required to pay into the building fund of the local $1.50 for that week. If a member worked in excess of 16 hours in any workweek, such member was required to pay the full $3.50 working assessment per week into local union 706. This $3.50 per week was distributed into three separate funds of the local, to wit: $1.50 building fund, $1 organizing fund, and $1 general fund.

Thus, if a member worked only 8 hours in a week, he pays nothing for that week, if a member works 16 hours for that week, he pays $1.50 into the building fund, and if a member works in excess of 16 hours for the week, he pays the entire $3.50 into the local.

This so-called working assessment of the members is in addition to the $4.50 per month which each member pays as dues.

If a member fails to pay his working assessment or his dues, he is not discharged from his job, for this local union has had no "closed shop" or "union shop" agreements which would require the employer to discharge him.

If a member fails to pay the working assessment as required under the bylaws, his dues will not be accepted until he has paid what he owes as an assessment, and after he is delinquent for 3 months on his dues he is carried as delinquent for an additional 9 months and then he is dropped from membership of local union 706.

The above was in effect at the time the Pine Bluff Arsenal was being constructed by Blaw-Knox Construction Co., insofar as the members of this local union were concerned. However, an entirely different situation applied to pipefitters working on this job who were nonmembers of local 706.

The nonmembers of local 706 on this job were not required to pay anything into local 706. However, many of such nonmembers of local 706 who were engaged in pipefitting did make a voluntary contribution into the treasury of local 706 in order to help defray the expenses of local 706 in policing the job and maintaining and securing better wages, hours, and working conditions. Local 706 was given union jurisdiction over the project by the United Association, its parent organization, and local 706 handled all of the negotiations, grievances, etc., on this project. As a matter of fact, through the efforts of local 706, two backpay awards were made to the pipefitters on this project, one for 26 cents per hour, one for 8 cents per hour, and an increase in pay to $2.85 per hour from $2.31 per hour. These backpay awards concerned negotiations with the Wage Stabilization Board.

Affidavits attached hereto of the following persons establish that no obligatory assessment was levied against pipefitters who were not members of local 706, and that the pipefitters were not required to pay a weekly amount into local union 706 to remain employed on this project.

Affidavit number and name:

1. Norwood Deal.

2. Walter J. Martin, Sr.

3. James E. Goodwin.

4. Fred J. Daniels.

5. Dan Dietrich and Henry Dietrich

6. William Roland McAdoo.

7. Earl W. Alexander.

8. R. W. Brummett.

9. R. K. Schaeffer.

10. J. E. Cook and C. P. Thompson. 11. W. A. McMahan, A. A. Malloch, B. E. Craig, and W. T. "Red" Harris

12. H. J. Webb and J. B. Swilley. (See last page of McMahan affidavit.)

13. W. W. Wright and H. C. Brat

ton

14. M. Muckelrath,

24. John Henry Armer
25. Fred Murphy

26. Ralph Kelly
27. Homer Andress

28. John W. Garlington
29. Keith Ripley

30. H. C. Burns

31. R. J. Garrett

32. M. L. "Red" Evans

33. H. A. Tanner

34. Frank W. Holzer
35. Garnett Hamp Smith
36. O. K. Rogers

37. Kenneth Herbert Andrews
38. Robert H. Tinsley

39. E. B. Wheelis

40. Walter E. Yarbrough

41. Finis Lee, Jr.

It appears to be of particular significance that there was only one person out of the several thousand who were employed on this project at one time or another that the record in this matter contains the statement of only one person, Orris M. Nix, that when he got behind on his assessments he was discharged.

This statement of Nix. however, is completely refuted by the affidavit of Mr. Fred J. Daniels (affidavit No. 4), the foreman of Orris M. Nix, who discharged him, and the affidavit of James M. Lamb, attached hereto as affidavit No. 45. Mr. Daniels fired Mr. Nix, but it was not because of any assessments which were unpaid. The true reason Mr. Nix was discharged is contained in Mr. Daniels' affidavit.

Of course, it must be conceded that no union official, business agent, or representative had the authority to discharge anyone from this job, for only the company, Blaw-Knox, could do this, through its representatives. Insofar as I have been able to determine, this record is completely devoid of any company representative or official discharging anyone from this project for the failure to pay assessments into local 706-whether such person be a member or nonmember of local union 706.

It is absolutely not true that nonmembers of local 706 were required to pay a weekly assessment, contribution, donation, or to pay any money into local 706 to either go to work or continue to work on this project.

The members of local 706 paid their assessments into local 706-some by the use of the envelope system with which this committee is familiar, and some by direct payment to the local union office. The pipefitters on the project who were nonmembers of local 706 were informed that they did not come under the bylaws of local 706, and thus were not required to pay the 706 working assessment, but if they desired to make a weekly contribution into 706, it would be accepted.

Apparently there was some misunderstanding about this, and in order to get this matter completely straight so everyone understood, we called a meeting one evening in the city park of Pine Bluff near the job site, and I told everyone present in as plain English as I know how to use that no one on the job was required to pay the $3.50 per week or any other sum into local 706 in order to continue to work on the project or to begin to work on the project. I further stated at this meeting that if anyone had paid any sums into 706 under the impression he was required to do so to hold his job such money would be refunded to him upon request. (For substantiation of this, see the attached affidavits of persons in attendance of such meetings.)

In spite of this special meeting, and in spite of the instructions to the steward, in spite of the discussion of this matter on the local union floor at regular meetings, and in spite of the matter being fully discussed at the meeting of the Arkansas Pipe Trades Association, there still appeared to be some misunderstanding about the matter. When I learned of this I called a second meeting of all the pipefitters classification on this job at the city park near Pine Bluff and again reiterated my previous explanations that nonmembers of local 706 were not required to pay anything into local 706 to hold their jobs, but that if they wished to make a voluntary contribution to local 706 to help defray the expenses of policing the job, it would be accepted. (See attached affidavits of persons attending such meeting.)

In addition to the above, attached hereto are photostatic copies of a few of the checks which I have been able to locate which were given to pipefitters who were nonmembers of local 706 as a refund as these men applied for the refund under the impression that they were required to pay to local 706.