Toward Another Strike?

The nation's railroads this week served notice on the industry's five operating unions of proposed work-rule changes they want in the next railroad agreement to replace the one that expired last week. Preliminary wage sparring has already gone on. The unions pressed for a 36-c--an-hour boost, and the industry has counterproposed a 15-c- wage slash. Despite the wide gulf in wage proposals, however, the big fight will still be over union featherbedding. To eliminate featherbedding, the rail companies asked the rail unions to: P: Extend the basic day's mileage pay from 100 miles to 160 miles. The 100-mile rate was established in 1919, when freight trains averaged 12 1/2 m.p.h., passenger trains 20 m.p.h. Today it means that a railroader can do his day's work in as little as two hours. P: Wipe out the distinction between the work performed by road crews and yard crews, thereby allowing full interchange of labor without duplicated effort. P: Eliminate firemen's jobs on diesels and other non-steam locomotives in freight service and switchyards to realize a saving of $200 million a year. P: Allow management only to stipulate the number of required crew members. P: End rules requiring idle stand-by operating employees when self-propelled equipment is used and eliminate multiple crew changes on short-run trains.

Union leaders challenge the railroads' charge that featherbedding costs $500 million a year, making it impossible for the rails to compete with taxfree, government-built highways, airports and waterways. They also contend that the number of rail workers has declined by 500,000 in the past decade, despite freight traffic increases.

The elaborate mediation timetable established by the Railway Labor Act precludes a strike before spring. But the railroads have warned that this time they intend to get changes in work rules even at the cost of a strike.

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