After six weeks of tedious negotiations and a scattering of strikes (19,000 miners out in 235 mines), the soft-coal miners and operators signed a new contract. On its face it was a give & take proposition. Actually it was a fair victory for the miners and their shaggy, barrel-shaped boss, John L. Lewis, who had asked for a lot and wound up by getting quite a little.
The operators agreed to:
¶ A wage increase averaging $1.25 to $1.30 a day.
¶ A hike in vacation pay from $50 a year to $75. (Because stocks of coal are critically low, the miners will forego their time off, but will collect vacation money.)
¶ A 35-hour week.
In return for such betterments, John Lewis withdrew his demand for a royalty payment of 10¢ on all soft coal mined (TIME, March 12), and signed a “no strike” pledge.
Agreement to the new contract by the National War Labor Board seemed probable at week’s end; so did steps to pass on to consumers part of the added cost ($150 million a year) of the new contract to mine operators.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- The New Face of Doctor Who
- Putin’s Enemies Are Struggling to Unite
- Women Say They Were Pressured Into Long-Term Birth Control
- Scientists Are Finding Out Just How Toxic Your Stuff Is
- Boredom Makes Us Human
- John Mulaney Has What Late Night Needs
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com