Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-10-15

"On the Joint reviewing committees.
where the men and the management
have equal representation. there has
GOO Of both sdes have taken
the view that they were acting as an
impartial jury to settle cases on their
merits. Since 1t requires a two
thirds vote of the joint reviewing
to reach a decision, some
Of the employee representatives or
tfves have got to side with the man.
agement or the employees. as the case
may be. And this happens time and
again. showing that cases are being
dealt with from an impartial stand
point" Z.
Great stress was laid by some Of
the employees. as well as by the man.
agement. upon the good results OBJ
tanned from having frequent meetings
Of the officers of the company with
the men. Under the plan adopted
these meetings happen regularly.
They have resulted in making 1T pos
sible for the management to get the
point of view of the men. and vice
versa. to a greater extent than ever
before:
"Oh. boy" I was ,old, there is the
finest feeling existing between the
men and the management on the
Pennsylvania today there ever was,
nu0 lhdt . say Iu6 d lOt-
Fair View Of .Omcfals.
Whatevec may be said on the out
side about the management of the
Pennsylvania being "hard boiled" the
gave the officials. especially the
clean bill Of health.
They didn't slop over. They said that
when a man got to be an official of
the Pennsylvania nowadays it was
because he had earned the place and
not because of pull. This kind of off,
cfal, they said, was calculated to give
the employees square deal.
But" ] suggested to one Of the
men. ut is said on the outside that
the Pennsylvania has it's men 'sewed
up by means of the pension system
it has developed and other organized
aids. and that is the reason rikes
are not successful on the system"
age of retirement is seventy. I'll
probably be under the sod before I'm
that old"
The Pennsylvania. nevertheless, has
built up a system of aids of one kind
and another for it's employees that
apparently is excellent of its kind.
In the first place. there is the pension
system. Every employe of the Penn
sylvania system, from the president
down, must retire when he reaches
the age Of seventy. A man may be
retired, If he desires it. after he is
sixty-five years old. provided he has
served for thirty years on the road.
Retirement Pay Schedule.
The retired pay is fixed in the fol-
lowing manner: The earnings Of the
employe or official for the last 100
months of employment are totaled
and the average pay for ten years
arrived at. One per cent of this aver
years the man has been in the service
and that is his retired pay. A recent
analysis of the pension disbursements
by the Pennsylvania system shows
that since the pension system was
started in 1900 there has been paid
out to the retired employees a total
Of $26.777.s7s. A tidy sum. 1t comes
entirely from the company funds, q
gift in recognition of long
and faithful service. OF the total, S4.S
per cent was paid to employees below
the grade Of division superintendent
1000 former employees Of the
Pennsylvania are on the pension roll
andsit Is estimated that the average
term of service was forty years.
The. number of employees in the
system. in round num-
bers, is 205. 900. The Pennsylvania is
a money-making concern. 1t can
AFFORD to provide pension fund for
its employees where other roads. max
ing less money. cannot. But the pen
sion system really brings a return
to the company in the inducement it
holds out to employees to remain in
the service. One Of the most costly
elements in running many Industries
is labor turnover. The pension sys-
tenn naturally discourages men from
In that measure 1t is
operative against a successful strike
on the road.
Voluntary Relief System.
Back in 1886 the Pennsylvania also
partment The department is very
much like an insurance company.
dealing in sick, accident and death
benefits for its members. The COM
pany gives to the employees free the
entire charge of operating the de-
partment. which is considerable, for
there are upward of Its, 900 members
all employees. of the department.
They pay a small monthly sum. rang
ing from IS cents to 1913. according
u Tie SldSS VI Inc
death benefits range from $3.50 to
$3.50, and benefits for disability
range from SO cents to $3.50 a day
for period of fifty-two weeks ana
half rates thereafter. Since the re-
lief department was established the
total subscriptions of employees have
or their heirs. on account Of sickness,
accident disabilities. approximation
and death, about ~$67 100000. There
is no compulsion. The men Join the
relief department or not, as they see
fit.
The Mutual BENEFIT Association OF
the Pennsylvania Railroad Employee
Inc. was, organized in 1919. The COM
pany itself, while friendly to this or
has nothing to do with
it's actual operation. which is con-
Quoted by representatives selected by
the members Of the association.
The association provides insurance
against death and permanent. dis
ability in amounts ranging from $3.50
to $4,000. The total insurance in
force is $4,011,500 and the total num-
Der of members is about 10000. 1t il
estimated that nearly IS per cent of
the members are in the shop crafts.
In the recent strike, 1t is said, only
one out of 100 shopmen who were
members Of the association went out.
It also is calculated to discourage
strikes. Not only does the association
provide insurance. but it lends money
to it's members to purchase stock in
the Pennsylvania road and to pur-
chase homes, charging them 5 per
cent on first mortgages.
Care for Mems Health.
The health of the employees Of the
is of great interest to
the company. naturally. The COM
,any has developed a complete sys-
tenn for the physical examination OF
the employees and for medical atten-
ton in case Of sickness, which is
free to the men.
Judging from the opinions express.