The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-08
THREATEN BIG STRIKE
Employees of Telephone Com
pany at Butte Are Out.
MAY EXTEND TO UTAH
Trouble Is ALI. OVER A NON
UNION WORKMAN.
(spectaI ID ~ Heralh.l

Butte, Mont, Aug 7-AII the members
OF the United Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers in the employ OF the Rocky
Mountain Telephone company at Butte
are on a strike ard threaten 10 call out
their men all over the system in Montana,
Idaho, Wyoming and Utah unless the
company comedies their contentious. The
trouble arose over the employment by
the company of a man named Reed, who
was not member of the union, but who
applied for admission and was rejected on
tue sround that he was not competent
workman. They demanded that he be
discharged ard the company refused to do
so, and the issue was raised whether the
union should dictate To the company and
pass upon the competency OF workman
employed by the company and with whose
work the company is satisfied The union
Claimed the right and the company de-
MED.
Reed quit work and left the country
OUT tie strikers refused to so back 10
work unless tne company recognizes their
right 10 pass on the competency Of a
man with whom they are to work. The
company got several new men from dlf-
ferent points to take the places of the
strikers, but they We're inundated by the
strikers and they quit work. Extensive
construction ana repair work under Way
has been stopped, and the union threatens
20 involve the entire system in the west
unless the company yields quickly.
When the above was submitted to
George Y. Wallace, the president Of the
telephone company, last evening, he said:
THAT Is very true statement OF the
troubles at Butte. Neither myself, Mr.
Murray nor Mr.. Summers, the Superin-
tendent of the Montana division, has the
least objection TO union men. on the con-
trary We all ather favor union men. But
we do insist that we must pass upon the
competency and the ability of the men
whom we employ, and this prerogatVe we
cannot surrender 10 any man or any or
gdnlZatiOn. We wish to be perfectly reas-
enable in the matter; We are perfectly
willing to employ union men, but do in
sist that We must pass upon the compe-
tency of the men in our employ, and We
cannot see how we can reCede from that
position.
The strike at Butte is due. I think. to
local misunderstanding. and when 1t Is
taken up by the local union to its head
quarters | am sure that our position viii
be endorsed. This man Reed was in the
employ of our company for two months !;
he was good worker and we were
pleased with him. But the union men OBJ
jected to him because he was not a union
man. He then applied to the union Tor
membership and was refused, and hnaliy
quit the company and went away. Then
the union took the position that 1t must
pass upon the competency OF every man
before he entered our employ. To that we
objected, and the union must recede from
its position in this matter, because we
cannot"
Mr.. Wallace said that the trouble at
Butte was having no effect here, and
that he did not look for q general strike,
because the men at Butte were not reaS-
enable in their demands. The trouble
there was delaying work somewhat, and
the company was prevented from doing
work that it was anxious to 90. Aside
| from that there was no inconvenience
from the strike.
Mr.. Wallace said further that this effort
of the Butte linemen seemed like making
a mountain out of a molehiIl. The idea
of eight or ten men in Butte trying to die
tate a policy for a system that covers 500
square miles Of territory seems utterly
absurd.