
This decision has not yet been made and the company made a bad matter
worse by arming nonstrikers and reopening its plants.
State troopers and local police have been assigned in large groups to the
strike-bound plants for weeks, although their services are badly needed else-
where.
The Federal and State mediation ser^^ces cannot intervene as long as the
company will not talk to the union. But company spokesmen professed them-
selves stunned at Governor Craig's intervention when the Governor merely
asked them to resume negotiations.
The UAW may not be blameless in the violence that shocked New Castle this
week, but to any fairminded person, the company seems to have acted with
gross provocation, and the principle it claims as motivation looks suspiciously
like the old-fashioned principle of union-busting.
We concede that in the emotion-packed atmosphere of New Castle
in the summer of 1955 members of UAW may not have been blame-
less, but in view of the facts I have cited, and I would like to quote
from the editorial, can "any fair-minded person," doubt that the
company "acted with gross provocation, and the principle it claims as
motivation looks suspiciously like the old-fashioned principle of union-
busting."'
The Chairman. You have made one statement, Mr. Berndt, that I
have difficulty accepting, and I am not challenging it further than for
explanation at the moment.
How can a company instigate a strike ? You keep saying the com-
pany instigated the strike. I can understand that it could prolong it
by refusing to negotiate, or by being arbitrary, but I don't see how it
instigates a strike.
Mr. Berndt. I would say, Mr. Chairman, that probably it is an ill
use of words, and probably "provoke" would have been a much better
word to use.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIEI9 m THE LABOR FIELD 10301
The Chairman. I can understand "provoke," but the "instigate"
1 couldn't.
Mr. Berndt. Thank you.
The Chairman. All right, Mr. Counsel.
Mr. Kennedy. I have just a few questions at this time, but it seems
through this statement, Mr. Berndt, there are a number of remarks
indicating that the company is solely responsible for the violence
that took place.
For instance, on page 7, at the bottom, you say :
Most of the company-instigated violence took place * * *
Then on page 25,
It instigated violence by its action and ousted the UAW from 3 of its 4 plants,
and then Mr. Keuther's statement.
Is it your statement or your position that the company is solely re-
sponsible for the violence that took place at New Castle during the
unfortunate period ?
Mr. Berndt. I would say there was violence on both sides, but there
was provocation that certainly leads to violence.
While we may talk to people about not doing anything in a re-
i;aliatory manner, you can't be 4 places at one time, and you can't
be at 4 plants at 1 time and you can't be at all gates at 1 time, seeing
that each and every individual adheres to what could very well be
said to be recognized as UAW policy.
Mr, Kennedy. When we look at the list of those who were victims
of violence, whose property was harmed or who M^ere themselves phys-
ically assaulted, we see that it started well before the October 5 in-
cident, and it was mostly, if not all, directed against nonstrikers.
For instance, on August 3 there was a car overturned and a car
stoned, and going on, August 5, "auto glass hit by rock, rock thrown
through windows at homes, slugged by pickets, rocks through win-
dows at home," and we go on and on all through August there.
In September there were windows broken at homes and so on,
and there was a good deal of violence that took place prior to the
October 5 incident.
I am wondering if you are holding the company responsible for all
of that. I can understand that there was bitterness perhaps in the
company's not accepting the union's position or perhaps possibly not
even bargaining in good faith, but the violence that took place was
aimed at nonstrikers, and I am wondering if your position is that
the company is responsible for all of that.
]VIr, Berndt. I would like to say at the very outset that any violence
that might liave occurred so far as the stoning of individuals' homes
was not a part of a planned program by our union.
Certainly the individuals who took this on themselves, if they
were union people who did all of these things, to do these things was
not as a part of a planned program on the part of the union at the
instruction of myself nor any representative in the area.
I would like to call your attention, of the numerous arrests made,
and I think that out of in excess of 100 arrests, there were 13
convictions.
Mr. Kennedy. Thirteen what?
Mr. Berndt. There were 13 convictions during the period of the
strike, out of more than 100 arrests made. All were misdemeanors.
10302 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
The Chairman. Ivet me ask you one question : In j-our statement
here you referred to the law of the jungle.
Aren't you convinced by now that this vandalism and violence is
the law of the jungle and it is just as wrong for you as strikers and
union people to engage in it as it is for the company ?
Mr. Berndt. "We agree with you wholeheartedly, that in this day
and age there should be no type of violence such as existed 3 years
ago.
The Chairman. I am hopeful too, and I appreciated one thing you
said here.
I don't want this committee to be responsible for provoking these
incidents to occur again. In trying to investigate tliis, it is not tO'
open up old wounds, and it is not to irritate a situation. It is pretty
difficult for this committee, however — and I would much rather be-
into something else — to ignore these two most outstanding recent
occurrences.
That was the Kohler situation, which is still unsettled, and this
one that occurred 3 years ago where there was tremendous violence
and vandalism.
If we are going to enact laws to improve these situations, and to
eliminate improper practices, the committee I think would be derelict
in its duty if it didn't look into these most flagrant cases.
Now, I hope what this committee does will not serve to inspire any
further improper conduct.
We want to get facts. We want to get just what happened, to take
a look at it and then try to meet our responsibilities with respect to
legislative requirements to prevent it in the future.
I trust that both those of you in the union and in the company, the
representatives here and those who were here, will try to be helpful to
us in trying to give us the facts.
Wherever you have made mistakes, and wherever you have obviously
done wrong, say so. I appreciated that about JVIr. Reuther.
He came in here the other day and he said it was wrong. Well, if it
is wrong, and we know it is wrong now, then I think it is incumbent
upon the union to try to control their people and make them under-
stand that when they do these things they are actually hurting union-
ism. They are not helping it.
It causes wonder and feeling among the people, and they say,
"Have the unions just proposed to go out and by force compel people
to accept their terms ?"
The same would apply to the company. If a company goes out and
arms itself and says they are not going to tolerate anything or try to
negotiate or try to settle, the company is just as wrong.
All right, proceed.
Mr. Berndt. Mr. Chairman, I would like at this point to heartily
endorse your remarks and those of President Reuther.
However, I would like to emphasize one point that is embodied in
this statement of mine, and that in this same State we consummated
102 agreements in 1955 without a strike, and we conducted 5 other
strikes besides the Perfect Circle strike in that same year without
any violence whatsoever.
The Chairman. I notice you stated that, but that still doesn't
Mr. Berndt. It is a 5-to-l case, which would indicate it is not a^
pattern for us to follow.
IMPROPE'R ACTrVrriElS IN THE LABOR FliELD 10303
The Chairman. That is somewliat at issue here. Whether it is a
pattern or not for the UAW, that is one of the charges, at least by
implication, if not a direct charge, that it has become a pattern of
the UAW to carry on its negotiations by vandalism and violence.
In other words, it is to undertake to persuade in that manner rather
than by argument around the collective bargaining table. It is a very
sad thing to find a condition like this prevails in a civilized country
and whoever is responsible ought to certainly bow their heads in
shame, as far as I am concerned,
Mr. Berndt. Mr. Chairman, I would like to just add that I hope
in the committee's final analysis, their efforts are not bent toward
devising laws that will handle the problems of two untypical corpora-
tions as Secretary Mitchell has referred to both the Kohler and Perfect
Circle companies.
The Chairman. I think those things hare to be dealt with. You
don't pass laws against larceny affecting a majority of the people.
The majority of the people are not thieves. But you have to pass
laws to prevent those acts that are committed by a minority sometimes.
Now, these you say are isolated instances. Well, maybe so, but they
ought not to be permitted to occur. If we are to have law and order
in this country and civilized transactions and get away from the law
of the jungle, then I think it is incumbent upon the Congress to deal
with problems like this.
(At this point, the followmg members were present: Senators Mc-
Clellan, Mundt, Curtis, and Goldwater.)
Mr. Kennedy. On this question of violence, did the union or did
you personally take any steps to try to prevent these acts of vandalism
or any violence taking place?
Mr. Berndt. At every point, I did everything humanly possible to
prevent any type of violence that might arise.
Mr. IvENNEDY. ^Vliat about the local union officials? Were they
also taking steps to try to prevent violence ?
Mr. Berndt. They were requested to watch and see that no violence
occurred.
Mr. Kennedy. At that point, and then I want to take it beyond
that to the vandalism, we had some affidavits that were submitted to
the committee, affidavits that had originally been submitted to the
National Labor Relations Board.
One is a statement by Joseph H. Bales, which states that at a meeting
Mr. Bill Caldwell, a union official, stated :
"We would have plenty of help and no one would go in and out of the plant while
the strike was going on.
He said that the strike would be well organized and that the weak
ones might as well forget about going to work. That those who might
think of going to work should remember that accidents sometimes
happen on dark streets and things like that, and on dark roads.
He said that if anyone needed their heads to be bashed in, there
would be someone to take care of them.
If this affidavit is accurate, it hardly seems conducive to preventmg
violence.
Mr. Berndt. I cannot judge the accuracy of that statement, I don't
know the individual. All I can say is I know the individual about
whom the statement was made. I have known Caldwell for over 10
10304 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
years, and that doesn't even sound like Caldwell's type of language that
he would use at a particular membership meeting.
Mr. Kennedy. In another affidavit by Kenneth McCarty, which
was also submitted this morning, it states that —
The chairman of the bargaining committee told me that this union intended to
bring in thugs to do their dirty work.
He said he did not go for that kind of stuff.
Do you know anything about that ?
Mr. Berndt. I know nothing about it, except that the statement was
attributed to Kenny Ammerman, chairman of our bargaining commit-
tee of local 156, and before the strike had terminated he was on the
company payroll as a guard, working for the management side of
the table. This statement is not attributable to Caldwell, but is at-
tributed to Ammerman. I don't know who he is referring to when he
says that "They said they intend to bring in thugs to do their dirty
work."
Mr. Kennedy. There was a third affidavit about Bill Caldwell.
In the final planning, Bill Caldwell told us that if it was necessary we
might have to knock them in the head to keep them out. He went on to say that
he would get us out of jail if we were put in for knocking heads, and there
would be plenty of help to keep the plant shut down and there would be plenty
of money if it was needed.
Do you have an explanation for those affidavits ?
Mr. Berndt. I reiterate what I said about Caldwell's language.
He might have referred to finances needed to finance a strike; yes.
But not in conjunction with the bashing in of heads.
Mr. Kennedy. Taking it one step further, once tlie picketing
started there was, on occasion, what we have come to recognize as
mass picketing which kept the nonstrikers or attempted to keep the
nonstrikers out of the plant, was there not ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct ; there were occasions.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you feel that that was a proper activity or a
proper thing for the union to be doing, attempting to keep those who
wanted to go to work out of the plant ?
IMr. Berndt. No, but I think during the 4-month period there
might have been 4 or 6 occasions that this type of activity went on.
I think it was devised by one of the local union people who came
up with the bright idea that since the law said you had to have 5
pickets to a gate, there was 5 pickets at a gate, but there are only cer-
tain streets to go down to the plant, so it was just possible to have
friends and sympathizers and other people from the plant away from
the plant down the street, which really constituted a blocking of the
ingress of the plant.
This we tried to deplore and tried to tell them that the law is not
this kind of a thing, to try to get around the law by using subterfuge.
Mr. Kennedy. Wasn't there a court injunction against the mass
picketing that took place at some of these plants ?
Mr. Berndt. There was such an injunction.
Mr. Kennedy. Evidently it was taking place, was it not, Mr.
Berndt?
Mr. Berndt. The law was in effect. The injunction was in effect,
and the mass picketing was in violation of that injunction.
rMPROPER ACTIVITIEI& IN THE Lu\BOR FIELD 10305
Mr. Kennedy. Well, you, as one of the senior officials in that area,
deplore the use of violence or deplore these activities, but did you
take any steps to prevent the union from carrying on the mass picket-
ing and preventing the nonstrikers from entering the plant and going
to work ?
Mr. Berndt. There were many occasions when the mass picketing
happened even without my knowledge, so that would have been im-
possible to even try to talk to enough people to prevent them from
organizing a mass picket line as sucli.
Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Bill Caldwell, of whom you spoke, who you
said would be the type of person that would deplore violence, did he
take any steps to end the mass picketing that was occurring?
Mr. Berndt. I am of the opinion, frankly, that if it hadn't been for
Bill Caldwell there would have been much more violence. I think
Bill has done a tremendous job in the face of the problems that he
was confronted with, trying to handle a strike in 4 plants in 3 differ-
ent cities and being between all of them, plus negotiations in 6 other
plants, plus liandling a Chrysler plant in Indianapolis at the same
time.
Mr. Kennedy. I would think that in a union such as the UAW, it
would be certainly possible if they wanted to prevent this kind of
activity from taking place, that it would be possible for them to issue
instructions that would prevent it from taking place.
Mr. Berndt. Our strikes are run by a local strike committee; all
we can do is try to supervise and assist through the representative
assigned to the area. Occasionally we try to get additional re})re-
sentatives who might have an open day on their schedule to go in
and assist and try to help them in their financial problems and other
things.
They most certainly are talked to about the possibility of violence
because we are well aware of the fact that once violence starts in a
plant we are not going to get the kind of publicity we need to settle
that contract the way we would like to get it settled.
Mr. Kennedy. What specific steps did the UAW, you as the rep-
resentative or other international representatives, take to prevent the
mass picketing that occurred ?
Mr. Berndt. Constantly reminding the locals that they were in
violation of the law, and requesting that they stop the idea of mass
picketing.
Mr. Kennedy. Yet they disobeyed your instructions and continued
to do it?
Mr. Berndt. They are not under obligations to follow. I have not
the authority to command.
Mr. Kennedy. Wasn't it a fact that on some occasions, or at least
one occasion, employees from other UAW plants, came in and massed
themselves in front of the New Castle plant ?
Mr. Berndt. Yes, there were a few of those occasions, when other
people in surrounding areas— and you have to understand that in the
city of New Castle we have under contract some 7 UAW plants, some
7 plants under UAW contracts.
It is always possible to have somebody who is on an off-shift walk-
ing on somebody else's picket line in that particular city.
Mr. Kennedy. You had large numbers on occasion, did you not,
well over several hundred people ?
10306 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Berndt. There were over several hundred on a few occasions.
Mr. Kennedy. How could that be permitted if you were in fact
attempting to stop the mass picketing from going on ?
Mr. Berndt. I think that if a request is made by a local union of
other union members within the area, to show a solidarity on the
picket line, show a solidarity of purpose, and a peaceful demonstra-
tion, tliat very few people might be able to get in the way and talk
them out of such a thing as having a peaceful demonstration, to show
that other plants and other individuals are interested in a just settle-
ment of that particular strike.
Mr. Kennedy. TVliat I am trying to establish is that you make
statements about being against violence now and about being against
violence at that time, and yet during this period of strike the mass
picketing was going on on occasion, in violation of the law, and those
who wanted to go to work could not get in the plant.
The tliird thing there is that on occasion, membei*s of the UAW
were brought in from other plants in the neighborhood and massed
in front of these various Perfect Circle Co. plants.
It doesn't seem to me that all those activities — it seems to me that
those actions speak louder than your words saying "We are against
violence."
Mr. Berndt. I think there is quite a bit of difference between hav-
ing people brought into a strike situation or people voluntarily from
one plant in their off-hours walking the picket line of another plant,
or people voluntarily taking off from their plant in a city some 12 or
15 miles away coming over to walk a picket line with another member.
Certainly there were a small number of these incidents of mass
picketing. Even though you talk against them, they get up at a
meeting and make a report that they have been off so many weeks
and on strike, and so many of their people have been arrested, al-
though the convictions weren't there, so many people were discharged,
and they asked :
If anybody has any free time come on over and join us on the picket line and
walk around with us, to show Perfect Circle and everybody else that we are
not alone
that everybody else is interested in our particular membership getting
what other people have.
I don't see how you can stop a request for voluntary assistance or
a voluntary move on the part of individuals to walk a picket line.
Mr. Kennedy. I can understand. I am not finding fault with their
coming over, except in the fact that once they got over there it was
in violation of the law. You might want to put on an exhibition of
solidarity, but the point is that at that time the mass picketing was
going on, that was keeping the nonstrikers out of the plant, bringing
these other people over merely added to the problem and the difficulty
that already existed.
Then, of course, although the responsibility is not fixed, during
this period of time those who did go to work, a good number of them,
were subjected to personal acts of violence.
For instance, rocks were thrown at their windows, and paint was
thrown at their homes, and the windows of their cars were cracked.
It seems to me that the union had to take some positive steps rather
than merely saying that they were against violence and saying some
2 years later that they were against violence.
IMPROPER ACTrV'ITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10307
Do you have any coninient on that?
MiC Berndt. Well, I only have this to say, that you can preach
from a pulpit all day long and if people don't want to believe what
you are preaching and follow your suggestions, recommendations, to
the extent that they get themselves crosswise of the law, it creates a
very difficult problem. I have been opposed to the mass picketing of
the various plants that have been on strike, because during a period
of mass picketing or demonstrations, somebody may do something
and everybody gets blamed for what happens, that somebody from
outside of that particular plant has done. There is no possible chance
to lay the blame.
There is always a dynamite of mob reaction if some incident hap-
pens. An executive driving too close to one of the pickets or making
him jump out of the way might excite a crowd, and if you get a crowd,
this is the kind of thing we have been opposed to doing because any-
thing can touch off a fire and we are opposed to mass j)icketing on that
basis, even besides the fact it would be contrary to injunction already
laid down.
Mr. Kennedy. That is exactly what happened in this case on Octo-
ber 5.
Mr. Berndt. I would assume it was, yes.
Mr. Kennedy. Somehow there was a spark set off and people were
shot, and two, at least, came very close to being killed, isn't that
right?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Mr. Kennedy. That is all.
The Chairman. Senator Mundt.
Senator Mundt. Counsel was inquiring about the number of arrests
and convictions in connection with the vandalism of property and
destruction on this strike. I think you said there were 13 convictions.
Am I right about that?
Mr. Berndt. To the best of my knowledge.
Senator Mundt. Were those convictions all against strikers or
were some of these against nonstrikers. ?
Mr. Berndt. I would have to check the record. I don't know
whether there was any of those that were strikers or sympathizers
or what the degree was. To the best of my knowledge there were 13
people against whom convictions had been handed down.
Senator Mundt. It would seem to me that the pertinent part of
that inquiry is who were these 13 ?
Are these just lawless people in the New Castle area, or were they
people who belonged to the union who were attacking strikers who
were working in the plant, or who were these 13? There must be
somebody who can shed some light upon that.
Mr. Berndt. Just checking here I don't have the list here, but I
can furnish the list of the names of the 13 people and identify those
people.
Senator Mundt. You can, you say ?
Mr. Berndt. I can, yes.
Senator Mundt. Will you submit that for the record ?
Mr. Berndt. I will be glad to.
The Chairman. It will be placed into the record at this point
10308 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
I think, Senator Mundt, you wanted him to identify whether they
were strikers or nonstrikers
Senator Mundt. Yes.
(The document referred to follows :)
Convictions of UAW members growing out of Perfect Circle strike in 1955
WAYNE COUNTY CONVICTIONS
Roy L. Cantrell, international representative, assault and battery, $25 and
costs.
Bob Winebarger, Non-Perfect Circle, public intoxication, $5 and costs.
Preston Snyder, Non-Perfect Circle, public intoxication, .$5 and costs.
William K. Davies, Non-Perfect Circle, disorderly conduct, $1.5 and costs.
Donald H. Cook, Non-Perfect Circle, disorderly conduct, $1.5 and costs.
James M. Courtney, Non-Perfect Circle, disorderly conduct, $15 and costs.
Betty Carlson, Perfect Circle, malicious trespass, $50 and costs.
James Ferguson, Nou-Perfect Circle, i-esistins arrest, $5 and costs.
Harold J. Roberts, Non-Perfect Circle, disorderly conduct, $5 and costs.
HENRY COUNTY CONVICTIONS
Loren Asberry, Perfect Circle, malicious trespass, $16.
Tex O. Wages, Perfect Circle, malicious trespass, $16.
Alva Harrison, Perfect Circle, malicious trespass, $16.
Hilva Turner, Perfect Circle, disorderly conduct, $16.
Senator Mundt. Did the union fight the injunction proceedings
in court before the case was handed down against you ?
Mr. Berndt. I would like to have that report given by the regional
attorney who acted for us in that particular case.
You will be talking about legal terms and I know nothing about it.
Senator Mundt. Is he here ?
Mr. Berndt. He is here.
Senator Mundt. Would you swear him, Mr. Chairman, and let
him answer that question ?
The Chairman. Do you solemnly swear that the evidence you shall
give before the Select Conmiittee will be the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Miles. I do.
TESTIMONY OF LYNNVILLE MILES
The Chairman. State your name, your place of residence, and
your business or occupation.
Mr. Miles. My name is Lynnville Miles, attorney, Indianapolis.
The Chairman. Senator Mundt.
Senator Mundt. Did you represent the UAW in these injunction
proceedings on these picket lines ?
Mr. Miles. Yes, sir, I did.
Senator Mundt. Did you present evidence, facts, arguments in
opposition to the injunction ?
Mr. Miles. No, sir, we did not, because we never in the injunction
procedure ever were given an opportunity to be heard on the merits.
The injunctions were handed down in two different circuit courts.
One was in the Wayne Circuit Court, which would cover tlie plants
of the company at Hagerstown and at Kichmond, Ind. Tlie other
was an extremely confused situation, but essentially the injunction
was issued out of the Henry Circuit Court, with the county seat at
New Castle, although it was issued by a judge of an adjoining circuit.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES EST THE LABOR FIELD 10309
Both these injunctions were issued, as we say, ex parte, merely on
the testimony or affidavits of the employer without anyone else being
present.
I thereupon entered appearances for the union. We entered pleas
to these injunctions, basically to the jurisdiction.
They were not proper complaints. That contention was upheld in
the Wayne Circuit Court. We were still on preliminary pleadinp^s
some 4 months later or 5 months when the company dismissed their
complaint, and we have never had a hearing on the merits.
Senator Mundt. Are you a regular staff lawyer of the UAW, or
were you employed for this particular purpose, as part of a general
practice ?
Mr. Miles. I am in the general practice, although I am on retainer
with the UAW but they are just one client of others.
Senator Mundt. So they retained you to oppose the injunction, as
I understand it. The injunction was issued and before you got to
carry it through the legal processes, it ceased to be a pertinent question
and was dropped ?
Mr. Miles. That is correct. Senator. i ■ • •
Senator Muxdt. Who employed you ? - -^ -&? ' ' •* "^ • "
Mr. Miles. Well, I was, I think, originally employed
Senator Mundt. I will put it this way : Who asked you to partici-
pate in the injunction case ?
Mr. Miles. I couldn't now recall. I would presume it to be Mr.
Berndt, but I don't have any actual recollection of it.
Senator Mundt. Was it you, Mr. Berndt ?
Mr. Berndt. Frankly, Senator, I don't have any recollection at this
point whether it was by the local or by myself. But Mr. Miles does
work for the locals within the region as such without authorization
from my office as a practicing attorney.
Senator Mundt. Who compensated him for the court costs and his
fees?
Mr. Miles. The international union.
Senator Mundt. The international union ?
Mr. Miles. Yes, sir.
Senator Mundt. Through Mr. Berndt's office or Detroit ?
Mr. Miles. My billings go through the regional office and are then
sent to the international.
Senator Mundt. That would be Mr. Berndt's office.
Mr. Miles. Yes, sir.
Senator Mundt. That is all the questions I have of you.
TESTIMONY OF RAY BEENDT— Eesumed
Senator Mundt. I was wondering how you square that fact with
what you said to counsel a little while earlier, that you were trying
to discourage mass picketing, you were trying to discourage violence,
you were trying to discourage activities on the part of the strikers
^rhich could lead to trouble. I wondered why, then, you employed an
attorney and paid for the court costs to fight a court action which was
the most effective means at hand to prevent the kind of mass picketing
which inevitably does lead to violence.
Mr. Berndt. Frankly, Senator, we were of the opinion that nothing
had transpired up to that point to cause an injunction to be handed
10310 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD
down against our union. In fact, we had been told by some people the-
company had requested that they create an incident outside of the
plant so as to procure this injunction. Being that what it was, evi-
dently between the local and myself, and if we paid the bill evidently
he was working directly for us, but all the bills during a strike are
paid by the international union anyway, but the local could still have
asked him to apjDear for them.
Senator AIuxdt. I always assume that the person paying the bill
has something to do with employing him.
yiv. Berndt. I assume so ; yes.
Senator Mundt. I share with the chairman the feeling that we have
to find a way to discourage violence. While we take cases which are
outstanding, we take those only because by pursuing the evidence
there and try to get to the facts, we can best determine whether the
present laws are adequate. There is no use to go into a situation where
there is no trouble.
You don't have to have a law to keep trouble from occurring where
there is no troubble. It is this kind of thing which flares up which
creates public concern and becomes a responsibility of the legislature
at a national level.
It is hard for me to equate your protestations of trying to discour-
age violence, trying to discourage anything illegal happening.
But the fact when the court steps in and says you have an injunction
against mass picketing, because mass picketing invariably leads to
violence, you move in with the law and you move in with your attor-
neys and the treasury of your union to fit that kind of protective
proceeding. It is pretty hard for me to understand how both of them
can be said by the same man and be consistent.
Mr. Berndt. Senator, I suppose I would be asking you to judge
character if I looked like a fellow that would invite violence. But by
the same token
Senator Mundt. I am not using you as an individual. When I say
you, I am referring to the union and not you as a human being.
Mr. Berndt. But by the same token, when you are brought into
court and accused of anything, I thiiik you should be prepared to
defend your position.
Asking for and the granting of an injunction would indicate that
the union was doing something
Senator Mundt. Well, that fact does not seem to be in dispute here.
You have said that the pickets lined up in Massachusetts and the
company has said, and the pictures you presented disclosed certainly
there was a mass picket line there.
That doesn't seem to be debatable. At least, if it is, no witness has
come in to deny it.
Mr. Berndt. At the time of the injunction, it was very early a
couple of days after the strike. This is what I am saying, that nothing
happened at that point to indicate that peaceful picketing was not
transpiring. People were going in and out of tlie plant at the time in-
junction was issued.
Senator Mundt. Had there been any mass picketing at the time
the injunction was issued ?
Mr. Berndt. Not to my knowledge.
Senator Mundt. You get an injunction in Indiana just against
anticipated contingencies ?
miPROPE'R ACTinTTLEiS IN THE LABGK FIELD 10311
Mr. Berndt. I think the attorney ought U) answer that one as to
-uhat had transpired so far as the injunction was concerned.
Senator :Mundt. Let me ask the attorney this : You were present in
the courtroom. What representation did the company make?
Did they allege that there had been mass picketing, or did they say
"We better get an injunction because it" we don't have one, there is
liable to be mass picketing by and by V
Mr. Miles. That is the point. We were not in the court room.
This injunction was obtained without notice to the union, and we
never had a hearing. That can be done. We operate in Indiana
under a counterpart of the Norris-LaGuardia Act, and you can get a
temporary restraining order, valid for only five days, without notice
to the other party.
We never had the hearing which was required to continue the in-
junction. So as a matter of law, I was contending when they dis-
missed the action that they didn't have a valid injunction, and I still
•don't think they did.
Senator Mundt. Did the injunction run out in 5 days ?
Mr. Miles. The act says "shall become void." It is the strongest
language that can be written. By my advice, nonetheless to my
clients, was that they should obey it in spite of a fact that as a legal
opinion I w^ould have to say it followed the language of the statute
and was void. But while we were in court, nontheless, I advised they
keep their five pickets at the gate.
Senator Mundt. If I understand your testimony, then, the company
got an injunction in anticipation of the fact that there might be some
mass picketing, none of which occurred at the time they got the in-
junction.
They got the injunction for 5 days only, so the injunction expires,
was void, after 5 days, and these instances of picketing of which we
have heard occurred after the injunction had terminated.
Is that correct ?
Mr. Miles. I can't agree entirely.
I think at the Hagerstown plant there probably was mass picketing
at the beginning of the strike, which would take care of the necessary
allegations in Wayne circuit court.
However, it is my understanding, and I wasn't present, that in
New Castle, which is the Henry circuit court, people did go through,
w^ent to work, from the beginning of the strike up to and including
the day upon which the company obtained the injunction, but they
obtained it not at the Henry circuit court. They went to another
county to get their injunction.
Senator Mundt. Let's limit our discussion here, Mr. Berndt, to
the Hagerstown situation, where now it is established by your attorney
that no mass picketing had occurred before the injmiction was granted.
Don't you feel your position would be stronger as a man advo-
cating peaceful settlement of strikes, and the elimination of violence,
if, instead of resisting an injunction against mass picketing which
has occurred, you would simply say, "Well, after all, we recognize
that is the law. We are not going to resist, because to resist it effec-
tively would be to precipitate violence rather than discourage it."
Mr. Berndt. Senator, I want to correct an impression I made
earlier. I wasn't thinking about the Hagerstown situation.
10312 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Senator Mundt. I was, too. But this raises into focus the point I
am trying to make. The chairman discussed the fact, and we all
have, that the international union has certain authorities. Mr. Keu-
ther said it is a democratic structure and there are certain things
you can't do, I suppose, as international representative. You can't
give orders all the time and expect to have them obeyed. But when
as international representative you employ counsel to try to defeat
an injunction against a situation which has existed, and which is
dangerous, it seems to me then you do violence to your own procedure
m trying to maintain a strike without violence.
Mr. Berndt. I think. Senator, people basically defend themselves
in court against the implications that might be involved if they
accede to the fact that these things were supposed to have happened
as might have been charged.
Of course, we haven't had any hearing on it. I don't know exactly
what was charged, particularly the New Castle thing. I read Mr.
Prosser's statement this morning of what transpired in Hagerstown.
I don't agree there. I am positive I could throw some light on the
size of the group there.
After all, there were almost 700 people in there from this par-
ticular plant. Since you wouldn't have 700 employees living in a
community of 1,800, most certainly those employees are living outside
of that particular community of 1,800.
Senator Mundt. I am not going to argue that with you, except
that I asked the question of Mr. Prosser and he said that he had wit-
nesses who could come in and swear to the fact that these were
strangers. You are not in a position to swear that they were strangers
or not strangers. If you have witnesses who will come in and swear
that these were all members of the plant, that would cast a different
light on it. But strangers or not, even members of the plant, are
prohibited under the law from mass picketing. My point is that we
are trying to find a way within the law to discourage this mass picket-
ing, and, if necessary, to pass new laws. It seems to me you inter-
national representatives, the president of the UAW, and the whole
leadership echelon could do one thing very effectively in self-restraint
in the direction of eliminating violence, and that is where there has
actually been mass picketing, and the courts are going to enjoin
against it, you should encourage it, rather than to try to defeat the
injunctive process, because you know and everybody knows that where
mass picketing continues, trouble breaks out.
That is why we have the law.
Mr. Berndt. Senator, this happened in Hagerstown on the very
first morning of the strike, and since we had been attempting to get
the company to meet over the weekend to settle this prior to that
particular Monday morning deadline, I would hardly consider that
the first morning,' when people came to find out that the settlement
has not been reached and this is going to be officially a plant on strike,
that we could hardly at this point consider that this Avas an organized
effort for mass picketing in that particular light.
I would think that the fact that everybody came to the plant that
morning, many of them living outside of Hagerstown, not knowing
what transpired, to find out exactly what the situation was, I can't
in my own mind believe that this would come under the idea of an
IMPROPER ACTirVITIEiS m THE LABOR FIELD 10313
organized mass picket line, for which you have to liave an injunction
to prevent it in the future. This was not a planned organized pro-
gram in that sense.
Senator Mundt. Is that in the law that to be illegal a picket line
has to be organized and directed, or is it that you just have them
out there, each fellow following his own nose ? But by the very fact
that he is there and preventing other fellows from working, that also
would be illegal, would it not ?
Mr. Bekndt. I wasn't trying to say that. I was trying to differ-
entiate between the first day of a strike and the normal strike pro-
cedures, the confusion that comes about on the first day.
Senator Mundt. On page 3 of your testimony, Mr. Berndt, you
say that the Perfect Circle Corp. had a long history before the 1955
strike of resistance to unionization of its employees.
Maybe you and the company are talking about the same thing. I
don't know. When you say unionization, you use the word to be
embracive enough to include this union shop, which seems to be,
according to Mr. Prosser's testimony, the sticky part that kept you
away from each other.
Mr. Berndt. I would like to call to your attention. Senator, that
prior to 1955, we had the bulk of our membership under modified
union shops.
We did not have in our union a vast majority of union shop agree-
ments. Union shop agreements, as such, become a major portion of
a contract negotiation in 1955.
Senator Mundt. As a result of what? Some action in the con-
vention?
Mr. Berndt. As a result of continued action by the convention, and
the fact that other corporations, such as General Motors and Chrysler,
had changed their modified to a full union shop in that particular
year. It made this one of the various demands of the union, and it
is indicated even by Prosser's own statement that this was a former
request on the part of the local union years ago, where we had this as
one of the items of the strike, and settled without the union shop.
Certainly if we go to the bargaining table and have 5 items and
the union shop is 1 item, we will not say at the first session of the
management "If we will settle all the other things, we will drop the
union shop," because at that point we have dropped it without getting
anything, in terms of contract alinement with other competitor plans.
Certainly the fact that we held the union shop to the strike deadline,
along with others, the arbitration of grievances, supplemental unem-
ployment benefit plan, a request for a different program with respect
to programs and insurance, the union shops still stayed in there be-
cause none of the other things had been satisfied, either.
Senator Mundt. So you do use the word "unionization" then to
include among other things the union shop ?
Mr. Berndt. That is right.
Senator Mundt. Mr. Prosser had said in his statement that :
We do not think it was for the benefit of the workers that the unions wanted
a union shop. Our wage offer was higher than any in the piston-ring industry.
The wage and benefits our employees received is well above the average for the
industry.
10314 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Have you figures to dispute that or do we accept tliat as uncontested
testimony ?
Mr. Berndt. We contest that statement. Otherwise we would not
have liad these demands on the table if they were already there, since
these had already been given by other corporations, these packages
as such in pensions and in insurance.
There is a price tag on these packages. They would not be in the
collective-bargaining system and unsettled since their competitors al-
ready had them, if Perfect Circle had more than their competitors
had at that point.
Senator Mundt. Well, it could be under your previous philosophy,
and I could understand why. You put a lot of things in the bar-
gaining presentation because it is give and take, and you put union-
ization and union shop in there, and you present a package, and you
don't get it all, but if you have quite a few things in there you have
a few things to trade in and out. That is understandable, but when
Mr. Prosser said that, "Our wage offer was higher than any in the
piston-ring business ; the wages and benefits our employees receive are
well above the average for the industry,'" that is a pretty impressive
statement.
Mr. Berndt. We do contest the phraseology of that, because they
are giving, as I understand it, a slightly wrong impression.
While their wage offer at that particular time might have been
higher than other wage offers made in that particular year, we be-
lieved and we still believe that Perfect Circle employees were behind
wages in the other places, and it took more to bring them up to date
with their competitors such as Sealed Power, and such.
I would like to submit to the conxmittee, and I would like to go
back and get the wage rates of the two corporations' employees of
1955, and show the committee on what basis we had made our demands
for additional wages.
Senator Mundt. I think you should be entitled to bring in some
factual data if you have it on this point, because there it stands.
Mr. Berndt. I am more than happy to do so.
Senator Mundt. Of course he is not comparing you with Sealed
Power, but he said the average for the industry. But you should
be able to do that, and the UAW I recall made such a presentation
in the plumbing industry, and I ])resume you can do it here.
No. 4, on page 4, I find something over here. I am interested in
the timing of these shotguns. You said the Perfect Circle Corp.
instead of bargaining in good faith made preparations for a strike
by im]3orting shotguns, high powered rifles, and other weapons into
its plant.
I specifically asked Mr. Prosser about that this morning when he
said in his testimony, on page 6, that Mr. Juday coming in by heli-
copter on the 25th or 26th of September, took shotguns into the plant.
I said, "Is that the first time tliat you took shotguns into the plant
preparatory to defending it, in your terms, against the possibility of
a dynamite attack or a raid," and he said, "Yes.'"
Now is it vour contention that they put shotguns in there before
that?
Mr. Berndt. Mr. Senator, I would like to call to your attention the
one correction I had made in presenting this, and I had restricted
IMPROPER ACTOVrriESi EST THE LABOR FTEL.D 10315
the words, "instead of bargaining in good faith, made preparations
for a strike," and I struck that because actually in preparing this I
did not want to make that particular statement.
All w^e have said was the Perfect Circle Corp. imported shotguns
and I dropped the rest of the language, because if you will look at
page 15 we did not back up that particular statement in our argu-
ments.
Now, on the other half of your question, did they prior to the Sep-
tember date bring guns into the plant, we were disturbed by the
issuing of gun permits as early as August 15 to individuals who were
relatives of the plant manager. I presume, and I would have to pre-
sume, that in this particular period that these gun permits were
issued for a particular purpose, and they were to be carried into the
plant.
Senator Mundt. You have listed a lot of people who got guns
including a lot of women. Were they working in the plant ?
Mr. Berndt. That is right. These are people from the plant.
Senator Mundt. You don't know, of course, when a man gets a gun
permit, whether he is carrying it into a plant or putting it under his
pillow at night to protect himself against some sort of vandalism ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct. Senator, it is pretty hard to convince
a lot of people where those guns went to.
Senator Mundt. That is understandable, but I asked Mr. Prosser
directly when they took the guns into the plant, and he said Septem-
ber 25 or 26, and so I did not catch this deletion that you made on
page 4.
As you stated it, it would have been a direct contradiction, and
where you have changed it or modified it, of course, that is no longer
true?
Mr. Berndt. I tried to be as factual as I possibly could.
Senator Mundt. As to this increase in dues that you talk about
on page 8, the company said, "Our desire to take this action stems
from the substantial increase in dues recently instituted by your in-
ternational union."
As I understand it, your statement, your normal dues are $2.50
a month ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct, at that time.
Senator Mundt. And they were increased by $5. Would that be
$7.50 a month?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. That would be substantial, there is no question
about it, and maybe there are some extenuating reasons, and will you
tell us why that was done ?
Mr. Berndt. That was by action of our delegates in the 1955 con-
vention, in April, which passed a resolution that a $5 a month dues
increase should take place for 4 months for the purpose of building
up a strike fund in our international union.
Senator Mundt. I assumed it was in connection with the strike
fund and I was wondering whether that was intended in part for
these strikes which were being anticipated at Perfect Circle ?
Mr. Berndt. No, it was strikes anticipated in the larger corpora-
tions over the 1955 demands.
Senator Mundt. I can't see you, and I guess you are still there.
21243— 58— pt. 26 5
10316 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
The Chairman. Don't obstruct the view of the Senator who is
interrogating.
Senator Mundt. Thank you. I did not get your answer. Was
this in connection with the anticipated strikes in Indiana, a Perfect
Circle strike, or was this a nationwide increase of $5 per month for
UAW members all over?
Mr. Berndt. All of our members in the United States and in Can-
ada, in preparation for our 1955 collective bargaining demands with
the large corporations.
It would not have been necessary to raise this kind of a strike fund
for a strike of this kind.
Senator Mundt. You would not have raised so much money if you
were just taxing the people in Indiana, and this was a national extra
strike fund raising procedure?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct, Senator.
Senator Mundt. Turn to page 14. You say something there that
disturbs me a little bit by its implications. It is the implication more
than the language that disturbs me. In big bold headlines you say,
The Perfect Circle Corp. attempted to operate its plants during the strike.
Now, in union circles, or should I be specific, in UAW circles, is
there something reprehensible or illegal or un-American or antilabor
for a fellow to try to operate his plant while there is a strike on ?
Do you fellows say that should not be done?
Mr. Berndt. No, the corporation has every right to try to operate
its plants within the law. However, when the operation of a plant
might entail the bringing in of people from other States to take the
place of those people who are striking for a particular contract, we
certainly believe this is highly immoral.
Senator Mundt. Well, Mr. Reuther and I almost agreed, and not
quite, that this was bad on the side of both labor and management,
that if we should let local people handle local strikes you probably
would not have as much trouble as you have been having.
We did not quite agree, because I seemed to feel that you ought to
let the labor pool of the local community participate, and he seemed
to feel that you should have a few international "Eeps" in there to
kind of watch it, but we came pretty close to it.
But what you said is that,
The Perfect Circle Corp. attempted to operate its plants during the strike,
and I just want to get it clear whether you as an international "Rep"
felt that was bad, because Mr. Reuther did say he felt a man had as
much right to work as he had to strike?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct, Senator.
Senator Mundt. If you hold to the position that the company has
no right to try to operate, the poor fellow who wants to work has no
place to work, and he has "done had it."
Mr. Berndt. That is correct. Senator, except you will notice there
is no period after the word "strike."
Senator Mundt. That is right, I was coming to that. Now, I think
I can go along with you, if a company is trying to operate its plant by
bringing in strikebreakers, or scabs, or people from all over the coun-
try, and importing them in as what we call in the agricultural busi-
ness, "wetbacks" from Mexico, for example.
IMPROPER ACravrriEIS IN THE LABOR FIELD 10317
That is not so good. Is it your allegation that Perfect Circle was
doing that, and that they were importing workers from all over the
country ?
Mr. Berndt. This was our understanding. It was our understand-
ing that they had advertised in some papers because we had talked to
a carload of people who came up to go to work at Perfect Circle only
to find the plant was on strike. When we told them what the situation
was, they said they were going to head back, and that they had been
living in Kentucky and had picked up a Madison, Ind., newspaper,
and they had noticed in there that Perfect Circle was in need of addi-
tional help.
They came up to New Castle and upon finding out what the situa-
tion was, had left town.
Senator Mundt. Where did they come from ?
Mr. Berndt. From Kentucky.
Senator Mundt. That is a neighboring State to Indiana, as I
remember my geography ?
Mr. Berndt. It was the State south.
Senator Mundt. It would not have to be far away to be in Ken-
tucky but it would be across a State line. On page 16, you talk about
what to me would be mass picketing, a demonstration in front of the
plant by 150 UAW sympathizers. You say :
The demonstration was orderly until a bus chartered by the company filled
with scabs —
and I would call them workers, but you call them "scabs," but filled
with human beings —
entered the Plum Street approach to the plant. At this point, the anger of the
crowd erupted spontaneously, and stones, bottles, and bricks were thrown,
and windows of the bus were broken. No one in the bus was injured.
They must hav^e ducked pretty fast. But that is a violation, is it
not?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct. Senator.
Senator Mundt. That would be in violation of the law, that kind
of mass picketing ?
Mr. Berndt. That is right.
Senator Mundt. This was on August 15 ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Mundt. This was after the injunction or prior to the
injunction ?
Mr, Berndt. Evidently after the injunction.
Senator Mundt. Do you remember, Mr. Attorney, what date that
injunction was?
Mr. Rauh. It was after the injunction.
Mr. Berndt. Yes; it was on August 1 that the injunction was
granted.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Chairman.
Senator McNamar A. Senator Curtis.
Senator Mundt. Are you sure j^ou are qualified to be chairman ?
Senator McNamara. I am certain that I am qualified. I am happy
to have the permanent chairman back again now, however.
Senator Curtis. I am delighted to be recognized by the distin-
guished Senator from Michigan and I was going to vote "no" against
his resignation.
10318 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Senator McNamara. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Curtis. Were you in New Castle at the New Castle plant
in this morning of August 5 ?
Mr. Berndt. I was.
Senator Curtis. In 1955 ?
Mr. Berndt. I was.
Senator Curtis. Were you down there when the disturbance was
going on ?
Mr. Berndt. I was there when a number of disturbances happened.
Senator Curtis. Were you there? I am talking about the one in
midmorning, the 9 : 30 or 10 : 30 a. m., were you in there, somewhere in
there?
Mr. Berndt. "VVliat page, Senator, are you referring to, of the
testimony ?
Senator Curtis. In whose testimony ?
Mr. Berndt. Are you operating from Mr. Prosser's testimony ?
Senator Curtis. Just to fix the date is all.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you mean August 5 or October 5 ?
Senator Curtis. August 5, excuse me. 1 thank you, IVIr. Comisel.
I got my months confused.
What was the date of the greater outbreak down there, where the
shots were fired ? That was October 5 ?
Mr. Berndt. October 5.
Senator Curtis. Were you there that day ?
Mr. Berndt. I was not.
Senator Curtis. Do you know what international representatives,
if any, where present ?
Mr, Berndt. Yes ; I would say there were 5 or 6.
Senator Curtis. Who were they ?
Mr. Berndt. I am looking to see if I was there, I had a list
prepared so I would not have to rely on my memory. I was in Detroit
at the time attending an international executive board meeting, and
my assistant, Mr, Kusola, was there, an international representative
Murphy, and international representative Bartee, and international
representative Nelson, an international representative Burdell, and
international representative Young.
Senator Curtis. If you think of more
Mr, Berndt. That is all I can think of.
Senator Curtis. If it occurs to you that one of them was not there,
you may correct it later.
Mr. Berndt. Thank you.
Senator Curtis. Now, in exhibit 1 "D," which was offered this
morning, there are a number of affidavits that are quite the same. This
one of George F. Waters, relating to October 5, 1955, at 9 : 30 a. m.,
or thereabouts, at the New Castle Foundry plant of Perfect Circle,
he says among other things,
I was standing on the roof, on the east side of the plant, when I saw a large
group of demonstrators approach the east gate. They congregated immediately
in front of the gate, paused momentarily, and then crashed the gate open. Some
of the demonstrators ran across to a car parked 50 or 60 feet from the gate, on
the inside of the fence, and turned the car over. Others of the demonstrators
returned to the plant yard. With the turning over of the car, shooting started.
Is the report you received from those present substantially the same
as that?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10319
Mr. Berndt. The report, I have is quite to tlie contrary. In hav-
ing present Paul Carper, who was shot in this particuhar area, he has
no knowledge of this particular incident as related there.
Senator Cuktis. Was the gate crashed ?
Mr. Berndt. Not to our knowledge.
Senator Curtis. There were none of the demonstratoi-s who got on
the inside ?
Mr. Berndt. Not to our knowledge.
Senator Curtis. You mean your personal knowledge ?
Mr. Berndt. That is right, or any witness that we would find that
indicated that. Mr. Prosser's statement said they fired into the front
of this group, and if that were true, if that was exactly the circum-
stances, these people were in the parking lot, and this is where Carper
was when he was shot.
Senator Curtis. Now, you were not there, and you are not stating
that the gate was not crashed ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. Well, I should not take that up with you as a wit-
ness then.
On page 2 of your statement, you referred to 5 UAW strikes in
Indiana during 1955, and none of which resulted in violence. Did any
of the employers in these other five strikes attempt to operate their
plants during the strike ?
Mr. Berndt. Not to my recollection.
Senator Curtis. Would the violence have occurred at Perfect Cir-
cle if the company had not attempted to operate during the strike ?
Mr. Berndt. Probably not, Senator.
Senator Curtis. That was a right that they had to do, was it ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. It was not in violation of law ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. And you concur with Mr. Eeuther in regard to
that?
Mr. Berndt. Absolutely.
Senator Curtis. That the right to strike must cany the correspond-
ing right, the right not to strike ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. And these rights belong to workers and not to
organizations, isn't that correct ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. Now, was there mass picketing ?
Mr. Berndt. On a few occasions I believe there was, and in fact I
know there was on a few occasion.
Senator Curtis. Were cars turned over ?
Mr. Berndt. Based upon the information I have, I wasn't present,
but there was on August 15.
Senator Curtis. I am speaking of the whole period.
Mr. Berndt. At the time of that mass demonstration of August 15,
that turned into this stoning of the bus, there were cars overturned.
Senator Curtis. There were some cars overturned ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. Were any homes vandalized, or damaged, or
harassed during the entire period ?
10320 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Berndt. There were reports in the newspapers, and that is all
I had from that. I saw no home from personal observation that had
been subjected to vandalism. Certainly there were reports in the
paper quite frequently.
Senator Curtis. There were current reports of it ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. Were there any acts of violence on the highways ?
Mr. Berndt. Only one to my knowledge, and this knowledge is
again not of my personal observation. This is newspaper reports
again, going back to that.
Senator Curtis. Did the UAW provide a defense by furnishing
attorneys and other expense in the case of any arrests made through-
out this strike ?
Mr. Berndt. For every arrest made.
Senator Curtis. In how many cases did they provide a defense?
(The witness consulted with his comisel.)
Mr. Berndt. There were slightly in excess of 100 cases, as the
attorney advises me, that we handled. There were 1 or 2 that we
dropped that we felt were part of an incident that somebody had
gotten themselves into as a result of being in too many bars, and we
felt they were not union connected and we dropped those cases.
We tried to ascertain whether or not they had been charged with
anything in connection with the strike. That is where we were trying
to draw the line of representation.
(At this point, the following members are present: Senators
McClellan, McNamara, and Curtis. )
Senator Curtis. In how many cases did you give some legal assist-
ance to individuals that were arrested ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Rauii. AVould you care to have the attorney answer?
Senator Curtis. Yes ; he has been sworn.
It doesn't have to be exact, if there are 2 or 3 one way or the other.
TESTIMONY OF LYNNVILLE MILES— Resumed
Mr. Miles. I cannot give you an absolute number, but we made
an appearance for all those that we thought were strike connected and
legitimate. We made our investigation. Some were guilty of illegal
conduct, and several of those I pleaded guilty.
Senator Curtis. How many were there in total ?
Mr. Miles. I think there were probably 100 arrests, roughly, and
very few were either convicted or pleaded guilty.
Senator Curtis. You mean 100 arrests that you gave some legal
assistance to ?
Mr, Miles. Yes, sir.
Senator Curtis. That would vary because if the case didn't go to
trial it wouldn't be as extensive help as if you went to court.
Mr. Miles. I think they all went to trial one way or another, either
by a plea of guilty or by an actual trial.
Senator Curtis. And these 100 were all UAW members?
Mr. Miles. As defense counsel, I don't think I necessarily deter-
mined whether or not they were UAW members.
Senator Curtis, No doubt most of them were ?
Mr. Miles. I think they were ; yes, sir.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10321
Senator Curtis. Were any of them from outside the local commu-
nity?
Mr. Miles. None were outside the employment community. I think
the farthest away was Anderson, which, roughly, is 20 miles away,
or 25.
Senator Curtis. How many either pleaded guilty or were found
guilty?
Mr. Miles. My memory, sir, is 13, roughly.
Senator Curtis. In a general way, what were they guilty of?
Mr. Miles. Well, I recall one, malicious trespass ; there was an as-
sault and battery, unaggravated, a touching. I know this : they were
all misdemeanors. There wasn't even a felony arrest.
Senator Curtis. Was anyone arrested for turning over a car ?
Mr. Miles. There were no convictions for that. Whether or not
there was an arrest, I don't recall. I don't think there was. There
might have been.
Senator Curtis. Were any arrested for damaging property of any
kind, like rock throwing ?
Mr. Miles. Yes, sir.
Mr. Curtis. Any convictions ?
Mr. Miles. There were 14 arrests arising out of throwing rocks at a
car in Richmond, 1 conviction out of the 14; there was a conviction
in a city court of malicious mischief, and it was appealed and tried
anew, and there was a hung jury and no decision.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Berndt, during the entire period of the strike,
which I understand was about 4 months — is that correct ?
TESTIMONY OF RAYMOND H. BERNDT— Resumed
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. What international representatives were in the area
other than those that you mentioned in answer to a previous question ?
Mr. Berndt. During the entire 4-month period, probably 75 percent
of the total staff had at one time or another spent a day on 1 of the 4
picket lines.
Senator Curtis. 75 percent of the staff ?
Mr. Berndt. Yes; my staff at that time numbered 19 people, and
probably during the course of that entire 4-month period, probably as
many as 15 or 16 might have at one time spent part of 1 day on 1 of the
4 picket lines.
Senator Curtis. Were there any international representatives be-
sides your staff in there ?
Mr. Berndt. There was only one representative, Neil Edwards, who
was a recent addition to the international staff on a temporary basis.
He was assigned to the New Castle-Richmond-Hagerstown area to as-
sist Caldwell wherever possible.
Senator Curtis. Were there people brought in from other locals?
Mr. Berndt. They were not brought in ; no.
Senator Curtis. Well, were they there ?
Mr. Berndt. Yes.
Senator Curtis. From what locals ?
Mr. Berndt. Mainly from the cities of — well, it all depends, Sena-
tor; if we are going to talk about the New Castle situation
10322 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Senator Curtis. By "other locals," I mean locals other than those
connected with Perfect Circle.
Mr. Berndt. Then probably all of the UAW locals in New Castle
had at one time been on the line. Locals from Connersville, which is
close by, and locals from Anderson, which is close by, members had
been in there from those locals, and probably from Richmond, which
is where the one Perfect Circle plant was located.
We have other UAW locals.
Senator Curtis. Were there any from out of State ?
Mr. Berndt. Not to my knowledge, unless there miglit have been
at one time some local union member rode up with my representative
stationed at Louisville, who was in at one time during the strike
to my knowledge.
Senator Curtis. What is the total number of employees in all four
of the Perfect Circle plants at about this time ?
Mr. Berndt. Senator, that has been a debatable question. We do
not have access to the company's records. We have to estimate.
Senator Curtis. All right. What is your best estimate ?
Mr. Berndt. Our estimate was that there were about 1,100 em-
ployees in the 4 plants.
Senator Curtis. 1,100?
Mr. Berndt. Roughly 1,100.
There might have been a few more than that.
Senator Curtis. And the number that voted for the strike was 340,
is that correct ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct, out of 646 that participated in the
vote.
Senator Curtis. 646. You got a little over half of your member-
ship but about a third of the employees, grouping the four plants
together ? ^
Mr. Berndt. I was trying to find the notes. There was 656 em-
ployees that were members of our union in the 4 plants.
Senator Curtis. 656.
Mr. Berndt. 656.
Senator Cutitis. And 340 of those voted to strike ?
Mr. Berndt. Voted in favor of the strike.
Senator Curtis. And your estimate of the total number of em-
ployees was what ?
Mr. Berndt. Was approximately 1,100. Yes, approximately 1,100.
I would be subject to correction by the company, who would have
definite information.
Senator Curtis. On page 15 of your statement, No. 6, you say —
The Perfect Circle Corp. committed many acts to provoke resentment and
retaliation by the striking employees.
Was there retaliation ?
Mr. Berndt, Evidently there was. Senator, by the mass picketing
that evolved.
Senator Curtis. What other retaliation ?
Mr. Berndt. Well, sufficient mass picketing to close the plant down
for a week is indicated by Mr. Prosser's statement.
Senator Curtis. Was there any damage done to the plant?
Mr. Berndt. There were a few windows broken out of the plant,
to my personal knowledge, some time prior to August 5.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10323
Senator Curtis. Was the gate broken down at any time during the
4 months ?
Mr. Berndt. Not to my personal knowledge ; no.
Senator Curtis. What is your best information on that?
Mr. Berndt. My best information is that the only time a charge
has been made that a gate was broken mto was on October 5, and
I find nothing to substantiate that.
Senator Curtis. You don't think it happened ?
Mr. Berndt. Well, I have our people's word to me that it hadn't
happened. And pictures also that indicate that the cars inside this
very area were not overturned at a time when the company said the
gate w^as opened and the cars were overturned.
Senator Curtis. A dispute about the time ?
Mr. Berndt. I presume so.
Senator Curtis. On page 20 of your statement, about the fifth,
sixth, and seventh lines from the bottom :
The truce turned out to be another order by Craig —
meaning the Governor —
sending National Guard troops into all three towns where Perfect Circle had
plants and keeping the plants open for scabs to enter.
Would these nonstrikers have been able to enter if the guard hadn't
arrived ?
Mr. Berndt. Senator, I believe, except for the 1 period, the 1 week,
in September, anyone afoot could have walked through the 5-man
picket line except for the 2 or 3 times' when mass picketing came
about.
Senator Curtis. But there were times that they couldn't get in?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. And do you make any charge that management
had people in the mass picket line ?
Mr. Berndt. I don't quite follow your question, Senator.
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Senator Curtis. Did management have anybody in the mass picket
lines ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
Mr. Berndt. I still don't quite understand your
Senator Curtis. You say that there were times, and I am not going
to argue about how many days or how long, when the mass picketing
was such that a worker couldn't get into the plant. What I am ask-
ing is : Was that your mass picket line or do you charge that that was
management's ?
Mr, Berndt. No. It was UAW members.
Senator Curtis. Now referring to your statement on page 25, at
the bottom of the page, you speak of the vote at the Kichmond
Foundry.
The vote to decertify was 35 for the UAW and 45 for no union,
with 13 challenged votes out of 99 eligible to vote. At the Richmond
machine plant, where 246, 248 were eligible to vote, the tabulation
showed 96 votes for the UAW, 138 for no union and 4 challenged
votes. At Hagerstown, the vote to decertify the UAW was 233 for
the UAW and 475 for no union.
When were these votes taken ?
10324 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Berndt. The petitions were filed
Senator Curtis. The voting.
Mr. Berndt. November 10, 1 believe, is the correct date, 1955,
Senator Curtis. When was that in reference to the end of the strike?
Mr. Berndt. Approximately 19 days prior to the end of the strike.
Senator Curtis. Prior to the end of the strike ?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
It ended in those plants on that day.
Senator Curtis. I want to ask you something about exhibit 1-B
and exhibit 1-F.
Mrs. Watt, would you see that he has a copy of each ?
(Documents handed to the witness.)
Senator Curtis. Exhibit 1-B purports to be incidents of violence
at New Castle foundry during the Perfect Circle strike of 1955. It
has a list of dates, and a list of the names, and an offense listed after
the name. Fred Wilkinson, car overturned on Plum Street. Was he
one of your members ?
Mr. Berndt. No ; he was not.
Senator Curtis. Walter — what I mean to say was if he was a
striker, Wilkinson ?
Mr. Berndt. That I couldn't say. I am unfamiliar.
Senator Curtis. Walter Almonette, car stoned.
Was he a striker ?
Mr. Berndt. I am not familiar with that name or the individual.
Senator Curtis. You don't live right there, do you ?
Mr. Berndt. I think that is all, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Are there any other questions ?
Senator Curtis. I do have just one more thing, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Prosser said : On August 5, 1955, a large group of union demon-
strators, including the director, Raymond Berndt, and the other offi-
cials of region 3 of the United Automobile Workers, gathered on the
approaches to the plant and menaced nonstriking workers and man-
agement personnel on their way to work. On this morning, auto-
mobiles of the workers were damaged by stones hurled at them by the
demonstrators, and the employees were otherwise menaced and in-
timidated and stoned and chunks of concrete were thrown through
the windows of the plant.
I believe you said you were there.
Mr. Berndt. That is correct. I was there on that day.
Senator Curtis. Were any stones and chunks of concrete thrown
through the windows of the plant ?
Mr. Berndt. I say I saw no stones thrown through the windows of
the plant on that day.
Senator Curtis. Did you on any other day ?
Mr. Berndt. No. Thisistheonly day I was there during the strike.
Senator Curtis. Were automobiles of the workers damaged by
stones ?
Mr. Berndt. There were two occasions where I noticed UAW mem-
bers stopping cars on their ingress to the plant. I went over to them
and requested they immediately release the cars, since this was highly
improper and they were not to do any acts of this type. On two inci-
dents I happened to be close enough to them to see them start and I
went over and stopped these incidents.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10325
Senator Curtis. Acts of this type? "What do you mean?
Mr. Berndt. I mean stopping cars. Grouping up in front of the
cars on the roadway so that they couldn't drive through into the plant.
Senator Curtis. Were any stones hurled in that demonstration?
Mr. Berndt. I did not see it.
Senator Curtis. But you would say that your position is that there
was some stoppage of cars and some harassment ?
Mr. Berndt. There were two stoppages of cars that I personally
went and intervened in and asked them not to carry on this type of
picketing.
Senator Curtis. And you would agree that there was stoppage of
workers coming in and some harassment, is that correct ?
Mr. Berndt. I am not positive about arrests that day.
Senator Curtis. No ; harassment.
Mr. Berndt. Harassment, yes.
Senator Curtis. But you disagree with Mr. Prosser as to the ex-
tent?
Mr. Berndt. I don't disagree. I don't know.
Senator Curtis. You don't know?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. You are not saying that this is not true?
Mr. Berndt. That is correct. I was there only on the one day, and
I made a tour of the situation. It was the first time I had had an
opportunity to walk in and around the plant location. While on my
tour of that plant location, I saw no stones thrown.
I did see two cars stopped in which I did intervene and did intervene
and got the people to stop their program of stopping ingi-ess to the
plant by cars.
Senator Curtis. That is all, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. The committee will stand in recess imtil 10 o'clock
tomorrow, and we will reconvene in room 457.
(Whereupon, at 5 :03 p. m. the hearing was recessed, to reconvene
at 10 a. m. Tuesday, April 1, 1958, in room 457, with the following
members present: Senators McClellan, McNamara, and Curtis.)
INVESTIGATION OF IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE
LABOR OR MANAGEMENT FIELD
TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1958
United States Senate,
Select Committee on Improper Activities
IN THE Labor or Managejvient Field,
Washington^ D. C.
The select committee met at 10 a. m., pursuant to Senate Resolution
221, agreed to January 29, 1958, in room 457, Senate Office Building,
Senator John L. McClellan (chairman of the select committee) pre-
siding.
Present : Senator John L. McClellan, Democrat, Arkansas ; Senator
John Kennedy, Democrat, Massachusetts ; Senator Barry Goldwater,
Republican, Arizona; Senator Karl E. Mundt, Republican, South
Dakota ; and Senator Carl T. Curtis, Republican, Nebraska.
Also present : Robert F. Kennedy, chief counsel ; Jerome S. Alder-
man, assistant chief counsel; John J. McGovem, assistant counsel;
and Ruth Young Watt, chief clerk.
(At this point the following members were present: Senator Mc-
Clellan, Goldwater, and Curtis. )
The Chairman. The committee will come to order. Call the next
witness.
Mr. KJENNEDY. Mr. Kenneth Griffin.
The Chairman. Mr. Griffin.
You do solemnly swear the evidence you shall give before this
Senate select committee shall be the truth, the whole truth and noth-
ing but the truth, so help you God ?
TESTIMONY OF KENNETH GRIFFIN, ACCOMPANIED BY CLYDE
HOFFMAN, COUNSEL
Mr, Grifein. I do.
The Chairman. State your name and place of residence, and occu-
pation, please, sir.
Mr. Griffin. Kenneth Griffin, New Castle, Ind., rural route 4. I
am supervisor of quality control, Perfect Circle foundry.
The Chairman. You have counsel present ?
Mr. Griffin. I do.
The Chairman. Counsel, identify yourself for the record, please.
Mr. Hoffman. Mr. Clyde Hoffman, Hagerstown, Ind.
Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Griffin, you have been working for the Perfect
Circle Co. now for some 15 years or 14 years ?
Mr. Griffin. About 14y2, yes.
Mr. Kennedy. You are now a supervisor, is that right ?
10327
10328 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Griffin". That is correct.
Mr. Kennedy. You were promoted to supervisor in 1946 ?
Mr. Griffin. 1945 or 1946, along in there.
Mr. Kennedy. Prior to that time you were a member of the UAW ?
Mr. Griffin. That is right.
Mr. Kennedy. When you became supervisor, of course, you dropped
out of the UAW?
Mr. Griffin. At first I was the union time study man, and I still
retained my union membership from that time.
Mr. Kennedy. And you are supervisor of quality control at New
Castle plant?
Mr. Griffin. At the present time, yes.
Mr. Kennedy. During the period of the strike, you were subjected
to some violence ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. I would like to have you relate that to the commit-
tee. I think first if you would start at the time that 3 or 4 nights
after the strike started there were some rocks thrown at your home.
Mr. Griffin. I think you have the wrong information there,
Mr. Kennedy. Well, the shotgim blast, then.
Mr. Griffin. The shotgun blast was around the 23d of November,
just before the strike was settled.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you have anything happen shortly after the
strike began?
Mr. Griffin. In September the 10th, I was ambushed.
Mr. Kennedy. Would you relate that ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes. I have what you call a country route. I took
several of the workers home, picked them up in the morning and take
them home that evening. I was around 7 miles north of New Castle
on a blacktop road, taking Cal Tinsley and Berlin Pate.
Mr. Kennedy. T-i-n-s-1-e-y ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct.
Mr. Kennedy. And Berlin Pate.
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. The three of you were driving along ?
Mr. Griffin. That is right, in the car. We come to the gravel road
that Calvin Tinsley lived on. We were on a blacktop. We had to turn
to go up this gravel road, which was a steep hill. In the middle of the
hill was a Studebaker 1954 or 1955 — no, a 1954 Studebaker truck, about
a ton and a half truck, parked in the middle of the hill, blocking traf-
fic. At first I never thought too much about it. I thought maybe a
farmer had got stuck on the hill, having engine trouble, because he
started to back down. I looked in my rear- view mirror to see if I had
anybody behmd me so I could get out of his road.
Approximately 15 people with hooded masks come out of the side,
from across the T.
Mr. Kennedy. Wliat do you mean by masks ?
Mr. Griffin. They had hooded masks over their head, clear down
to their shoulders, black.
Mr. Kennedy. Covering their whole face and head ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct. Just the eye
Mr. Kennedy. They were not Ku Kluxes ?
Mr. Griffin. Ku Kluxes. Do they wear white ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10329
The Chairman. They wear white. These wore black ?
Mr. Griffin. Black masks, yes.
Mr. IvENNEDY. And right down to their shoulders ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. With places for their eyes ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct. It looked to me, of course, like they
had rocks loaded from here [indicating] to their chins. Of course, they
probably didn't have them that far up.
I said to the boys "Here they come." Mr. Pate was riding the rear
seat, and he hit the floor about the time a rock hit the back window.
Mr. Kennedy. They had rocks in their hands as they were coming
toward you ?
Mr. Griffin. That is right. So I had a 12-gage shotg;un, which
was about 20 inches long laying open on the floorboard of my car. I
had a shell in the glove compartment. So I loaded the shotgun and my
glass was down on my side of the car and I swung the gun around.
They saw it and said "Watch for the guns." So they vamoosed as
fast as they could. I did shoot at the legs. I don't know whether I
hit anybody or not. I couldn't tell you. So I seen then that they all
run. My first thought was to try to get out of there, to get the boys
to their homes safely. So I took the side ditch and did make it around
the truck. And I went up to Mr. Tinsley's home which is about a mile
up the road and called the sheriff, first, and then also I called the
plants, Mr. Juday, to tell him what happened. We turned around
and went back down to where the ambush had happened.
The sheriff came along approximately 30 minutes later. Mr. Juday
came along right after that.
Mr. Kennedy. Wlio was Mr. Juday ?
Mr. Griffin. Plant manager of Perfect Circle. They were a farmer
and his son that lived about a quarter of a mile up the road from where
this happened. They saw it all, and told us that some of the boys
didn't get away, that they were still in the cornfield. But we were
not able to locate them.
Mr. Ivennedy. Was anybody ever arrested or were you able to
identify any of the people that were involved ?
Mr. Griffin. I am not able to identify anybody because of the
hooded masks. There were arrests made. A car was found a mile
north of where the ambush took place, with a flat tire. Right away
there was a call into the city police from an individual saying that
his car had been stolen. But this individual was also seen coming
back into New Castle with two of the other boys in a car just a few
minutes after this happened, by my wife and by my son. They met
him on the road. Also they were met by Mr, Juday as he was coming
out.
Mr. Kennedy. Was he arrested ?
Mr. Griffin. He was arrested, I think, for falsifying a report of a
stolen car.
Mr. Kennedy. What was the disposition of that case ?
Mr. Griffin. I don't know. I never heard.
Mr. Kennedy. Was anybody ever arrested or charged in this masked
ambush ?
(The witness conferred with his counsel.)
10330 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Griffin. Not to my knowledge, no. There were some investi-
gations made. I don't loiow all the story on the investigations.
Mr. Kennedy. Going on from that incident, did you have this shot-
gun blast just before the end of the strike ?
Mr. Griffin. I did.
Mr. Kennedy. Will you relate that to the committee ?
Mr. Griffin. It was around midnight. I think it was on Novem-
ber 2r5 or 24. The reason I know is it was Tuesday night before the
end of the strike which ended on Sunday, which was the 27th. We
were sleeping in the back of the house. We live about approximately
120 feet from the blacktop road, 3 miles north of town. My daugh-
ter was sleeping in one end of the house, and my wife and I was
sleeping in the other. I didn't hear the blast. My daughter woke
us up and said we had been shot.
It hit the west end of our house where my daugliter was sleeping.
It broke out one of our storm windows, and I had asbestos siding
on my house and it splattered that pretty much. The sheriff's inves-
tigation the next day said he thought there were about two shotgun
blasts on the house.
Mr. Kennedy. Did they go right into the house ?
Mr. Griffin. No. I think probably it was so far away that the
shotgun blast that broke the storm window didn't penetrate the win-
dow in the house.
Mr. Kennedy. Then did you have rocks thrown at your automobile
in addition to that ?
Mr. Griffin. No. I was very fortunate. I have seen guys ahead
of me and behind me but I have never got hit myself.
Mr. Kennedy. With rocks or tomatoes or anything?
Mr. Griffin. No.
Mr. Kennedy. So you had the two incidents of the ambush and
then the shot fired into your home ?
Mr. Griffin. I had one night that they didn't hit anything. I don't
know whether they were shooting to hit the house or just shooting to
scare, but I did hear that one. I jumped out of bed in time to see
the car take off down the road.
Mr. Kennedy. Wlien was that ?
Mr. Griffin. I couldn't tell you the date. It was along in the fall,
because it was warmer weather when we had the windows open.
Probably in September, along in September some time.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you know many people that worked with you
that were subjected to similar kinds of vandalism ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes. This Mr. Tinsley had his house shot into once
or maybe twice. Audrey Cross, who was another guy that I picked
up on the route was also subject to the same treatment.
Mr. Kennedy. AMiat about automobiles ? Were there rocks thrown
at automobiles? Do you know many people that that happened to?
Mr. Griffin. Harold Hoover did. He had eggs thrown at him one
night.
Mr. Kennedy. He had what ?
Mr. Griffin. Eotten eggs. He was right ahead of me when it
happened.
That is about the only car I saw. Well, I will take that back.
Right at the start of the strike, it hadn't started very long, we went
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10331
up — I Avas in another car and we picked an individual up there on
25th Street and we had a rock hit the car. That was in that time.
Mr. Kennedy, Did you feel that this vandalism that you and your
friends were subjected to arose out of the strike ?
Mr. Griffin. I do.
Mr. Kennedy. Had you been the recipient of anything like this
prior to the time the UAW went out on strike ?
Mr. Griffin. No.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you feel that those who were responsible were
the ones who were trying to keep you out of the plant and away from
working ?
Mr. Griffin. Of course, what they were trying to do to me was not
keep me out of the plant, because I was supervisory, but because
I was carrying other people, picking up other passengers and carry-
ing them to the plant.
Mr. Kennedy. The reason they subjected you to it was because you
were associated with management, is that right?
Mr. Griffin. I think so ; yes.
Mr. Kennedy. Is that how you feel ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. And you never had anything like this happen to
you before the strike or after the strike ?
Mr. Griffin. That is ri^ht.
Mr. Kennedy. Just durmg this period of time ?
Mr. Griffin. That is right.
Mr. Kennedy. And the same thing for your friends and associates
who work for the company ?
Mr. Griffin. That is right.
Mr, Kennedy. You were in the plant on October 4 and 5, were you ?
Mr. Griffin. I was.
Mr. Kennedy. You were there when the firing took place between
those outside the plant and those inside the plant ?
Mr. Griffin. I was.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you have a gun, yourself ?
Mr. Griffin. I did.
Mr, Kennedy. Had you brought a gun into the plant ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir. It was my own 20-gage shotgun.
Mr. Kennedy, Wliy did you bring your gmi into the plant ?
Mr, Griffin. Because I was asked to bring in the night before and
stand guard for the plant, on the 4th. I stayed all night there in
the plant on the 4th.
Mr. Kennedy, Were you instructed to bring a gun with you ?
Mr, Griffin, Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. Who instructed you to do that ?
Mr. Griffin. The plant manager.
Mr. Kennedy. Who was that ?
Mr. Griffin. Mr. Juday.
Mr. Kennedy. Wliat kind of a gim did you have ?
Mr, Griffin, I had a 20-gage, bolt action,
Mr. Kennedy, Where were you stationed during October 5?
Mr. Griffin, I was stationed at the north end of the plant on the
second floor.
Mr. Kennedy. Was there some firing from the north end?
21243— 58— pt. 26 6
10332 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr, Griffin. There was.
Mr. Kennedy. Was that from outside the plant ?
Mr. Griffin. It was.
Mr. Kennedy. Did any of that hit the plant ?
Mr. Griffin. It did.
Mr. Kennp^dy. Do you know if that was before or after the firing
started at the south end ?
Mr. Griffin. I couldn't tell you exactly whether the firing had
started at the south end before this happened or not.
My instructions were, when I saw the crowd coming, to get the
women in the office and take them to the cafeteria in the basement,
and then go to the north end. So as I saw the people, the mass of
people coming across the field south of Plum Street, and out Belmont,
which is approximately two blocks south of the plant, I did that.
I went and got the girls and told them to go down to the cafeteria
where we felt it would be safer if anything did happen, and then I
went to the north end to watch the north of the plant where the rail-
road track it.
There was a person behind the house on North 27th the house next
to the railroad track, closest to the plant, that was shooting at the
plant with a rifle.
Mr. Kennedy. Was that after you got back to the north end from
taking the women
Mr. Griffin. He shot from there. He might have shot before I
got there. I couldn't t-ell you. But after I got there, I did see him
shoot.
Mr. Kennedy. That was after you took the women down into the
cafeteria ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you fire back at all ?
Mr. Griffin. I did not.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you fire your gun at all ?
Mr. Griffin. I did not.
Mr. Kennedy. Was there a kind of a bomb that went off after the
shooting began ?
Mr. Griffin. I might have heard it but never thought anything
about it.
Mr. Kennedy. Was there any general instruction about firing
your guns?
Mr. Griffin. The general instructions of firing the guns was if
they come over the fence to fire to scare them away, fire over their
heads, and if they kept on coming to fire at their legs.
Mr. Kennedy. Who did you receive those instructions from?
Mr. Griffin. Mr. Juday.
Mr. Kennedy. He is the plant manager?
Mr. Griffin. That is right.
Mr. Kennedy. Had he brought some guns in prior to that time and
distributed them?
Mr. Griffin. I think in the testimony yesterday there was six
guns brought in ; yes.
Mr. Kj:nnedy. They were distributed to guards in various sec-
tions of the plant ?
Mr. Griffin. To various supervisors, yes.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10333
Mr. Kennedy. How many women were there in the plant at the
time ? Just approximately.
Mr. Gkiffin. I couldn't tell you offhand. The office personnel were
there. I suppose there was 5 or 6 women out in the shop that
done work back at inspection.
Mr. Kennedy. And liad you expected trouble on that day?
Mr. Griffin. From all reports we did ; yes, sir.
jNIr. Ivennedy. Why were women brought in the plant?
Mr. Griffin. I think that our main object was to operate as
normal
Mr. Kennedy. As I understand you expected the plant possibly to
be dynamited or attacked any way.
Mr. Griffin. Well, tlie rumors was that they were going to make
a march on the plant.
Mr. Ivennedy. Make a march on the plant ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
Mr. Ivennedy. Why were the women brought in if that was going
to happen ?
Mr. Griffin. I couldn't tell you offhand.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Griffin, how many people were outside the
plant on October 5, when this trouble arose, this crowd some of whom
came toward the plant, and maybe all of them did? About how
many people were about, in your opinion ?
Mr. Griffin. Well, Senator, I didn't see them all, because as I
stated I was at the south end of the plant watching, and I saw them
coming across the field, a large mass of people coming across the field
and down Plumb Street, and so I went to the north end after I took
the women to the cafeteria, and I went to the north end to look
out the window there, and approximately at north side, across on
South 2Ttli Street, I would say maybe 150 to 100 people there, but
the majority of the people were south and west of the plant, and I
didn't see all of them.
Senator Curtis. You didn't see all of them, but you got a look
at part of them ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
Senator Curtis. Well, in other words, you were there at the time
and you saw one end quite well, and you saw the other end partly,
and do you have an opinion as to how many people were out there.
Mr. Griffin. In my opinion there were a couple of thousand.
Senator Curtis. A couple of thousand ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
Senator Curtis. Now, during this entire strike period or any part
thereof, did you see any strikers around there in the strike area ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
Senator Curtis. How long have you lived in that community?
jNIr. Griffin. Forty years.
Senator Curtis. How big is the town ?
Mr. Griffin. About 21,000, 1 think, the last census.
Senator Curtis. Do you know where these strikers were from ?
Mr. Griffin. No.
Senator Curtis. Were they there more than on one occasion ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
Senator Curtis. How many?
(The witness consulted with his counsel.)
10334 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Griffix. Well, the statement I made when I was riding; in the
car, and 1 wasn't driving, and I got hit by a rock, when I picked up
the individual on 25th Street, which was along early in the strike,
there were probably 100 people north of the railroad track there
where I picked this individual up, or we picked this individual up.
I w^ould say outside of 2 or 3, the rest of them w^ere total strangei-s
to me. And also, on August 15 when the bus was stoned, there were
very few people that I recognized.
Senator Curtis. You were an oldtimer there, and your own house
was fired upon, and you had violence committed toward you, and
you know the people around there. There were many acts of violence
that occurred, and there was rock throwing or shooting at a house, or
whatever it was, and were the victims strikers or nonstrikers?
That is, the victims of the violence.
Mr. Griffin. Nonstrikers, and I never heard of any strikers getting
hit.
Senator Curtis. You never heard of any strikers being the victims
of this violence, either on the streets or at their homes ?
Mr. Griffin. No.
Senator Curtis. All you did know about, that came to your atten-
tion, were nonstrikers?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. That is all.
The Chairman. Are there any other questions ?
Wliat did the union officials do, the representatives of the imion
which you observed, if anything to try to prevent this violence and
vandalism ?
Mr. Griffin. I never saw anything.
The Chairman. Do you know of any action they took whatsoever ?
Mr. Griffin. No.
The Chairman. Are you convinced it was the strikers or those who
were sympathizing with them that were causing all of this trouble?
Mr. Griffin. Well, I wouldn't say all of the strikers were causing
the trouble.
The Chairman. What is that?
Mr. Griffin. I wouldn't say all of the strikers were causing the
trouble. That is, all of them. I think it was just a small percentage
of them.
The Chairman. I did not say that they were all causing trouble,
but the trouble that was caused, you think, was caused by strikers?
That is not all of the strikers, but by people who were on strike and
those sympathetic with them?
Mr. Griffin. Some out of sympathy, and some were strikers.
The Chairman. You think the outside group that came in caused
trouble ?
Mr. Griffin. I think so ; yes, sir.
The Chairman. You think they were there to agitate the situation,
and help participate in the vandalism and violence?
Mr. Griffin. I do.
The Chairman. Can you identify any of those that came in from
the outside or from other unions ?
Mr. Griffin. No, I cannot.
The Chairman. You can't give us their names ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10335
Mr. Griffin. No.
The Chairman. Were they in substantial numbers or only a few ?
Mr. Griffin. I would say substantial numbers.
The Chairman. What do you mean by substantial numbers, a dozen
or a hundred ?
Mr. Griffin. A hundred.
The Chairman. A hundred ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, or more.
The Chairman. Or more ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. At one time there were some 500 or 600 ; or 600 or
TOO?
Mr. Griffin. On the day of October 5, there were several hmidred
of them, yes.
The Chairman. On this day of October 5 ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. There were several of them ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. And they were from outside of the community ?
Mr. Griffin. Well, I didn't know them, I will say that.
The Chairman. You did not know them, and they were not workers
at the plant ?
Mr. Griffin. Oh, no ; very few of the workers at the plant, that I
observed on October 5 to be around there.
The Chairman. You only observed a few actual workers in the
plant?
Mr. Griffin. That is right.
The Chairman. The strikers ?
Mr. Grifmn. That is right.
The Chairman. And these others were strangers and you did not
know them?
Mr. Griffin. Tliat is correct.
The Chairman. Were they participating in the assault upon the
plant?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
The Chairman. I assume that is what you would determine an as-
sault upon the plant, they undertook to come in, they threw rocks and
they shot?
Mr. Griffin. That is right.
The Chairman. And overturned some cars ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct.
The Chairman. I regard that as an assault upon the plant. Now,
did you folks in the plant do anything to precipitate it?
Mr. Griffin. Not as I know of.
The Chairman. There was a picture entered here yesterday, and
I don't have it, showing a lot of guns that were accumulated or recov-
ered from the plant at sometime, and I don't know whether we have
that picture. That is exhibit 16. I cannot tell how many there are,
but it looks like a dozen or more guns there.
Do you know anything about this picture ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. Were you there when it was made ?
10336 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Griffin. I was not there when the picture was made, but my gun
was probably in that group.
The Chairman. That was your individual gun ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct.
The Chairman. How about the others, and were they all company-
provided guns, or had people who were working there brought in their
own guns for their protection ?
Mr. Griffin. Outside of the six shotguns that were brought in, I
don't know of any company guns in that direction.
The Chairman. The company provided ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. And the others were provided by the individual
workers, as a matter of self protection ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct.
The Chairman. I believe when you were ambushed you had a gun
with you at that time ?
Mr. Griffin. I sure did.
The Chairman. Why were you carrying a gun then ?
Mr. Griffin. The reason I was carrying a gun then, there were sev-
eral, I will say 2 or 3 incidents in the country of things happening
like that, and Mr. Hoover, who is a supervisor there almost got blocked
on a bridge, and he happened to see it in time and turned around and
got away.
As to Charley Alexander, another supervisor, they had logs across
the road that he was traveling on, and he saw it in time, and he got
away.
The Chairman. You had heard of these incidents ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct.
The Chairman. Had you been threatened ?
Mr. Griffin. No.
The Chairman. You had not been threatened directly, and it was
just the whole atmosphere ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct.
The Chairman. It was charged with the possibility of trouble?
Mr. Griffin. Yes.
The Chairman. Is that correct ?
Mr. Grutin. That is correct.
The Chairman. Had the plant been threatened, and did you have
any definite threats that the plant was going to be blown up or was
going to be injured or taken ?
Mr. Griffin. Just rumors was all.
The Chairman, It was all rumor ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. Nothing that you could be positive of ?
Mr, Griffith. No,
The Chairiman. But the fact that some of these incidents occurred,
you knew they had occurred where there were attempts made to am-
bush people and so forth which caused you to be disturbed, and ap-
prehensive and therefore you carried your gun as a matter of pro-
tection ?
Mr, Griffin. That is correct.
The Chairman. Did others, who were working in the plant do the
same ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10337
Mr. Griffin. On that day, yes.
The Chairman, On any other day ?
Mr. Griffin. Oh, yes; I think some of the boys that had these
country routes picking up individuals, I think they carried guns for
their own protection.
The Chairman. You think all of the guns shown in this picture
are guns that belonged to the individual workers, save possibly six
of them that the company had supplied ?
Mr. Griffin. That is correct.
The Chairman, And you think they were carrying their guns just
for the same reason you were carrying yours ?
Mr. Griffin. That is right.
The Chairman. All right.
Are there any other questions ?
Senator Mundt. What do you think would have happened if you
fellows in the plant at the time of this October assault just stood
there and done nothing? What do you think would have been the
outcome ?
Mr, Griffin. Well, w^e might not be here today to tell it.
Senator Mundt. At least they were really bent on bodily injury ?
Mr. Griffin. Well you get a mob together, you don't know what
is going to happen. Anything could tip it off.
Senator Mundt. Apart from the fact that they might have used
you fellows pretty roughly, what do you think they would have
done with the plant ?
Mr, Griffin. They could probably have done a good deal of dam-
age to the plant, yes.
Senator Mundt, That big a mob, do you think they were violent
enough so that they were really going to make a shambles in there if
they got in ?
Mr. Griffin. Well, from the expressions on their faces, as I went
out in the State police car, I would expect anything.
Senator Mundt. They were souped up with something, is that
right?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
Senator Mundt. How far did they actually penetrate the plant
grounds ?
Mr. Griffin. That I am not able to tell you, because I was at the
north end, where I did see the car that was ovei-tumed inside the com-
pany grounds, inside the fence, which is probably — —
Senator Mundt. The actual penetration or invasion was at another
gate; is that right?
Mr. Griffin. That is right, the south end of the plant, what we
called the east gate. But I was at the north end when that happened.
Senator Mundt, Do you know how they got in that gate?
Mr. Griffin. That is a mystery. We thought the gate was locked
with a chain, and they either had bolt cutters or someone failed to
lock it, because they came through it pretty quickly, as the other peo-
ple told me. I didn't see it.
Senator Mundt. You were in the plant and those six shotguns were
in the plant, and we had testimony that they were brought in by
helicopter after there had been certain violence at the outside.
10338 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
What instmctions were g:iven in connection with those six shot-
guns, and did anybody say why they were there, or what the purpose
was ?
Mr. Griffin. Nobody in particular told me.
Senator Mundt. Did you know they were there ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
Senator Mundt. Did anybody tell you why they were there ?
Mr. Griffin. I don't know as they did.
Senator Mundt. They just said there were six shotguns there?
Mr. Griffin. I saw them, but nobody told me particularly what
they were for, no.
Senator Goldwater. Mr. Griffin, how long were vou a member of
the UAW before 1 946 ?
Mr. Griffin. Well, the union went in in 1942, if I am not mis-
taken, and I was a member of the union then from about 1942 to 1946.
Senator Goldwater. Did you attend the meetings ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
Senator Goldwater. Were there any strikes during the time you
were a member ?
Mr. Griffin. There was.
Senator Goldwater. Do you recall any discussions about the strike
at the local meetings ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir. In the 1945 strike, at that time the contract
we had with the union at that time called for a union time-study man,
and I went to Hagerstown and took training for that.
In the 1945 strike, it was over a job that was combined. The job
before the war was a combination job, but during the war with large
aircraft rings it had to be split up, and after the war, with the aircraft
rings out of the picture, and automotive engines coming back in, we
had to combine the job again.
That strike was in 1945. At the union meeting that I attended, the
representatives from Detroit were down on the local union and it was
called a wildcat strike and they told them to go back to work.
Senator Goldwater. That was a wildcat strike ?
Mr. Griffin. There wasn't any grievance presented to the company
before the strike, let us say that.
Senator Goldwater. Was there any discussion of possible violence
during the period of this strike, at the local level ?
Mr. Griffin. No.
Senator Goldwater. Thank you.
Mr. HoFFiNiAN. We wish at this time to introduce into the record
an exhibit of Mr. Griffin's house.
The Chairman. Do you have a picture of your house, and the
damage done to it ?
Mr. Griffin. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. That picture may be made Exhibit No. 21.
(Picture referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 21" for reference,
and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. HoFFiviAN. We would like also to introduce into the record, and
we understand that possibly witnesses to these various incidents of
damage and violence will not be called, and we would like to introduce
a series of pictures on the various demonstrations and mass picketing.
The Chairman. Can the witness testify to the pictures ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10339
Mr. Hoffman. Mr. Prosser has testified to all of these.
The Chairman. Mr. Prosser testified to them ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, sir, the various incidents.
The Chairman, Well, he is going to be called back on the stand, and
we can delay that.
We are trying to get them presented properly.
Mr. Kennedy. As long as we are discussing some of this violence,
Mr. Chairman, maybe the company has an individual or Mr. Prosser
would know someone who could give us a little better information on
these exhibits that were put in yesterday.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Chairman, I understand that there is an indi-
vidual here who assisted and directed in the compiling of exliibit 1-B,
which is a list of incidents at New Castle, and then another individual
compiled a list or directed it be done at Hagerstown.
I have spoken to counsel and I would like to ask a question or two
because I am not quite clear as to what this shows.
The Chairman. Would you like to have the witness called ?
Senator Curtis. It will just take 4 or 5 minutes. They are here in
the room. One was Mr. Crum and the other was another gentleman.
The Chairman. Come around, gentlemen.
(At this point, the following members were present: Senators Mc-
Clellan, Mundt, Curtis, and Goldwater.)
The Chairman. Those that are going to testify, be sworn.
Do you and each of you solemnly swear the evidence you shall give
before the Senate select committee will be the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Fromuth. I do.
Mr. Crum. I do.
TESTIMONY OF PAUL CRUM AND ALLEN EROMUTH, ACCOMPANIED
BY COUNSEL, CLYDE HOFFMAN
The Chairman. Starting on my left, give your name, your address,
and your business or occupation, please, sir.
Mr. Crum. Paul Crum, Hagerstown, Rural Route 2, personnel
manager of the Hagerstown plant.
The Chairman. And you, sir ?
Mr. Fromuth. Allen Fromuth, personnel manager, New Castle
foundry.
The Chairman. Senator Curtis.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Crum, I will ask the clerk to hand you what
has been identified as exhibit IF, and you look at it, please.
(The document was handed to the witness.)
Senator Curtis. This purports to be incidents of violence at Hagers-
town and Richmond during the Perfect Circle strike of 1955. Was
that list compiled by you or under your direction ?
Mr. Crum. It was under my direction.
Senator Curtis. How did you secure the information in that list?
Mr. Crum. Employees reporting of the incidents. We had our
safety supervisor, Robert Beeson, investigate several of them.
Senator Curtis. And was some notation made as you went along on
this?
Mr. Crum. Yes, sir.
10340 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Senator CuR'ns. ^\liat sort of notation ?
Mr. Crum. Actually what you see here, the name of the person, the
date it happened and what happened.
Senator Curtis. One of the reasons I was afraid that we might give
a wrong impression in the record is that in the first column, that is the
date that the incident happened ?
Mr. Crum. That is right.
Senator Curtis. In the second column, for instance, the first name,
Paul Bodicker, and the third column says car smeared with paint.
Are these names in the second column the victims or the person
charged with the offense ?
Mr. Crum. They are the victims.
Senator Curtis. I see. We go down here and someone on 6/16,
Silas Johnson, car window broken. All of them are of that kind 'i
Mr. Crum. That is right.
Senator Curtis. Was any care extended to make sure these incidents
didn't happen, or did you put down everything that you happened to
hear about ?
Mr. Crum. As I say, we had our safety supervisor go out and see
several of them.
Senator Curtis. And these individuals actually reported it?
Mr. Crum. Yes, sir. That is right.
Senator Curtis. Wliat is the other gentleman's name ?
Mr. Fromuth. Fromuth.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Fromuth, I will have you look at what has
been identified as exhibit IB which purports to be incidents of violence
at the New Castle foundry during the Perfect Circle strike of 1955.
Did you have anything to do with the compiling of that list?
Mr. Fromuth. Yes. I directed this part of it.
Senator Curtis. How was it compiled ?
Mr. Fromuth. It was compiled by the individuals reporting to me,
and in most cases we went out and took pictures of the violence that
had occurred.
Senator Curtis. That first column, 8/3, and so on, that means, for
instance that first item on there, the third day of August, and they
are all in the year 1955 ?
Mr. Fromuth. Right.
Senator Curtis. The names in the second column, they are the
names of the victim, not the offender, is that right ?
Mr. Fromuth. That is correct.
Senator Curtis. And the third column is how the offense was
described ?
Mr. Fromuth. Right.
Senator Curtis. Were some of those cases that ended up in court?
Mr. Fromuth. I think the first one, when Fred Wilkinson's car was
overturned on Plum Street, near 25th, I think that went to court.
I think there were several people arrested!^ I don't know what hap-
pened to it.
Senator Curtis. I will ask both of you to look at exhibit IC. Can
either of you men tell us about that list, what it is ?
Mr. Crum. What was the question, please ?
Senator Curtis. Did either one of you have anything to do with
the compiling of that list ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
10341
Mr. Fromuth. Not of compiling. I was present on September 27th,
when all the people were arrested at the New Castle plant.
Senator Curtis, Wlio made up this list? Mr. HofTman, do you
know about that?
Mr. Hoffman. No. I think that was made up by a local counsel
from the court records.
Senator Curtis. I see. You are attorney for the company ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Curtis. Did you have it done ?
Mr. Hoffman. I had it done.
Senator Curtis. As attorney for the company, you knew about a
number of these court actions ?
Mr. Hoffman. I knew of practically every one.
Senator Curtis. Have you read this ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes.
Senator Curtis. Have you been sworn ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes.
Senator Curtis. Is this a true list of all of the cases that ended
in court, arising out of this ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, I would say it fairly completely covers it.
There might be an instance or two.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Chairman, in the other strike, we did not put
in all this bulk of affidavits, but they did submit a list, I ask unani-
mous consent that exhibit IB, IC, and IF be printed in the record.
The Chairman. Without objection, they may be printed in the
record.
Incidents of violence at New Castle Foundry during Perfect Circle strike of 1955
Date
Name
Incident
Aug. 3
Fred Wilkinson
Car overturned on Plum St.
5
Several windows broken out of foundry
5
Maurice Hanning
Broken auto glass
5
5
Let Juday
Back glass in car broken
5
5
Luther Neal
Rocks through window at home
6
8
Luther Neal
Rocks through window at home.
Do.
9
Herb Oldham
g
Calvin Tinsley
Pasture fence at his farm cut away and put on highway.
10
10
Tyfivi Hanning
Do.
13
Charles Pitts
13
13
Charles Pitts
Rocks through window and sash at home
14
15
16
Aubrey Cross
Lunsford, C. Troxell). Several cars stoned— Bill Rodefeld
(Studebaker), Harry Bell, Hank Tarr, Dick Bancroft, Bob
Griffin, Let Juday, I. M. Morris).
Windows at home were broken
16
Do.
16
19
Luther Neal
Pint whisky bottle thrown through screen at home.
19
19
20
Eph Muman
Walter Amonette
Do.
Car stoned; paint chipped.
Rocks through window, window sash, and porch swing.
Car stoned.
20
20
William Rodefeld
20
Charles Baker
House was stoned" windows and screens broken.
21
26
Harold Hoover
Eggs inside of Buick; parked downtown.
26
Harold Hoover
Eggs Inside his Ford.
10342
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Incidents of violence at New Castle Foundry during Perfect Circle strike of
i955— Continued
Date
Name
Incident
Aug. 26
Leon Paul
Window and storm window broken.
26
Helen Bean
Front picture window broken (Thermopane) .
26
26
26
Manriffi Hanning
Front picture window broken (Thermopane).
House stoned; siding damaged
29
29
29
Harry Bell
Do.
31
31
31
James Troxell
Front window broken.
Sept. 1
Harold Hoover
Ford stoned
Several cars hit with rotten egg s; upholstering damaged (Marshall
Kinser, Ben O'Dell, Marion Utt, J. deNeef).
Egg full of paint thrown through window
3
Bill Harming
6
6
Wilbur Riley
Windshield smashed.
7
Chas Alexander
Ambushed north of New Lirbon on a crossroad
7
10
TTenneth Oriffin
Ambushed (P C. Studebaker).
16
Stone through bus by Hilva Turner
18
26
Calvin Tinsley
(Calvin Tinsley, Charles Baker, and Richard Dempsy).
Rocks thrown through window
26
Oct. 4
Aubrey Cross
Shotgun blast through window.
5
5
Charles Pitts
at the plant: considerable damage to cars in the parking lot.
Homer McDonald's car turned over. Damaged cars: C.
Juday, G. Fisher, C. Stevens, H. Heck. M. Byers, L. Juday,
W. Charlesworth, F. Dugan, W. Grunden, I. M. Morris.
Shotgun bla.st was fired through home shortly after getting home
from the plant.
5
5
26
Windows broken on west side of foundry.
31
(Hagerstown employee). Beaten up by 3 men.
Threatened while downtown. Attacked by approximately 40
Attacked by approximately 40 people — downton.
Nov. 8
8
James Ward
16
17
with Michigan license DT-7678.
9 windows broken out at the foundry at approximately 2 a. m.
Discovered today someone had put sugar and emery dust in his
gas tank.
Car hit by rock and dented, on Plum St. east of 25th.
Someone stood in his yard and shot windows out of his neighbor's
house.
Shotgun blast at his home; damaged siding and broke window.
Men coming to work in company car were rocked as they were
coming in from the car.
2 shotgun blasts through window (picture) in living room, also
another window, about 2:40 a. m.
Shotgun blasts through window in living room 2:15 a. m.
Shotgun blast through picture wmdow in livmg room 4 a. m.
17
19
Pete Heck
19
19
Andy Hale
19
21
Gerald Harvey
21
21
Roy Turner
21
21
Neighbor's house hit by shotgun blast. Hit between door and
window. About 2 a. m.
10 windows broken out on west side of foundry 2:50 a. m.
Shotgun blast at 12:55 a. m. damaged siding and broke storm
window.
Shotgun blast 2'30 a m ■ broke living-room window and storm
23
23
Ken Oriffin .
23
.Tames Owens
23
window.
Shotgun blast through living room, hall, and hit refrigerator in
kitchen, 2 a. m.
2 shots fired; flashes were seen from the foundry. Another 2
shots were reported fired; no damage was reported, 10 p. m.
Black Buick with Kentucky license run blockade south of New
Castle.
Black Buick with Kentucky license (1948) run blockade east of
New Castle early this morning, ran 3 guards ofl the road and
into ditch.
Someone fired 7 rifle shots in side of house at 1 '30 a m.
24
24
24
27
Kph Mnrnan
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
10343
Incidents of violence at Hagerstown and Richmond during Perfect Circle strike
of 1955
Date
Name
Incident
July 31
Aug. 5
10
Paul Bodiker
Car smeared with paint.
Car dented by stones.
Paul Smith
Car smeared with paint.
13
Elbert Bailey
2 shots fired into home
14
Robert Shaffer
Rocks thrown through windows of home.
15
Louise McFarland
Car smeared with paint.
Home smeared with paint.
15
Barbara Fisher
16
Silas Johnson
Car window broken.
Car smeared with paint.
Do
16
Ralph Coon - ...
16
Do
16
Geneva Landreth
House entered and ransacked.
16
Home smeared with paint.
17
Joe Qwin
Do
17
18
Robert Sharp
Home stoned" rocks through screen door.
19
19
Earl Crisp . - .
Large stone thrown at car.
50
Presley Clements
Bottle of ammonia thrown through window of home
2 shotgun blasts fired at home, 1 through door.
Car windows broken; paint smeared on car.
Do
21
Tom Noe . - - -
21
Edna Hayslett
Shotgun blast fired into filling station.
Stones through window at home.
Car smeared with paint.
Do
23
Everett Fosnight
23
Harold Hoblett
23
John Minner . . . . .
24
Robert Hampton
Home smeared with paint.
Sugar put in gas tank.
Bottle thrown at car by approaching car.
HughMacy
24
Myra Owen
24
25
Guy Ramey - - .
Air let out of tires; brake lines cut on car.
25
Herbert Oler
Rifle shot fired through back door of home.
Beaten up by several persons at parking lot at Richmond plant.
Car smeared with pauit.
Do
26
28
Hugh Macy . -
30
Fred Jefferies
30
30
Robert Shaffer
Rocks thrown at home.
30
Wanda Wallace
Do
30
Sept. 2
2
Thomas Mayberry
Car upholstery cut.
Mildred Pence
Home smeared with paint.
Car and house smeared with paint.
2
Verl Leeka
Home stoned.
Earl Crisp
Rocks thrown through windows at home.
Do.
Barbara Fisher
Do.
Do.
House smeared with paint.
Stones thrown at car.
Hugh Macy
Car smeared with paint.
Number of windows broken at home.
Basil Rust
Margaret Starbuck
Bottle of paint thrown through window of home; splattered over
the room.
Shotgun blast fired through window at home.
Car smeared with green paint.
James Satterfield
22
24
Leslie Burgess
Shotgun blasts fired at home.
24
Warren Ammerman
Do
24
25
Archie Litton
Shotgun fired at car.
25
Richard Walton
30
Oct. 1
Elbert Bailey
Rifle shot fired through window at home.
10
31
Kenneth McCarty
Severely beaten by 3 hooded men.
Nov. 1
10344
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Criminal and civil causes growing out of Perfect Circle strike of 1955
CRIMINAL CASES IN CITY COURT
Edgar Ballenger
Leonard Shelton
Lowell Kirk
William F. Caldwell...
Carl Batchfield
Ruben Bertram
Carl Batchfield
Joe Lowery
Loren Asberry
Richard Shoptaw
Tex O. Wages
Rolan Starr
Robert Vanlandingham
Alva Harrison
Leslie Riddle
Richard Shoptaw
Harlin Hubert Catron..
Hilva Turner
Melvin Brumley
Homer Esham
Lowell Kirk-.
Esau Maynard
Bays Kirby
Alfred Hale
John Laird
Jim Slavin
John Rothrock
Joseph Gray
WOliamByrd
Don Ferguson
Jess Ferguson
Ernest Rednour
Leslie Riddle.--
Ovid Davenport
Fred Johnson
Louis Cross
Elsie Maynard.
Evelyn Sheffield
Catheryn Day
WendaU ~
Charles Boyd
AUie Riddle
Edwin Nickel]
Fred Tower
Earl Day
DeWayne Hahn
Arlin Neal
Neal Edwards, interna-
tional representative.
Robert Flynn
William Kiger
William Maynard
Don Brumley
Elmer Denny.-.
Paul Deaton
Robert Blackburn
Charles C. Hawkins
Earl Raines
Cecil Worley
Richard Shoptaw
Cecil Derrickson
Robert Bertram
Rosco Blackburn
William Blackburn
Perry Blake.
Herman C. Morris
Earl Dalton
Ralph Cline
C. O. Rothrock
Malicious trespass; upsetting automobile.
Do.
Disorderly conduct.
Malicious trespass; throwing rocks through factory window.
Reckless driving; to prevent employees from entering plant.
Assault and battery on Charles Pitts (downtown).
Disorderly conduct; throwing rocks at Marion Utt car.
Disorderly conduct.
Malicious trespass; throwing rocks at bus
Disorderly conduct; throwing rocks at bus.
Malicious trespass; turning over car in company ground.
Do.
Do.
Malicious trespass; throwing rocks at Tarr automobile.
Disorderly conduct; throwing rotten eggs at Marion Utt car.
Reckless driving.
Malicious trespass; throwing rocks at plant (Chrysler employee).
Disorderly conduct; throwing rocks at bus.
Rout; blocking plant entrance the day New Castle Police broke
up the illegal picketing.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do,
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
Do.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10345
Criminal and civil causes growing out of Perfect Circle strike of 1955 — Con.
CEIMINAL CONTEMPT SUITS IN HENRY CIRCUIT COURT
No.
Date
Title
11585
11592
11594
11599
Aug. 23
Aug. 29
Sept. 2
Sept. 10
Slate of Indiana v. William F. Caldwell, willful violation of restraining order.
State of Indiana v. Richard Shoptaw, willful violation of restraining order.
State of Indiana v. Carl Batchfield, wUlful violation of restraining order.
State of Indiana v. Ruben Bertram, willful violation of restraining order.
CIVIL CONTEMPT SUITS IN HENRY CIRCUIT COURT
30862
Sept. 26
Perfect Circle Corp. v. Local 370, International Union, United Automobile, Aircraft and
Agricultural Implement Workers of America, et al. (other defendants named above-
persons arrested on Sept. 27, 1955).
Senator Curtis. What about these pictures ?
Senator Mundt. Before we leave the lists, I have a question.
Senator Curtis. Excuse me.
Senator Mundt. There is this difference, it seems to me, in the lists
of vandalisms submitted here and the vandalism in connection with
the Kohler-UAW situation: According to this document, these are
the dates in the left-hand column on which the violence occurred, the
vandalism occurred, not when the testimony was taken but when the
vandalism occurred.
This seems, Mr. Chairman, to have been organized attacks of van-
dalism. On August 5, for example, there were 8 different instances
of vandalism and again over on the 26th of August there were 7, all
pretty much of the same kind, either eggs or rocks thrown at houses,
trucks, and broken glass. It would not seem, certainly, that this is a
spontaneous thing which would occur 7 times one day and 8 times
another day, all the same kinds of vandalism.
Somebody apparently was out as a team or as a group, or under
some kind of organized program, that so much of this would occur
simultaneously around the area.
Any of the convictions that were secured by the law enforcement
officers, did any of the convictions disclose any particular leadership
or organization in connection with these acts of vandalism ?
Mr. HoB^MAN. Actually, Senator, there were very few arrests in
connection with the vandalism of the house^. There were some ar-
rests of those who could be recognized on the 15th of August when
they turned over the cars. They happened to be strikers from the
Kichmond plant. A large number of these arrests were incidents
that occurred during mass picketing on the streets. They were picked
up by the police at the time.
Senator Mundt. I understood yesterday Mr. Berndt testified there
had been 100 arrests and 13 convictions, but these were cases of per-
sonal violence when you had on the spot witnesses who could see it.
Mr. Hoffman. Yes.
Senator Mundt. As I understand it, if a man runs out of his house
after his house has been paint-bombed or stoned, and he didn't see any
people, it is kind of hard to make an arrest of that nature.
Mr. Hoffman. I think most of them were minor, there was one
case in which an international representative was arrested. He was
convicted in municipal court.
10346 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Senator Mtjndt. Who was that ?
Mr. Hoffman. That was Mr. William Caldwell. That was ap-
pealed to circuit court, with a hung jury, and the case for retrial is
pending at the present time, I understand. That is one.
Senator Mundt. Is that the same Mr. Caldwell who is alleged to
have made the statement about mashing in heads and so forth before
the strike took place, in Mr. Prosser's testimony ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. Are you planning on calling him as a witness?
Mr. Kennedy. We can have him as a witness if you wish him as
a witness.
Senator Mundt. This is a pretty startling charge, if a UAW rep
has been arrested for vandalism. That is something that we have
not had before. I would think that Mr. Caldwell would be clamor-
ing for a chance to be heard. We are trying to find out whether or
not these things are planned at the UAW level at the top, or whether
they grow out of ill tempers. There is a court record on an inter-
national representative of the UAW by the name of Caldwell?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. And your name is what, sir ?
Mr. Hoffman. Hoffman.
Senator Mundt. That is still pending in court?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. Wliat was his offense?
Mr. Hoffman. He was charged with malicious trespass, for hav-
ing thrown objects through the windows of the plant on the 5th of
August, I believe it was.
Senator Mundt. I would think, Mr. Counsel, this is the meat in
the coconut that we are after. If Mr. Caldwell is available, from one
member of this committee, and there is no reason why he should not
be heard, I think he should be heard.
The Chairman. Was he convicted ?
Mr. Hoffman. He was convicted in the mmiicipal court, and it
was appealed to the circuit court. It was tried in the circuit court
and resulted in a himg jury. So it is subject to retrial.
Mr. Kennedy. I think that is the situation, about the meat in the
coconut. Senator. He says he is not guilty. I think that is what
you are going to get. The man will come up and say he is not guilty
just as he said before the court.
Senator Mundt. I don't expect he is going to come up and say he
is guilty.
The Chairman. There is another question. If he is under indict-
ment, we would not compel him to testify regarding that particular
incident.
Mr. Eauh. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Berndt was with Mr. Caldwell at
the time of the incident, and is available for Senator Mundt's exami-
nation. He was actually side by side with him. Mr. Caldwell has
denied this under oath, so there would be no problem. If Senator
Mmidt wants him, we will be happy to have him testify. He will
testify that he did not do the incident. He has testified that in court
twice. Mr. Berndt is here, he was with him, and can be cross-exam-
ined.
The Chairman. If Senator Mundt wants Mr. Caldwell we can get
him here. How quickly could you get him here ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10347
Mr. Eauh. He has been excused. We were told lie wasn't wanted.
But we could get him back as fast as we can. Mr. Berndt was with
him.
Senator Mundt. There may be a court case going on, and that may
be.
The Chairman. We were trying to abbreviate these hearings to
some extent. It is not a question of trying to keep anyone from testi-
fying. It is that we are trying to develop the pertinent facts as
well as we can with the limited number of witnesses. The committee
has been in session now, I believe, ging on 6 weeks in these hearings.
Of course, we can go further if any member of the committee desires.
We are trying to abbreviate this particular hearing beacuse, as has
been indicated, this strike has been settled and peace of a nature and
harmony to some extent have been restored or are in process of being
restored.
We wanted to simply get the highlights of what had occurred. The
Chair is perfectly willing to go further into it if any member desires
it.
Is there anything further with these witnesses ?
Senator Curtis. Who knows about those pictures ?
Mr. Hoffman. Mr. Fromuth, We have one set of pictures here
of the vandalism. Mr. Fronnith can generally identify these pic-
tures. I think most of them are from the New Castle plant.
The Chairman. Do you identify those pictures, Mr. Fromuth?
Mr. Fromuth. I think there are some Hagerstown in here.
Mr. Hoffman. Mr. Crum can identify those.
Mr. Fromuth. After the vandalism occurred, we sent our pho-
tographer out to have the pictures taken, to identify all of the houses
and everything, that is on the back of each picture.
The Chairman. Let me do it this way : Is that a group of pictures
that were taken by your direction of vandalism that occurred ?
Mr. Fromuth. Yes.
The Chairman. And these pictures were made at the time and
brought to you ?
Mr. Fromuth. Right.
The Chairman. They were taken under your direction ?
Mr, Fromuth. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. They may be made exhibit No. 22 in bulk for
reference.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 22" for ref-
erence and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
The Chairman. Is there anything further ?
Mr. Hoffman. At this time, since you have Mr. Fromuth on the
stand, he is best able to identify these pictures, although the general
subject was covered by Mr, Prosser. Mr, Fromuth can identify these
pictures. There are several groups. You probably don't want to
take the time to get into it, but he can identify international repre-
sentatives in these pictures if you want it.
He can identify the various incidents of violence that these pic-
tures cover.
Senator Mundt. Are those pictures of mass picketing or violence ?
Mr, Hoffman. They are pictures of mass picketing in the early
part in the first week, when the New Castle plant was closed.
21243— 58— pt. 26 7
10348 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Senator Mundt. I think he should go at least, then, as far as to
identify the pictures in which you have international reps j)articipat-
ing in mass picketing, if you have pictures of that kind.
Mr. Hoffman. Then we have a series of pictures on the 15th of
August when the cars were overturned. Then we have a series of
pictures on the mass picketing that closed the plant in September,
from September 19 to 27. Then we have a series of pictures on the
October 5 riot.
I believe Mr. Fromuth can identify these groups of pictures.
The Chairman. Can you identify those pictures, Mr. Fromuth?
Mr. Fromuth. Yes, all except the October 5 riot.
The Chairman. Take those out. Pick up those pictures, Mr. Wit-
ness, and identify them in a group. Those you hold in your hand
now represent what?
Mr. Fromuth. This is the early stages of the strike, the first week,
before we got our restraining order.
The Chairman. Those are pictures made of the strike, of the mass
picketing and so forth, before you obtained your restraining order
against it.
Mr. Fromuth. And there are several in here just shortly after the
restraining order.
The Chairman. That group may be made exhibit No. 23.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 23" for ref-
erence and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Senator Mundt. If you will take that group back again, Mr. Fro-
muth, that is the group that has the international reps in the picket
line ? If so, I think you should identify at least by name those inter-
national reps of whom you liave pictures engaging in illegal picketing
if you have such pictures.
Mr. Fr03£uth. It is the next series of August 15, where the inter-
national people are. There are several in here, but they are so far
away it's a little hard to tell on them.
Senator Mundt. We do not Avant them unless you can identify
them.
Mr. Hoffman. The next group
The Chairman. That group was made exhibit 23. The group now
being presented to vou, if you can identifv them, will be made exhibit
24.
Mr. Hoffman. This series is on the raid of August 15, in which the
cars were turned over.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Chairman, I have one question.
The Chairman. Let me ask Mr, Fromuth if he can identify those
pictures.
Mr. Fromuth. Yes ; I was in the guardhouse this morning.
The Chairman. They were pictures made under your direction,
your supervision?
Mr. Fromuth. Yes.
The Chairman. And you identify the pictures as scenes of the
incidents that occurred?
Mr. Fromuth. Eight.
The Chairman. That group may be made exhibit No. 24.
(The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 24" for ref-
erence and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10349
The Chairman. I think you said some of the international repre-
sentatives of the union are in those pictures.
Mr. P'romuth. William Caldwell is in a picture, picture No. 30.
They are numbered.
Tlie C'hairman. Sir?
Mr. Fromuth. They are numbered in this series. Picture No. 30,
dated the 15th of August, shows Mr. William Caldwell.
Senator Muxdt. Will you put some kind of a mark on it ?
Mr. Fromuth. There is a capital B on it.
Senator Mundt. B for Caldwell?
Mr. Fromuth. Well, that is a new vv'ay of spelling it.
The Chairman. He is identified by the letter B in the picture ?
Fr. Fromuth. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. Go right ahead.
Mr. Fromuth. Then in picture 34, John Bartee is rushing in the
plant gate, along with several others.
The Chairivian. Picture No. what^
Mr. Fromuth. Thirty-four. We will have to mark that. What
initial do 3'ou want?
Tlie Chairman. What is his name?
Mr. Fromuth. Bartee.
The Chairman. Identify him by the first letter in his name.
Senator Mundt. Mr. Chairman, why wouldn't it be good to follow
the custom we had before? If they would put on the back of the
picture what B stands foi* — you have a fellow by the name of D here,
too, and a fellow by the name of O.
The Chairman. I cannot stop to have these pictures all done over
again. They would be better that way, of course. But they are not
that w^ay.
Senator Mundt. I think by the time we come in this afternoon, we
could have the job completed. We will forget who B is, or might
get him mixed up with someone else. I might look at B tomorrow and
say that is Mr. Berndt, because his name starts with B, but he is not
here. We do not want to get him involved. We do not want to get
him involved where he is not involved.
The Chairman. We can do this to expedite the matter. After the
men have testified, take these pictures where you can identify them,
work with the staff and put proper identification on them. That will
help us with our record. I do not want to take time to do it now.
Senator Curtis.
Senator Curtis. I have one question about the pictures. Do you
have any picture there that shows the location of the demonstrators
on October 5 as to wdiether or not they are out in the street or whether
the gates were crashed down and they came inside ?
Mr. Hoffman. We do not have any picture. We have a picture
showing the large mob, but the large mob of people on that morning
were located in one area, and the group that broke into the fence were
clear down the fence line at this east gate, approximately 250 feet
away.
Senator Curtis. Is that where those who came through that you
charged overturned the cars?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes.
Senator Curtis. Do you have any pictures showing the gate was
smashed and the cars were turned over?
10350 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES I?f THE LABOR EIELD
Mr. HoFFikiAN. No. We have no pictures of that for the simple
reason that, taking the pictures, it was impossible for the photographer
to be many places at once.
Senator Curtis. Not as it happened, but after it happened. Have
you any pictures of the overturned cars ?
Mr. Hoffman. No. The National Guard came in and turned that
car up before management ever got back in the plant. But the police
have a record of it.
Senator Curtis. I see. All right.
That is all, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Have you some more pictures there? Is that
another series of pictures?
Mr. Hoffman. These are of October 5. Senator, I have a prepared
statement on the October 5 deal. I was an eyewitness to it, to the
crash into the gate. I think when I make that statement I can suffi-
ciently identify these pictures.
The Chairman. Wliy don't you make it right now? File your
statement and then just highlight it, if you will, and you can introduce
the pictures as you do so.
Mr. Hoffman. Do you mean introduce the pictures now ?
Senator Curtis. As you testify. You said you have a prepared
statement on the incidents of that date.
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
The Chairman. All right. Eead your statement. Read your
statement, and when you come to the proper place, introduce the
pictures.
TESTIMONY OF CLYDE HOFFMAN— Resumed
The Chahiman. All right, Mr. Hoffman, proceed.
Mr. Hoffman. This is a statement that was really prepared to sup-
plement Mr. Prosser's statenifiiit on the subject of the demonstration
on October 5.
My name is Clyde Hoffman. I am a practicing attorney and I
represented the Perfect Circle Corp. in matters during the strike of
] 955 and afterward in matters growing out of the strike.
The principal reason for my making a statement here is that I
happened to be in the foundry plant at New Castle, Ind., on the 5th of
October 1955, and observed the demonstration and riot that occurred
on that day.
The Chairman. Should that be the 1st day or the 5th day of
October?
Mr. Hoffman. It should be the 5th. It is a typographical error.
The Chairman. All right,
Mr. Hoffman. Mr. Prosser has told you of the major incidents of
violence occurring in the areas of the several plants on strike during
the period between July 25 and October 5, 1955, and has pointed out
to you the more than 200 incidents of violence on the persons and
property of employees, most of which occurred in this period.
The people at the New Castle plant bore the brunt of the pressures
of violence. As a result of this, tensions were built up and they
feared for their safety and the safety of their families. By October
5, 1955, the people working in the plant were in a frame of mind to
expect further and more drastic violence.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10351
Tlie period from September 19 to September 27, 1955, and the week
following, had a particular effect upon the people working in the
plant.
The rumors and threats of violence current during that time, the
defiance of the law by the union and its apparent determination to
stop production in the New Castle plant, brought tension and fear to
a climax.
On Tuesday, October 4, 1955, there were strong rumors that on
the following day there would be a big demonstration by the union;
that demonstrators would be brought in from all over the State of
Indiana and adjoining States.
The reports were that they would come mto the plant, drag the
people out, and destroy machinery and equipment. Employees were
warned not to go into the plant on the following day by workers
from other plants in the city, and police authorities had information
that such a demonstration would occur.
Mr. Juday, the New Castle plant manager, and I conferred with
Captain Dillon of the State police and Clarence Justice, chief of the
New Castle police force, on the evening of October 4.
Captain Dillon told us he had information from various sources
in the State that there would be a large demonstration on the fol-
lowing day.
He was of the opinion that the demonstration would be a peaceful
one.
Chief Clarence Justice appeared to be greatly disturbed. He said
he feared violence and that his police force of 20 men or so would
be unable to handle the situation.
After this, it was decided to put 8 or 10 men in the plant that night
and to arm them for protection against possible invasion of the plant
during that night or on the following day.
This was done after we had been advised of the concern of the
chief of police about the ability of his men to cope with the possible
riotous situation.
The police were informed of this move. These men chosen were
known as responsible men and were instructed not to use arms unless
the demonstrators broke into the plant. So far as I know, only one
of these men fired from the plant on October 5.
On the morning of October 5, 1955, between 8 and 8: 30 a. m., un-
usual activity was observed in the south of the plant on A Avenue
and 2 blocks to the west of the plant on 25th Street.
As time went on traffic in the area increased out of all proportion to
normal conditions and by 9 : 30 a. m. the streets were congested for
blocks by parked and slowly moving vehicles.
It was apparent that there was going to be a demonstration and
that it would be a very bi^ one. During this time tensions in the plant
grew and were manifest m the grave concern of the employees.
Women employees were sent to the cafeteria in the basement of the
building. The men gathered in groups and silently watched the ac-
tivity on the outside. I believe that every person in the plant was
extremely apprehensive and in fear of what was to come.
Groups of the demonstrators gathered at the intersection of 25th
and Plum Streets — Plum Street leads up to the main entrance to the
plant — and in Lowe Park, 2 blocks to the south of the plant, and a
10352 IMPROPER ACTRITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
group of the demonstrators gatliered to the north of tlie i)hiiit and
across the railroad track.
It is very difficult to get a picture of this situation without some
out ay of tJie plant and plant area. Here is 25th Street, down here
2 blocks, about 2 blocks south, is A Avenue, and on south of that a
little way is what is known as Lowe Park [indicating].
Here is the plant, here is the main entrance gate, and here is tJie
east gate that has been talked about.
Here is the parking line for the cars [indicating] . The car turned
over was about opposite this gate.
On the morning of the 25th, groups of demonstrators gathered at
the intersection of Plum and 27th. This is Plum, tlie main street
leading up to the entrance of the Perfect Circle plant [indicatino-l
And at Lowe Park, which I mentioned before, a group of the demon-
stators gathered to the north of the plant and across the railroad
track. 1 hat is back here [indicating] .
The Chairmax Would you like to liave that plat made an exhibit,
the one from which you are now testifying ?
Mr. HoFFMAx. Yes, we can have it made an exhibit.
Ihe Chairman. It Avill be made exhibit 25.
(Plat referred to was marked "Exhibit Xo. 25" for reference and
may be found in the files of the select committee.)
Mr. Hoffman. The group beyond the railroad track— a careful
H.!f f l^'^'fi employees who were in the north end of the plant disclosed
track ' ""'' morning came from across the railroad
pn?''^/J ""T^ ""I "u 4«^.^onstrators fired rifle bullets into tlie north
end of the foundry building. This was somewhere around 9-45 in
the morning.
Between 9 : 45 and 10 o'clock, the demonstrators congregated at the
mtei^ection of 25th and Plum Streets-that is here [iifdica ting -
Z'rtT.ti '""pf a constable, broke through the police line and
started east across Plum Street.
At the same time, the large group of demonstrators which had gath-
ered in Lowe Park approached the plant from the south ^
.r.i PI g^'^i^Ps^converged near the main entrance of the plant at 2rth
and Plum-that is right here (indicating) -there must have been some
prearranged signal as these 2 groups, some 3 or 4 blocks distant, were
able to make their approach on the plant at the same time.
Ihe 2 groups converged at this point; that is, at Plum and 27th
and an advance gix)up of some 250 to 300 demonstrators, without
hesitation advanced or headed across this parking lot here to this east
pte, and hesitated a moment-let me pick this up a moment-and that
IS a]3proximately 250 feet from the main entrance
They paused momentarily, crashed the gate, and started into the
plant yard Several men ran across to the car parked 50 or 60 feet
mside the fence and turned it over.
Othei-s some 40 or 50 having proceeded through the gate, started
Ing a^ oK buO^S:^""' "'^^' '-' '' ''-' '''' '' '''' '^'^''^^ ^-^^-
fo;^^' ^'i'^r^'' *"™''J ?I^'" ^^'' '^'' '"" employee stepped out on a plat-
irh'pvP n'f fi'^i l^^^^f^™^' "^ ^h^ northeast corner of the office build-
ing here, and fired a 20-gage shotgun low and in front of the men wlio
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10353
were turning- over the car, and continued to fire in front of the people
who were a[)i)roa(>hing the plant entrances.
With this, the demonstrators hesitated, turned, and ran out of the
gate.
In all, the man who tired these shots fired three shots. All of this I
observed personally. I observed the breakin, I observed the shooting,
and the turning over of the car.
It was later determined that there was also shotgun fire at those who
broke in from the shipping room located in a wing at the north end of
the foundry building.
That is clear bade here (indicating), and these people coming in
there were some 250 or 300 feet from the demonstrators.
Immediately upon the firing from the inside, firing from the outside
commenced. A woman standing in the window^ of the shipping room,
back in here (indicating), was shot in the upper left leg, the bullet
lodging in the bone just below the hip joint.
At about the same time, one of the supervisors from the Hagerstown
plant, standing in the payroll office, up here— I happened to be in the
room at that time — was hit in the abdomen by a bullet from the out-
side that came through the window.
Fortunately, this caused only a flesh wound. After the demonstra-
tors were driven from the plant yard, the shooting from within the
plant ceased. Later, however, the police did fire in the direction of
snipers who were shooting high-powered rifles at the plant from van-
tage points within or behind buildings in the area.
I saw the man that was shooting from across the railroad track at
one time, and I saw a man standing out to the east of the east gate,
on the oustide of the fence, firing into the plant.
At one time he got behind a woman and reached behind her and
fired his gun. It has been mentioned here, I believe, that woman was
shot in the legs. As I understand it, he was shot through both legs.
We have information, and strong i-eason to believe, that that shoot-
ing was done by a police officer of the New Castle City police force.
I believe that he would testify to the fact that he shot this man through
the legs.
Mr. Kennedy. Who was that ?
Mr. Hoffman. John Ray.
Senator Curtis. Is that the victim or the policeman ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is the policeman.
As I understand from the testimony here, the man's name is Carper.
But that is our understanding, that the police officer shot the man
when he was on the fence, shooting into the plant.
Mr. Kennedy. The police officer is John Ray ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
This information came to me through the prosecutor. That is our
line of information on it.
Mr. Kennedy. We checked with John Ray.
Mr. Sheridan, did you speak to Mr. Ray ?
Mr. Sheridan. Yes, I did, and he denied that he had hit anybody.
He was shooting twice, once in the direction of what he considered
to be a snii)er, and once toward out in the street, but he denies hitting
anybody. He denies having shot anybody.
10354 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Hoffman. I can't say as to tliat. We were given this informa-
tion by tlie prosecutor for Henry County. I have not talked to Mr.
Ray directly, but the j)ro&ecutor has said that he would testify to that.
Yesterday it m as mentioned that this strike was started out by the
importation of guns into the foundry plant. I know of no guns being
taken into that plant. I am sure there were no guns in that plant
before the September closing of the plant, and at no time, to my knowl-
edge, were any rifles taken into that plant, except on the night before.
I was present in the foundry plant when the police brought in their
riot guns and put them in one of the offices. That included a Win-
chester automatic rifle, and several riot shotguns.
That is the only rifle that I know of that was brought into the
plant. That was done by the police.
This shooting from within the plant was not the firing into an in-
nocent group of demonstrators as the union might like for you to be-
lieve. It was provoked by the particular group that had demonstrated
by its actions that it did not have peaceful intentions.
We do not know of any shooting from within the plant toward
or into the large mass of demonstrators that congregated in the
front and near the main entrance to the plant.
This group of demonstrators was estimated to be in excess of
2,000 persons. I would, myself, estimate that there were at least
that many people present on that morning.
Following the breakin, the demonstrators barraged the plant with
stones and other objects, shotgun blasts and rifle fire for more than an
hour and a half.
Nearly all of the windows in the office building were broken and
many cars inside the fence were damaged.
Stones were hurled int^ the windows, shotgun blasts into the
windows. The shotgun blasts were from some distance and didn't
have much effect. But I happened to be in one room when pellets
came into the room.
Also, they virtually demolished a house across the street from the
plant, which had been occupied by the police prior to this riot. Later
they set fire to the house and burned it down.
About 12 o'clock — I would say this was between 12 and 12:30 —
a large force of State police arrived on the scene and took their posi-
tion in the parking lot in front of the plant.
Soon after, they started to evacuate the people inside the plant
and drove them in police cars to their homes.
Publicity was given to the firearms removed from the plant. Most
of these guns belonged to employees, who carried them in their cars
for protection against ambush and violence to them on their way
to and from work.
It appears that such guns were brought into the plant from cars
before the demonstrators descended upon the plant.
These guns were not in evidence during the rioting, and I do not
believe that the management was aware that they had been brought
into the plant.
None of the employees, other than the 8 or 10 men who were
stationed in the plant to protect it and the employees, were authorized
to carry arms.
The management did not know that the employees in the east
wing of the foundry building had arms and had no way of knowing
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10355
that those arms would be used, as they were at the time of the
breakin.
After the evacuation of the plant, Mr. Juday and I were asked by
Lieutenant Governor Handley to attend a meeting at the mayor's
office.
Present at the meeting were Lieutenant Governor Handley; Edwin
K. Steers, attorney general for the State of Indiana ; Paul McCormack,
mayor of New Castle ; Police Chief Clarence Justice ; and representing
tlie union were E. J. Kucela, assistant regional director for region
3 of UAW-CIO ; William Caldwell, the local international representa-
tive; Carl Batchfield, president of local 370 at the New Castle plant;
and Carl Evans, president of local 156 at the Hagerstown plant.
Mr, Juday, the New Castle plant manager, and I were also present.
At this time, the issues, so far as the union was concerned, appeared
to be the closing of the New Castle plant.
At the start, the union spokesman apparently favored a declaration
of marshal law. It could only be assumed that they anticipated that
the plant would be closed under these conditions.
Mr. Kucela said that the union would be willing to go back to
peaceful picketing if the management and city and State police would
cooperate and stop protecting nonunion workers.
Mr. Caldwell said that if management only was allowed to enter
the plant, the union would agree to peaceful picketing with but five
men on the line.
However, Lieutenant Governor Handley made it clear that the
bringing of the National Guard into the New Castle plant would not
involve closing the plant.
Mr. Caldwell then warned those present that if the plant operated
there could be more violence of the same kind that occurred earlier in
the day.
I believe that those present took this statement to be a valid threat
of future violence if the plant continued to operate.
In a meeting held in the mayor's office on the following day, Octo-
ber 6, 1955, and attended by management and union representatives,
the international representative refused to give any assurance that
there would not be more rioting.
Senator Mundt. Which international representative ?
Mr. Hoffman. Mr. Caldwell. He warned that plants at Hagers-
town and Kichmond could become the targets of the same sort of
violent demonstrations that erupted at New Castle on Wednesday,
October 5.
He said, "The union does not want this to happen, but it can hap-
pen." It has been said by the union that the demonstration on October
6, 1955, was intended to be a peaceful one.
The many demonstrations of violence over the preceding 2-month
period, tliQ size of the demonstration planned for that day, the turning
over of the car and breaking through the police line, the unhesitating
advance on and breaking into the plant enclosure, and, finally, the
apparent determination of the union to stop production in the New
Castle plant did not give credence to any peaceful intent.
The Chairman. You have some pictures there; are vou readv to
identify those? ' ^ j
10356 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN TPIE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Hoffman. I am read}- to identify this <i:roup of pictures as
being: pictures that were taken by the photographer located or there
in tlie ])hint that morning.
The CiL-MRMAN. The morning of wliat day ?
Mr. Hoffman. October 5, 1955, and showing the large group of
demonstrators congregated at and near the main entrance to the plant.
They also show men hurling objects at the plant.
(At this point, the following members of the committee were pres-
ent: Senators McClellan, Goldwater, Mundt, and Curtis.)
The Chairman. That group of photographs may be made exhibit
23.
(The document referred to was marked exhibit 26 for reference
and may be found in the files of the select committee.)
The Chairman. Are there any further questions?
Senator Goldwater. I have just one question. I am not certain
whether Mr. Hoffman is the one to whicli to direct this, and he
might be.
On page 5 of your testimony, ]Mr. Hoffman, or rather on page 6,
the second paragi-aph, you say, "Mr. Kusola said the union would be
willing to go back to peaceful picketing if the management, city, and
State police would cooperate and stop protecting nonunion workers."
Xow, did you gather from that that there would be peace if you
closed your plant ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes. It was pretty evident to us at this time, and
for sometime prior that it was important to the union to get that
New Castle plant closed. It was pretty apparent to us in this meet-
ing prior tothe statement of the Lieutenant Governor that if martial
law would close the plants, that would not be objectionable to the
union.
Of course, if the plant was closed, no one Avas there, the union had
no reason to resort to anything other than peaceful picketing.
Senator Goldwater. Yesterday I believe Mr. Berndt testified to
the effect that there were 5 strikes in Indiana I believe that year
of 1955, that were peaceful ones, peaceful strikes, but all 5 of these
plants closed down.
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Goldwater. Did you hear that testimony ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes ; I heard that testimony.
Senator Goldwait.r. How long have you been connected with Per-
fect Circle?
Mr. Hoffman. AVell, I was counsel for the corporation from 1942
to 1952, that is I was employed by them full-time. Since that time
I have been practicing outside the corporation, but I have advised
with them on labor relations matters, and other matters as far as
that goes.
Senator Goldwater. Have you gone through any other strikes of
the UAW against Perfect Circle?
Mr. Hoffman. I was through the 1949 strike.
Senator Goldwater. That was a wildcat strike ?
Mr. Hoffman. I had a great deal to do with the company's han-
dling of it. In 1948 for a period I did handle the negotiations for
the corporation, that is from about 1947 to 1949. I did negotiating
and conducted the company's handling of the strike in 1948.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10357
Senator Goldwater. Was there any violence or threat of violence
in that strike?
Mr. Hoffman. In that strike there were no sizable demonstrations
in the areas of the plants. There were some mass picketing, and we
had to get a restraining order to get in the plant, in the New Castle
plant in 1948, but there was considerable vandalism at the homes of
employees and violence, and occasions of violence to people on their
way to and from work.
Senator Goldwater. Do I gather from your testimony that you are
a lawyer who practices in the field of labor ^
Mr. Hoffman. No, 1 am not, and I do not practice in the field of
labor, except over a period of 18 or 20 yeai-s I have been drawn into it
occasionally.
Senator Goldwater. Have you had any other experiences with
other companies in Indiana or surrounding States, if you practice out-
side of Indiana, involving strikes with the UAW ?
Mr. Hoffman. No, I have had them with other unions, but not in-
volving the UAW.
Senator Goldw^ater. Have you had instances of violence or threats
of violence with the other unions you have had business with?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, in some instances. There was one in particular
where there was mass picketing and violence in the area of the plant.
Senator Goldwater. What union was that ?
Mr. Hoffman. I believe I was just called in, in an advisory capac-
ity on that, and I believe that was the International Furniture Work-
ers.
It was the International Furniture Company at Kussiaville, In-
diana.
Senator Goldwater. That is all, Mr. Chairman, thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Senator Mundt. In one or two places, Mr. Hoifman, your testi-
mony conflicts with the testimony we had yesterday from Mr. BeiTidt
who said in his testimony that there was no need for the men to carry
arms, and no need for the company to bring in those six shotgmis be-
cause the police were on top of the situation and controlled the situa-
tion, and the police in addition were friendly to the company.
Now, you say in here that there was a police force of 20 or so in
New Castle. Is that the size of the police force ?
Mr. Hoffman. Between 20 and 25, as I recall it.
Senator Mundt. Do you live in New Castle ?
Mr. Hoffman. I live in Hagerstown.
Senator Mundt. Did you hear this chief of police, Chief Clarence
Justice, and I presume that is the chief of police, make a statement
that they could not control the situation, and they' were afraid of
trouble ?
Mr. Hoffman. I heard liim say that he feared that they could not
control the situation. He made that statement theliight bef(n'e and I
heard him also sa}', or make that statement earlier, prior to the time
they broke up the picket line on September 27th.
Senator Mundt. Quite apart from what you said, and quite apart
from wliat he said, and quite apart from what Mr. Berndt said, there
are some facts tliat it seems should be pretty obvious to anybody.
Tliere was on October 5th a mass demonstration at the front of the
plant?
10358 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. Was it part of the function of the police of New
Castle to see when a mass demonstration takes place, there is no
violence done to person or property ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, the plant although it is on the edge of town
and a lot of open area around it, is a pretty hard place to protect
or guard from the outside, but it is in the city of New Castle.
Senator Mundt. Did the police show up that day ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes. The police chief divided his men, and he put
about 10 or 11 men at 25th and Plumb Streets. That is the police
line that was broken through. He had the rest of them there at the
plant entrance. When they broke through the police line, that sepa-
rated the two, and I don't think any that were on the outside ever got
back into the plant area.
Senator Mundt. Wliere was the police line located ?
Mr. Hoffman. That was at 25th and Plumb Streets, and that is a
street about two blocks from the plant, and it leads right up and
dead-ends at the main entrance to the plant.
Senator Mundt. And the demonstrators broke through that line?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes.
Senator Mundt. So that the police regardless of the testimony,
on that particular line the police were not in control of the situation,
and there were not enough police there and the mob was able to over-
come it?
Mr. Hoffman. They were not enough to handle it. As a matter
of fact, during the time that the house was on fire, when they set the
house on fire, the fire department tried to get to that house, and the
mob stoned them and I don't know whether they fired at them.
There are some statements that they fired at the fire engine, but
the fire engine was never able to get up to the house to put the fire out.
Senator Mundt. The mob was so great the fire engine could not
get to the fire ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right, and the woman injured in plant was
in there for nearly 2 hours, because they couldn't get the first-aid
unit out of the plant to take her to the hospital.
Senator Mundt. It would seem to me that the facts speak much
more eloquently than the testimony of either you or the police chief
or Mr. Berndt. If there are facts on the other side that the UAW
can marshal and present, so be it.
But here we have a situation, and this isn't just a theory, and it
isn't just somebody's conjecture about what might happen. Some-
thing did happen. The police were there, and it was their job to keep
order, and they were trying to keep order and they were not there
in numbers enough to do it.
They were there to protect life and property. The police were
unable to keep the mob from moving into the plant in violent tres-
pass, is that correct ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. They got in and tipped over somebody's auto-
mobile?
Mr. Hoffman. The chief of police and some of his men were forced
back into the plant, and I am sure that the chief could well tell you
of one break into that plant, and the shooting and what went on in
the plant that day.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10359
Senator Mundt. Is the chief going to be a witness?
Mr. Kennedy. No, he is not.
Senator Mundt. Do we have an affidavit ?
Mr. Kennedy. We can get an affidavit. We had an investigator
talk to him, and he can testify in support of what this witness has
told us.
Senator Mundt. If we are not going to have him as a witness, it
would be pertinent to have an affidavit, because this is one point in
dispute between the two sets of witness. Looking at it from the
standpoint everyone who wants to believe one side or the other, and
looking at the facts which occurred, it would seem to me that either
the police were not trying to do their duty or they were overpowered.
When you have arson and burn down a house, and you have a
mob going through a picket line, and you have a mob invading pri-
vate property to do violence, either police aren't on the job or it is
overpowered, and one of those two things has to be true.
Mr. Hoffman. It is my considered opinion that the police force
was overpowered.
Senator Mundt. Well, as one member of the committee
Mr. Hoffman. I would say in my opinion they did the best they
could, and they tried to cope with the situation, but they were unable
to.
Senator Mundt. If all you say is true, and if the police chief is
available to put it in affidavit form or testify, it would seem that Mr.
Berndt is mistaken when he says the police were adequate to handle
the situation.
It is your testimony on page 3 that the first shots were fired from
across the railroad track, and that means that they were fired by
company people or were they fired by people in the mob ?
Mr. Hoffman. They were fired by demonstrators who were across
the railroad some little distance, at the north end of the plant. Now,
that is the back end of the plant.
Senator Mundt. Was this firing before the time that they broke
into the east gate, and the shotgun blasts were fired at either the
people who came in or
Mr. Hoffman. We have employees who were so located that they
could identify the shooting in to the back end with the shooting at
the front end. That is hard to do, it is a long plant, and Mr. Griffin
testified that he could not tie the two in, but there are witnesses that
can tie that in, men who were in the back of the plant and in a room
where the bullets were coming in, and went to the front and heard the
action in the front.
Senator Mundt. I have no desire to prolong the hearing and spend
an extra day on it or 2 days or a week, or call in any witnesses or secure
any affidavits on testimony which is uncontested, but if there is a
contest on this, and if there is dispute and there is disagreement and
there are witnesses on behalf of the UAW who allege that the first
shots were fired by the company, you tell us you have the witnesses
available to testify that the first shots were fired by the mob ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. Is that right ?
Mr. Hoffman. I would say, just for clarification of the thing, that
the company has never denied that the man stepped out on the platform
10360 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
and fired in front of the people, and I think even the chief of police
would testify that that was done, and they did not shoot directly or
pointblank at the people.
Senator Mundt. Is that in yonr statement ?
Mr. HoFFiMAX. That man did fire. Now, so far as my own recollec-
tion of the thing and knowledge of it, I did not know of any firing at
the front end of the plant before that was done.
But here is the thing : They converged and they moved, and this all
happened witliin seconds, and they hadn't reached 27th and Plum
and there was just a matter of a few seconds that they were on down
to this east gate, and crashed and came in.
I remember standing by the man that fired the shotgun, the boy
standing in the door, and he said, "What do we do now ?" and he said,
"Step aside, I will shoAV you what we will do," and he stepped out and
that turned them.
I have had police officers. State and local, tell me since that if they
hadn't been run out at that time, they would have been all over the
plant.
I think that was the consensus of those of us that were in there, and
the consensus of the police that were on the outside.
Senator Mundt. On page 4 you describe a wom.an who was shot in
the upper left leg, and you describe a man shot in the abdomen, and
in each case you used the word "bullet." To me that would mean rifle
fire instead of shotgun fire.
Mr. HoFFMAx. Either rifle or a revolver, and it was not a shotgun.
Senator Mundt. It was not just a shotgun pellet ?
Mr. HoFFivrAN. No.
Senator Mundt. It was a bullet from a rifle or a pistol ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt, Because a rifle bullet would have to be used ?
Mr. Hoffman. We recovered tlie bullet that came into the payroll
room and hit the man in the abdomen.
Senator Mundt. The point where there is confusion or contradic-
tion between you and Mr. Berndt is the fact about the windows in the
plant.
He displayed a picture yesterday and called attention to a man
up there shooting a shotgun, and he also called attention to the fact
that there are no windows broken in the plant.
You say the windows were badly demolished, and he said no win-
dows were broken, and somebody is wrong.
Mr. Hoffman. That picture was taken right at the start of that, at
the time of the break-in. They have got the picture of a man stand-
ing on the platform, and he was firing a shotgun, and he couldn't have
hit Mr. Carper with a rifle bullet because at no time did he have a
rifle.
I was right there, and I know what he had, and he was using a shot-
gun.
Now, that picture was taken
Senator Mundt. I think he said he was using a shotgun, there is
no dispute about that. The question is whether the windows were
broken, and he said, "look at the windows," and I looked and I couldn't
see any broken.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD 10361
Mr. HoiTivtAX. That was taken in the first few seconds of tlie demon-
stration. It does not show, or the anole of it does not show the gate,
and it does not show where the car would have been turned over.
That is in the pictures that we have seen.
We have not seen this exhibit t^liat is here.
Senator Mundt. Have you any evidence other than your own opin-
ion that there actually were a lot of things thrown through windows,
and shotgun or rifle shots?
]\lr. HoPTMAN. We could bring the chief of police, and the State
police, and any number of them, and we could bring every em])loyee
that was in that plant and we could get newspapermen from all over
who would tell 3'ou, and the National Guard, Lieutenant Governor
Handley, or anybody that was there, except somebody that wasn't
there possibly, that neai'ly every window in that front of that building
was broken out.
Senator ]Mfndt. So Mr. Berndt was just showing us that there was
a time in the history of tlie plant when the windoAvs weren't broken?
Mr. HoFFMAx. Tiiat is right. That was the fiist few seconds, and
before they started throwing the objects through the window, and
then it lasted for an hour and a half.
Senator Mundt. On that basis I can accept his testimony, but it
certainly wasn't the impression he left with me from what he said
about that picture.
Mr. Hoffman. I could bring in any number of people that coidd
testify as to the windows and the conditions of that plant.
Senator Mundt. Unless tlie UAW has something more convincing
than a picture taken before the rioting starts, I think that settles that.
I assume the plant didn't always have broken windows and there
Avas a time when it had glass in the windows.
Now, on page 6 you said that Mr. Caldwell said that if management
only was allowed to enter the plant, the union would agree to peaceful
picketing with live men on the line.
Does that imply that Mr. Caldwell said, "If the plant closes down,
we will just have 5-man pickets"? Is that what that means?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right. That is what that means. I would
take it to mean that.
Senator Mundt. This was a long time after the courts of Indiana
had issued an injunction against mass picketing in this strike?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. xlctually 2 months after ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. Have you anybody else who could testify to the
fact that Mr. Caldwell served such a shotgun notice on you at that
time ?
Mr. Hoffman. At this time of this hearing, you mean ?
Senator JNIundt. That is right, and are you the only man ?
Mr. Hoffman. The mayor was there, and I think
Senator Mundt. What is his name ?
Mr. Hofi^man. Paul McCormack.
Senator Mundt. Did he hear him say it, and was he within liearing
distance ?
Mr. Hoffman. We were all in the city courtroom. He was right
in the room, yes, and the Lieutenant Governor heard it.
10362 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Now, there were only two of us from the plant there, but I
could show you any number of newspaper articles that covered it, and
tliose were newspaper men that were there and covered it, and their
statements of it.
Senator Mundt. In other words, this ultimatum came a couple of
months after the injunctive process had said mass picketing is
illegal ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. And it carried with it, as I understand your testi-
mony in the next paragraph, the implication, "If you don't accept the
ultimatum, more violence is going to take place" ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. Others beside you heard him say this?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, sir.
Senator Mundt. This is an international representative?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. Mr. Caldwell ?
Mr. Hoffman. Yes, sir.
Senator Mundt. The same man whom Mr. Prosser testified said
that before the strike began, he was talking about bashing in heads
and violence, and there was going to be rough stuff, and this was a
strike they were going to win ?
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. And I asked a question and I interrupted him in
his testimony, "The international representative refused to give any
assurance that there would not be any more violence, and that inter-
national representative was also Mr. Caldwell ?"
Mr. Hoffman. That is right.
Senator Mundt. The villain in this picture, if there is a villain,
seems to be Mr. Caldwell. If he is available, I think we should have
him.
Mr. Kennedy. We can have Mr. Caldwell.
Senator Mundt. I want him, just speaking as one member.
The Chairman. Is there some other man here that might testifv on
that?
Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Berndt, who testified yesterday.
The Chairman. Who did you mention a while ago, Mr. Rauh, that
is here?
Mr. Rauh. Mr. Benidt is here, and he was with Mr. Caldwell on
the morning that Senator Mundt was talking about, and Mr. Carper
is here, and he was shot at tlie October 5 incident, and Mr. Roberts is
here, and he was on the side where the alleged first shot came from
and can testify.
I do want to point out to Senator Mundt, if he will permit me, on
that picture, which he said couldn't mean veiy much, that picture was
taken at the time the company fired the first shot.
Xow, they can't have it both ways. Either they fired a shot before
windows were broken, or else this picture demonstrates that no win-
dows were broken during the demonstration.
The Chairman. How soon can you get Mr. Caldwell here?
Mr. Rauh. He was dismissed yesterday, and he is on his way back
to Indianapolis, and he was dismissed yesterday.
Senator Mundt. He didn't testify, did he ?
Mr. Kennedy. I didn't feel that he was necessary.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10363
Senator Mundt. This is a niairs name which has been mentioned
most frequently, and I don't object to hearing Mr. Berndt again.
I know he is a pretty good fellow, and I doubt that he said it, but he
was unwilling to deny whether he had said it, and I am not trying to
go into this court case where he has been convicted in the municipal
court, but I am curious about the fact that his name pops up time after
time after time, and I would like to know what he has to say.
Mr. Kauh. We will be happy to bring him back, and there is no
problem, and w^e will get him back as fast as we can.
We would be happy to bring everybody in, and there is no problem
here. He was dismissed because he used Mr. Berndt as our principal
witness, because he is Mr. Caldwell's boss. We would be happy to
liave him here.
The Chairman. We have been trying to shorten this hearing, and I
take the full responsibility for it.
If anj'body wants to blame somebody for trying to shorten it, blame
me.
Now we will get him back here, and we have had this demonstration
here of wanting him. Get him back.
Mr. Rauh. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. Period, and proceed.
Are there any other questions ^
All right, thank you. Stand aside, and call the next witness.
(At this point, the following Members were present: Senators
McClellan, Mundt, Curtis, and Goldwater.)
Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Paul Carper.
The Chairman. Come forward, sir.
Do you solemnly swear the evidence you shall give before this
select committee shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but
the truth, so help you God ?
Mr. Carper. I do.
TESTIMONY OF PAUL CARPEE, ACCOMPANIED BY JOSEPH L.
RAUH, JR., COUNSEL
The Chairman. State your name, your place of residence, and your
business or occupation.
Mr. Carper. My name is Paul Carper. I live in Anderson, Ind. I
am a member of local 662 of the UAW-CIO.
The Chairman. You have counsel, Mr. Rauh, representing you.
Mr. Carper. Yes, sir.
The Chairman. Proceed, Mr. Kennedy.
Mr. KJENNEDY. Mr. Carper, you have been a member of the UAW
for about how long ?
Mr. Carper. Approximately 21 years.
Mr. Kennedy. You were never an employee of the Perfect Circle
Co.
Mr. Carper. No, sir.
Mr. Kennedy. You were present, however, on October 5, when
there was shooting when the strikers and those were within the plant?
Mr. Carper. I was there on October 5th, but I never saw any
shooting.
Mr, Kennedy. You were present on October 5th ?
21243— 58— pt. 26 8
10364 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr, Carper. That is right.
Mr. Kennedy. Were you working in the Perfect Circle Corj). at
that time ''.
Mr. Carper. No, sir.
Mr. Kennedy. "V^Hiy were you present in Xew Castle on October
otli, if you were not working for tlie company l
Mr. Carper. Well, sir, I am a delegate to the District Auto Council
of the UAW, in region 3.
Mr. Kennedy. Where were you employed at the time ?
Mr. Carper. What was that t
Mr. Kennedy. Where were you employed I
Mr. Carper. At Delco Kemy, at Anderson, Ind., the General ^Motors
(Jorp.
Mr. Kennedy. How far is that from Perfect Circle I
Mr. Carper. About 23 or 24 miles.
(At this point. Senator Mundt withdrew from the liearing room.)
Mr. Kennedy. Delco Kemy Co., is that right >.
Mr. Carper. That is right, Delco Eemy Corp. It is a division of
General Motors.
Mr. Kennedy. Go ahead.
Mr. Carper. At the District Auto Council meeting, in October, I
believe the first and second, Saturday and Sunday, every other month
we have a council meeting where all the delegates get together from
the various locals in Indiana and Kentucky, and we discuss our prob-
lems, our grievances, our working conditions, our various committee
reports are made, and during the process of the local unions' giving
their reports, I gave a report of my local on the working conditions,
and the delegates from local 370, Perfect Circle, gave their report.
They reported that 35 members of their union, including all their
officers, were discharged for activities on the picket line.
Well, we thought that was unjust, and we went ahead and proceeded
with our meeting, as usual, the council. After the meeting was ad"
journed a group of our workers got together and we decided that
maybe it would help out the morale of the Perfect Circle boys, the
miion boys, if we would go over there, in a mass parade, and show the
solidarity of the union members, and kind of boost the morale a little
bit. to show that we were behind them in their sincere effort to get
their strike settled and get them just demands straightened out the
same as we had at General Motors.
We had a 1-day strike and we got it settled peacefully.
Mr. Kennedy. Was it suggested at this auto council meeting that
representatives of these various locals go over to New Castle on Oc-
tober 5?
Mr. Carper. No, sir; not at the meeting. It was just a group of
our delegates got together after the meeting adjourned and we talked
it over, and we went back to our locals and talked it over.
Mr. Kennedy. How many locals were involved ?
Mr. Carper. Well, I would say there are 70 to 80 locals in the coun-
cil. But there wasn't that many. There was only maybe 10 or 15 of
us that discussed it after the meeting adjourned at the council meeting.
Mr. Kennedy. And you all picked October 5 for a parade ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD 10365
Mr. Carper. Yes, we tlioii^lit that would be a £^ood day. The
Chrysler boys thouolit that would be a good day and come over, and
we declare a 1-day holiday. We took it on ourselves to go over there.
Mr. Kexnedy. "^You declared a 1-day holiday from your plant?
Mr. Carper. That is right.
Mr. Kennedy. And all decided to go over there ^
Mr. Carper, Yes.
Mr. Kennedy. How did you get over ?
]V[r. Carper. We went in cars.
Mr. Kennedy. How many went from your local ^
Mr. Carper. Well, I would say maybe 1.5 or 2.5.
Mr. Kennedy. How did you select the ones to go ^
Mr. Carper. We just decided to go. I worked nights and I told
some of the boys what we were going to do, we were planning on
going over there, and asked some of the boys if they wanted to go
with me. I got one of the boys in my plant and he said "Yes, we will
go over there."
Mr. Kennedy. Did you invite as many people as wanted to come?
Mr. Carper. ThatisVight.
Mr. Kennedy. You told everybody to come that wanted to come?
Mr. Carper, We just told everybody to come, that we would meet
in a certain place and go over.
Mr. Kennedy. Who would you report to wdien you got over there
to organize the parade ?
Mr. Carper. We didn't report to nobody. We just went over as a
mass parade, as a demonstration of the solidarity of our union
membeis.
Mr. Kennedy. '\Aliat did you do once you got over there ?
Mr. Carper. When we first got to New Castle we paraded around
n little bit through towai, blowed our horns, and when we got there
w^e found there was quite a few other people in town milling around
town with their cars, blowing their horns, and I thought it was a
pretty good gesture of us being there, to show the city of New Castle
and the workers of Perfect Circle that the UAW was 100 percent
behind their demands.
Mr. Kennedy, So you were touring the town of New Castle blow-
ing your horns ?
Mr. Carper. That is right.
Mr. Kennedy. Go ahead.
Mr. Carper, Like if we ^v'u\ the basketball game, we blow our
horns and have a lot of fun. That is Indiana basketball.
Mr, Kennedy, That is Indiana basketball games?
Mr. Carper. Yes. Well, anyhow, we went ahead, and I don't know
how close we was, about 2 blocks, we parked our cars, and we waD'ed
over to wliere the group was,
Mr, Kennedy, Did you have any guns in your car?
Mr, Carper, No, sir,
Mr. Kennedy, Did you have a gun with you ?
Mr. Carper, No, sir,' I did not, ^
Mr, Kennedy. Were you given a gun at the time you got there?
Mr. Carper. Absolutely not.
Mr. Kennedy. All right. Go ahead.
Mr. Carper, We never had any guns. It is ridiculous to think
about
10366 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Kennedy. After you finished blowing your horn, then what
did you do ?
Mr. Carper. Then we went out to the plant. We went out to the
plant. There was quite a few in the parade. We went out to the
plant and parked our cars approximately two blocks from the plant.
We got out and we walked toward the plant and when we got up
there close to it we saw a crowd of probably 200 or 300 people there
and we joined with them. There was no concerted effort or no
concerted leader. We just went out there and started singing some
union songs.
Mr. Ivennedy. Started singing songs?
Mr. Carper. Yes.
Mr. ICennedy. In front of the plant ?
Mr. Carper. Yes, sir.
"Solidarity forever.-'
Mr. IvENNEDY. How many of you were there at that time ?
Mr. Carper. In the group or from our local ?
Mr. Kennedy. Well, how man}^ of you were in the group at that
time?
Mr. Carper. Well, I don't know.
Mr. Kennedy. A couple thousand ?
Mr. Carper. Oh, Lord, no. I think you have pictures there that
show probably 200 or 300, maybe 400 people.
Mr. Kennedy. And then you were in front of the gate ?
Where were you all standing at that time ?
Mr. Carper. Well, we marched toward
Mr. Kennedy. Have you got that last exhibit ?
Mr. Carper. We had a bmich of transformers there and we was ■
The Chairman. Here is a plat of that plant and the streets leading
to it. It has been made "Exhibit Xo. 25." Please examine it and
point out where you were while you were tooting your horn ?
Mr. Carper. We was up town tooting our horn.
The Chairman. All right. Go ahead.
(Exhibit was handed to the witnesses.)
Mr. Carper. This October 5 day was the first day I had ever been
at the Perfect Circle plant. I had been at New Castle quite often
with the Chrysler boys, but I had never been there before and never
been there since.
The Chairman. One tmie was enough ?
Mr. Carper. One time; yes, sir. Whenever scabs shoot at you,
1 day is enough. We came down this street here, possibly, and we
parked in here someplace, and walked down through here [indicat-
ing].
Mr. Kennedy. Did you see the car overturned up there ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir; I never saw no cars overturned at all.
Mr. Kennedy. You didn't participate in turning over a car ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir. We walked over in here, and around in here
we saw quite a few men that I knew, a delegate that I met at the Auto
Union Council, and various other men, and shook hands, and started
singing songs, and we marched around in here [indicating] and there
was quite a bunch of us in here singing "Solidarity forever." We were
singing "Old scabs they never die," we were singing that, too.
Mr. Kennedy. When did you come through the gate there ?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10367
Mr. Carper. Well, that must have been around 9 : 30 or maybe 10
o'clock that we were right around through here [indicating]. I never
remember seeing anybody pass these transformers.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you see anybody climbing the fence there ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir.
Mr. Kennedy. Did anybody go through the gate ?
Mr. Carper. I never saw anybody go through the gate.
Mr. Ivennedy. Did you go through the gate ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir.
Mr. Kennedy. Are you sure you didn't go through the gate ?
Mr. Carper. I am sure I didn't go through the gate, because I got
shot here someplace. That is as close as I could.
Mr. Kennedy. Did you see the gate open ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir.
Mr. Kennedy. You were just standing there singing "Solidarity for-
ever" and somebody shot you ?
Mr. Carper. Well, I wasn't standing. I was marching around
whooping it up a little bit.
Mr. Kennedy. And suddenly you got shot ?
Mr. Carper. That is right.
Mr. Kennedy. How many shots were fired prior to the time you got
shot?
Mr. Carper. I don't know. Maybe 3 or 4. I didn't hear too many
shots. But when I got shot, they came over to me and carried me
to the automobile and took me to the hospital.
Mr. KJENNEDY. When you first heard the shots fired, what did you
do?
Mr. Carper. I don't know. Like I said, guys were shooting at us
in there, and it wasn't a minute or two until I got hit. They didn't
like my singing, I guess.
I was standing right in here [indicating] and I know dad-gone well
tJiat I was shot from here because I was standing there facing this way
and they shot me in the right leg, clear through both legs, and I was
standing about right in through here [indicating].
lSh\ Kennedy. You were not in the gate ?
Mr, Carper. No, sir; I was out in the parking lot close to the
transformers.
Mr. Kennedy. And you hadn't turned over any automobile or
done any act of vandalism ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir. I was shot from inside the plant there.
Mr. Kennedy. And the bullet went through both your legs?
Mr. Carper. That is right.
Mr. Kennedy. And they carried you off ?
Mr. Carper. Yes, sir.
Mr. Kennedy. Did anybody around you have guns ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir. I never saw anybody with any guns.
Senator Goldwater. What caliber bullet hit you ?
Mr, Carper. I have no idea. I never saw it. The bullet went right
through.
Senator Goldwater, Right through both legs ?
]Mr, Carper, Yes, sir. It never stopped.
Senator Goldwater. Did it hit any bones ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir ; it never did.
10368 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Senator Goldwater. Did it look like a .22 ?
Mr. Carper. It might have been a .32, because it made a big hole
there. Tliat picture shows a lot of blood coming out of that hole there.
It made a big hole in my left leg.
Senator Goldwater. Did you hear a shot ?
Mr. Carper. Did I hear a shot ? Yes, sir ; I heard it.
Senator Goldwater. How far away was the building from where
they were shootijig (
Mr. Carper. I don't know. A couple of hundred feet maybe, a
hundred feet. I don't know just how far it was. It happened so fast.
They took me away and I did not see the rest of it.
Senator Curtis. Mr. Chairman ?
The Chairmax. Mr. Curtis.
Senator Curtis. How long were you down there near the plant ?
Mr. Carper. About 15 minutes.
Senator Curtis. Were you the first person shot ?
Mr. Carper. I don't know. I don't think so.
Senator Curtis. But vou Avant to tell us that no one crashed the
gate ?
Mr. Carper. I never saw anybody crash the gate ; no, sir.
Senator Curtis. Are you saying it didn't happen ?
Mr. Carper. I never saw it. I don't know what happened after I
went to the hospital.
Senator Curtis. Are you stating that none of this group crashed
the gate and advanced toward the plant ?
Mr. Carper. I am not saying. I merely say I never saw anybody.
If they did, they did after I was taken to the hospital. I never saw
anybody.
Senator Curtis. You were just down there that 1 day?
Mr. Carper. Yes, sir.
Senator Curtis. And you took the time off from your plant?
Mr. Carper. I did.
Senator Curtis. How many other people in your plant took time
off to go down there ?
Mr. Carper. I expect 20 or 25 of us out of about 12,000.
Senator Curtis. 20 or 25. How many cars?
Mr. Carper. I don't remember. I expect maybe 10 or 12 cars of us
w-ent over.
Senator Curtis. Did you take a car ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir ; I never.
Senator Curtis. Who did you ride with ?
Mr. Carper. I don't remember. I think I rode with Eoss Drennon
and maybe Gene Pitts, who is president of our local. I am not sure.
Senator Curtis. Do you know Avho paid for the gas ?
Mr. Carper. We paid for it.
Senator Curtis. Who did ?
Mr. Carp?:r. We did. We just Avent and got in the care and went.
I didn't pay for any gas myself.
Senator Cuktis. What happened that you all decided to go on
the 5th?
Mr. Carper. Well, at the district auto council meeting, after the
meeting adjourned, a group of us talked together and thought it would
be a good idea to pick the 5th. It was Wednesdav.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD 10369
Senator Curtis. How many other locals sent people on the 5th ?
Mr. Carper. I don't have no idea.
Senator Curtis. I thonght you said there were 15 or 20.
]\Ir. Carper. 15 or 20 from our local.
Senator Curtis. No. How many other locals sent people in on the
5th?
Mr. Carper. As far as I know, no locals sent them in. We just
decided to go in our own own.
Senator Curtis. From a lot of other locals, Avere there men there?
Mr. Carper. I don't have no idea.
Senator Curtis. You know there were some.
Mr. Carper. I knew a lot of the Chrysler boys there. I knew some
of them were there.
Senator Curtis. Where did they come from ?
]Mr. Carper. From New Castle.
Senator Curtis. What other non-Perfect Circle people came there?
Mr. Carper. Well, I can't recall.
Senator Curtis. You can't recall 'I
Mr. Carper. That has been almost 3 years ago. Senator; I don't
know.
Senator Curtis. The Chrysler people and the people from your
plant, were they all of the outsiders ?
Mr. Carper. I expect they was more there, sure.
Senator Curtis. Who were some of them ?
Mr. Carper. I don't know. Honest, I don't know. That has been
2iy^ or 3 years ago.
Senator Curtis. I know, but something unusual happened to you
that day which would fix things in your mind.
Mr. (Iarper. There was a man there from Kokomo, one of the in-
ternational PAC directors.
Senator Curtis. What was his name ?
Mr, Carper. Dan Beidel,
Senator Curtis. How many people were present after this meeting
when you said you talked over and decided to visit New Castle on
October 5 ?
Mr, Carper. How many what?
Senator Curtis. How many people were in this discussion where you
decided you would visit New Castle on October 5 ?
Mr. Carper. I think we talked to some of the New Castle delegates
and the Perfect Circle boys and said we thought it would be a good
gesture to build your morale over there and kind of have a parade.
Senator Curtis. Where did that discussion take place ?
Mr. Carper. I think it was out in the lobby of, I believe, the Severin
Hotel in Indianapolis.
Senator Curtis. The Severin Hotel in Indianapolis ?
Mr. Carper. In the lobby.
Senator Curtis. What sort of meeting had been held there before?
Mr. Carper. The district auto council.
Senator Curtis. Hoav big attendance do they have ?
Mr. Carper. I expect around 100 or 110.
Senator Curtis. Who had called that meeting?
Mr. Carper. The cliairman of the council. I don't know what his
name was, right now.
10370 IMPROPER ACTIVITrEIS IX THE LABOR FIELD
Senator Curtis. Were there some Kentuckians there ?
Mr. Carper. Yes, sir.
Senator Curtis. Did some Kentuckians show up on October 5 ?
Mr. Carper. I never saw any.
Senator Curtis. But there were 10 or 12 cars coming from An-
derson ?
Mr. Cari'er. That is right.
Senator Curtis. All this just happened, that you decided to come
on the 5th?
Mr. Carper. Yes.
Senator Curtis. The union officers didn't have anything to do with
it?
a good gesture to do it.
Senator Curtis. You are an officer, aren't you ?
Mr. Carper. Yes, sir ; I am.
Senator Curtis. You have a responsibility of running this union,
don't you ?
Mr. Carper. No; not very much. I am just a local union officer
in my own local union.
Senator Curtis. I am not impugning your testimony, because I have
no facts to do it upon. I do know that we have spent 2 or 3 weeks
in the Kohler thing and nobody knew why they had come down to
Kohler, but they just decided to do it, and so on. After 2 or 3 weeks
we found the minutes from local 212 where Emil Mazey had been in
on the O. K.'ing of the arrangement for their expense down there. It
was so decided in the minutes. Were you surprised you got shot ?
Mr. Carper. You're daggone right I was. Yes, sir ; I was.
Senator Curtis. You weren't surprised there was trouble ?
Mr. Carper. Wliat ?
Senator Curtis. You weren't surprised there was trouble ?
Mr. Carper. Yes ; I was.
Senator Curtis. How long had this strike gone on ?
Mr. Carper. I think they said about 4 months.
Senator Curtis. At that time ?
Mr. Carper. No; I think it must have started around July or Au-
gust. It was in October when we went down there, October the 5th.
Senator Curtis. This was in October, and way back in August
these sort of things had been happening, car turned over on Plum
Street, car stoned, several windows broken out of foundry, broken
auto glass, hit by a rock — these are what these people complained of —
hack glass of car broken, car hit with rocks, rocks thrown at windows
in home, slugs by pickets, rock thrown through front-door glass of
car.
I have just read 2 days of the violence that occurred around there.
This is going on for about 4 months. That sort of thing, and masses
of groups stopping folks on the highway, and then you come to town
with 10 or 12 cars of outsiders from your own local, come in town, go
around blowing horns and then advise this committee that it all just
happened that way, and that it was all peaceful and content.
Mr. Carper. That is right.
Senator Curtis. Do you believe that ?
Mr. Carper. Why, sure I believe it. I wouldn't tell you if I didn't
believe it. We never had no intention — it is nonsense to think that
we was going to go over there t,o get shot or to have any violence.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10371
Senator Curtis. The testimony is they all ran wlien the shooting
started.
Mr. Carper. They was what ?
Senator Curtis. They all ran back when the shooting started.
Mr. Carper. I didn't run. I was carried.
Senator Curtis. Some people are more naive than others.
Mr. Carper. I couldn't run.
Senator Curtis. After 4 months of a reign of terror like that, and
then outsiders come in and announce their arrival in town in the
maimer that you have testified to, and then go down there, it is diffi-
cult for me to believe that it was just coincidental that you came in
there.
Mr. Carper. Could I answer that ?
Senator Curtis. Yes.
Mr. Carper. Thirteen years ago during the General Motors strike
at Anderson we heard a rumor that there was going to a back-to- work
movement in our local. Lo and behold, about 30 or 40 Chrysler boys
come over and give us a little moral support. But there was no
violence or anything.
Senator Curtis. Don't those people have a right to go to work ?
Mr. Carper. Who?
Senator Curtis. The strikers
Mr. Carper. Yes, sir ; they have a right to go to work.
Senator Curtis. Even while there was a strike going on ?
Mr. Carper. Yes, sir.
Senator Curtis. You got people to come in and take folks' rights
away from them ?
Mr. Carper. ^Vliat do you mean ?
I said they came in for some moral support, to back us up. I think
if a lot of people see a lot of people on the picket line, it might dis-
courage them from trying to go in there and take their jobs.
Senator Curtis. I think the time has come in this country when
we have to have equality of citizens.
Mr. Carper. Don't you believe in peaceful picketing ?
Senator Curtis. That is not peaceful picketing, what was going on
there. But I do not think that competitors can use these methods
and force somebody else's business closed. I do not think tres-
passers, who are not connected with the union, would be permitted to
damage property and to stop someone's business.
Mr. Carper. I don't believe so either.
Senator Curtis. And this different treatment or different concept
of the law for union people is wrong. It is going to hurt all the
working folks in the country, because they do not believe that. But
this design, carried on by the union leadership, is bad.
Mr. Carper. Well, I told you the union leadersliip didn't order us
down there.
Ndbody ordered us.
Senator Curtis. I expect it was all accidental. We heard a lot of
things in Kohler were accidental, but still they invested $10 million,
that is all.
The Chairman. When you came down the street and turned on
Plum Street to go to the plant, did you see any local police officers?
Mr. Carper. I don't remember whether I did or not.
The Chairman. Well, try to remember.
10372 EVIPRiOPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Mr. Carpek. I believe tliere was some around there.
The Chairman. There were some there, were there not ? They
tried to keep you back, didn't they ?
Mr. Carper. They did not.
The Chairman. And you overpowered them and went on through ?
Mr. Carper. I am not a very big man I never tried to overpower
anybody. I never saw anybody try to overpower anybody.
The Chairman. You got overpowered before you got tlirougli.
You coukln't ambuLate.
Mr. Carper. We walked down there peacefully singing songs arid
nobody tried to stop us or obstruct us at all.
The Chairman. So it isn't true that tlie police were tliere to stop
you and keep you from going to the plant ?
Mr, Carper. If they was there, they didn't try to stop us.
The Chairman. When you got there, you tried to go through the
gate, didn't you ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir.
Tlie Chairman. And you saw them try to go through the gate?
Mr. Carper. No, sir: I never saw^ them.
The Chairman. And you got shot in the attempt ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir.
The Chairman. You call it a parade, but it was a demonstration,
going down there overpowering the police, overturning cars, break-
ing windows, shooting, and you call that a parade?
Mr. Carper. I never saw any shooting.
The Chairman. You Imow it happened.
Mr. Carper. Sure, from the inside. I got sliot from the inside.
The Chairman. And others say it happened from the outside : that
the stones and the rocks were thrown from the outside.
Mr. Carper. The picture doesn't show any window broken now.
The Chairman. But that doesn't mean that a rock cannot be
thrown in there in the next minute.
Mr. Carper. They might have later on, when the guys in the parade
got mad about it. There might have been some shooting after that,
but not when I was there there wasn't.
The Chairman. I just don't believe your story, if that is plain
enough.
Mr. Carper. Well, I believe you do.
The Chairman. Are there any other questions.
The committee will stand in recess vmtil 2 o'clock. We will resume
hearings in the caucus room at 2 o'clock this afternoon.
(Wliereupon, at 12:20 p. m., the hearing recessed, to reconvene at 2
p. m. in the caucus room, with the following members present : Sena-
tors McClellan, Curtis, and Goldwater.)
APTERNOON SESSION
(At the reconvening of the session in the caucus room, the following
members are present: Senators McClellan and Curtis.)
The Chairman. The committee will come to order.
Call another witness.
Mr. Kennedy. Mr. Prosser, please.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IX THE LABOR FIELD 10373
TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM B. PROSSER (Resumed). ACCOMPANIED BY
G. ROBERT BAER. COUNSEL
Tlie Chairman. Yon have been ])ieviously sworn, Mr. Prosser. I
understand you have some statement you wish to make.
(At this point, Senator Gold water entered the hearing room.)
Mr. Prosser. Yes, Senator. I will make my comments rather brief.
There were a couple of points in Mr. Bernflt's statement yesterday
that I want to clarify. On page 4, item 3, he said the Perfect Circle
Corp. refused to include provisions for etfective arbitration
The Chairman. S])eak a little louder, please.
Mr. I^ROSSER. Veiy well. On page 4, paragi'aph 3, Mr. Berndt's
statement reads —
The Perfect Circle Corp. refused to include a provision for effective arbitration
in its contiact and refused repeated offers made by both impartial outsiders
and the UAW to arbitrate the issues in dispute, and thereby avoid or end the
strike.
It seems to me that there is a lot of confusion in people's minds
about arbitration and mediation. We are not opposed to the prin-
ciple of arbitration, but we are opposed to arbitrating principles,
and it is not connnon practice at all for companies to arbitrate mat-
ters to be included in the contract. In this particular case, we could
not possibly agree to arbitration because the principal issue in dispute
was the union shop, which, as I mentioned also before, we consider
a matter of principle, and we would not leave a decision on that up
to some third party.
After the o unions at Eichmond and Hagerstown asked for decerti-
fication, then we were in a position where (55 to 70 percent of the
employees were actually working, and a minority group was asking
us to sign a contract with them in spite of all tlie emotion, tension,
and violence and everything that had gone on.
So Ave had no legal obligation to arbitrate those matters. We re-
peatedly asked the union to enter into negotiations for New Castle,
which they refused to do. We offered to allow the representatives
from the other plants to sit in those negotiations if they wished to,
but we would not agree to contract for the other plants until the
decertification was settled.
I would like to also point out that in our case there were no strike
breakers employed. We hired people during the strike, but it hap-
pened that the strike was at a time of the year when we had a good
many college students returning to school, and we hired people during
the strike. We did not hire anyone from outside of our regular area.
In fact, we had people w^ho applied for jobs that we refused to hire
because they were outside of our regular area. We did not advertise
for any help at any time. At the close of the strike, we did not refuse
reinstatement to anybody, and, everybody that was on strike, except
those who were discharged, came back to work. So there were no
strikers replaced.
That is one of the advantages of keeping a strike on the basis of
an economic strike instead of an unfair labor practice strike.
The other point I would like to clear up for Mr. Berndt is to give
him the figures on the actual employment in these plants at the time.
In Hagerstown, there were 728 people in the bargaining unit. He
10374 iiMPROPER AOTivrrrEis in the labO'R field
said that 1-^1 voted for a strike. That means that 18 percent of the
people in the bargaining unit voted for the strike. In New Gastle,
there were 259 in the bargaining unit. He said that 130 voted for
the strike. That is approximately 50 percent. At Richmond machin-
ing plant, there were 246 in the bargaining unit, and 63 voted for
the strike. That is 25.5 percent. In the Richmond sleeve-casting
plant there were 89 in the bargaining unit and 16 voted for a strike.
That is approximately 20 percent. The total being out of 1,322 em-
ployees, 340 voted for the strike. That is approximately 25.5 percent..
Those were the points I wished to clear up on Mr, Berndt's state-
ment.
The Chairman. Those voting for the strike — was tliat an average
vote of those who attended the meetings ? I mean in taking a strike
vote, it is not general practice, I assume, that all members of the
union vote in it.
Mr. Prosser. I was only clarifying the point with reference to
Mr. Berndt's figures.
The Chairman. In other words, he gave percentagewise of those
who voted.
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
The Chairman, You are showing percentagewise of the overall
voting strength,
Mr. Prosser. No; a lot of those people didn't belong to his union.
I am talking about those who were in the bargaining group, and who
would be affected by the strike.
The Chairman. They were employees of the plant ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. But not in his union ?
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
The Chairman. And, therefore, he probably got a larger percent
or a majority percentagewise of those in the union.
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
The Chairman. They probably voted
Mr. Prosser. I am not questioning the figures tliat he gave on the
percentages that voted who were there. I only point out that when
we are accused of not being willing to arbitrate a matter, that in the
Hagerstown plant, for instance, there were 728 people involved and
only 131 of them had voted for the strike in the first place.
I know that after the strike started, their membership dropped
materially.
The Chairman, Do you mean folks left the union because of the
strike?
Mr. Prosser. Yes. I am only pointing out that regardless of our
feelings on the matter, purely from the standpoint of being a prac-
tical person, you wouldn't sell 82 percent of your people down the
river to satisfy 18.
The Chairman. Are there any other questions ?
Senator Curtis. Mr. Chairman ?
The Chairman. Senator Curtis.
Senator Curtis. I took down those figures the other day. If I
understand, the only figure you are correcting is that he estimated
the total number of employees around 1,100 and your figures make
it 1,322.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10375
Mr. Prossek. That is correct. Except I also gave it to you by
plants.
Senator Curtis. Yes.
Mr. Prosser. That is right.
Senator Curtis. You are speaking of the time when they took this
vote where they got the total of 340 votes for a strike.
Mr. Prosser. That is correct.
Senator Cuirris. That is all, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. Is there anything further ?
Mr. Kennedy. That is all.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Are there any other witnesses ?
Senator Curtis. Is Mr. Carper in the room? I would like to ask
him a question.
The Chairman. Come forward, Mr. Carper.
TESTIMONY OF PAUL CARPER, ACCOMPANIED BY JOSEPH L.
RAUH, JR., COUNSEI^Resumed
Senator Curtis. I have just this one question, Mr. Carper.
On October 5, 1955, when you went over to the Perfect Circle strike
area, did you draw any pay that day from a lost-time account or from
any other account, or from any person whatsoever ?
Mr. Carper. No, sir ; I never.
Senator Curtis. Did any of the men ?
Mr. Carper. Not that I know of.
Senator Curtis. That is all.
The Chairman. Mr. Carper, this morning when you were excused
from the stand, the Chair made a statement that he didn't believe
your story. I didn't. I could be wrong. I don't want to do anyone
an injustice. But part of it didn't sound reasonable to me. I didn't
mean I didn't believe anything you said. But we have these problems
and sometimes those of us who undertake to judge and who have to
judge and come to conclusions, we err in judgment. I do not want
to do anyone an injustice. But I just cannot understand and cannot
yet understand, as much as was going on there, that one would be there
and get shot and not know anything about it.
Mr. Carper. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate your statement there. I
am a trustee in my church at home at Anderson, at the Church of the
Nazarene, and I am also a past Sunday school teacher.
The Chairman. I don't question your general honesty and integ-
rity. It is just that your story didn't add up to me this morning.
I w411 point out again that I don't want to be unkind or unfair
where it is not justified. We are doing a tough job here tiying to get
the facts and get the truth. I have heard others testify, some of them
on the other side, and I didn't believe what they said either.
Mr. Carper. I have 8 children. I had no intention of going to New
Castle if I thought there would be violence. We went over there
peacefully, for a demonstration, to show there was solidarity, and
help build up the morale of the workers at New Castle.
The Chairman. Are there any questions?
Senator Goldwater ?
10376 IMPROPER ACTIVITIBS IX THE LABOR FIELD
Senator (toldwatkr. I have no (juestions, Mr. (,'liainnan, but I have
a general short statement in sunnnar>' of these hearings, as one Sen-
ator sees it, if the chairman would indulge me for a moment or two.
The CiiAiRMAX. Proceed, Mr. Senator.
Senator Goldavater. Mr. Chairman, these have been long hearings.
I don't think anybody can say that they haven't been tiresome.
I think to many people in the country, and particularly the people
here in Washington, they may at times, in total, seemed to have been
valueless.
We have read and we have heard in the press that these hearings
were a waste of time.
Mr. Chairman, before I comment on my reactions to these nearly
6 weeks of hearings, I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute
to our chairman, who I Imow has been under a heavy strain of work
during this period, as he has been for the last over 2 years that I have
servecl with him on the select committee. I know that at times it
seemed to him that there were those of us who were against him. I
want to assure him that that has not been the case.
I want to thank him for his fairness, and for his impartiality, and
for his complete nnderstanding of what we have been wanting to
divulge.
Mr. Chairman
Senator Curtis. Would you yield just at that point? I would like
to associate myself with the Senator.
The CuAiRMAX. I thank my colleagues on the committee. The
Chair does have pretty hea^'j' responsibilities at times trying to con-
duct hearings, particularly when some emotion gets into hearings, like
they get into a strike. It brings some of the problems right home to
us when those things happen.
I shall always treat any member of this connnittee or any other
committee over which I am chairman — I shall treat him as a Senator.
I respect his riglit to disagree with me. I respect his right to advo-
cate his viewpoint. While we may disagree, there is no reason for us
not to work together to accomplish our mission and to carry out our
assignment.
The Chair has, I hope, in the past undertaken to do that, and I
assure you I Avill continue to in the future.
Senator Goldwater. Mr. Chairman, in nearly 6 weeks of hearings
before this committee, we have heard two sides to a dispute. It al-
ways takes two sides to create a dispute. Out of these, out of this
vast volume of testimony, we are going to have to sit down one of
these days and i-ecommend legislation or recommend steps to make
the legislation we already have work.
We have seen on one side a developing pattern of violence, mass
picketing, secondary boycotts, violation of the law, and the abuse
of those who disagree with tlie XT AW. Xoav, on the other hand — and
I am speaking noAv not in contemplation, necessarily, of the Kohler
Co. I am only speaking as a man who has spent most of liis life
w^orking with people, being employed and being an employer — I think
there are practices in the Kohler Co. that have been divulged that
I certainly Avould not have engaged in had I been the head of that
firm, and I hope that out of these hearings will come an understand-
ing on that company's part that there are two sides to a case, and
that they will make the corrections that they will have to make.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10377
(At this point, Senator Kennedy entered the hearing room.)
Senator Goldwater. Mr. Chairman, tlie question arises : Do we
need new laws ^
I tliink Ave dehnitely need a law in one fiekl tliat has never been
developed particularly Avell before, and that is to provide responsi-
bility for an organization for the acts of its members.
At the present time, we have seen in the testimony here where
international representatives can deny any responsibility for acts.
'We have seen where they have been proven guilty of acts, and yet the
union itself can deny any responsibility for them.
This is a field that I, as one Senator, feel we nnist legislate in and
possibly not in this Congress, but in the coming one. Do we have
laws that cover this field ? Yes, we do have ; and out of the violations
of these laws has come to me the outstanding disclosure of these
Kohler hearings, namely the word "power."
I think we have seen before us in the last 6 weeks the development
of power to a degree that, Avhile it might not constitute a danger to
the country today, I think there is a definite danger in the future
if it is not curbed.
To me, as one Senator, I don't care where power rests. I don't
like the power of a large Federal Government ; I don't like the power
of big business; and I don't like the power of big unions. In this
area Ave liaA^e seen the development of the power of an organization
that flouts the laws of Wisconsin, and flouts the Federal law.
What do we do about it ? We can't blame entirely the union leader
for the exercise of this poAver. We can't blame anybody for some-
thing that an act of Congress did. The Congress is responsible for
the vesting of poAver in the hands of these fcAv people Avho control
the unions of this country.
I think it is also the responsibility of Congress to recognize it and
act Avhen it is intelligently informed, to control the poAver that is
vested today in the leadership of the union movement.
I think that Avould be one of the best things that could hai:)pen for
the union moA'ement, because, Mr. Chairman, if unions continue to be
aloAved to exercise unbridled control, not only over their membership
Avith their A'ast sums of money, but in the fields of politics and in the
fields of influence, then the American people in their traditional fash-
ion Avill some day rise up and demand restrictive legislation on the
union movement that can only hurt it.
I hope that out of these hearings, if nothing else has hapi)ened, that
the leadership of the union movement in this country recognizes the
fact that they do have poAvei;, and that Avith this poAver they have
responsibility, and that Avith this responsibility they find it aahU rest
not only to themselves as leaders of this movement but to their mem-
bers and the country as a Avhole.
Mr, Chairman, I think these hearings have been productive. They
haA'e been violent, yes, at times, and they have been disagreeable, yes,
at times. Rut on the Avhole, I think they have produced a lot for the
American people, and I think as time goes on, Ave are going to be
glad Ave engaged in them.
The CiiAiRMAX. Senator Curtis ?
Anj^oneelse?
Senator Kennedy.
10378 IMPROPER ACTIVrTIES IX THE LABOR FIELD
Senator Kennedy. I did not hear all of Senator Goldwater's state-
ment, but it seems to me one of the problems, at least in the case of
the Kohler strike, and I imagine a little in the case of the Perfect
Circle, is that on the one hand we criticize the centralization of power
in a union, and on the other hand one of the problems which has been
brought to bear has been the desire of local groups, local unions, to
carry out acts which the central union did not encourage, and, in fact,
disapproved of.
It is not always that it is the central authority which has condoned
acts of violence, but rather whether the central authority of the union
can enforce its discipline, and, if so, would that be regarded as ex-
cessive use of power ^ It seems to me that many of these problems
could be solved by a recognition of a willingness on the part of the
employer to bargain collectively with a union, by the choice of mem-
bership, recognition of local union authority and the necessity of
meeting and maintaining order and speedy action by the National
Labor Relations Board to make sure that the bargaining authority of
the union, if it exists, is recognized by the employer, and if it does not
exist, that that is also brought to the attention of the public in general,
and also dealing with the problem of economic strikers.
One of the problems, it seems to me, in cases of long strikes, such
as we have had in the Kohler matter, has been where strikers are re-
placed and others come in who are not members of the union. The
question comes up as to who is the bargaining agency.
It seems to me that the Permanent Subcommittee on Labor should
consider the question and also, speeding up the procedure of the
National Labor Relations Board, and the responsibility of local
authorities to prevent violence.
Senator Goldwater. Will the Senator yield ?
Senator Kennedy. Yes.
Senator Goldwater. I think the Senator has touched on some in-
teresting and needed points in the field of labor-management relations.
First, you will recall that Mr. Reuther said last week that he felt
the best solution was between the workers immediately affected and
the management immediately affected. If we carry that through,
we would get through to the Senator's desire of having management
bargain with the local people without any interference from the
international level.
In other words, allow the workere in the factory or the plant to
bargain with management and management with those people.
Now, as to the economic striker, as a member of the Senator's Sub-
committee on Labor, I am sure he is aware of an amendment that I
have had in for the Taft-Hartley now for the second Congress, in
which the economic striker's right to vote would be recognized.
Mine is based on 60 days, but I am open to bargaining on that . It
could be 45, 60, or 90, but even the late Senator Taft recognized that
that was one of the weaknesses of the Taft-Hartley Act, that the
economic striker could not vote.
Now, I will not agree that the economic striker should have for
perpetuity the right to come back and vote on grievances or settle-
ments. But certainly there is a period of time that we can agree on
that he should have the right to come back and participate in any
settlements.
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10379
Senator Kennedy. I am not sure we could agree on that length of
time. I do not want to argue it, but I am merely stating that these
are matters that I hope our subconnnittee can consider.
The Chairman. The Chair will make that announcement. Sena-
tor Mundt is not present. This morning he indicated that he wanted
another witness in this particular hearing.
May I inquire, Mr. Rauh, if the witness has been requested to
return ?
Mr. Rauh. We have sent a telegram, sir, to the witness' wife.
The witness is driving. We have sent a telegram to his wife to let
us know the minute he is available, and I think if he gets there to-
night— it is about 500 miles, I guess, to Indianapolis or New Castle,
which is nearby — we could have him back on the first plane in the
morning, which I think gets in here just before 2. If the plane was
on time, we would have him here shortly after 2 o'clock.
The Chairman. When you get in touch with him, will you check
wnth the Chair and if Senator Mundt still wants him, then, we would
have him here.
I had anticipated these hearings would last a little longer. If Sena-
tor Mundt wants him, we will set up a hearing for him.
The Chair cannot hold a hearing on Thursday. At the conclusion
of these hearings, we are going to prepare for another series of hear-
ings involving a matter wholly unrelated to what w^e have been
contending with here in the last few days and the last few weeks.
I shall go Thursday to Philadelphia to hold some executive sessions
and take some testimony there. And then the committee will hold no
further hearings, except to hear this witness if Senator Mundt wants
him. We will hold no further hearings until either the 14th or 15th of
April.
A number of the Senators will be away on Easter vacation, and it
will take us a few days for the staft' to make the necessary preparations.
So if you will check with the Chair as soon as you determine that
the witness has arrived home, I will again check with Senator Mundt,
and we will discuss it at that time and determine what day we could
hear him.
I could hear him Saturday. I would be here. It would probably
give him a day at home in the meantime.
Mr. Rauh. I can be here, too, sir, but I must say I would just as
leave be home on Saturday.
The Chairman. Well, if you work for private enterprise, you can
do a lot of things, but if you work for the public, you are not your
own master. I work for the Government, and I have to do a lot of
things that I would like to defer or do at some more convenient time.
But we wdll work it out so as to accommodate everybody.
If there is nothing further, the committee will stand in recess,
subject to the call of the Chair.
(Whereupon, at 2:40 p. m., the hearing was recessed, subject to
the call of the Chair, with the following members present : Senators
McClellan, Kennedy, Curtis, and Goldw\ater.)
21243 0— 58— pt. 26-
APPENDIX
l^^XHIBIT No. 1
10381
10382 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Exhibit No. 2
nnmkw 12, 19a
MiiSMal Uter teUUoM Bwi4
QMllMBt lt«| teM 1^ ?5-«C-137
1h« Ttiiitl— rt ttelMif lteli4Ml iitwuWU, AlTwun, J^prlmAiai«l
IHplJMirt WMtora ttT Uwffiiw (UJM-CIS) 1* «m»«4mm« tdAh A»Uclt n
iai win Ml m mmt wm >ff cItcfeiMw
'm k. ^t I. fiHlldiag
•«f Hi4U Later lUO. i»&rd» IndiMwpolU
F«pf««i Oir«l<i ^rp. KiahEMOi, In^
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 10383
Exhibit No. 3
^^VSTOMOBllI -AIRCRAFT -AliRICUlTQRAl IMPIIMENI WORKERS
^.^^ /AMERICA (U AW-CIO )
r 14, I
WALTER r. REUTHER RICHARD OOaSER NORMAN MATTHEWS
mniDKNT VICB-PRISIDINT VlCK-PlliaiOlHT
■MILMAZeV JOHN W. LIVINOSTON LEONARD WOODCOCK
RAYMOND H. BERNDT. DimcTOK
REGIONAL OFFICE
t70l W. I«TH STREET
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TELEPHONE: SUB-REGIONAL OFFICE
R«OIONALOrriC«-MELllOM4.7BB4 ^ , ,, , „ . j. 742 W. INDIANA AVENUE
8u..RIOIOMALOrFlc«-AT. S-1SES JUly II, 1^55 SOUTH BEND, INDIANA
To All Perfect Circle
UAW CIO Members
Greetings:
On Friday, July 8th, your International Representative, William Caldwell, was re-
quested to appear in Detroit for the purpose of reporting to International Officers
and Board Members the status of Perfect Circle negotiations. In view of the fact
that Perfect Circle workers have never obtained all of their just rights, the Offi-
cers and Board Members were not surprised to hear that Perfect Circle has ser-
ved a 60-Day Notice to terminate the present agreement and in two meetinjs with
Local Union Representatives, along with International Representative William
Caldwell, the Company has made no proposals for a new agreement. The Company
has listened to our Union's proposals, but without comment.
The International Union believes that Perfect Circle workers are entitled to the
same consideration given workers under contract with firms who use Perfect
Circle products. These firms have granted their employees requests and cer-
tainly expect their suppliers will do likewise. With this in mind, the International
Union is ready and willing to support Perfect Circle workers in their desire to ob-
tain the following benefits: -
Full Union Shop
Ford or General Motors Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan
Standard UAW CIO Pension Agreement
Better Vacation Plan, Holiday Provisions, etc.
Wage Increases
The decision is yours -- you must determine whether or not the Company must
concede these benefits. You make the decision -- your International Union's
position is clear -- your position will have full backing.
With best personal wishes for a successful conclusion to your present negotiations,
I am
Fraternally yours,
Tay^fitHMj^jlT^erndt, Director
Region 3, UAW CIO
RBH:ef
liul805cio
10384 IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD
Exhibit No. 8
' ^tor4 A. ■i.tti.rwla.. ChM)
■ 'V
(Eit^ of '^m Olasti^
y
Srpartmfnt of Putice
HIV CA8TI.I, INDIANA
r*b. 17th, 1958
tlM f*ll*inac liat 9t
OuB Paraits w«r* la«u*d the i
■•nth* *f July,
A«c«at, S«ptMb«r * Oetob«r, 1955.
▲ddraca
iNppli*ati*B BuBb*r
r«ul K, aib«*a
2705 Swmyalda ▲▼«.
B.C.
20916
Clajrt** Aabr«a IKum
C. FnuMls Qftraftok
211 S. 22nA St.
B.C.
20917
924 TtarabuTf St.
1310 Cirol* St.
B.C.
20918
JaeqiwlyB C, S)i*Ar«r
M.U.
20919
Cli«rl«7 B. ftcwell
^•••c BHsh Caldmll
2302 Raa««T*lt At*.
B.C.
20920
2308 Flaa St.
B.C.
20921
Orvtl OiciniMd Gmble
625 S. 22nd. St.
B.C.
20922
«. Clifford Rlok«
627 Oaedwln St.
B.C.
20923
M •wt«n S. Le«k«7
1100 Bimdy At*.
B.C.
2092'*
T]M«»hilu« Ue
1505 W**difard At*.
B.C.
20925
Cliff«rd R. CiMrd
1307 Uo*ln At*.
B.C.
31576
Pftvl H««k
2015 ladiaaa I««
B.C.
31577
-I*st«r Juday
509 C*dar CiriT*
B.C.
31578
Pk«1 Pf«Bniac*r
1227 Rao* St.
B.C.
31580
Jb««Fh 0. PiwUk
31581
Ibrry S. Umllra
iMli* Stail*7
1101 i. 22Bd. St.
B.C.
31582
1620 •<»• At*.
B.C.
^illJ
Rm**! L. Ckard
26li^ (lr*«iiTl*« At*.
B.C.
QHdMr ^uAmj
505 C*dar SrlT*
B.C.
31585
8LU*rr B. H lilac*
2318 •H" At*.
B.C.
31586
J»ha V. MftTMS
1526 'B* At*.
B.C.
31587
Jam* N*elu
7.N.C.A. R**a #58
N.C.
31588
B*7d»a D«dl«r
1221 W*b*t«r At*.
B.C.
31589
SlMlby Reac»B
1802 R*B* St.
B.C.
31590
^, L««t«r «. J»d»y
509 C*dar DriT*
B.C.
31591
Pr«d R. J«a«a
1618 •?• Are.
B.C.
31592
^^Xh«lii«r JttdAjr
505 Cedar DriT*
B.C.
31593
^^ mite B. Jttdigr
Zki*0 Br«ad St.
B.C.
3159^*
Ralph C. SprlBkl*
210 I, Uth St.
B.C.
31595
^CbarUs V. H*«T«r
221 R*ddln«d»l« Dr.
, B.C.
31596
B»bM* Ow«iui
1932 "a" At*.
N.C.
31597
^^aw.l L. Juday
505 C*dar DrlT*
B.C.
31598
^'^^Jaawi Bl«« ll*TiJw
1608 -P- At*.
B.W.
31599
31600
^C««ll Tr«x«U
1810 Spring St.
B.C.
^ iniliaa Hlatm
2231 Ittdlaaa At*.
B.C.
21551
<J»lm W, Xa«t
JasM BraoicaaB
261* S. Uth St.
B.C.
21552
120H K*«r*r St.
i».c.
21553
^^
kJ^(L^<
' '■''If: 7
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 9999 06352 024 9
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11