Evening star., 1945-11-08
Transit
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Transit
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proposal. This plan, adopted by the
membership meeting in Turner's
Arena at ! pm. yesterday, provided
that:
/. The operators would return to
work Immediately.
2. The company would not penal
lie the workers
8. Fourteen-day negotiations would
begin today.
Service Quickly Restored.
Operators left the hall immedi-
ately to get buses and streetcars out
of the barns. BY 3:45 pm, in time
for the mass homeward trek, service
had been restored to 10 per cent OF
normal.
The company permitted passen-
gers to collect 81 refund on week
ly passes marked No. As that were
turned in at company offices before
last midnight or mailed to the main
office in an envelope bearing pre-
midnight postniark. An additional
20 cents was refunded for every
Maryland coupon turned in.
Beginning today and through next
Wednesday, Is cents will be paid for
each pass turned in. The refund
may be collected when buying next
weeks pass from operators or by
bringing or mailing the No. As pass
to any company Office. The refund
for Maryland coupons through next
Wednesday will be cents.
Will Refund S55,000.
Of the 10000 passes sold for this
week, about 5000 have been sent in
for 81 refunds. The company ex-
poets about another 1000 in a later
mail, bringing the total of refunds
up to $4,000.
The remaining 10000 passes
represent refunds of $45 900 between
now and next Wednesday, but COM
pany officials said the S55, ZOO it ex-
poets to pay out does not represent
total loss. since most of those who
have already turned in their passes
will use cash fares or tokens for the
rest of the week.
Checks for the refunds were being
mailed as quickly as they could be
made out.
The company, in negotiations be-
fore the strike had countered the
unions 30-cent raise request with an
offer to incorporate into the present
base pay a 7-cent hourly bonus
which the men have been getting
during tne war and has assured the
men that overtime pay will continue
at least until the current contract
expires on June 80, 1916.
Merrill Sees Deficit.
Mr.. Merrill said that if the COM
pany granted the increase, it would
be compelled to petition the PUG
for an average boost of three cents
in fares or sustain a deficit next
year. This deficit would total So ,000,-
600 by the end of 1916 if the raise
were granted and fares remained
the same, Mr.. Merrill said.
The union contends, however, that
operators often must put in a 12-
hour day to get credit for eight
hours, owing to broken shifts. For
example, one man said he begins at
$50 am. and is off at GOT am.
Then he must return at 1890 pm.
and work to $50 pm. Thus it takes
him 111a hours to put in an 8-hour
day. For a seven-day week, he gets
$4,000. Taxes and a So War Bond
deduction bring this down to S47.89,
he said,
Another man said he spends 13
hours a day. six days a week, to
earn S51.73, which leaves him $45.60
take-home pay.
Union members pointed out that
their overtime pay begins only after
40 hours of platform time" and that
it often requires go hours of time
away from home before they have
reached the overtime level.
They also complained that they
are required to pay for weekly paSse!
they lose and that deductions fol
uniforms which the men wear are
not spread out over enough weekly
pay checks.
Despite the high feeling that per.
vaded the union meeting during tht
day and a half the walkout was II
progress, only about per cent votee
against returning to work when thu
the proposal was put to vote at
pm. yesterday.
The first streetcar that left thu
Navy Yard bound for Cabin John a
1:23 pm. yesterday was greeted b.
' cheers all along the route. The ca
was operated by l.. A. Barton, n
Eleventh street Sc, and the frs
passenger to board it was Mrs. Ellel
Walters, 1347 Massachusetts, avenu
Sc. Soon afterward both streetcar
and buses began leaving terminal
at the rate of about one every tw
minutes.
After a conference in which tn
transit tie-up was discussed, tn
National Negro Congress today re
iterated its demand that Negr
operators and conductors be use,
on streetcars and busses in tn
District.
The group, in statement
charged the transit company wit
maintaining consistent un-Amer
ican policy of not promoting ii
competent Negro employees to tn
positions of platform men and bu
operators" and added that this ha
unnecessarily curtailed the servic
to which the community is properl
entitled"
EFT is the responsibility Of tn