The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-12-07

eralized vacation and holiday schedules and severance pay. All these awards came as a result of specific demands made by the Steelworkers.
 Perhaps half a million workers are directly affected by these grants but the important thing to the c. ]. O. is that in the Big Steel case, precedent was set for making similar grants to other c. T. o. unions which have specific demands in cases be- fore the VILE,
 The A. F. of L., however, which had merely made blanket demand for breaking the Little Steel Form ula as means of getting higher wage rates, got nothing out of the Big Steel decision except, perhaps, a vague sort of assurance that if the A. F. of L. unions should make specific demands in line with Big Steel awards, the cases would be considered and in due time granted.
 The result of this apparent but certainly unintended favoritiSm to the c. I. O. is that pressure to break the Little Steel Formula is bound to be increased by the A. F. Of L.. leadership.
 DETERMINED TO BREAK
 LITTLE STEEL
 Even the c. I, o. Steelworkers, while gratefully accepting every thing handed to them in the Big Steel case award, are not going to let the issue rest. At policy meet ing in Pittsburgh it was decided to press on for breaking the Little Steel Formula.
 First step takes the form of a demand on the War Labor Board to complete its report on this is- sue, for submission to the President. A preliminary draft of the report has been made by the public mem berS for submission to labor and industry members, but this draft is understood to have many gaps which must be filled in before it is ready for the White House.
 sentiment among c. I. O. leaders was strongly against trying to force a decision on breaking the Little Steel Formula, prior to the election. Realizing that the President was on a spot, to be damned if he did rec ommend breaking the Little Steel Formula and damned if he didn't, the c. I. o. leadership laid of. Now, however, it is prepared to lay on. There is no implied strike threat if favorable action is not forthcoming, but pressure for in- creaSlng wage rates is building up on two principal grounds: first, that the report of the Presidents Cost of Living Investigating committee, admitting that living costs have risen beyond wage increases; sec- ond, that upward adjustment of basic wage rates is necessary to stabilize income at present levels and so provide purchasing power to maintain full employment when the war is over. COLD TO VIE DAY RAISES
 To suggestions that no immediate caslc wage rate increases be grant, ed now, but that provision be made TOT increasing wage rates on the day the war ends in Europe, the Q. l. O. leadership is decidedly cold. These suggestions have been credit ed to the Office of Economic Stabil- ization braintrusters, but labor lead CTS point out that any idea of try ing to increase wages on the day that the bottom starts to fall out of the labor market is silly.
 Cited as evidence of the need for increasing basic wage rates now is a confidential study made by OPA economists. indicating that when the war ends, the drop in national income from wages will be IT billion dollars year-haif of 1t represent ing the complete disappearance of war jobs, the other half represent ing the lowering of income from wages due to the return of now high-paid war workers to lower-paid jobs in laundries, stores, domestic service or other former employment. AS an offset to this loss of na- tional income due to disappearance of war production jobs, it is cal- culated that If the 17-cents-an-hour wage increase demanded hy the Steelworkers were given straight ecross the board to the 13 million people now employed in manufac- turing industries, the increase in na- tional wages would amount to only five billion dollars.