Labor: Seniority on the Spot

Over the years, unions have treated worker seniority as gospel. The idea is that employees with the longest service have first crack at available jobs — and the last man hired is the first to lose his job in case of layoffs. Now the United Auto Workers has put before Ford Motor Co. proposals for a radical change in seniority arrangements.

Both Ford and the U.A.W. are concerned about the fact that recent lay offs have hit hardest at low-seniority Negroes. To protect their jobs, the union proposed a system of "inverted senior ity" by which veterans could voluntarily take layoffs...

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