The wave of strikes in the postwar US was another concern of the Week in Review. The immediate issue was the coal strike and the effect it might have on the production of power and on heavy industry such as steel. The situation seemed far from resolution after John L. Lewis. head of the United Mine Workers Union, walked out of negotiations with mine owners in Washington on Wednesday.
The bigger issue was how to reconcile the goals of the National Wage Stabilization Board and the OPA, two agencies charged with containing postwar inflation. The former agency had to approve wage increases and was seeking to align them with the 38 percent increase in the cost of living between Jan,.1, 1941 and Sept. 1945. The OPA reviewed applications from industry for price increases and sought to align corporate earnings with those during the period 1936-39. How could both objectives be met without setting off an inflationary price spiral?
The article noted that unions had filed notice of intent for more than 900 strikes in the next 30 days if their wage demands were not met. The hope was that arbitration would bring resolution in most cases before strikes actually were called.