Evening star., 1951-03-01
n-Operoting Rail Unions Win
12R-Ct. Raise in 2R-Yeor Pact;
Cost-of-Living Clause Included
Settlement Does Not
Affect Dispute With
Operating Employees

A wage settlement was reached
early today between the Nations
railroads and Is incorporating
unions after an all-night confer
ence at the White House with
Presidential Assistant John r.
Steelman.
Mr.. Steelman called in reporters
after the agreement was reached
at 6:08 am. Representatives of
the carriers and the unions had
been conferring since 8 pm. yes
terday in a final effort to settle
the disputed contract. Negotia-
tions began last october 3.
The agreement calls for:
80 l. A basic wage increase of
1879 cents an hour, effective Feb
ruary l, 1851. This will give the
unions one month retroactive pay.
The unions originally sought rs
cent hourly pay boost.
2. A ,coSt-of- Living escalator
clause which provides further in
creases of a cent an hour for each
point change upward in the Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics Consumer
Cost Index, using 178 as base
point.
8. No further wage changes to
be sought by either party until
October l. 1858. with the eX-
ception that the contract may be
reopened on or after July l, 1852,
if the Wage Sterilization Board
permits Improvement" of wages
over and above the cost of living
increases that may have been
added in the meantime.
No Bearing on Operating Unions.
This settlement has no direct
connection with the 2-year-old
dispute between the railroads and
the four operating unions whose
members actually run the trains
That dispute led to Government
seizure of the railroads last fall
and the two recent walkouts which
paraiyZed the Nations rails for
short time.
There is nothing new on that
dispute, Mr.. Steelman said.
He said today's agreement
would affect more than million
members of the Is incorporating
unions. It will cost the rail COM
panies $3.50 million annually, he
added.
"It is the first negotiated wage
settlement between the non-oper-
ating unions and the railroads
since 1897" Mr.. Steelman said.
BY that, he explained, he meant
the dispute was settled across the
negotiating table without re-
course to arbitration or an emer-
gency board.
Last Increase Won in 194S.
The last increase the non-oper-
atlng unions received was 7-per-
cent-an-hour boost on October l,
1948. The unions won the 40
hour week from the carriers on
September /, 1949.
Mr.. Steelman explained that
the contract calls for the first re-
adjustment of wages under the
cost of living escalator clause on
April 1. This increase will be
added to the 121a-cent raise based
on the February Is cost index.
Thereafter, he explained, the
cost of living adjustments will be
made quarterly. 1t was estimated
that the April adjustment might
bring as much as or S cents an
hour additional to the union mem
berS.
Final and Binding Pact.
G. E. Leighty, chairman of the
negotiating committee for the
incorporating unions, declared:
'It's final and binding agree
ment on all parties"
Mr.. Leighty added that the ne
gotiators on both sides had
"labored hard and long to reach
an agreement" He added:
"It is an agreement we all
signed. We would have liked to
see better one. But, in all fair
(See RAILS, Page A-6.)