The daily worker., 1934-04-12
"Share the Work"
Pay Cut in Mines
Is Perkins Plan
(Continued from Page y

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manent, naturally" but it Is better
for the community, the Labor Sec
retary declared. She admitted that
it means q lower weekly wage for
the miners now employed.
Lewis Agrees to Wage Cut
John L. Lewis. President of the
United Mine Workers of America,
against whose orders the Pennsyl-
vania miners struck last August. and
a member of the strike breaking
National Labor Board. is not on
posed to the special report, Miss
Perkins told the press.
II take it that it's a good guess
that Mr.. Lewis is not opposed to
this share-the-work plan?" a re-
porter asked.
my impression is that he is not
opposed to this equalization plan" ="
the Secretary of Labor replied.
Secretary Perkins declared that
she has sent the committee report
to N. R. A. Administrator General
Hugh S. johnson with the request
that he consider its Tecommenda-
tions for inclusion in the anthra-
cite code.
Members of the committee, ap-
pointed according to the Depart
ment of Labor upon the request
of leading citizens in the affected
area" we're: DR.. Carter Goodrich,
of Columbia University. chairman;
Hugh S. Hanna, of the Bureau of
Mediation of the Labor Department.
and David J. Price, of the Agricul-
tural Department.
Miss Van Kleeck. whose recent re-
port in the bituminous coal indus
try is appearing under the title,
Miners and management" dis
cussed the Perkins committee rec
concentrations in an interview with
your correspondent.
She said:
This is Just another effort to
force the miners to bear the burden
of the exploitation of the non
restorable natural resource, coal.
Equalization is not a word which
the miners use. It's very evidently
super imposed upon them. This
brings out once again that control
ling elements are railroads, the steel
industry and industrial buyers who
control as a raw material and hence
wish to keep it's conditions disor-
ganized.
Dodge Unemployment Insurance
"The proposed remedy is a new
way Of lodging the absolute neces-
sity for real unemployment insur-
ance funds for miners, with no con-
tribution from the miners but with
the unemployment insurance fund
to be borne by industry and the gov
ernment. Such q method would be
the only genuine relief in this situ-
alton.
"If John L. Lewis approves of this
share-thework plan it's another il
ltlstration of his readiness to call
upon the miners to make sacrifices
instead Of resisting the continual
demands made upon them to suffer
from the results Of the failure of
the coal operators to manage the
industry"
The equalization" or share-the-
work plan was first proposed to her
by q local committee of editors,
bankers. business men and some
workers" Miss Perkins explained.
1T was general group rather than
a group of miners, she added when
questioned further.
WAS John L. Lewis consulted?"
a reporter asked.
NO, but we've consulted him
since" Miss Perkins smiled back.
Workers Must Pay
Miss Perkins official release given
out during the press conference. de-
clared that the committee believes
that IAN insurance fund should
have joint management and Joint
contributions. uniform standards
and benefits throughout the indus
try and fairly long waiting period"
The committee, proposing a strike
breaking, compulsory arbitration
board suggested that the "anthra-
cite code should lay down the gem
eral principle Of the equalization of
working time and that a Joint board
under disinterested chairmanship
should be empowered to make ex-
ceptions from its strict application
where they were justified by sub
stantial differences in the costs of
operation of the market ability of
the product In such cases, the
board should work out with the
operators and miners alternative
methods of sharing employment and
should have power. where necessary.
to compel their acceptance. Such
a program would. Of course. require
adjustments, Inconvenience. and
sacrifices on the part of both the
men and the companies; but we do
not believe that the difficulties are
insuperable
Miss Van Kleeck, who recently
testified before the House Committee
on Labor in favor Of the Workers
Unemployment and Social Insur-
ance Bill (H. R. 1899, informed the
Daily Worker that she suspects that
this Perkins committee plan is in
tended as method of bringing in
non union men into the anthracite
field.
The area covered by the special
report is operated and owned by the
Philadelphia and Reading Coal and
Iron Company