New-York tribune., 1895-12-16
A BIG LOCKOUT BEGUN.
THREAT OF THE CLOTHING CONTRAC-
TORS ASSOCIATION CARRIED OUT.
AZ EFFORT TO REPrDIATE THE AGREEMENT FOR
WEEKLY WORK AND TO RESTORE THE TASK
WORK sYsTEM-THE NUMBER OF SHOPS
AND MEN AFFECTED-WHA

AND MEN AFFECTED-wHAT
EACH SIDE SAYS
The threat of the members of the Clothing
Contractors Mutual Protective Association to
lock out the tailors carried out yesterday.
and fhe battle between the bosses and the men
ls now on. The contractors made no conceal
mont Of their intentions to repudiate the agree
n,ent which they had made with the Brother
hood Of Tailors. and gave their employees to un-
ders;and that they could no longer work for
them unless they consented 70 do so under
different system and set Of rules The
bosses also insisted on making the rules then'-
selves and If the men did not like them they
would have to get out
Hundreds Of shops are affected by this action
of the bosses and thousands Of men are thrown
ont Of employment. The lockout is not confined
70 this city alone. but has already extended TO
Rrooklyn. 1t was exceedingly difficult yesterday
10 get accurate figures in relation to the num-
her Of shops that have already been closed, tr
~ the men who have been locked out. Enough
Information was obtained. however. 70, show
that the existing trouble is most serious and
that both sides determined TO win if possible
In to a late hour last night reports had been
received at the headquarters of the bosses ana
the men showing that over one hundred shops
had been closed in this city, and 2,OOo tailors
thrown out Of work.
In Brooklyn $50 shops We're closed and ABOUT
a2oO tailors debarred from entering
LIVELY TINES ON THE EAST SIDE
There were lively times on the Fast Side yes
terday and in the neishbOrhood of Walhaila
Hall in Orchard-st. the populace appeared 10
be in a highly excited condition. The taiors
gathered at the hall in large numbers early IN
the morning to receive the latest news and to get
-.Nff hair ado "
eanizations as to what they should do. They
were told to report at the shops for work as
usual and see what the. bosses were goins to
do There appeared 20 be some doubt about
the lockout and many thought that the bosses
threat was merely bluff made for the pur-
nose of finding out the temper Of the men in re-
lation to the formation Of new set OF shop
rules When they went to the shops. however
they found that notices were posted informing
them that If they wanted to work any longer
for the proprietors they would have to do so
under new conditions. The notices were printed
in Hebrew, and when translated read as fol-
lows:
This union shop Pay day will be Re, on Mon
Inent. The employers will reserve to themselves ives
Pleas. whether union or non-union; union men not
necessarily 20 be disseminated against NO snoP
delegates business agents or walking delegates VII
be Permitted to enter the shop for the purpose OF
examining the books the agreement demands.
accomplish the allotted days work in ten hours
they Will finish 1t in such time as they can
The men refused to go to work, and were
then told 10 get out. They Immediately re-
turned 10 Walhalla Hal, and reported to the
officers OF the union what had occurred
PLENTY OF SPEECH -MAIlKG.
mass-meeting was held in the hall. and
speech ma king was INDUCED in the greater
of no day WachSman s
chairman and among the speakers were Nor
rs Rosenfeld b. Cohen and Herman Robinsch.
When one of the speakers exclaimed: "Will
YOU go back to the task-work SYSTEM pan
demonium broke loose. and loud cries of NO!
No. were heard from all parts OF the nall
Herman Robinson secretary of the union.
when seen by a reporter for The Tribune, said:
we have been expecting trouble Tor the iast
two days. We are not afraid of the result or
the contractors action in locking out our men,
as very strong. Work Is SLACK lust
now and the contractors have been kicking;
but have got them in our power, as our
agreement is legal, and they will suffer for
breaking it, Several of the largest sweatshops
have been burned down of late. including one
in Pe!ham-st one in CInton-st.. and another
at No. 100 Attorney-st. About one thousand
tailors thrown out of work ana the con-
tractors think they can get them 10 help lsht
us But they would be only drop In the
bucket. The contractors held meeting last
Monday night and one at Apollo Hall on Ihurs-
dav night On Saturday night they met at
Roberts Hall No. 200 East Broadway. and are
making that plac- tnelf headquarters nv
made the rules and decided 10 post them III
their shops. ,.a
we have heard from about one hundred
shops to-day % far and not tailor IS AT Wpla ,a
In them. About two thousand men are locked
out from these shops. -
ALLEGED EFFORTS OF THE CONTRACTORS.
Meyer schoenfed, general organizer Of the
Brotherhood Of Tailors. was seen at his home
No. AZ Clinton-st. He said that committees had
been waiting on him all day to try t. persuade
him to take charge Of the strike lie said ne
did not want to do so. IF the tailors act cute
"" he continued. they will surely win Ihe
bosses are trying to force them 10 enter on a
general strike. | cannot tell what me result
will be for a DAY or two. II the contractors can
get all the shops TO lock out the men ii VIII be
a big thing The bosses want 10 abolish the
weekly work system ani restore the task work
system Tomorrow will be the crucial day. Tne
brotherhood OF TaIors is better organized IMAM
ever before. / won't tax about lis hhances. IL
has never asked assistance and never Will 49,
The tailors were still Of the opinion that MI
Scboenfeld would consent to lead them IN the
present night They have won every battle they
have fought under his guidance in the past. In
the mean time Benjamin Switzer another trust
cd leader has consented to act
The shops where the ockouts took place yes
terday are mostly in Hester, Orchard. Canal.
Ludlow. Clinton. Grand and adjacent streets IN
the most denseiy populated parts of the East
side The Hebrew ta.lors work on sunday ana
the unusual spec Of the SHOPS beihg cioSed
Yesterday attracted attention
The locked-out tailors had many sympatnlZers.
Acting Captain Kirschner Of the Eleventh Pre-
cinct. on duty all day at me station III
Eldridge-st He said he was watching the prog
ress OF the trouble and had the reserves ready
for any emergency. There were no acts or vlo-
lence or trouble OF any kind reported up to late
hour.
CONTRACTORS SIDE OF IT.
The contractors. at Roberts Hall. were not in
clined TO give out much information yesterday
Herman Bolosk said the committee had been
busy all day visiting the shops to see that the
new rules were enforced and that none OF the
bosses baokslided.
..Thero arn heiu.een fnur hundred and five |