Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1906-05-12

Give Their
Side.
THE MEETING.
Bosses Assured That The Build.
ing Trades Association Will
StandB By Them in The Strug
gIe Statement Drawn Up =
The ! Concessions.

At the meeting of the Building
Trades Association held in the Dana
building, Smith street, last night. it
is understood that the boss carpen-
ters were assured of the hearty sup
port of the association throughout
the present trouble with the journey
men carpenters, and that commence
ing Monday morning, If the Journey
men carpenters do not return to
work, the bosses will all don overalls
and help out the few contractors who
have work to do and are held up.
There was feeling about the city
yesterday that settlement would be
reached at the meeting of the bosses
last night. The situation was thor
oughly gone over and the bosses felt
that all attempts to settle the matter
had been one-sided, the men making
no concessions, whatever. 1t was
decided to issue a statement giving
the public their view of the situation.
The statement is as follows:
The Bosses Statement.
''The Way the Boss Carpenters
View the Strike Situation as given
out by the arbitration committee Of
the bosses: About February 1st
demand was made by the journeymen
carpenters of forty-two cents per
hour after May /, 1906. The bosses
took up the matter and carefully con
sidered it from strictly business
standpoint and decided that, owing
to building material being so high
and the general cost of building was
getting to be so that poor man
could not possibly build The boss
es are not trying to down the uniops
as long as they are reasonable, but
somebody must use little common
sense. 1t does not seem reasonable
that man who is working hard for
ten hours per day for 81 35 can pay
mechanics the wages asked for per
day for eight hours work, to build 4
him little home.
We like to see mechanics well paid
for their work, and wish to stand up
for dignity in the building trades as
far as is consistent with existing
but when the demand for
an increase was made the bosses de-
cided that they would CANT grant an
increase of twenty cents per day,
which they though was as much as
the business conditions of our city
could stand at this time. Their COM
mittee met with the committee of the
journeymen and their proposition
was refused by the union. The bosses
then advanced their offer to twenty
cents increase this year and an addi-
tional twenty cents next year. That
offer was also refused by the union.
The bosses, not wishing to bring on
a strike, as final proposition, Offer
ed twenty-eight cents increase this
year and an additional eight cents
next year, and so the matter stands
today.
Now the bosses think that they
have acted perfectly fair in the mat
ter and have met the union right
along and made the concessions as
stated above and received no conces-
sions whatever from the union. The
bosses have certainly shown dispo-
sition to arbitrate as is shown BY
their several concessions.
"The union men, in return, left
their work and during what they call
pending settlement they immediate-
ly started out to antagonize the boss
es in every way possible, even taking
and actually doing work which had
been previously contracted by boss
In view OF all that has been done 5y
the bosses to avoid trouble, the re-
suit being as it is; caused by the un-
ion not being willing to make any
concessions, therefore, the carpen-
ters' branch at meeting held last
night, being the expiration of the
time given the men to return to work
at the last offer made them, 1t was
then decided that the bosses had gone
the limit in the matter and will pro-
ceed to finish up any Jobs that are in
a hurry to be done and also in pee
sition to do all other work as usual.