The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1943-05-27
Lack Of Planning
Responsible For
Mdnpower Muddle
Group Of Senators Declares
Wage And Job Freezing
Orders Unnecessary

OIO0IS unnecessary
Americas war production program
has run into a "deep-gOing crisis" be-
cause of ''hit-and-miss" methods and
lack of central control, the Senate Sub
committee on War Mobilization charg
ed in sensational report issued this
week.
Administration efforts to freeze
wages and manpOwer were cited as
examples of lack of overall planning.
The committee called for creation of a
War Mobilization Board, comprising
representatives of all major war agen-
cies, to bring order out of chaos.
Such coordination Of policies relat
ing to wages, prices, manpOwer and
production would make shackles for
workers unnecessary, the committee
maintained.
Blundering Charged
On wages and manpower, the ad-
ministration was accused of blunder-
ing A right start was made, the COM
mittee said, In the shipbuilding indus
try where wages were stabilized on
uniform basis by Il national agreement
of labor, industry and the government.
A liberal wage scale was created to
flow manpower into this war industry
the report pointed out.
That policy was not carried out in
other industries. For example, in air
craft, just as important as shipbuild-
ing, jumbled wage structure, far
below the level of shipyards, was re-
tanned. Union efforts to bring about
stabilization in aircraft on a par with
shipbuilding were torpedoed last year
by former Price Administrator Leon
Henderson.
Award Unsatisfactory
Finally, the National War Labor
Board entered the picture, in the case
of the West Coast aircraft plants, but
it's wage decision, when handed down,
was so meager that unions protested
bitterly, declaring the award would
have damaging effect and make it
harder for the industry to get needed
labor for a vastly-eXpanded aircraft
lprogram.
\ Labor's position, in effect, was sus-
tanned by the Senatorial committee,
which asserted the boards decision
"sidestepped the manpower problem.
President RoOSevelt'S subsequent wage
freezing directive, the committee said,
made the situation even worse because
it served to freeze wage inequalities
which hinder manpower mobilization.
ton"
Wages in aircraft now vary all over
the map. For instance, at the Boeing
plant in Seattle, which is under Il
closed shop agreement with the Ma
chinists pay scales are higher than
rates at Il branch Boeing plant in
Wichita, Kan, thus producing unrest
and migration of workers.
For National Wage Policy
Such conditions were apparently in
the committees mind, because it de-
clared that industry-wide agreements,
such as in shipbuldng, should have
become the nations policy long ago,
so as to stimulate production.
Our price and wage policies have
been piecemeal," the committee said.
"Only if wages and prices become pro-
duction instruments will it be possible
to achieve overall stabiliZatiOn of our
economy"
The committee was equally critical
of manpower policies No freeze of
workers would be required, it contend
ed, if the government had taken steps
to end labor boarding" and ineffi-
cient use of labor" by war contractors.
Cost-plus contracts, it charged
squarely, have induced such waste of
labor, because arrangements, knowing
Uncle Sam will foot the bill, make
, little or no effort to practice efficiency
or prune their forces to actual needs.
Manpower Wasted
Some industries, the committee said
have 20 to 100 per cent more workers
than they can use, forcing many tu
Just stand around and loaf. This accu-
satiOn is in line with contentious re-
Deatedly made to war agencies by the
Machinists and other unions
Signers of the report were Senators
: Harley NJ Kilgore (Dem., w. Va.)
Ebert d. Thomas Dem., Utah), Ru,
fus c. Holman (Rep., Ore.), Edwin C.
Johnson Dem., Colo), Mons c. Wall
gren Dem., Wash, James r. Muir
I, ray Dem., Mont.) and George A
Wilson 0tep., Iowa..