Evening star., 1943-05-15

board said provision has been made
to increase the price of coal to
cover the cost of the overtime on
the sixth day of operation, and
added:
With a scheduled demand for
60O,000,000 to 630,OO0OO0 tons of
coal for l943, the largest in our his
tory, plus a growing shortage of
miners, it should be possible for the
miners and the operators to under
take collective bargaining directed
to the development of a mutually
satisfactory plan by which the
benefits of the six-day week could
be assured to the miners.
May Assure Market.
Such a plan could probably be
reinforced by assurances from the
government to the operators that
for an agreed period the operators
will have market for all the coal
they can produce
Meanwhile, Mr.. Roosevelt told a
press conference yesterday he had
asked Mr. Ickes to look into re-
ports that the UNIV had fined some
OF It's members for working Nav i,
the day after the contract expired.
That date was one day before Mr.
Lewis approved a resumption of
work under a 15-dav truce.
A reporter brought up the subject
at Mr. Roosevelts conference, saw
ing there were reports Is miners in
Pennsylvania had been fined IS
each.
Mr.. Roosevelt said he had seen A
news dispatch to that effect, and
had asked Mr.. Ickes to make an in
quiry.
Aides to MI. 1ckes, asked what su-
thorlty he might have to deal with
that situation, said they did not
know, Mr.. 1ckes is responsible for
operation of the mines which the
Government took over pending set
tement of a wage dispute.
Text Of Order.
The text of the WLB's "concm-
sions' in its interim order on the
soft coal controversy follows:
The bituminous coal cases were
certified to the board without agree
ment on single issue. It is not the
practice of the board to look be-
yond the certiflcation of a case be-
tore assuming jurisdiction, to ascer-
tain whether the normal procedures
of collective bargaining have been
exhausted. However. after taking
jurisdiction, the board or a panel of
the board has frequently ascertained
that collective bargaining has not
been exhausted, or that further bar
gaining would be fruitful. In such
cases the board has often directed
the parties to resume negotiations
and report the results to the board.
In this case the board is i'm
pressed with the number of issues
on which the parties should have
been able to reach an agreement by
the ordinary procedure of collective
bargaining. The operators have in
dicated that the representatives. of
the miners were at fault in their
seemingly adamant stand on two
dollars day, no more, no less But
it is difficult to understand why the
operators failed to advance any con-
structive bargaining suggestions on
any of the numerous items in dis
pute.
ON the other hand, 1t is difficult
to understand the insistence of the
representatives of the miners on
basing their demands exclusively, at
least for a time. on An abandon
ment by the Government of its
little steel formula.
Restriction of wage increases
constitutes only one approach to the
problem of controlling the cost of
living. Price regulation and ration
ing are correlative approaches to
this problem. A denial of increases
in straight time rates does not con-
stitute a denial of relief as to cost
of living
If the miners have a justifiable
complaint, it might be adjusted by
stricter enforcement of price ceilings
and the development of an adequate
rationing program to meet the
miners special problems. Steps to
accomplish those results have been
taken and others are in progress.
This adamant position assumed
by the parties seems to have pre-
cluded any attempt at real collec-
tive bargaining as to the numerous
items on which collective bargain
ing could properly have taken place
without violating the national wage
stabilisation program.
AS to the six-day week, 1t Is noted
that provision has been made to. in
crease the price of coal to cover the
cost Of the overtime on the sixth
day of operation. Since the mines