The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-03-04

-'''''''' arguing h Q t
 Peter Edsom had been going on to the time that labor, manage. ment and the government got to- gether. Since then, you haven't no- ticed much labor hullabaloo in the shipyards, except for absenteeism and the A. F. of L.-C. L. O. jurisdic- tional row in the Kaiser yard, Q row outside the stabilization agree. ment.
 It 50 happened. however, that wage provisions of the sllipbuilders' stabilization agreement gave higher pay rates than were prevalent in the west coast aircraft plants. That the case, labor naturally tended to drift from aircraft factories to ship yards, and the quit rate and the la- bor turnover in aircraft factories became disturbing factor.
 Two things might have been done to remedy that situation. Labor might have been frozen, wages in the aircraft factories might have been raised to the shipyards' level. Everybody was afraid, or thought the country not yet ready to accept job freezing, SO nothing was done about that.
 The aircraft industry employers were agreeable to have wages go up. What the heckl Government money was being paid for wages anyhow, and If the government was agree able to having It's planes cost more money, the manufacturers should worry. The only sucker in such a situation is your old friend the tax payer. EVERYONE WILLING,
 BUT NOTHING DONE
 But out of this situation there de- veloped the Los Angeles aircraft in- dustry labor government conference last June. All the west coast air- craft companies were represented, A. F. of L. and 0. I. O. were both there, so were some government gentlemen from Washington, repre- senting the War Production Board and the Office of Price Administra- ton.
 A. P. of L. and c. I. O. were clam bring for @ wage increase, naturally Management was willing, In fact anxious to have enough of an in- crease to stabilize their employment conditions. WIPE, charged with pro- duction, wanted 1t settled. But at this stage of the game, in stepped OPA's representatives with an ulti- matum that the industry could 90 ahead and raise its payrates If 1t wanted to, but OPA would not ap- prove any increase in the cost of the finished planes to the govern ment. Management said that couldn't be done. The conference broke up in Q row and there was no decision, no stabiliZation agree. ment.
 PRODUCTION BOGs
 Tn December, the Boeing plant at Seattle experienced Q number of slowdowns, inspired solely by the abe sence of evidence that anything was being done to reach @ settlement. Before Christmas absenteeism rose to 34 per cent of the working force. There was one series of creeping paralysis tie-ups throwing the whole production schedule into a mess. Boeing maintained its production schedules by working much over- time, thereby tipping costs.
 Finally the case got to the Ma tional War Labor Board, which be- gan consideration of the matter Jan. 8. The minute the Washington hearings began, the Boeing plant quit rate dropped. But when seven weeks had dragged by and nothing had happened, the unions began to get tough. Boeing's contract with A. F. of L. expired last June, and negotiations for new agreement have been postponed for continuing 3O-day periods ever since. pending the issuance of the War Labor Boards directive that must neces- sarily be the basis of the new agree- ment.
 The union demand for a 50 per cent increase in the starting rate, from 625 cents to 95 cents an hour, is not taken seriously. That's nnere- ly the old bargaining trick of asking for the moon and taking what you can get. These men aren't heels. Their average war bond purchases run 12 per cent of the payroll, and 94 per cent of the workers par ticipated. The plant has been given two Army E awards for high produc- ton. But you can't string anybody along for eight months and expect him to love you for 1t.
 The War Labord Board is admit tedly overworked and far behind it's docket. Its public members at least lean over backwards in trying to be fair. The board members as- signed to the Boeing case are sup- posed to have written half dozen drafts of the aircraft directive, try- ing to find language agreeable to management and labor. That ex- plains their delay.
 But where labor should watch it's step is in trying to fore or infiu- ence board decisions. More of that staff can only mean passage of the Hobbs bill or the Connally anti strike bill and eventually a labor draft bill, from which labor itself has most to lose.