Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-06
STRIKERS GAINING GROUND
Five Restaurant ProprietOrs Sign the
scale, but Transfers All
Ont Yet.

-
Five restaurant. keepers have signed
the union scale and it was stated at the
walters headquarters yesterday that a
number Of other contracts have been
made out on application Of rro-
prietors ready to be signed up. The
bakers have secured additional concessions
from their employers and now over half
their men are back at work. Their total
number is seventy, besides the twenty or
so nonunion men, some OF whom are max
ing application to get into the union. The
teamsters, who control the situation, have
secured no further concessions, and failed
to reach terms of settlement after a con-
ference with a committee Of transfer men
at the Henshaw hotel Monday night. The
one point that prevents an agreement is the
demand OF the teamsters that their en-
ployers serve nc firm or individual who has
been declared unfair by Central Labor
union. This is the pivot on which the whole
strike movement now engaging the atten-
ton Of Omaha turns. The fight has re-
solved itself down to nothing more or less
than recognition or nonrecognition of
unionism.
The teamsters and restaurant workers are
keeping their picket gangs at work day and
night. The latter succeeded Monday night in
u6dul0k VII n GREAT uedl OF Supplies GOING
into unfair places and the teamsters are
successful m establishing a pretty thorough
blockade. The teamsters have fitted IN
office headquarters at ia North Fifteenth
street, telephone -2517, and are transacts7e
a big volume Of business from that T ,
Business Agent Crews and Secretary 4.
cox, with a number of assistants, are kep,
busy answering demands made on them for
teams and men. The completeness of the
tie-up as effected through the teamsters'
strike may be guessed by standing in tina,
office for fifteen minutes and WITNESSING
the numerous demands. Yesterday tbe
telephone was kept in constant use. Firmt
and individuals an over the city were plead
ing for teams to haul a trunk or "delive,
a box from the depot" or do this or that.
Principal Warehouse Of the high school
came in person to get the permission OF the
union to have teams deliver coal at the
school building. Mr.. waterhouse said
there was not, more than three days sup.
ply Of ceal on hand and. he appealed to- the
strikers on the grepnd that they were
patrons, of the .scho9l and were directly in
terested. But Mr., Waterhouse was in
formed that that EFFICIENCY did not change
the principle of unf6nism and the issues Of
the present strike and unless he could get
his coal delivered through the one coal firm
that had signed the scale nothing could be
done.
Relative to the Drain Layers union goinl
out, Len Steinbach. secretary Of the union
says: 1.-TWO Of the master plumbers have
already signed the scale and twenty-sever
refuse to sign. They base their refusal Il
sign on the ground that they are now pay
ing % cents per day more for eight hours
work than the gas, water works and cleo.
trio light companies are paying for ter
hours work. In reply we wish to STATE
that the aforesaid laborers never go dowI
into the ground lower than five feet, whil'
we have to go down from FIVE to thirt!
feet, and have no foremen to oversee th'
work, and we have consequently to taxi
all the responsibility on our own shoulders
In many Instances the master plumber
get paid for journeymen plumbers wages
while the drain layers do the work and &c
only laborers' pay. In Free & Wicker
hams plumbing shop the 1ourneymei
plumbers have walked out in sympath!
with the drain layers and refuse to worl
with nonunion men. 1t is not our wag'
scale, but we are fighting for the per
petuity Of our organization, which the mas
ter plumbers are determined to break up
We are now getting rs cents per hour, bu
ask for 80 cents"