The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-08-08
WORKS BOARD
Orders Low
WAGES Banned
City Chiefs Rule Contracts
Must Contain Minimum
Salary Clause.

Indianapolis board of public works
today pointed the way to the state
highway commission in the matter
Of preventing future labor wage
cutting on state roads.
Board members ordered that all
future contracts for city public
works will contain minimum wage
clause, preventing the contractor
from paying less than IS cents an
hour for common labor.
No reports of cutting below this
figure have been received by the
city government and the action
was voluntary. The wage clause
insertion was held legal by James
Deery, city attorney.
A. H. Moore, city engineer, said
all estimates of work are based on
a Accent minimum wage scale, the
same as the estimates on state
highway projects.
Indiana contractors, who are
members of the Indiana Highway
Constructors, Int, are~not guilty of
the practice of sweating" labor on
state roads at 20 cents an hour, how
ever, it was asserted today by w. M.
Holland, executive secretary.
Disclosures Made by Times
Indiana Highway Constructors,
Inc, is composed of Indiana con-
tractors who engage in public con-
tract work.
Fred Cunningham, brother of Miss
Dorothy Cunningham, national Re
publican committeeman for In
diana and head of the Cunningham
Construction Company, is president
of the organization.
Disclosures of this price cutting
on state contracts, which were fig
ured at the Accent hourly mini
mum for common labor, have been
made in statewide survey con-
Quoted by The Indianapolis Times
and Secretary Adolph Fritz of the
Indiana State Federation of Labor.
Twenty cent labor contractors
named were from out of the state,
or sub-contractors who cut the labor
costs to make two profits. one being
for the general contractor, who, in
at least one instance, did no work
at all.
No 20-Cent Labor Hired
Holland announced that a survey
of his membership disclosed that no
20-cent labor is being employed. He
submitted the following for publica-
ton:
Indiana Highway Constructors,
Inc, an organization Of contractors
engaged in public contract work in
the state of Indiana, has conducted
a survey among its members to as
certain the scale of wages for COM
mon, or unskilled labor.
The survey discloses the fact that
the scale ranges from 30 to so cents
per hour on the individual job. and
common. or unskilled. labor COM
prises about so per cent Of all labor
on the average job.
Notwithstanding the fact that
such labor can be procured for less,
our contractors have not taken ad-
vantage of it. much to our salts
faction.
I'VE have not advocated. nor are
we in sympathy with a rate Of wage
that will not permit a decent stand
ard of living"
Commissioner jess Murden (Rep.,
Peru stated today that he was
proud to learn" that Hoosier con-
tractors are not largely involved in
the unfair price cutting.
When the commission meets next
week he expects to introduce a
resolution requiring restoration OF a
decent wage scale on all state work
or blacklisting of the contractor In
the future.
1t is expected that this will be
given unanimous Endorsement Of
the commission, since Chairman
Albert j. Wedeking of the commits
sion and Director John j. Brown Of
the highway department have con-
denlned the price cutting practice.