Food: At $1 per day per person includes school lunch money for daughter and one meal a day away from home for father a total of $56 for all food for 2 weeks.

Car: Payment on car is $60 a month-2 weeks approximately $27. Gasoline for 2 weeks averages $12. Insurance (collision, comprehensive, liability) averages $4. Car expenses average $43 every 2 weeks.

Housing: Payment on mortgage $50 a month-approximately $23 for 2 weeks. Upkeep on home approximately $2 for 2 weeks. Housing expenses for 2 weeks, $25.

Church Church contributions average $4 a week-2 weeks, $8.

Insurance: Life and hospitalization average $1.25 per week for each member of family-2 weeks $10.

This total $142, leaving a total of $5 out of 2 weeks salary. The estimated budget does not include any replacement of furniture, clothing, recreation, music lessons for daughter, medicine, doctor bills, or many other incidental bills. I have completed 3 years of college work toward a degree in business administration. I sincerely believe that the skills I possess as a post-office clerk entitles me to a more adequate salary, a salary on which I can afford medical and dental treatment when it is needed for myself and family, a salary on which I can save a little each week for unexpected emergencies that arise.

We have had 71 separations in the Forth Worth post office during the first 4 months this year. If the trend continues 1 out of every 4 employees will leave our office during the year. An adequate salary will eliminate most of these separations and attract a better type of new employee.

Senator NEUBERGER. The next witness listed is Mr. C. B. Gravitt, Jr., legislative representative and secretary, National League of Post

masters.

STATEMENT OF C. B. GRAVITT, JR., LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATIVE AND SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF POSTMASTERS OF THE UNITED STATES

Mr. GRAVITT. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is C. B. Gravitt, Jr., legislative representative and secretary of the National League of Postmasters of the United States, an organization having members in every State in the Union, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Alaska.

We appreciate the opportunity to present to this committee our views in regard to pay legislation. The latest cost of living statistics tell a grim story for Government workers, and it has also been pointed out that there seems to be no sign of a leveling off in price increases.

Postmasters do not enjoy the provisions of the 40-hour week, yet many are required to work until the job is done, perhaps 10 to 12 hours or longer. They do not receive overtime pay or compensatory time as do other postal workers.

Our postmaster members are not only administrators but are working postmasters performing routine work in their offices, from janitor to administrator. You will find these postmasters the representatives of the Federal Government in their respective communities. They directly contact and become personally acquainted with the patrons of their offices.

Postmasters are now underpaid. We contend that they should receive equal pay with other postal employees for like or equal work, and in addition should receive fair compensation for the responsibility and administration of their offices. In many cases postmasters are required to personally own or rent equipment for Government

use. They should be reimbursed for personal expense in operating and equipping post offices.

We commend Senator William A. Purtell, of Connecticut for introducing S. 2, to establish a basic workweek of 35 hours for employees in the Federal Government. We ask that this committee take the necessary action to provide a maximum 40-hour week for postmasters, especially in view of the fact that the Congress provided a 40-hour week for other Federal workers many years ago.

Private industry has long ago proved its ability to operate with great economy and efficiency. Experience has proved that economy cannot be gained by low pay for management. Postmasters are, as the Postmesaer General has often said, the branch managers of the postal service. The efficiency of theses branch managers will add a great deal to the economy and welfare of the postal system.

One of the reasons most often given for the low salaries of postmasters is the small receipts of the offices. The receipts of the office have very little to do with the duties. Years ago, when the system. was applied, there was an almost even exchange of incoming and outgoing mail, and therefore this was a reliable basis for salaries.

Today the postal receipts have little or no proportion to the work performed, for modern business methods have changed the incoming mail to 15 to 20 times that dispatched from the smaller offices.

The modern business system has completely robbed the majority of postoffices in the Nation of a large part of the receipts. Business reply cards on which postage is paid at offices of addresses or business. firms and undeliverable matter with returned postage collect, have helped to transfer the receipts from the smaller offices to the large city offices.

The question has been raised many times as to whether small post offices are an integral part of the postal system or whether they are, in fact, public services which cannot be justified on a businesslike basis. The Post Office Department considers small post offices an essential part of its national distribution system.

In fiscal 1956 the cost of third-class post offiecs was $87.6 million, and the revenues generated on mail originating in or delivered by these offices came to $184 million. In the same year the cost of fourthclass offices was $35.5 million and the revenues generated came to $39.9 million. We do not agree that it can logically be said that these offices are money losers for the Department. Postmasters are trusting and hoping that Congress will not overlook their many hardships due to. increased living costs when pay legislation is approved.

We approve the pay increases proposed in S. 27. However, we recommend that the step increases proposed in sections 301 (a) and 303 (a) be increased from 4 to 7, with the same percentage increase for each step.

I wish to express to you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my thanks and appreciation for the opportunity of presenting the views of our organization, the National League of Postmasters of the United States.

Senator NEUBERGER. Mr. Joseph F. Thomas, president, United National Association of Post Office Clerks.

Mr. KERLIN. Mr. Chairman, I wish to direct attention to an error that occurred here. This is the United National Association of Post Office Craftsmen instead of "Clerks."

Senator NEUBERGER. Mr. Thomas, it is noted the United Association of Post Office Craftsmen is the proper name and if the reporter will correct that, we will be glad to hear from you.

Mr. BRAWLEY. Since it is a completely new designation for Mr. Thomas, it might be well to elaborate.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Chairman, we were formerly known as the United National Association of Post Office Clerks, which incidentally, is the oldest post office organization in America and at our last convention, the delegates to the convention voted to change the name to "Craftsmen" so that all post office employees might be admitted.

Mr. BRAWLEY. Do you have the same membership that you had before?

Mr. THOMAS. We do not have exactly the same membership. Our membership is still predominantly clerks but we have taken in quite a number of other classifications since that time.

Mr. BRAWLEY. What is your total membership now?

Mr. THOMAS. I think it would be just in excess of 40,000.
Mr. BRAWLEY. Where are they located mainly?

Mr. THOMAS. Mainly?

Mr. BRAWLEY. Yes.

Mr. THOMAS. Throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Mr. BRAWLEY. Where are your big memberships?

Mr. THOMAS. Our real big memberships are in the eastern part of the country.

Mr. BRAWLEY. You take in all kinds and types of post-office employees now?

Mr. THOMAS. That is right.

Mr. BRAWLEY. Across the board?

Mr. THOMAS. That is right.

Senator NEUBERGER. Proceed, Mr. Thomas.

STATEMENT OF JOSEPH F. THOMAS, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POST OFFICE CRAFTSMEN

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my name is Joseph F. Thomas. I am president of the United National Association of Post Office Craftsmen, America's oldest postal union. Our organization has headquarters in the Colorado Building, Washington, D. C., and we have over 40,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

I appreciate the privilege of appearing before you today and I hope that the testimony which I present may be of value to you.

The organization which I represent held a meeting of key officers and other officials on January 28, 1957, in Washington, D. C. At that time a resolution was unanimously adopted to support S. 27, the bill which you are now considering.

It was felt by the delegates to our meeting that the provisions of this bill, though liberal, were no more than needed to properly raise the families of our postal employees.

In an attempt to ascertain for ourselves just how desperately a salary increase might be needed by our postal employees, our association recently conducted a poll, dealing with the economic conditions of our members. We sent out a total of 10,000 questionnaires to a cross-section of our membership and received back a total of 6,548 completed

forms. The answers which we received have been developed into some very enlightening facts, which I believe will be of interest to you. To begin with our poll showed that the average member of our association is receiving take-home-pay of $68.06 for each 1-week period throughout the year. This same employee has a wife and slightly less than two children, according to the figures which we have received.

Statistics released by the United States Department of Labor on April 23, 1957, show the average weekly take-home-pay of an American factory worker with 3 dependents, 1 less than our example, is $74.65 weekly. It will be seen then that factory workers in this country, for the most part unskilled, are receiving between 12 to 15 percent more take-home-pay than the average postal employee, who most certainly is performing work of a more skilled nature.

Weekly earnings of factory production workers, March 1957

1 Spendable earnings are obtained by deducting social security and Federal income taxes from gross weekly earnings of a worker (1) without dependents and (2) with 3 dependents.

2 The index of real spendable earnings compares the current buying power of a worker's spendable earnings to the buying power of his spendable earnings during 1947-49.

Preliminary.

Our survey also revealed a set of figures relating to savings and to debt, which would indicate that most postal employees are in a very bad way financially. Our figures show that over 3 out of every 5 postal. families have no savings whatsoever. We found that in those families which did have savings, either the wife was working, or the father was working another job. The average savings for this group alone amounted to $254.99, not a great sum in this day and age.

The figure which we obtained on debt is even more significant. About 19 percent of those polled owed nothing. This was mostly a portion of the two-job wife-working group. Almost 81 percent of our members owed an average of $619.50, exclusive of home mortgages. These debts were incurred for a variety of reasons, it is true, but, nevertheless, indicate that about 80 percent of all postal employees make too little in salary to meet the needs of life. Incidentally, our records show that 4 of every 10 postal employees work another job and slightly less than 4 of every 10 postal wives holds some type of employment.

In addition we learned from our questions that the average postal family spends $25.78 per week for food, or a figure of $1,240.56 per year. This certainly is a meager sum for food. Based on figures published in the monthly Labor Review, issued by the Department of Labor Statistics in May 1952, and referring to the year of 1951, the amount then necessary for food per year for a family of 4 ranged from $1,296 in Milwaukee, Wis., to $1,409 in Savannah, Ga. You will notice that the average postal employee is spending less for food in

1957 than was considered necessary by the United States Department of Labor for 1951, when the cost of living was admittedly much less than now.

I feel as though the figures cited above are just about as accurate as any such poll could show. We asked our members to be completely truthful with their answers and I am sure that we have obtained a fairly true picture of the postal employees' economic condition. It is not a bright one. So much for our poll.

To further support our contention that postal salaries need adjusting and soon, I refer you to a widely circulated chart, recently published in the U. S. News & World Report. This chart, compiled from figures supplied chiefly by the Department of Labor, shows that since 1939 Federal Government workers' real income, that income allowing for taxes and changes in the value of the dollar, has actually increased by only 14 percent.

Thirty-three other industries show increases in real income ranging from telephone workers at 16 percent to coal miners, with an increase of 107 percent. Only two groups, veterans on compensation and retired Federal employees, have progressed less than Federal employees.

There is no doubt that the postal employee is the forgotten man in today's economy. The Department of Labor states that 36 American industries now pay rank-and-file workers between $6,788 and $5,000 per year, with the postal worker far from that figure, even though performing service of a comparable nature. As a mater of fact, postal employees now earn much less than most big city police and firemen and draw less salary than many garbage collectors, who incidentally earn over $5,000 per year in New York City and in various other

areas.

The claim that fringe benefits should satisfy, in lieu of pay, is a ridiculous one. The postal employee pays a heavy share of all fringe benefits enjoyed, and feels that such benefits may be enjoyed fully only if augmented by a decent salary.

I trust that the members of this committee will fully study the facts and recommend a reasonable salary increase for our postal employees. Before closing, I call your attention to page 26, of the President's Economic Report for 1956, transmitted to the Congress in January of 1957. In that report President Eisenhower states that

The expansion of overall business activity in 1956 created ample job opportunities in most occupations and incomes rose for all major groups of income recipients.

Unfortunately, we were not included in those groups, and I appeal to you to include us now.

Thank you again for the privilege of appearing before you today. Senator NEUBERGER. Are there any question of Mr. Thomas?

Mr. Thomas, the thing that particularly astonished me and shocked me was the statement, according to your poll, that the average postal family spends only about $25 a week for food. I often go shopping with Mrs. Neuberger on Saturdays and I am always amazed by how little $10 or $20 buys in the way of groceries. I think that is a shocking thing, and I do not see how on that amount they can buy anything like the necessities, the number of proteins or fresh fruits and vegetables that are necessary for what we consider in this country a healthy diet.