Evening star., 1946-12-11
Industry Able
10 Raise Pay
'25%, C|05ays
Economic Report Cited
As Big Unions Plan
Second Round Drive
BY james Y. Newton

The CIO today fired the first
big gun in its battle to boost
wages of workers in the Nations
great masS-production indus
tries through release of a report
designed to prove that the av-
erage American business can
increase wages Is per cent while
maintaining prewar profits Of
SO per cent.
The report was prepared for the
CIO by Robert r. Nathan, formerly
the Governments deputy reconver-
sion director and now private
economic consultant. 1t is designed
to bolster the claim of CIO unions
for sizable, second round recon-
version pay increase.
Specific new wage demands now
are being formulated by the CIO
in the steel, automobile, electrical
appliance and other key industries.
1t is expected the demands will be
announced after a strategy confer
ence OF the big unions next Mon
DAY IN PlttSburgh.
To Press Fight in January.
The CLIO is scheduled to press its
fight for higher pay for workers in
the big industries in January, just
at the time an aroused Congress
will be considering labor-curbing
legislation.
Mr.. Nathan's study said the Ma
ton will be flirting with collapse"
unless industry promptly raises
workers pay or cuts prices sharply.
In stating that all business could
raise pay Is per cent and still make
prewar profits, the report said that
manufacturing industry, In which
the big CIO unions are supreme,
could under the same circumstances
raise pay 81 per cent. 1t was em-
phasized that the figures apply only
on the average and not to individual
firms.
Real Earnings Down.
unless there is an immediate in
crease in wages, we are flirting with
collapse" the report stated. There
is no evidence to date to indicate
that business will cut prices prior to
ia depression in which unemploy-
ment, declining incomes and shrink
ing demands viii make price de-
lclines unavoidable. This Is too high
q price for bringing wages and prices
into sounder alignment"
4 Mr.. Nathan said manufacturing
profits after taxes this year are at
an all-time high, "far surprising the
best war years" and the boom Of
1929. Profits in manufacturing are
As per cent above the best war year
and rs per cent over 1929, he said.
At the same time, workers real
earnings" declined because. he said.
even though they received pay raises,
prices went up even more.
'The facts all lead to the con-
clusion," he argued, that not only
from the workers point of view, but
also for the benefit of the whole
economy a further substantial wage
increase without general price in
crease is possible, justifiable and es-
Sential."
Tax Policy Urged.
To go along with wage increases
as a means of assuring stable
economy. the report called for dras-
tic alteration OF tax and fiscal poll
cies, curbs on monopolies and trade
restraints, a 'long overdue" ex-
pansion of the social security sys-
tenn, higher minimum wage levels
and an "unequivocal restatement of
public responsibility for the main
tenance of full employment and q.
renewed determination to cooperate
with other nations in the achieve
ment of this objective"
On specific points the survey said:
While some workers received 1871
cents hourly increases last spring,
the average increase was 1877 cents.
Due to loss of wartime overtime.
average weekly earnings in manu-.
featuring actually declined $1.67, or
3.5 per cent. Meanwhile, prices in.
creased so that workers s-1can now
only buy about four-fifths Of the
goods and services with their week..
ly pay that they could buy in Janu-
ary, 1945."
Employer costs-Ayerage hourly
cost of work in manufacturing
rose So cents from January, 1945,
to date, or 80 per cent, This com
pares with an increase of 25.3 per
cent in all wholesale prices" for the
same period. In addition, improved
quality of work ((productivity) has
offset a substantial part Of the
increase in hourly labor costs
Meanwhile, the suggestion came
from four Senators that union lead.
ers themselves be given the first
opportunity to propose changes in
lSee I,AROR. Page A-4.)