The San Francisco call., 1897-06-11
Ali Public Work Must Be Done
in the State Printing
Office.
THE LABOR UNIONS ARE ALSO
UP IN ARMS.
They Ca ! Upon the Officials to K 'ep
the Job Out of an Unfair"
Establishment.

The action of the Board of Regents on
Tuesday in awarding a large contract for
printing to a private non-union concern
the Pacific Press Publishing Company of
Oakland-has stirred up a nasty mess in
official circles and labor unions. A. J.
Johnston, the State Printer, proposes 10
stop the work from being performed, upon
the ground that all such WORK should be
done by the State Printing Office or not at
all. The labor unions. and particularly
those OF the typographical, book binding
and press-work lines. have double object,
as it were, in contesting the action of the
regents
In the first place, the awarding of a
special contract to the Pacific Press of
Oakland is regarded as a direct slap at or
ganized labor. For years the typograph-
| ical and kindred unions fought the Press
because ii is known as rat or unfair
establishment, operated on n semi-re-
lleious basis and employing workmen at
wages far below those established by the
unions. Some idea of the bitterness of
| this fight may be judged from the follow
ing dispatch, received yesterday by State
Printer Johnston:
SACRAMENTO, June TO- 1897
Hon. A. j. Johnston, Grand Hotel. San Fran
cisco: State Board OF Regents nave awarded
| university Regis ter" and announcement of
Courses, work formerly performed by State
Printing Office, 10 the Pacific Press of Oak
land, an Unfair esta blishmenI, against which
employers paying union wages can
not compete. We believe il your
duty 10 enioin Regents and Pacific Press
in attempt 10 override the law, and hope you
Will thwart the efforts TO usurD functions of
State Printer. Allied printing trades wall de-
nouuce action OF Regents tonight Federated
( fYrQ6 nj vii lale folr
Clarence M Hunt, president Sacramento
| Trades Council; William Miner, president
| president Bookbinders' Union; Ii. w. NJ Ogg
| president Pressmen's Union.
The second horn upon which the union
printers hang is that the work is to be
done outside OF the State Printing Office,
which is thoroughly union institution.
and further. that this office must be closed
on account of the Governors veto of the
bill for the maintenance of that office
Th s bitter feeling on the part of organized
labor seems to have spread over the entire
State, and the first action was taken by
the Sacramento unions, which is shown by
the following dispatches to THE CALL last
night:
SACRAMENTO. CAL, June 1O-Tbs
action taken by the Board of Regents OF
the State University in accepting the bid
of the Pacific Press Publishing Com pany.
the only non-union house on the coast
OF any prominence, Tor their print
ing has aroused the indignation of
the varions labor unions of this CITY,
many of the members having given
their services free to the State to com
plete the work of prin ting the statute ald
other work left by the Legislature after
Governor Budd killed the APPROPRIATION
bill for the support OF the State Printing
Office, and they assert that the printing of
the State University should have been
given to them. In consequences they have
drafted the following set OF resolutions.
Ty geographical Union No. 46s reads as
follows:
WHEREAS, We are informed that the Board
of Regents Of the University of California,
public institution maintained by the tax
payers of the State. have awarded the
contract for the printing of the Uni
versity Register and Announcement of
Courses" twOrK heretofore performed in
the State Printing Office at Sacramento,
under the supervision of the Superintendent
OF State Printing! to the Pacific Press Pub
fishing Company of Oakland, notoriously
unfair esta blishment and which has been and
Is standing menace to organized labor, as