The San Francisco call., 1896-03-12
THE MASTER PAINTERS.
The Secretary of the Association
Fully Discusses the Strike
Situation.

From all appearances the master painters
have an idea that the striking painters
have virtually won their fight. At least,
as an organization they have taken no
steps in the matter. For a time their
silence was construed by the strikers to be
suspicious, but from the expressions of
several OF the master painters they are
now waiting for the iournevmen to bring
the obstinate bosses into line and then all
will accede TO the unions demands. J. II.
Wagner, secretary of the Master Painters
Association, yesterday spoke freely upon
the strike and the present situation He
said:
consider that the journeymen painters
have virtually won their fight. |, for one
have aeceded to their demands and am pay
ing the wages asked for. The union is too well
organized and has too much support from the
other unions in the building trades for the
bosses TO make anything like q profitable
fight. With the Building Trades Council at
their back the striking painters can tie up any
job or every job in the City for that matter.
Their demands are not unreasonable and why
should there be fight? Il is the card system
that "sticks, but even this innovation in
trades unionism need not cause any trouble
until il has been tried and found to be q
failure. In the East it has worked all right, so
am told.
painters themselves viii kill il. To-day was
told by boss painter that he had hired two
union painters who presented their cards. He
told them that he could not afford to p4y 50 q
day. but they told him that that did not m AXE
any difference. as they would accept - so
They were broke, they said, and had TO have
the money, even if it was below the union
rate. 1t is just such things as this that will
make their demands-card system and all-in-
operative before they know il. II the journey
men painters win, as suppose they will, they
will become Indifferent and drift back TO the
old order of things, as they have done many
times before.
They have taken strange time to strike,
when business is so dull Heretofore they
struck when business was good, and we had 10
use their services. Now only few of the boss
painters have good contracts, such as Tom
Downings for example, and they, of course,
gave IN at once.
The strikers hit ST. Denis a hard blow. and
there are many OF the boss painters who are
not sorry for IT. ST. Denis has the habit of
hiring cheap foreign painters or dope-slingers
to do his work and the rest of US have but lit
tie chance against him. When a man hires
ignorant foreigners who cannot speak the Eng
lish language for $50 or S25 month and finds
their board in cheap foreign boarding
for $15 month the rest OF us cannot compete
for contracts when we are obliged to pay So a
day.
There is ore thing about this strike that do
not understand, and that is why the Master
Painters Association has not called special
meeting to consider and discuss the situation
Under our new constitution and bylaws the
president and three mem bers or five mem bers
can call special meeting. So far there has
been no apparent desire on the part of the
members OF the association to call meeting.
slthough have expected for three DAYS past q
notice from the president to call such meet
ing. Our regular N ee;ing will not be held un-
til the first week in next month.
II seems to me that the master painters pur-
pose in keeping quiet and not taking an active
part in this strike may he explained in this
way: If the striking painters are successful
with the bosses who are holding out, then they
will all agree to the terms. IL they are not
successful then the members of the assocfa-
ton will not be able TO afford to pay higher
wages for shorter hours than their business
rivals, who get men cheaper and work them
longer hours. At the present do not believe
that the masters are looking around for new
contracts. / for one will not until the difficult
ties are settled.