April to June, 1964, 1964

Local 300 continued to win a sizable number of NLRB elections on menhaden fishing boats; the official tallies of ballots appear in the papers (May 15; June 12, 20, 27). However, the problem soon became one of signing contracts with owners once the union acquired the status of certified bargaining agent; see Mitchell's memorandum, giving a chronological account of his negotiations to sign contracts (May 27), as well as several contracts which were finally signed (May 29). There is an interesting exchange between lawyer James Youngdahl and Mitchell on the cases currently before the NLRB (April 10, 12) and a letter from Mitchell to various menhaden companies protesting the deductions from workers' pay made to cover the cost of extra crew members (June 10). The papers include Mitchell's statement to the public hearings held in Washington by the National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor and a lengthy report on the hearings published by the Committee (May 18). Information on the sugar worker training program sponsored by Local 300 appears in Mitchell's letter to NSF Executive Secretary Fay Bennett (April 17) and in a report to Mitchell from Frank Lapeyrolerie (June 3)