Into Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports rolled rail cars laden with thousands of tons of wheat bound for Russia. At pierside, nine ships waited to load. But for nine days the wheat moved no farther. Thomas W. (“Teddy”) Gleason, 63, president of the International Long shoremen’s Association, had ordered his stevedores to touch not one kernel of cargo. The great wheat deal, it seemed, was stymied.
What made Gleason mad was a Maritime Administration ruling permitting Continental Grain Co. to ship 62% of the wheat it had sold to Russia aboard foreign-flag ships. President Kennedy, claimed Gleason, had promised that 50% of the wheat would move in U.S. bottoms. What’s more, Gleason said, the new ruling threatened potential jobs for thousands of U.S. seamen. The Mari time Administration insisted that not enough U.S. ships were available to move the wheat to Russia. But the longshoremen charged that this was nothing but a dodge to let the grain companies take advantage of lower foreign rates.
Labor Secretary Willard Wirtz hurried to Bal Harbour, Fla., to dicker with the labor leader. He got nowhere. Gleason also ignored public pleas from President Johnson.
Finally Johnson made a personal appeal to A.F.L.-C.I.O. President George Meany, asking him to act as the Administration’s advocate with Gleason. Under Meany’s prodding, a settlement was reached last week, and the wheat began to move. Gleason agreed to let Continental’s arrangements stand. For its part, the Johnson Administration promised that U.S. ships would certainly carry 50% of Russian wheat shipments in the future—provided vessels were available.
In the course of the boycott, the union claimed some public credit for taking a stand against dealing with Communism. But this was not actually the issue at all. Said an Administration official of the longshoremen: “They just don’t like Communists—unless they get 50% of the action.”
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