The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-09
TRY To UNI0NIZE
CITY EMPLOYEES
Team Drivers Plead For Higher
Wages and Preference.
TANKNEN DESTROY GATES
MONEY FOR STREET SWEEPER
AND FIRE APPARATUS.

/ A
/ 1T WAS urged upon the city council
| committees on municipal laws,
streets and finance last evening by
a delegation from the local Team
Drivers union that only union men be
employed to drive city teams 1t was
also suggested that utter May Is the
wage for man and team be 81 per day,
except for drivers or sprinkling carts,
whose compensation ought to be fixed
at $3.50 daily for eight hours work. In
support Of the proposition President
! Spiking Of the union, Delegate Strick-
/ land from the Federated Trades, Ed
| Harmon and w. H. Alfred addressed
/ the meeting.
/ The points made by the speakers
/ were that the expense Of maintaining
teams had increased enormously on ac-
/ count Of the advanced prices of hay.
/ grain and blacksmithing work. and,
/ moreover, that the cost Of living had
! also risen very percepJibly within re-
/ cent months.
/ On the question Of unionizing the city
teamsters, the delegates submitted that
/ it would be only an act Of fair recOgni-
/ ton Of the entire body Of organized
| labor.
Delegate Strickland further urged
! that with this concession made. all dan
/ ger Of strife between members of the
/ Federated Trades and employers dur
/ ing the remainder of this year would be
/ avoided, because all other classes of
/ wage earners who have had grievances
! have secured satisfaction for their de-
! mands.
Will Be No Preference.
The question Of whether the munich
palty ought to employ only union
/ teamsters was soon disposed Of by City
/ Attorney Nye. in response to a ques-
ton, stating that it would be imprudent
for the city as a governmental body TO
/ give preference to any member of the
union or to refuse employment to any
/ citizen taxpayer because he did not be-
! long to the union. This sentiment was
! concurred in by the coUncilmen pres
emit
As to the effect Of the granting of the
| request to increase the wages Of the
! city teamsters 50 cents a day. It was
/ shown that on an average fifteen teams
| are employed by the city departments,
! exclusive Of the sprinkling wagons.
which, through the summer, require
/ forty-five teams.
The matter was temporarily disposed
| Of by referring the wage question to
the street supervisor and the superin-
! tendent Of street sprinkling for recon-
mendation.
Buying Expensive Apparatus.
A fair example OF the destructive ten
/ denotes Of negligent city employees was
| presented to the committee on munich
pal laws by Superintendent Hines in a
/ communication setting forth that the
/ intake gates installed early in January
above the high line tank in City Creek
canyon by Engineer Kelsey are imprac-
/ ticable of operation. The superintend-
ent suggested that the gates be remod-
eled, as il is impossible to lower them.
Believing that Superintendent Hines
intended to cast an UncOmplmentary
reflection upon his department. En-
! gineer Kelsey investigated the matter
and then took the members Of the COM
mittee up the canyon TO see for them
selves that the trouble was with the
tankmen. Last night the sUperintend-
ent left the meeting early. declining to
remain while the engineer defended
himself.
Engineer Kelsey said that the gates
were substantial of approved design
and adapted to the needs intended but
.
lower them periodically and to keep the
screws oiled. Instead when the gates
lowered with difficulty. the men used
sledge hammers to drive them down.
thus running the machinery and making
1t impossible to move the gates.
The committee voted to direct the
/ engineer to put the gates I'm proper
order again and 10 instruct Superfn-
tendent Hines 10 see to # that the
tankmen do not misuse the machinery.
To Spend More Money.
The street committee voted to rec
ommend the purchase Of a new street
sweeper at a cost Of 1855. It was evil
dent to the committee that the sweeper
VIII be required before the street paw
ing now in progress is completed
The same committee favored the
granting Of the petition Of ]. {. Lynch
and others for the crawling Of West
Temple street from Sixth to Ninth
south at cost of $500.
The committee on FIRE department de-
cided TO recommend the purchase Of a
modern hook and ladder truck at a cost
of S4,500. the machine to be delivered
in August and paid for at the end Of
the year. The finance committee Is
associated with the fire committee in
the consideration Of this matter. and
it is thought the majority Of the finance
committee viii oppose the purchase be
cause Of the City's distressed financial
condition.
During the brief consideration given
by the committee on municipal laws to
the form Of contract proposed to be
entered into with the canal companies
10 permit them to share in the city's
J appropriated right 10 raise and lower
the level of Utah lake and to bind the
city 10 take part in the pumping
scheme, il developed that there was
deadlock. Fernstrom and Spence ia
vOred reporting TO the council that the
contract be made, while Vigus and
Robertson took a negative position.
motion TO defer further consideration
until just before the council meets next
Tuesday evening was lost by the same
tie vote
The committee on sanitary regula-
tons decided 70 recommend the sdop-
ton Of Eardley's resolution directing
the health department TO revive the
custom Of removing ashes and dry
garbage from the front Of homes in the
residence districts at public expense.