Evening star., 1953-07-23
Mine Owners Chief
Warns Pay Increase
Would Bring Chaos
By jones Y. Newton

A leading coal industry official
bluntly warned John L. Lewis
today that any further increase
of miners wages would force the
mine owners either to close their
properties or try to operate non
union"
The warning was issued by
Joseph E. Moody, president Of
the Southern Coal Producers AS
Sociation, in an address prepared
for delivery before operators and
other businessmen in Charleston,
w. Va.
In fact, Mr.. Moody said, the
cost Of producing coal must be
cut if many of the operators are
to remain in business. and labor
cost accounts for IS per cent Of
the total.
Calls for Differential.
Mr.. Moody called for restora-
tion of the wage differential be-
tween mines in the South and
North and indicated his group
would demand such a concession
from Mr.. Lewis and his United
Mine Workers. The South had a
10 per cent lower wage rate until
1941.
The present work contract be-
tween all of the soft coal opera
tors and the UNIV can be ter
minated as of September 80 by
either side on 60-day notice.
This means that a call for new
contract negotiations could be
issued on August / or any time
afterward.
Mr.. Lewis. now vacationing in
the West, hasn't said whether he
would end the contract. There
have been reports that he would
hit for higher wages in view of
the pay raises granted recently
in the steel and automobile in
dustries.
Some of the operators have in
dicated they would terminate
the contract and seek more ia
vorable terms with the UNIV.
Mr.. Moody did not reveal in de-
tail the plans of his group either
in his speech or at a news con-
ference before he left Washing
ton.
Industry Is in Depression.
Most of the coal industry, ex-
cept the captive" mines, owned
and operated by the big steel
companies, is in the throes of its
worst depression since the 1930S.
Demand and production of coal
have dropped sharply. particu-
larly in the last year, as more
and more big industrial con-
sumers have converted to gas
and oil. Many mines have closed
entirely and others are working
two or three days a week. Mr..
Moody, who represents a third
of the industry, said that 103
mines employing $4,000 miners
are known to have been shut
down in the last II months. The
captive" mines are operating a
normal f1ve-day week.
Posing an additional problem
to Mr., Lewis union and the 80
per cent of the industry under
contract to the UNIV, is that
non-union production of soft
coal has been on the increase.
Non-union operators have lower
labor costs and are able to
undersell the UNIV operators,
Mr.. Moody said some union
operators have been cutting wage
costs, he presumed with the
unions consent.
Referring to the possibility
that Mr.. Lewis will demand a
wage increase, Mr.. Moody said it
would be sheer economic in
sanity" for the operators to yield
to such a demand.
BlameS Steel Contracts.
"Such an increase can result
in nothing but disaster and
chaos" he said. 1T will wreck
our Southern industry, put most
of our workers on relief and
bring an end to prosperity in the
sections dependent on coal"
For most coal companies, he
added. another wage increase
would mean the choice of
CLOSING down or trying to oper-
ate non-union.'
Mr.. Moody said the UNIV and
the steel companies were respon-
sible for the coal industry's pre-
dicament. He said that the
terms of the last two contracts
under which the miners won pay
increases totaling 81 a day we're
dictated by the steel-owned
mines. The steel companies use
the coal produced in their mines
and are not concerned over the
price, he said, as are most of
the operators who must sell
their product in the fuel market.
Mr.. Moody said that if Mr..
Lewis demands another pay in
crease, he may get it from the
steel companies. But he indi-
Gated the other operators would
fight to the end against such a