Evening star., 1951-12-22
Truman Action
lin Deadlock on
Steel Due Today
WSB Expected to
Be Asked to Try
To Avert Strike
By jones Y. Newton


to move today in an effort to
head of a Nationwide strike New
Years Day of nearly / million
men In the steel and aluminium
industries.
Efforts to sette the dispute of
the CIO United Steelworkers'
Union and steel producers through
mediation collapsed yesterday.
The disputants refused to concede
a single point.
Mr.. Truman generally was ex-
Ipected to refer the case to the
Wage Sterilization Board for set
ltlement recommendations. 1t was
held unlikely the board could
make a report in the nine days
left before the strike deadline of
midnight December 81.
And the position of the union Of
CIO President Philip Murray has
been the strike will go on unless
the companies agree to a contract
by the deadline, the expiration
date of present industry-wide con-
tracts.
Two Other Possible Courses.
Two other courses are open to
Mr.. Truman. He could invoke
Emergency provisions of the Taft
Hartley Act, have the Government
obtain a Federal court injunction
which would postpone a strike for
80 days.
Or the President could use au-
thority in the Selective Service
Act and seize the steel mills and
aluminium plants. In addition to
nearly all of the steel industry.
the dispute also involves Alumi-
mum Co. of America and Kaiser
aluminium, a sizeable part of that
vital industry.
In any event, Mr.. Truman was
expected to act promptly because
of the vital Importance of steel
and aluminium to defense and civil
llian industries.
Panel Members Selected.
Wage Board plans call for ap-
tpointment Of a three-man panel
to hear the dispute and report its
finding to the board. Members OF
the panel already have been Sc
lected, it was learned. Two of
4 the members will be Harry Shul-
Imam, law professor at Yale, and
!, David j. Cole, Paterson, N. j., at
torney. Both have had wide ex-
iperience in labor relations and
arbitration of disputes.
The steelworkers are demand
ing an average increase of 1871
cents an hour in wages and a
score of other concessions that
total more in money than the
pay demands. The companies as
yet have made no wage offer.
Their position is they cannot
grant an increase unless allowed
to raise prices.
Federal stabiliZation officials
have said they will not permit
the steel producers to raise prices
in order to compensate them for
a wage increase.
Some Adjustment Possible.
| The steel companies, however,
are entitled to some higher CELL
Iings under the Capehart Amend
ment to the price control law.
i No Capehart Amendment adj
| juStment has been made in the
steel or aluminium industries.
Cyrus S. Ching, the Federal
mediation chief, gave President
Truman fill-in on his two days
Eof meetings with the steel COM
pany and union officials.
Benjamin F. Fairless. president
of the United States Steel Corp,
the industry's largest producer,
and Arthur ]. Goldberg, general
counsel of the union, discussed
their positions last night.
In statement, Mr.. Fairless said
United States Steel would not seek
Ia price increase if the union would
lgive up its demand for a wage
increase.
Imitation Angle Mentioned.
Mr.. Goldberg, in a radio talk,
said: 1--WE are doing everything
IN our power to avoid" strike,
but he insisted the workers need
IA wage increase to allow them to
"catch up with the steady rise
in consumer prices and rents dur
ing the past 18 months"
1 The United States Steel head
said a walkout would be "a ma
tional calamity" for the defense
effort. He stressed heavily the
argument that steel wage boost
would stoke up inf1ationary fires.
Mr.. Goldberg asserted the in
dustry is generally more profit
able than at any time in the past"
productivity of steel workers "has
been rising steadily" and the
union demands can be absorbed
by the companies "withnllt hard