The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-04-22
STRIKE AT THE
MURRAY SMELTER
Employees Refuse to Work Be-
cause Demand for Raise
Is Refused.
1900 MEN MAY BE IDLE
STRIKERS ARE QUIET AND TROU-
BILE is NOT ANTICIPATED.

Eighty blast furnace employees at the
American Smelling & Refining COM
pany's plant in Murray went on strike
yesterday morning when the company
refused to increase their wages % cents
per day. Five out of the eight fur
naces at the smeIter were shut down
yesterday and superintendent Norton
was unable to secure men to replace
the strikers. All the men connected
with the blast furnaces in front, in
Guiding tapperS, Switchmen, shelters
and yardmen walked out. The en-
pIoyes behind the furnaces refuse to
take the places of the men in front.
Unless the furnaces are started up
today about l 800 men will be thrown
out Of work at the smelter. Superin-
tendent Norton believes that enough
men can be secured, hOwever. to keep
the furnaces in operation anu chat the
strike will have little effect on the reg
Ular daily output.
UItimatum Given Wednesday.
The petition asking for a raise of
% cents per day was written out and
properly signed Wednesday morning.
1t was sent to superintendent Norton
the same day giving the company until
Saturday morning to post a notice of
concession at the office previous to the
going on of the o'clock shift. The no
ing and the day shift refused to go to
work. About 3 o'clock the afternoon
shift lined up in front Of the Smelter
ready to go to work superintendent
Norton came out and asked them to
go to work but said that the raise
could not be granted them at that time.
The morning shift came off and the af-
ternOOn shift faced right about and
walked down the hill with them. The
strikers on the morning shift stood out
in the street and when the afternoon
shift struck they threw their hats in
the air and cheered them.
The strike is said to be the result
of a raise given to the Greek and Ital-
ian furnace men a short time ago.
The foreigners received S1.95 per day
and petitioned the company for an in
crease of % cents per day. The COM
pany granted the increase which
brought their wages up to the amount
paid the American blast furnace en-
plOyeS. In view Of this 1t is said the
other employees asked for an increase
Of % cents per day, making their
wages $2.45 per day instead of 81. 20
The strikers claim that the American
Smelling & Refining company pays the
lowest wages of any of the smelling
companies and that the work is just
as hard.
Late Shift Goes to Work.
The II o'clock shift went to work last
night without any trouble. A full shift
was put to work last night and two
more of the furnaces will be fired up
1t is possible that the strike will close
down about three of the furnaces until
other men can be secured, and it is
likely that 300 or 400 men working in
other parts of the smelter will be laid
off today.
The strikers were quiet last night
and it is said have not asked the other
smelter men to strike with them. City
Marshal Michael Mauss does not an
ticipate any trouble and it is possible
that the wage scale will be agreed
upon in the course of a day or two.
The Italians, Greeks and Austrians
who struck for a raise of % cents per
day at the Bingham Consolidated
Mining & Smelling company a week
ago have left Bingham Junction. Most
of them went to Idaho, where they Sc
cured work on a ditch through the en-
!. LII