The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1963-12-27


nation is accelerating in all fields
of endeavor-in factories, in the
mines and on the farm. In many in.
stances, one man operating automated
equipment is now able to produce as
much as could 10, 20, SO or 100 men
under production methods which were
common just few years back.
Attenuation was recently branded
as ga curse" by AFL-CIO President
George Meany. Because we have not
faced up to making automation serve
for the good of ALL the people,
rather than just another means of
vastly increasing profits, automation
is indeed curse. Yet, if made to
work for all, it could become the
greatest material blessing eve r
evolved by the genius of man.
Attenuation has greatly increased
corporate ability to earn profits, but
the fruits of the increased produc-
tivity have not been reflected in
commensurate increases in wages
purchasing power) or reduction in
hours of labor.
Unless wage earners begin to
receive a greater share of this in
creased productivity the time is
not far distant when this nation
will be face to face with depres-
sion of much greater magnitude
than that of 1929-33.
Studebaker's closing at South Bend
just before Christmas, and the laying
off of some 5000 employees, is di-
rectly related to that company's in
ability to compete with other, more
prosperous auto manufacturers who
have extensively automated their pro-
duction plants.
The decline in employment in the
thousands of jobs in the Butte-Ana-
conda area since the mid-fifties, is
an example of the adverse effects of
chronological change right here in
Montana. There are today several
thousand fewer mining and smelling
jobs, yet Anaconda Company is pro-
ducing as much or more copper and
other non-ferrous metals as it did
decade ago, and its net earning
picture is increasingly satisfactory
to it's stockholders.
RAIL RULES FIGHT
On the labor front, probably the
question had to do with the railroads
determination to put into effect
major rules revisions proposed by a
Commission appointed
by former President Eisenhower. Rail
was adamant and rail
labor, realizing that the rules changes
would throw thousands upon thou
sands of longtime rail workers out
Of jobs, prepared for crippling rail
road strike. The Congress stepped |
INTO the picture, and although rail |
abor and the AFL-CIO asked that |
4 more balanced study be made, and |
turing that time no strike action
would be taken, the Congress was
into enacting compulsory
arbitration of the dispute.
Compulsory arbitration in this in
tance, sets precedent for compul
DRY arbitration in other major labor
difficulties. The conse-
[uence of such use of force can have
My one eventual outcome-both la
'or and management will lose much
f their independence of action to
he government. Surely there must
e better way to serve the public
interest than the drastic, hurry-up
curse enacted by the Congress to
ettle the rail rules controversy.
AS of this time, the trains are
till operating, but agreement be-
ween rail labor and rail management
ppears as far off now as it did when
he ''compulsion" was added to col
ective bargaining four months ago.
Here again, comes up the problem
f automation, and where will men
n their forties on UP (as is the aver
ge with the raiis) find jobs as they
re laid off by rail management. It's
dandy question for Main Street
'orsyth, Glendive, Miles City, Three
'orks, Laurel, Harlowton, Alberton,
Iissoula, Butte, Helena and Great
'alls, among other Montana towns,
0 ponder but good. Ex-railroaders,
Ike workers made idle by automation