Evening star., 1943-08-23
Coal Miners Deserve
Sf.3O a Day Raise,
Kennedy Tells WLB
Lewis Attends Hearing,
Introducing Secretary
To Present Argument
By The Associated PresS

Thomas Kennedy. quiet spoken
. secretary-treaSurer of the Unitee
Mine Workers of America, tole
his former colleagues on the Wal
Labor Board today that an in
crease of $130 day for anthra-
cite miners is fully justified anC
necessary to retain manpoWer
Appearing before the board he
with its policies, Mr. Kennedy sale
that. in an effort to effect a COM
promise basis upon which an agree
ment could be written. the mine
workers offered to settle for ar
overall figure of S1.30 per day, OIL
81 per day net
BY this offer we mean payment
of ST per day to each employe. with
the tools, lamps. safety equipment
smithine vacation, and so forth. to
be added free or otherwise by the
operator.
Lewis Introduces Kennedy.
I'VE believe this increase to fully
justified under the national wage
Stabillzation policy and necessary
to compensate for the hazards of
the industry, to bring about COM
parable wages with other industries.
to compensate for the lag and def
cheney in wage increases over the
period of the past two years: to build
for higher morale. increased pro-
ductiVe efficiency and cooperation
and to aid in the more effective
prosecution of the war"
Mr.. Kennedy was introduced by
John l.. Lewis. president of the
UNIV, who confined himself to pre-
senting his aide as the unions man
most familiar with the problems at
issue through association with the
industry for lifetime"
Originally the UMW's demands
included 50 day and portal-t to- por-
tai pay. Mr.. Kennedy said the
operators had offered an increase of
64 cents a day, SO cents of which was
due under the Little Steel formula
and the rest divided among increas-
ed vacation payments, lamps. safety
equipment, tools and blacksmithing.
Mr.. Kennedy said the anthracite
working force is estimated at 1900
men, compared with about $4,000
in the last war.
The industry" he said, has lost
additional thousands to other war
industries in which higher wages are
paid. A plant is being built at
Scranton for the Murray Body Corp.
1t will employ about 5000 persons
when in operation According to
reports received by us from Govern
ment sources, approximately 1000
applications for employment at this
plant have been received. Yet in
this same city of Scranton and the
surrounding area. the coal compa-
nies axe desperately short of work
men.
The answer is obvious: Higher
wages. better and safer working
conditions"
The minimum outside labor rate
In the hard coal industry is S. 08,
but Mr.. Kennedy said about TOO
employees work at Jobs which pay
less than that, some of them as
low as s278. About 10000 men
work 5for S508, while higher paid
outside men get from 90. to 95 cents
an hour. Inside company laborers
get S6 a day on the average and
the company's rate is S6.56 a day.
Y@Nf,oorc who nat n-l,o
is known as a consideration" or
minimum rate. earn an average of
S743, Mr. Kennedy said.
Mr.. Kennedy told the board that
production of each 25l,000 tons of
hard coal last year cost the life of
one mine worker. He said an aver
age of 46 men were injured every
day the mines worked that year.
Operators Issue Statement.
The operators in a formal state
ment to the board argued that the
anthracite industry is different
from the bituminous industry in
many essential particulars and its
problems cannot fairly be consid-
cred except as separate and distinct
from the problems of bituminous."
The operators contended that the
mine workers demands In their en-
tirety" involve an average increase
of more than S525 in the daily
wage and an increase of S220 ton
in production costs.
The average hourly rate in the
mines, the producers said, is 81. .069
and the average annual earnings
computed on present operating
conditions are at the rate of over
$4,000 with work week not exceed
ing AZ hours for the great ma jority
of the workers"
Considering the take home pay.
the operators said it appears that
average earnings of the mine work
ers today as compared with jan
uary l, l94l, had increased 769 per
cent. The agreement of January
l943, providing for siX-day opera
ton, alone increased earnings by
80 per cent, they added.
Under such conditions there
seems 10 be no justification for even
asking the Nation to depart from
the boundaries and standards ac-
cepted by other workers in other
industries as means of avoiding
the dreaded specter of initiation, -
the operators declared.
The criticism of the Little Steel
formula. so often advanced--to the
effect that the IS per cent advance
since January /, 194l. Is less than
cost of living increase Of nearly
"a per cent, has little application
here because of increased earnings
far beyond all cost Of living in
creases and with moderate weekly
hours of work the statement con-
tinued
In opening the hearing Board
Chairman William II. Davis said
only the mine workers or the Gov
ernment agency operating the mines
could petition for an alteration in
conditions under which the mines
are being operated by the Govern
ment.
Walter Gordon Merritt, counsel
for the operators. Immediately OBJ
lected to the ruling
WLB called the nearing on the
nlea of tho anthrarite oneratorS