Glower & Glow in Pittsburgh

The public actions and words in the nation's steel capital last week suggested that another labor crisis is coming--but the behind-the-scenes atmosphere did not. By a unanimous vote of its 163-member Wage Policy Committee, the United Steelworkers served notice that it would strike if a new contract is not signed by Sept. 1. Steelworkers' President I. W. (for Iorworth Wilbur) Abel called the industry's current bargaining stance "unrealistic" and "indefensible."

The industry's veteran chief negotiator, U.S. Steel Vice President R. Conrad Cooper, condemned the union's "tired old tactics." But the antagonists did not have that oldtime fervor and invective.

The strike vote and the charges seemed largely pro forma gestures in a deadline-setting ceremony that has become traditional in Pittsburgh talks.

Holding the Line. A full month remains to settle the one crucial area of difference: money. The union demands a 17.90 hourly (or 4%) annual increase in wages and benefits, comparable to packages granted lately in the automobile, aluminum and can industries. Management, which contends that its annual productivity increase in the past six years has been only 2%, insists that it cannot grant more than a 2% boost without raising prices. It holds the line at 90 an hour.

Despite this seeming deadlock, Pittsburgh is optimistic. Union negotiators, headed by Abel, Vice President Joseph Molony and Secretary-Treasurer Walter Burke, feel considerable pressure from their own rank and file to settle peaceably. Under an interim agreement, management has been putting in escrow 11.50 an hour for every steelworker since May 1, and once the contract is signed, each worker will collect about $80--enough to buy a portable TV set or put a down payment on a used car. Abel himself is eager to make a statesmanlike impression in his first real test since wresting the presidency from Dave McDonald, knows that a reasonably sweet settlement would enhance his reputation far more than a disruptive strike. The union realizes that if a strike comes, the companies could hold out for quite a while before customers would begin to clamor for a settlement at any cost. Reason: customers have stockpiled between 12 and 14 million extra tons of steel, or a 60-day supply.

Worrying about Washington. Management is equally anxious to come to terms. A strike would enable foreign steel--which is invading the U.S. at a rate of almost 1,000,000 tons monthly--to make further gains, would also encourage customers to switch to more substitute materials such as aluminum and plastics. In addition, both sides have been told by President Johnson to "work things out," are awed and a bit frightened by his determination to avoid an interruption in the nation's industrial growth. They feel certain that the Administration would intervene to prevent a lengthy strike.

The glow in Pittsburgh is reflected around the nation. None of the top policymakers in Washington expect a major strike and neither, so it seems, do steel users. Having built their stockpiles to capacity, some have already cut back September steel orders by 20%.

Steel-labor negotiations are not always governed by cold logic, of course, and the high hopes for settlement could easily be deflated. But as of last week insiders looked forward to stormy sessions leading to a last-minute settlement fairly close to the Steelworkers' demand, followed by selected steel price-increases carefully calculated to avoid Presidential wrath.

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