Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-04-11
225 MEN ON STRIKE

The Rig MaIIeabIe Iron Foundry at Union City CIOsed-Demand of Trim mers and Floor Men For More Pay Refused.
 The big factory of the Naugatuck Malle- able Iron Co at Union City is tied upbY a strike. Over four hundred men arc out. more than half the number being strikers and the remainder being out through ne cessity, it being impossible to run the works without filling the places of the strik- CTS. The DEMOCRAT called up the office of the company by telephone shortly after o'clock this afternoon but could obtain no information. It was stated that both Mir Whittemore and Mir Warner were out of town and no one having authority to speak was about the works No information would be given except that the men in one department of the works were out but that matters would be arranged in short time so that the factory would run as usual
 A representative of the DEMOCRAT went at once to Union City and found the town in an uproar. The streets around the l factory were crowded with men talking over the affair. In front of the factory big policeman was on duty, but the strikers were orderly, being contented to gather in little knots on the corners and exchange opinions concerning the trouble.
 The strike began yesterday afternoon. when twenty-five trimmers made de- mand for more pay. They had been re- ceiving eighty cents day for eight hours work and wanted ten hours work at twelve cents an hour. This morning they Vt re joined by all of the floor lahorers. numbering about 225. They have been working an eight hours day for one dollar and asked for SI. j0 for ten hours day. | The -mpanys officials refused to confer with the men and they left work in body. This is the story the n.en told.
 To n reporter one of the men said:
 This thing has been going on for the past two or three years and am not sur prised to see that the crisis has come. Three years ago the hoormen received fifteen cents an hour and by degrees this has been reduced until now they have it down to one dollar day. and there are number of men Tn the factory who are working for less than that The con- pany Is getting richer and richer every year as Is evidenced by the magnificent | structures the members of the concern have built for their own private use, but the comuon laborerS have been ground down to point where they might inst as well strike even though they should lose their positions
 Another man said that the men directly concerned in the strike were all PolandeIS and that there was much blame resting up on themselves. Ii Is alleged that those men came there few years ago and offer to work at such low figure that Scotch, German. English and Irish en- ployes. who earned good wages in the factory, were forced U leave the place. Those men have ruined the town" said business man, "and now they find themselves locked outside the gates. They want good wages but they always made 1t a point to work for a little less than other men uuul finally they brought wages So low that no human being could get living out of it."
 The reporter called at the of1lce and learned that all of the men who struck had been paid of this morning. An attache of the office said the men had not asked for an increase in wages in the proper manner. It was denied that the men were working for Sl day. The men received thirteen and half cents an hour" said one of the office hands "and We were running eight hours n day in order to employ as many hands as pos slble"
 l he latter statement was denied by the workmen, one of whom said: That is false. There may have been a few men getting that, but the bulk of the men were working for Sl Il day and less"
 The men do not belong 10 any unIon