During my employment at Pine Bluff on the arsenal, Mr. Alfred M. Yocom issued instructions that all men working on this job should pay an assessment in the amount of $3.50 each week or be terminated. I also wish to state, he also stated that no man would receive a receipt who was working on a permit or from an out-of-town local and that receipts would be issued to men from local 706. I have read the above affidavit consisting of one page; the above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. U. L. JACKSON. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 16th day of January 1960. SYLVIA J. EVANS, Notary Public. AFFIDAVIT STATE OF ARKANSAS, I, John W. Garlington, Route 213 61, El Dorado, Ark., being duly sworn depose and state: During the years 1951 to 1953 I was employed by the Blaw-Knox Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., with employment at Pine Bluff, on the arsenal, as a foreman, and I work 12 men on my crew. During my employment at Pine Bluff, on the arsenal, Mr. Alfred M. Yocom issued instructions that all men working on this job should pay an assessment in the amount of $3.50 each week. I also wish to state, he also stated that no man would receive a receipt that was working on a permit or from an out-oftown local and that receipts would be issued to men from local 706. I have read the above affidavit consisting of one page; the above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. JOHN W. GARLINGTON. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 16th day of January 1960. SYLVIA J. EVANS, Notary Public. Mr. MUNDIE. In addition to those affidavits, I have other affidavits of men working for the Lion Oil Co. who during the period of April 30, 1952, to August 3, 1952, secured working permits from Earl Griffin, of local 706, in El Dorado, to go to Pine Bluff, Ark., and go to work. These men were individually contacted and signed that they also paid the $3.50 per week while employed at Pine Bluff, and did not get any receipts. All people who were contacted without exception paid the $3.50. The CHAIRMAN. Now, may I inquire about this last group that you speak of here. Were they members of the union, or were they simply permitted to work? Mr. MUNDIE. They were not members of local 706, but they were working on a work permit which they secured from Earl Griffin, or local 706, at El Dorado, Ark., to obtain employment at Pine Bluff, Ark., under the jurisdiction of local 706. The CHAIRMAN. In other words, they were not members of either of these three locals of the joint venture project. Mr. MUNDIE. That is correct. The CHAIRMAN. They may have been members of some other local, somewhere else? Mr. MUNDIE. They were members of some other local, in El Dorado, Ark., that was on strike, but nothing to do with this particular union. They just picked them up, sent them up there, gave them a job. They had to pay this assessment money and were not furnished any receipts. The CHAIRMAN. Here is one affidavit that you have submitted signed by a large number of people, and it is Mr. MUNDIE. There are 113 of them. The CHAIRMAN. There are some 113 people here and I don't see the date of it. It may be printed in the record at this point. Then you also have an affidavit from O. G. Gammill, of 926 Kenwood Street, El Dorado. Those may be printed in the record also, and the two will be made exhibits No. 6-A and B. (The documents were marked "Exhibits 6-A and B" and may be found in the files of the subcommittee.) (The affidavits referred to follow :) We, the undersigned, wish to make the following statements: (1) That during the period April 30, 1952, to August 3, 1952, the Lion Oil Co., El Dorado, Ark., was engaged in a strike. (2) That the Local Union 706 of the Steamfitters and Plumbers were issuing working permits to men that were striking. (3) That we, the undersigned, receive a permit from local 706 and went to Pine Bluff, Ark., to work on the arsenal. (4) That we, the undersigned, paid an assessment in the amount of $3.50 each week we work in Pine Bluff, Ark., and we didn't get a receipt from our foreman, who collected the assessment. Joe E. Haile, Gordon S. Wood, Doyle O. Nisbit, Theo F. Dudney, J. C. I, O. G. Gammill, of El Dorado, Kans., being duly sworn, deposes and state: That each and every man whose name is signed above, was contacted by me and read the four items. That they stated to me that the above is true and correct. This list consists of names and― pages. O. G. GAMMILL. SYLVIA J. EVANS, Notary Public. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 16th day of January 1960. [SEAL] STATE OF ARKANSAS, AFFIDAVIT County of Union, ss: I, O. G. Gammill, 926 Kenwood Street, El Dorado, Ark., being duly sworn, depose and state: I make this statement at the request of James F. Mundie, known to me to be an investigator for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. This statement is made of my own free will without any promises of favor of immunity. During the period from May 4, 1952, to August 4, 1953, I was employed by the Blaw-Knox Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., with employment at Pine Bluff, on the arsenal, by a work order issued from local 706. Also during the above period, the Lion Oil Co., El Dorado, Kans., was engaged in a strike, that is why I obtained employment at local 706. During my employment at Pine Bluff, Ark., my foreman came to me and collected an assessment in the amount of $3.50 each week and I didn't receive a receipt for my money. On January 11, 1960, I contacted 77 men [list attached] whom I knew worked on the Pine Bluff job, from the Lion Oil Co. strike, who all stated that they worked longer than 1 week, therefore they paid the assessment in the amount of $3.50 each week. I also wish to state the men mentioned above didn't get any receipt for their money according to my conversation with them. I have read the above affidavit consisting of two pages; the above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Sworn to before me this 13th day of January 1960. [SEAL] List of names furnished by O. G. Gammill: L. A. Thompson J. W. Cross W. E. Underwood H. B. Webb W. L. Enis J. M. Wilson Ray Bush Ed House O. G. GAMMILL. SYLVIA J. EVANS, Notary Public. A. L. Staples E. T. Summerhill Mr. DUFFY. Could I summarize three significant points from these affidavits? The CHAIRMAN. All right. Mr. DUFFY. No. 1, all workers contacted without exception paid this assessment money. The general foreman we received depositions from received specific instructions from Mr. Alfred M. Yocom, the union steward for union local 706, to the effect that they were not to furnish receipts to the workers who contributed this $3.50 a week assessment money, but only the workers from 706 were to receive receipts. The CHAIRMAN. If they were not members of 706, no receipt was to be given to them? Mr. DUFFY. That is correct. Now, the foremen acknowledged in their affidavits that they received instructions not to furnish receipts to any workers except those that worked out of local 706. They acknowledged that in their affidavits. Anyone who did not pay this assessment money was terminated from his employment. The CHAIRMAN. Did you learn of any instance where they were terminated? Mr. DUFFY. Those are contained in the affidavits that were referred to. In summary, then, we can say that from the 10 foremen who were contacted, it would cover approximately 100 to 150 men. We have an additional 113 men from the Lion Chemical job that were individually contacted and that would cover between 200 and 260 men, that all paid this assessment money without exception. The CHAIRMAN. Did anyone whom you contacted that worked on that job make any claim or give you any information that would indicate that any were exempted or excused from making this $3.50-aweek payment? Mr. DUFFY. No, Senator. The CHAIRMAN. Everybody contended, and the foremen and the supervisors all conceded that the money was collected? Mr. DUFFY. That is correct. The CHAIRMAN. From everyone who worked? Mr. DUFFY. That is right. The CHAIRMAN. And the records from the accounting section of the Army show that if they all paid, it would run $224,000 plus? Mr. DUFFY. That is correct. The CHAIRMAN. Now, did you contact Mr. Griffin on this score and ascertain from him any facts about this matter? Mr. DUFFY. After we developed this aspect of the case, we contacted Mr. Griffin. He refused to discuss this subject with us. The CHAIRMAN. You told him what you had? Mr. DUFFY. He would not even consent to meet with us. The CHAIRMAN. You tried to contact him and have him meet with you? Mr. DUFFY. Through his attorney. His attorney advised that he would not meet with us, and he would only appear in Washington before the committee to discuss this subject. We also tried to contact Mr. Red Yocom, the union steward on the job, and he also advised us that he would not discuss this subject with us. The CHAIRMAN. In other words, you did try to secure from them the information or any refutation or any explanation. Mr. DUFFY. That is correct, Senator. The CHAIRMAN. Of this information that you had. Mr. DUFFY. That is correct. The CHAIRMAN. And they declined to talk to you? The CHAIRMAN. Or to confer with you about it? The CHAIRMAN. Is that correct? Mr. MUNDIE. That is correct. In addition to the affidavits that have been made exhibits in this investigation, I contacted Mr. Kelley, who was employed out there as a permit man and later became a union man of local 706, who worked in the office there. May I read a pertinent part of that? The CHAIRMAN. That affidavit may be made exhibit No. 7 and it may also be printed in the record at this point. (The document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 7" and may be found in the files of the subcommittee.) I, Stephen H. Kelley, 424 South Park Street, El Dorado, Ark., make this statement at the request of James F. Mundie, known to me to be an investigator for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor or Management Field. This statement is made of my own free will, without any promises of favor or immunity. During the period from November 30, 1951, to May 30, 1953, I was employed by the Blaw-Knox Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., with employment at Pine Bluff, Ark., as a fitter. I was employed as a permit man and received my union card from local 706, El Dorado, in October 1952. During the above period I was not working with tools; I was working in the office, keeping employment and assessment records. It was a card record of everybody in the craft. It contained the name, their home address, the book number, the social security number, and the record of the assessments that were paid, also their home local. If they didn't have a book number it was marked "Permit." While working in the office, I overheard Alfred Yocum telling Curtis Porter and George Wolfe that the men had to pay the assessments or go. He also said that the boys from out-of-town locals and permit men had to pay the assessment, and that they would not get a receipt. I also heard Yocum tell the foreman not to accept any personal checks from out-of-town local men or permit me. During the period mentioned above, I made up slips of all of the men who had not paid the assessment, in the amount of $3.50 each week for Mr. Yocum. If a man failed to pay the above assessment and got behind either 4 or 5 weeks, he was terminated. I have read the above affidavit, consisting of two pages. The above is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. STEPHEN H. KELLEY. SYLVIA J. EVANS, Notary Public. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of January 1960. [SEAL] Mr. MUNDIE. Mr. Kelley stated that during the above period he was not working with tools. I was working in the office keeping employment and assessment records. It was a card record of everybody in the craft. It contained the name, their home address, the book number, the social security number and the record of the assessments that were paid, also their home local. If they didn't have a book number it was marked "permit." While working in the office, I overheard Alfred Yocum telling Curtis Porter and George Wolfe that the men had to pay the assessments or go. He also said that the boys from out-of-town locals and permit men had to pay the assessments, and that they would not get a receipt. I also heard Yocum tell the foreman not to accept any personal checks from out-of-town local men or permit men. During the period mentioned above, I made up slips of all of the men who had not paid the assessment in the amount of $3.50 each week for Mr. Yocum. If a man failed to pay the above assessment and got behind either 4 or 5 weeks, he was terminated. These records that Mr. Kelley kept while employed at Pine Bluff are not available, or were not available to the investigators for inspection. The CHAIRMAN. Had they been destroyed? Mr. MUNDIE. Mr. Earl Griffin stated that all records prior to 1955 were destroyed. The CHAIRMAN. I have here an affidavit from Mr. Ray Chambless, who was one of those that signed the agreement representing local No. 665, at Pine Bluff. Would you identify it, Mr. Duffy? Mr. DUFFY. Yes. We also had a wire here which I think that we should put in the record first. It states that from 1951 instructions were issued from the Washington office here in Washington that local 665 would not have to pay this assessment money into local 706. The CHAIRMAN. In other words, this is a wire dated September 3, 1951. This wire is from Jerry V. Ryan, general organizer, to Dave Dove, business representative, local union 155, 112112 West Markham, Little Rock, Ark. It may be printed in the record at this point, and will be made exhibit No. 8. (The document was marked "Exhibit No. 8" and may be found in the files of the subcommittee.) |