The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-01-04


 Peter EdSOn Congress passed the wage stabilization amendment to the Price Control bill, 1t was at- tempting to stabilize prices ano wages as of that date, assuming that the prevailing rates then in effect were proper. Any adjustments granted thereafter will therefore have to be to correct Sept. l5 wage levels for one of four reasons:
 1. To correct Inaladjustments We'll, that means that if any group of employees has received as much az a IS per cent increase in basic straight-time wage rates over the rate prevailing on Jan. l, l941, the War Labor Board or any of its re- gional of local offices will not grant any further increases.
 This goes back to the so-called War Labor Board little Stee Formula" which in mid-July, 1922, granted the steel workers a 51a per cent increase so as to bring their wages into line with the IS per cent increase in the cost of living record- ed up to that time.
 HOW ABOUT A RAISE
 All right, suppose you have not had a IS per cent increase between Jan. 1, 1941, and today. Can you get a raise if the boss is willing?
 If you're just an individual work man. the answer is "Nol" because it's average group wages that count. If you're one of group of workmen in one particular job classification ribbon clerks, bulldozers, anything the answer is still "No" unless an inequality needs correction.
 But if the average straight-time payrates of all the workers in your plant, company or union bargaining unit have not gone up 15 per cent since January, 1941, then your bar gaining unit can make application for 8 wage increase. Or, if there is no union, your employer can ask for government approval of the raise.
 2. Cases of inequalities or gross ineouities. If there are manifest injustices that arise from unusual and unreasonable differences in wage rates for people doing the same kind of work in the same plant or area, the tendency will be for the board to correct the inequality by raising the lower rate. If the punch press operators in Plant A get 75 cents an hour and the punch press operators in Plant B get 90 cents, the people in Plant A or their boss have case for a raise.
 NOT JUST ANYONE
 Right here, however the Labor Board makes clear that 1t is not go- ing to eliminate all wage differen- tials all over the country. Wage lev- els in the south aren't going to be raised to wage levels prevailing in the north for similar work, and the wages of smalltown carpenters can't be raised to New York's fancy scales.
 3. To correct substandards of hvo ing. This one is rather iffy. There isn't any definition of what mini- mum or an average standard of liv- ing really is, nor is there any meas urement for a substandard. If worker or a group of workers should file an application for 8 wage in- crease because present wages forced them to exist under substandarc living conditions, that case would probably be kicked right up to the War Labor Board itself.
 4. To aid in effective prosecution of the war. On this one the VILE says 1t isn't going to be kicked around so that wage increases may be granted just to solve manpowel shortages. For instance, there hai been a shortage of copper miners WLB did not authorize increases 1T the pay scale for copper miners jus to attract workers to copper mininl from gold mining WLB waited un' til the War Manpower Commission and other governmental agencie took concerted action such as nov ing lot of gold miners into the cor per country, freezing copper miner In their jobs, etc.. before 1t did any thing about raising copper miners wages.
 Then WLB considered application to adjust inequalities. All adjust lnents the War Labor Board makes tt emphasizes. will be for more eltec tive prosecution of the war. That the gulding principle of the who'll business.