Voluntary Restraint Suggested: On Wages, Prices
Donald M. Kendall, head of Pepsico, Inc., said yesterday that business and labor should voluntarily agree to temporary wage-price freezes in order to break the nationÛªs ÛÏinflation psychology.Û</br></br>Donald M. Kendall, head of Pepsico, Inc., said yesterday that business and labor should voluntarily agree to temporary wage-price freezes in order to break the nationÛªs ÛÏinflation psychology.Û ÛÏIÛªm not sure itÛªs possible, but IÛªd like to see it tried," Kendall said in a short Interview after a speech to the annual Economic Forum of Financial General Bankshares at the Shoreham Hotel.</br></br>Kendall mentioned the proposal in his speech. He cited Commerce Department figures indicating that 5.5 million workers will receive wage increases averaging 73A per cent in 1971 under already-negotiated contracts; that contrasts, lie said, with an average 5% per cent increase for the same number of workers who received automatic wage increases last year.</br></br>Moreover, according to Kendall, another 5 million workers will negotiate new wage agreements this year. Affected industries include steel, alum-ninum, aerospace, auto parts, and utilities, he said, suggesting that contract talks might simply be postponed for a year.</br></br>Although Kendall indicated he preferred to see wage-price restraint originate voluntarily from labor and management, John D. Stewart, president of the Bureau of National Affairs, told the meeting that the Administration will ultimately be forced to embrace sterner measures to combat wage and price increases.