**Date:** Monday, May 15, 1967
**Source:** Unknown
—
George Froehlich, president of Local 45, United Rubber Workers Union, stood at the Maple St. gate of the Footwear Plant, along with picketers this morning, as supervisory personnel of UniRoyal reported for work. Production in the plant by management was reportedly scheduled to begin today. However, no incidents occurred on the picket lines this morning as some employes arrived an hour earlier for work. John Smith, manager of the Footwear Plant, was unavailable this morning for comment. Shipment of goods from the warehouse continued all last week without incident. A few truck drivers, members of the Teamster Union, refused to cross the picket line, but some trucks were brought in by trucking company management. Negotiations on the master contract in Cincinnati were recessed for the weekend with sessions scheduled to resume at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. Froehlich returned to the borough over the weekend as well as other local members of the union negotiating team and management negotiators. The strike, now 25 days old, continues with no word on the progress, if any, being made in negotiations. The issues have not been defined by either side, holding to a pact made by both sides that no statement would be made until settlement has been reached. The Union was given a strike vote by the membership before it entered into negotiations in Cincinnati and no meeting of the locals has been called to inform the membership of progress. The three locals in the borough will distribute the $25 benefit checks to its eligible membership for the second week, starting tomorrow. Rumors of immediate settlement and ones of a long, drawn-out strike, both are rampant in the borough. Most merchants are beginning to feel the pinch of the strike. A few merchants have reported excellent sales as the strikers have been doing household repairs in their idle time. Many strikers have resorted to part-time jobs to implement their dwindling funds while others, in desperation, have applied for welfare.