The Wilmington morning star., 1947-04-06
APPEAL IS ISSUED
BY PHONE COMP
Continued From Page One)

Southern Bell employee body in
the grave position of disregard
ing the public interest in this mat
ter. The company has Appealed
repeatedly to the union leader
ship not to endanger the pubic
safety and welfare by calling tele-
phone employees out on strike.
They have not needed this ap-
peal.
1.-The Southern Bell company and
the union, ever since the union was
certified by the National LABOR
Relations Board in 1914. have
worked out satisfactory contracts
under which the non-supervisory
EMPLOYEES have been working.
The present contract under when
our people now work was agreea
upon only last year.
Negotiations on a new contfact
have been carried on since FEB
ruary II, 1947, and agreement has
been reached on some 245 items.
There are still Is items in dispute
and 40 items pending on which
bargaining is under way. Tne
area of disagreement between the
company and the union has been
narrowed considerably.
1.-THE company has done every
thing within reason to facilitate
agreement on the remaining IS
sues involved and thereby spare
the public the grave consequences
of a telephone strike.
eve have offered Union leaders
a renewal of our present liberal
contract. This they have reject
ed.
1--WE have offered to arbitrate
the matter of telephone wages
and to renew our contract until
such arbitration a take place.
This offer, too has been rejected,
placing the responsibility for the
strike-with its inevitable harm
to everyone-squarely where it
belongs-on the heads of the I'M
ion leaders.
"Such a strike, threatening the
health, safety and the business &C
tivities of millions of people, does
MT make sense.
%1Telephone employees wage
rates today are not only the high
est in history but they have been
increased Is per cent since Janu-
ary. 1871. In 1945 and 1916, wage
increases granted u people IN
nine southern states amounted TO
s26 million annually. These are
increases in wage rates and do not
include other millions OF dollars
in regular, progressive merit
raises given our employees.
"a five-day, 4o-hour week is
the basic work period. Non-super-
visory employees, such as opera
tors. Linemen, Instaners and Re
nairmen, receive overtime pay foi
work. beyond eight hours a day OF
90 hours a week. and also receive
premium pay for Sunday, holiday
evening and night work.
There are other advantages OF
working for the company. These
include steady work, good working
conditions, holidays with pay, vaca-
tons with pay Gone, two or three
weeks depending on the length OF
service), sickness and death bene-
fits and pensions with full cost
-,;J h., tho Cornanys
"The demands made by the
union are such that it appears
they were formulated in a way to
discourage an agreement or that
those who originated them had
lno knowledge or concern as to the
effect that a strike would have
on the social and business life OF
the whole country. Neither did
they take into account the amount
which the public must pay in tele-
phone rates to support wage rates
Enthusiastically out Of line with those
paid and received by our custo-
mers.
THE union demands On wages
and other matters would increase
the cost OF providing telephone SER
vice by about 500, 900, 900 a year,
which amounts to 10 per cent of
the Company's wage payments in
1946. This would make our pay
roll alone over 81 million more
than the total of all the money
we took in last year. In terms OF
the average telephone bill, it
amounts to an increase OF about
$3.50 for every one Of the more
than 1,731,00 600 telephone subscrib-
ers we serve In nine southern
states.
The earnings of Southern Bell
are such that we have found it
necessary to ask the State Public
Service Commissions for increases
In telephone rates to help meet the
costs of wage increases granted to
our employees last year and in
1945. Some OF the Commissions
have the matter under advisement
at this time. Should present
negotiations with the Union result
in further large wage increases,
we must Immediately seek add.
tional telephone rate increases tc
meet the increase in expenses. W.
cannot expect public acceptance
of telephone service rates based
upon employees wage rates far
above the level of wages which
telephone subscribers themselves
pay and receive.
THE Union leadership has de.
manded that the wages and certain
other bargaining matters for South.
ern Bell employees be passed on
by a National Union Committee
remote from the scene rather thar
by officers of the Southern Fed.
GRAFTON OF Telephone Workers with
whom our contract has been sign.
ed. Southern Bell of course. is
willing to bargain with any prop
erly appointed representative OF
the Union, but firmly believes that
the wages of its employees paid
If0r hv SO1Ifhar~ Dill -..L--