The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-03-04
BY sERRELL MILLMAN

United Press Staff CoFFespondent)
 Washington. March 4.,-- (UP) - Enployes of two Washington state and eight California aircraft factor. los today received general wage increases which . majority Of the War Labor Board eontended were allowable under It's "Little Steer wage formula,
 Tho WLB, with public member Wayne L. Morse and the four labor members dissenting, awarded Q general wage increase Of { Ia cents an hour to 9o,0o0 Doeing Aircraft Company empleyeS at tho Seattle and ReEton, Wash, plants, and on increase averaging Ia cents on hour to approximately half of the 220,0o0 California employees
 The board held that Boeing work CTS were entitled to tho booSt DO" cause of cost of living adjustments and that employees of the California plants, who already have obtained increases permitted under that part of the formula, were entitled to a further increase because of certain inequalities that could be corrected under tho formula.
 Tho award fell below not only the workers demands but beneath gen. eral pay increases proposed last July by two of the California com panleS, That indicated that the majority of the board was determ. med to stick by the Little Stee' formula.
 The boards determination te preserve the stabili2ation policy w9S considered challenge to John L Lewis whose United Mine workers seek Q $2-a~day wage increase IT direct contravention of the formula The miners have received the mix. mum increase allowed under that formula.
 (Lewis attacked the Little Steel formula in a speech at Scranton Pa. yesterday, in which he promised anthracite miners they would have a wage increase in their new con- tract)
 The Little Steel formula allows wage increases - designed to offset maladjustments created by a lS per cent cost of living rise between January l. l04i. and May l. l942- to exceed IS per cent over January levels only for the correction Of in- equalities, inequities, substandaro pay or for effective prosecution oi the war.
 The boards ruling was hotly dis puted by Morse - who disagreed with the three other public mem 1 bers for the first time on a major case - and by the labor members ! Morse, who emphasized ne did not agree with certain labor members that stab'llzation director James F. Byrr,es had influenced the major tvs decision, termed the little steel formula inapplicable to the air- | frame industry because of employ ment expansion and changes in pro- duction methods, job classlfications and other employment factors since January. l94l.
 Asserting in a separate dissenting opinion that if the dispute had been handled quickly and efficiently when 1t first arose. the workers would have received a general inc crease, Morse said, Tt follows that It is only fair to give them that increase now"
 The labor members contended in their dissenting opinion that gen. eral increase 'of at least 10 cents and hour" should have been ap- proved. They accused the VILE of "a dereliction of duty in refusing to use all the instruments at It's command to fashion wage policy which can most fully contribute to the effective prosecution Of the war"
 No less important than the WI4B maiorltys wage ruling was its ore der that uniform pay schedules pc