The Wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-????, June 12, 1909, Image 1

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VOL. li
LIXCOLX, NEBRASKA, JUXE 12, 1901)
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Among the Live Workers
Here, There and Elsewhere
The Union Teamsters of Chicago
always have their Intestines with
them. This is the polite version. In
elegant English, the Union Teamsters
of Ctiicaso are always there with the
gixx!s when union matters are
touched upou. Recently the Employ
ers' Association, made up of the
owners of the big department stores.
Issued an order that their drivers
should not - wear their union buttons
when on duty. The next day the
boys showed up with the buttons still
there. A few were discharged, and
Immediately l.SOO men quit. There
was no dispute as to wages or hours
merely a firm stand for the right
to wear the button. The men were
out just one day and then the em
ployers backtracked. The men are
acaia guiding their bis teams through
the crowded streets, and the stood
old union button is shining proudly
from every shirt front.
movement. Then we had injunctions
against boycott publications; these
invaded the American principle of a
free press iu connection with the
labor movement. And now we have
an injunction against mass meetings;
which assails the American principle
of free speech. It was a big blaze
that Mr. Taft and a few other fed
eral judges kindled when they intro
duced the labor injunction into Amer
ican jurisprudence. Chicago Public.
The Woodmen of the World will
build a sanitarium at Colorado
Springs. This organization holds a
record for friendliness to organized
labor. Its printing is done in a
fair shop, and in the terms of the
contract for the Colorado Springs
building it is specified that the work
shall all be performed by union labor.
That's the sort of a fraternal organ
ization that union men ought to
boost.
and expensive administration Omaha carrier and securin
Typographical Union Xo. 190 ever j sum of 2 cents..
had in all its history, went out of
office. What a remarkable coinci
dence it was that the burial took
place on Memorial Day! Xo speeches
are needed to remind the members
of the last four years their due
cards tell the story in dollars and
cents. Perhaps we ought to console
ourselves with the thought that it
might be worse, for, you know, we
still have the charter."
the munificent
The striking street railway men of
Fhiladelphia have won out The
company refused point blank to arbi
trateand then arbitrated. It found
out that the employes not only had
public sympathy, but had control of
the situation. The men get an in
crease of one cent an hour, recogni
tion of their grievance board, rein
statement of all strikers and the dis
charge of the Imported "Eliot he
roes." Every time & man Is called
for duty he gets nine hours pay.
and is not required to work over ten
hours a day. The company said it
would never recognize the union, but
It has signed a contract with the
organisation, just the same.
The Union Labor party
Francisco has selected P. H.
in San
The hat manufacturers have played
a good joke on themselves. They
decided to discontinue the use of the
label, and the hatters quit.
the manufacturers decided they
wouldn't recognize the union any
more, and said they would close per
manently rather than renig. Then
came the joke. The manufacturers
gave notice that the closed shop
would no longer obtain and posted
"open shop" notices. But the shops
remain closed, just the same, for the
strikers will not return and the
manufacturers can not find '"scabs"
to man the works.
Has yonr union elected a delegate
to the State Federation convention in
"Lincoln next month? A union that
fails to get in line with the state
organization can't have much life in
it; for that reason the "live ones"
Vill be among the gathering at the
state capital. Western Laborer.
Johu Lang, a seventeen-year-old
Detroit boy, has been sentenced to
McCar- fifteen years in the penitentiary for
thy, president of the Building Trades
Council, for mayor; Thomas F. Finn
for sheriff, and H. L. Mulcrevy for
county clerk, as eandidnies for the
three principal offices at the coming
municipal election.- The question is:
Will McCarthy be required to carry
the Schimtz-Reuf load through the
campaign? If so. then farewell.
Mack. There will be nothing doing
at the city hall this year. Western
Laborer.
The stereotypers employed on the
Chicago daily papers are in luck.
They have been saving 25 cents each
a day tor exactly two years, and
d.dnt know it. A little over two
years aso they tsked for an increase
from $3.73 a day to 4.00. The re
quest was refused, and a strike was
ordered. But the stereotypers, like
other members of the allied printing
trades, have an arbitration contract
with the. Xewspaper Publishers As
sociation, and the trouble was sent
to arbitration. The matter has been
delayed for two years, but recently
the arbitration board submitted Us
findings. By the findings the stereo
typers are given what they asked
for, and the daily newspapers ordered
to give them the increase, dating
back to June 1. 1907. This means
that about $;3.XXl back pay will be
distributed among a few more than
K stereotypers.
Yet there are those who insist
that unions are always looking for a
chance to raise hades by striking.
Arbitration when honestly conducted,
as is clways is between the allied
printing trades and the Xewspaper
Publishers Association beats strik
ing all hollow.
The following from the Omaha
Western Laborer will be of interest
to the union printers of Lincoln:
"Last Sunday the most disastrous
breaking into a grocery store and
stealing 42 cents. What a fool John
is, to be sure. Why didn't he wait
a few years, organize a bank and
then loot it of hundreds of thousands?
Charley Mosher did that, ana got
away with a five-year sentence after
stealing half a million. Statistics
will show that defaulting bank offi
cials get one year in the pen for
every $75,000 they steal. But the
poor cuss who steals a sack of flour
or a ham to feed his hungry wife
and children gee, but they soak him
good and plenty. A Nebraska boy
was . once sentenced to the federal
prison for lite for robbing a man
Hatters Break the Big
Combine Against Them
HERALD SHOP SQUARE.
Some time ago The Wageworker
printed a list of printing offices in
Lincoln that had signed an agreement
with Lincoln Typographical Union Xo.
Then l -9. The list was furnished by the
proper committee from the union, and
of course The Wageworker had no
authority to add any to the list.
However, in the publication of the
list an injustice was unintentionally
done the Lincoln Herald and its job
department by omitting it This-was
the fault of "the committee, not of
The Wageworker. The Herald shop
was among the first to sign up. and
the negotiations were marked by gooo
fealing. The junior member of the
Herald firm is an active member of
Lincoln Typographical Union. Xot
only is the Herald shop using the
union label of the Allied Printing
Trades, but it is using it to adorn
a neat line of job printing. The
Wageworker apologizes for its omis
sion, but pleads that it was wholly
the fault of the committee.
THE DAILY STAR'S CONTEST.
It's getting interesting the Lincoln
Daily Star's subscription contest If
you haven't been solicited to subscribe
to help out some aspiring contestant
well, if you haven't you will be.
There is an army of workers in the
field, and every member is hustling for
subscriptions. The Star is worth the
price, too. It s a union made news
paper.
The strike of the United Hatters of
Xorth America was practically set
tled last Tuesday. A lot of small de
tails are yet to be worked out. but
one thing is sure the Xational Asso
ciation of Hat Manufacturers is a
busted community. By the terms of
the settlement seventeen of the twenty-one
firms making op the associa
tion file notices of their withdrawal
from that organization, and Massachu
setts, Connecticut and Xew Jersey are
rid of this menace to fair labor.
The seventeen manufacturing bat
ters signed a bill of settlement with
the -executive board of the United Hat
ters, thus officially recognizing the
union which they once declared they
would never do. For five months the
strike has been waged with" determina
tion by the Hatters, and although
their funds have been tied up in litiga
tion and the strikers on short rations
they never wavered. They offered io
arbitrate, but the employers said. "We
have nothing to arbitrate." The man
ufacturers stood on the ground that
their agreement as an association for
bade them from negotiating with the
strikers. Then Rev. Father Kennedy,
pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic church,
Danbury, Conn-, stepped m and de
clared that he wonld open negotia
tions on behalf of the general public
The result is a substantial Tictory for
the strikers, although they yield in
many points. But their union is rec
ognized, and they are witling to leave
other matters to arbitration.
The bill provides that In matters
which it shall be mutually agreed to
arbitrate, a judge of the state super
ior court shall be final referee when
representatives of both sides fail to
agree; the manufacturers agree to file
The street railway employes of
Evansville. Indiana, are on strike for
better ray- Of course the company
is importing strikebreakers, but the
public is with the strikers and prac
tically everybody Is walking. Last
Monday several teachers in the Cen
tennial school rode on a car manned
by strikebreakers. Immediately- 70
Centeuuial school boys struck, in
sympathy with the striking street
car men. The school was closed in
the afternoon and the pupils paraded
the streets and defied the police to
disband their procession.
The Omaha brewers and the unions
in their employ settled their scale
question in a very satisfactory man
ner the other day, the unions getting
practically every concession asked
for, including increases in pay and
a contract signed for three years
There never was any danger of i
strike, except In one or the news
papers. That's the way to do busi
ness. Western Laborer.
ii mis
The American courts In the Philip
pines have let out another reef in
labor Injunctions. A strike of street
car employes being in progress in
Manila, the strikers called a "series
of mass meetings to assemble on
the 3tth. But the mass meetings
were prohibited by a labor injunction.
First we had Injunctions against vio
lence in strikes; these destroyed the
American right of Jury trial for
crime In connection with the labor
OF CHICAGO
The most elequent champion of Organized Labor on the American
platform will speak on
Tuesday Evening, June 22, 1909
FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH
This address will be free, and the general public is cordially invited.
Under the auspices of the
Nebraska State Federation of Labor
Music by band made up of Union Musicians of Lincoln. All who
are genuinely interested in the social uplift should hear this eloquent
champion of the workers. Those who heard Mr. Robins during
his former visit to Lincoln will want to hear him again.
PARADE AND CONCERT BEFORE THE SPEAKING
The sessions of the Nebraska State Federation of Labor, June 21
and 22, are open to the general public. There is nothing to con
ceal, and you are invited.
notice of their withdrawal from the
manufacturers' association, the em
ployes are to return to work, ander a
declaration that there is do strike
against the firm involved; the bill of
prices is to remain the same as paid
at the time of the strike; the manufac
turers are to be allowed to Install
trimming machines, the machine to
be given a fair trial; the price for
such machine work not being included
in the existing bill of prices, a
mittee snail determine a fair
for such work and the anion label is
not to be a subject of arbitration co
der the present agreement to return
to work.
The settlement is considered a com
promise, each side making concessions
The onion label and union recognition
issues are waived for the present by
the employes, while on the other Ran J.
tbe agreement of the manufacturers' -
association is considered an important
concession. The settlement provides
a way for the resumption of work, con
sidered generally the most important
thing. Points contended for by earn
side win be left to arbitrators to at
tempt to settle.
The strike started when the employ
ers formed an association and agreed
not to recognize the anion aad re
fused to allow tbe union label to be
used. Under the bin of settlement
the label question is left open, bat
the unionists of this country hare
a ready way of settling that matter.
If eTery nnioa worker will absolutely
refuse to purchase a hat minus the
union label, the label opponents will
soon come to time.
The United Hatters of Xorth Ameri
ca bare made a gallant fight
against awful odds. For years their
union funds, their private bank ac
counts and even their little homes
bare been tied up in litigation. A
member of the union could not cheek
out his little bank balance; be could -neither
sell nor mortgage his littJ
home; his nnioa could not nse is
bank balance. Despite these this$i
they went out to a man in defease of
their onion and their label, aad the?
fought it out on that Hue for fir
weary months.
Rer. Father Kennedy has showed hi
interest in. tbe welfare of his fel
lows by stepping in and nkhf a
settlement possible. That sort of in
terest in the workingman is more ap
preciated than a lot of things that
other members of the clergy we know
try to do "for the workingman.'"
GLOVEWORKERS ENTERTAINED.
Employer Show, Members of Union
Good Social Time.
Mr. R E. Deputy, of the tx-fmr-Spangler
Hat Co.. entertained the
members of the local Glovemakers'
Union at his home last Monday even
ing. Incidentally it might be remarked
tiat the Depmy-Spangler Co, is the
only firm of glovemakers is Xe&raska
employing anion workers of that era ft.
Mr. Spangler. the other member nf
the firm, was present and helped enter
tain the employes.
The evening was spent la social
games and conversation, wtra moalc
and song to lend variety. Refresh
ments were served. Needless to say
that all present enjoyed the evening
immensely.
The gioTe workers report bnaineso
' 't their Ene very duiL This Is not as
.1 should be. Local unionist should
not only demand on ion-made gloves,
but they should give the preference
to the "Hardy" brand. These gloves
are not only anion made not tbey are
Lincoln made. If you favorite mer
chant does not handle then change
merchants.
THE PRINTING TRADES.
The Allied Printing Trades Council
is busy making arrangements for a
"smoker" to be held at Fraternity
ball on the evening of June 29- A3
members of the allied printing trade
are cordially invited ' to attend and
participate In a discussion of ways
and means looking toward boosting
the label.
EVER OCCUR TO YOU?
Did It ever make yoa sore to walk
into a dago fruit store and nave a
snip of a boy, anywhere front to f
years of age. say. "Whad 'g want." and
then throw the the change at yon?
J I Cedar Rapids Tribune.
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