The Wilmington Morning Star

Strike Comes To End Today
Employes Gain Wage Increases Of $2 To $4 Per Week By Settlement

O. G. Bain, local manager of the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph company, early last night released the following statement, made by H. S. Dumas, president, of the Southern Bell company.

The 33-day old strike in the nine states served by the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company has been settled, officials of the company announced tonight.

The strike has been called off effective at 6 a. m. Saturday, May 10 and normal telephone service will be resumed as early as possible thereafter.

Agreement between the company and the Southern Federation of Telephone workers was reached at 8 p. m. o'clock May 9 on wage rate increases for the company's approximately 42,000 non-supervisory employes generally amounting to $2, $3 and $4 per week according to length of service and job classifications.

The wage Increase granted the other items included in the agreement will add approximately $10,000,000 to the annual cost of providing telephone service in the south, officials of the company declared. The original union demands would have added $72.000,000 to the annual cost of providing Southern Bell service.

"We believe the agreement which has just been signed is fair to the employes, fair to our customers, and fair to the company', H. S. Dumas, president of Southern Bell declared.

Customers To Pay
"The money which we pay to our employes in wages, as well (Continued on Page Two; Col. 3)
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as the other costs of providing telephone service, must in the final analysis be paid by the customers who buy our service, and any increase in such costs must be reflected in the rates we charge.

"We are now appearing before public service commissions throughout the southeast seeking increases in service rates to pay for the cost of the wage increases granted to our employes last year. No provision was made in our petitions to these commissions for the wage increases which have just been granted. Therefore, it will be necessary to seek additional rate increases to cover the cost of these latest increases in wage rates."

Mr. Dumas, in his formal statement, said "the company is glad that the strike is over and that Southern Bell men and women are going back to their job of providing the public with unrestricted telephone service.

"We deeply appreciate the friendly spirit of patience and cooperation which the public showed during the strike and we regret the inconvenience the strike has caused. We shall do everything we can to get back to regular day-to-day operations just as promptly as possible.

"The company appreciates the work of the thousands of telephone men and women whose efforts made it possible for us to provide service during the strike emergency."

Bain Happy

The local telephone workers returned to their jobs Wednesday morning, O. G. Bain, said last night. "We are happy to be able to resume service for our customers," he said.

The local employes are apparently satisfied with the agreements reached with the company. He said all of the Wilmington and Wrightsville exchange employes have returned to work and things are beginning to operate on normal basis again.

The strike began here on April 7 and ended May 7, he said.