Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-01-21
CLASS|F|ERS BEGIN
FINAL SETTLEMENT
OF PAY PROBLEMS
Services Equity and Health
and Decency Budgets"
important.

Final settlement of salary and en-
ployment problems under reclassifi-
cation began today at a meeting of
the full membership Of the joint con-
greSsional commission on reciaSSi-
| tication of salaries in the District
held in the finance room at the SEN
ate Office building.
AS the time draws near for the
commission to make its report to
Congress inal decision must be made
on various problems concerning the
10000 federal workers hfre which
are yet undecided. These problems
| include the settlement of a minimum
wage, the decision as to the exact
part the health and efficiency
budgets" prepared by the bureau of
la Dor statistics shall play in the de-
termina ton of wages. and finally the
selection of 100 minimum and maxi
mum wages for the LOO classes into
which the employees have been di-
vided.
Services Equity Big Problem.
The great question which faced the
reclassification commissioners today
as they sat down at table to begin
on the final determination of these
and other problems was that of equity
as between the various services" into
which government employees have been
divided.
Who is there to say that a school
teacher, for instance, has right to
a higher salary than clerk?
Yet it is just this sort of question
that the commission has to face and
solve. Equity between the fifty-one
services into which the 10000 en-
ployes have been divided is the larg-
est single problem, perhaps, which the
commission has to solve.
This question of equity as between
services is also the most "ticklish"
which the Reconsideration commission
faces. In solving it the commission
runs more risk of treading on tender
toes than in solving any other prob
lem, it is generally regarded. When
one attempts to say that certain
classes of positions ought to draw
more money than others on account of
the very inheritant qualities of the
work demanded. then the solver faces
trouble.
The Redistribution commission. it is
believed, will attempt the solution of
this truly great difficulty by the use of
common sense, above all. and by the
utilization of comparative pay data
secured in cities throughout the east
ern United States. These comparative
data have been obtained for all the
positions in the government service
here. and will play a large part in the
final determination of salaries to be
set for the 900 federal employees in
the District.
What will become of the health and
decency budgets from which the en-
plOyes are expecting so much?
1t was indicated at the commission
today that these budgets. set for the
single man and single woman and for
the family Of five. will play a large
part in the determination of salaries
AS pointed out yesterday, govern
ment employees need not look for an
increase in salary simply on account
of possessing a family. In Canada, I'M
der civil Redistribution. a bonus was
paid an employe for each child. Such a
scheme will not obtain here, but the
health and decency budgets" will be
kept in mind by the commissioners in
the ultimate pay solutions.
Clerks today We're not Sanguine
that the health and decency budget"
of approximately $4,000 will prevail
in the final solution in every class.
1t was pointed out that each one of
the 400 classes had opportunity in
it for an employee to rise by means
OF periodic efficiency increases" as
detailed yesterday, but it is not be-
lieved that the maximum of the four
probable salary steps in each. class
will necessarily have to be $4,000.
Salary gradations in a particular
class might run something like this {:
$1,000 in entrance, $1,000 the second
year, $3.50 the third year and S1,40o
the fourth year. Here the employee
would stop his salary advancement
until he took an examination to Sc
cure a real promotion to a higher
class of work.
Thus it may be seen that if a
clerk did not have brains and push"
enough to get out of his class. no
matter how old he might be. or how
many children he might have, he
would never get more than $1,4OO
year salary.