Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-04-24
MAYCRY FOR BREAD
The Journeymen Bakers Of De-
troit May Strike May
LEAVING THE CITY HUNGRY
For the Great Staple Of the Homs-Ths
Lines Are Being Tightly Drawn
on the Skirmish Line.


bakers and their employers on or about
May seems at thls writing to be cer-
tain. The journeymen have made .
demand for the abolition OF night work
in the trade; and the employers have
declared their determination not TO
accede TO the cemand. The men cay
they are going TO have their demands
acceded TO or they strike. Some OF the
bosses have gone cut OF Town to get
men to take the places Of the men
who make the demand, and everything
indicates that il will DO fight for
blood. Fred d. Shell, superintendent
OF Morton's bakery on Cherry street,
in the absence of Mr.. Morton. was
asked to give the reasons why night
work cannot be abolished and why the
employers refused 10 grant the request
OF the union.
Two of our men commence a.
.. IN. and quit at D p. m.; gang comes
on at p. III. and quits at , u. M, and
another gang commences at 8 p. m.
and quits at > q. m.," said Mr.. Snicll.
tine first bread is baked at 6 p. m,
ana every half-honr thereafter until 4
4. m. bread Is taken from the oven.
The Boss Bakers Plea.
"The grocers demand SO many kinds
of bread that it is impossible TO turn
ont the variety to sell on the day il is
made If we had all day work. As 1t Is
now our ovens are kept full from the
time we begin until We quit, q, u. m.
We make tnirty-one kilns OF bread. be-
sides doughnuts and fried cakes. Day
work would be practicable, il We did
not do q wholesale business, and baked
only for the retail trade, and made
only two or three kinds of bread. AS
it is, we would have to double our
force of men and increase the size OF
our ovens TO twice their present Ca
pacity TO do our present baking, ard
we could employ the men only naif u
day each day. The baking business
would be a nice one if it could all be
done in the daytime, but the demands
OF the consumer must be satisfied, and
and that compeIs us to work at night.
receive their bread in the afternoon.
Bread baked one day Is not salabie the
next.
"Our first wagon starts out at 5
O'Clock III the morning, serves the
restaurants and groceries on It's route
and gets back here at II. The other
wagons go out as fast as they can
after 8 and come in between 2
and ). So you see how busy it keeps
us now. The men made u similar de-
mand about five years ago. The very
men who were ut the head of the
movemen started co-operstlye bakery
at the corner Of Eighth and Fort. But
they worked nights, just the same. Ii
the abolition OF night work was prac-
ticabie, why did thep'n not adopt the all
day system? Baking IS not so hard as
it was ten years ago. Then We worked
fourteen hours day and mixed our
dough by hand; now we work nine and
ten hours caiiy and all the dough IS
mixed by machinery"
The Union's Side OF 1t.
Louis Steiner is president of the
Bakers union. Ee is an intelligent
German, works for the Wagner Baking
company, and his thrifty little wife
keeps candy and notion store at 63S
Gratiot avenue. He was asked 10 give
the unions side of the case. ''Of
course, one man in each large bakery
must work ut night" said he, "Hls
work is to set sponges, etc. Where
work the first set of men
commence 1T 3 p. III. and quit
at n. m: another set starts in at 4 p.
IN. and quits at . a. M; another at 3
and quits at 3, and still another at
and quits at 4. The bread is taken out
OF the oven every half hour or so from
about 4 D. N. TO 4 n. M. The wagons
start out after a. m. and their princi-
pal trip is made in the morning. A
small trip is made in the afternoon.
The bread we make this afternoon, for
example, ia not delivered until next
morning, and some of il Is not deIiv-
cred until noon. II night work was
abolished, and our request acceded to,
work could commence at D O'Clock in
the morning, and by noon every
variety OF bread could be ready for de-
livery. II could be delivered in time
so that everybody could have fresh
bread-bread only SIX or eight hours
old-for supper and tho bread we
baked IN the afternoon could be de-
livered "a early in the morning as they
wishes and the people could have 1t
for breakfast. Now, don't You see, the
great auik of the people would get
tresher bread than tn Y do now? As II
Anow the bread baked IN the afternoon
IS not delivered m time for the great
working and business classes to get
fresh bread for breakfast. and the con-
sequences is they do not get the bread
until they 20 TO supper. and then some
of it is more than twenty-four hours
old.