The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1949-03-22
y hoi II Meanss
The Fourth
Round
Hike Demands

WI Hafc 10 ne
Decided Az
Conference Tubes
~ CLARKE BEACH
Ap Nswafaasures Writer
WASHINCTON-Will sprinc
hIinq unother round OF woq.
imcreuses2 Here ore some o
M questions that will have L
be decided at the conference
tables
Wmkeu' representatives will
asa
Nave raises up 10 now met
ne rae In the cost Of the liv-
lmaf Nave theY been enough
A. provide the worker with his
aha1e Of the growing output per
nan per hour made possible
through archaeological and 9TH
&C. mdvmmeea9
EMPLOYERS will ask:
"a bnsinens good enough and
a ths outlook favorable enough
- hastily giving wage raises?
4 ths employees forced a raise.
Woula Industry have 10 raise
Rsieea thus adding another
tusn ~ The Fising spiral of in
fiafion9 II prices could not be
suiasd foE fear Of losing buy
-. weuld employees have 10 be
led off 10 keep the business on
pEoiitahls basis3
cIO economists. in the latest
ifsue ~ the ClO News, already
have called Cot wage raises. One
blw employer already Is commit
I'D o. an increaSe-General Mo-
tnFa The contract which the
4utumnbilc manufacturer made
last ycsr with Us 100000 produc-
tlon workers provided for a g.
cfnis-an-hour raise on May 20,
ice
ms ID Tor increased produc-
uNiiy az. a. Il Is called by some,
-ths annual Improvement fac
w." The recent cut In wages
Which GM employees took was an
o. the lowered cost of
living. another provision Of last
years cOntrsct But the produc-
tivity raiae hos. nothing TO do
wiih tl,e cost az living
workers IN a large number of
smsllcr Industries are getting
raises The Department of La
Dor reveals this in itl monthly
rcport. Current Wage Develop
nevis Of ass contracts review
"a In the January and February
ssucs. raises were granted in all
auf % eases But both ALL and
no textile unions failed to re-
.elVe wage ruiscs. An arbitrator
,niss business conditions were
Inch that pbS raises would be
ikcly a. result in lay -OffS HARM
lud both t0 workers and en-
plWefs
Nod the United Shoe Workers
'clOl sought a raise from 20
Massachusetts, shoe manufactur-
zee hut failed 10 get H. The
Afnsigamatod Clothing Workers
l(IOl asked ior no increase In
rreaacs granted 80 far are not all
n.Arth round" It's the fifth
a - since the wars end for some
inlusiriCs, only the first or sec
uoa tnT uthers.
tAal ewes this spring will be on
itei Cbhsumers' Price Index of
thu Bureau Of Labor Statistics.
rhe index. which Is a measure
g living costs. has dropped 10
i1ng from tts all-time peak of
i1as iast August
sinrC 1899 the average weekly
wsno in manufacturing industries
nas increased from S23.86 to
asa "a a. III October 1913. The
90 in the wages Of bituminOuS
coai miners has been perhaps the
muet speCtaCular-form S23.88 q
week in 1889 90 S76.4O last Octo.
htf On terms III real wages
however. the workers have not
Improved their lot nearly Sc
mirh The S54.54 which the
svcrsgc factory worker was get
ting ln October would buy M
mnc than s3l % In 1899
TIE Labor Department ha'
fgurvd cat that the average fac
tary worker. although receiving
q raise II 1871 percent since
1899 has gained only 800 percen
iu purchasing power The bit
luminous coal miners have in
creascd their purchasing powe
a32 percent
Bot some other kinds of EN-
pioycs have done much worse
Brokerage house employees rea
Wancs went up only SO percent
The real wages OF employees O
luaurangc h.Ws have dtopper
tfe percent
Thc Presidents Council O
keonnnic Advisers said in il
Near end report: "Substantia
NngC increases are still called fo
"a number Of instances wher
wages are substandard." But IN
eouncil added: Pushing for IN
highest possible wage advance
DANGEROUS 20 the economy in
peFiod when that advance nece.
siiutes even higher price5."