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Show THE SEARCHLIGHT Labor Assails High Prices The fight of the labor unions to reduce living costs has begun to bear fruit. Wholesale prices of meat beginning May 17th will be set from 1 to 3 cents a pound below prices decided upon previously. A further tightening is in prospect. Estimates that food costs in this area had been increased Salt 25% Lake price City increase creases in principally the live were found an of OPA 7.4%, prices have to be conservative. survey item of shows by foods soared on as an In overall item. But which workers much as in- 100%. OPA concedes that those increases in price levels have brought the workingman’s cost of living up 33 1-3 per cent. An independent check of prices of foods that make up the bulk of the workingman’s diet—fresh produce, eggs, butter, meat, cheese, etc.—confirms the OPA estimate that Sait Lake City workers pay about one third more for food than they did in September 1942. But that isn’t the’ whole story. Milk prices in Salt or Lake city approximately were raised 9%. But one cent a quart, along with the in- crease in price, the cream at the top of the bottle almost vanished. Even the color seems to be thinning. And meat! First quality “ground round steak” used to be 29c a pound. Today the price is as high as 49c. But even that increase does not reflect the true situation. Of late suet and other indigestibles are added in such quantity that the quality of the product is lowered appreciably. When price and quality are considered, “ground round” today costs 100% more. The United Steelworkers have sounded a warning that if wages are to remain stabilized as Of last September, and if jobs are frozen, living costs must be brought back into a fair relationship to stabilized wages. Otherwise the loss of purchasing power to workers in essential industry may affect them as disasterously as a direct reduction in wages. Labor-Management Committees Willam J. Millett stood up before a group of Union men and management men in Philadelphia not so long ago and made this observation: “We established a labor-management committee early in the war effort. Since its formation the output of the plant has increased 400 per cent and we expect it to go higher. This performance was due to the sincere cooperation of company and union and would have been impossible without it.” A week later in Buffalo, C. J. Symington, a Similar group, made this statement: “Now I can say that all of our early skepticism andi doubt concerning the ability of any laborManagement committee to function effectively has been completely erased and for these reasons: Because of the demonstrated wholehearted and cooperation of the labor members of our committees; their willingness to assume responsibilities; to exchange opinions and ideas with us; and to help us carry through the suggestions which committee meetings brought forth.” In Cleveland a week later, J. J. Turner made a flat statement that labor-management committees increased production and in Chicago on April 11, C. E. Striyker has this to say: “Suggestions adopted (by labor-management committees) cover a wide range of subjects such as safe practices, reduction of errors and scrap, improvement of production methods, reduction of use of critical materials, better inspection meth- ods, improved jigs, fixtures trol of training production, job and introduction and tools, better by the labor-management con- simplification, worker of new employes.” committees, but during the period since such committees were set up in March, 1942, we have increased the volume of our business 240 per cent; inventory turnover has been increased from 2.3 to 4.8, and scrap has gone down from 23 per cent to 3 per cent.” be- fore Sincere Gordon Lefebvre told a_ similar Pittsburgh audience: “I am enthusiastic about labor-management committees. It is difficult to evaluate exactly—or credit exactly—the contribution made Skeptics public might be inclined testimonials—and, of to laugh course, off these there were Many, Many more—as Union ballyhoo, except for the identity of the speakers, Mr. Millett is assistant works manager of the big Worthington Pump é& Machinery Corp., Harrison, N. J.; Mr. Symington is president of the Symington-Gould Corp., with plants at Depew and Rochester, N. Y Mr. Turner is chief industrial engineer for Wheeling Steel; Mr. Striyker is vice president of Nordberg Manufacturing Co., Milwaukee, and Mr. Lefebvre is vice president and general manager of Cooper-Bessemer Corp. B. A. Berthold, Williamsport, “The success of pends upon both We told the Union business. The men do it. There were Co., vice-president of Sweet Steel Pa., echoed the same attitude: any such joint committee desides being absolutely sincere. what we had to do to stay in in the plant showed us how to two results: (1) There was a marked reduction in costs; men raise after raise that (Continued on (2) We have given cost us. nothing.” page 7) the |