Here, on chart 9-A, are shown the increases in straight-time earnings in these industries from the Board's stabilization base period of January 1950. In this period the increase in steel straight-time hourly earnings is less than that of five of the industries and greater than that of the two others. Chart 9-B shows the effect of the Wage Stabilization Board steel recommendation on steel straight-time earnings at January 1, 1953. Again the total steel increase would be much more than the largest increase for any of the other industries which Mr. Feinsinger compared with steel. Now, it must be evident that, no matter how the official Government wage statistics are compared, the steelworkers' wage increases, including the Wage Stabilization Board recommendations, would be so high that it is incorrect to state, as Mr. Feinsinger has, that they would not lead to increases in other industries. Since so much has been said about relative wages in the steel and auto industries, I would like to show you a longer-range comparison between average hourly earnings in these two industries. On chart 10 are shown the Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings of production workers in these two industries by months starting with January 1939. It can be seen that with few exceptions throughout this period auto wages have exceeded steel wages, on the average, and at the end of 1951 auto workers' wages were in their customary relationship with steel wages. Mr. Feinsinger has said that, because of the annual improvement increases in the auto industry, auto wages will exceed steel wages even after the full wage increase recommended for steel workers. Is this a fact? We have added the increases in steel wages recommended by the Wage Stabilization Board and also have projected auto wages, assuming that the cost-of-living index will continue to be at the March 1952 level and including annual improvement increases in 1952 and again in 1953. Thus, it can be seen that, based on official Government wage statistics, steel wages would have leaped ahead of auto wages and would stay ahead unless further increases are granted to auto workers. They in turn would then be in a catch-up position. To reverse the historical wage relationships of these industries during a period of wage stabilization would seem to be contrary to stabilization policy. Senator MOODY. Does it have the same relationship with hourly wage rates? Do you have a chart on that? Mr. STEPHENS. We haven't a chart on wage rates. We have in the steel industry what is known as 32 job classifications. Senator MOODY. In the "Hourly earnings" figures there is how many hours they work, how much overtime, the shift differentials, and so forth. I am trying to see if the hour rates would be the same. Your chart is "Hourly earnings." Do you have one on average wage rates? Senator FREAR. This is as close a comparison as you can make; is it not? Mr. STEPHENS. Yes. For instance, we have a first helper in the steel industry. They do not have that in automobiles. I guess probably their highest-paid people are tool and die makers. We do not have them, or very many of them, although our rollers, who do a totally different job, probably make far more than the tool and die workers do. But in order to compare wage rates you have to compare comparable jobs. Senator MOODY. I think the same thing applies to hourly earnings. I just inquired as to whether you did have a similar chart on wage rates. Mr. STEPHENS. I do not like to disagree with you, sir. Senator MOODY. That is all right. Thank you very much. Senator CAPEHART. The rate you pay your janitors is possibly the same as General Motors pays the janitors. You might get the rate on common laborers and compare it with the rate they pay common laborers, and you might compare the rate you pay tool and dye makers with the rates they pay them. Mr. STEPHENS. There are some cases where the two are identical. Senator CAPEHART. You have some press operators in your fabricating business, or you might take the rate you pay lathe operators and compare it with the rate they pay lathe operators. However, even in a small company you have a dozen classifications. Mr. STEPHENS. You can make some comparisons, but there were 32 job classifications worked out; they evaluated each job on the basis of 12 characteristics of the job. That is why I say, unless you apply that same manual to similar jobs in the automobile industry, a comparison on rates would be meaningless. Senator CAPEHART. You can negotiate a new contract, of course. If you have 32 job classifications, if you are going to give a straight across-the-board increase, if you are going to give 10 cents an hour, you add 10 cents an hour to each of those classifications. The fellow getting $2 an hour would get $2.10. The fellow getting $1.50 would get $1.60 and at times, of course in negotiating, you negotiate maybe a higher rate for certain classifications than you do to other classifica tions. Senator MOODY. My point was, if you can average one you can average the other. I merely asked if you had a chart on it. Senator FREAR. What percentage of the employees in the steel industry have overtime wages? Mr. STEPHENS. I cannot answer that. I can probably develop it. It depends upon the period. You would have to take some definite period. I mentioned here a moment ago that overtime, the total hours worked in a given period is 41 and a fraction. Senator FREAR. You did make a comparison of that with some other industries. What I was trying to develop here, Is your percentage of workers getting overtime much greater than the percentage of the automobile industry getting overtime? Mr. STEPHENS. No, sir. That is shown by the information given on the bottom of that page. Senator FREAR. Then the relative position you have presented on this does have some bearing to the position on the average hourly earnings chart, chart No. 10? Mr. STEPHENS. It influences average hourly earnings; that is correct. But I have pointed out what the difference in hours was between the auto industry and steel. The conclusion that must ineivitably be drawn from the difference in hours is that the influence of hours on this chart would be very minor. Chart 11 is not concerned with overtime hours. Mr. STEPHENS. Here is the same long-term relationship between straight-time hourly wages in these two industries. Again it can be seen that typically, on the average, auto wages have exceeded steel wages. We have added again the projection of the Wage Stabilization Board recommendations as in previous comparisons. And again it can be seen that in 1952 and 1953 steel wages at straight time would exceed auto wages at straight time, a most unusual wage relationship for these two industries. Mr. STEPHENS. The first comparisons which I made involve the use of selected base dates for measuring increases in hourly earnings from those dates through to the laest figures published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A good picture of relative wage changes can be brought out with this type of chart, No. 12A, which shows by a line the relative movement of wages in the steel industry starting with the base month for wage-stabilization purposes and projected through July 1, 1953, based on the Wage Stabilization Board recommendations. This chart shows average hourly earnings as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the steel industry only. 96315-52-pt. 4-20 |