Evening star., 1943-12-22
RdiIUniionHeads
Draft Proposal
1oAvert Strike
Incorporating Units
Join Others in
WoIkout Threat
Picture on Page A-3.J

By the Associated Press.
Leaders of five railroad oper-
ating brotherhoods today COM
pleted the draft of a counter
proposal for settling their wage
dispute and averting a strike
called for December 30.
These brotherhoods, which origi-
nally asked minimum increase Of
SO day, reduced this to 64 cents
g cents an hour in the counter
proposal, but added demands for paid
vacations, overtime after 40 hours
for yardmen and away-from home
expenses for roadmen
The overtime plan would add 1891
week to the top-bracket yardmen.
Roadmen estimate their away-from-
home expenses average as high as
s25 month.
Plans were made to submit the
new proposed basis for settlement
to President Roosevelt, as mediator
of the dispute, as soon as the White
House would receive a delegation.
Other Unions Join Strike.
Fifteen other brotherhoods repre-
sentlng more than a million oper-
atlng rail employees have Joined the
operating unions in calling strike
for December 80. but up until early
this afternoon there had been no
Government intervention in the
"nonop' case
Mayor Fiorella La Guardia of New
York conferred here during the day
with leaders of both the operating
and incorporating unions to survey
the possibility Of maintaining sup
plies of essential food and fuel for
his city in the event the threatened
rail strike materialiZes
The operating groups last night
rejected a plan put forward by
President Roosevelt which would
have given them a Accent hourly
increase in the form of overtime
pay or expenses in addition to ths
straight Accent rate increase recon.
mended by an emergency board.
President Roosevelt's stabilization
advisers contend that the supple
mentary 4 cents. given as a straight
rate increase, would violate Federal
wage policy. Vacations and ex-
penses could be allowed within the
stabilization program. There is
some controversy whether a change
in overtime rates would be viola
ton.
Not Covered by Law.
! Railway employees are not covered
by the Fair Labor Standards Act
under which most workers in inter-
state commerce receive time-ard-a-
half after 40 hours a week Rail
workers have overtime formulas,
but they vary among the different
crafts
A settlement Of the operating
workers demands would not mean
an automatic end to the dispute
involving the Is incorporating
unions The "nonops' now have va
cations. They do not incur layover
expenses like the roadmen who are
away from home several times a
month. They do want overtime
rates to begin after 40 hours, instead
or after 48 or more. but they say
President Roosevelt had promised
them that as a separate and dis
tinct concession which was not to be
confused with their basic wage de-
mands.
Originally they asked an increase
of 20 cents an hour. An emergency
board recommended 8 cents. Stabil-
ization Director Fred NJ Vinson ve-
toed that but approved a sliding
scale of to 10 cents, which the
incorporating unions say would
wreck traditional rate relationships.
The carriers signed contracts to pay
the 8 cents, and thus the IS unions
have no dispute with their employ
ers.
SO Pct. Vote to Strike.
Results of a strike vote taken last
month were withheld until yester-
day when the Is union chiefs an
nounced that SO per cent of the bal
lots favored striking
For more than Is months" said
their statement, these employees
have patiently sought to secure
reasonable and long-overdue in
creases in wages but have been un-
able to effect an adjustment.
The heads of these unions to-
day granted permission to the en-
ployes to carry out their decision to
strike at am. December 30. 1943."
This is the date set for the strike
OF the operating unions