Omaha daily bee., 1918-05-27
100000
RAIL MEN
GET RAISE.
McAdoo Announces $780, ,000,'
600 Increases to Begin
Saturday, Retroactive to
First Day Of January.
(By Associated Press. J

eral pay increases for nearly
100000 railroad employees
were announced today by Di-
rector General McAdoo, effec-
tive next Saturday and retroac-
tive to last January /, carrying
out substantially the recon-
mehdations of the railway
wage commission. The aggre-
gate of the increases probably
will be more than S300,000,000
a year, half of which will be
distributed within a few weeks
as back pay in lump sums rang
ing from about 500 to nearly
5000 each.
The director general departed from
the wage commissions recommended
tions in the following particulars:
The principal of the basic eight
hour day is recognized. but owing
tc the exigencies of the war situation,
hours of employment are not actually
reduced and overtime is to be paid
pro rata; future adjustments of pay
are to be made on the basis of eight
hours.
In addition to the ordinary scale of
increase, day laborers, employed main
ly on track work, are to get 2H cents
an hour more than they received
last DecembeT 81.
IS Cents in Shops.
A minimum Of IS cents an hour is
established for the shop trades, in
cluding machinists. boiler makers and
blacksmiths; and.
Women are to receive the same pay
as men for the same work, and
negroes are to get the same as white
men for similar employment. X
To work out a multitude of in
equalities of pay among employees
doing similar work in different local
tiles and other inlustices caused by
varyingrules of. EMPLOYMENT and con-
dition of Organization. the director
general created new board on rail-
road wages and working conditions,
consisting of three labor representa-
tives and three railway executives,
which will conduct extensive investi-
cations and recommend wage and
other employment changes.
Increases on Percentage Basis.
All increases now ordered will be de-
termined according to a percentage
scale based on paw received in De-
cember. 1915, and any increases which
have been allowed within the time
will be deducted. In manv cases raises
in pay in the last two and one-half
years are about equal to the increases
Low approved and consequently those
employees will get little or no more.
To correct just such situations when
injustices appear will be one of the
principal duties of thea new wage
beard, whose creation was suggested
by the railroad wage commission. In
no cases are wages to be reduced.
Men working on the monthly. daily,
hourly, piece work and train mile
basis will benefit bv the new al
lowances, and members of the four
leading railroad brotherhoods whose
pay was raised through operation OF
the Adamson act are to receive from
10 to 40 per cent additional. a smaller
increase than they had asked of the
railroads shortly before the govern
nent took control.
Applies to 1864 Roads.
The wage order applies to all en1-
rloyes of the 164 roads now under
federal management. but not to the
so-called short lines. unless they are
retained by the government after
July |. 1t affects employees of termi-
nal, union station and switching COM
panies, lighters, ferries and tugs
owned by the railroads. but no en-
ployes of railroad boat lines on the
lakes, rivers or coastwise traffic. Al
CONTINUED on Page Two, Column Four.)