The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-11-20
CIO Tocks Wage Drive To Profits
clolms Industry Will Net After Taxes sN Billions

Atlantic City, N. J., Nov. 2O-- tuP)-cfo. hitched lts new wage drive today to iA claim that Am- erlcan industry would earn tho highest corporate profits in hls- tory" In ipl7, on estimated eo,BOo,. 100000 after taxes.
 c.f.o, President Philip Murray reported ready to back up the view. point of walter Reuthef, president of the United Auto Workers, ex. pressed in last winters General Motors negotiations that industry Is able to pay wage increases without inflatonafy price rises and still make profiN exceeding war and pre-. war levels.
 There will be no demand for . Took at the books" such as feuther made, Cf,o. sources said, and the campaign for pay boost will be kept In low gear until after the coal crises is settled.
 vlndloates Theme
 The C.f.O. estimated industry's lv47 profits in the "Economic Out look" monthly publication Issued today. It expanded the ability to pay" theme of Murray's keynote ad- dress opening the CLOS eighth convention last Monday. The io46 profits of all manufacturing cor. porations after toaxes were estis mated at s7.O00 ,OO0,O0O or e7,00O,. 100000 higher than the all-tlme peak average from iDA2 to IeaB
 These record profits clearly vine dicate the position taken by the CLIO. on the wage increases in early le40" the economic Outlook said.
 Industries could have paid the l946 wage increases without increas. ing prices of their products, and still have been left with profits at least equal to those made during the war years ig42-45."
 Equals Wartime
 The publication said it assumed that reasonable profit after taxes is s5,000. 900, 900 which it said equals the wartime figure and sl twice the average profits for iD36.30
 "Tndustry's unsuitable appetite for profits has brought about c redis- tribution in our national income which. if permitted to continue, will reduce purchasing power and cause miss unemployment" the outlook said. It said that workers had re. ceived GIT percent Of the national income during the war but this has dropped during the first eight months of ie46 to 62.6 percent, or nine-tennths of one percent below the lo36-3e average.
 It claimed that this is q repetition Of the trend in lo24-2e which led to the last depression.
 The highest profits In history must not be allowed to result in the worst economic collapse In history" it said. substantial wage increases must now be made If we are to ate tain and maintain sufficient pur- chasing power to keep our economy moving full speed ahead"
 What Wage should Be
 The Outlook" said that in terms of purchasing power, the workers had es week less in September than his io45 peak. If workers were to have a weekly income regarded as necessary for the minimum health and decency budget, 1t said the average weekly wage should be $68.l9 or s23.0o a week more than the s45.i0 average prevailing in September.
 CI.O. convention delegates mean while studied a series of resolutions containing a broad wage policy to guide affiliated unions in formulat- ing their specific demands. They sake for substantial wage increases ;o compensate for a 25 percent loss m purchasing power since April l945; for a 75 cents an hour mlni- mum wage. guaranteed minimum annual wage, pension, health insur- 'lnce and group disqualification plans. convention approval is due tomorrow or Friday.
 The convention welcomed Rabbi Stephen s. Wise. president of the American Jewish Congress, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, thief of stan. as speakers today.