these missile contracts is because of the fact that I know a man who had very little experience in any phase of the construction of a missile project who last year drew $3.57 an hour for just pressing a button. Is that a going wage for a person who just presses a button on a missile contract? Mr. SIMKIN. There are some rates that high. That is probably a little bit on the high side. I don't know what craft he was alleged to be working at. Mr. JENSEN. Off the record. (Discussion held off the record.) Mr. SIMKIN. On the missile sites the wage rates generally are the construction rates that prevail in that particular area, so that if this man was getting $3.57 presumably that was the rate of one of the building trades unions in that immediate area which was likewise payable on the base. Mr. JENSEN. Off the record. (Discussion held off the record.) ASSIGNMENT OF PERSONNEL Mr. Bow. Do I understand that this GS-14 coordinator's position will be in Washington? Mr. SIMKIN. One position will be in Washington. Mr. Bow. And the 12 mediator positions are on the sites? Mr. SIMKIN. They are replacements for men who are on the sites. Mr. Bow. The men on the sites will be 14's? Mr. SIMKIN. Almost without exception. Mr. Bow. And these GS-12's will be replacing the 14's here in Washington? Mr. SIMKIN. Not in Washington but out in the country at large. The total staff of mediators is scattered all the way from Maine to San Diego. Mr. Bow. How many do you have in the Washington staff now? Mr. SIMKIN. Fifty-two total personnel in Washington. Mr. Bow. What is the staff in the field? Mr. SIMKIN. 323 in the field. Mr. Bow. Would you for the record insert the areas in which these 323 are assigned? Mr. SIMKIN. We would be happy to give you a list. It would be a long list because our setup is roughly this: We have seven regional offices. Mr. Bow. Give us the seven regional offices and the people working out of those seven regional offices. Mr. SIMKIN. We have one in New York, one in Philadelphia, one in Atlanta, one in Cleveland, one in Chicago, one in St. Louis, one in San Francisco. These men are assigned on a duty-station basis either to the regional office or an even larger number to various cities. and localities in these regions. We can, if you would like, give you a complete list. Mr. Bow. Break it down as to the number of people working in these various areas. Mr. THOMAS. And the District of Columbia. Give us the District of Columbia and the seven regional offices. (The requested information follows:) Includes 1 regional director and 1 assistant regional director position. 112 new mediator and 3 new clerical positions were authorized by the basic fiscal year 1962 appropriation to become effective on Sept. 1, 1961. 7 mediator positions have been filled since July 10 because of critical need at missile sites. 316 new positions proposed in this request for supplemental appropriation are budgeted on an anticipated effective date of July 24. Postponement of effective date to limit utilization for a 9-month period only, would enable a savings accrual of about $27,500. Mr. Bow. Will these people working on this missile project handle only the disputes which occur at a missile site or will they follow through with the work at the factory where the missile is being manufactured? Mr. SIMKIN. Of the 30 sites where we have men assigned, 2 we expect to be full-time assignments at the site itself, at Canaveral and Vandenberg. Mr. Bow. Let us assume there is a dispute at Vandenberg. It occurs with a contractor who has a plant somewhere off the site. Would that man who is handling it at the site go back into the factory work? Mr. SIMKIN. No. Mr. Bow. He would handle the work only at the site? Mr. SIMKIN. He would not go back to the factory but only at the site. Mr. Bow. Any dispute which occurred at the factory on a missile project would be handled by someone else? Mr. SIMKIN. By another mediator. For example, we concluded successfully a very tough dispute at Sperry Gyroscope and Ford Instrument out on Long Island a couple months ago. We had other mediators assigned to that dispute, but that was very critical to the whole missile program. Mr. Bow. I believe that is all, Mr. Chairman. INCREASE IN PERSONNEL Mr. JONAS. Page 12 of the brown sheets shows the personnel summary. It shows you had 344 permanent positions in 1961 and 375 in 1962. Does that include the 16 for which you are asking now? Mr. SIMKIN. Yes, it does. Mr. JONAS. So you had an increase in the regular bill of 15 over last year. Now you are asking for an additional 16. Is that correct? Mr. SIMKIN. That is correct. Mr. JONAS. What did you do with the 15? Mr. SIMKIN. Those first 15 are expansion of the regular staff outside the missile work because of increasing general workload, and more particularly in the last year or two we have found that negotiations are more protracted, more meetings are required, and we are expanding our so-called preventive mediation work in other areas quite aside from the missile sites. ENTRANCE OF SERVICE INTO A DISPUTE Mr. JONAS. How can you go into a dispute? Mr. SIMKIN. We can basically get in only by persuasion. Mr. SIMKIN. If we are requested to move in that is no problem. Of course, then we move in quickly. Mr. JONAS. Requested by whom? Mr. SIMKIN. Both sides. Mr. JONAS. Can you go in at the request of one party to a dispute? Mr. SIMKIN. Ordinarily we can. Mr. JONAS. Ordinarily you can? Mr. SIMKIN. We can by getting the agreement of the other party, and normally that follows. There are instances where we have had some difficulty. Mr. JONAS. You go in by right under the Taft-Hartley Act, but that is after Presidential action; is it not? Mr. SIMKIN. We do not go in by right of that act. We get notification of these disputes and then we have to, in effect, work our way in. Mr. MOORE. In about 95 percent of our activity our mediators enter the dispute by reason of this prior notice. This is really rather routine. When the notice is received they contact the parties, keep very close touch with what is going on. We simply move in and start conducting the meeting. NEED FOR REPLACEMENTS FOR PERSONNEL AT MISSILE SITES Mr. Jonas. You already have the people at the missile sites. Under the Executive order you have taken them from regular personnel, and what you ask for now is the authority to hire replacements for them; is that right? Mr. SIMKIN. That is right. We have overburdened our regular staff. We have called in some retired mediators on a w. a. e. basis to take up the slack. Mr. JONAS. What do you pay them? Mr. EADY. The regular rate less what they would be receiving under the retirement annuity. Mr. JONAS. The rate they were receiving when they retired less what the annuity amounts to? Mr. EADY. That is right. Mr. JONAS. How many of those do you have? DISPOSITION OF MISSILE SITE CASES Mr. JONAS. What happened in these 11 cases you cited, Mr. Howard? Mr. HOWARD. Nine of these cases already have been settled, five by direct agreement with the parties. Mr. JONAS. How were the five settled? Mr. MOORE. The mediator settled it. Mr. HOWARD. Both parties agreed on the solution. Mr. JONAS. That doesn't necessarily mean the taxpayers saved any money. Mr. THOMAS. You don't think the taxpayers won? Mr. JONAS. My guess is that the taxpayers lost because they are the ones picking up the tab. Mr. SIMKIN. I am not so sure about that. One of the objectives of the Commission, as stated in the President's Executive order, is to assure economical practices on the missile sites. Mr. JONAS. Can you cite any cases where settlement was made where there was a reduction in pay? Mr. SIMKIN. We have at least two cases right now where the Commission is taking action to cut down on the compensation. Mr. JONAS. Where is that? Mr. SIMKIN. The Commission has not taken final action; on one at Topeka and another at Denver. Mr. JONAS. What happened in those cases where you had jurisdictional disputes? Mr. HOWARD. Two of those are pending resolution now. Four stoppages were corrected merely by the mediator contacting the international representative of the union and telling him to get his men back to work. That frequently happens on a very quickie stoppage where the international representative does not realize the local men are out. RENEGOTIATION OF WAGE SCALES Mr. THOMAS. Speaking of reduction in pay, we do not want the record left ambiguous. Explain how a reduction in pay usually comes up when it does come up. Is it by virtue of a jurisdictional dispute? When you finally settle the matter perhaps the pay scale that this union claims it ought to be getting carries a little lower pay scale than the scale of the other union which claimed the work, and as a result that is where the reduction in pay comes about. It does not come about by virtue of your negotiating a wage scale? Mr. SIMKIN. Actually in some instances we are attempting to renegotiate wage scales. The procedure we have set up in essence is this: The Air Force has submitted to the Commission a series of questions which they have raised about so-called economical practices, excessive pay practices. A panel of the Commission is in the process now of examining these matters which have been referred to us by the Air Force. The two I mentioned are two which are just about ready for Commission action. For example, the one in Topeka is a case where the area rate for one of the crafts was listed in the contract as $2.09 an hour, but the rate specifically negotiated on the base was some 50 cents higher than that. The Air Force questioned whether this was a proper extra to pay on the base. The panel investigated that matter and we are about ready to issue a report. JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES Mr. JONAS. Referring to the case where reference was made to the jurisdictional dispute between two unions, is that the one which was settled upon notification being given to the representative of the union? Mr. SIMKIN. The ones Mr. Howard referred to are matters he would have to clarify. Mr. HOWARD. I have the statistics here but not the specific cases. Mr. SIMKIN. The best instance of the jurisdictional dispute is a long standing dispute between the operating engineers and the electricians as to who should lay cable. This is a dispute which in the private electrical industry has been plaguing the parties for some 10 or 12 years. Mr. JONAS. Why is it necessary for the Mediation Service to come in and settle that jurisdictional fight if it is an open and shut matter? |