The daily worker., 1934-07-13
By II. SHAW

By II. SHAW
AS a result of an avalanche of
letters and kilograms VIII i c h
flooded Congress, this reactionary
body was forced to pass Bill
for Retirement Pensions to rail-
road workers, who had reached
65 years of age or who had SER
vice record of so years. In pass
ing this legislation they ignored
the most important provisions
necessary for an adequate pension
and in general did everything pos
sible to protect the profits of the
railroads.
The theory continually pre-
sented in official documents OF the
Railroad Employees Pension Asso-
citation claiming that retirement
pension legislation would pro-
vide Jobs for hundreds of thou
sands and abolish the need for
unemployment insurance, has once
more been blasted on the very day
it was signed, when President
Roosevelt admitted: "a CON-
SIDERABLE NUMBER OF OLD
Err MEN WILL NOT BE RE-
PLACED
BY this statement it is implied
that some men will be replaced.
But in the long run even this is
doubtful. The Emergency Trans
portation Act passed by the same
Congress and signed by President
Roosevelt provides that the rail-
roads do not have to replace
$4,000 men each year for the next
five years, who are dropped from
the payrolls because of voluntary
retirement, sickness, or disability.
Whatever unemployment bene-
fits such legislation might have
brought about has been definitely
excluded, as result of last min
ute changes in the pension bill.
Unlike the original bill, which pro-
poses that the railroads contribute
in proportion to their operating
income, the final bill provides for
the railroads to pay four per cent
of their total payrolls.
A Stimulus to Dismissals
This method makes it possible
for the railroads to avoid The in
crease in expenses, which they are
vigorously protesting against, by
wholesale lay-offs, classification
of Jobs and general reduction in
payrolls. The less men they en-
ploy, under the provisions OF the
Pension Bill, the lower their pay
rolls, the less they will have to
contribute to the pension fund.
Some workers think that the
provision in the Transportation
Act freezing employment of the
May, 1888, level of employment
will prevent such action, but even
Eastman, who drew up the Act
with the help of the railroads, now
admits: 81 think this section of
the Act is unconstitutional
Many rumors have been delib-
erately spread which claim the
men laid off either get their
money back or are entitled to a
pension. But in most cases this
is not true. Only those workers
who have attained the age OF 65
or who have 80 years service and
are over SO years old are entitled
even to the pauper pension pro-
vided in the Bill (the LIS cut
back each year for those under
65 years of age, deprives those
under 81 years of age from pen
sion benefits. ALL WORKERS
WHO ARE CUT OFF BEFORE
BEING ENTITLED TO PENSION
BENEFITS, although they may
have contributed to the fund,
do not get penny back.
According to the figures given
out, the pension will in most cases
be a pauper's pension, not an ade-
ouate retirement pension, as was
first promised.
A worker whose entire service
period brings an average of $3.50
month would get $50 pension
if he had reached 65 and had a
service record of 20 years or if
he had reached so with a service
record of 80 years. A worker with
this monthly average wage who
had both 80 years service and was
65 years or older would be en-
titled to a maximum pension OF
S75 month.
A worker getting monthly
average income for his full SER
vice period of $50 a month, which
is higher than average pay of men
hanging on extra board, the part