Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-21
WANT 1T THEIR WAY.
CARPENTERS Enter a Solid Protest
Against the Eight Demands.
ALLEGED UNFAIRNEss IN VOTING.
Railroad Conferees Make No Progress on
Their Grievances.
MISCELLANEOUS INDUSTRIAL ITEMS

There were some very sensational develop
ments in the proposed eight-hour movement
on the part Of the carpenters yesterday. As
has been maintained all along in The Dis
PATCH, there is great opposition to making
the demand among the meu themselves. An
effort has been made to keep this fact secret,
but the proceedings of last night prevent
any such procedure in the future.
For several days Edgar A. Holmes. d
member of Local Union 13O, has been pre-
pairing petition to the General Executive
Board of the Brotherhood, setting forth the
manner in which the vote on the question
was taken and pointing out the alleged in
justice done to those members of the union
who desired to vote against the measure by
those who wanted to force it through.
This petition was approved by Mr..
Holmes own union last night, and he left
at 3 o'clock this morning for Philadelphia,
where he will meet the General Executive
Board to-day and lay the matter before
them.
What Is Claimed by the Directors.
The document which Mr.. Holmes takes
with him sets forth, among other things, the
following claims:
First-That the vote given out as the official
count was less than the required two-thirds
majority necessary to carry such measure
to an issue.
Second-That there are more than 1000 mem
bers of the various unions in the local district,
less than ,2e0 of whom were given an opportu-
nifty to vote either way on the question.
Third-That the machinery Of the organiza-
tion was used to force a vote in favor of max
nr hR oil bt-hO demands Members
sired to vote against it were put to 4 disad-
vantage by those of opposite views going early
and monopolizing the room In the council room
in such i way that others could not gain adm1s-
sion to vote.
Fourth-That all the unions but one gave
majority against the movement; and yet in the
face of this the official vote is announced TO be
within IS of giving two-thlrd majority in
favor of making the move.
Fifth-That the great mass of the remaining
$500 carpenters are opposed to the movement
and If it is forced upon them by the 700 or 500
who voted for 1t, there is no doubt in the minds
of the petitioners that it will be the means OF
breaking up the Carpenters Union in Allie
gheny. which is now the backbone Of the local
building trades.
The Sympathy of Several Unions.
Mr.. Holmes seems to have the sympathy
of not only his own union, but others as
well. Before he had his petition prepared
his intended course was laid before one of
the other unions, and approved almost
unanimously by it. Still third union that
gave vote of 175 to against the move
ment, is indorsing his action. He con-
tnues to show in his argument to the Cen
eral Executive Board the condition of trade
in the city, and how it would injure the
cause of both employer and employe to have
the demands made and not granted.
In speaking of the matter, after Local
Union No. $50 had adjourned last night, Mr..
Holmes said: ''There is scheme some
where. Ny suspicious were first aroused
when discovered that only one union had
given majority in favor of making the
demands. The General Executive Commit
tee have approved the list of demands, it is
true. The demands for 80 cents an hour
were approved, out the clause relative to
the eight hours was left to the local Ex-
ecutive Committee, and they want to take
advantage of technical point and force the
issue"
Another member said: "It is useless for
us to make these demands. We will lose,
most certainly, and when We do, our organi-
zation goes down. 1t Is an outrage, the
manner in which the vote was taken, and 1
believe that when the Executive Board
meets, if the case is properly placed before
it, will order proceedings at this end OF the
line stopped"
Nlr. Holmes Will be BACK tO-morroW or
next day with the official decision of the
General Executive Board.
Another member of the organization who
is opposed to the movement, and who helped
to raise funds to pay Mr.. Holmes expenses
East, said: 1--WE did not get fair chance at
the vote. The polls should have been open
for week at some central point or in the
meeting places of the various unions, where
all could have had an opportunity to vote
some time, so we could have had an expires.
sion from the whole membership"