Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-21
Failure of the Conferrees in the
Builders Dispute to Effect
a Settlement Will
CAUSE A LONG AND BITTER FEUD.
Capital, United and Strong, Will BE
Arrayed Against the Organized
Labor of the Country.
SAM GOMPERS STAND ONTHE QUESTION
rganiz atOns Here viii Support the Strikers in the
Efe-and-Death Struggle.


of the conferees in the building trades dis
pute? was the question that merchant and
mechanic sought to answer yesterday when
the unsuccessful issue of the conference be-
came known. The answer can be given
now with more freedom than while some
chance of settling the difficulty remained,
and it can also be stated, as already hinted
at in THE DISPATCH, that what follows has
not been determined upon, by either side,
without much delibcration and careful
weighing of the consequences, There is no
longer doubt that Allegheny county will
have to bear the brunt of struggle between
organized and unorganized capital and Or
ganized labor of greater moment than any
similar affair that has vet occurred in
Western Pennsylvania. Labor and capital
are girding up their loins for the tussle,
and it will require a seer of more than
common ability to foretell how long it will
last or how it will end.
just Where the Matter Stands.
For q proper understanding of the mat
tiers in dispute it will be well to state of
what they consist The contest-which
now involves the whole of III: building
trades-originatel n dem-eds for an eight
hour day and ar i.oIease of AZ cents an
hour on the part OF the carpenters. Last
wear the trade worked nine hours day at
remuneration of 3O1a cents an hour, or 81 75
a day The bricklayers last year received
81 day for nine hours work; this year
they demanded an increase of so cents a
dav, which was refused, and they struck.
called out in the support of the carpenters
by the Building Council or were locked out
bv the employers, when work on the vari-
Gus buildings came to standstill. Whether
these trades will waive the terms under
which they have been working and make
demands for shorter hours, etc, remains to
be seen. The timers yesterday violated
their agreement with their employers, and
the plumbers are also involved in dispute
of their own with the masters.
. The iournevmen carpenters long since re-
ceded from their original demands, and
when they went into conference with the
Master Builders Association-the wing of
the Exchange which is concerned directly
with this dispute-were prepared to return
to work at the old rate, viz: 301S cents an4
hour-if they were granted the eight-hour
day.
The Terms Proposed by the Builders.
The Master Builders Association, early
in the struggle, proclaimed the terms, and
the only terms, on which the men should
resume work. These are as follows:
Rule first-Nine hours shall constitute a
days work, and all overtime, after O'Clock
hall 1Nsf fSr,oa s1nd half fiTrna
Second-Wages shall be classified accord
ing to skill and ability of the men.
1hird-FOremen may be non-union men.
FOurth-All employers shall pay at the
places where men are at work on their reg
ular pay day during working hours, if possi-
Bile, and no employer shall retain more than
one days wages.
Fifth-Au employers sending men to work
exceeding two miles from shop or office
must pay car fare.
SiXth-An employer may use laborers in or
about the work to assist in carrying mate
rial on the premises or to place in the build
ing.
Seventh-Nocarpenter shall be called upon
to stop work on account of nOn-uniOn men IN
other branches of the building business who
are employed on the same building or
works.
Apprentice Rules.
First-Any boy or person may engage him
self to learn the trade of carpentry. He
must be hired by agreement, indenture or
written contract, in accordance with the
laws of Pennsylvania and shall be required
to serve an apprenticeship of four consecu-
tive years; and shall not be considered a
jOuneyman carpenter unless he has served
the full term of apprenticeship.
Secondary boy or person who shall have
contracted with an employer to serve n term
of years. shall on no pretens whatever leave
said employer and contract with another
without the full and free consent of the
first employer. unless there is just
nyn IG MAJ do
in consequence Of the death or relinquish-
ment of business of the first employer; and
any apprentice so leaving shall not be per-
mitted to work under the jurisdiction of the
Master Builders, but shall be required to re-
turn to his employer and serve out his time
Third-We employ as many apprentices as
we requiro.
Determination of the Master Builders.
Readers of THE DISPATCH will be
familiar with the reasons why the Master
Builders Association, aided and abetted by
the other trades associations which go to
make up the membership of the. Builders
Exchange, has assumed the position it
and declares it will continue to
until the men yield. These rea-
sons have been published in frequent arti-
cles dealing with this subject, but they may
be recapitulated here. Foremost among
them is the determination of the masters
arrived at after many years of continual ac-
eessjon to the demands of the journeymen-
and their conviction of its necessity. to take
the question of reniuneration into their own
hands and present a strenuous opposition to
demands for increase in wages which
would still further add to the cost
of building, regarded as being already
high enough in Allegheny county The
masters take the view that to allow any ad-
ditional cost in building operations would
result in the loss Of much trade, because, as
they argue, capital seeking, investment in
bricks and mortar would hold aloof from
building when its cost would reach such
figures as would make it impossible to OBJ
tain, either by renting or from sale, such
return as would be fair remuneration for the
outlay.
Where the Cost Would Fall
This additional cost, say the masters,
would be imposed and follow naturally, on, |
even a concession of the eight-hour day at
the old rates of wages. The eight-hour day |
would necessitate the employment of more |
men, consequently the requirement of |
larger capital at corresponding cost on |
discounts, etc; the enlargement of shops |
and factories, necessitaHhg an outlay of |
money, an increase in insurance rates, rents |
and changes generally, and loss sustained |
b. the time which other tradcSIccn work |
ing nine hours would lose through the al |
sence Of the carpenters, without whose
presence the work on building cannot be
and advantageously prose-
cutcd.
As far as the S-hour day is concerned as a
period for work, there are few empiorers
opposed TO it, fut they hold TIA: its con-
,ession cannot Ls made in any one nart of |
the country, or 10 any one trade, without
A loss to them, which they are not disposed
to suffer These are some of the arguments
advanced by TIE masters in support of their