The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-08-06
big SHIPYARD TIED UP.
Fourteen Hundred Men and
Boys Quit Work.
REDUCTION IN PAY IS RESISTED.

When Notified of the Company's Intention
To Cut Down the Boys Wages 400 of
Them strike and Are Followed by 1000
OF the Men and the Works Are Com
peilr9 To Ciose-Hodcarriers Strike
Spreading at Chicago.
CHICAGO, Aug 6-Four hundred boys
employed as rivet heaters by the Chicago
ship Building company have tied up the
big works at One Hundred and Third
street and the Calumet river, and I, 800
employees await the adjustment of exist
ing difficulties One thousand men, riv.
eters, went out voluntarily in sympathy
with the boys, and the remaining /. 100 are
unable to work without the cooperation
of the others, even If they so desired For
some time the boys had been employed in
the work upon the steel ship Maricopa,
launched recently and which made her
trial trip Monday While the vessel was
under construction the boys had been paid
81 80 day When the work on the YES.
sci was completed the announcement was
made that for similar work only 81 25 q
day might be expected
Spontaneous Indignation.
The boys are not organized but Tues
day morning there was an outburst OF
spontaneous Indignation which culmi-
mated at the noon hour In refusal Of the
rivet heaters To work The youthful
strikers had talked their grievances over
with the riveters, 1000 of whom are In
the employ of the company. There was a
unanamity of response on the part OF the
men and when the boys announced their
intention to superintendent Babcock tho
latter found strike of / 400 of the com
pany's employees staring him in the face.
The superinto ndent endeavored to reason
with the boys and men. but they were OBJ
durate. They said they knew what they
wanted, and they stoutly stood out for it.
The boys positively refused to acquiesce
In the reduction of 25 cents per day. and
the riveters asserted that they would do
no work If new boys were employed.
Work Entirely Suspended.
The news of the trouble spread rapidly
through the works The | 100 men EN-
ployed in other capacities were not appeal.
ed to, but perforce they were affected by
the action taken They realized that no
work could be done by them while their
coworkers were out, so without taking ac-
ton evincing sympathy in one direction
or the other they acquiesced in the condi-
tions imposed BY 2 clock p III. work
at the big concern was entirely suspended,
and the entire force of :, 500 men aud boys
was I'm the streets Excited knots of strik
ers gath red on street corners and In sa-
looms. There were some who discounte.
nanced the action taken and heated dis
cussions ensued Superintendent Bah
cock early in the afternoon. began to fear
trouble, and appealed to the South Chi
cago Police station for protection A de
tail of patrolmcn was at once sent To the
works and remained on guard during the
day and night
The Hodcarriers' strike.
The hodcarriers' strike Is spreading. It
has involved n large number of mem bers
Of the Plasterers union, and the plumb
ers may be called out on a number of
jobs Ii is estimated the total number Of
men now affected is in the neighborhood
of 1000. The exact number cannot be
given. because new strikes are occurring
daily, and others are settled by contract
ors paying the union scale. Officials Of
the unions in other building trades object
strongly to having their organizations
pulled into sympathetic" strike at this
time, rs work is scarce enough as it is.
They say the time was not opportune for
an attempt to increase the wage scale by
u move which may involve the entire
building trade council.
why They Joined the Council.
On the other hand, the hodcarriers say
they joined the council for the purpose of
securing the expected advance in wages,
and they do not intend TO await the con-
venience of the board of walking dele
gates II the strikers insist on enforcing
the rules of the council every building
trade may be ordered TO strike whenever
the hodcarriers quit. The hodcarriers and
plasterers at the public library are on
strike, and 1t is said the contractor in
tends to ill their places with non union
men Boss plasterers are organizing an
association on the lines of the Building
Contractors association. Thomas Fitz-
gerald is the business agent