The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-01-31
STRIKE At POST OFFICE
DISTRIBUTING CLERKS REFUSE
TO WORK EXTRA.
They Demand Extra Pay for Overtime.
Five Men Walk out Yesterday-Dis-
trbution Conducted Under Difficulties

/ Uncle Sans customs bureau had to
come to the rescue of his post Office bu-
reau this morning. Collector Stackable
supplied Postmaster Oat with men to
help with the mail, the post office men
/ having gone on strike. John w. Short,
Kelly Brown, Inspector Miller and
/ other custom house employees went to
the post office and helped to distribute
mail and to get the mail ready for the
/ Zealandia.
Postmaster J. NJ. Oat, Postal Inspec-
] tor in Charge Robinson and Superin-
/ tendent of Railway Mail Service Carr
are very busy men today. In fact it
/ is the busiest time they have known
since they We're promoted to admins
trative posts in the postal department.
/ From bosses they have descended now
F.. to mere clerks and the way they have
/ been working the mail is a revelation
to the younger and supposedly more
alert subordinates.
All of the trouble arose over the re-
fusal of five distributing clerks to re-
turn to work this morning. They
marched out of the office last evening
at o'clock and they failed to report
this morning for duty. The strike is
therefore still on and i'm consequence
the various heads of departments have
had to take off their coats and pitch in
to do the work of their younger days
That the post office will be badly Grip
pied for few days is certain but that
the trouble will soon be righted is
equally positive.
The principal cause for complaint
upon the part of the employees
is the demand that they work
overtime to distribute mail. They
assert that they have done this work
for the past six months without COM
plant But in as much as this is the
only post office under the control of
! the United States where the men are
required to perform this extra service
they declined to continue. On the other
hand this claim is denied by Postmas-
ter Oat who asserts that the postal
department is conducted on the prin-
cipal that the wishes of the public in
receiving it's mail at the earliest possi-
BILE time must be the first considera-
| tion. Other post offices work until all
the mail is distributed, he says even
thought they have to perform extra
work and there is no reason why sim
liar work should not be done by the
Honolulu force.
Fred. Handbook who had charge Of
the general delivery window, together
/ with four of the distributing clerks
, constitute the force of strikers. Short
ly after 6 O'Clock yesterday afternoon
when the office windows We're closed
for the regular hours, Handbook and
; the others waited upon Postmaster
Oat and informed him that they would
! not return for work in the evening un-
less they were given extra pay for the
! extra hours. They stated that they
considered it an imposition that they
should be required to work extra time
without compensation.
Mr.. Oat was thunderstruck but he
replied that whenever any employees
refused to obey his orders they could
consider themselves as discharged and
| n mo hpf nf hn taI
There were no harsh words spok-
en-. The strikers accepted the situa-
tion and walked sway and remained
away this mornins. Mr. Oat and the
balance of the fore set to work to get
out the rest of the mall which arrived
yesterday
Between 90 and 100 sacks of papers
, had to be distributed, the letter mail
+ having fortunately been disposed OF
, yesterday, before the strike occurred
! Mr.. Oat stated this morning that the
strikers would under no consideration
be reinstated and he proposed to supply
. their places as fast as possible. Two
, new men were secured in the morning
2 and while not well cOnversant with the
. work they contributed somewhat tC
= tighten the labor of the rest of the
: force.
The kick of the men on strike has two
q heads First, being made to work over
,
o preston of w. A. Robinson, the posta
/, inspector. They say that Mr. Robin
4 son is exceedingly severe in his criti
: cism and never has a good or kline
h word for anyone in the office
d Norman Orme, the former Rough
t Rider, despatch clerk and one of the
= men to walk out, says ''They told u!
J., that If we would not work overtime
e without pay they would get somebody
4 else who would. We have given then
{ the chance to do it, and that is all there
f is about it. Yesterday we had already
worked all of the day, and when or
3 dered back to work at night Withou
. pay We thought matters were going to-
far. Objection was also made to th
manner in which the order was giVel
by Mr. Robinson. 1t was more like
command of an oVerseer to Chimes
coolies than the instruction of superi
= or to men who are equally anxious will
n him to do everything possible to pro
> mote the public convenience.
! "The departure of the men from tn
: office did not seriously cripple the office
as, by roping in a few men from up
y stairs, they will have force enough I
get along well, In a short time 1 pre-
sumo our places can be filled wit
satisfactory men.
80 far as l am personally concern
Il ed my action was purely protes
n against injustice. No where else in tn
a United States, so far as | know, ar
n post office clerks required to work da
= and night. We have done it withou
murmur for six months and have neve
received thanks for it. That is ALL
Withal, the strike is more seriou
than it looks on its face, The men tha
s. walked out have been the distributor
i of mail, and were about the only clerk
s. of the department. that knew the tow
and the boxes. The force called frol
the other Offices of the department thi
morning TO distribute papers coul
is stamp the mail all right but when
3. came to arranging them i'm their prC
r per boxes, they We're as much at Sc
,e as a rank outsider would be. For il
stance, I'm the boxes of business house
through which many clerks receiN
mail there was almost hopeless COZ
fusion. Mr.. Oat worked Industrious
~ and proved the balance wheel to Il
Ia disordered office