The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1901-07-26
PEACEFUL STRIKE
Dock Builders Refuse to Con-
tinue Work on Bremen
Piers.
CONTRACTORS ARE PLEASED
They Say They Have Been
Saved the Trouble of
Laying Off Men.

There was no especial trouble at the
new piers of the Hamburg and Bremen
docks in Hoboken, this morning, where
a strike Of the dock builders has been
in progress since last Monday. No men
have taken the union mems places and
everything seems to be going along QUIET
~ in the neighbortfood. There is not the
slightest sign of the trouble which a Ho-
boken paper yesterday tried to make out.
There are about four hundred and fifty
men out on strike. 1t is said on good
authority that the work of building the
three new piers will not be resumed for
at least two months as the work done is
that far ahead of schedule time. One
reason why concessions will not be made
to the men is that the contractors have
not the material to go on with the build
ing of the piers. They are Handicapped
and they are glad to have the men on
strike until they can get the material.
The Dock Builders Protective Associa-
ton of New York is the union to which
three-quarters of the men on strike be-
long, there being no union in Hoboken,
and the remaining strikers are Joining
daily. James Daily, a delegate of the as
sociation, said this morning: "It is i'm
possible for the contractors of the build
ing of the piers to get men to take the
strikers places. They are striking for
their rights. They are members of the
New York union and should receive the
same scale and hours as their fellow
union men,
When asked what that was lie replied,
well, the men in New York after q
three weeks strike for s. day and eight
hours for a days work won, and these
men want the same. but they are will.
ing to make some concessions to the con-
tractors. We are ready to meet them in u
spirit of fairness, and concede to them
many things. We had an unsuccessful
conference yesterday with the Stats
Brothers, the contractors of the three
piers, but we stand prepared to meet
them again to arbitrate the matter.
Now. the main principle upon which
the men went out on strike is that Mr..
Stats is substituting ordinary labor for
mechanical labor and CHASING all as me-
chanics, which means that he is taking
three men to do one ordinary dock build
er's work. This evil is the result of the
percentage on total.
"Pier No. 8, I believe on this system.
cost the sum of s75O,oOO. Three ordinary
docks of the same dimensions in New.
York can be built for this sum at the
union scale of wages, as the estimate of
Pier A in that city will show.
1.-THE strikers are behaving themselves
in an orderly manner and they will not
make any trouble as some of the papers
have said they would. They will keep
away from the docks until a settlement
is reached"
Mr.. Harry Moorehouse, superintendent
for the Stats Brothers, said that the firm
would not concede anything to the men
just now as the work on the piers was
so far ahead and the material was being
delayed. 1T is just as well for the firm"
he said, "as it was their intention to lay
a number of the hands off on this ac-
count
Chief of Police Donovan when inter-
viewed this morning said that the men
were very quiet lot of strikers and that
he feared no trouble at all from them.
1t is said now aat the contractors will
let the strike continue until October /,
when it is expected that they will receive
the necessary material to complete The
dock. and then concede the strikers de-
mands.
The strikers quarters at present are
located at Kempens Hotel, River street
and Hudson Park. The men were work
ing ten hours day and receiving 81, al
though they should have been receiving,
they claim, $3.50. They now demand from
s2.15 to 49, and nine hours to constitute a
days work.