AFFIDAVIT

I, Coy D. Longing, who resides at Route 4, Norphlet, Ark., freely and voluntarily made the following statements to LaVern J. Duffy, who has identified himself to me as a member of the staff of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. No threat, force, or duress has been used to induce me to make this statement, nor have I received any promise of immunity from any consequences which may result from submission of this statement to the aforementioned Senate select committee.

Since 1948 I have been a member of the executive board of local 706. It has been my firm belief that since Earl and Ermon Griffin came into power of 706, that they have misused the funds of our local. I, feeling very strongly that this was a fact, have during the past 7 years made repeated efforts, unsuccessfully, to examine the financial records of 706. Even though I am an executive board member, I have been refused access to the financial records. Within the past few weeks, the first financial statement of 706 that I have seen in years was made public. This was because a few members of our local union and I wrote to the president of our national union requesting an investigation of the local's finances.

I would also like to say something about the lack of democracy that exists in our union. Oldtime members of our local have been discriminated against as far as getting work because they raised their voices in union meetings, passively sitting by and failing to object when motions were made which were beneficial to Earl and Ermon Griffin and "detrimental" to the membership. I failed to object along with many others because I was in fear of losing my office. I have read the foregoing statement, and to the best of my knowledge it is true and correct.

Witness:

My commission expires June 6, 1963.

COY D. LONGING.

M. B. JOHNSON, Notary Public.

The CHAIRMAN. The affidavits will speak for themselves, but will you give us a brief summary of what the charges are, and what they testify to.

Mr. DUFFY. One of the affidavits contains a point of an individual who complained at a union meeting of a raise in salary of the union. officials. He made an objection at the union meeting, and as a result of that he was fired from his job the next day. He attributes that to the fact he had made an objection.

The CHAIRMAN. He did attend the union meeting at which the salaries of the officers were raised; at the time he made objection to it, and the next day he was fired from his job?

Mr. DUFFY. That is correct.

We also have two affidavits from members of the executive board who have been refused access to the financial records of the local. The CHAIRMAN. Who are they?

Mr. DUFFY. That is Mr. Ralph Lucas and Mr. Coy D. Longing, both members of the executive board.

The CHAIRMAN. They are members of the executive board of this local?

Mr. DUFFY. Local 706.

The CHAIRMAN. And they have been refused access to what?

Mr. DUFFY. To the financial records.

The CHAIRMAN. Although they are members of the board of directors or trustees?

Mr. DUFFY. It is the board of trustees.

The CHAIRMAN. They are denied access to the financial records of the local?

Mr. DUFFY. That is right.

The CHAIRMAN. They so testify in their affidavits; do they?

Mr. DUFFY. They do, Senator.

The CHAIRMAN. Is this a recent thing, this denying access?

Mr. DUFFY. It has been over a long period of time.

The CHAIRMAN. It has been a continuous thing, denying them access; is that correct?

Mr. DUFFY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. I should think now that under the new law, they could go into court and compel the opening of the books to them. Anyway, that is what you found and that is what you have testified to; is that correct?

Mr. DUFFY. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. You said something there about reprisals a moment ago. That would be in connection with the lack of democratic rule and democratic processes. What evidence did you have of that?

Mr. DUFFY. We found individuals who as I said objected to the raise of salary of $25 apiece for the union officials at a union meeting and he stood up and made that objection.

The CHAIRMAN. That is just one.

Mr. DUFFY. Yes, that is one. We have a lot of general information but lack of specific instances where individuals have been refused jobs. It runs through all of these affidavits, Senator.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, based on some statements that have been made to me by people who presumably know, they have reported to me that reprisals are invoked against anyone who opposes the union officials at union meetings.

Mr. DUFFY. That is the theme that runs through these affidavits, yes.

The CHAIRMAN. It seems that you get your job in this union, or if jobs come along, they are assigned out from the union hall, from somebody in the union, is that correct?

Mr. DUFFY. That is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. In other words, they have a job assignment system or program, is that right?

Mr. DUFFY. That is right.

The CHAIRMAN. And those who don't go along with the officers are kept hungry while the others work?

Mr. DUFFY. That is right.

The CHAIRMAN. That is in substance the complaint that has been made to me. Did you find the same complaints in the course of your investigation?

Mr. DUFFY. I did, Senator, and they are contained in these affidavits.

The CHAIRMAN. They are contained there. In other words, the affidavits submitted cover that point.

Mr. DUFFY. I would like to read one through here which is interesting. It states:

I, myself, have worked only 2 months during the last year due to my failure to go along with Mr. Earl and Ermon Griffin. Earlier this year I had a conversation with Ermon Griffin and he said I wasn't a good enough politician to work out of the local.

This is just another example of how the Griffins operate. People who objected to the way things are going get no work. Most of the memberships are afraid to speak out against the Griffin regime be

cause they have families to support and they need the work. This is the general type of statement that is contained in these affidavits.

The CHAIRMAN. The affidavits by James R. Lucas and Coy D. Longing, to which the witness has referred, if they have not already been made exhibits, will be so submitted.

Mr. DUFFY. These are included in the seven affidavits.

The CHAIRMAN. The witness advises that they were among the

seven.

Mr. DUFFY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Those were made exhibit 13 previously.

While we are on this question about democratic processes, before we get into another aspect of it, let us find out what information you gathered there regarding the charge of a rigged election. Do you have some affidavits on that charge?

Mr. DUFFY. I have four affidavits covering that point. It relates to a local in Tulsa, Okla. Local 798 is the local involved. An individual that they were seeking to reelect during that year was a man by the name of Jim Craddock. The information that we secured from these four depositions show that these individuals, 40 or 50 individuals, were told how to vote in this election, to go to Baton Rouge, La., and vote for this individual.

The CHAIRMAN. You mean members from one local voted in the election of another local?

Mr. DUFFY. Yes, they were told to clear their books into a clearinghouse center in Baton Rouge, La., for this election, and they were told to send their books over there and clear them in so that they would be eligible to vote and then were transferred over to vote and did vote.

The CHAIRMAN. In other words, they were transferred out of the El Dorado local?

Mr. DUFFY. Temporarily.

The CHAIRMAN. Înto what local?

Mr. DUFFY. Local 798.

The CHAIRMAN. That is in the local 798 at Tulsa, Okla., for the purpose of voting in an approaching election?

Mr. DUFFY. I think it is very clear. These depositions aren't very long and I would like to read certain excerpts from them.

The CHAIRMAN. Identify your affidavit there, or deposition, so we can make them a part of the record.

Mr. DUFFY. The first deposition is from Mr. J. Truett Longing, and he resides at 611 West 10th Street in Crossett, Ark.

Now, he says in his deposition

The CHAIRMAN. Let us get all of that in the record.

Mr. DUFFY. All right.

The second one is from Mr. A. M. Evans, who resides at 400 North Walnut Street, Warren, Ark.

The third is from Mr. J. T. Mitchell, Box 450, El Dorado, Ark. And also from James W. Jones, who resides

The CHAIRMAN. Is it John W.?

Mr. DUFFY. James W. Jones, 1416 Helm Street, El Dorado, Ark. The CHAIRMAN. You have the four affidavits?

Mr. DUFFY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. These affidavits may be made exhibit No. 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D, and made a part of the record.

(The documents referred to were marked "Exhibits 14A to 14D," respectively and may be found in the files of the subcommittee.) (The affidavits are as follows:)

AFFIDAVIT

I, J. Truett Longing, who reside at 611 West 10th, Crossett, Ark., freely and voluntarily make the following statement to LaVern J. Duffy, who has identified himself to me as a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. No threat, force, or duress has been used to induce me to make this statement, nor have I received any promise of immunity from any consequences which may result from submission of this statement to the aforementioned Senate select committee.

Since the year 1946, I have been a member of Local 706, Steamfitters & Plumbers Union, El Dorado, Ark.

In the past 3 weeks I have receive a withdrawal card from the union, and I am now working at the Crossett Paper Mill in Crossett.

In the year 1955, I was working on the construction of a mill in Crossett when George Wolfe, a member of the executive board of local 706, approached me and said "that I should clear my book into local 798 in Tulsa, Okla." He said that these orders came from Earl Griffin and that if we would do this for him that he would do us some good, later on down the line. It was apparent to me that Griffin was trying to control an election outside the local, but I decided to go along and told him that I would clear my book into the local. It is my understanding that between 50 and 60 members cleared into the Tulsa local in order to guarantee the reelection of Jim Craddock. I remember local 706 chartered a bus to Baton Rouge, La., which was the clearinghouse where we were to vote for the union officials of local 798. The driver of the bus that took the men to Baton Rouge, La., to vote in the election of Craddock was Jimmy Jones and his busline was the Continental Southern Line. I understand that the local 706 paid for the bus expenses and also the expenses incurred in the movement of the men to Baton Rouge, La.

Ted Nordmeyer was the individual of local 706 who handled the cash and gave it to the men who went on the bus. I recall that when it was time to leave, a number of the men did not show up, so other men used their books and went on to Baton Rouge to vote. Jim Craddock was easily reelected to the Tulsa local.

I would also like to comment on the bad system that exists in the local relating to the blackballing of certain members who have had the gumption to stand up at union meetings and speak their minds. It is standard practice in the local that anyone who stands up and objects to the manner in which the Griffins run our union are discriminated against, and soon find themselves out looking for work. I have seen men who have disagreed with Earl Griffin and his practices sit on the bench a couple of years while other men from outside the area were allowed to work.

I have read the foregoing statement, and to the best of my knowledge it is true and correct.

Witness:

My commission expires September 1, 1964.

J. TRUETT LONGING.

SYLVIA J. EVANS, Notary Public.

AFFIDAVIT

No

I, A. M. Evans, who reside at 400 North Walnut Street, Warren, Ark., make the following statement freely and voluntarily to LaVern J. Duffy, who has identified himself to me as a member of the staff of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. threat, force, or duress has been used to induce me to make this statement, nor have I received any promise of immunity from any consequences which may result from submission of this statement to the aforementioned Senate select committee.

Since the year 1951 I have been a member of the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 706, El Dorado, Ark. Besides working out of local 706 I am also an ordained Baptist minister.

I would like at this time to relate an incident that occurred in November or December of 1955, at which time I made a bad error in judgment regarding my activities in local 706. One of the members of local 706 and it was either Curtis Porter, "Red" Yocum, or George Wolfe, who made the statement to me that there was going to be an election of officers in local 798 of the Pipefitters Union in Tulsa, Okla., and it was important to get the right man in office as business manager. I was then asked by one of these three men to clear my union book into local 798 so that I could vote for the man 706 wanted elected. Without fully realizing at the time the terrible mistake I was making, I gave my union book and poll-tax receipt to Jimmy Baker and Omer Johnston and told them to give it to Curtis Porter. It was at this time that I realized that Earl Griffin, who is an international organizer for our union and who controls local 706, was also attempting to rig an election in another State.

It has become clear to me since 1955 that Earl Griffin and his brother Ermon Griffin, have run local 706 with an iron fist. They have discriminated against members of our local union who have spoken out against their dictatorial policies at union meetings. I am sorry to admit that I am one of many in the local union who have been afraid to stand up against Earl and Ermon Griffin because most of us have families to support and need our jobs. I have seen the Griffins keep men out of work for long periods of time because the rank and file member had the nerve to challenge their policies.

I have read the foregoing statement, and to the best of my knowledge it is true and correct.

Witness:

My commission expires February 10, 1962.

A. M. EVANS.

J. B. LANIER, Notary Public.

AFFIDAVIT

I, J. T. Mitchell, who reside at Route 1, Box 450, El Dorado, Ark., freely and voluntarily make the following statement to LaVern J. Duffy, who has identified himself to me as a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. No threat, force, or duress has been used to induce me to make this statement, nor have I received any promise of immunity from any consequences which may result from submission of this statement to the aforementioned Senate select committee.

Since July 6, 1948, I have been a member of local 706, Steamfitters and Plumbers Union, El Dorado, Ark.

In the latter part of 1955, Ted Nordmeyer approached me and asked me if I would make a trip to Baton Rouge, La., to vote for Jim Craddock in an election being held then. He said that Delton Fistchue was supposed to make the trip but his wife was ill and that he could not go. He asked me to take the place of Fistchue and vote for Craddock in the election.

The following morning, around 7 a.m., Ted Nordmeyer met me at the bus which transported some 30 to 40 men to Baton Rouge, La., to vote in the election. He handed me Fistchue's book and told me to vote for Craddock.

We arrived in Baton Rouge around noon and we were given a free chicken dinner, all we could eat. I remember putting some chicken in a bag that I had left over and "Red" Yocum ate it when we returned to El Dorado.

When we finished eating, we went to the hotel where I voted for Craddock. After the voting we all went into an adjoining room where there was free liquor for everyone.

I have read the foregoing statement, and to the best of my knowledge it is true and correct.

Witness:

My commission expires September 1, 1964.

J.T. MITCHELL.

SYLVIA J. EVANS, Notary Public.