The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-05-12
DEPEND ON DEWEY
Consolidated Men
Look to Him
for Help.
SIGNED.
Great Expenses Of the Road
This Year May Short
ten Their Hopes.

AS told exclusively in yesterdays is
sue of The Spy, the motormen and
conductors of the Consolidated Street
Railway Company are still circulating
their petition for a raise in pay, and
some of the men who have signed the
petition do not fear to state that if the
petition is ignored like previous ones,
they will go on a strike. OF course,
these hotheads are luckily in the min
GRITTY. and whatever views they express
are not given much weight with the
rest of the employees of the road.
The petition has been circulating
quietly for the past few days, and al
most all the motormen and conductors
of the road have affixed their names to
the petition, which calls for an in
crease of pay Of twenty cents per day
81 per day, where they receive but
$1.8O now. The meA regard the increase
but fair to them, as they are paid much
lower in proportion to railroad men in
other cities. The men In this city get
twenty cents per hour, while in Bos-
ton they receive 2215 cents per hour and
work ten hours a day, making their
pay 1925 and by working seven days
in the week they succeed in making
their rate of wages for the week $1575,
which is considered a good weeks pay
when compared with the $3.50 paid by
the Consolidated.
President f. H. Dewey of the COnsol-
idated was out of town yesterday. Su-
TOn, cfa Cd
that as the officials of the road had not
as yet received any petition from the
men, asking for an increase of wages,
he could not say what disposition would
be made of it, He said that when the
petition was received it certainly would
be considered, but the company was
not in the habit of crossing bridges be-
fore they were met. Mr.. Akarman
was unaware that a petition was in
circulation.
One of the officers of the local divis-
ion of the Amalgamated Association of
Street Railway Employees, said yes
terday that the petition was started, as
was the one last year and the year be-
fore without any intention to intim
idate the officers of the Consolidated
but simply as the request of an in
crease in the rate of wages paid the
motormen and conductors of the road.
The men realized thatsthey had a bet
ter opportunity this year to have their
request granted than any previous
year.
The new president of the road is con-
sidered the fairest man that ever held
that position, and the men look for
ward to his acquiescing to their re-
quest.
The road has always paid 20 cents an
hour for nine hours labor. At the time
the road changed its motive power
| from horses to electricity the men made
request for a shorter day and were
given what they desired, nine hours a
day. Since then for ele past three
years the men have requested an in
| crease in wages. They have presented
petition in writing to the officials of
the road each year, which has not as
| yet been granted. The best of feeling
exists between the officials Of the road
and the men and the latter have never
made any fuss over their request not
being granted.
This year the men think that the
earnings of the road have been suffi-
cient to allow them an increase in
wages and therefore haveSmade their
request. Even if Mr.. Dewey thinks
that the request should not be granted,
the men expect that he will give them
some concessions.
1t is thought probable that the usual
expense that road has been put to the
past winter because of the severity Of
the storms and the great expense of
carting away the snow will tend to
make their request impossible to grant.
Then the road is branching out into
the country and the expense of the con-
struction of the new roads ON Institute
road and Pleasant street is costing the
road a great deal-of money. These rea-
sons are liable to be put forward as
the cause of the refusal of the mems
request. The men are hopeful of gain
ing their point however, and await the
action of President F. H. Dewey in
regard to the matter
They say that their request is not
too great for the road to stand. The
men now get but $3.50 per day and have
to work every day in the year in or
der to make decent pay. In other
cities the conditions are better than in
Worcester as the men get on an aver
age $500 per day. OF course the ma
jority of the cities have their men
working ten hours a day but that is
not such a hardship. In Boston the
men get a good weeks pay and in
Springfield the pay is greater than here.
In Springfield the men have to start
on the pay of s1.75 per day and when
they get a regular run they receive
$500 per day. A man goes on duty if
he is ordered to when he is subbing
and he gets his weeks pay whether he
runs one trip or twenty In this city
the men are paid for the number of
hours they work. The men would be
well satisfied to receive the rate of
wages paid in Boston 221s cents
an hour, which would make their
wages something about S225 per
day. The spare men in this city are
not signing the petition which is to be
presented to the president of the road