The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-03-24

suit OF Extra Labor-Train Workers
Willing to Sacrifice Higher Pay For
the Shorter Workday.
BY W. c. CARTER,
President of Brotherhood Of Locomotive
Firemen and Engineers
Railway wage statistics show that
by the overlooking of freight trains,
which in many instances eliminated
the mileage basis of payments to en-
ployees, the wage cost to the railroads
per ton mile Of freight traffic has been
greatly reduced. Also the earnings Of
employees for ten hour day have de-
creased greatly as a necessary conse-
quence Of the decline In the average
speed of trains.
Notwithstanding these changed con-
ditions, the railroads are able to DEM
onstrate that their employees earn
large amounts during months Of heavy
traffic. 1t was shown In recent arbi-
tration that some engineers In freight
service earned over 5000 during the
month Of October, 1918, and some fire.
men earned more than 1926 during the
same period.
An investigation Of these cases of ap-
parently very high wages discloses
facts of which the following examples
are typical: One engineer earned
$212.95 In one month. He did 1t by
working 395 hours during that month
that is, he worked the equivalent Of
1872 days of eight hours each during
that one month. His average rate of
wages was $50 cents per hour. Again,
fireman who earned $135.29 in that
one month worked 412.7 hours, or an
equivalent of SIG days Of eight hours.
His average rate Of wages was 1878
cents an hour.
That these highly paid and overwork-
ed men In freight service are menace
to public safety is well known to ev-
erybody-except the public. They serve
q purpose, however, by convincing ar
bitrators and the public that railroad
employees are already receiving high
rate Of compensation and should not be
granted relief.
This steady increase in the num-
Der of hours of work has been the
only way In which the railroad EN-
ployee has been able to keep his total
daily wage up to the level at which II
: was N the dave when II was possible
to earn his bonas BY covering more
than ten miles an aotr. Every increase
In size Of frej~at locomotive and ton
mage Of fseignt train has meant that
the employee must work longer in order
still to earn the same daily wage.
Naturally strenuous efforts have been
made by the employees to change this
situation and to secure an increase In
the rate Of wages an hour SO 1t might
be the equal Of that In the building or
other trades and that fair days wage
might be earned without working over
time.
Their only hope was change from a
ten to an eight hour basis of pay. AS
an arbitration board had declined to re-
duce the locomotive hostler's twelve
hour day to ten hours and other arbi-
tration boards had refused to increase
the rate Of pay per hour, there was not
much to expect in that direction. So
with the expectation Of possible con-
f1ict they demanded the substitution of
the eight hour for the ten hour basis
in existing, wage schedules and an
overtime rate of time and one-half.
That what was allysdemanded was
lessening Of hours Of work Is shown
by the fact that in terminal work also,
where engineers, conductors, switch
men, firemen and hostlers are employ
ed entirely on the hourly basis, the de-
mand was the same for an eight hour
day, with time and one-half for any
work requiring more than eight hours
in period Of twenty-four.
This demand for an eight hour day
meant reduction in earnings for the
large number Of men heretofore work
ing more than ten hours day. Their
opportunity to earn more than one
days wage was eliminated through the
penalty" overtime provision, because
in terminal work the railroad can al
ways change crews when the eight
hours are up and naturally will do so
and employ new crew rather than
pay extra overtime rates. The EN-
ployees sacrificed higher wages In Or
der to get shorter hours.