Evening star., 1948-04-05
Opposes!
Use Of Boards
To Fix Salaries
Kenney Tells Hearing
Plan Would creute
Greater lnequities

The Navy Department today op-
posed q proposed system Of advisory
wage boards to determine pay rates
for about $4,000 Warrington area
employees and other thousands else
where.
Undersecretary OF the Navy W.
John Kenney told . Senate Civil
Service Subcommittee the proposed
bill Is too rigid" and would produce
inequalities far surprising those the
bill Is intended to correct"
The measures, introduced by Sem
ator Bridges, Republican, Of New
Hampshire, would establish Navy
wage board in each navy yard or
installation. Half Of the boards
members would be named by the
Navy cornmandant and the other
half by national labor organizations
having members In the installation.
There are about $500 employees in
the Naval Gun Factory here and al
most that many more In other in.
stallations in this AREA.
Secretary Would Have Final Say.
The advisory boards would col
lect data on local wage rates paid
In comparable private employment.
Eventually, the information would
come to the Navy Department.
where q similar national wage board
would review the local findings. The
Secretary of the Navy would have
final authority. as he now does, to
flx the wage rates for each job class
iflcation. :
The bill declares 1t to be national
policy to pay Navy workers rates
comparable to private industry and
such rates, one established, would
remain in effect for one year.
Mr.. Kenney explained that the old
national wage review board, In ex-
istence from 1870 until last year
when 1t was abolished by the de-
partment, took too long to do. its
job. The last survey 1t made, cover
ing 10000 employees, consumed l0h
months, he said.
More Efficiency Urged.
The Undersecretary said, 1T was
readily apparent that some more
efacient and streamlined process Of
handling the problem was neces-
sary."
Current procedure Is for the Navy
itself to collect data on private
wage rates before setting the Navy
scale.
Mr.. Kenney told the subcom-
mittee-it consisted today OF SEN
ator johnson, Democrat, Of South
Carolina-that the proposal would
establish q cumbersome procedure,
would be "extravagant and waste
full" as to cost and would do little
good because the boards, evenly
divided between labor and nom labor
representatives, would inevitably
present split opinions. ~ ~ )
i He said that at present less than
4 20 per cent Of the Navy's employees
are union members. yet the proposal
would restrict employe represen-
tation to Union groups.
Unions Support Bill.
Appearing at the hearing in favor
OF the bill were representatives Of
the various unions with members
in Navy establishments.
James A. Brownlow, secretary
treasurer of the AFL's metal trades
department, said in a. statement
that what Is involved Is the con-
tribution Of labor representatives,
the participation Of employe repre-
. sentatives, to present the employees
point of view, labor's understanding
and experience in q common prob
lem, which involves the very liveli.
hood of the Navy Yard employees"
In criticizing the present Navy
. procedure, Mr. Brownlow said that
| in the gun factory here, the Navy
! had failed to establish comparable
! private wage rates for 81 OF the 12s
job classifications. He said wage
rates apparently were established
. "by taking figure out Of thin air.
The committee adjourned at moor
= until Wednesday morning, wher
! other union representatives will bs
Il heard, ...