The St. Louis Republic., 1903-01-03
Masters Refuse to Grant Demands
i and Four Hundred Men
Quit Work.
CONFERENCES OF NO AVAIL.
Journeymen Decide Not to Accept
Compromise Made by Bosses,
Which Fixed Wages at
Five Dollars Per Day.

| More than 400 union iournsyr'cn plI:nba-s
| went on a strike yesterday morning as 4
| result of the refusal of the master p.urnb-
| ers to acceGe TO their demand for u a day.
| The strike affects 200 shops members of
| ISOLATION had several conferences with COM
| mittees from the Plumbers Urion during
| the month OF December. and at Il meeting
| last Sunday morning agreed to compromise
with the union by offering them $40 Jay
| commencing January . and 81 Il day after
April /
The men employed by the seventy nine
master plumbers, who. is was stated Thurs
day. had agreed to pay the scale. are
among the strikers These masters. it is
said. refused to grant the increase yes;or-
day morning.
The strike will not last long is the opinion
of members of both sides The iJurneymen
believe that the masters will agree to pay
the s. a day scale before the 18th of the
month. The masters think that the con-
servative elements in the union Will event
ually prevail. and induce the men to accept
the master plumbers compromise PROPOSE
tion.
Both sides will hold meetings tomorrow
to consider the strike situation, and a con-
ference may be held between committees
from the masters association and the
plumbers union. Ths master plumbers will
meet at Bowman's Hall. Eleventh and Lo-
Gust streets at $50 o'clock. The journey
men will meet Sunday morning at Dru:ds
Hall. Ninth and Market streets. at 10
o'clock.
II was stated by member of the Master
Plumbers Association that unless the men
accepted the compromise proposition Sun
day II would prouabiy be WITHDRAWN: II.
w. McChesney general secretary Of the
Master Plumbers Association. stated that
If the union was successful in gaining their
rtt,tf l{n h..Nv 70 I'M f.
ference.
DEMANDS OF UNION.
| He said the union demands that no EN-
ployer can Go new work, thus rendering the
| bosses practically helpless- According to
| Mr.. McChesney a joint agreement was
reached by the Master Plumbers Associa-
| tion and the plumbers union. whereby all
| apprentices then at work We're discharged.
| This, according to Mr. McChesney, mas
/ caused scarcity of good plumbers.
At this time the bosses also granted the
plumbers q raise in wages from $3.50 a day
| - "a. These concessions were made to the
plumbers. with the express agreement that
they would not work for any employer who
was not member of the Master Plumbers
Association. Mr.. McChesney claims that this
| agreement was carried out by the Masters
| Association. but was broken two years ago
by the union.
He also states that since the agreement
| the boss plumbers have not been allowed to
| employer is not allowed to teach his own
| son the trade. This restriction the ap-
premiership system. McChesney claims, has
caused great scarcity of plumbers.
Members OF the Masters Association state
| that they will oppose the proposed increase.
claiming its acceptance would result in
l large losses by the bosses on contracts al
ready taken and figured on four-dollars-a-
day basis.
| The demand for S day was made by the
plumbers last September. the employers he
i ing given until January to consider the
matter.
| Weekly conferences were held between
| committees from the masters and union,
| In order to settle the wage question, but
| they were unable to come to terms.
Otto Morse, business agent for the union.
| stated yesterday that the masters were
| given notice six months ago that they in
| tended making a demand for s. day, to
| take effect January 2. He claims that if the
bosses lose money on contracts they figured
at "a q day it is their own fault, as they had
ample notice of the demands.
He stated that plumbers in Dallas. Fort
Worth and Ell Paso get S day, white in
Butte and Helena, Mont. they get S.. In
| Boise City. Idaho. according to his state
| ment. plumbers get $3.50 a day. In Boston
plumbers earn $3.50 a day, while in New
York and Chicago they are paid 81 a day.