Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-07-13
A GENERAL STRIKE
Meat Packers OF Seven Cities
Go Out For More Pay.
WILL AFFECT. THE WHOLE COUNTRY

=.
Trouble Started In Chicago and Was
Followed Ont of Sympathy by
Men and Women InsPacIxfng
Plants at other Points.
CHICAGO, July 1s.--The strike in
the great packing plants of the coun-
try is on and a meat famine and i'm
mediate advance in prices are looked
for.
Over $4,000 workers are affected by
the strike order, and 5000 in Chicago,
Is, 800 in Kansas City, 5000 in Omaha,
$500 in East st. Louis, 1900 in ST.
Joseph, Mo, $500 in Fort Worth, $500.
In New York, 1,15o In ST. Paul and
1,40O in Sioux City have gone out OF
will shortly quit work.
Al New York dispatch says that all
the $500 members of the National
Meat Cutters and Butchers union EN-
ployed in the New York branches of
the big western packing houses will
quit work this morning This action
was determined on at a meeting of
delegates Of twenty-five locals of the
organization held last night. There
are 1000 members Of the union In that
vicinity
The men who will strike are the
butchers and helpers in the establish
ments of Swift & Co., the United
Dressed Beef company, Armour & Co.,
the Schwarzschild- Sulzberger company
and the 'boxers" wits Nelson, Morris
& Co. and the Cudahy Packing COM
pany.
AS an effect of the strike of the enn-
pIoyees of the principal packing houses
advanced half a cent a pound yester-
day.
If the strike continues there will be
further increases. A meat famine at
New York may be the consequence if
there is any protracted struggle.
The strike is the result Of a stubborn
disagreement, chiefly over wages for
unskilled labor. and will be the most
extensive in the history of the meat
packing industry of the United States.
II prolonged the strike Is expected to
cause widespread inconvenience, pos
sfbly equaling the anthracite coal
famine of two years ago.
The unahimity of the strike is COM
plete. More than As 1000 employees are
directly involved In Chicago alone
Is, 600 men are on strike
Arthur Meeker of Armour 6 Co. said:
1--WE consider the demand of the
union for an advance in wages Of I'M
skilled labor entirely. unwarranted by
industrial ceIditions. We could not
concede fttand proposed to submit the
question to arbitration, which the
union declined and called strike at
all our plants. Every department is
kept running, however We have had
applications from hundreds Of unem-
ployed men for positions at less wages
than we have been paying and every
day expect to increase our output"
President Michael Donnelly, the
strike leader, said:
ST wish to make it clear that we are
not fighting for an increase OF wages
but against decrease.
"Out original demand was for a
minimum of 20 cents an hour for labor
ers. This demand was amended after
our second conference with the pack
ers in June.
1--WE then agreed to d scale OF 1915
cents an hour, except in Omaha and
Sioux City, where the scale is 10 cents.
The packers, on the other hand, re-
fused to pay more than 1T1a cents an
hour and declined to sign any agree
ment at all except with small pro-
portion of the workmen.''
yoe% +I1r< I,x,,.x@ ~-~sil
be out until near midnight. One hun
dred girls employed in Nelson, Morris
& Co.'S label department struck in
sympathy.
Many thousands Of men who did not
strike are compelled to be idle in the
various cities.
While the strikers were passing out
of the gates of the packing plants wo-
men, children and other sympathizers
congregated and shouted encourage
ment
Although no definite arrangements
have been made by any Of the packers
for the hiring of nonunion men, five
car loads of cots are distributed among
the various plants.
The stock yards commission houses
at once began wiring to all shipping
points, advising cattle men to hold
their stock until further notice.
The packers say there is fresh meat
enough in Chicago to last about ten
days.
New men will not be employed for
ten days, so the police profess not to
expect trouble for that time.
The butcher workmen demand a
minimum wage of 20 cents an hour
for common labor and that the wages
Of the skilled workers should be equal
, lied In each branch of the trade.