The World Trade Union Federation today overrode a protest by the Histadruth, the Palestine federation of labor, and seated an Arab delegate from Lebanon as the representative of all the Middle East nations on the federation’s general council.
Leading the opposition to this move was Sir Walter Citrine, head of the British delegation, who supported a protest by the Histadruth that it was the largest and oldest trade union body in the Middle East and had been a member of the defunct International Federation of Trade Unions.
When the delegates refused to vote on the issue by a show of hands, Citrine forced a closed ballot, which resulted in a vote of 36 to 16 for seating the Lebanese representatives. It is understood that Sidney Hillman, who heads the American delegation, voted with Citrine.
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