Evening star., 1946-03-03

ished tasks remained before the or
ganization: To repel the attacks on
price control; defeat sinister leg
islative proposals pending in Con-
gress" threatening organized labor,
and to bring the millions of un-
organized workers into the CIO.
May Ask 54-Hour Pay.
Mr.. Lewis new wage demands, it
was believed, may include 54-hour
pay for 40-hour week, including
5 hours travel time" plus the ap-
proximately 18 per cent increase in
wage rates the miners seem to have
coming under new Federal wage
price policy. Although the contract
calls for a 35-hour work week, the
soft coal miners currently are put
ting in 81 hours underground on a
six-day basis, six hours of which is
travel time ...
Basic hourly rates of miners were
boosted the Is per cent allowed un-
der the wartime Little Steel formula
in the spring of 1941. The new Fed
eral policy provides that in indus
tries where no wage patterns have
been established since VI day, the
workers are entitled to 80 per cent
increased in rates to offset the CAL
culated rise in living costs since
January, 1941.
Mr.. Lewis was held certain to de-
mand full recognition of his union
OF mine supervisory workers, and the
right to organize those supervisory
employees still outside the union.
The National Labor Relations Board
still has under consideration the
question as to whether Mr.. Lewis's
foremen's union is an appropriate"
unit for collective bargaining pur-
poses under the Wagner Act. That
issue caused widespread strike in
the coal industry last fall.
Issues in Dispute Cited.
In his strike notice, filed in ac-
cordance with law, with the Secre-
tary of Labor, NLRB and the Wage
Sterilization Board, Mr. Lewis said
the supervisory employe question
was one of the issues in dispute with
the operators. He said that also in
dispute were five controversial
points pertaining to hours, rates and
conditions Of employment of various
classiflcations of employees" which
have arisen "out of an arbitrary and
Interpretation Of the con-
tract by the operators"
He wrote the operators represen-
tative, Mr.. Van Horn, that the new
wage conference would negotiate
new arrangements affecting wages,
hours, rules, practices, differentials,
and all other pertinent
matter affecting or appertaining to
the national bituminous coal indus
try"
The present mine contract pro-
vides that 1t may be reopened on
wages on q Significant change" in
Federal wage policy or may be re-
opened in entirety any time after
March ! on the giving of 10 days
notice by either party. Actually
Mr.. Lewis could have reopened wage
provisions at any time since last
August 1s, when tight wartime wage
controls were dropped.
Fear Effect on Program.
Top Government officials from
President Truman on down fear
the impact Of Mr.. Lewis wage de-
mands on the new wage-price pro-
gram. The coming wage battle
shows signs Of being the most bitter
in the strife-torn history of the in
dustry.
Federal officials say the profit
position Of the industry is so low
that any wage increase given the
miners must be reflected in the
price of coal to consumers.
Then, the competitive position of
coal with other fuels is not advan-
tageous, a circumstance that likely
will lead the operators to fight Bit
terly against wage increase. The
operators say a further increase in
coal prices would place their prod
uct at a still greater disadvantage
with other fuels.
Should the new wage conference
open on March II as Mr.. Lewis sug-
gested, there will be only three weeks
in which to iron out differences and
draft an agreement to replace the
present contract. 1t is traditional
with the miners that they will not
work without a contract. Mr.. Lewis
warned that, in view of his notice,
he could terminate the existing
agreement March 81.