Evening star., 1943-01-23
Anthracite Leaders
Discuss Program
For Six-Day Week
Dispute Over Wages
Under PIon Expected to
Be Settled in Week
BY the Associated Prsks.

d? the Associated Press.
WILKES-BARRE, Pa, Jan. %
Pennsylvania'S vast anthracite in
dustry, employing an estimated ST.
GOO miners and producing millions
OF tons of strategic coal annually
Tor the war effort, may follow up its
three-week strike, ended yesterday
with a new agreement putting all
mines on a siX-day week-in accord
ance with Government pleas for
greater wartime output.
Both mine owners and United
Mine Workers spokesmen said to-
day that a dispute over six-day
week wages may be settled ''by next
Saturday" Meanwhile, the indus
try's policy-making Committee of
Twelve-made up of six operators
and six UNIV representatives.
ranged a meeting later today in
Hazleton presumably to discuss the
issue.
A majority of the collierieS in the
Panther Greek Valley District y,
the Pottsville area District g.. as
well as most of the mines in the
Wilkes-Barre area District u, we're
reported working today.
Three of the collieries that were
on strike-involving about 3700
workers-were idle, however. They
were the Dorrance and Prospect and
Henry Of the Lehigh Valley Coal
Co. and the Exeter of the Payne
Coal Co. at Pittston
Agree on 6-Day Week Pay Plan.
Operators and UNIV leaders
agreed several weeks ago on plan
for time-anda-half pay for the
sixth day, but thousands of UNIV
members rejected it as unsatisfac-
tory and refused to work on Satur-
days Other thousands, however
worked the sixth day, but some of
their spokesmen said they hoped
for more satisfactory" pay ar
rangement later.
The dispute was not directly re-
lated to the 23-day strike which
ended yesterday as the last of the
$4,000 strikers voted to resume pro-
duction. Thousands who refused to
work on the sixth day did not other
wise participate in the walkout. The
main strike issues were demands
tor 50 a day cost-of living bonus
and rank-and-file protests against a
50-cent month increase in union
dues. Strikers returned to their
Jobs-on President Roosevelts COM
mand-with neither issue settled.
Four Locals Voted to Work.
A break in the series of Saturday
holidays came even while a new
agreement was being talked. Four
locals of the Lehigh Valley Coal g.
Navigation Co. at Lansford and
Coaldale and the Nesquehoning local
of the independent Edison Coal Co.
announced they had voted by large
majorities to work today. An un-
determined number of locals, how
ever, remained idle.
Solid Fuels Co-ordinator Ickes had
urged the six-day week to boost
production over the $4,000 000-ton
level of 1912 When operators said
it would increase operating costs, the
Office of Price Administration au-
thorized increases averaging so cents
ton in anthracite ceiling prices
Many miners have argued that the
time-and-a-half agreement did not
give them a fair share of this in
crease.
Any new agreement providing
wage increases it was pointed out
would require approval of the War
Labor Board, which sanctioned the
time-and-a-half plan.
Some spokesmen, however, said a
new Interpretation of the existing
arrangement might satisfy all fac
tions. This comment was not ex-
planned.