Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-29
LABOR EXECUTIVES
HIT ARBITRATION
Denial of Wage Increase on
Western Railroads StirS
Opposition.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The latest decision by an arbitration
tribunal denying a wage increase to
conductors. trainmen and baggage
men employed on IS Western roads
has started a furore among labor ex
ecutives here against the principle OF
arbitration. L. E. Sheppard, pres1
dent of the Order of Railway Coli
ductors. says:
II was opposed to submitting wage
disputes to arbitration In the first
instance and I am more emphatically
of that mind now"
The railroads, on the other hand
had just begun TO despair of the
value Of arbitration since the wage In.
creases were granted for the Eastern
and Southeastern roads for the same
classes of employees.
Board Silent ON Decision.
The United States Board of Medi-
alton, which has it's headquarters
here, has declined to comme0e on
the decision. In fact, 1t was pointed
out today that Chicago dispatches
last week gave an erroneous i'm
preston as to the connection of the
board with the decision. The board
merely sets up the machinery for
arbitration under the Watson Parker
law and leaves it to the carriers and
labor unions to agree among them
selves as to the neutral arbitrator.
The decision itself is filed with a
Federal District Court and Is binding
on both ends unless attacked by petit
ton within 10 days after the award
and the law provides that it can be
attacked only If the impartiality or
integrity Of the neutral arbitrators
can be questioned.
The Board Of Mediation is, there.
fore, in no sense party to the
arbitratiops, and the public interest
so far aSetransportation rates are con.
Of by the Interstate Commerce Com.
mission.
Wage Levels Seen Disturbed.
Labor executives are arguing that
inasmuch as the wage increase of
IN per cent, which was asked, had
been granted for Eastern and South
eastern roads, it will disturb wage
levels not to have uniformity. A con-
ductor taking a train into Chicago
from the West meets a conductor
from the East getting higher wages
for the same work. To this the rail
ways answer that while the rate of
pay by the day may be h CHER in the
East and Southeast, the average
earnings taken over a years time and
considering certain working hours
really amount to uniform scale
nationally.
1--WE most strenuously dissent from
the action Of the ma jor.ty," say the
minority arbitration, in using the
financial condictIon of the carriers
involved as stated by them in the
award as a factor in determining just
and reasonable wages. In fact, the
true Interpretation OF the view ex.
pressed by the ma jority justifies the
the conclusion that they not only used
this condition as n factor, but, in fact,
adopted the additional theory that
the carriers should be allowed to earn
a return of 81 per cent on an as.
stunned valuation before the employees
are entitled to just and reasonable
wages determined by recognized and
proper factors"
Question Of Fair Wage.
The minority also add that decisions
of the Federal courts had held that
employees were entitled to receive
just and reasonable compensation de.
termined by comparison with wages
received for like services by other en-
ployes engaged in the same line of
work. even though no dividends were
received on stock or interest paid on
bonds"
The whole contention comes down
to whether the wage increases grant.
ed in the Southeast and East compare
with the existing wages on Western
roads and whether the diminished rev.
enues of the Western roads, as COM
pared to the Eastern roads. should be
a factor--a subject on which there is
much room for argument from the
viewpoint Of labor, and there probably
Will be considerable of it for months
to come.
tCopyriRht 1927