The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-01
ELECTRIC WIREMEN OUT
NONE WILL REPORT TO CONTRACT
ORs FOR WORK THIS MORNING.
Cause of Strike, 1t Is Stated, Involves
Principle of ArbitratiOn-Talk
with Contractors.

The inside electric wiremen employed by
all the local contractors will not report
for work this morning, having been or
dered to go on strike by the committee
from the Electrical Workers Union having
the making of this years contract in
hand.
The contractors are at a loss to know
what the men are really striking for. w.
A. Royse, one of the contractors, said of
the strike yesterday:
1.-The men are striking to compel the con-
tractors to settle the question of what the
rate of pay shall be for next year without
arbitration. According to my observation
of labor matters it has been in the past the
custom of labor organizations to ask that
the differences, when they existed, be SUBJ
mitted to arbitration. In this case, how
ever, the men have fatty refused to sub
NIT the matter to arbitration. but demand
that we settle the wage scale directly with
their committee.
According to our present contract the
union notified us some little time ago that
they would demand a scale of 40 cents an
hour for work this year. instead of 1924
cents that we are now paying. Tuesday
night the contractors had their second
meeting with the union committee and
all the points in the contract for this year
were thoroughly canvassed and agreed
upon except the matter of the rate of pay.
When that point was reached the con-
sire to go through the troubles and losses
of a strike, that strikes were always a
cause Of loss to both sides In short. we
tion that as we had then settled all points
except the wage scale that should be SUBJ
mitted to arbitration by an impartial, nom
interested board.
LEFT FREE TO ACT.
who acted as arbitrators should be free
to act and that we would agree to abide
by their decision and pay whatever amount
the arbitrators deemed fair.
THE contractors looked upon that propo-
sition as one that was so fair that we
never had the slightest idea that it would
be rejected. In fact, believing as we do,
that we are now paying as high wages as
the business will justify we were some
what loath to make the offer to arbitrate
Such an offer has usually been construed
by the board of arbitrators to mean that
the side making ii Is willing to make some
concessions to the other side. For that
reason the contractors were some time in
reaching the conclusion that they could
afford to make such an offer.
Viewing the matter in that way, it was
genuine surprise to US when the union
committee simply scorned our offer to SUBJ
NIT the wage scale to arbitra ton and met
US with the reply, Wen not arbitrate any
thing, we strike first This was the reply
made by Mr.. Berry, president of the union
That reply very naturally was sufficient to
cause the contractors to withdraw entirely
from the meeting. Still we did not antici-
pate strike. You can imagine our sur
prise to-day when we heard indirectly that
a strike order had been issued.
Since Oct. / we have been paying jour-
neymen 321k cents an hour for an eight
hour day. From January to October we
paid 80 cents for nine hours. This scale
was the result of a strike last January,
which was settled after the men had been
out three weeks. Our first offer to the
men after they went out last January was
within one-half cent of what we finally
settled on. so that the men were out three
weeks and gained a half cent an hour on
three months time. We had been paying
% cents an hour before that. so our
offer TO them was for an increase of about
Ia per cent