The Seattle Star Newspaper, October 31, 1919, Page 14

TO THE EMPLOYERS OF SEATTLE Fear on the part of employes that employers will take advantage of a surplus of labor and present unsettled industrial conditions to re- duce wages is causing uneasiness among the wage-workers of this city. “f aie oe eee eae * eee ip La, enact itnahiitidintetnied tote he ee : ve § a ba — _In the interest of the public, the employers and the employes, the Associated Industries wishes to urge on all employers that no reductions be made in wages, regardless of the surplus of labor which now exists, until such reductions are fully justified by a pronounced decrease in the cost of living. We have entered the period of readjustment of‘high production costs, which are primarily responsible for the high cost of living. As employers, we realize that living costs cannot be materially reduced until production is in- creased and its cost lessened. Therefore, we are opposing all unreasonable demands for increases in wages and unreasonable changes in working conditions, as such increases and changes merely serve to further increase living costs for all © It is not primarily a question of wages with which we are dealing; it is more particularly a question of the effi- ciency and the production we get in return for the wages we pay. The course of the wise, patriotic employer to- ae day must be to encourage labor, by fair treatment and honest reasoning, to greater production, so that the volume a of work will reduce the cost of production and the cost of products to the consumer. Wages Must Not Be Reduced Wages must not be reduced, if at all, until there is a material reduc- _tion in the cost of living; until the value of the dollar is increased to make up for the decrease in wages. We must have greater production from industries to help reduce the present cost of living. We must reduce the present cost of doing business in all lines by economy, increased efficiency and greater production, if we are to successfully compete with other cities and other countries; if we are to do our duty by the world and maintain prosperity and have contentment in this land. The Associated Industries urges all employes of Seattle to dis- countenance any attempt to reduce wages, and, by friendly and helpful co-operation, to endeavor to promote economy, ef ficiency and increased production for the benefit of all concerned. ASSOCIATED INDUSTRIES OF SEATTLE