Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1922-05-26
WAGES
OF RAILROADERS
BE REDUCED?

The [. 5. Railway Labor Roari,
nov sitting II Chicago. Is hearing the
spokesmen Ter the railroads and the
various railway labor organizations
u determine whether or not working
rules should be changed and the
wages # these employees further re
d0ced below the i2.2ss cut which
chopnea over S37S. 0o0, 900 from the
railway pay rolls last July.
The question Is one of vital interest
70 the country. Not only the ~aSsen-
ger anu the shipper. but every citizen
who Consumes food. Wears clothing or
gets \ letter through the mails has a
personal concern IN an efficient. de-
pendable and economical transporta-
ton service.
The railroads contend that they will
gladly reduce rates II they can take
the difference out of the wages of
their employees. They do not promise
that this viii insure greater efficiency.
On the contrary, most Of them frankly
admit that il viii not, since railroad
wages are already at point where
many OF the best men are leaving the
service. The lawyers for the railroads
are not stressing the deilation of the
section men and unskilled malnte-
nance-of-way employees, whose wages
are only about IS day; but they as
sert that the higher paid railway am
ployes, especially the engineers and
train service men, should Immediately
suffer substantial reduction in pay.
Wages of Best Paid Rail Labor small
In order to secure for our readers
the unvarnished truth about the
actual wages received by the best
paid railway employees, we have just
made a survey Of the compensation
of locomotive engineers. who are
sometimes referred to as "the aristo-
Gratis of labor since they are among
the most highly skilled and best paid
railroad workers. Obviously, If cut
should not be made in the wages Of
these men, then the wages of the most
poorly paid employees can not be fur
Their reduced.
In order to determine whether the
engineers are now receiving more
than their share of income, we have
taken the authoritative figures on
wages recently compiled by the u. $.
Railroad Labor Board, the data col
lected by the Interstate Commerce
Commission, and the rule for deter
mining ''iust and reasonable wage"
laid down in the Transportation Act
passed by Congress in 1920 and still
in force. According to the carefully
compiled figures of the Railroad La
Dor Board, the average daily earnings
of engineers are as follows:
Passenger engineers-------S6 $500
Yard engineers COL
Through freight engineers 7.05
Local freight engineers 7.44
The Labor Board stresses the fact
that these are average daily earnings,
and include overtime as we'll as regu-
ular pay. They represent the total
daily compensation received by the
average engineer since July |, 1921,
when Decision No. 1a7 of the Labor
Board imposed 9.4S6 cut, totaling
S33 1882 ,645 per annum on engine serv-
ice employees. In the same report
there is also given the average
monthly wage received by engineers,
which indicates that many OF them do
not work full time. In fact. the high
est average stated is but $1s5.93 per
month, which tapers down to $lf9.56
for yard and local engineers. As a
matter of fact, many engineers are
now receiving less than this, because
the prevalent industrial depression
has deprived them of steady employ
ment to the point where they receive
but a few days work a week, often
with an average income of under 500
per month. This is far less than the
dollar an hour standard compensation
paid skilled artisans in practically all
of the well organized trades. II is
actually less than the U. S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics claims that the aver
age American family must have TO
maintain decent standard of livingi
Rules for "Just and Reasonable Wage"
We believe that it is fair to ask the
question: What are locomotive engi-
neers' services worth to society? The
Transportation Act lays down seven
rules by which lust and reasonable
wage" shall be determined by the
United States Railroad Labor Board.
In brief, they are;
/. Wages paid for similar work in
other Industries.
2 Relation between wages and cost
of living.
8. Hazards of employment.
a. Training and skill required.
5. Degree of responsibility.
y. 1HafdCleT anu regularity VI cur
ployment.
Z. Inequalities of present wages or
treatment, the result of pre-
vious wage adjustments.
Eleven Years Length of Engineers
Life.
Obviously, there is no similar work
in other industries with which the
labor of locomotive engineer can be
compared; nor should any skilled
worker be held down TO a mere sub
sistence based on the bare cost of liv-
ing. What, then, are the hazards, the
skill, and the responsibility exacted of
engineers We doubt if the public
realizes the risks daily assumed by
every engineman in active service.
According to the mortality tables,
based upon years of actuarial expert
ence by the Brotherhood of Locomo-
tive Engineers Insurance Department,
the average duration of life of rail-
road engineer is but IL years and 2
days. No engineer knows when he
steps into the engine cab whether,
through no fault of his, his life will be
snuffed out before the end of the run.
The safety appliances which railroad
employees have secured only after pro-
longed struggle can reduce, but they
cannot eliminate, the risks incurred
by engine service employees.
Severe Tests Eliminate All But Few.
The training, skill and physical per-
lection required of an engineer is