Percentage Pay Hikes
By MAX HALL—</?*) Newsfeatures Writer
WASHINGTON—When a labor union demands a 30 per cent wage
increase, does that mean it is demanding a 30 per cent raise for every
worker? Not necessarily. You may be surprised to learn that the CIO
Automobile Workers have never asked that each worker's rate be
raised 30 per cent. In fact, CIO unions seldom demand a blanket per
centage increase. They say that^
when the same percentage of in
crease is applied to each worker,
the neediest people get the small
est raises.
For example, suppose a certain
percentage is given to everybody
in a plant. Tom Smith, common
laborer making relatively low
wages, gets a much smaller in- i
crease than Jim Brown, skilled
workman operating a complicated
machine. And the wage gap be
tween Smith and Brown grows
wider.
That’s why the CIO Steelwork
ers Union asked for a flat amount
of raise for every worker <25 cents
an hour; later reduced to 18V*>
cents).
How Ii Works
Then what about the auto work
ers’ demand of 30 per cent?
The Auto Union decided to ask
each company for a 30 per cent in
crease in its wages—taken as a
whole. That is, it would demand
a solid chunk of money amounting
to 30 per cent of the company’s
straight-time wage payroll.
This 30 per cent chunk would i
be divided in an interesting way. ^
Part of it would be used for an j
insurance program — sick pay,
death benefits, etc. — for all the
workers. Part of it would be used
to eliminate wage inequalities
within each company. The union
argues that people doing the same
work for the same company should
get the same pay. even if they
work in different sections of the
country.
Divided Up
The remainder of the 30 percent
would be split up equally among
all the workers. Thus Tom Smith
and Jim Brown would get the
same dollar and cents raise.
That is. all General Motors
wage-earners would get about 25
cents an hour, plus insurance
benefits. And some of the wage
earners would receive larger
raises, if their existing pay were
lower than that of someone else
doing the same work.
Thus it is not a blanket increase
of 30 per cent. It is really an av-!
erage raise of 30 per cent.
If there were a worker whose
pay accidentally happened to be
the average wage for the whole
company, it’s true he would get a
30 per cent increase. But all other
workers would get either less or
more than 30 per cent.
In the General Motors case, the
President’s fact-finding board rec
ommended a general increase of
19 Vi cents an hour—an average
raise of about 17Vi per cent. The
board deliberately ducked the
question of an insurance program
and the elimination of inequalities, j
leaving those matters to the union
and the corporation to work out.
Some For Insurance
The union accepted the propos
al. The corporation refused it. If
both parties had accepted, would
this have meant that every Gen
eral Motors worker would have
gotten a raise of 19Vi cents an i
hour?
Not necessarily.
A union spokesman says the
union no doubt would have ex- j
pected to use part of the 19Vi
cents for the insurance program
and the elimination of inequalities.
The union and corporation
would have had to settle this by
collective bargaining.
ROSEMARY’S
HAND LAUNDRY
MENDING FOR BACHELORS
BUTTONS SEWED ON
MOVING
HEAVY HAULING - FREIGHTING
Done by
JACK BULLOCK and CHARLES O’LEARY
Our Equipment Is Available
Call RED 41
^^Hk j ' I' M i j / ryk
■>mm
Savings figures front
National Industrial
Conference Board
_ WORLD
/^\ WAR I
1414.11
AMERICANS SAVEO
$1 IN EVERY $4
Of INCOME
to
£
z
Si
■
1929
AMERICANS SAVED
$1 IN EVERY $10
OF INCOME
1942-45
AMERICANS SAVED
$1 IN EVERY $5
OF INCOME
V v
— Aw AP Nwwtfaotur— Pictograph
INFORMATION SOUGHT
ABOUT MISSING MEN
The Governor’s office has re
ceived a request for information
about the following two men:
LOUIS A. HILL—first left for
Alaska about 1900 and remained
in Alaska until about 1906, when
he returned to Aberdeen, Wash
ington, and returned to Alaska
about 1908. Age about 90, 6 feet
tall. His nephew, Keith J. Johnson
of Everett, Washington, is inter
ested in securing information con
cerning him. Anyone having in
formation concerning this man is
asked to write to the Governor’s
Office in Juneau.
ALFRED GRANFORS (o r
GRAN)—Last known to have been
I
in Juneau in 1916. Had previously
been at Nome in 1908. Age about
57, about 6 feet tall, Swedish de
cent. Dark hair at that time. His
nephew, John Ivan Johnson ol
Minneapolis, Minnesota, is inter
ested in securing information con
cerning him as there is an estate
in Sweden of which Mr. Granfors
is an heir, and it cannot be settled
without locating him. Anyone hav
ing information concerning this
man is asked to write to the Gov
ernor’s Office in Juneau.
—
Before their marriages brides ol
[ the Hima tribe are fattened until
j they can hardly move, according
! to the Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Hima live in Nganda Protec
torate, British East Africa.
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