Evening star., 1936-08-26
STEEL MAY BOOST
WAGES OF 45O,OOO
WITHIN 90 DAYS
Carnegie Employees Present
Plea for National Commit.
tee Recognition.
SIS MINIMUM PAY BASE
DEBATED BY INDUSTRY
Chance for Profit Admitted by
Spokesman-September 8
Deadline on Dispute.
r. the Associated Press.

Ey the Associated Press.
PITTSBURGH. August 26.-Steel
circles revived talk yesterday of gen.
eral pay increase for the induStry's
100000 wage earners on the heels of
an uuheralded demand by employe
representatives of the Carnegie Illinois
Steel Corp. for recognition of a ma
tional wage committee and Is per
cent pay boost.
A usually reliable source informed
the Associated Press he expected an
increase within so to 80 days." if
present activity in production con-
tinued. He explained:
The industry, as a whole, is not
out OF the red financially. or at least
not enough to resume dividend pay
ments. 1t seems logical to expect most
of it will show an operating profit in
third-quarter reports.
1T would not be surprising to see
some concerns resume dividend pay
ments, move which I believe would
be followed by an increase in wages"
S. Base Pay Considered.
This informant added that there is
q divergence of opinion as to whether
a minimum wage of S. day should
be established, with a smaller rate of
increase for those in the higher wage
brackets. The present minimum pay
ranges from 1912 to about $3.50 a
day which one source declared applies
to less than per cent of the workers
He said the industry already is pay
ing its skilled workers a higher rate
than that of automotive and canning
companies, steel's best customers,
whereas the latter's lowest bracket
rate is higher.
A dozen Carnegie Illinois employees,
five elected in the Chicago-G dis
trict and others from the Pittsburgh
Youngstown area, to represent fellow
workers in company-sponsored collec-
tive bargaining agencies, disregarded
regular procedure in presenting their
demands direct to the presidents
office of the largest United States steel
subsidiary yesterday.
The employers representation plan
provides such grievances shall be
taken up at individual plants and de-
cided by committee composed of five
men chosen by each side.
The insurgents" left their petition
with Vice President L. H. Burnett
after brief conference and mailed
copy to President B. F. Fairless, now
on vacation.
They stated they desired wage
agreement arranged under direction
of the Steel Workers Organizing Com
mittee and bluntly asserted I'VE de-
mand":
A national wage committee; Is per
cent wage increase; 4O-hour work
week; weekly pay checks; just Senior
ity rights; more adequate" safety
measures and better" vacation-with-
pay plan.
They set September 9 as the dead
line for a meeting with their COM
mittee to "effectuate settlement on
an honorable basis"
Action Not Unanimous.
Seven members of the Pittsburgh
Employe Representatives Central
Committee. including F. W. Bohne of
youngstown, chairman, refused to go
along" with the group making the de-
mands. These men conferred with the
eompany's district industrial relations
director.
Bohne explained their position.
The employe representative body in
the Pittsburgh area has asked for a
minimum S. wage and S1.10 increase
for everybody. Until the main body
has voted on new demands, they can
not be entertained by this Central
Committee, nor can we join in with
any other group purporting to repre-
sent any other body of employees until
such proposal is put to a vote of all
the employe representatives in our
district
There are IS representatives in the
Pittsburgh district, only IL of whom
attended yesterdays conference. Bohne
said the Chicago members were per-
mitted to attend after they said they
represented no one but themselves.
10 PER CENT BOOST HINTED.