The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1916-04-08
UNIONS CHALLENGE
RAILROADS CHARGE
Declare It Will Not Cost $780,
. 900, 900 a Year to Grant
Demands.
tPENAIls. ON OVERTIME
j g.: Aisk,c IT'S ABUSE
+ '.t. 60, -,
Railroad BrothernuSs s.D
Strong Statement in Defense
of Eight-Hour Day.

CLE\ELAD, Ohio, April Cit has
been repeatedly affirmed by the rail-
way officials that, if the demand by
the Transportation Brotherhoods for
an eight hour day was granted. it
would cost the roads 100000, 100000
annually. The four employees Or
ganizations. Involved have challenged
this statement, but the officials have
never yet presented any detailed fig
ures to prove how they arrive at that
exact sum. They simply make it
one hundred million and let it go at
, that.
An evidence of the fact that rail-
way officials know it would not mean
, any considerable increase of wages to
the men, the Missouri, Kansas &
Teaxas Railway company. in a letter
; addressed to it's trainmen, enginem en-,
yardmen and hostlers, signed by W.
a. Webb, chief operating officer,
states:
Would Avoid Overtime.
The feature of payment of time
and one-half for overtime would
cause the railroads to avoid all over
time payment possible. Our overtime
now amount to more than seven per
cent of the total wages of train and
enginemen. consequently the average
pay Of employees in that service is 1O7
per cent Of what it would be were no
overtime earned. 1t is true you
would earn minimum days pay in
some instances in two hours less
! time, than at present, but the likeli-
hood of your earning in excess of a
minimum days pay would be remote. y
The contention in favor of an eight
hour day has all along been that if a
penalty was fixed on the use of over
time the railroads would see to it that
there would be little or no overtime.
The railroad officials also contend
that it would be impossible to reduce
the running time so that a division
would be covered in eight hours.
No Additional Labor.
During the recent arbitration case
between Western railroads and their
engineers and firemen. the railroads
. presented elaborate exhibite which
showed that the average time of IS
per cent of through or Irregular
freight service on all railroads west of
the Mississippi river in October, 1915.
. between terminals of 112 miles apart
! was s hours and "a minutes. Trans
! portation employees, therefore, in al
most fOur-fifths Of the through or
irregular freight service in the West,
which constituted about three -fifths
OF all freight train mileage, do pro-
duce their 100 miles, the standard for
a days pay, within hours and so
minutes. It would follow, according
to those sworn statements of tho rail-
roads, that on slightly less than half
Of the freight traffic of the West the
adoption of the S-hour day would re-
nuire no additional labor outlay.
Additional outlay wonld, probably by
necessary for the adoption Of an eight
hour day on only one-fifth of the
through freight service in the West.
No overtime at an advance of SO per
cent over regular rates. however,
would be paid as the traffic would
probably be sent over the heavy divis-
ions in lighter trains at a speed of
IL II miles an hour. Under any
change in operating conditions which
might occur, the increase in the total
pay roll of the western railroads
would be very small
Insincerity of Figures.
These sworn statements prove the
insincerity of the figures now being
used by the railroad officials in an
attempt to prejudice the public
against the fair and reasonable de-
mand for an eight hour day for train
service employees.
In their statements issued to the
Continued on Page 2.