The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-07-13
Budget Cut May Cripple
us Mediation Service

Washington LPA)-House cuts
in the budget of the Federal Medi-
alton & Cancellation Service may
mean more strikes. Cyrus S. Ching,
director of the service, told report
ers he was already turning down
cases federal mediators should be
handling and would have to step
up the rejection rate unless the
Senate restores the slashes made
by the House.
Ching said he had requested $2,-
100000 for fiscal 1851 but that
$4,000 already had been taken
out. The slash was in compliance
with the Taber-Thomas bill cut
ting government transportation al
lowances 20 percent and other ex-
penses 10 percent. Ching already
had sent separation notices to 26
persons including IL field COM
missioners. Seven of the commiss-
toner's have been recalled but will
have to go if more money is not
forthcoming from Congress.
Although the Mediation Service
will still have 191 commissioners,
Ching said conciliation work in a
number Of areas will be seriously
affected. He explained that separ-
alton is based on seniority as well
as efficiency and that many of the
remaining personnel will have to be
redistributed to areas with which
they are unfamiliar. In addition,
a 20 p. C. travel cut will make the
handling of many cases difficult if
not impossible. Areas in which
labor relations may suffer include
Detroit, Atlanta, Tulsa, Birming-
ham, Buffalo, Kansas City, Al
toona, Pa, Springfield, Mo-, and
Portland, Ore.
Ching called the reporters in to
announce the retirement Of How
ard Il. Colvin, associate director of
the service for the last AZ years,
who reaches automatic retirement
age July 81. Colvin, who has been
with the service 2 decades, will con-
tinue for an unspecified period as
"A special consultant. Colvin's sue
cessor has not been named but
Clyde M. Mills has been appointed
assistant director, Ching announc-
ed. Mills, eight years with the
Mediation Service and a one-time
official of the International Typo
graphical Union-AFL, will have
primary responsibility for disputes
of national significance. Ching also
announced that Howard +. Dur
ham, west coast mediator, would
be acting director later this sum-
mer-while the 6 foot-7 inch Ching
fishes for salmon in Canada.
Ching said there was no way of
estimating precisely the effects of
budget cutting on labor relations.
He pointed out that federal medi-l
ators don't know exactly how manyl
strikes they avert by participating
in difficult negotiations. However,
he said he knew they averted al
great many. He added that theI
federal services greatest value was
in bringing about settlement inl
medium sized and small situations,
big strikes in steel and
coal might get the headlines. Rea-
son was, he suggested, that the big |
disputes would be settled one wayl
or another anyway, while the small
ones might not be.
While Ching was talking with
the Labor Department.
revealed that new work stoppages
in May totaled $50, an increase ofI
12H percent over the 400 beginning
in April. However, Department.
spokesman said, most of the May
were brief and strike
idleness fell to 100000 man-days,
a drop Of five percent. During May
$50 stoppages were in progress
compared to $50 in April.