Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-01
ORGANIZED LABOR AFFAIRS
Teamsters Decide at Late Hour Not to
Hitch Up Today.
RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES VOTE TO STRIKE
Portion of Carpenters Decide 20 Cease
Labor, while Brewers, street
Car Men and others Take
Opposite Action,

/
come idle today in Omaha as the result Of
action taken last night by various labor
unions. These men apportioned as
follows: $50 among the teamsters, 500
restaurant and hotel workers and $50 car
penters. The Team Drivers union declared
a strike on every employer in the city who
had not signed the scale proposed by the
union; the restaurant and hotel men, In
cluding the walters, cooks and helpers, de-
cided to strike on refusal of their employ
ers to accede to the unions propositions,
and all the carpenters employed by con-
tractors refusing to sign the scale took
similar action. The total number OF team
sters is between !, 300 and 1,40O, OF restau-
rant and hotel men about $50 and car
penters 400.
The teamsters are said to hold the key to
the labor situation just now and upon their
action rested the course OF other unions,
but at the same time people who are ad-
dicted to the eating habit doubtless will be
inclined 10 attach considerable Importance
to the strike of the restaurant men. or
the thirty-two restaurants in the city, but
three had signed the scale up to
last night. The hotels are not i'm
mediately and directly affected by this |
strike, although they may be drawn into 1t
later or made to suffer some Inconvenience
II the teamsters' strike is prolonged The
only hotels that employed white union /
labor were the Schlitz and the Dellone and
the latter today goes out Of the dining room
business entirely placing it's trade on the |
European basis altogether.
TeRmstern Have Long Session.
The teamsters continued their meeting !
past midnight. finally reaching a decision |
that there was nothing left for them to do |
but strike, as the majority Of their en- ]
ployers had turned down their proposition |
According to Business Agent J. e. Crews. |
the concerns affected are; Omaha Mer-
chants Express and Transfer, Johnson !
Bros. Transfer, Expressmens Delivery, |
| Fred Bush Transfer. McAulley Express, !
Miller Transfer. Omaha Transfer. all the
! coal companies except one. all the graders
except Kracht & Morrissey, and all the
building material concerns and the de-
partment stores. The Bennett company
and possibly others may sign-though it is
! not certain--today. All the fee companies
have signed the scale. as also have the
| Omaha Van and Storage company and the
H. G. Dunn Transfer and Express company.
The teamsters meet again this afternoon
| at o'clock at Grand Army of the Republic
hail. ia North Fifteenth street.
/ Last night was one OF the busiest In
Labor ciFctes that Omaha has known har a
long time. The walters and allied unions,
freight handlers, teamsters, Building
Trades Council, street car men and brewery
workers all held meetings. which hung
serious consequences. The restaurant and
hotel unions decided on a strike in all the
restaurants OF the city, save three, which
had signed up the scale; the brewery
workers secured a settlement with their
employers all the building trades. except
part of the carpenters, found 1t possible
to avoid the necessity of striking; the
freight handlers decided to wait awhile
and the street car men disposed Of their
troubles without involving themselves any
further.
Pass Up President smith.
All there was to the street car mems
affair was a vote on whether H. G. Smith,
their president, who was discharged by the
company recently, should be supported, or
whether the company should be upheld.
The men voted to stand by the company
by 227 to 112, allowing MIR. Smith TO take
care of his own case. The company gave
| as it's reason for letting Smith out that he,
as motorman, was responsible for too many
accidents. Some Of Smiths friends charged
that this was pretense and the real rea-
son was that Smith was president OF the
union.
walters Case Serious.
The walters strike presents a serious
aspect unless an early adjustment can be
arranged The walters themselves number
about 300 or a little more and with their
allied unions they number nearly 600.
There are thirty-two restaurants in the
city and only three had signed the scale
up to last night, when the business agent
of the walters union was seen. These we're
Billy Huston's, the Denver and the Blue
Front. The Barker hotel signed the scale
all through. The situation looks like a
complete tie-up of the restaurants, none
of the larger ones having signed up with
the men. The One Minute restaurant pro-
prietor, John Halpin. last night paid of
all his men and decided to close his place
this morning until matters are settled
He will take advantage OF the spell to do
some repairing. Mr.. Halpin and his men
parted In a friendly manner and the pro-
prietor, while unwilling to sign the scale,
said they had not talked strike matters.
what the Walters Want.
AS was said the walters asked no raise in
wages, but simply a six day week. In de-
manding six days a week, or sixty hours
week. for their. female members they point
out that this is nothing more than the law
Of the state provides The men appear
firm and would seem that unless there is a
yielding on the other side some people in
Omaha are either going hungry or must
besiege the hotels for a while at least
Considerable feeling was aroused over the
action OF the Commercial club in discharg-
J ing its FIVE union walters and employing
colored nonunion men. The walters ascribe
this to the claim that the Business Mems
association dominates the Commercial club
and is opposing all union men.
brewery workers Win.
AS TO the brewery workers. they de-
, manded eight hours q day instead Of nine
and got II as the result OF a conference
with their employers yesterday afternoon.
They also got concession for 40 cents an
hour overtime and SO cents overtime for
) the drivers who work nine hours a day.
Part of Carpenters Out.
At the meeting of the Building Trades
council the only members who decided on
. strike we're the carpenters that are en-
ployed by contractors who refuse TO sign
2 the scale. The number Of these carpenters,
3 according to Business Agent Stevenson, is