“Phone Strike Ends in City” from the Saturday, May 10, 1947, issue of
the Statesville Record Landmark
Southern Bell Agrees
to Pay Hike of $2 to $4--Other North Carolina
Towns Are Still Out
At 6 o’clock this morning the telephone strike which had
hampered business and social life in Statesville for the past 33 days was ended
when local operators and other workers who are members of the local unit of the
National Federation of Telephone Workers began returning to their jobs.
According to the United Press, the Southern Federation of
Telephone Workers came to an agreement with the company at 8:45 p.m. Friday
after nearly continuous negotiations for two days.
A new contract with workers in the Southern Bell system gave
about 42,000 employes raises of between $2 and $4 a week in contrast to
original demands by the union for a $12 raise.
The bulky contract of 364 clauses added approximately
$10,000,000 a year to the cost of telephone service in the south, according to
the company.
President Hal Dumas announced that the company would ask the
Southern Public Service commission for increased rates. Applications are now in
for permission to pass raises granted last year on to the customers.
The raise gave workers $2, $3 and $4 more a week, depending
on the length of service and job classifications.
Dumas said that “we believe the agreement which has just
been signed is fair to the employes, fair to our customers and fair to the
company.”
Telephone workers who refused to cross picket lines of
striking Western Electric employes remained away from their jobs in many North
Carolina towns despite the end of the telephone strike against Southern Bell
Telephone company.
Chairman J.R. Burnie of the Charlotte Telephone Workers
Union said long distance operators also would refuse to cross the picket line
when they came to work later today.
A total of 35 Western Electric employees in Charlotte are
still on strike pending settlement of their demand for wage increases.
An announcement late this morning by Dan W. Rigby, manager
of the Statesville telephone exchange, revealed that while all workers who were
out on strike had not been contacted this morning that enough had been reached
to insure normal service unless the exchange is completely swamped with calls.
Mr. Rigby again expressed his appreciation to the citizens of
Statesville for their co-operation during the emergency.
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