New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-26
Svvp1THETIC STRIKES.

I,orr s,ril,os of the kind called sympathetic
hovo occurred at the Twenty-third and Iwen-
,v.n;ntb street mills of the Carnegie steel
,,.orLs IN pttsburp, and at the Beaver Falls
and Dnouesne mills OF The same company III
s,lpport of the strikers al the lloiheS'eau WORKS
Other svmpathetic strikes are threatened al the
coke works in the Conncl>viile region al the
glass works about Pittsburg, not az all owned
hv +bo same company. on railroads which trans
mont nroducts for the steel company and on
hu;Id;ros in Chicago and various other cities
where such products are used. Inc orgahized
uorkors are asked to regard THESE S'rIheS is
amnently iustifiablc and praIseworthI' pl' 'hey
onop tho nucstion whether the organizations OF
,ahor ought not 70 abide by the contracts they
make
The three mills of the steel company in Pitts
h,ro and Reaycr Falls had signed the scale
ononosod nv the workers. binding the company
r. nav certain wages for the coming year, Nh'ie
the Amalgamated Association also bo"ld i'Seli
that its workers in those mills Sho''" WORK
faithfully under this scale OF wages 1T II
st,+od that without any claim oil grievance OF
d;sruto In other of these mills. the men sud-
dorlv refused 70 perform their part OF the agree
mani which the association had made III their
hobaf and abrogatcd the contract for a year
which had Just been signed. lheif S'lc Io'>oh
for doing this was that the same steer com
many had declined to agree to the terms pro-
nosnd hv the association for the Homestead
mills and So had become in the familiar phldNe
- l,o d,v ., enemy of organized labor. But
d;d that mstify the men in breaking the con-
tracts they had asked and had maze D'u ]"
iustify the association i'll calling on lis mem
hers 70 break then contracts when II hau uc-
mopded in their name. because IN some DINER
works tbe men had demanded different con-
tract which was not accepted?
II tho association will not or cannot carry
ont the contracts it asks employers TO sign pu'
hre,l,s them or suffers them 10 he broken III
onv time does not the association thereby serve
notice that an employer cannot rel! upon 'he
contracts il may propose. even II accepted ana
stoned in good faith? The position taken. III
,rdcrinc or permitting these sympathetic strikes
,,,uld >ccm 70 be peculiarly destructive OF the
claims of the association n proper agent 10
net for thc men. But the ease i even worse
when men who are M work uhder "'hcr con-
tracts between labor organizations ana "hcr
,muInyprS are ordered 10 >lllhc. ln'"S" '''N'N'
themselves and their employers no grievance
has arisen The contractors erecting great
buildnc in Chicago or elsewhere hoping td
socurc themselves against interruption oil WORK,
had entered into contract with organized
l,hor to do certain work on certain terms
One morning the men are asked to handle the
same steel beams they have been handling, ana
thov refuse. on the ground that the firm which
has been all the time supplying the material
they were expected to use has failed To agree
with IFS workers This is obviously violation
of thcir contract. and excused by no fault what
eyer on the part Of their employers. Does II
apnear 70 organized workers that such VIOLA
tions of contracts are rightful, or that they
will help the workers in making other contracts
in future?
In q time Of excitement and strong feeling
not n few mistakes may be excused. but 1t Is
not 10 the interest of organized labor 10 de-
privc the workers Of public sympathy or IL
DESTROY confidence in the readiness of the or
carnations 10 keep the agreements they make
For their own interests it would seem that they
ought 10 frovn upon these sympathetic strike
bv men who have no occasion on their own paii
to disregard their agreements.