Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-05-07
Regional
Views
BY Richard Gosser
Vice>President
International UAW>ClO

| international OAW~OlO
Last week wrote about the necessity of
incorporating sc an hour for Sick and Acct
dent Insurance in all your contracts. This
week I would like to discuss another very
serious economic problem in our union-high-
er wages-which l think you should fight for
dear life to obtain. This is Csc an hour in
crease for all workers.
Lately l have noticed the lackadaisical at
titude of lot of our members and cannot help
but wonder where the old spirit is. Sometimes
it actually scares me. You should never forget
the slogan of our union-''IN UNITY THERE
IS STRENGTH You should all imprint this
slogan on your minds and not forget it for a
moment. You should always remember that
the stronger we are the greater is our chance
to attain our goal.
/ have heard various people say, what
good is an increase in our wages? Years ago
when we were making 40c an hour we were
as far ahead as we are today" This statement
isn't true And believe you will all agree with
me that it is untrue. think the old saying,
The more you make the more you spend" is
true to some extent But, when you have money
to spend and are buying things you are really
improving your way of life. This depends, of
course, on how you spend your money, wisely
or unwisely.
Z am one of the fortunate people who lived
in the days when were making 40c an
hour. I say fortunate because I am really
glad to have lived in those days and to have
been an eye witness to the progress this union
has made
Do you think in those days ], was able to
have the luxuries of life that most of we
Americans are able to enjoy today? You can
bet your sweet life l did not. l couldn't afford
them, and neither could anybody else, on the
40c, soc or even 60c an hour. We were for
tunate if we had roof over our head and
money enough for the mere necessities of life.
Do you think we were able to set little gad-
get on the wall and have our home at the same
temperature at all times? No! We had to
shovel coal in a soft or hard coal burner, de-
pending on which one we could afford
You older people can remember how "Ma"
had to wash over a board and heat her iron
on the stove to do the family washing and
ironing. Today woman is not satisfied with
a plain, ordinary electric washer and an cleo
trio IRON She has to have one of those new
tangled gadgets that does everything but hang
the clothes on the line. She even has to have
an ironer where she can sit down and feed
the clothes into it without any effort on her
part whatsoever. There are countless other
accessories, too numerous to mention, that
have made all our lives easier and more en-
joyable, will admit that these are all modern
improvements but, can't you realize that it
is the increased buying power of the workers
that has made these conveniences possible?
There are many of you who have been
able, in recent months, to buy a little more
than mere necessities of life. Do you want to
go back to the old days of merely existing?
That is what is going to happen if we don't do
something about it, I know that all of you
have not been able to buy that new car you
need so badly, that new washer for the wife
and many other luxuries of life. The purchas-
ing today is being done mostly by those for
tunate enough to have put aside a certain
amount of their pay while the o. P A. was
still in existence. Now that it has been done
away with, prices have sky rocketed to such
an extent that your are lucky to be able to
buy Jim new pair of shoes and Ann new
dress once in a while, after paying the rent,
the grocer and the other necessary commodi-
ties of life There is nothing fair about this
and should not be tolerated in country such
as ours. =
1t has been said "All men are created
equal" If this statement is true why shouldn't
we, the workers. be entitled to live somewhere
on a par with the rest of the more fortunate
in America?
Time after time I have heard the state
ment made-"Why raise wages? Why not
reduce the cost of things?" l. for enc, whole
heartedly agree with this statement, but,
what can we do about it? We have sent dele
cations to Washington, but, the Congress and
Senate of today represent "big business" so,
we have failed. We tried to keep the o. P A.
in effect until things leveled off, but that too
was an impossibility. What recourse is there
left for us except to ask for this Csc an hour
which will make wages on par with costs at
the time of the abolition of o. P. A. in June,
1946.
Let's all look back over the recent months
and take stock of the frivolities of life that
we have been able to purchase. l think you
can honestly say mot many, we had to eat" 4
If we intend to go forward we cannot let this
happen. You can all help by sticking together
and insisting on your committee negotiating
for this 25c an hour. Keep in mind always
that you are entitled to it and that the COM
pany can afford to pay it You have made it
possible for them to afford it by building the
product they sell Remember too that this
unioon never asks for an increase without
first doing a lot of research work We are al
ways prepared with facts and figures to back
up our request
NEWS