Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-24
ONLY ONE MILL IDLE.
The Illinois Steel Company Prompt
to Sign the Scale.
FIVE OF THEIR SIX MILLS GOING.
The Employees Are Treated as Equals BY
the Management.
WORKMEN ARE SATISFIED AND HAPPY

While the trouble between the iron and
steel masters in this vicinity and the Anal
gamated Association remains unsettled,
quite large number of Western and South
ern manufacturers are waving all claims
for an immediate adjustment and have
signed the new scale. In nearly every in
stance the signers make an agreement that
if in the future any concessions are made BY
the Amalgamated Association they are to
receive the same benefit as other manufact-
urers
Outside of the 81 sheet mills that are now
working under the new Western scale of
prices, A firms who puddled iron have
signed. Great advantage is secured by the
manufacturers who have already agreed
to pay Amalgamated wages, for while the
business of the local iron men remains at a
standstill, the signers are allowed to oper-
ate their mills and fill the demands of their
customers.
Prominent above all of the manufactur-
ers whose mills are now running is the
Illinois Steel Company.
The firm made contracts through the as
sociation as to wages and minor conditions
to govern the employees work for one, two
or three years.
The South Chicago Steel and Rail Mills,
where 4,5O0 men are now employed, were
not affected by the recent trouble. They
were running at the time and the wage con-
tract does not expire until next year. At
the Joliet Steel and Rail Mills, where 1000
men are employed, the contract terminates
on December 81 next. The agreement at
this mill would not have terminated even
then, but according to a prearrangement
the firm or the men could give six months
notice prior to the beginning Of new year
that they desired an opportunity to read
such notice, but they state that it may
not be necessary to make any changes.
The Joliet Rod Mills, employing 300 men,
which shut down on July 1, res umed opera
tions Wednesday, July 20. New machinery
was put in and repairs made. To show that
the best of feeling prevails between the
company and their employees at this plant
on the question of wages, it might be stated
that the men voluntarily reduced the wages
on one class of labor SO per cent The Bay
View Mills at Milwaukee, employing 800
men, which closed down on July because
the wage contract had expired and the men
desired two weeks rest, resumed yesterday.
These works were built in 1868 and 1874,
and nail mill was added in 1884. The mill
contains eight quadruple pudding fur
naces, % shearing furnaces, eight train Of
rolls and one hammer. The product is light
rails, merchants bar iron and steel and fish
plates, with an annual capacity of 100, 900
net tons
At the Union Mills in Chicago 1900 men
are all working The contract does not
expire until next year. The North Chicago
Mills, where 800 men are employed, is the
only plant owned by the company that is
now idle. The three-years' wage contract
expired June 30. 1t is expected by the
firm that these mills will remain closed for
some weeks. The yards are full of ma
terial and repairs have to be made. While
the repairing is going on the question of
wages will be taken up.