Detroit evening times., 1945-04-18
BEHIND
The News
BY Paul
MaIlon
WASHINGTON, April 1.-THE
w coal mine wage settl e.


upon the government and its
wage policies perpetrated by the
the old policy-scuttler. John L.
Lewis.
They made it look real. Lewis
and the operators handed out 10
the public earnest statements
dripping with literary perspira-
tion from their six weeks Of
dual negotiating. adding in an
undertone that, of course-ahem
there was a small matter of
the government approving the
wage boosts and the price hikes
TO be made necessary by the
wage boosts.
They inspired news accounts
suggesting the hourly base rate
was not increased and the hid
den increases (vacations, lunch
hours. travel pay, etc) were in
accord generally with War La
Dor Board policy, implying
government approval therefore
was mere matter of routine.
Nobody laughed.
WHAT they really did was TO
w shatter the governments
Little Steel Formula by carry
ing the evasions 10 an extreme
which makes mockery of it. The
facts are these:
The miners already were re-
ceiving wages above the Little
Steel Formula under the old
contract. They had received al
lowances for lunch time, vaca-
tion time, travel time, under
ground and practically every
thing except breathing time
afted hours, bedtime and recre-
alton time.
Ordinarily the perato
would have stood for the Little
Steel Formula or for any prac-
tical means of avoiding cost
increases which will initiate the
nations coal bill another S150.-
100000 annually and may hurt
their business.
DUT my inner information is
- they felt they had been
double-crossed by the govern
ment in previous stands upon
this ground. The government
encouraged them TO resist Lewis
and then in the last four strikes,
gave no help in resisting him.
This time. just before the
agreement was announced. the
diSagreeable Mr.. Ickes had be-
gun seizing their mines. taking
first the captives OF the steel
companies. Rather than hold
the line for an administration
they could not count on. they
let Lewis have his way and
pushed the whole matter right
up to War Labor Board and
Office of Price Administration.
Now the Lewis deal really
constitutes new labor on
slaught upon the Little Steel
Formula. That economic pol
icy becomes obsolete il labor
can get wage increases as high
as Is to 20 per cent around and
outside il.
THE Lewis formula shows all
l. labor how TO crush the ad-
ministration policy and if the
WLB and OPA accept it, all
labor will be upon them seeking
similar allowances for standing
time, sitting time, walking time
and talking time. BY whiting
il down they may save some
face, but not much else. The
government simply can not get
away from the fact that any
thing il gives is violation of
its formula. Consequently AFL
and CIO are watching Lewis
approvingly and with grin on
their faces, TO see how govern
ment will get out Of this new
hole.
II may decide to hide away
in the hole for a few weeks.
The governments economic di-
rectors have already promised
to break their hold-this-line or
der after We day. WLB might
then accept a goodly portion of
the Lewis proposition without
too much embarrassment. Lewis
is not in hurry as the agree
ment provides any increases
must be retroactive.
nURING the Lewis-operator
~ negotiations, an attempt
was made to handle the problem
in a new way by bringing il
under the wing of Frances Per-
kins,r the labor secretary,, in
stead Of the curmudgeon or the
War Labor Board Lewis did
his part. and was perfectly will
ing TO accept Miss Perkins di-
rection. But the operators
played safe by throwing the
matter into the board.
That is about the only point
they won, excepting exclusion
Of the preposterous Lewis de-
mand to collect tax of 10 cents
ton on coal This will not
greatly grieve Lewis, however,
as the increases he got will cost
25 cents ton-more than twice
the proposed tax.
Thus proceeds labor-wage ne
gotiations in the thirteenth year
Of this labor government. II is
getting to be a tricky business.
Distributed by KIM Features synd. Inc.
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