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Show LEHI FREE PRESS, LEHI, UTAH You Know UFolks . . . . t -.WWtfWVSA mmm. . Mr. and Mrsf George P. Price visited at Provo, Monday, with company LaMar Friel. Mrs. Slade of Richfield, the day Kbey spent James S. Ferrell spent Sunday Mrs. togetner. Salt Lake City at is old ward in are Ferman Liii the Twelfth. A nniVWWWVftW In & f Mr. and Mr v . and their daimlito. o xujaa oonnie t Jean Kirkham, were week-en- d m Ingham City and Logan. They were accompanied hy Mrs. J. W. Shill, sister to Mrs. Kirkham , .j.-.- .. ,l,I1U visiting here from Santa Ana, California. Mrs. Shill remained in Brigham as the guest of her niece, Mrs. t. d. wen. f t v T" FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1949 Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Circuit of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Jackson Salt Lake City, were week-en- d and children Bill and Sha una, of visitors at the home of Mrs. Tooele, were Saturday visitors Circuit's parents, Mr. and Mrs. at the John Jackson home. David H. Carson. f Mr. and Mrs. Henry Cooley of Mrs. Sarah Reese of Salt Lake East Midvale, formerly of Weat visitor at Jordan, spent Sunday afternoon City, was a week-en- d the home of her daughter, Mr. in Lehi, visiting with an old and Mrs. Shirlef Powell and friend, Mrs. H. R. Petersen. They also called at the Clov home. family. Mr. and Mrs. Mariom Parker Mrs. R. L. Dubois of Fairfield, was a Lehi visitor on Monday. of American Fork, were Sunday She spent the afternoon at the evening visitors at the Don C McMillan home. Loveridge home. Mr. and Mrs. Gorman Wimget of Salt Laka City, wera recent visitors at the Charles Crabb home. Mr. and Mrs. Crabb enjoyed meeting their new granddaughter in law for the first time. Mjs. L. E. Ruason accompanied her cons, Arland and Lyle to Logan' last, Friday, where they enjoyed an overnight visit with Mr. and Mrs. Nate L. Seamons daughter Eloise). Geneva Steel Company, U. S, Steel Corporation subsidiary, presents to its employees and to the public the following statements regarding The Issues Involved in the Current Steel Strike Statement By IRVING S. Statement By OLDS BENJAMIN F. FAIRLESS Chairman, Board of Directors, United States Steel Corporation New York City, October 1, 1949 President, United States Steel Corporation Pittsburgh, Pa., September 30, 1949 Murray, President of the United Steelworkers of America has ordered a strike in the steel industry, which became effective at 12:01 A.M. today. This strike has ended all steel operations by United States Steel. bargaining negotiations with the United Steelworkers Our collective America (CIO) have come to a complete impasse, because of the Philip unreasonable attitude of the Union. For a week past United States Steel has attempted through a resumption of collective bargaining with the Union to reach a solution, of the matters in dispute, as was requested by the President of the United States. In view of your direct interest in this serious situation, I hope you will read carefully the accompanying statement, which was issued last night by Benjamin F. Fairless, President of United States Steel Corporation. It reviews what has taken place during the past few days. si The ultimatum issued to us by Philip Murray, President of the Union, on September 21, 1949, continues to be his inflexible position. We must accept die recommendations of the Presidential Steel Board or a steel strike will result tonight at midnight, regardless of the of such a strike to the public and to our employees. The position of Mr. Murray is that the Board had powers equivalent to those of a compulsory arbitration tribunal, and that we are bound by the Board's recommendations, despite the written assurance of President Truman when he created the Board that its recommendations wmld not be binding upon either party. United States Steel declines to bow to such an ultimatum. We feel sure that the public will prompdy recognize that the responsibility for a strike rests with the Union. Only one issue is involved in this strike. That issue is a simple one, namely: Shall United States Steel and the other members of the steel industry be forced now to agree that the employer shall pay the entire cost of insurance, welfare benefits and pensions for employees. That would be the adoption of a major principle, probably for all time and probably setting a pattern for all American business. con-sequenc- The main argument of the Union in support of its demand is that this is what was recommended by the Presidential Steel Board. Certainly a principle of so great importance to United States Steel and to American industry as a whole, and involving so terrific a cost, is not to be lightly accepted, simply because it was the recommendation of a Board of three men, which possessed no statutory authority, power or responsibility. The President of the United States gave express assurance in advance that the recommendations of the Presidential Steel Board would not be binding upon either party. Social security in which both employer and employee share the cost has been the established order in this country for many years. Under the Federal Social Security Act, which created the largest of all social security programs, employer and employee each contributes an equal amount. The Federal Civil Service Retirement Act, amended in February 1948, provides that employees of the Federal Government shall contribute 6 retirement fund. The Federal of their basic pay to build up an old-ag- e Railroad Retirement Act calls for contributions' by employees. All State disability benefits require employees systems providing to contribute a substantial share of the cost. A survey recently made by the Institute of Life Insurance indicates that two out of every three group life insurance plans effective among American business concerns provide for the sharing of the cost between employer and employee. Another outside study made in 1948 discloses that more than of present pension plans in American industry are upon a contributory basis. In August 1949, the Ways and Means Committee of the House ol Representatives made this report to that branch of Congress in connection with the proposed extension of the Federal Social Security Act: "The time has come to reaffirm the basic principle that a contributory system of social insurance in which workers share directly in meeting the cost of the protection afforded is the most satisfactory way of preventing dependency." United States Steel has never opposed proper and financially sound social insurance and pension programs for its employees. For many years it has had in effect a pension plan, partly contributory and partly The only pensions to which the chief executives of United States Steel Corporation may become entitled upon retirement are under this contributory pension plan, which is applicable upon exactly the same basis to every employee receiving compensation in excess of $3,000 a year. Since 1935 United States Steel has had a contributory group life insurance plan, mostly paid for by the employees, under which the great there are majority of its employees are now protected. In addition, States United Steel, numerous employee welfare associations throughout the employees. where the entire cost of welfare benefits is paid by We had hoped to be able to work out with the Union through collective bargaining any changes in our existing programs for insurance and pensions, which are necessary or desirable at this time. Instead we havt been met with the Union's flat ultimatum that we must accept the recommendations of the Presidential Steel Board as the equivalent of tht determination of a compulsory arbitration tribunal. United States Steal declines to bow to that ultimatum. United States Steel proposed last Tuesday night to pay as its share of the cost of contributory programs for insurance and pensions to be negotiated with the Union up to an average of 4 cents an hour for insurance and 6 cents an hour for pensions, these being the exact amounts recommended by the Presidential Steel Board as the cost to be paid by the employer for such social security programs. Federal social security and pensions for Federal Government employees are upon a contributory basis, as is also true of many Stale and industrial social security programs. American industry alone cannot afford to pay the cost of adequate insurance and pension programs for employees. As recommended by the Board, United States Steel offered to join with the Union in making a joint study of pensions, to be concluded by March 1, 1950. Upon the conclusion of such a joint study, an effort would be made to negotiate a mutually satisfactory contributory pension plan with the Union to become effective when our present labor agreements expire on April 30, 1950. non-occupatio- three-quarte- es Under United States Steeds proposal for a contributory insurance program to be forthwith negotiated and put into effect, United States Steel would pay about $5.70 a month for each participating employee. The cost to a single employee would be about $2 a month and about $3 a month for an employee obtaining insurance for his dependents. These insurance contributions by employees would not reduce their pay, nor would they in any sense be a wage cut, as present take-hom- e Mr. Murray has charged. U. S. Steel employees on the average are now paying more under present contributory insurance and employee welfare plans than they would be asked to contribute under the company's proposal, which would provide superior benefits to those now available. Therefore, U. S. Steel's insurance proposal would result in the employee on the average taking home each month the same amount of pay as at present, and in addition $5.70 of further insurance and welfare benefits paid for by United States Steel. rs To make the negotiations more difficult, the Union demanded last Wednesday afternoon not only a complete acceptance of the Board's recommendations on insurance and pensions, but that they be made retroactive to July 16, 1949. No such retroactive provision was contained in the Board's report. The Union also proposed that a wage increase of 12 Yi cents an hour be negotiated. The Board had found that a wage increase at this time was not justified. Yesterday the Union made a new demand for a wage increase of 30 cents an hour as an alternative to all questions under discussion. These proposals of the Union clearly indicate its unwillingness to attempt in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable settlement. They were the only proposals made by the Union'during the entire negotiations which started last Friday. -- The Union flatly rejected the fair and constructive proposals of United States Steel. This rejection by the Union ends any hope of an early amicable settlement, which is a matter of the deepest regret to United States SteeL , Geneva Steel Company Walther Mathesius PRESIDENT |