Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-07-16
Ask Advances in Wages That
the Iowa Central Manage
ment is Not Able to Meet
AGENT is SENT FOR
Upon His Arrival, son'e Time Next
Week, Meeting Will ,e Held With
Superintendent of Machinery and
Equipment Brooke, in an Effort to
Adjust the Differences.

The Iowa Central car men, employed
in and about the car shops of the com
pany in this city, are unable to reach
an agreement over the proposed new
scale of wages, and the settlement has
been postponed pending the arrival OF
the business agent representing the
Railway Car Mems Union of America,
of which the employees here are mem
bers. The committee tlf the men met
with the employees "Wednesday night,
concluding after q leng thy session, but
could not come to an agreement to ac-
cept what the company offers. The
committee met Superintendent of Ma
chinery and Equipment George D.
Brooke this morning, and reported the
failure to reach an agreement. Mr..
Brooke asked that the business agent
be sent for, which will be done at once.
A meeting will be arranged upon his
arrival next week
The car mems union includes several
branches OF labor, chach and freight
carpenters, coach and freight repair
ers, pain shop employees, laborers,
yard car repairers and inspectors, wood
machine hands and trick repairers. A
voluntary increase was given the more
skilled branches of the labor in the car
shops last year, but the laborerS We're
not increased at that time. Mr.. Brooke
has made an offer to raise the pay of
laborers, those now receiving S1.40 to
receive S1.50; 10 cents advance. to those
now getting $3.50; ard a similar in
crease to those receiving $1.60. This
class of labor was not advanced last
year because the men were receiving
the equivalent paid by other roads of
the Centrals class In this part of the
country. The other roads recently
have advanced the ray of the less
skilled laborers. and Mr.. Brooke is will
ing to meet the increase here. In addi-
ton to this he has signified his Wiling
ness to raise slightly the wages of
twenty-five or thirty of the skilled Ia
borers in the car shops. The work of
these is what is considered Special
and is the more artistic coach work and
painting done In the shops. The in
crease offered Will put them on ba
sis of what the other roads of the same
class are paying.
The men are insisting that whatever
raises are made must be universal, and
on a percentage basis. In other words
they do not want the wages of some of
the employees raised and others left the
same as al present. The general increase
asked is from 15 to % cents a day
The carpenters and painters are now
receiving, according to the character of
their work, from s2.55 to s210 per day,
and the freight car and truck repairers
are receiving from 50 to $1.60. The men
are citing other roaGs' increases, no.
ticeably the Missouri Pacific, south of
St Louis; the Union Pacific, west of
Omaha and including Council Bluffs,
which commands the same as points
west OF Omaha: the Santa Fe, west of
Colorado; and the Canadian Pacific,
west of Winnipeg. Mr.. Brooke con-
tends that the comparison is not fair,
because the roads are not Of the same
class, and the conditions of the portions
of the country where the increased
wages are paid are not similar as in
Iowa. On the western roads higher
wages are commanded because the cost
of living is greater, and on the south
ern roads more is paid because of the
climatic conditions, which make sick
ness more liable.
There is every reason to believe, from
what can be learned. that when the
business agent of the car mems union
arrives, and after the men have had a
few days elaboration over the matter,
they viii come to some agreement
without any trouble resulting.