The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-03-29
STEAM FIIelHRS STRIKE.
Complain sThatthe Bosses Have
Violated Their Agree
ment With Them.

l AOht w ltA i AOul.
! NEW YORK, March 20, 1s97-A lockout
| OF LOO steam filters and their helpers
and threatened strike of 10000 union
building trades mechanics is on today.
The lockout arises from the strikes of
the Enterprise Association of Steamf1t-
ters and the Progress Association Of
| Steamhtters' Helpers against the Anal
| gamated Society of Plumbers and Gasfit-
ters. whose members have been doing
thermostatlc work, that is, making pipe
connections with a steam heat regulat-
ing device controlled by the Johnson
| Heat Regulating Company.
| The Board of Walking Delegates further
sustained the steamftters and helpers by
ordering sympathetic strikes on the new
Columbia College buildings, two new
schoolhouses in East Eighty-seventh and
East Eighty eighth streets, and the
Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute.
The Plumbers Society is not now repre-
| sented in the Board of Walking Dele
gates, having withdrawn therefrom eight
months ago, because the society refused
to abide by the rules of the Board in not
making an agreement with the Marble
IhoustIy Unions regarding work which
and Which the plumbers had been doing
Ihere are 800 members in the Enter
prise Association of Steam Filters and
600 in the Progress Association of Steam
Filters Helpers. These two organiza-
tons have an annual agreement with the
master Steam and Hot Water Filters
TWO unions We're to be employed by the
bosses organization and wages Of $3.50
should be paid to journeymen and S. Is
to helpers
% r15ljfr,c in f,,rr
competent workmen and refrain from
doing any work for firms outside of the
Master Steam and Water Filters Asso-
The steam filters and the Board of
Delegates assert that the Master Steam
Filters Association violated the agree
ment by sub-letting the contracts to the
Johnson Heat Regulating Company, who
employed members of the Plumbers So
clety TO do the thermoStatic work. AS the
Piumbers Society is not represented in
the Board OF Delegates, the latter main
tain that the Master Steam Filters AS
sociation further violated its agreement
with the union steam filters and helpers
by employing the plumbers who are con-
SlGered as nOn-uniOn men and treated as
such by the board and the trades unions
it represents.
The. Master Steam Filters Association
considered that the Enterprise and Pro-
gress Associations had violated the
agreement in striking against the plumb
ers and thus stopping other steamftting
and money, although there are strike
clauses in all building contracts that
frees the contractor from loss in case
of strike.
was willing to leave the plumbers do the
thermostatic work because the heat
regulating device is under a patent and
can be done by the johnson Company
and its, agents only. The device is an
automatic valve that regulates the tenn
perature IN rooms where there are steam
radiators to which it is attached.
Efforts were made to settle the strikes
by arbitration, and the Board of Dele !
gates had accepted the kindly Offices of
Ealshop Potter, President of the Council
OF Oxidation and Arbitration.
There was a strong likelihood that the
difficulty would be adjusted satisfactory
lly. although the Board of Delegates pro-
posed to show that the steam-fitters were
tions with the heat regulators. and would
so convince the arbitrators
But on Saturday evening the Master
Steam and Hot Water Filters Associa-
ton sprung. a surprise upon their en-
piOyeS by placing in their pay envelopes
notice to steam1tters and their
helpers that because of a violation of the
agreement between that association and
the Enterprise and Progress Associa-
tons by the two latter associations they
would have to sign new rules with the
Master Filters Association this morning
before being allowed to go to work in the
shops OF the master filters
Meetings of the Enterprise and the
Progress Associations were hurriedly
called and the members decided that the
bosses had forced a lockout and had in
the beginning violated the agreement by
sublett1ng contracts to a non-union con-
Germ which had employed plumbers to do
the work steamfitters should have DONE
The union steamfitters and helpers re-
solved to resist and refused to sign any
new agreement on rules Hence the lock-
out. The bosses association now declare
the two unions as practically on a strike
The notices received by the s1teamfitters
put grave phase the strike situation.
and the Central Labor Union, in meeting
yesterday afternoon at Clarendon Hall.
went into executive session, and it was
Safd, discussed the situation and dec.d-.
ed to SUSTAIN the steslIrlfitters and the
Board of Delegates in any action they
might deem proper to take in the mat
ter.
The Board of Delegates will meet at
o'clock this afternoon and take action.
There may be a general strike shortly |
OF all the union mechanics if matters are |
forced by employers, and if it does occur |
$4,000 or 10000 non-union men will be |
forced to uit work. for there are that
many employed in various capacities on |
buildings.
The locked out journeymen steam fit
ters have pfcketed all the shops. and in |
some instances the police have been call |
ed upon to guard some of the places.