Evening star., 1944-09-16
Wage RulingDut
To Reach President
Week Of October 3

Inc ADMINISTRATORS future
wage policy stirred increasing
speculation today as the Wal
Labor Board pushed ahead with
plans to make an early report te
President Roosevelt on pane,
findings dealing with the de.
mands of the CIO and the Amer
lean Federation Of Labor for an
upward revision of the Little
Steel" formula, which has gov
erned basic rates for more than
two years.
That the board would send direc'
or implied recommendations to tn,
White House that labor's wage bs
adjusted to compensate for in.
creased living costs seemed certain
in the light of one of the pane
reports which leaned heavily to.
ward the arguments advanced BY
the CIO United Steel Workers II
behalf of 17-cent hourly wage in.
cerase that would crack the formula
Early Report Promised.
The AFL panel contented itsel
with reciting the arguments ad.
vanced by the labor organizatior
for relief from the formula restric.
tions which limit basic wage in
creases to Is per cent above tn.
level of January l, l941.
WLB Chairman William H. Davis
told news conference late yester.
day that the board would make every
effort to complete its study of the
panel record in the week of October
9. This would bring the findings tc
President Roosevelt for final decision
something less than a month befor.
election.
Some observers believe, however
that President Roosevelt may In.
dicate his wage views next Saturday
night, when he makes his first cam
paign speech to the AFL Teamsters
Union here.
Murray Sees Change.
Philip Murray, CIO president, pre-
dicted several days ago that the
wage formula would be changed, and
In an address to the Mine, Mill and
Smelter Workers Union in Pitts
burgh yesterday, he called for
prompt governmental action on the
issue.
Asserting that new wage policy
is inevitable" Mr.. Davis expressed
belief yesterday that the situation
developing in the national economy
is eclipsing the Little Steel for.
mula.
He said that with We (Victory ir
Europe) day there will come 6
"superabundance of labor" ane
added that when that situation oc.
cours you certainly are not goins
to continue with a policy which wa.
designed to take care of shortage
of labor" He had noted that the
wartime wage freeze had been ap.
piled at time when there was g
labor shortage.
During the conference Mr.. Davis
noted that the WLB is not com
mitted" to make recommendations
as to continuance or abandonment
of the Little Steel formula or as tt
other factors of the workers wage
but he declared:
THE board is not going to side
step this issue. =" We are facing
a situation where a change in the
wage policy is very probable" Mr.
Davis said the new program must be
ready on VE-day to fit the country
shifting economic conditions. In this
light he referred to news dispatches
which said it appeared the German
collapse might we'll occur by October
81.
To question as to whether the
WLB's opinion whould be concluded
before election time, the chairman
admitted that it was probable but
added:
There is another significant day
ahead of us-and particularly sig
niflcant if you are considering ques-
tions of economic policy-and that
Gay which has now been called We
day, certainly from the point OF
view of economics is more important
than the 7th of November"
Mr. Davis said I'VE will exert
whatever power we have to prevent
wage reductions" regardless of
whether the expected 40 per cent
cutback in production of war goods
is effected.
1t was apparent that there will be
no lifting of wage controls in the
near future. If price control con-
tinues into the peacetime period
and all official sources have indi-
Gated it Will-wage control, said the
WLB chairman, also should be re-
tanned.
The steel industry is opposing any
Change in wage rates.
The indications that the wage
formula might be changed brought
a mixed reaction on Capitol Hill.
Senator Willis, Republican, of In
diana said 1T would seem wise to
maintain the present (wage) stand.
ards at least until after election"
AN increase at the present time,
he said, will be considered a bic
for votes and patriotic laboring men
of the country will not care to have
an increase under such a cloud"
Representative Randolph, Demo.
crat, of West Virginia was among
those who said he believed some re.
Taxation of the formula was justi-
fed, although he declared Il favor
just as strict control as possible ir
the overall picture of prices, profits
and pay"
But Representative Monroney
Democrat, of Oklahoma said, If we
are going to held the line, distaste-
full as it may be, we must hold the
Little Steel formula. Any modifica-
ton would start an upward move
ment OF all prices and result in still,
more advanced costs for labor"
1I.> -.,J H.