In Again, Out Again, In Again

When the National War Labor Board granted Western Union Telegraph Co. employes a 21% wage raise last year, the company went deep into the red. That made no difference to WLB. So Western Union appealed to the Federal Communications Commission, which granted a 10% overall boost in rates for one year to help Western Union out of the red.

Even before the rate increase was made, the employes were back asking for more. Last week a Government fact-finding board recommended an additional raise of 10-c- to 16-c- an hour for all Western Union employes.

Oddest part of the board's report was its answer to Western Union's argument that it could not afford to raise wages. Ability to pay, said W.U., using one of organized labor's own arguments, should be the principal "determinant of its wages."

Not at all, said the board. If that were so, "inefficient producers would receive the benefit of a lower wage scale than efficient ones.". . . If the reason for [inability to pay] is managerial inefficiency, the employes should not be penalized by the denial of wage increases to which they are otherwise entitled."

Just how W.U. will be able to pay the boost, if it goes through, and yet stay in the black, was not clear. In granting the last rate hike, FCC said that it would not make any more. Even if it did, the boost would give Western Union more telephone and air mail competition and result in a decrease in revenue.

In short, the board seemed to think that it was none of its business whether or not W.U. stayed in business.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.