Anatomy of a Lie 1962

Princeton Indiana a quiet friendly City population over 11,000 and growing it's a typical County Seat in the United States of America that's the Gibson County Courthouse Sheriff Holland's office is there the people of Princeton are proud of their comfortable homes proud of their Industrial Development proud of their patriotism and proud of their record for industrial peace it's hardly the scene or the setting you'd expect as the background for a monstrous lie this is Al Hayes president of the International Association of machinists he is speaking from his office in Washington DC labor unions have been an important part of American life ever since colonial days when this country was a British colony back in the days of Bunker Hill and Paul Rivier there was a strike in Boston some cord wayers they were shoemakers quit work because their peace rates had been reduced from that day to this labor unions have been the subject of bitter attack by many of the owners and managers of business and industry and their emissaries they have used every means known to man fair or foul true or false to undermine and obstruct the labor movement those who strive to obstruct the Justice with unions seek are seldom scrupulous in the methods they use recently a motion picture has been produced by an anti- labor group seeking support for so-called Right to Work legislation and this anti-labor film portrays union members as less respons responsible less lawful less ethical less moral than their neighbors than the average American and like all propaganda this so-called Right to Work film is based on a partial truth it pretends to tell the story of a strike by members of The Machinist Union that strike took place in Princeton Indiana in the winter of 1957 and some of the events in the anti-union film do coincide with the events during the strike but the film is cleverly salted with fictitious events that never occur with distortions and with outright falsehoods actually that film is really fiction the parts are played by actors I doubt whether any one of them has ever been in Princeton with all of its falsehoods this film is being shown to high school students to television audiences and to employees in Industry to mislead them and for that reason I have asked Gordon Cole to go to Princeton with a camera crew to set the record straight I want you to hear the real story Mr Hayes has told you that the anti-labor film was performed by professional actors on location that's the big difference between that film and the one you are about to see our camera crew took pictures of the real people of Princeton and recorded their statements those who appear in our film did so voluntarily they were not paid in any way except that those who lost time at work on the day we made the film were reimbursed these people have seen the right to work film but let them tell you what they think of it this is their story Princeton has a fine record of an industrial piece one of its unions is machinist local Lodge 1459 this local became bargaining representative here in 1947 after a secret ballot election the company is bigger today 80% of the employees are women 80% of the union membership at the time of the strike were women in the anti-union film which you see here the impression is created that the majority of the workers were men and that a labor union brings trouble fear and turmoil into a community in the anti-labor film this is how the president of the local union is shown they want me out of the way but what about this contract breaking business hie don't mean a thing just a technicality yes but I tell you don't mean a thing I'm going to tell you Bly headstrong young man singularly lacking in good sense now I want you to meet the person who was really president of the local at the time of the strike her name is Ruth Monroe then she was 59 and her eyes had just begun to go bad Mrs Monroe you were shop chairman for 10 years before you were elected president I believe I was I was elected president in 1955 the anti- labor film doesn't show any women officers of this local what was the real situation seven of the 10 officers were women including the president vice president Financial secretary uh recording secretary and treasure Mrs Monroe you've seen the right to work film what do you think of it it's a lie I was burned and raised in this town and I can see well enough to know that the were only two or three shots in the whole picture that were actually taken in Princeton well tell us what happened to cause strike after so many years of good relations in this plan well a national company from the East bought out the company and they brought in a a Eastern industrial relations manager who started changing everything rules regulations time studies anything you wanted to do and the people felt that they they were being worked upon in the wrong way and that the contract was being violated every day they were being forced to arbitration on all their grievances they had stacked up and they were forced arbitration on any of them to get a settlement then I was fired well the anti- labor film shows the local president railroading the strike because got fired what really happened well that is just the reverse I told them not to strike if they were striking for me because I'm big and old and ugly enough to take care of myself if they were striking because of the violations of their contract to think long and hard before taking a strike vote what was the vote after the all of the discussion on the floor all but nine voted to strike in the anti- labor film the strike was voted by a small committee with only 11 members present count them 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Mary Rogers was a member of the shop Committee in 1957 Mary was present at the meeting Mary will you describe the meeting for us how many members were there there were about 400 members there well in the other film the 11 present met in a small committee room where was the meeting really held it was held in the National Guard Armory in Princeton the largest Meeting Hall there do you recall this scene from the other film the next morning when the men and women arrived at the plant where many of the people in our town are employed the place was picked it was a complete surprise to everyone except the handful who had been invited to the special union meeting quote except the handful who had been invited to the special union meeting unquote that is an absolute lie everybody was notified Not only was it posted on the plant bulletin board it was also announced on the local radio station do you remember what the vote was yes all but nine of the about 400 present voted to strike in the anti- labor film a charge is made that the Princeton strike was a wildcat Dorothy Bryan and Conrad Stinson were members of the strike committee Dorothy was it a wild cat no it wasn't a wildcat was brought on by the company they refused to process their grievances they retimed study the jobs where the people couldn't make any money uh they we feel that they violated our contract ra uh on top of that ruthman R was fired when she went to St Louis have her eyes examined and it seemed like we had no other choice Gordon what they mean by Wildcat I guess is that the international Union wouldn't sanction the strike until they had investigated but they did investigate and the executive Council voted to sanction the strikes and they paid us strike benefits retroactive in those days uh the strike benefit per week was $10 today there's a week in the anti- labor picture the picketing scenes show most of the pickets as big Burly men acting in [Music] violence Dolores Rooney Hutchinson and pansy shine were picket captains during that strike Flores what have you got to say about this well no almost all the pickets were women and after a few days they got a court order against us and then we were only allowed to pour pickets to a gate during the remainder of the strike it was a middle of winter and they even may have tear down our picket shelter you can be sure we believed in what we were out for we wouldn't have been picking one thing the anti-labor film doesn't show is the fact that a group of us pickets gave 10% of our strike donations for the March of Dimes teson and this came to $100 in the anti labor film they talk about outside goons and strangers from out of state Sandra Weedman was a member of the strike Committee in Princeton in 1957 Sandra did the Union bring outside goons in the Princeton no did the international Union bring in Outsiders absolutely not well then what happened well the company brought in strike Breakers from terol Illinois Indianapolis and other places there were plenty of this is Father Charles shotti director of Catholic Charities at nearby Evansville father I understand that you were asked to arbitrate the dispute during the strike at Princeton in 1957 that's right Mr Cole there were a number of the labor people came down in my office one day and asked whether I would come up to arbitrate the case and I told them that I would so I had had a chat with them and thought I got their the picture pretty well from them from their Viewpoint and then called on management at the plant uh management was very courteous however they were not willing to arbitrate in other words they didn't uh they weren't interested in having someone some offsider uh W facts on both sides and come up with it settle the dispute on its merits that's right thank you Father you're welcome Mr Cole thank you this is Reverend Clayton p of the bethl Memorial Church at Princeton Pastor Clayton I'm told that a good many members of the Union are in your congregation yes we have a number of Union people that attend our church and they are very fine Christian people but what do the law enforcement officers at Princeton say about the union this is Sheriff Holland he was Sheriff of Gibson County at the time of the strike the sheriff has been a law officer in Gibson County for a good many years he knows most of the people here Sheriff after the union members give you any trouble none whatever no to your knowledge during the strike did the Union bring in any out of state goons no not to I know well during the strike somebody some insane criminal shot up a trailer hitting a four-month-old baby was that criminal ever caught never was no was there ever any evidence to connect that shooting with the Union in any way no was I believe the both the company and the union offered a reward didn't they they did yes and that that reward was never claimed never was no in the anti- labor film the tragic shooting of the baby climaxes the story it is described as a sacrifice to Union violence the inference is clear that the shooting was the work of the strikers [Music] my this is Ronald Russell the baby's father I think you will want to hear what he has to say Mr Russell how old is your daughter now she's 5 years old and how is her health uh good at least she's under observation we're hoping for the best will you tell us whether there was any evidence that connected the shooting with the Union uh no evidence to my knowledge no no evidence at all the strike continued for two weeks after that tragedy settlement was finally negotiated in March of 1957 during those last weeks of the strike the Indiana legislature debated and adopted a so-called right to work law in the anti-labor film The Impression is left that everybody in Princeton favored that law the Princeton Gazette is shown several times of of course there is no such newspaper in Princeton the real newspaper in Princeton the only daily in the city is the Princeton Clarion which we see here the Clarion opposed adoption of the so-called Right to Work bill said the Clarion in in an editorial at that time quote we just can't see how we can have divided work Crews some Union some non-union working in in the same plant unquote and again in the same editorial quote we feel that the present right to work proposal is destructive in its ultimate intent that is why we oppose it unquote toy day was a part of the strike in 1957 today he is president of local Lodge 1459 brother day when did the ladies decide to elect a man as their president three years ago but I was elected last year what is has happened in the plant since the strike we went back in March of 1957 since then we haven't lost a day's work conditions are better and there's more work in the plan what about wages since a strike the union has secured four wage increases in negotiations four wage increases without the loss of a day's work then your relations with the company are good relations are very good that's why I've asked that the name of the company not be used in this film how many how many of the employees belong to the union now all but seven we would like everybody to belong we feel like that when everybody belongs everybody has a chance to speak on the issues everyone has a chance to vote we feel like that when everybody belongs everybody benefits yes when everybody belongs to the union everybody benefits but there are always those who discourage employees from joining unions usually they do it for selfish reasons or sometimes from ignorance and such persons or groups are thus preventing the nonunion employe from having a voice and a vote regarding his own welfare today we in the United States enjoy the highest standard of living the world has ever known no amount of misleading anti-labor propaganda has been able to conceal the great contribution labor unions have made in raising the living standards of the working people of our country through union membership we have made our plant or our shop a better place in which to work through union membership we have made our job a better job our life a better life the average American is fair and objective when conversant with the facts we have given you the facts in this film on the basis of all of the facts it is indisputable that a free labor movement is a prerequisite to any free Society [Music] [Applause] [Music]