Detroit evening times., 1946-01-15
BEHIND
NEWS
BY Paul
MaIlon

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15-The
w IT'S per cent pay raise fig-
ure for General Motors was
worked out arithmetically by
the Truman fact-hnding board.
1t calculated what production
would be this year on 40-hour
week basis, and then figured
how much less pay the workers
would get from this production
without a wage increase.
The standard Ii fixed for
wage increases then was
simply the original Truman
proposition Of maintaining
war time earnings-not fully
making up for the heavy
overtime pay which would be
lost in peacetime production,
but establishing a reasonable
approximation OF those wage
returns for the 40-hOur week.
In doing this il discarded the
union proposition for establish
ing wage rates by calculating
profits. 1t pointed out that
wages in each automobile manu-
featuring plant would vary un-
der such a standard, because
the profits of each were differ
eHt, and General Motors profits
were the highest.
THE report also seemed to dis
card the cost-of-living theory
for fixing wage rates, saying
war earnings went up higher
than war costs of living. This
had been the basis of fixing
wage rates through government
policy during the war. 1t was
the standard furnished by the
Little Steel formula. General
Motors had offered in this case
Il cents an hour increase
based on the cost of living. This
theory of government policy is
thus now definitely abandoned.
The fact-finders, who really
proved to be policymakers. con-
Cerned themselves with profits
of the company only to the ex-
tent of establishing that the
company could pay this higher
wage without an increase in
price-aithough ii was not very
definite about this and said the
company might seek OPA ap-
prevail for a price increase, or
at least was not precluded by
this report from doing so.
The report thought the
company could pay because il
had increased the price OF
1912 models 12 per cent over
1941, and had the largest
earnings i'm Its history that
last peacetime year, but the
report admitted materials
costs had increased Is per
cent and might increase more,
along with other costs of OPP
GRAFTON.
TFHS the General Motors
l. standard fixed by the fact
finders does not seem To have
the general application of estab-
fishing national policy-at
least its rs per cent figure
could not logically be applied
to industry in general.
What it did lay down for gen.
eral application is the theory
that wages should be adjusted
upward by a yardStick of rea-
sonable approximation of what
the workers would lose from
war pay by going back TO the
40-hour week, with less over
time pay.
So the neu adminisfrotion
policy is anything but simple,
and wiH require many fact
finding b cards and many
months of defoiied vork in
order to apply it's loose siSnd-
ard in each varying case.
simultaneously, in steel, the
second Truman facf-fnding
commission Wos working out a
price increase in order TO
Justify Wage increase for
that industry on different
basis.
Other increases for bus op-
orators were being worked out
by other fact-finding commits
sions, creating other justifica-
tionS for increases.
BY applying different rea-
Nabts
thing standardized by govern
ment policy Is its desire to
grant increases for loss Of
high war pay-for whatever
reasons can be found.
Indeed, the economic complex
tiles these tactics require have
gotten the government into ap-
parent contradictions all along.
While it opposes price increases
for fear Of further initiation for
General Motors, il authorizes
one for steel. Apparently Mr.,
Truman is hopeful only of stav-
ing off general increase Of
prices, but is not adverse TO al
lowing. increases specifically.
The unions clearly are not
getting much out Of their
strike policy. Experts tell me