Word: nathan
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Wives & War Bonds. The union's case, argued chiefly by Murray and Labor Economist Robert Nathan, was based mainly on the claim that the workers needed more money. Said Murray: "To the wife of any steelworker the high cost of living is a household reality . . . Savings have been depleted. War bonds have been cashed...
Furthermore, said Nathan, the workers had earned a raise: "The buying power of hourly rates of pay ... in the steel industry increased one-seventh between 1939 and 1949, whereas productivity per man-hour rose by 50% ... In the short run, changes in productivity are more affected by changes in ... labor skill than by technology." (Another labor witness later conceded that "it is almost impossible to separate the contributions made by the worker, the machine, or management to increased productivity...
...union statistics, the steel companies could afford to pay. For the first half of 1949, the union said, profits of the 19 leading companies were estimated at $301 million, up 54.6% from 1948's first half (when operations were slowed down by a coal strike). In fact, said Nathan, profits had been even larger; many companies had hidden them in swollen depreciation funds. In the end, he argued, the raise would be good for the entire U.S., since "higher wages are proposed as a means of lifting buying power...
...prison, Montgomery tried to make the most of his ride on the slow train to nowhere. He struck up a friendship with a more famous prisoner, Nathan ("Bebe") Leopold of Chicago's sensational Leopold & Loeb slaying, and from him learned how to read and write. After that he kept pretty much to himself, read a lot and spent his leftover time hoping for justice...
C.I.O. Economist Robert Nathan, hired to provide the respectability of statistics for labor's case, admitted there could be no such thing as a uniform wage increase this year. Said Nathan: "Some companies and industries can afford much more than others and some few cannot afford any raise and remain in business." Instead of concentrating on more money, most union demands centered on what used to be known as "extras"-health insurance, pensions...