A merican ,etrish Periodical Center
CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, 01110
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and the Legal Chronicle
Apri! 24, 1942
VICTORY . . . through
Equality of Sacrifice
A PROGRAM FOR THE NATION
The UAW-CIO, its membership and officers subscribe to the proposition that the most
important task facing America today is the winning of the war. Everything else is secondary.
The UAW-CIO therefore asserts its adherence to the following commitments:
1. For the duration of the war we will forego all de-
mands and contractual rights for double pay for Sundays,
and time and a half for Saturdays within a 40 hour week.
2.
We reaffirm our pledge to refrain from strikes.
3. We commit ourselves to the increase of production
of war materials by all means available.
4. We agree to 24-hour-a-day operation of defense plants
through appropriate swing shift schedules.
Winning of the war requires more than these sacrifices on the part of labor. It calls for equality
of sacrifice. We submit that the successful defense of democracy demands institution of the
following program:
1. END ALL WAR PROFITEERING. Establishment
of a rigid ceiling on, and control of profits. All corporate
earning over three per cent on actual capital invested to
revert to the government. The shocking evil of exorbi-
tant corporation "bonuses" and salaries must be ended.
2. NO LUXURIES IN WAR-TIME: NO WAR MIL-
LIONAIRES. By legislation, no individual or family
should be permitted to receive in dividends, salaries, or
from other sources income of more than $25,000 per year.
This is more than adequate to buy food, clothing, and
other necessities of life for a period of one year.
3. STOP RISING COSTS: PREVENT INFLATION.
There should be an immediate, rigid fixing of prices of
food, rent, clothing and other necessities of life. Prices
of commodities which have been raised out of propor-
tion to the general price index should be adjusted
downward.
4. RATIONING OF ALL FOOD, CLOTHING, HOUS-
ING AND OTHER NECESSITIES. There should im-
mediately be established democratic national, state and
community rationing boards whose duty it shall be to
insure a fair distribution of the available consumers
goods. In order to insure impartial administration, ration-
ing boards shall be composed of representatives of the
government, the consumer, labor and agriculture.
5. ADJUST MEN T OF WAGES TO MEET IN-
CREASED LIVING COSTS. The rise in living costs in
the past year has decreased labor's real wages in terms of
purchasing power. This has meant real hardship, and, if
not corrected, will naturally show its bad effects in our
industrial war effort. Labor is entitled to adjustment of
pay to bring real wages to last year's level. In industries
where sub-standard wages (less than $1.00 an hour) exist,
wages shall be increased to insure a decent standard of
living and maximum efficiency in industry.
6. SECURITY FOR DEPENDENTS OF MEN AND
WOMEN IN THE ARMED SERVICES. A guaranteed
living wage should be paid the dependents of all men and
women now serving in the armed forces of the United
7. MORATORIUM ON DEBTS. There should be a
moratorium on debts for all those unemployed through
conversion of industry, and of all debts of those in the
armed forces.
8. LABOR'S CONTRIBUTION TO PRODUCTION.
To make possible labor's utmost creative contribution to
war production, a labor production division should be
created in the War Production Board. Without encroach-
ing upon the functions of management, this division
should survey, encourage and recommend to the Board
all suggestions which hold the possibility of increasing
war production.
9. POST-WAR PLANNING. To assure labor and the
nation that we shall win the peace as well as the war,
there should immediately be created an agency, composed
of representatives of government, labor, industry and agri-
culture, which will make plans for post-war adjustment.
Planning now is needed if we are to avoid a castastrophic
depression after the war.
10. UPON THE ACCEPTANCE AND ADOPTION
OF THE FOREGOING MEASURES, we agree that all
wages for time over 40 hours per week shall be paid in
the form of non-negotiable SPECIAL DEFENSE BONDS.
This will mean a tremendous source of income for our
government for financing the war effort. It will at the
same time relieve the existing pressure toward rising prices,
and will create a cushion of purchasing power for the post-
war period.
The UAW-CIO, representing more than 700,000 men
and women in war industry, calls upon the President and
the Congress of the United States to give this program
immediate and favorable consideration. Its adoption is
necessary to insure maximum cooperation in winning the
war. It will protect all groups engaged in the war effort—
government, our armed forces, labor, farmers and industry.
It will preserve basic American freedoms which must be
the cornerstone of our drive for victory. It will establish
EQUALITY OF SACRIFICE.
States.
AIRCARFT AND FARM IMPLEMENT WORKERS (UAW-CIO
UNITED AUTOMOBILE ,
Your frank comment is solicited. Write UAW-CIO 281 West Grand Blvd., Detroit, Mich.
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