Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-20
THEY WILL STRIKE.
Carnegie, Phipps & Co.'s Employees
Denouncing the Sliding Scale.
A LARGE MEETING YESTERDAY.
The Matter Has Now Gone Before the Anal
gamated Association.
OVER $500 MEN DIRECTLY INTERESTED

sidered by the shopkeepers and others in
terested to be the first step taken in a strike
which may prove to be one of the greatest
contests between labor and capital ever
waged in this country, saw its inception.
The employees of the large iron and steel
mills of Carnegie, Phipps & Co. adopted
resolutions protesting against the new slid
ing wage scale of the firm, and, in the
event of the employers trying to enforce the
reduction, the men say the mills will beleft
idle after June 80. The men are thoroughly
organized and have large amount of
money to carry on the strike.
The meeting, advertised to take place in
the afternoon in Monitor Hall, was held in
the morning on account of the rink being
engaged for the afternoon. In response to
the call nearly 800 men turned out. They
represented all the departments in the mills
and the six Amalgamated lodges Of the
borough. As per the request of the men,
who say they will fight the firm, no names
will be given.
WHAT WAS AIMED AT.
The object of the meeting was not to ae-
cept or reject Mr.. Carnegie's sliding
scale proposition, but to get a
full discussion on the matter. The
principal speech was made by
a well-known employe of the converting
mill, who presented enough statistics to fill
page OF THE DISPATCH. He advised the
men not to accept the proposition, and gave
comparisons and figures to show that they
were being paid less wages than the men in
other mills whose owners have to compete
with Mr.. Carnegie. This was in direct con-
tradiction of the statement of the firm, that
they were paving more for labor than was
being paid by other mills. The following
figures were given and compared. Under
the present Amalgamated scale the wages
paid at the Homestead mills are:
Metal and spiegel wheelers, eight men, 81 42
per gross ton, based on an average output of
100 tons per day; at Jones & Laughlins' the
men get 81 IL; coke wheelers, 81 80; at Jones &
Laughlins', 81 81; first regulator, 81 81; at the
other mill, 81 q; second regulator, 81 26, against
81 70: cupola man, 50 76, against So 81; two help
ers 81 81 each, against 81 so for the first helper
and 81 81 for the second; cinder Taper, 81 3S
selmen, 81 II, against IS "a; pitmen, 81 Is
against 81 9S; steel pourers, 81 H. against So "a;
ladle liners. 81 &C. against 81 so; helpers, 81 26
against g 81
HOW THEY EXPLAIN IT.
The reason for the large difference is that
in the converting mill of Jones & Laugh
Inns the men have all the latest and most
improved machinery, while in the Home
stead mill they say they have not. In
the latter it requires % more men than in
the former to turn out the same amount of
product. To equalize the cost of produc-
tion, the Amalgamated Association agreed
to accept lower wages than paid in other
mills.
The speaker was interrupted number of
times by the applause of the men as he
began to pile up his statistics. He reviewed
the actions of Mr.. Carnegie in his alleged
attempts to break down labor organizations,
and said if the men accepted the scale Mr..
Carnegie would be the orator at the funeral
of the Amalgamated Association. The
speaker referred to the connection Mr.. Car
negie had with the Union Pacific Railroad
Company two years ago. when he took an
order for 8, 900 tons of steel rails at the rate
of S28 per ton. At that time the syndicate
price was S32. To enable him 20 make the
rails at profit Mr.. Carnegie had to re-
duce expenses. He first began to reduce
the wages of men employed in his coke in
terests, and forced the cost of production
down. He broke the coke syndicate, and
smashed the pig metal combination. After
curtailing expenses in all directions, he in
troduced the sliding scale to his employees at
Braddock last May. This further reduced
the cost of production and enabled him to
undersel competitors
THE WORKERS CONCLUSION.
"To-day," the speaker said, "Mr. Car
negie can make more money at selling rails
for $2S than he could previously for S34.
He has done more to break the price of
labor and reduce the cost of production of
iron and steel than any other man in the
country"
The speaker urged that the scale be re-
pudiated, especially the clause which re-
ferred to call jobs not taken to be declared
vacant after June l." He also objected to the
basis of wages being fixed upon the price Of
steel blooms. This was considered unfair,
and the speaker said it should be fixed upon
the basis of the finished product. Blooms
are now quoted at S27 25 or S27 50 and are
the cheapest basis upon which wages could
be placed. In the Homestead mill the aver
age cost of producing ton of steel blooms,
on account Of old machinery, is 13 cents |
more than in Jones & Laughlins' mill. the
obiectors say. If Mr.. Carnegie enforces the |
sliding scale in the Homestead mills, the |
men argue, he can undersell all competitors,
and, as natural result, wages must come |
down in all the Amalgamated mills.
Mr.. Carnegie was reported as saying that |
he had no Quarrel WIN Cne AmalgamaCeQ |
Association, but he wanted to deal with his |
men as individuals. The speaker then |
stated that under those circumstances, the |
Association would soon become disrupted |
on account of their being no further use for |
it. The firm was roundly denounced for |
asking the men to break away from this
organization.
THEY WILL FIGHT.
The men decided to stick to their laws |
and refuse to treat individually with the |
firm. If they cannot sign scale as an as
sociation they will not sign one at all. AS
soon as the present scale expires at mid
night June 80, the men will quit working
in the mill, they say. By that time the asso-
citation will have ended its annual conven-
ton, and fight will be outlined. There
are over 1000 members of the association in
the mills. This includes nearly every
skilled mechanic in them. If the men do
not apply for their positions under the new
scale by June 1 their positions will be
declared vacant and other men hired. The
employees of the mill say the firm can never
get this large number of non-union men to
take their places. In addition to the Anal
gamated men there are over ], 500 other en-
ployes in the mills, a large number of whom
will also go out.
At the conclusion of the meeting it was
decided to lay the matter before the Vice
President of Division No. 1, in which the
Homestead mill is located, and have him
turn it over to the executive officers of the
associatiou who will act unon it The Vice |