The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-24
HOW SOME STRIKES START.
CAPRICE PLAYSA PART; ALSO THE
WALKING DELEGATE.

! CAPRICE PLAYSA PART; ALSO THE
WALKING DELEGATE.
When Ills whistle Blows All Quit Work
Unions Jealous OF Each Other and
WIZ Order Strikes n They Don't Get
the Work They Think Belongs tn Them.
Since the Building Trades Employers
Association has been formed the building
contractors who are It's members have
been comparing notes as to their expert :
ences during the strikes on Individual
buildings which took place since last May.
Some Of them seemed to have been ordered
through caprice. others simply to assert
the power of the walking delegates
One well-known building contractor said
yesterday
.The real cause Of the trouble at the
Hecla iron works in Brooklyn has never
been made public. The trouble started
over the iron marquise above the door OF q
large building in course of construction.
There had been a rule In the unions ny
which the structural iron workers put up
the standards and the architectural IRON
workers did the ornamental work. In this
case the work was done in a hurry. but
strictly In accordance with the canons OF
the unions.
"whenit was finished walking delegate
OF one OF the unions came around. He
jumped at the conclusion that one set OF
men did the whole work and gave whistle,
whereupon all the ironworkers went ON
strike, tying up all the work on the building.
ut took the Heola people two weeks to
find out what the strike wts about. The
representatives Of the firm then called
the walking de!eg, to before them and ex.
pllined the circumst noes to him He
acknowledged that he hid mace mistake
Then a represent tive Of the company
sid: Are you not going to put the men
back to work2' The delegate replied:
mo- they won't 60 beck to work till they
get waiting time which mes mt pay for the
period in which they h, leen on strike.
THE firm refused to 90 this, and the work
was held up. The union wanted 5000 to
nay the men who had gore on strike by
mistake for the time they hid been out.
After some time 1t WIS finally settled
for $500
Another building contractor said:
sOn one of my buildings In Fifty-third
street on one Friday or Saturday evening
was getting ready to put matters in shape
90 as to cement the floors on Monday.
wanted to lay about twenty-five or thirty
feet Of concrete 70 a. to have it ret ny
aily do this work, were busy had some
excavators and got them to do II and 1t
took them about an hour. A walking
delegate came along and gave whistle
which SIGHTED that strike was declared,
and all the people went out on strike. 1t
cost SIS to settle that strike
Another contractor said he had got into
trouble once or twice through the question
OF jurisdiction Of work between the roofers
and the sheet metal workers. The rooters
Claim the work when IL is fiat work. that
is, laying tin plates fat on a roof, and the
sheet metal workers claim the work when
1t Is upright work.
sThere was a small bulkhead, a. we call
it," he said, Ito be erected on the top Of .
house, which is little wooden affair covered
with tin, inside Of which Is the stairway
roofers at work, and got them to do it:
Next day walking delegate came around
and ordered a st ike. This strike lasted
long time and Affected every trade In the
building
he continued, shave for some time bee n
disputihg ae to which Of them should ma Ike
hole In the wall In new buildings TO admit
electrical wire g. The bricklayt rs say that
a. they lay the brick tn. y ought to me- Re
ers say that as they put the wires In through
the hole, thert fore thu y should ms ke the
hole There Is strike Of ele CT rical worke re-
on now at Fifty-frst and Fifty-@ cord
streets and Fifth avenue, because the brick
A contractor who has had several tussles
with the unions related another e1pe rienoe.
"A new fight has arisen between the sheet.
metal work. rs and the gla zitrs: We were
l., Al lNxr Ck<lu 10.
phone Building, s venteenth street and
Ninth ave. nue., and be cause the sashss we're
should do the gla zing. We ask, the m Il
they would be responsible for bres age
Of the glass and tn. j said Not on your life
We then got the glszs M to do the gla zing
and the sheet.metal workers went on strike.
They got ashamt d, however, and came
back In a short time
Another contr: ctor sf Id:
building on e Oh floor, so tn: the pli sterers
who were RI work coMd get WI ter on oh
floor. / told the elew tor m, n to put up
thu PIPE or to get the hosting man to Go
1t. After a while he G. ed me up on the
p tssRhbsns viii and sttls I Let ,s the
plumbers do it, In a short time re-
ceived another message to the effect thu t
il the plumbers cid it the SITES mfitters
would strike. ! WIS tired Of the whole
M tier ind told him to fix 1t some WY.
And don't know how the matter ended.
but there WI d no strike
well-known contractor. who is doing
some Of the work at the Vanderbilt House,
Fifty-frst street and Fifth avenue, g. i'd:
Il wanted to carry a plank across the
street. could not find the m sons la
borers--they were too busy nd I fsked
two ceilt diggers to Gerry. the pit nix cross.
There "; a gre t huhbub bout this and
I escaped strike by hiir's breath"
MONTREAL STREET.CAR STRIKE.