The San Francisco call., 1896-05-03
Another Reform Movement by
the Affiliated Building
Trades.
TO GIVE MORE MEN WORK.
This Important Subject Will Be Dis.
cussed at Big Mass.Meeting
To-Day.

The preliminary work OF the grievance
committee and the business agents of the
Building Trades Council toward inforeing
strict observance of the working card,
union rules, a standard rate of wages and
the eight-hour work day, still goes on and
there may be lively times tomorrow when
the first blow is struck. There are nom
union and mixed jobs in the building
trades line all over the City, and large
number of union workingmen at the same
time idle. The latter will be used as bat
tering-ram to force the former into line.
Yesterday morning the seventeen COM
mittees of the unemployed, selected at the
meeting at 1l5 Turk street the day before,
held meeting and received final instruc-
tions as to their duties. The committees,
under the direction of their chairmen,
were sent out to their respective districts
to canvass every job, so that the heads of
the movement may know exactly what
jobs to strike and which ones, those union
lied, to let alone.
In order that the masses affiliated with
the council may understand fully the
nature of proceedings an order has been
issued for every member of Carpenters
Union %, Carpenters Union 304. Carpen-
ters' Union 4S3, the Amalgamated Carpen-
IL, Il L
ers', Glaciers, Laborers' and Amalgainated
ood-workers' Unions to assem- Bile at 115
Turk street, at 2:30 O'Clock to-day. The
call is issued to the employed as well as to
the unemployed, as matters of importance
are to be discussed. In the first place the
aims and objects of the movement will be
fully explained and the union men will be
instructed as to how they shall act to-
morrow when the strike com mittees arrive
upon the Jobs. One imperative order will
be impressed upon the minds of the union
men, and that is that they must obey at
once an order by the committees to strike
ana leave job, and to report the fact to
the chairman OF the committee, so that
the record of proceedings may be kept at
headquarters.
Another important matter will come up
for consideration in view OF the oversup-
piled condition of the labor market. 1t
will be in the shape of a demand on the
part of the unions for a half holiday on
Saturday for all men at work. As has
been stated the number of union working
men in the City at the present time by far
exceeds the demand of the labor market.
The serious question of what shall be done
to alleviate the distress among the unem-
pioyed, nearly all of whom are first-class
workmen in their crafts, now confronts
the affiliated unions OF the Building
trades. There is no doubt but that per
capita tax VIII DC ieVieu uPoii al iuei pers
who have employment, but the fund thus
created will be taxed for the purpose for
which 1t is to be Overwhelmingly, assisting
those who will be made helpless by reason
of being called out on strike.
This tax and fund cannot and should
reach further, so ways and means must be
devised for finding employment for those
first mentioned. 1t is believed that by
cutting off half day from each week the
natural consequences will be that those
men will find work in the long run, thus
relieving much distress. In nearly all OF
the European cities the half holiday on
Saturday has been observed for a long
time and this custom was originated to
meet Just such an emergency as now con-
fronts the laboring classes of this City.
Not only will the subject be discussed at