Evening star., 1941-09-14
Maritime Commission
To Have War Bonus
Plan Ready Soon
seomen's Strike in N. Y.
Expected to Speed Up
Action on Proposal
Nv WILLIAM ]. wHEATLEY.

The United States Maritime Com
mission is expected to have ready
early this week proposed scale OF
war bonus payments for seamen Of
the United States merchant marine
and for radio operators, it was said
at the commissions Offices yesterday.
The commission experts have been
working on the tables for some
weeks. as the bonus question recent
" had been discussed with repre-
sentatives of the Seamen'S unions,
but it is expected the situation which
developed in New York yesterday,
where a strike was called on ships
about to leave port, because of in
ability to agree on bonus payments,
NAV speed up future conferences.
However, it was pointed out that
the demand for bonuses for ships
operating to the West Indies and
other Western Hemisphere ports Is a
new development, as the original
discussions at the commission dealt
only with transatlantic and trans
Pacific sailings. According to infor-
nation at the commissions Offices,
the men operating on ships to West
Indies and Western Hemisphere
ports are asking for a bonus of $50
a voyage, with $3.50 for loss of cloth
ing in case of sinking and for Sl0,-
600 life insurance policies. the pre-
miums for which would be paid by
the companies for which the men
were sailing.
Agree on Officer Payments.
An agreement has already been
reached on payments to the licensed
officers These resulted from con-
ferences held by representatives of
the officers. the ship operators and
commission officials. The officers
bonuses were fixed on a flexible scale
which could be changed as condi-
tions became more or less serious
This would run from so per cent of
the salary at the present time to
100 per cent of salary, if the United
States entered the war.
In addition to the percentage addi-
tion to salaries. officers would receive
s75 additional for each Suez port
they made, and s45 for each port on
the Red Sea or Persian Gull. For
Russian ports they would receive
S75 each. In addition they would
be given war risk insurance policies
of $4,000 each.
The meetings for the radio opera
tors and the Seamen were scheduled
for next month, to follow that for
the officers, but they were called
off. it was said, until the war in
surance division Of the Maritime
Commission could work out a tenta-
tive schedule of bonuses. These are
the ones which are Just being COM
pleted and which will be submitted
to the unions this week.
Time Allowed to Study Plan.
Time will be given the unions, It
vas said, to study the commissions S
proposals, after which the unions
may ask for a conference. How
ever, it was said that in view of
the fast that ships already are
being held up on account of the
failure to agree on bonus payments,
this may serve to speed up COM
mission action to the extent of call
ing the unions into conference.
The commission labor repre-
sentatives now are centered at the
Kearney. N. j., plant of the Federal
Shipbuilding & Drydock Co, and
While 1t was said that none of them
had been ordered to get the men
on the ships, 1t was indicated as
probable that if the situation be-
came more serious they would go
there the first part of the week.
Because of the recent develop
nents in the international situation,
1t was said at the commission's s
Offices that the men sailing on West
Indies bound ships want the same
bonuses as are given to those going
into the so-called war zones abroad.