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Show RAIL ROARD CUTS PAYjHOO.OOO MORE THAN $48,000,000 IN WAQES ARE SLASHED FROM EMPLOY. E8 OF ALL ROADS United States Railroad Labor Board Hand Down Decision Which Affects Men In Every Walk Of Railway Life Chicago. Moro than $48,000,000 was lashed from tho wuges of 400,000 rail. way omployoes in n decision by Uie United States railroad labor board Sunday. The decreases, which averaged 0 coats as hour In tho majority of cases, followod cuts of $400,000,000 made last July by tho board. Sunday's docls. Ion, howover, nffectod mostly maintenance main-tenance of way workors, although do. clalons are pending affecting other classifications. If Uie wage cuts made la the latest decision are exteadod to other decisions de-cisions expected boob, it was pointed out In railway circles that much of Uta $000,000,000 Increase riven by the board In 1020 would bo wiped out and wages restored to a level which rail, way officials had told the board would lead to a now era of development aad open the way to the employment ei 200,'000 mon. Tho decision was signed by Uie three railway members' of tho board and Uie three members roprcsonting tho public. A dissenting opinion wna filed by the three members representing the labor group. Tho majority opinion aald that the wage cuts, effecUve on July 1, were made la accordance wlUi decreases de-creases in the cost of living. The ranu ority opinion contended that the wage scale rovlded In the decision was in-sdtflcont in-sdtflcont to sustain, life oa tho basis of American atandardn. All of the former dlfercntlala were continued la tho prosont doelston, It bolng stated that tho wages s this class of employee havo not beea standardized stan-dardized and uniform throughout tho country and will net be made so under Uio decision. The wages of track la-borers la-borers at present rates range from 28 to 40 cents an hour. Under the decision de-cision they will range from S3 to 85 cents an hour. The decision asserted that under the now scalo common labor on the roads bUII will bo rocolvlng a ratio higher than that paid similar labor In most oUior Industries. In a statistical tablo based on tho figures on wages and tho coat of living liv-ing by the department of labor which Is Incorporated in Uio decision, the board declarod Uiat, while tho cost of living in March, 1021 (last available government figures,) wob approximately approximate-ly 17.2 por cent over that of Decern-bor, Decern-bor, 1017, tho hourly rato of pay for maintenance of way omployoes under Uio present decision will bo G0.4 per cent nbovo tho hourly rates of Do-comber, Do-comber, 1017, nnd tho purchasing power pow-er of tho wages of employeos nfoct-cd nfoct-cd by tho present decision will be 44.5 por cont over the purchasing powor of tholr wages In 1017. Labor men, while they wore roluct-nnt roluct-nnt to bo quoted until thoy had full tlrao to study Uie decision, pointed out thnt, whllo it npplied to tho Inrgost clnss of railroad employeos, tho total of tho mnlntcnnnco men being more thnn 70 per cont of Uio wholo, tho nmount of wages paid to this group, which usually ranks as "unskilled" Inbor, was smaller In the total than that paid any of the othqr groups whoso wages also aro to be passed on by the board. |