THE RAILWAY STRIKE OF 1922

The railway strike resulted from a decision of the United States Railroad Labor Board by which a wage reduction was ordered, while, on the other hand, the practice of sending repair and construction work into shops not owned by the railways was disapproved. It is odd, at this distance of time, to note how completely these two issues have gone out of the discussion, which now turns almost solely on the question of seniority. The reason is that public and press were so strong in their declaration that the proper course of the railway men was not a strike but a request for a new hearing that the unions soon showed willingness to resubmit the question of wages to the Railroad Labor Board.

Their claim was that the wage cut was not fairly arranged; that the total reduction of wages (put at about $110,000,000) was excessive in comparison with the cost of living, and that particularly the minimum wages for some classes of shop work and maintenance work were below the needs of American workmen-some of the maintenance-of-way men under the schedule arranged would receive less than twelve dollars for a normal week’s wages. The labor members of the Railroad Labor Board declared that the majority report was made “with no consideration of human needs.”

Whether the decision was fair or unfair, it was the outcome of the work of a Governmental board authorized to deal with the questions which had been submitted to it. The Railroad Labor Board, established under the Esch-Curnmins Transportation Law of 1920, has nine members, three each representing the railways, the workers, and the public.

The recognition of the fact that the shopmen were on the wrong track in striking rather than attempting to reopen the case and the apparent probability that peace would be reached at an early date held the maintenance-of-way men from carrying out a strike which the vote of the local unions had authorized.

The fact that the strike affected only one large class of railway workers, the shopmen, has made the strike a peculiar one, in that the general service of the roads has continued. It has not been perfect by any means, but freight has been carried and passengers have been taken care of. This is one more reason why public exasperation has not led to an early settlement.

The claim that was made by some local railway unions, that their members were in danger because of bad equipment and that others were endangered by the presence of guards in the railway yards, has never been sustained. Its object was to force the great railway brotherhoods into the fight. There never has been evidence of any serious danger or annoyance to the union men from these sources.

One result of this agitation, however, aroused the country to indignation and denunciation. President Harding, in referring in his recent address before Congress on the labor question -to this matter, declared that the desertions of transcontinental trains in the desert regions of the Southwest “have revealed the cruelty and contempt for law on the part of some railway employees who have conspired to paralyze transportation.”

The single proposal made by the President in his recommendation to Congress which applied to the railway situation was that of asking that Congress should give power to the Railroad Labor Board to enforce its decisions. In view of the power exercised by the InterState Commerce Commission and the recent decision of the Supreme Court which makes unions responsible for failure of their members to obey the law, it is hoped that relief from future railway disputes between the men and the executives may be found in such legislation.

For the last month the conflict in the railway strike has waged almost solely over the question of seniority. The decision of the Board did not touch upon this. point. But the railways at once gave the strikers warning that they were in danger of losing their seniority privileges, and thereupon the unions refused to consider any settlement which did not secure to old workers those privileges. The pensions and retiring payments by the roads to old employees were not involved, with a few possible unimportant exceptions. The seniority rights relate to the men’s relative standing in the distribution of desirable and profitable positions.

Logically, the railways are clearly right in holding that when the men deserted their work they were bound to take the consequences of their acts. The roads also clearly have a duty to those employees who have retained their positions during the strike and to those newcomers who have proved efficient and loyal.

President Harding at first tried to in; duce the railways to restore seniority rights unimpaired to returning strikers, but without success. He then withdrew that effort and urged both sides to submit the matter to the decision of the Railroad Labor Board. An interesting resume of public and official opinion on this question of seniority will be found in the issue of The Outlook for August 16, in which, in reply to the request of The Outlook for an expression as to public sentiment, a number of Governors of States and editors of influential journals in various centers discuss the points involved. The Outlook itself commented: “The strikers felt that the wrongs they were suffering were so great that the only remedy was war. When a man makes war, he must take the consequences of his act.”

As the discussion continued, it became evident that the solution sought must be something which would take into account both the strong feeling of the strikers that their experience and skill should count in the grading of men for promotion and also the just feeling of the railways that the non-strikers and new men should be protected. It certainly does not seem beyond the power of common sense and tolerance to come to an agreement on this point.

But effort after effort has been made, and up to the time of this writing in vain. The leaders of the brotherhoods took a hand in this effort to reach a compromise settlement, but on August 24 the proposal made by them was rejected almost unanimously by a conference of railway executives. The brotherhoods peace plan would allow the Railroad Labor Board to adjust the relative standing of employees when a dispute arises and to provide that all strikers should be “reinstated in the position of the class they originally held,” except those guilty of violence. The executives point out that the phrase just quoted, in their opinion, would imply acknowledgment by the railways that the men returning to work should be senior to those who remained and to the new employees, and that the Labor Board would be bound by the meaning of the quoted phrase. The result was that the railway executives unanimously rejected the proposals of the brotherhoods, and the dispute near the end of August is to all appearances no nearer settlement than before.

Source: The Outlook, 6 September 1922