Evening star., 1942-02-26

Administration Reported
Studying Request for
Work or Fight Action
By the Associated Press.
Work stoppages in war fac
tories today brought an angry
demand in Congress for cancel
lation of the 40-hour week and
of time-and-a-half for overtime,
while an informed source re-
ported that the administration
might ask soon for a drastic
work or fight" measure, and
some Senators discussed the
feasibility of legislation to for
mulate a definite policy-which,
they held, was now lacking-to
govern settlement of disputes be-
fore the War Labor Board.
Representative Smith, Democrat,
of Virginia asked the House to sus-
pend II laws on the work week and
overtime pay. His proposal was
contained in an amendment to the
second war powers bill, slated for a
vote before the day was out.
Mr.. Smith said the laws were
"handicapping our war effort" AS
examples, he cited 1900 West Coast
workers in $50 plants who ignored
Government pleas to stay on the
job on Washington's Birthday, and
5000 c. I. o. shipbuilders at San
Pedro, Calf, who refused to work
longer than eight hours.
Labor Agreement Presented.
Lawmakers saw some hope for
uninterrupted production in the new
c. I. GA. F. L. agreement for
working out problems Of wages and
manpower mobilization. The agree
ment was presented to President
Roosevelt yesterday, but its terms
were not disclosed.
There was concern over such stop
pages as the strike of 140 welders
at the Bethlehem shipbuilding yard
in Hoboken over a foreman's "use
of vile and abusive names" and the
75-minute interruption at the Min
neapolis Moline Power Implement
Co. over complaints on slow wage
negotiations. Union leaders said
enough welders returned at Hoboken
to keep naval works going.
In the Senate, Senator Byrd,
Democrat, of Virginia yesterday de-
manded the removal Of Secretary
of Labor Perkins for "inefficiency,
ineptness and incapacity to meet
her duties" and called for national
labor policy now. He declared the
Labor Secretary had approved sit
down strikes" and displayed an in
capacity rarely duplicated in history
in such high ofIlce.
yet" he added, after nine years
Of such incompetence, and in the
face Of the greatest emergency this
country has ever known, when la
Dor troubles constitute a weak link
in our chain OF national defense,
Miss Perkins is continued in Office"
Labor Sacrifices Urged.
Senator Van Nuys, Democrat, Of
Indiana told reporters he favored
compelling labor to sacrifice some
of its gains during the war period
'fn keeping with sacrifices being
made now by others"
He said he had discussed the
question with certain unnamed Ia
Dor leaders and they had agreed
labor would have to give up the
40-hour week, time and half for
overtime, the closed shop and the
checkoff.
Leaders Of the A. r. L. and the
G. I. o. who saw President Roose-
welt were understood to have pro-
tested that Leon Hendersons re-
Gently expressed opposition to gen.
eral wage increases had injured
labor's case for higher wages before
the War Labor Board.
The President today was to confer
with Daniel j. Tobin, a vice presi-
dent of the A. F. L., and a White
HOUSE ldDOr ADVISER.
The labor leaders who conferred
with Mr.. Roosevelt yesterday for the
second time within a month, also
were said to have recommended that
the task of directing wartime mobili-
zat1on OF man power be assigned
to a single administrator in the
Labor Department instead of to a
board as proposed in the so-called
McNutt plan.
Farley Called Satisfactory.
Philip Murray and William Green,
respective heads of the c. I. o. and
A. F. L., pronounced the conference
satisfactory" but declined to dis
cuss details of their recommended
tions with reporters.
The recommendations were worked
out at joint meetings OF officials of
the two labor groups and were said
to have conflicted sharply on the
wage question with Mr.. Hendersor's
weekend pronouncement at Des
Moines, Iowa, in which the price
administrator said that any gen
eral increase in basic wage rates will
compound an already difficult prob
lem In the price field"
The union leaders were reported
to have told Mr.. Roosevelt that basic
increases were necessary to keep
pace with rising living costs and
that wages could not be frozen at
present levels so long as prices con-
tinued to increase.
The man power mobilization plan
proposed by Paul McNutt, Social Sc
curity administrator, envisions the
shifting of workers from one indus
try to another in a manner designed
to insure a maximum OF production
efficiency. Mr. McNutt recently was
reported to be Mr.. Roosevelt's choice
to head the board, presumably to be
composed Of cabinet members and
0ther hioh rankinc Government ad-