The Waterbury Democrat., 1944-05-01

weekly wage, vacation with pay, sick leave, severance pay, higher pay for afternoon and night shifts, time and half for work on six holidays, removal of geographical wage dif- ferentials, equal pay rates for equal work, job reclassification, check of of union dues, common labor pay for learners and the institution of a group insurance plan to give every empioye $500 minimum coverage, plus disability insurance and hos pitalization. It is an imposing list. In argung aganst some of these demands, steel company represent atives may well say in effect: wait a minute. What is this? Are we negotiating over wages and working conditions or are We considering a social security program? Whats going to be the policy of the coun- try and of government on some of these things? Will there be increas- ed social security as a matter of national policy or are these things to be left to private employers? If the latter, how are the weaker com- panies to institute these reforms on the same scale as the stronger? And if the government is to broaden its social security coverage and benefits why are we talking about them here? Is this not more of a sub- ject for legislation than for nego- tiation between labor and manage ment?"
 AND HOW ABOUT
 THESE DEMANDS
 Specific demands which might be classified as subjects for national policy determination and outside the scope of collective bargaining might thus include:
 The proposal for creation of @ trust fund for the armed forces.
 2. The demand for guaranteed work week and minimum weekly pay.
 3. The demand for sick leave with pay.
 4. The demand for dismissal pay. 5. The entire proposal for estab- lishment of an insurance plan with disqualification and disability bene- fits.
 The entre subject of veterans benefits is now before Congress and will be determined on national basis of equal bonus or pension for equal service and sacrifice.
 All the others are topics which are under study by Congress as part of the cradle-to-grave social secur- ity legislation, or which are part of the existing state and federal plans for workmen's compensation, unem- ployment insurance, and old age re- tirement benefits.
 PENSIONS NOW
 A NATIONAL POLICY
 Before the depression and even before World War I, many of the stronger private employers had made starts at setting up pension plans. When the whole country rec ognized the need for such old age insurance, it was adopted as a na- tional policy, and the private plans disappeared. Private unemployment insurance plans. considered by few companies in the booming i920's, would not have been adequate to deal with depression demands and so disappeared, to be replaced by national unemployment insurance.
 Similarly, soldiers part-pay bene- fits given by a few employers at the start of the defense period have now been almost completey replaced by dependents allotments paid by the government.
 All of these developments empha- size the importance of this question of what constitutes the field of col- lectiye bargaining.
 This does not attempt to be any kind of answer. It merely states the case. Where do you go from here? Does the government take over more of these problems or is the hot-pot. ato of responsibility to be handed , back to private industry