XI-i. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Monthly Labor Review, September 1966, pp. 1006-1007) Developments in Industrial Relations* ABOUT 60 PERCENT of trunk airline passenger service in the Nation was terminated by a strike by Machinists during most of July and part of August. The White House had intervened and Congress was considering legislation to end the strike when the maintenance personnel, on August 19, accepted the new 3-year contract. Transportation On August 19, members of the Machinists ratified an agreement with five airlines,' thus ending a strike that had begun in early July and he led to congressional consideration of legislation to send the 35,400 strikers back to their jobs. The agreement provided three 5-percent wage increases, the first retroactive to January 1, 1966, the second on January 1, 1967, and the third on May 1, 1968. Two steps of the rate range were eliminated-the next to the highest on January 1, 1967, and the lowest a year later-and a 5-cent premium for mechanics working on the line was established beginning in 1967.2 The carriers agreed to assume the employees' cost of dependents' health insurance (to a maximum of 5 cents an hour), and to establish an eighth paid holiday-Good Friday-beginning in 1967, as well as to pay double time and a half rather than double time for work on all holidays, effective immediately. Four weeks of vacation were to be provided after 15 rather than 20 years of service, effective in 1967, and 3 weeks of vacation after 8 rather than 10 years of service beginning in 1968. Two semiannual cost-of-living escalator adjustments were agreed to, one on January 1, 1968, based on the increase in the CPI during the preceding 6 months, and the second on September 1, 1968, based on the increase since March 1968. The escalator adjustments were to consist of 1 cent for *Prepared in the Division of Wage Economics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, on the basis of published material available in early August. Eastern, National, Northwest, TWA. and United. "Eastern previously paid the full cost of dependents' insurance. See Monthly Labor Review, June 1966, p. 666. each 0.4 point change in the index, subject to a 3-cent maximum for each semiannual adjustment. Negotiations between the five struck airlines and the Machinists started in August 1965, when the five caiers and the Union signed an agreement to bargain jointly on the renewal of contracts which were subject to renegotiation December 31, 1965. Proposals were exchanged on October 1, 1965, and negotiations continued until March 1966 when mediation was broken off. On April 21, President Johnson set up an emergency board under provisions of the Railway Labor Act, and in early June, the board released its proposals: Wage increases totaling 48 cents an hour for mechanics and higher skilled employees and 34 cents for other employees over a 31⁄2-year period; elimination of two steps of the rate progression; an additional paid holiday; improved vacation provisions, and proposals regarding a variety of local issues. The airlines accepted the board's proposals on all issues and agreed to negotiate within the framework of the report; the Machinists rejected the report. Negotiations were continued under the auspices of Assistant Secretary of Labor James J. Reynolds, but on July 8 the Machinists went out on strike. On July 25, Senator Wayne D. Morse, who had served as Chairman of the Presidential Committee, introduced legislation to stop the strike, and the Senate Labor and Public Welfare Committee scheduled hearings on the bill. Two days later, Secretary of Labor W. Willard Wirtz asked the Senate to delay passage of legislation and to give collective bargaining another chance. Negotiations were resumed, this time at the request of Secretary Wirtz, and a tentative settlement was reached at the White House on July 29. On July 31, however, the strikers rejected the 3-year contract by a vote of 17,251 to 6,587. The pact provided 5-percent wage increases on January 1, 1966, July 1, 1967, and July 1, 1968: a line premium of 5 cents an hour on July 1, 1967, for about 8,000 mechanics; an additional paid holiday in 1967, and double time and one-half (instead of double time) for work on holidays effective after July 1, 1967; vacations of 3 weeks after 8 instead of 10 years, in 1968; and 4 weeks after 15 instead of 20 years, in 1967; elimination of two progression steps; and an increase in contributions for group insurance by a maximum of 5 cents an hour. On August 4, the U.S. Senate passed and sent to the House a bill ordering the striking employees back to work for as long as 180 days. Agreement came while the House was considering this legislation. XI-j. (Source: Council of Economic Advisors. In press release, August 20, 1966) Executive Office of the President FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 20, 1966 Gardner Ackley Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, today issued the following statement on the airlines settlement: "The settlement which has just been ratified by the International Association of Machinists will raise the compensation of its members by an average of 4.9% a year, not by the 6 or 8% a year which some reports have inaccurately claimed. In addition, there is a provision for limited cost of living escalation, effective during the last 12 months of the three-year contract. "The Council greatly regrets that this settlement so substantially exceeds its guideposts for noninflationary wage behavior. It regrets the unwillingness of the Machinists union to accept the reasonable and responsible settlement of this dispute recommended by the President's Emergency Board, or even the somewhat higher settlement which the union's representatives negotiated on July 29. "The Government has no power to compel either labor or management to abide by its guideposts. We must rely on the good sense and public responsibility of the leaders of industry and labor. Most unions and managements in recent years have acted responsibly in setting wages and prices, but not all. The general public including those workers and businesses who have themselves behaved responsibly will place the blame for violation of reasonable speed limits on those who have violated them and not on the speed limits themselves. "Fortunately, in this particular case, the excessive settlement will not require higher prices to air passengers or shippers. The high rate of productivity advance which has characterized the airline industry, and is expected to continue, means that airline fares can continue to trend downward, despite this excessive settlement. "Such a trend would be consistent with the guidepost for prices. The guideposts specify that, in industries with higher than average productivity gains, prices should be reduced, to share the gains with the general public." 1301 APPENDIX 1 THE RAILWAY LABOR ACT Being An Act To provide for the prompt disposition of disputes between carriers and their employees and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, TITLE I2 DEFINITIONS SECTION 1. When used in this Act and for the purposes of this Act— First. The term "carrier" includes any express company, sleepingcar company, carrier by railroad, subject to the Interstate Commerce Act, and any company which is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by or under common control with any carrier by railroad and which operates any equipment or facilities or performs any service (other than trucking service) in connection with the transportation, receipt, delivery, elevation, transfer in transit, refrigeration or icing, storage, and handling of property transported by railroad, and any receiver, trustee, or other individual or body, judicial or otherwise, when in the possession of the business of any such "carrier": Provided, however, Tha the term "carrier" shall not include any street, interurban, or suburban electric railway, unless such railway is operating as a part of a general steam-railroad system of transportation but shall not exclude any part of the general steam-railroad system of transportation now or hereafter operated by any other motive power. The Interstate Commerce Commission is hereby authorized and directed upon request of the Mediation Board or upon complaint of any party interested to determine after hearing whether any line operated by electric power falls within the terms of this proviso. The term "carrier" shall not include any company by reason of its being engaged in the mining of coal, the supplying of coal to carrier where delivery is * 1 (Public Law 257, 69th Cong.) (H.R. 9463); (Approved May 20, 1926), The Railway Labor Act (44 Stat. L. 577). (Public Law 442, 73rd Cong.) (H.R. 9861), An Act to amend the Railway Labor Act approved May 20, 1926. (Approved June 21, 1934.) That Section 1 of the Railway Labor Act is amended to read as follows: (Followed by text governing carriers by railroad and related transportation agencies.) (48 Stat. L. 926.) Title II, (Public Law 487, 74th Cong.) (S. 2496), An Act to amend the Railway Labor Act. (Approved Apr. 10, 1936.) That the Railway Labor Act, approved May 20, 1926, as amended, herein referred to as Title I" is hereby further amended by inserting after the enacting clause the caption "Title I" and by adding the following Title II. (Followed by Title II governing air carriers.) (48 Stat. L. 1185.) Final paragraphs to Section 1 First and 1 Fifth marked by asterisks are amendments by the Act of Aug. 13, 1940 (Public Law 764). (Public Law 914, 81st Cong.) (S. 3295); (Approved Jan. 10, 1951) providing for union membership. (See Sec. 2, eleventh.) 78-505 0-67-pt. 2- 41 |