Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1901-07-17
GREAT STEEL STRIKE ON
Lab"r's Titanic Struggle With the
Giant Trust Begun.
THE COMBINE REFUSES DEMANDS

| Amalga,nated Association OF steel Work
ors Obey Their Leaders, Call to Close
| Down tho Miils - Threats to Tie Up
the Entire Industry OF the Country -
Thousands OF Skilled Workers Involved
-fttSburc. Penn. After three
! days session the conference between
representatives of the American Sheet
| Steel. American Steel Hoop and Amer
| lean Tin Plate. subsidiary companies
OF the United States steel Corpora
ton. ana the General Executive Board
of the Amalgamatcd Association of
Iron. Steel and Tin Workers. ad-
| Journcd finally without reaching an
agreement. Less than an hour later
President Shaffer, of the Amalgamatcd
Association. had wired the following
order TO all the AmHlgHmatCd lodges
In the tin plate. steel hoop and sheet
steel mills of the country:
Notify your men that the mill is on
! n strike. and will not work on Mon
day. July IL
| The association numbers more than
| 100000 members. and there are soy
cral other independent labor unions
united with the big association. so
that ii Is safe TO say that 3On.OOO
Workmcn have been ordered ont on
strike because o. the failure OF the
/ conference
Tho strike is confined 10 20 sec
ton 1t effects he iron ana steel
mills of Pennsylvania. Ohio. Naha-
ma and the West alike. II is a test
/ ni strength between capital ANA labor
IN every trade allied 10 the steel in
duSily in the United States. IT can
, not. however, close all tn" Steel Trust
works. rs many are non-union. Car
ne@i"'S Homestead mills. the largest
~ tnc world. aye all non-union.
After the Adjournment OF the cor
, 80, -cc the following statement WAS
! gwen on; hT the officials of the three
companies Interested:
The conferences between tho AmoI-
Samatcd Association and the Shcc,
Hoop and Tin Plate companies failed
!" come 10 an agreement because the
Amalgamatcd Association did not re-
:cd" from it's original position, which
was That the three comnanicS inter
rSted should sign for all tho mill,
Wlthout regard rs 10 whether those
mills had in the pas bclo,i-cd to thr
Ama!%amatcd Association or not. Tho
nahuiacturcrS did not refuse their
I'%h'S 10 organize. hat. having many
men IN the mills no. in the Amalga-
mated Association who do moi wish to
become association men. claimed thcv
must respect these men in thei.
wishes. rs well rs those who are NOM
ucrS oi the association.
IN order 10 c!iccS n comnrcm.sc.
IN" manufacturers offered TO si.su for
several mills which have alwavs i'm
me past been out of the association.
no compromise was offered bv tln
| NmalGamatod Association. The Anc,.
cah Tin Plarc Company has ONLY on.
noil-union mill. They required tho
pFNHcEc to make special scale for
l"lS MN ana sign the same. This wos
'uHcl' ana the company was given
10 understand that men in all the tin
Inns would he called out. even tbourh
the scale has been signed for MI ,In
I'm mills. The privilege rcoucstnd
above would settle all differences ho.
."ecn the tin plate company and tho
aIlaigamtcd Association"
ne strlKc was not of our own
'PeklnS' said President Shaffer. "It
was forced upon us. We were nor CON
| 'HuIhE Tor wages. hut for princinln
.or self-prcscrvation We have ou,.
"rc'S thoroughly organized. ana thnro
VIII u" some surprises in store rho
NIiNH order Will toe promptly obcvcd
~ an our men. Put there will bn no
| trouble. Labor organizations h,vn
:Aahged. The Amalgamated Associotjon
not The association il was tyvcnt,
'V'rS ago not even five years a"o. Tho
i''n ar" more readily controlled In
! 'dc'' We have our men under controI :,
ASKED If the association can stand q
"n& strike. President Shafrcr said.
we have larger defense rrud
/ 'hah most of our members even SIN.
pose. We have been accI!mulatino +,
! Tor years. and we will not need ,o low.
"iy strike assessment for months
when we do We are hgppv In ,bo
! assurance that thousands of orr man
! IN thc independent plants will hn
! ready to help us. Remember we boyn
d Iad several years of prosperous times.
work has been plenty ana our men
nave paid their assessments unprud,,.
fugly" "''
ne amount of wages lost each dov
ny the present strike i'm the mills of
ne three companies is estimated ot
S2Oo'oOo to S30o.1OO or nearly S15OO-
Vf) week. The loss in 0utput to tbn
companies, all of whom hayc tbnir
products sold for months 10 come cn,.
not be estimated.
PAT" GROVE IN SOUTH AFRICA