Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1921-02-17
LABOR RULES COST
ROADS MILLIONS
Public Directly Interested In
Effort to Stop Drain on
Carriers Income.
BIG SUMS FOR WORK NOT DONE
Railways Asking Labor Board to
Abrogate Wastefui Agreements
Made Under Federal Control.

WadC SUuST SotAfS's
"The entire country, its consumers,
its farmers, Its workmen, and even the
railway employees themselves, are d.
rectly interested with the railroads In
cutting down railway operating ex-
penses."
This is the keynote Of the case pre-
sented by the railroads to the United
States Railroad Labor Board, now in
session in Chicago.
The railroads have submitted evil
dence to the board to show why the
National Agreements affecting railway
shop labor should be abrogated, be-
lieving that this Is a vitality important
step in the process Of reducing op-
Grating expenses.
This step is not only necessary to
insure adequate earning power to the
railroads, but will make possible an
ultimate reduction in rates.
The agreements were made by the
Railroad Administration just before
the end of Federal control. The sum
total of the rules and working condi-
lions provided by the National Agree
ments have increased the operating
expenses of the railroads by hundreds
Of millions, and have decreased the
efficiency and output of the employees
in other ways resulting In losses
which cannot be calculated in dollars
and cents
For several weeks the railroads
have been multiplying instances of the
absurd and extravagant results of the
labor rules fastened upon them by the
National Agreements.
In one case cited before the board
machinist was paid 1914 hours wages
for work all performed within eight
hours. This case illustrated the effect
Of the rule that for each "call' the
worker is to be paid five hours wages
even II he works only ten minutes.
The case OF car repairer on the
virginian Railway, who was recently
paid over $1,000 for services which
were never rendered, and In addition
the same amount of overtime as was
made by his gang, was another exam
pie.
In connection with the rule that
none but mechanics or apprentices
shall do mechanics work, the follow
ing was cited to Indicate Its unfair
ness:
Five Hours Pay for 80 Minutes Work
"The Ell Paso & Southwestern Rail-
road recently had an engine set out at
Douglas, and about the time 1t was
ready to go to its train 1t developed
that window light was broken in the
cab. It was necessary for the foreman
to call carpenter to do the work that
he could have performed himself In a
few minutes. The train was delayed
one hour and 80 minutes, and the en-
ployee called to do the work was paid
FIVE hours for work requiring 30 min
utes."
The inefficiency created In infiexible
application of the rules contained IN
the agreements In question was Illus
trated in the following actual case
which recently occurred on the Balti-
more & Ohio Railroad:
"An engine was placed In the
shops for certain repairs. Because
of the provisions of the National
Agreement, Ii was necessary that
members of FIVE crafts perform
parts of this work formerly, the
entire operation was performed by 4
the members Of but two crafts"
Sc, 500 900 for Work Not Performed
How the railroads Of the country
were compelled to pay almost S6,500,-
600 In the first six months of 1920 for
service not rendered because of the
effects of but one of the 1872 rules In
cluded In the Shop Crafts National
Agreement was shown in the testi-
mony.
This punitive payment for work new
err performed was required by clause
in the National Agreement, which pro-
vides that when employees are rs~
quired to check In and out on their
own time they win be paid one hour
extra at the close of each week.
The rigid classifications of labor,
when taken In connection with the
rule that requires that man must
have four years experience before be-
ing employed to perform any of the
work listed in them, result In paying
rates applicable to men who are sup
posed to be fully qualified for work
which does not require men of four
years experience.
To illustrate how the infiexiblllties
Of many of the rules now enforced OBJ
crate to mulct the railroads of large
sums for services which In the alb
sence of these rules could be obtained
for relatively moderate sums, evidence
was laid before the Labor Board show
ing that three men who were en-
ployed at small pumping station In
Michigan, performing unskilled work,
would, when classified under the rules,
receive an excess of pay amounting
to more than the value of all the wa
ter pumped and current generated at
this station.
The Chicago testimony contains lit
orally hundreds of instances such as
these, all supporting the contention of
the railroads that the labor rules I'M
der which they have been forced to
work are such as to prevent the "hon-
est, efficient and economical manage
ment" demanded by the Transports
ton Act.