Rule of Reason

The new reasonableness of labor was tested for the first time last week. In Pittsburgh, C.I.O. President Phil Murray, who is also head of the United Steelworkers, agreed to extend the steelworkers' present contract with U.S. Steel Corp. from Feb. 15 to April 30. With any threat of a steel strike postponed, Congress was less likely to rush restrictive labor laws. Meantime, also, management might find where it stood in the "portal-to-portal" pay controversy (see BUSINESS). The same day, the United Auto Workers' Walter Reuther made a similar 30-day deal with Chrysler.

It looked as if the C.I.O.'s biggest unions were going to be very reasonable indeed. There was a second advantage in this for Murray. By pushing ahead the contract date--and the possible strike deadline--he would be sitting idly on the sidelines when John L. Lewis comes up for his bout with the Government and the coal operators on April 1.

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