Evening star., 1921-03-28
RAIL BOARD DROPS
HIGHER PAY PLEAS
Dismisses Appeals of Unions
on Sixty-Seven Short Lines
Filed Last Fall.
Ry the As.nciafed Pnm

By the Associated Pres
CHICAGO, March 2s-The United
States Railroad Labor Board today dis
mi ssed appeals for increased wages
filed with II last fall by fifteen rail-
way labor unions against sixty-seven
short lines throughout the country
Short lines which accepted for their
men the terms OF the $500, ,oo0. 900
wage award OF last July will not be
privileged TO go back to the old
scale under todays action. however.
the announcement Of the board say
ing:
This decision shall not be consd-
cred as affecting any wage Increase
now In effect nor any agreement re-
earding wages between any OF the
carriers and their employees"
Four Thousand Affected.
The board decision affects approx
imatsly 1000 employees. TIE railroads
involved are in general remote from
large cities and provide service for
small communities located in nearly
every state. Because of the varying
kinds of work performed by the em-
ployes the board declared il found il
"impracticable to decide on the evil
dence submitted what are reasonable
wages for the varying work under
infinitely varying conditions" by the
employees.
A general rules and working hear
Ing affecting the trunk lines OF the
country is before the board. No set
of rules. however. has ever been ap-
piled uniformly to the short lines.
The board declared il was ''imprac-
ticable to determine what reasonable
rules shall be In effect on the shor;
lines until the question of reasonable
rules and working conditions on the
posed Of"
Representatives Of the carriers and
the employees are still given the right
conditions under the boards decision.
Representatives OF nfteen employees
organizations are among the 1000
men affected by the decision. In a
few cases employees belonging to all
nfteen unions are involved on the
same road. but on the larger part of
the roads only few classes Of employees
come under the decision, for the reason
that the boards decision affects only
those in whose behalf a dispute was
brought to the board.
Original Certfncation.
Disputes were originally certified to
the board on the part OF employees
belonging to one or more Of the hf-
teen unions on I03 railroads Ten of
eiSSc IodOos hOWcVCT, WCTS Cl0CtIlC
lines and the board ruled these lines
out Twenty-Mx other lines adopted
the wage schedules paid by the trunk
lines, laid down in what 10 known as
decision No. Q. the wage award by
the labor board handed down July 20,
1920. The trunk lines In the wage de-
cision were those represented by the
Association OF Railway Executives.
Following the application Of de-
cision No. 2, employees on roads not
affected began to file disputes with
the board, and the whole matter was
taken up in q hearing known as the
short line hearing. on October IS.
1920. The hearing consumed fourteen
days. over a period of more than q
| month The short lines are not par
ties to the present rules and working
conditions hearings, and in event they
do not accept the boards decision on
rules . separate hearing on rules for
short lines also will BE- necessary,
Various scales Of wages have been
in effect on the sixty-seven roads.
Some carriers paid the standard scale
established by the United States Rail-
road Administration Others paid an
proximately the same rates Is those
paid on tho trunk lines in the same
territory. -;