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LOCAL 706, PLUMBERS UNION, EL DORADO, ARK.

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In order to further substantiate the above, the affidavits of the following pipefitters on this job were obtained to establish that they worked on this project, never paid any assessment or voluntary contribution into local 706 and that their jobs on this project were not affected one way or the other by their nonpayment.

Affidavit number and name:

37. Kenneth Herbert Andrews.

48. Richard Ison ((paid partial).

7. Earl W. Alexander.

38. Robert H. Tinsley. 39. E. B. Wheelis.

40. Walter E. Yarbrough.

6. William Roland McAdoo (paid some weeks and other weeks he did not). At the meeting of the Arkansas Pipe Trades Association held in El Dorado, Ark., on November 15, 1952, this assessment matter was fully and thoroughly discussed. This Pipe Trades Association is an organization of all the local unions in the United Association located in Arkansas. Mr. Dave Dove, the then business agent of local union 155 of Little Rock, and Mr. Ray Chambless, the then business agent of local union 665 of Pine Bluff, were present at this meeting when this assessment matter was thoroughly discussed, and they knew that any of their members who were paying into local 706 were doing so on a voluntary basis. The following is an excerpt from the minutes of the abovementioned meeting of the Arkansas State Pipe Trades Association on this matter:

"Brother Earl Griffin: Tells of gross proceeds of job being $50,000. Some men have left job without paying freight. No one was forced to deviate from U.A. constitution. Strictly voluntary that each man pay same as man working beside him. Explains setup in 706 for collecting assessments. States if any

man was forced to pay over $1 per month to submit proof and the one who pressured him will be penalized."

Attached hereto are the affidavits of the following to establish this: Affidavit number and name:

7. Earl W. Alexander.

15. O. B. Coonradt.

On January 12, 1952, the Arkansas Pipe Trades Association and locals 454 of Hot Springs, 665 of Pine Bluff, 29 of Fort Smith, 31 of Jonesboro, and 155 of Little Rock, sent a joint letter to Mr. Martin P. Durkin, the then general president of the United Association, in Washington, D.C., a part of which is as follows:

"We further testify that local 706 and its officers have proven their union connections by freely and without reservation assisted every local union of this State in protecting the jurisdiction and the employment of their members, and in financing favorable legislation, and at no time have any of the undersigned unions, or their members, been purposely abused, ignored, or deprived of work.” [Italic supplied.]

Two of the signers of this letter are Mr. Dave Dove of local 155 in Little Rock and Mr. Ray S. Chambless of the Pine Bluff local No. 665. This statement of Mr. Dove and Mr. Chambless seems to be contra to the affidavits given to this committee.

Attention is also invited to the affidavits of Mr. Brummett, Mr. Coonradt, and Mr. Wright, being Nos. 8, 15, and 50, respectively. These men were the business agents of the Jackson, Miss., local, Hot Springs, Ark., local, and the Fort Smith, Ark., local during construction work. All of these business agents fully understood that there was no obligation on the part of their members to pay anything into local 706.

Also attached hereto is an affidavit of John W. Garlington (affidavit No. 28), which is the same John W. Garlington who has previously given an affidavit to this committee. It will be noted that the inference in Mr. Garlington's first short affidavit given to this committee is completely explained if not contradicted.

With regard to the persons who were on strike at Lion Chemical Co. in El Dorado and were employed on this project by Blaw-Knox, none of these people stated to this committee that they were required to pay anything into local 706 in order to work on this project. These people merely state that they paid into local 706 while working on this project. In order to clarify this matter, affidavits were secured from some of the men in this category who plainly state that what money they paid into local 706 while working on this job was

purely voluntary on their part and that they were not forced to do so in order to retain their employment on this project.

The men who gave affidavits to clear this point up are:

Affidavit number and name:

42. James Willie Garrett.

43. J. K. Andress, R. E. Gay, and J. J. Bailey.

44. Dale C. Webb.

41. Finis Lee, Jr.

From the above affidavits it will be seen that any money paid to local 706 by persons on the Pine Bluff job who were nonmembers of local 706 were voluntary contributions on the part of such men. It is also apparent that the men on the job who were nonmembers of local 706 and who did not make a voluntary contribution were not fired or discriminated against in any manner. In spite of the affidavit of Nix, we submit that there is no evidence in this record to substantiate an allegation that anyone was fired from this job because they failed to pay any money into local 706.

B. The agreement between locals 706, 155, and 665

This agreement provided that the revenues from the job should be divided equally between the above three locals after the expenses of policing the job were paid. This agreement, of course, contemplated that working assessments contained in the bylaws of the three locals would be the same and that the members of locals 706, 155, and 665 would all pay $3.50 per week into this joint venture pursuant to the terms and provisions of the bylaws of each of the local unions.

This agreement was never placed into effect inasmuch as it was canceled by the international office. I was told that inasmuch as local 706 had jurisdiction over the project, that it was the responsibility of local 706 to police the job and that the workers on the project, other than members of local 706, would not be required to pay a working assessment into local 706.

The other signers of this agreement were also notified by the international office that this agreement could not be carried into effect, and Mr. Dave Dove and Mr. Ray Chambless, the then business agents of locals 155 and 665, respectively, acknowledged this fact in their affidavits which are a part of the record which has been made before this committee.

I opened this joint account in the bank as has been established before this committee and, although the agreement had been rendered null and void by the international office, the money collected from the Pine Bluff job was placed in this account until I divided the balance therein into the three accounts of local union 706, i.e., building fund, organizing fund, and general fund.

Locals 155 and 665 have never made any claim upon the money in this account and they are, of course, not entitled to any.

As will be seen by some of the affidavits attached and the other record in this matter, all of the people who paid money into local 706 while working on the Pine Bluff Arsenal job did not pay it through the envelope method and some paid it directly into the office of local 706 and it was placed in the other accounts of local 706 during this period of time, that is, the organizing fund, building fund, and general fund.

As can be seen from the withdrawals from this joint account, very little of this money was used in policing the job at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, and most of the costs of policing the job at the Pine Bluff Arsenal was paid from the general fund and organizing fund of the regular accounts of the local union. C. The amount of money collected from the Pine Bluff Arsenal job and the disposition thereof

All of the members of local 706 who were working on the Pine Bluff Arsenal job were required under the bylaws of local 706 to pay a $3.50 working assessment into the treasury of local 706. Local 706 had no recourse to enforce the payment of this $3.50 per week from its members as required by the bylaws other than the refusal to accept the monthly dues until the working assessments had been paid. No one was ever terminated from working on this job because of the failure to pay his working assessments, whether such person be a member or nonmember of local union 706. As the affidavit of E. B. Wheelis (affidavit No. 39) will show, even some of the members of local 706 failed to pay this working assessment and their right to work on this project was never interfered with in any way.

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