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About The Wageworker. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1904-???? | View Entire Issue (Sept. 4, 1909)
THE STREET RAILWAY SITUATION IN LINCOLN The present unsettled conditions in street railway circles in Lincoln is due wholly to the underhanded methods employed by the eminent gentlemen who are in control of the Lincoln Traction Company. In order that the general public may be advised of the real facts in the case, the facts are here given without bias or prejudice. The em ployes of the Lincoln Traction Company court the fullest investigation and are will ing to leave the decision with the general public. Trior to the consolidation of the Citizens' Railway Co. and the Lincoln Traction Co., the Citizens' employes in the car service were receiving several cents an hour higher wages than the Lincoln Traction Co. men in the same service. Immediately after the consolidation the wage schedule was "equal ized." not by increasing the wage of the Traction company men, but by reducing the wage of the Citizens' Railway Co. men. As the public well knows, the wage schedule of the Lincoln Traction Co. is lower than almost any other city in the country having au electric street railway service. The statement of Manager Ilumpe to the con trary is not borne out by the facts, and Manager Ilumpe must have known that his false statement was easily disproved. The ' Lincoln Traction Co. schedule for motormen and conductors ranges from 18 to 23 cents au hour. Following is the schedule in sev eral western cities, and a glance at each will show how much credence should be placed upon Manager Ilumpe 's statements: Oakland, Cal.. 30 to 42 cents an hour. Sacramento. Cal., 27 to 30 cents an hour. San Jose. Cal., 24 to 30 cents an hour. Vancouver, B. C, 20 to 31 2 cents an hour. Butte, Mont., 3SVs to 45 cents an hour. Helena. Mont., 30 cents an hour. Salt Lake City, 25 to 30 cents an hour. Spokane, Wash., 25 to 30 cents an hour. Soon after the consolidation the motor men and conductors sent a committee to the management with a request for an increase of wages and an adjustment of several other matters. This committee received no satis faction. Then the men proceeded to organ ize a division of the Amalgamated Associa tion of Street snd Electric Railway Em ployes, thinking that they might be able to accomplish as an organization what they had failed to accomplish as individuals. Almost before the ink was dry upon the charter of the new organization the Lincoln Traction Company announced a slight in crease in wages amounting to about one cent an hour on an average. The manage ment took especial pains to tell the public that the increase was in no wise brought about by the organization of the men. The increase, however, failed to satisfy the men. There were other matters than the wage scale at stake. Among them was the matter of discrimination, the adjust ment of grievances and the priority. The organisation selected a committee to draft an agreement and present it to the company. Taking advantage of the absence of several of the executive board from the city Vice President Sharp 4nm General Manager Ilumpe declined to receive the committee. In the meanwhile rumors of a strike had been set afloat by irresponsible parties parties in no manner connected with Divi sion No. 522, Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employes. With a view to putting the organization in a bad light before the general public, and following precedents already estab lished by him in other branches of business, Vice-President Sharp addressed letters to individual motormen and conductors, ask ing them to pledge themselves that they would not engage in a strike during the state fair. That insulting letter is familiar to newspaper readers in Lincoln. Compara tively few of the employes signed the prom ise and returned it as per the "request" of Messrs. Sharp and Humpe, although these gentlemen have endeavored to convince the public that the letters were very generally signed. These letters were handed to the men on Saturday, August 28. At midnight that night Division No. 522 held a regular meet ing to take some action in the premises, and at that meeting the following letter was drafted and sent to Vice-President Sharp: "Lincoln, Xeb., Aug, 28, 1909. W. E. Sharp, vice-president the Lincoln Traction Co., Lincoln, Xeb. Dear Sir: The members of Division 522. Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employes, together with other employes of the Lincoln Traction Company, who are not members of our Division, are in receipt of your com munication of this date, relative to eertain rumors that have been set afloat. "Before replying to the question you pro pound, will you kindly permit us, through our authorized representatives, to call your attention to what we deem to be a peculiar attitude upon the part of your company. Recently we delivered a communication to you and your company in which we asked your board to meet and treat with a com mittee from this organization, looking towards an agreement that would make im possible any such situation which you now fear will come upon you. Your corporation has so far declined to treat with us as an organization, claiming by inference that yon prefer to treat with your employes as indi viduals. Yet you now turn about and niand that your employes as individuals treat with you as an organized cor poration. Pardon ns for asking why we should individually treat with your organi zation when you individually decline to treat with us as an organization. "Xeither this division of the Amalga mated Association of Street and Electric Rail way Employes, nor any of its members as individuals, are responsible for any rumors of a strike that may now be floating about. We hasten to assure you that a strike is the very last thing we desire to think about. We believe that we are justified in asking your corporation to treat with r.s as an or ganized body, recognizing our grievance committee and assuring us of just and equit able treatment. We fully recognize that even if our demands are based on justice and we insist that they are we must have the moral support of the general public if we secure these demands. An organization iike ours, whose members are in daily con tact with the traveling public, and whose services mean so much to the public wel fare, could not afford to take an undue ad vantage of your company if the taking of that advantage would inconvenience the public, work great harm to the business in terests of the city and create a feeling of dissatisfaction and antagonism on the part of the thousands of visitors who regularly come to Lincoln. "But we feel that this matter of assur ing against trouble and inconvenience this matter of asking a pledge is not whol ly one-sided. If we are willing to make a pledge that we will not take an undue ad vantage of your company by striking dur ing fair week, will you assure tis that our organization's committee will be given a speedy and respectful hearing immediately after the close of the state fair! By "im mediate" we do not mean some indefinite date, but a date between September 13 and September 30, 1909. "We desire, sir, to call your further at tention to the fact that we are, in so far as our means permit, as much interested in the welfare of Lincoln as yourself or any of your associates in the ownership ami man agement of the Lincoln Traction company. A large percentage of our membership as an organization is made up of men who either own or are buying their little homes. A still larger percentage are heads of fami lies and striving to build up Lincoln social ly and industrially to the end that their children may have greater advantages than the parents have had. We are not talking of a strike; neither are we desirous of be ing forced to the strike as a final resort. Contrary to what seems to be a very gen erally accepted opinion, labor organizations such as ours do not encourage strikes; on the contrary, we are opposed to strikes and in favor of arbitration of all differences. We have asked yon and your company to recognize our organization so that we may be in a better position to take up and adjust such matters as the one that now seems to be uppermost in "the minds of the Lincoln Traction company's managers. "If our organization were now recognized by your company, it would not have beer necessary to address letters to us as indi viduals; neither would it have been neees sary to seek an allaying of rumors which Ave have had no part in setting afloat. With proper and just recognition of our organi zation, a very few minutes would have suf ficed to set all fears at rest. "As individuals we are quite ready to talk over matters with yon and your asso ciates as inidviduals. but we hold that when you. as the representative of the company that employs ns. seek to deal with ns yon should do so through our accredited repre sentatives. We are not taking any undue advantage of your company; neither will we. Certainly we will not be so foolish as to make a move that could only end in alienating the sympathy of the general pub lic. But we feel that we are justified in in sisting that if we pledge onrselves as yon ask, you should also pledge us that at a stated time you will confer with onr com mittee, thus recognizing our rights as men and members of an organization formed for our benefit, just as you insist that we shall recognize your rights as an organization dealing with a public convenience. "We are quite ready to give assurance for assurance, but in conclusion we beg to submit, in all candor, that this matter of making assurances should not be wholly one-sided, and that in return for our assur ance of loyalty at a time when a strike would be of the utmost seriousness to you and your company, yon should assure us that you will recognize our rights to organ ize for our own benefit and protection at all times. "Trusting that this communication will be received in the friendly spirit in which it is written, we remain, yours verv respect fully, DIVISION" NO. 522. "Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employes. Lincoln, Xe braska." General Manager Ilumpe and Vice Presi dent Sharp thought they saw in this letter a pledge that the members of Division Xo. 522 would not strike. How any man with ability to read and digest plain English could read any such pledge in the above letter is a matter of wonderment. That let ter very plainly states that if the Lineoln