Montana labor news., 1933-05-04

HAciiiANo OAs Inv GhtttbANC
Council of the American Federation
of Labor, in session here, accepted
the plan for Federal production con-
troll, favored by Secretary of Labor
Perkins as an amendment to the
Black-C onnery six-hour day and five
day week bill, but opposed the
amendment to establish a minimum
wage for all workers affected by the
measure. The Council believed that
the pay restriction should be limited
to women and minors.
The position of the Executive Coun-
ell was presented to the House Labor
Committee by William Green, presi-
dent of the American Federation of
Labor. The council attended the
hearing in a body.
Mr.. Green declared the measure
should apply to goods manufactured
in foreign countries.
Right to Organize.
He offered an amendment provid-
ing that under the law workers should
not be denied by their employers the
free exercise of their right to be-
long to bona fide labor organizations
and the exercise of collective bargain
ing through representatives of their
own choosing.
Mr.. Green said that to be fully eff
fective in restoring employment the
30-hour week bill should be applied
to all industries and should be fol-
lowed by legislation in the various
states covering industries not includ-
ed in the Federal measure.
He urged that the thirty-hour week
should be linked to a plan for "gov-
eminent underwriting of production
to increase productive activity and
employment in the building, capital
goods and consumer industries" with
governmental loans restricted to pay
ments for labor and materials.
5000 Jobs, Higher Wages.
He estimated the number of unem-
ployed to be $4,000, 900. He said the
enactment of the 30-hour week bill
would create jobs for around 6,000,-
600 and insisted that there should be
no reduction in hourly rates of pay.
Flexible Work Week.
While Mr.. Green did not believe it
would be necessary to make the bill
more flexible by authorizing the 40
hour week for ten weeks providing
the extension was deemed essential
to certain industries by a competent
government board, he said the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor would not
object to the provision if the Admin
~istration and the Department of La
Dor insisted on such flexibility.
Controlled Production.
On the amendment vesting in the
Department of Labor the power to
control production by limiting the
total number of hours in certain plants
if deemed necessary to correct over
production or unfair competition, Mr..
Green said:
"We think that would prove a very
interesting experiment, and we are
willing to accept it in order to deter
mine what the outcome would be-"
Minimum Wage Held Dangerous.
But in regard to the Perkins pro-
posal that would authorize Federal
wage boards to fix minimum pay, Mr..
Green said:
"The American Federation of Labor
feels that would be a dangerous ex-
pertinent. While it would help some,
it would, in our opinion, tend to in
jure the efforts of the bulk of labor
to raise their living standards, to
bring about increases in wages and
to help their social conditions through
the exercise of their economic
strength.
eve fear very much that if we en-
bark upon a policy of fixing wages
by law, labor will find that the mini
mum wage so fixed will be the a
imum wage, and that labor will be
chained to a pegged price. l think
we are justified in arriving at that
conclusion because experience in COM
modify price fixing has worked out
that very way.
Minimum Pay for Women and Minors.
I'VE therefore look with disfavor
upon the proposal to establish mini