Show LAW R RULES COST RO ADS his public directly dif atly interested in effort to stop drain on carriers income BIG SUMS FOR WORK NOT DONE rai railways ways arking labor board to abrogate wasteful agreements agreement made under federal control the entire country its consumers its farmers its mor workmen knien and even een the railway employees themselves are directly interested with the railroads in cutting down railway operating expenses this Is the keynote of the case presented by the railroads to the united states railroad labor board now in session in Ch chicago iengo the railroads have submitted evidence to the board to show why the national agreements affecting ra railway ilay shop labor should be abrogated believing that this Is a vitally important step in the process of reducing operating expenses tills this step Is not only necessary to insl insure re adequate earning power to the railroads but will make possible an ultimate reduction in rates the agreements were made by the railroad Hall road administration just before the end of federal control the sum total of the rules and working conditions provided by the national agreements have increased the operating expenses of the railroads by hundreds of millions and have decreased the efficiency and output of the employees in other ways resulting in losses which cannot be calculated in dollars and cents for several weeks the railroads have been multiplying instances of the absurd and extravagant results of the labor rules fastened upon them by the national agreements in one case cited before the board a machinist was paid ac hours wages for work all performed within eight hours this case illustrated the effect of the rule that for each call the worker Is to be paid five hours wages even it if he works only ten minutes the case of a car repairer on the virginian railway who was recently paid over 1000 for services which were never rendered and in addition the same amount of overtime as was made by his gang was another example in connection with the rule that none but mechanics or apprentices shall do mechanics work the following was cited to indicate its unfairness five hours pay for 30 minutes work the el paso southwestern railroad recently had an engine set out tit at douglas and about the time it was i ready eady to go to its train it developed that a window light was broken in the cab it was necessary tor for the foreman to call a carpenter to do the work that he be could have performed himself in a few minutes the train was delayed one hour and 30 minutes and the employee called to do the work was paid five hours tor for work requiring 30 minutes the created in inflexible application of the rules contained cont la in the agreements in question was illustrated in the following actual case which recently occurred on the baltimore ohio railroad Hall Rall road an engine was placed in the shops for certain repairs because of the provisions of the national agreement it was necessary that members of five crafts perform parts of this work formerly the entire operation was performed by the members of but two crafts for work not performed now ilow the railroads of the country were compelled to pay almost in the first six months of 1920 for service not rendered because of the effects of but oneff the rules niles included in the shop crafts national agreement was shown in the testimony this punitive payment for work never performed was required by a clause in the national agreement which provides that when employees are required to check in and atit out on their own time they will be paid one hour extra at the close of each week the rigid classifications of labor when taken in connection with the rule that requires that a man must have four foor years experience before being beine bf employed to perform any of the work listed in them result in paying rates applicable to men who are supposed to be fully qualified for or work which does not require men of four years experience to illustrate bow the In of many of the rules now enforced operate to mulct the railroads of 0 large sums for services which in the absence of these rules could be obtained for relatively moderate sum evidence was laid before the labor conn showing that three men who nho were nere employed at a small pumping station in n michigan performing unskilled work would when classified under the rules receive an excess of pay amounting to more than the value of all tile water pumped and current ami cn rated at this station the chicago testimony con tsing literally hundreds of midi as ai these nil all supporting th of the railroads hiat hu be labor r rules iles under which they have been forced d to to wor work kore are such as to prepra the honest efficient and economical bannse ment demanded by the blon act I 1 |