The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1903-05-16
EXCITING TIMES.
FOR G|RLS,UN|0NS

Girls and women in four trades have
playeq an important part In Chicago
strikes the past week. They prove
equal IN pluck and staying qualities
to the men of older unions.
The Laundry Girls Union laughs at
the predicament Of the stubborn en-
ployers. The Irvine girls hold the key
to the situation in the Deering Har-
vester Machine strike, where there
were numerous signs Of compromise
The mattresses on picket duty brought
numbers of non-union walters into
the unions, and in the Bookbinders'
strike, the women were found to be as
game" as the men.
In short, Chicago girls are leading
IN the strong new movement for union
lz1ng working women. Working wom-
en- all over the country should take ex-
ample OF their spirit and courage and
unite for decent conditions and hours
of work. Women have been too long
suffering. This is a propitious time
Tor them to stand together for their
rights, as they now have the public
sympathy, more than ever before in the
history of the country.
Hundreds of striking laundry work.
ers gathered at 206 La Salla Street,
Chicago, and whiled away the hours
dancing and singing: Over at Briggs
House the laundry proprietors met and
passed the time in joVial discussion
of the trouble.
Inc girls have many grievances and
will stand firm for their terms. The
steam laundries were all closed and the
motel laundries were in no case extern
slVe enough to do all Of their work.
Five car loads of wash were sent
to st. Louis one afternoon and other
cities also secured large consignments.
1t is understood that laundry workers
in st. Louis, Milwaukee, Racine and
other cities have decided to- accept as
slgnments and to put the laundry work
in tubs, and then to let it lie there until
the employing laundrymen in Chicago
come to the terms Of thestrikers.
Those people who have been secretly
cherlsh1ng the. hope of getting clean
collars from Chinese laundries met
with disappointment The celestials
were too few to handle a tenth Of the
offerings.
I'VE supply our customers with TO-
600 towels a week." said the manager
of the Chicago Towel Supply Com
any. "Since the strike we have been
compelled to use new towels, of which
we have only a few left. When these
are gone, unless the strike is settled,
we shall lose considerable business
The Combination, Mungers and Gar
den City supply companies each dis
tribute about $4,000 towels week.
All haberdashers are doing the busi-
ness 'of their lives. The demand is
chiefly for colored shirts, which hap
PLY are fashionable this year. There
also has been considerable impetus to
the celluloid collar trade.
1--WE are not attempting to send any
of our shirts out Of the city to be laun-
dered," said Albert Hoefield,. a shirt
maker in the. Roanoke building, "be-
cause We hope the strike will be set
Filed In few days. IN the meantime
we are delivering shirts to customers
unlaundered."
The demand for Washerwomen was
unprecedented and some received as
high as $500 day.
Coupled with the loss that has fol-
lowed the stopping of business, the
pro- members of the union in good
standing Of the above named union in
each branch Or department when pos
sible to hire them. When union help
| cannot be secured the employer may
hire outside help, with the understand.
ing that such outside help must join
the union within two weeks after be-
| ing fired.''