Labor's Price

Labor was bound to win. As long as the union bosses continued to boycott the Wage Stabilization Board, the Administration's whole anti-inflation program was hamstrung. The only question was how much the Administration would have to pay for labor's cooperation.

All last week the President's chief counsel, Charles Murphy, tramped patiently from meetings with the United Labor Policy Committee (the bosses of C.I.O., A.F.L., the railway and machinist unions) to the offices of Mobilizer Charles Wilson and Stabilizer Eric Johnston, to the White House, to Blair House and back again. Labor still demanded representation on the Administration's top policymaking level. That it would undoubtedly get. But labor also still clung stubbornly to another point on which its three delegates had been outvoted on the stabilization board.

Wages, labor had insisted in the first place, should be allowed to go up 12%, not including fringe benefits. Public and industry members Of WSB held to their majority position that wages should be boosted only 10%, including fringe benefits. They balked, furthermore, at having a more lenient wage formula rammed down their throats by labor's determined show of power.

Obviously, something had to give. At week's end came the first sign that the worried Johnston and Wilson had figured out some ways of placating labor. In his radio address (see above), Wilson hinted at new attempts to hold down food prices, promised to crack down on profiteers, pointedly noted that the views of farm ers and workers "must be represented in meeting national problems." More impor tant, he said: "Wage policies, too, are being modified again ..." But were they being modified enough to satisfy labor? Just to suggest the peril of not conceding labor enough, James B. Carey promptly threatened a strike of his International Union of Electrical Work ers at Charlie Wilson's own General Electric. "From our experience with Wilson, said Carey, "we would be more convinced to see some implementing rather than hear statements."

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