Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-11
FIELD OF LABOR.
Transfers and Day Laborers to Organize
for Protection.


Transfers and Day Laborers to Organize
for Protection.
The day laborers of this CITY, including
the teamsters and all working classes out.
side the regular trades, are moving in the
matter of organizing for selfprotection
against long hours of labor and small paw.
They will hold meeting at the Federated
| Trades Hall on Eighth street. between ]
and K, this evening, to take preliminary
steps in that direction.
In conversation with RECORD UNION
reporter yesterday, one of the leaders in
the movement said that things had come to
that pass in this city that the teamsters and
other laborers engaged on street work-that
is, those who have families and live here
must take stand to protect themselves
against the encroachments and cheap labor
of outsiders.
I'VE are being driven to the wall" said
he, "by non-residents who come here from
the country and do work for almost
nothing"
How can others work for less than
those who live here?" he was asked.
"Tll give you an idea" he replied. ''For
instance, live in this city, and have
| family here. / have to make a living
for my wife and children by teaming.
which consists chiefly of hauling gravel
and earth for street contractors It
costs something to keep a span of
horses for such work. They must be
well fed, and barley is high. l
have to buy my horse feed in small GUAM
titles at the stores in town where deal.
because it reqnires considerable money
and good buildings 10 buy in the country
| and lay in large quantities. The most I
can make at present rates Of hauling is s4
| day. This, mind you, is for nv own
labor, the labor of my team, the cost Of
feeding them, and for wear and tear of
wagon and harness, and out of it l must
| also pay for the labor of one man to help
me in loading. After paving all nv ex.
penses, how much can you figure out of
that S4 for me, on which to support nv
f.mily?"
Very little, apparently. But how about
the cheap competition you spoke Off"
II was coming to that. This, you know,
is the dull season in the country. The
grain has all been harvested, where there
was any to harvest, and there are lots of
countrymen who have Idle horses and
wagons on their hands. They raise hay
| and barley on their FARMS and they bring
it TO town, with their teams and compete
for street and other work. You may say
| their horse feed costs them little or moth
| ing, and they are satisfied to work their
teams and wagons for nothing, in order 10
| make a half-dollar a day By their own
labor. We who have lived here, and who
| cannot break up our homes, have to COM
| pete with them, and we can't stand it.
| All we ask is fair compensation for our
labor and outlay, and we are satisfied to
work hard for comparatively little, but we
don't want to be forced to starvation
Are there many of these countrymen
competing for city work p
"Yes, great many of them. Why,
there is one man here who brought three
teams all the way from Los Angeles, where
he had no use for them, and is doing work
at prices that we Sacramentans would
starve at Men have come here from Co.
lusa and other counties with teams and
brought their feed with them, and have
undeIbld us for work.
THE result is" he continued, that team
sters and laborers are being forced to work
long hours for poor pay and the contract
ors are getting the benefit of it, The peo-
pie who pay for the work have to put I'D
just the same, but the money that is
squeezed out of the laboring man goes
into the contractors pockets Moreover,
there is class of aliens to whom a large
part of this work is given, who are willing
to work for balf-wages. 1t is SO much
more than they were accustomed to in
Europe that they are satisfied with
it. But how do they live? They
have no homes nor families among us. and
pay no taxes. They can live on a few
cents each day; but we who belong here,
pay taxes. send our children to the public
schools and help maintain these institn-
tons and keep up our end as a part of the
community, cannot do this. We don't ask
fancy prices for our labor, but we do want
reasonable pay for it-such as will enable
us to live at least decently and keep our
families from absolute want"
And how about the hours of labor-is
it your purpose to demand a reduction
therein for day laborers?"
"Well that is one of the matters that we
must consider either at our preliminary
meeting, OF after we organize. We shall
probably join hands with the Federated
Trades, which fixes eight hours as days
work, but it has not heretofore included
day laborers, except on public work. We
need as much rest as any class of mechan-
les, and something may be done in that
Iiractiop ~