The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-12-07
Living Costs Hit All-Time
Hiqh; 100000 Get Ruises

Washington UPA)-The cost 0
living hit an all-time high Oct. 15
the Bureau Of Labor Statistics re
ported Nov. 20. 1t rose sixteenth
of one percent above Sept. Is, t
hit 174.8, or two-tenths Of one per
cent above the previous record higl
Of August and September 1948.
The immediate result for 900,O0O
workers whose union contracts con
tain cost-of living escalator clause
was an increase Of two to three
cents an hour. OF these more thar
100000 are in the auto industry.
At the same time the Dun &
Bradstreet wholesale food price
index rose four cents to $6.67 fol
the week ended Nov. 28. This inde>
has climbed 10 cents within the
past six weeks, and the increase
will be reflected in higher retail
prices soon. The index represent;
the sum of the price per pound oi
'31 foods in general use.
Nor was that the entire picture
For the Bureau of Labor Statistics
said it was correcting the rent fig.
ure in the index, which labor hac
been complaining since 1910 wa;
BIS said the correction
would raise the rent index alone II
points, and the general index Is
points. Which meant that the true
BIS index for Oct. Is should reaC
176.1, or 1.5 above the previous re
cord high of 1913.
Walter Reuther, president Of the
United Auto Workers, declared tbs
rise in the cost of living to an all
time high "reflects the powerful
and dangerous inflationary forces
at work in our economy" He add
ed that "this latest boost is a fore
taste of much worse to come unless
effective action against it is taken
by government and taken quickly
Coupled with the rise in corporate
profits to new all-time levels, the
increase in living costs testifies to
the success of big business in shift
ing to the shoulders Of those least
able to bear it the cost of the Kor-
can war and the defense program.
Inflationary price-profiteering is
undermining the living standards
of all low-income families whose
breadwinners are not protected by
t-of- living escalatOr contracts.
Fantastic auto industry profits
in advance any claim that
the coming three cents an hour
wage increase requires an increase
in the industry's prices. We sin
cerely hope the auto industry will
furnish a salutary example to in
dustry generally by holding the
line on its prices"
The increase in the index meant
raises for workers at General
Motors, Ford, Kaiser Frazer, Pack
ard, Studebaker, Bendix and North
Aviation. Chrysler does
not have an escalator clause.
The escalator clause calls for an
increase of one cent for every ia
in the index, with a
limit on cuts if the index drops.
the contracts with GIN,
Ford and other firms added 1.3 to
the index as a rent allowance,
the raise to three cents.
Wage adjustments are made quar-
terly.
Estimated cost to the auto in
lustry for the December-January-
February period is $720,OC0 week
Or $9,000,O00 for the entire period.
Salaried employees also benefitt-
ed, with $4,000 at GM and 25,0O0
at Ford getting SIS and $15.75, re-
spectively, for the quarter.
Ford has 10000 non-salaried
workers and GIN has $4,000 COW
cred by union contracts.
International H a rye ann
ounced that $4,000 employees will
get increases of three cents total
ing $5,OOO,OOO, including members
If the UAW and the Farm Equip
nent Workers.
The BIS Consumers Price Index
measures the cost of an average
'amily's goods and services. Thel
BIS reported all principal COM
nodities cost more in October.
House furnishings were up 2.3 per-
ent, apparel up 1.5 percent. Food
prices were up two tenths Of one