WAGES & SALARIES: One-Way Street?

WAGES & SALARIES

Since General Motors became the first major company to tie wages to the cost of living four years ago, its contract with the C.I.O.’s United Auto Workers has been virtually a one-way street. The net result to date has been a temporary cost-of-living wage boost of 26¢ an hour. Last week, to nobody’s great surprise, the auto workers moved to keep things that way, guard against big wage cuts if the cost of living should fall. The union asked G.M. to include 21¢ of the boost in the permanent basic wage rate. Other requests: hike the annual improvement factor from 4¢ to 5¢ an hour, raise pensions from the present level of $125 a month. Since G.M. is not required to reopen its contract until 1955, the company was in no hurry to give an answer.