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OFFICERS' REPORT 97st INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ~ uj of the American Flint Glass ^o i5ii O Workers Union ^3 AFL-CIO Hollywood, Florida ________________ I BB 0000906 1 June 1977 01 3199 1 *<u.* i .j r* M*r ,r%. l a. ! NOT COME FROM PPG FILES REPORT OF INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT GEORGE M. PARKER i The American Flint Glass Workers Union organized on July 1, 1878 iu the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is now in its 00th year of cxistcucc. It is recog nized not only as one of the oldest, but one of the most respected trade unions within the labor movement of the world. Approximately 400 Delegatus, represent* ing 100 local unions lutvu assembled here in Hollywood, Florida in the 91st Inter national Convention. Through 1959, the Union mot annually. Conventions held in the curly years, and through the 1920's luul little resemblance to present convention arrangements. The organization for more than forty years was comprised of on exclusively male membership of skilled glossworkcrs and mold makor*. There were no women among the membership. Thu number of Delegatus in tho Convention varied from the 81 men .who were in attendance at the first Convection to 183 Delegates that were in the 1930 Convention held in Wildwood, New Jersey. C3 CO In those early days, Conventions were held during tho summer months; usually in* tho mouth of July when tho glass furnace* O were down for ropuir. Convention sessions were usually held in the auditorium of a local high school and the delegates found room accommodations with the residents of the town where the Convention was held. Large hotels, motels and meeting com plexes uuw avuilubio did not exist in those days. The major CL. : Q. hotels that did exist in these early days that could accommodate large groups were located in major cities. Bates wore usually such that they could not be afforded by plant workers who made o up tho delegation. The rocords and library of tho International Union aro full of memorabilia of'those bygone days. It is always difficult to satisfy everyone concerning tho site of a Union Convention. Back in those days, however, Conven tions were held in such cities as Steubenville, Ohio; Evansville, Indiana; Sandusky, Ohio; Cumberland, Maryland; Egg Harbor, New Jersey; Morion, Indiana; Cambridge and Tiffin, Ohio, and :,2 u -- o LaJ o other small towns that were then the center of major glass pro o o duction facilities. With the passage of tho Wagner Act, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, an entire new era of unionism bum on the American scene. Workers for the first time obtained the full right of franchise to select by secret ballot a collective bargaining agent of their own choosing, and managers and plant owners were forbidden by law from taking action against work ers which hod long prevented them from joining Unions without liarusxwout uud fear. The yearning for a voice in their working V i l 12 _________________ J"BB_0000307 J 01 320^ class industry. Where in lln* past the xiimincr months have boon limns nf curtailment avc may find that our plants will hr husv preparin': orders lor winter; ns cns may bp available in flip .sum mer months that will not lie available in the polder mouths when millions of homes must be heated by eax in addition in meetinc tile necessities of industry. The t'arter administration has a comprehensive program before1 ('oncress on the entire enercy question. There is wide debate eooeerninc all aspects of the issue, lint while the debate races 1 lie problem will eonfinue and if answers are not round jl will be the class worlcers and others wlm labor in 1 lie unlion's fortunes who will Imvi* tlieir livelihoods affeeted as a result of jdanl shutdowns. Answers must be found to ibis complex problem. Health Problem at Port Allegany We ntiempt In keep tlie membership abreast of the major arlivitirs of the International I'nion throuch Ihe trade eireular. It is impossible and sometimes inadvisable In reproduce in the trade eireular every!bine that transpires. We believe, however, that our membership should laimv of the tremendous amount of work we have been doinc over the p:is- Tew years to be helpful to mir membership employed in the I'oH Allegany, I'ennsvlvania plant of the | 'it t sliiirc h t'online t`orporalion. In lllfi-l I'ittslnirch t'orninc introdueed into the Port Alle* canv planl a manufaeiiiriin; operntimi flint required Ihe use of junosite asbestos. The product manufactured of 1 his materia! was used tor insulation and sold under the trade name " Ioiliest ns." Il was manufac-'ured in the planl from IIKit im 1 i! PI7L' when it was slopped. It was discontinued as a rcsnO of revelations eomiuc out of other plants where asbestos was used to ihe Jiffret 1 bat asbestos was a serious Imahli hazard snb.jeetinc those exposed In il to mesothelioma fcancer of the littinc of the lungs or abdomen) and in addition cancer of the onion and reel uni. Over a period of lime il was estimated that more than Win workers affiliated with our l/neal Mil!) were exposed in lh<' dancer. The symptoms of the illness ilo not show up immediately, but liecin to appear from fifteen to twenty ye.vs alter exposure, Il has been estimated that approximately one third of ihnso exposed die nf asbestos related diseases. We are sure that many h.uvr seen on television or read in tin* press of instances in recent limes where workers have hren exposed uuknowincly to various cancer causing acenls and chemi cals used in industrial processes ihrnitahnul the nation. We were (irst alerted to the Port Allegany situation by l)r. W. M. .lobnson who was previously affiliated with the United States Department of Health, I.aier we eonlaeled Drs. Irvine Selikoff and Kdwin Holstein affiliated with ihe Blount Sinai School oT Medicine of the ('ity I nivi"sity of New Vorl;. These two doctors and particularly Dr. SidiKolf are reeocni/ed as world authorities on diseases caused by asbestos and other exposures to toxie chemicals and materials. In conjunction with the International Union the doctors have drawn up a program to lie put in place in Port Allegany in the near fuluru that would monitor the health of all those exposed so that remedial treatment might be instituted at the earliest state that a malignancy might occur, or on indication be given that infection is beginning. This program would cost in excess of $J00,000 a year to implement. We are awaiting the reply of the company. We are hopeful that we will receive a favorable answer, but if we do not we do not intend to allow the mutter to rest. We believe it is the responsibility of the company, under whose direction and within whose premises the men were exposed, to do everything possible to preserve their health in the years ahead. We arc certain that we can save many lives by curly detection. We also included in conjunction with the program on educationul campaign urging those who smoke to discontinue their use of tobacco, ltoscareh has demonstrated that those who use tobacco and also been exposed to asbestos have u greater risk of contracting mesothelioma than non-smokers. Contract Negotiations for 1977 The lest major contracts of the American Flint Gloss Work ers Union were of three years duration and were negotiated in the second half of 1974 and the first half of 1975. All of these major contracts are expiring in the months ahead. These contracts arc applicable to mold makers employed in the glass container and. commercial mold industry, which cover approximately 4,000 journeymen mold makers and apprentices, in addition to automatic machine plant contracts with companies such as the Idbbey Glass Division of Owens-Illinois, Anchor Hocking Corporation, Federal Glass Company, Brockway Glass Company, Jeannette Corporation, and Indium Glass must be agreed upon. Two contracts must also be negotiated with the Kimble Division of Owens-Illinois located at Vineland, New Jer sey and Warsaw, Indiana. About 10,000 members of our union are employed in these automatic machine plant factories pro ducing pressed end blown glass tableware, baiting ware, and other glam product!. Contracts will also be expiring applicable to more than 11,000 or more workers employed in twenty-four plants through out the United States end Canada of the Corning Glass Works. The negotiations with Corning usually begin with tho lead con tract being consummated in Corning, New York following which each of the branch plant contracts aro negotiated. With twentyfour plants involved contract talks usually begin early in Novem ber and continue until all contracts ore negotiated in the twentyfour plants. Usually negotiations with Corning do not end until the month of June. This, of course, is a tremendous task and requires the full attention of tho International President. On several occasions local unions have requested that I should head their particular contract negotiations. It is just impossible for me to do so. The major pattern of glsss industry settlements usually emerges from the contract negotiations con- 24 01 3202