New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-11-07
DEMANDS OF POSTA L CLERKS
COMPLAINING THAT THE LAW DOES NOT
PROTECT THEM SUFFICIENTLY.
OFTEN OBLIGED TO WORK OVERTIME-THEY
WISH TO BE PLACED on THE SAME FOOT
ING WITH THE CARRIERs-MR
VAN COTTS EFFORTS.


ING WITH THE CARRIERs-MR.
VAN COTT's EFFORTS.
Clerks in the General Postoffice and the various
branch offices are complaining that they are com
PEELED work overtime. Several OF these COM
plants have reached The Tribune Office. and one
of them says that the clerks In the general Office
ard the different stations have TO work thirteen
and fourteen hours a day. with small pay and
hard work"
A careful investigation OF the facts shows that
the clerks in the general office and the branches
number more than the letter-carr'ers. yet the law
does not provide them with equal advantages. A
carrier is only compelled to work eight hours
day and is not allowed to work more than that
numbec of hours while the clerks may be com
PEELED work twenty-four hours ~ necessary
each day. The carriers a graded system
and receive n salary in proportion to the number
Of years employed. while a clerk can be made TO
work on the minimum salary provided for that
branch OF the postal service for his entire life
time unless he is recommended for an increase
At two different sessions of Congress efforts have
been made to have the clerks placed on the same
footing as the carriers. but on both occasions the
bill has died in committee. 1t will be introduced
once more at the next session OF Congress and an
effort will be made TO have IT become law.
A clerk I'm the Postoi'ice starts In at salary
| OF 5000 a year and is supposed to work eight hours
each day II he is faithful and stands in the good
graces of his chief he may eventually receive a
salary of 81 900 a year His time of service docs
nor count He may have worked ten years and
still receive only 5000 year. a receiving
$500 year may die and the $500 clerk may get his
place, yet II the head Of the branch Office does
not recommend him for the $500 salary he will still
receive the $500
letter-carrier receives 5000 his frst and second
years Of service: then he receives $500 eacn year
for the next two years and $1,000 year the two
years following During al! this time he only
be made work eight hours each day. The clerks
want a similar law, and are working to this end.
Postmaster Van Colt has been endcavoring for
some time TO tighten the work Of the clerks In the
New-York Postofice and mas asked for an Increase
OF clerical assistance He asked for hundred
and hfty-one carriers and sixty additional clerks In
June last and allowed TO place thlrty-two ad-
d!tonal clerks on the force on october !, but he
received no additional clerks He will 30 to Wash
ington on Tuesday next to consult with the De
partrnent as the additional clerks and carriers
and he has reason to believe that the increase de-
manded Will be allowed. This will materially light
| en- the work OF the clerks now on duty and Will
keep their time inside OF the eight-hour limit.
| Tine work OF the clerks at present does in
| pIaint received at this office. 1t is true that In
| peIled TO work an excessive number OF hours. but
a rule, Their overtime will not average more
In the last weel: more than three million extra
pieces of mail were handled al ne genera, ONCE
| paign The record at the general office shows
! that the clerks there worked an average Of ten
! hours a day, or TWO hours overtime. during that
Weel At the Madison Square station, where a
large amount OF political mail was received. the
men at Station 4, at No. 40 Prnce-st.. have a
record of one hour tor and md "a % o
! West Tnirty-second-st. are also heavy stations.
! time fo- this period. These same stations show
about the me record OF overtime during the first
| week of each month. when the monthly state
ments are mailed by merchants to their customers.
| A clerk at one Of these stations said yesterday
have no coHp'1 n ~ odsnlc" nSr cnmnniri ia
5Ta9 Of he '1e law When Gscrmnacs in favor Of
| the carriers We should have the same priv
ese as n lhey Of hours 10 Work As he
now stands we could be compelled 10 work twenty
four hours consecutivcy without additional pay.
| VIA: we need is an organization of the same
strength as that OF the carriers The clerks In the
| general Office and at the various stations exceed
| ,be number OF carriers yet do not get half the
show the carriers do in the obtaining OF beneficial
Richard Van Colt. the son Of the Postmaster .
who has cha ge OF ne division @ io the
| clerks obtain all that Is fair for them. and hope
they viii get II. More clerks are needed for the
various stations and We hope TO obtain them, THIS
will lessen the hours OF work 81 each clerk and
give him better show A. sfsaed system a sms a
aid the clerks and give them greater incentive to
A. p Mae superintendent Of the second d.y!-
sion. which has charge Of the outside malls said:
| rnen1 and he records show ma, last week the
average oYertm" Of the CLERKS IN the letter &C.
| partment was tv'enty-fOur minutes. while In the
| newspaper department 1t was INVENT! SIX minutes:
| There Is no great complaint among the CLERKS OF
| orr department. az on days the work Is light they
are on duty less than eight hours. bat when We
have q la'ge foreign mail IT H. sometimes neccs-
sary Tor them to put IT, overtime Macy days
our work will be cleaned up 10y o'clock IN the
! afternoon. when We will receive word that there
arc five hundred bags OF foreign mail be handled
| and DISPOSED Of. and this means extra work |
! hnlieya that graded syAtem would help the
clerks ard ] hope they will obtain it
! There are 1880 carriers employed In the New
VII pna'of,cc and nearly 2ilJ clerks. The an
NAL salaries drawn by the carriers amount ~
a. ,c, Cp and by the clerks 20 N.j723N. which is
Ccnnsiderapy less IN proportion to the number OF
men employed.