The age-herald., 1902-04-29
Carpenters and Builders Still
 Differ on New Scale
TIME LIMIT EXPIRES MAY 1
Contractors State That Demands for Eight-Hour Day and 35 Gents
 Minimum Will Not 7 Be Granted. /

There will probably be a carpenters strike in Birmingham next Thursday The members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners stand firm il their demands On the master builders fol an eight-hour day at a minimum wage oi 1 35 cents an hour and the contractors dc not seem to be willing to pay the 3 | cents minimum.
 'I think the strike will be on." said ar officer of the Master Builders Associa- ticn last night. There has been no effort to have a joint conference of builders and carpenters because the latter car make no change in their demands with. 1 out a referendum vote, which means, as I understand 1t, that the matter would have to be referred to each local union here for action and the time Is now toe late.
 T will be sorry to see a strike. but do not see any way to avert it. I arf willing to agree to an eight-hour day. and I think the association would agree to that rather than have a strike, but rot an eight-hour Jay without a graded scale, and 1t seems the union will not accept graded scale.
 q talked today to an officer of one of the uniors, and I believed bim when he told me that the car 1penters would not recede from their position.
 About one-third of the contractors em- ploy non-union men. They will go right on with their work. Those of us who have been employing only union men will be put to good deal of bother and suffer some loss by strike, of course, but we expect to be able to carry on business. Non-union contractors are paying some of their best men as high as 35 cents an hour, I am told There is probably not a builder here who would not be perfectly willing to pay 35 cents to strictly first class men, but the association, I think, will be just as firm in rejecting 35 cents pressing such demand.
 "The big corporations are working their carpenters ten hours a day, and this be- ing so, I had supposed that the union men would accept our terms
 "As to how long the strike will last, as- suming that a strike will be ordered. have no idea"
 Asked about the painters, the officer of the Master Builders Association said he did not know what they were going to do. as they were employed by the sub- contractors.
 The bricklayers' and plasterers' year does not begin until June. The plasterers. so far as heard from, are making no de- mand and the bricklayers are demanding only an eight-hour day at the old wages 50 cents en hour.
 The carpenters are now getting 30 cents an hour for nine-hour day and the painters are only getting 271a, cents an hour for a nine-hour day.
 The Master Builders Association will hold an adjourned meeting at Turn Verein Hall tonight, and notwithstanding the feeling among the officers that a strike will be on at the end of this month many union carpenters expressed the be- lief yesterday that the First of May would find them at work with all points in their favor
 In the event of strike something like a thousand carpenters will be out of em' ployment, unless they can find work witt the corporations or going into the puiid' ing business on their own account.
 While carpenters are on a strike they draw weekly benefits from the brother hood-s7 for m arried men and $5 for single men The brotherhood has a member shin of 11Oo00 and the national officers have assured the Birmingham unions their hearty approval of their demands.