Evening star., 1949-09-04
Steel Report Due This Week
is Weothervone on Pay Raises
sy the Assoeioted Press

By the Associated Press
NEW YORK, Sept. 3.-The
union drive for fourth round OF
wage increases will reach critical
point next week end, with the ma
ton looking to the steel dispute
as a weathervane.
The report of President Tru-
mans fact-finding board in the
steel dispute is due at the White
House by Saturday. 1t will carry
recommendations for settlement
but these will not be binding.
Mr.. Truman is expected to make
the report public at once. Only
three days will be left before the
strike deadline for bargaining be-
tween the CIO steelworkers union
and about so steel companies.
Developments in those days will
determine whether 100000 work.
ers in one of the nations basic
industries will walk out at 1901
am. September IA.
Compromise Falls Through.
The three board members, a
university professor and two law
yers, gave few hints Of their in
tentions through 18 days OF hear
ings which ended last Monday.
They did indicate they had some
sort Of compromise offer in mind
on the unions demand for a 80
cents-an-hour package, by Offer
ing to mediate between the parties.
But this fell through when the
industry insisted that mediation
must be on an individual company
basis, a task the board said was
physically impossible.
Union witnesses at the hearings
based their case on the asserted
needs of the steelworkers and in
sisted these were their only in
terest. Industry spokesmen ham
mered at the point that the board
findings may well set a pattern In
all mass industries for q new
round of wage boosts in the fourth
full postwar year.
Others Watching Steel Board.
Disputants in coal, automobiles,
rubber. electrical products and
other industries all are watching
the steel board.
The miners, now working q
three-day week without a con-
tract, and the CIO Auto Workers,
deadlocked with the Ford Motor
Co.. are believed to be awaiting
the steel report before moving to
showdowns.
Some Of the large steel con-
Germs fatty told the presidential
board they would not accept its
recommendations if these favored
the union even in part United
States Steel, giant of the industry,
notably did not go this far.
Company witnesses argued that
q fourth round would increase
costs, and consequently prices,
80 much that business would fall
off sharply. Some small COM
panies would be forced into the
TeQ, tQey COule1lQeQ.
A new higher wage pattern GER
tainly would halt the needed de-
cline in prices generally. the in
dustry said, and might touch of
another inflationary spiral that
would wreck the economy.
Earnings Reported Down.
The companies conceded> that
profits have been huge in the
postwar years but pointed out
that the earnings figures now
have begun to turn down.
The union countered with argu-
ments that wage boosts would put
buying power in the hands of
workers bound to. spend it, and
thus halt the recession and sta
bilize prosperity.
Witnesses for the steelworkers
agreed that employees in the in
dustry are among the highest
paid American workers. They
conceded that wages have gone
up a bit more than the cost of
living in the past decade.
But they declared the $50 or $65
a week now received by the aver
age steelworker still meets only
his minimum needs. They said
bluntly the steelworkers want q
bigger share Of the pie"