The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-27

try that something must be done 10 arouse .hr
people there TO a realization OF the dlsgraceiul
conditions that surround them.
THE LABOR TRUST,
Before proceeding 10 the record Of Chicago's
shame. II will be- necessary TO review briefly
the organization Of the trust that has the cty
by the throat and the conditions that have
graceful record itself The chicago building
Trades Council Is an organization incorpo-
rated under the general incorporation law ~ the
State Of Illinois on March. iI,iso?. The objects
Of the incorporation IA stated In the appllca-
ton for n license follow:
ITO promote the interests ana welfare OF all
trade and labor organizations connected there
with and 10 extend n helping hand TO such
other organizations as the said council may
direct
Under tho innocent title Of the Building
Trades Council every labor union In .liGago
that had anything 70 do with the building
business was absorbed into the trust IN
Guided among them were these The Plumbers
union. the Gasftters' rnion the Hosting
Engineers. Ln,on, The S,eamN!,ers, mon
Layers. Hod Carriers. Encans'ic. Tile Settlers,
Mosaic Tile Settlers, Carpenters, Marble cutters,
Stone Settlers. Cement LAYERS, Granite stone
ers, Plasterers, l.athers, Painters, structural
Iron Workers, Architectural Iron Workers, Jun
ior Stsamfters, Tunnel Miners. Drain Pipe
Layers. Progressive Engineers, ELECTRICIANS
md Electrical Engineers, Paper hangers,
Elevator Constructors, Gravel Roofers, Gas Fly
'nre Han9ers. Stone Caryers, Mosaic Glass Work
VIE, NlpNFtl IlflI'lN hll'i t'lnN' 'ih NV 'N'''' -
The total membership Of these, various or
gahiz,,ions was hctween 81, 40 and $500
Once the Building Trades Council was Or
| ganized it usnrped all the prerogatives Of the
individual unions and II became the ab-o-
| lute master Of everything connected with th"
building trade in the tty Of Chicago II die;
rated terms first 10 individual contractors and
individual builders. then to the great contract
ing firms that had made the city their head
quarters. and ii reached out and sought to con
troll not only everything that was done IN CHI
| cago, but everything that was done by laborers
anywhere on earth. the product Of whose labor
finally reached Chicago. For instance, stone
| cut at the other end Of the country, The Build
ing Trades Council demanded 10 know II
the men who had cut il belonged TO a particular
| union, a branch Of which was a member Of the
council If they did moi, members Of the Build
ing Trades Council were forbidden 10 work on
the building where the stone was TO be used and
as they included all the men who had ANYTHING
10 do with building. work on that building was
absolutely stopped.
This Building Trades Council regulated tn"
wages that were to be paid. regulated the num-
Der Of men that were To be- hired on each Job:
regulated the amour, Of work each man should
do, forced the EMPLOYERS 10 give holidays with
full paw. and a half holiday every saturday With
full pay. imposad fines for violations of it, rules,
dismissed its own member, for working too
hard, forced the President Of the ! nited states
Ia become a member of on" Of its branches be
fore II would permit him TO lay n cornerstone for
a Federal building, forced the City Council and
the County Council TO put IN their contracts Tor
II pif lHhl h'll' bbl lllll'I Nv ~ -
meant, Of course IT, own members, should be
employed. forced the Illinois state Legislature"
10 pass unconstilutiona law after unconStitu-
tlonal law. and displayed IN all IT. dealings an
arrogance such a. II was beyond the power or
human nature 10 stand for long II made con-
tracts agreeing that H. members should work a
certain number of hours u day for a certain
wage and then II forbid the members to do
the equivalent of more than half "A days
work. II forced the appointment OF its officers
to high public place. though in some instances
their police records included charges of larceny,
drunkenness. assault and battery and disor-
derby conduct. Contractors and busi ness men
bidding were coorCed. II there was anything
in the way of arrogant demand that I
did not make i was merely because these lead
FRS did not think of II. Protest after protest
was met by strike after strike and each strike
was accompanied, unless an instant compliance
with the demands wa, given, with bloody riots,
assaults and sometimes murders,
RtJolNpER or The CONTRACTORS.
These things, of cours', did not all exist in
the early day of the Building Trades Council.
The history of that organization is a story of
aggressivcne>- lawlesSnc-s and Arrogance
Not n month passed but some new FORM Of
coercion and oppression. either against the
employers OF labor or against "orkihgtneu. was
instituted
With az airs in the condition that has been
described and constantly growing worse. u
was necessary that sooner or later there should
come a time when some effort would ba made
To check the work of this tremendous trust
| Matters became unbeurable in the latter part
| of last wear Til. persons who had suffered
most under the tyranny Of the Building Trades
Council were. Of course. the contractors Of the
city. who invested their money in erecting the
new buildings on which these men who formed
the trust were supposed 10 earn their living
Every effort had been made Ia appease the
rapacity of the labor Leaders and had failed
Now the contractors held meetings. and finally
they formed in their turn a Building Contractors
Council. OF the arroganCrS that immed ately
preceded the uprising Of the contractors NOR"
will be told later Suffice 1t to say now
that they. formed their association. II
included me master plumbers; me master
bosses ASSOCIATION and associations Of the other
| master workmen who had attained the dignity
Of contractors,
We made up our minds. said Victor Folkr-
naU, the head Of one of IN" biggest contracting
ilrm, in the city Of Chicago, that the time had
com" when VI must either go out Of business
or must obtain control again Of oar indepen-
drncr We just reached that state az mind
| when 4 made little dun crence to Us which course
We pursued The Building Contractors Assoc
| citation held meetings and got mp m ultlmatlm
10 the Building Trades Council. The ultima
tnm stated that the rules of the Building Trades
Council had become unbearable; that the cou-
tractors were willing TO deal with individual
unions, hut were no longer wiling 10 deal with
the trust. which by means Of the sympathetic
strikes had made the carrying on Of their busl-
ness not only unprOrtabl" but impossible.
II declared that matters would have 10 be
adjusted before the first day Of January. and
if they were not. the contractors would simply
| IAAAl N'lh anu I'lhN' ~ v thlN WI A'l~
tracts or TO continue in their business,
ARBITRATION PLAN REJECTED.
Previous 10 this the architects had taken
radical action, The dealers in building material
ga that the time had arrived when strife was
inevitable and they did their best Ia patch up "A
truce. Martin II, Madd en-, the President of
tho Western Stone Company issued a letter adj
dressed To both sides asking that a Joint con-
ference be held where some form Of arhtra-
ton could De agreed upon. 4 committee Of
seven contractors and seven members Of thee
Building Trades Council and Martin b. Madden
had a conference, This conference formulated
u plan by which future differences might be
arbitrated by a board composed OF five dele
gates from the Building Contractors Council
and five from the Building Trades Council.
with power 10 call In an umpire II they could not
agree, This board OF arbitration was 10 pass
on all questions In dispute before any synpa-
thetic strike was ordered The Building Con-
tractors Council met the night after this con-
had been done. One Of the members Of the Build
ing Trades Council who was AZ the conference.
explained why the members Of the conference
from the Building Trades Council had agreed
70 the plan that the conference had formulated
Here l. his explanation verbatim,
What the hell did We CaTe2 We didn't
have any power. The unions wont agree TO
ANYTHING
their meeting as the Building Trades Council.
they called on the. committee TO make their
report on what had happened That is some
one did. Ten or twelve hawled ont, TO hell
with II. What do We want 10 hear any Of that
for'' and II wasn't read and was referred 10
the various unions. There matters rested for
one month. Then the contractors sent a letter
To the Trades Council calling their attention
10 the arbitration agreement. notifying them
that the contractors had ratified il, and demand
ing that the Building Trades Council should do
the same. " was plain that the Building Trades
Council had never Intended 10 .ratlfy II, that