Office of the Historian

500.C115 Paris/7–2045: Airgram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Belgium (Sawyer)

Washington, August 7, 1945.

A–165. With reference to Despatch [Airgram] A–239, July 11, this Government would welcome the renewal of Soviet membership in the International Labor Organization.

This position has been evidenced on several occasions. At the December 1943 meeting of the Governing Body of the ILO at London12 the United States representative supported the motion to invite the USSR to participate as a member in the 26th Session.13 The American member of the Workers’ Group and of the Employers’ Group, respectively, were present at that meeting. The action was unanimous. At the June 1945 meeting at Quebec the previous action, which had been taken at a secret session, was put in the public record by the Workers’ member from the United States, Robert J. Watt, who is an officer of the American Federation of Labor.14 He advises Department that A. F. of L. favors Soviet participation in ILO and other intergovernmental organizations.

American members joined in Governing Body invitation at Quebec to members of the United Nations which are not now members of the ILO to send observers to the 27th Session of the International Labor Conference.

Grew
  1. Ninety-first session of the Governing Body of the ILO, London, December 16–20, 1943; for account of this meeting, see International Labor Review, vol. xlix, March, 1944, pp. 347–351; see also Foreign Relations, 1944, vol. ii, pp. 1007 ff.↩
  2. See telegram 8835, December 19, 1943, from London, ibid., p. 1013.↩
  3. Mr. Watt was International Representative of the American Federation of Labor.↩