Guaranteed Annual Mirage

Offering a new contract to A.F.L. production workers in its three New Jersey plants, American Can Co. included the same widely hailed guaranteed-annual-wage plan that the can industry had given the C.I.O. steelworkers' union (TIME, Aug. 22). But from the A.F.L. local came a startling reaction. Through Business Agent John Gerard, the union flatly rejected G.A.W., said that it was clearly unnecessary in their industry, where there is no seasonal layoff comparable to that in auto plants.

Gerard charged that can-industry bosses were trying to "ram down our throats" a G.A.W. provision which they consider "insurance that they're never going to have to pay out." Instead, said Gerard, the union wants more in pay, holidays and vacations, or a plan under which the employee or his estate would get all that was left in his specific G.A.W. fund when he was fired, quit, retired or died. At week's end, negotiations between the company and union were stalled because the company was pushing for G.A.W. and the union was steadfastly refusing to accept it. Cracked Business Agent Gerard: "It would be like equipping Arab camel drivers with life jackets in case they ever drove into a mirage that turned out to be a real lake."

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