The New York herald., 1921-12-15
Rail Pay for Actual Work.

NoA oy AOi HStuof "OAn'
What the United States Railroad
Labor Board has set up in its so
called ten hour decision for common
labor is not a schedule of ten hours
of work for days pay. 1t has re
tanned the principle of eight hours
of actual work at regular pay con-
stituting a day. But it cancels the
inequitable, wasteful and demoraliz-
ing system established under Govern
ment operation whereby men got
time and a half for part of eight
hours of regular work and even got
time and a half when they did no
actual work at all.
One example is easily explained.
A section gang going by train to the
place where it is to work on roadbed
or tracks might travel thither for an
hour, the same time being required
to transport the workers back again.
To get eight hours of work out of the
men under such circumstances re-
quires ten hours OF their time with
only eight on the job. Obviously, if
eight hours Is regular day and the
regular day is ended eight hours
after the men report, regardless of
when they go on the job, then to get
eight hours of actual work out of
them means that they must be paid
regular pay for the first hour of
riding to the job and for the next
seven hours of working and then adj
ditional pay and half for the eighth
hour Of regular work and for the
last hour Of riding back.
Under the ruling of the Labor
Board the men described in the fore
going will be paid for the two hours
when they do not actually work as
well as for the eight hours when they
do actually work, but they will be
paid for all ten hours at the regular
hourly rate.
Another example is worth consid-
ering. A certain kind OF work must
begin, from the very nature of things.
say at o'clock every morning in the
week and every week in the year.
But by an arbitrary fixing of 8
o'clock in the morning as the Begin
ming of the eight hour day. no mat
ter at what hour it really began,
the Government operation agree
merts compelled the payment OF time
and half for the first two hours of
such a regular job, regular day in
and day out, and then regular eight
hour days pay for the work after
o'clock, although the job itself might
not last eight hours, or even four
hours, after s A. NJ.
Under the boards ruling regular
day will now begin by arrangement
at the hour required by the service
needs of the public and the carrier.
The man going on the job at that
hour, whether IL be o'clock, 6
o'clock or any other hour, will draw
regular pay from the hour he goes to
work. II he draws extra pay IL will
be for extra hours put In after, not
before, he has done his regular day.
When Government operation put
into effect its national agreements,
under which some men were paid
wage and a half for regular work
done and paid full wage or even
wage and half for work never
done, the worst result was not al
ways the immediate swelling of such
payrolls. The thing about it which
caused the greatest damage, which
in fact tended to ruin the country's
transportation service, was that un-
der this grotesque system the gen.
erai morale OF the whole working
force began to break down.
Men who did actually work, men
who worked hard. in responsible
posts. could not be blamed for think
ing they were not getting a square
deal when they saw other men get
ting high pay and extra pay for do.
ing little or nothing. They felt they
ought to have and they demanded an
equivalent in one form or another of
the soft snaps which were throwing
away millions OF dollars. with the