Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1921-06-10
WILL TAKE
A BILLION
FROM MEN


Chicago. Movs than billion dol
lars VII he taken out OF the pockets
Of railroad workers this year as the
result 81 he n On of the Railroad
q beg Board n ordering : Wage re.
dnction averaging = per cent, follow.
iag the ahgoraliea 81 the national
working as eements
TIE wage reduction will turn hack
lato the operators treasures an estt
mated s40a. Gee. coo annually. while the
aarogafion Of tia WORKING agreements.
which Nas ordered hv the board late
in April. viii cut S72a. 0o0, 600 more OF
the roads payrolls.
4 blanket decision Was made in the
case OF le4 roads. most Of them Glass
A lines. IN disputes with so unions.
including the -four bis hrotherhoods, "
the sixteen unions In the Railway Em.
ployes Department OF the A. Il. OF L..
and independent organizations. The
Nage cur will * into effect July l,
which was the date on which an in
crease OF e per cent was granted last
year.
In lis decision the board indicates
that il desires all the remaining roads
in the country 10 file petitions for SINH.
lar decreases. these petitions TO be con.
siderod June 6. SO that general wage
reduction may 60 into effect July l.
There Is no way OF determining the
actual wage that any particular work.
er viii now receive. because OF the
complicated manner IN which these
adjustments must be made by each
road, Pay envelopes after July | will
tell the tale. Meanwhile 1t is stated
by the board that no one class of labor
has been Disseminated against In max
ing the cuts. The new average month
~ wage viii be $125 instead of Sal,
IL Is estimated. but probably the great
majority OF the railroaders will re.
ceiye much less than this theoretical
average, which is high because of the
rate paid TO the better salaried broth.
erhoods.
The reduction TO clerical and sta.
tion forces ranges from to 10 cents,
inexperienced clerks 10 be paid S67
the first six months: to structural and
unskilled forces. rs to 10 cents an
hour; to all shop employees, 5 cents !:
and TO telegraphers, telephone opera.
tors and agents, s and q cents. En-.
CINE service employees are cut As 10
81 cents day. and train service men.
60 to Ga cents. Remaining crafts are
reduced 6 TO s cents an hour
b. NJ. Jewell. president of the Rail.
way employees Department, has just
received copy OF the boards decision
and Is Withholding statement until
he has examined Il. Other union
officials are declining to comment on
the decision for the present.
The threat OF further unemployment
is held over the heads OF the workers
in the boards decision, which states
that the serious business depression
has affected the whole country. and
that some means must be found for
stimulating business revival The
chief arguments for a reduction given
by the board are those advanced by
representatives of the New York Cen.
tral road in April. namely, that there
has been a decrease in the cost OF
living, and that wages paid In other
industries have declined. On the first
point the decision admits that there is
no means of telling how great, II any.
the decrease in living costs to the con,
snmer has been. but states that at
any rate there has been enough of a
decline in prices to hurt the producer.
The preamble to the decision con.
clndes:
at should be recognized by all that
the problem before us is chiefly an
economic one, and we are all confront
ed by adverse and troublesome condi-
tions which everyone should help TO
solve. II should not be looked upon
as struggle between capital and
labor, or The arrangements and the
employees