Central Labor Council Tells Members Not to Buy Israel Bonds Until Strike Settled

The New York Central Labor Council, representing 1.2 million workers in the city, has expressed support for Local 1707 of the Community and Social Agency Employes Union, AFL-CIO, which has been striking the Israel Bond Organization for 32 days. In a letter to its members, signed by Harry Van Arsdale, president; Morris Iushewitz, secretary, and William H. Bowe, treasurer, the Central Labor Council stated that “all efforts” by the union to settle the contract dispute have been “fruitless” because of management’s insistence on a plan that “would effectively destroy the bargaining power of the union.” Such a plan, the statement continued, “cannot be accepted” because the union “will not consent to its own destruction.” The Labor Council urged its members not to buy Israel Bonds or participate in Bond Organization functions until the strike is settled. It also asked them to contribute to the strike fund of the 500 professional and clerical workers who walked cut on May 15, and to express their support of the strikers to Leo Bernstein, executive vice-president of the Israel Bond Organization.