The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1944-12-21
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Wage Freeze to be rhawed Out
ByRUL MALLON :;

Wage Freeze to be Thawed Out
People in Washington generally
say Mr.. Roosevelt deserves respect
for his courage in standing firm
upon his Little Steel wage freez-
ing formula against the Go
unions so soon after his election
victory in which CIO loudly par
ticipated (and with CASH. NJ
His decision was part of the deal
by which James Byrnes remained
in. the right wing of the White
House to run war economics until
victory in Europe.
Breakage of the wage-freezing
formula would have frustrated all
Byrnes' efforts to hold economics
within the inflationary line, and
he would have left the govern
ment, had it been broken, in such
a way as to invite general ris-
ing level of wages now.
This inside of the matter natur-
ally was not made public, nor was
any genuine thorough understand
ing of exactly what the govern
ment did give the unions.
Within the decision was the
core of a new policy TO increase
wage rates. industry by indus
try. gradually over a period OF
months. without formally aban.
doning the current economic
front or even confessing fully
what Is to be done The wage
freeze Is thus TO be thawed in
spots without breaking the ice.
After steel will come textiles,
which really has better case for
a wage increase than steel, auto
mobiles, rubber, etc.
Frankly, the government was
caught in rather desperate pre-
dicament on this thing. The
unions could not be stalled off
much longer. They presented a
fair case for some kind of in
crease, based on price advances,
although they did not expect to
get as much as they asked Q7
cents an hour. .-~
y Initiation Critical
On. the other hand every dollar
given them complexities the infla-
tionary problem which already is
more critical than anyone in
Washington will admit (the short
age of goods continuously forcing
prices up through government
ceilings as can be seen, for ex-
ample, in the $20-a-cord price
for inferior wood that brought
81 cord before the war;
Every additional dollar in cir
culation will encourage payment
of higher prices, black markets,
under-the-counter dealing and
every device to defeat the gov
ernment's war purpose of holding
the line.
The administration took the
same way out il used on for
mer occasions. The labor board
ordered reclassification of work.
ers to increase their pay with
out changing the scale. vacations
with pay. shift pfeferentials. .
etc.
BY the device of Redistribution
alone it could grant nearly any
wage increase desired, especially
to the least skilled, lower grade
workers.
I know of one company which
had the money and wanted to
raise wages 10 cents an hour, but
was refused permission under the
wage freezing order. That COM
,pany went through its employee
list, group by group, reclassifying
grade G workers as grade B, and
so on, until it had upgraded, in
graded and redepartmentalized
everyone and given them the 10
cent increase. It was all within
the law, and the basic wage rate
was not changed
How much steel men will get,
nobody knows. Published ac-
counts of the decision said 5 to Z
cents, but this is a Washington
estimate. The steel companies