Israel Bond Organization Strike Continues; Union Urges Settlement to Avoid Bond Losses

The strike of 500 employes of the Israel Bond Organization went into its second week today with no signs of an early settlement in sight. All parties agreed that a six hour negotiating session with New York State mediators last Thursday produced no progress toward an agreement. Solomon Kreitman, one of the mediators, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency this morning that he hoped to hold another mediation session before the end of the week but as of today none was scheduled. A spokesman for the Bond Organization said he thought another session might be scheduled today but a spokesman for Local 1707 of the Community and Social Agency Employes, AFL-CIO didn’t expect another meeting this week. The union and the Bond Organization disagreed on the effects of the strike to date. A Bond spokesman said all Bond affairs and promotions were being held on schedule with no diminution of response despite picketing in some cities. The union claimed however that Bond sales were suffering and that Israel was losing “millions of dollars.” In a statement issued by Dick Morton, executive director of Local 1707, he called on the Israel Bond Organization to “enter immediately into serious negotiations so that the campaign will not suffer which means that Israel will not suffer.” Morton added that “the staff of the Israel Bond campaign, which raised $211 million last year, is most anxious to resume the arduous tasks involved in fulfilling the goal of $400 million in Israel Bond sales this year.”