Show THE TilE VOICE OF BUSINESS Labor Lobor Has Hos a 1 Part in Curbing Inflation By BV Arch N N. N Booth Executive vice president of the Cham ChamE Chamber ber of Commerce of the United States Stales Inflation Is a hole In your our pocket Through Inflation you Two nave lost 27 21 cents of the purchasing power of your dollar in the past six years POWERFUL LABOR unions which are arc exempt from the antitrust laws laws have have contributed to Inflation by obtaining obtain ing wage increases In excess of Disregard for productivity Is reflected reflect ed In abusive union practices such as these Plumbers Insist on re threading pre threaded pipe Carpenters no longer build wooden frames for pouring concrete but receive pay for standing by and watching the concrete being poured Bricklayers have a quota of oC laying bricks a day although normal productivity pro is Painters refuse to use a roller more than nine inches wide or a brush more than four inches wide Electricians receive time half pay for Cor standby duty on construction sites and double time when they work THESE OF course are arc extreme examples examples ex ex- amples of shameful union practices which arc are cosily to the consumer and which weaken the moral fiber of the nation A lot lol more examples of the same sort however could be added to the list And the point is that every union practice practice practice tice which hampers productivity productivity along along with every wage boost in excess of productivity pro contributes contributes to inflation New Guidelines As a starting point for curbing inflation tion without tion-without without hamstringing Americas America's 80 million workers workers President President Nixons Nixon's 15 5 man Pay Board has set up t the these h e s e ethree ethree three new 1 I. Pay raises and fringe benefits generally generally gen gen- will wilt be limited to about 35 55 percent percent per per- cent a year ear 2 Pay raises In union contracts signed before the freeze freele will be honored unless un um less formally challenged by management or five fie or more members of ot the Pay Board 3 Except In special ca cases es workers will not be able to collect pay raises which they lost during Phase I J of the wage wage- price freeze THE PAY Board has announced that it will review Its provisions periodically taking into account such factors as The The term long productivity trend of about three percent Cost of living trends and The The objectives of reducing Inflation Business Cooperating If Jl permitted to remain unchecked Inflation inflation In in- would sooner or later wreck the Incentive system and the whole economy Common sense tells us this Th The businessmen of America as represented re rc- presented by the National Chamber federation fed are arc cooperating with the Presidents President's Presidents President's dents dent's economic stabilization program to halt inflation LABOR LEADERS at the moment seem not willing to cooperate We hope they will change their minds Labor unions have contributed greatly to Inflation Their leaders therefore it seems to us should be willing to help curb inflation for the good of the consumers consumers con con- sumers for the good of the country country- and for the long long ran goof c g good od of the workers work ers themselves ALSO THERE is a widespread feeling among businessmen that Congress should limit the concentration of power in unions just as the antitrust laws limit the concentration con- con of power in industry The time has come we feel for assuring more balance at the bargaining table |