St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-07-10
The Company's Scale Would
Have Reduced All Of the
$500 Men.
Employees Are Still Anxious
to Thoroughly Discuss
the Scale.


public. 1t is asserted that the en-
ployes combined with others of their
trade, forming the Am alg amated asso-
cation, with absolute control over the
Homestead works. This charge can
only be supported to the satisfaction of
those who deny the right of the en-
ploye to enter objection to any con-
ditions offered by the employer. The
workingmen at Homestead, nor any
other of the hundreds of mills organized
into the Amalgamated association. have
no desire to dictate the wages they
shall receive: but they see no good
reason why they should not exercise
the privilege of engaging with their
employer in the controversy through
which the rate Of compensation for
labor is fixed. The workmen are now,
as they always have been, prepared to
meet the representatives of the COM
pany and discuss the provisions con-
tanned in the scale submitted by them.
If the conferences already having been
held fail to bring about settlement. it
cannot be said that this was the fault of
the workingmen. The scale under
which the men at Homestean were
working was arranged in July of 1889.
The rate of wages was fixed according
to the selling price of AKA BeSsemer
steel billets. the wages
Advancing and Declining
with the selling of that article; it was
provided that the minimum should
be S25. Complaint is made that
no minimum should have been insisted
upon. 1t is the experience of the iron
and steel workers that some precaution
is necessary to protect themselves from
being reduced to an extremely low rate
of pay by the acceptance by manufact-
urers of sales below current rates. As
the WOrkingmen do not sell the product,
there must he point where reduction
in wages by reason of low-figured sales
shall cease. 1t is alleged that labor or
CARNATIONS are injurious alike to the
toilers and those by whom they are en-
cited by the firm that there is no
organization amongst their en-
ployes at Braddock or Duquesne
works: that the men there are
satisfied: that they get good wages and
that no strike has occurred at those
works since the institution of that man.
agement. 1t may be said that the salts
faction of which Mr.. Prick speaks as
existing at the above works is forced,
rather than voluntary. as may be proven
by the many efforts of the men in these
mills to organize themselves i'll secrecy.
knowledge of such intentions coming to
the ears of the company would and was
followed by discharge. The wages EN-
joyed by the men at BraddOck and
Duquesne are the direct result of the
rate of compensation sustained by the
organized iron and steel workers. While
they are not organized in these mills,
the rate of pay for the class of work
done by them, fixed by their
Organized Fellow Tradesmen,
determines the pay that men can de-
mand for their services. 1t is the GUS
in the iron and steel trade to pay the
rates provided by the Amalgamated
scale, i'm order to secure the services of
men of that trade: it is found, however,
to be invariably the case with these en-
plOyers, while they pay the rates pro-
vided by the Amalgamated association,
that the men are required to accept con-
ditiOns which are tantamOunt to re-
duced late, although not appearing on
the face, We have reason to believe
that the non-uniOn plants of BraduOck
and Duquesne can be proven to he no
exception to this rule. The introduce
ton of improved machinery to which ref
erence is made by the company, has dis
placed men that were necessary before
the introduction of such machinery and
in this manner repays the cost of the
investment. The output OF mill is
ALWAYS considered when arranging
scales, and if the increase OF output
without increase of labor to the work.
men is brought about by improvements,
there is every opportunity offered by
the workmen to arrive through confer
ence at an equitable rate; but when the
employer refuses to engage in discussion
with the employee on the matter, all
hope of just settlement is lost. An
attempt is made to lead the public into
the belief that the number of meu af-
fected by the reduction is few. Here
again it becomes necessary to impress
on the public mind the fact that there
are
Three Distinct Propositions
contained in the dispute, namely, re-
duction in the minimum, another reduc-
| {thus making double reduction). and
| that the scale terminate Dec. 81, 1898,
! instead of June 3. 1894. 1t must be I'M
| derstood that while all of these PROPOSE
| tions do not affect the whole of the
| Homestead wOrkmen, few of the $500
employees Of that place escape without
| being affected by one or more of its
| provisions. What does not affect the
one, Goes affect the other. and it
might be said that instead of the COM
| pany's proposal altering the condition
| of employment of 325, the change is
| general and the whole are involved.
l t. It'd 1, fl,n -,
| force that it is not their desire to reduce
| their workmen below others. The cost of
| p oduction to the Carnegie company at
| Homestead is decidedly in favor of the
company. as compared with mills of
| that character. 1t can now be shown
that they cannot establish complaint
| in that direction. In arranging scales
| of wages to govern iron and steel work
| ersythere are innumerable things which
must receive attention if justice must
| prevail. The intricacies referred to are
such as to render liable erroneous views
to be drawn by those not familiar with
the trade from their discussion IN the
public pressure. There can be no legit
innate reason why the Carnegie com
pany should deny to their Homestead
! workmen conference, where the things
of which they complain could be ana
lyzed and. il found unjust, made right
The men make
No Fairer Proposition
than this, for the simple reason tina,
none fairer is possible. If argument
and honest reasoning were substituted
/ for the reserve and GOODNESS OF manner
as seen in the company's present atti
tude, there can be reason to expect an
end of this deplorable state of affairs
Does it not seem strange that the Carne
gle company looks with distrust upon
the organization of its Homestead EN-.
ployeS, while at several of the large
mills it has for several years encouraged
the organization of the men, and at this
moment they are getting along salts