Evening star., 1952-01-05
Wage Board Hearings
To Chart Course Of
Steel Union on Strike
By jones Y. Newton
Stor Stoff CORRESPONDENT

"A AAAIAAN ~ ~ L L, JAIL u 1tS
threat of Nationwide steel strike
was absent today but the question
of whether walkout plans of the
CIO United Steel workers will be
shelved permanently was placed
squarely before President Truman
and his advisers.
That question will be answered
by the President and stabilization
officials in the weeks ahead in
their handling of the wage and
price issues involved in the dispute
between the steelworkers and the
big producers of steel.
The union yesterday bowed to
appeals of Mr.. Truman and post
poned a strike for Is days so the
Wage Stabilization Board may
weigh issues in the dispute and
make recommendations for settle
ment. Action was taken by al
special union convention after
two days of debate.
Break in Line Seen.
The million member union is
after an 1872 cents per hour wage
increase and 81 other new con-
tract concessions from the steel
companies. The companies say
they cannot raise wages at all
without price increase and they
have made no wage offer.
Neither party will be easy to
satisfy and top officials concede
it will be next to impossible to
do it without permitting a wide
break in the governments admit
tedly weak line against imitation.
The wage board will hold al
procedural meeting with union
and company officials Monday.
Actual hearing of the dispute is
expected to begin next Thursday.
Meantime, price control officials
are busy trying to figure out what
they can do about the industry's
demand for higher prices.
Murray Doubts Settlement.
The nearly 5000 delegates to
the special Steelworkers eonven-
tion made it clear they will not
be satisfied easily. There are
others in the 22-point program
the workers consider just as i'm
portant or more so than the wage
demand.
CIO President Philip Murray,
who also heads the union, made it
clear that he doubts the Wage
Board will be able to come forth
with satisfactory recommended
tionS.
The steelworkers are angry.
They made that abundantly clear.
And their angers was whipped to
white heat by scores of speeches
from the convention floor and by
those of Mr.. Murray himself.
All Of this caused observers to
believe a real threat of strike will
be around again when Mr.. Muir
ray calls his Wage Policy Com
mittee together upon expiration of
the 45-day truce period. 49,.
Murray Goes to Washington.
MIR. Murray went to Washing
ton today in preparation for Mon
days meeting with the WSB.
His impassioned 80-minute
speech preceded the almost unan-
imous vote to postpone the strike.
which was threatened after steel
industry-union contracts expired
December 81. Only one delegate
voted for a strike ION orders from
my local"
Mr.. Murray said a walkout was
being postponed "in the interests
of our Nation" at a time of de-
fense emergency and critical
shortage of steel.
I'VE are not going to lend COM
fort to communism, Stain or So
vietism. either at home or
abroad" he told the applauding
delegates.
God himself only knows what
might happen to our country and
its people" if there would be a
long strike. Mr.. Murray said.
DenOunceS Fairless.
But he had harsh words for the
captains of industry'-the steel
producers for what he described
as their refusal to recognize the
needs of the workers. He said
Benjamin F. Fairless. president of
United States Steel, was a self
confessed liar
The steelmakers were described
by Mr.. Murray as greedy and
graSping for every penny" and
not satisfied with their already
high profits which he said had far
outstripped wages. He gave them
full blame for imitation.
The theme of the whole meet
ing was that the union had mere
ly postponed and not cancelled a
strike.
I'VE are not now and we never !
will forego our right to strike"
Mr.. Murray shouted to the cheer
ing Steelworkers.
Postponement of Strike
Applouded by Truman
BY the Associated Press