Omaha daily bee., 1894-04-07
PAY OF SALARIED EMPLOYEES
All but Certain that itaWill Be Speedily
Restored,
JUDGE DUNDY HEARS A NEW PETITION
VIII Not Allow Salaried Employees of the
Union Pacific to stand "A Reduction IL
the Organized Laborcrs Are
Not Also Reduced.

The employees Of the Union Pacific system
who are members Of the American Railway
union filed a petition in federal court yester-
day morning.
The petitioners are Samuel e. Ieberling of
Denver, W.. f. Downey of Evanston, Wyo.,
G. b.. Miller of Omaha, James Memaugh of
Portland and e. L.. Biggs of Glen's Ferry,
Idaho, representing the organization.
The petition in substance asked for a
restoration of their salaries, cut by a general
order of August 20, 1893, which was accepted
at the time as a temporary reduction; the
receivers had refused them recognition and
transportation; the petitioners deplored the
discrimination in protecting wage schedules;
asked for a continuance of pay in effect un-
der circular No. 81 under date of November
5, 1891; and submitted correspondence which
had passed between their representatives and
the receivers, in which the former were de-
MED official recognition as members of the
union.
Judge Duffie and John D.. Howe appeared
in behalf of the petitioners. Judge Kelley
looked after Union Pacific interests. Judge
Duffie, in his argument, said that the Amer
lean Railway union admitted any employe of
a railway company. It's membership on the
Union Pacific system numbers $500 men.
OF this number there were 400 engineers,
400 trainmen, 200 yardmen, 700 s%hopmen,
500 trackmen, / 200 Office men, 100 bridge
and building men, 200 freight handlers.
Judge Dufie said that the American Rail
way union had sent delegates to Omaha to
be heard in a conference with relation to
wages, but had been denied that right, and
had also been unable to receive a hearing
before Judge Caldwell. The members Of the
organization were poor men and came here
at their own expense. He presented the
case in open court Thursday because he had
been assured the men would have judicial
recognition at that time, but Judge Caldwell
had referred them to the receivers. The
receivers, through Judge Thurston, had told
them that their remedial course was the
court, continued the speaker. He said
that the men receiving the best wages on
the system had been recognized, but these
poor men had been shut out.
Judge Dundy was on his mettle. Inter
rupting Mr.. Dufie in his remarks, he en-
phatically exclaimed:
eff 1t is stated that such a cut has been
made in the wages of these men connected
with this organization-or outside of ton
this railroad, when others who are drawing
higher pay have been so highly favored, |
will see that those WHO are drawing less
pay will be treated the same way and | will
advise that the old pay be restored. Still, 1t
is but fair to the other side that they should
have notice. You have to rely a great deal
on the testimony of railroad men in these
cases, and they should have notice, and l
suggest the propriety, when Mr.. Dickinson
returns, of making the order.
TROUBLE ON JENKINS ACCOUNT.
Now l have got myself into difficulty as
you readily can see by following the order
Judge Jenkins made in the Northern Pacific
case when he allowed a schedule reducing
the pay and fixing in the order that the par
ties were bound to comply with it, when no
notice, not a minute, was given. | do not
propose to get myself in that shape again
and be denounced in open court where l
have to preside at times; / followed his or
der, though mine was less stringent than
his, when he did not give the men a min |
ute notice, and now / am denounced all
over the country for doing the very thing
he did, when | was following a precedent he
set. My term of court commences at Nor
folk on Monday, but if necessary | Will
postpone that in order to have a speedy
hearing in this case"
In conclusion Judge Dundy said: "If you
want to make application to have the old
pay restored, l want you, and every other
one of the employees on the road to under
stand that If they have been wronged by
the reduction that they will not have to join
any union in order to get a hearing, be-
cause, as l said before, | will hear one per-
son that has a grievance, or l will hear a
hundred, or a thousand, or four thousand |
as they claim to have in this union, and |
will make no distinction between the parties. |
l made the order in the first instance when
this order was made on January n, giving
and granting the right to all the employees
to come into court and have the matter de-
termined II they felt aggrieved. But some
of them instead of doing that commenced
firing threatening letters at me and Ignored
the order / made for their benefit. | sim
ply authorized the receivers to put in force
the schedule that had been made, l did not
order them to; it was wholly unlike the
one in the Northern Pacific case. There the
Judge in making the order which | followed
not only did what | have done, but directed
and ordered the receivers to put 1t into
force, and l never did that"
After discussing a date for hearing Judge
Dundy issued an order for the representa-
tives of the railway company and the union
to appear before him on next Wednesday
morning at 10, o'clock, at which time the
case will be heard.
Judge Dundy also issued an order directing
the receivers to furnish return transporta-
ton to the five delegates of the American
Railway union now in the city.
The new rules and regulations proposed
read: ffJ
First-There shall be no discrimination
or favoritism In relation TO the treatment
second-The wages reduced at each point
on the system on September /, 1893, and
thereafter, shall he restored to the rates
paid Immediately prior to that date.
Third-Should there be n necessity for a
reduction in the wages OF the employees, |
such reduction shall be prorated upon, all
employees in the service, and there shall |
be no discrimination against any one or
more classes or departments.
Fourth--Section laborers shall not be re-
quired to board at section boarding houses, |
except of their own free VIII.
Fifth-Committees of the American Rail
way union. consisting of employees of the
company, shall be received and recognized
by the management, and any complaint |
presented by them in behalf of their mem
to having the same satisfactorily adjusted. |
rules shall not be altered.
amended, disregarded or annulled except |
upon sixty days written notice by either
party. ... .t-9 -E |