Evening star., 1942-04-14

ample OF now the small business
enterprises are being injured. not
withstanding their loyal and ef-
ficient service to the war pro-
gram. might be given than that Of
the Walker-Stone Co.. which has
Just been ordered by the War Labor
Board to compel its workers to
remain members of c. I. o. union.
The company in question is
working about 100 per cent on war
contracts of a very important nature
but does not work directly for the
Government, being a subcontractor
whose prices are fixed by the price
administrator and yet whose wage
costs are boosted by another Gov
ernment agency without assurances
from any one that the higher costs
can be passed on.
The record in the case shows that
the company used its last years
profits to buy new plant and equip
ment and could not possibly grant
the increase of 10 cents an hour,
which would have meant a fiat IA
per cent increase in wages without
compensating the more skilled
workers any more than the less
skilled "a circumstance that was
causing concern to the employer
because of the competitive demands
on the available labor supply.
Willing on Per Cent Increase.
The company was willing to grant
an increase of 7 per cent SO that the
more skilled groups would benefit.
The wage question was duly settled
by collective bargaining. But the
War Labor Board panel representa-
tive is charged by the company with
having urged that the increase be
made per cent instead of 7 and
that the closed shop demands would
then be dropped. The company
found itself unwilling to agree to
any union security proposal, which
would require it to dismiss workers
who didn't want to remain in
unions, and the charge is made by
the company that one of the public
members of the panel threatened
to punish the employer and admin
lister the most drastic form Of union
security proposal.
The story of what happened to
this little business would certainly
be worth q thorough investigation
by a congressional committee, for it
seems increditable that any one con-
nected with the War Labor Board
would attempt to coerce or intimi-
date any employer into a compro-
mise settlement by threatening some
sort of punishment in the form of a
clause more severe than has been
granted in other cases.
The case also offers an example
OF how union demands tend to level
workers wages and to discriminate
against the highly paid skilled
workers. If the original demands
had been accepted, the business in
question would have doubtless lost
some of its most capable employees
to the larger plants nearby.
Previous Increase Granted.
The company reveals that apart
from the latest wage increases, it
had granted q 20 per cent increase
In wages although the cost of living
In the area had advanced only 1873
per cent. 1t is Interesting to note
also that the company records show
an increase in production of 56.8 per
cent IN the last three months over
the corresponding period of last
year and with man-hours increased
only Is per cent. This is due to i'm
proved methods and the intensive
efforts of the workers who have been
responsive to the needs Of the war
program.
The labor board uses the phrase
"substandard" to describe the wage
levels OF the company when actually
the rates of pay compare favorably
with others in the same line of busi-
ness.
1t would appear that the War La
Dor Board is attempting to make
wage levels uniform in a geograph-
ical area without regard to the
classes of labor involved or the par
ticular kinds of skill involved. If
this policy is maintained, small
business hasn't much of a chance
for survival and big business and
large cartel units will dominate the
American economic system.
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