Evening star., 1948-03-14
Coal Miners Restive
AS Lewis Presses
For Pension Program

Government labor officials will
keep q watchful eye on the soft
coal fields tomorrow for reaction
among the miners to John L. Lewis
message that the operators had
"dishonored" their contract by fail
ing to agree to pension plan.
A strike has not been called and
probably will not be, at least for a
matter of days, but there was con-
Germ in the coal industry and among
Federal officials that many miners
would go fishing" tomorrow.
Should any widespread work stop
page develop, the Government will
be, forced to step into the dispute.
Cyrus S. Ching, head of the Federal
Mediation and Cancellation Service,
=; has said the Government and the
country will not tolerate a coal
stoppage" this spring.
The Ching office has planned to
: step into the coal dispute early, in
voking the national emergency"
section of the Taft-Hartley Act.
There was considerable doubt, how
ever, whether it would be effective
in the coal dispute. There is no
compulsion in the early Taft-Hart-
ley procedure, and it was regarded
as highly unlikely MIR. Lewis would
agree to use of the fact-f1nding
machinery of the law, which he
calls the Taft Slave Act"
Meetings Scheduled Today.
First STRINGS of the miners as q
result of the message and remarks
OF. Mr.. Lewis at news conference
appeared yesterday. He sent the
union locals circulars apprising them
of the gravity" of the pension dis
pute and asking them to discuss the
situation in their meetings. Many
of the locals Immediately scheduled
meetings for today.
In Pittsburgh, John P. Busarello,
president of the United Mine Work
ers' district in Western Pennsyl-
vania, said the Lewis message ar
rived and many locals in the area
already we're calling meetings.
William Blizzard, head of the
UNIV district at Charleston, w. Va,
quoted the spokesman of group
of miners who called at his office as
saying something has to be done
about Our pension plan or we'll quit
work" He said the group repre-
sented four or five locals.
Mr.. Blizzard said the mine owners
ought to comply with their con-
tract" adding: They made con-
tract with us and they ought to
live up to it,
S100 Pensions Asked.
Mr.. Lewis has asked for 500
monthly pensions for miners over
go who have served in the mines
for 20 or more years. The operators
have refused, declaring the plan
would cost 40 cents per ton and that
the present fund, supported by
levy of 10 cents on every ton of coal
mined, would prove too small. They
claim that by agreeing to the pro-
posal the industry would assume an
accrued liability" of 81 ,000, ,000, 600.
The demand was made by Mr..
Lewis as a trustee for the UNIV
Welfare and Retirement Fund. The
operators trustee is Ezra Van Horn
of Cleveland. A third and impair
tial trustee, Thomas Murray of New
York, resigned recently, charging
stubbornness on the part of both
the others.
The fund now stands at about
t30,000,000. It is idle and unin-
vested because of the inability of
the parties to agree upon its use.
willing and Able"
A smaller fund, accumulated dur
ing a year of Government operation
of the mines, is being used to pay
$1,000 death benefits. 1t has dwin-
died to slightly under $15,000,000.
Mr.. Lewis indicated the belief
that the present fund is large
enough to take care of his pension
proposal, adding there would be mo
obligation on the fund beyond its
income" He charged the operators
are opposed to the idea of a pension
and that they had refused to make
a counter proposal to his PROPOSE