The Washington times., 1906-11-23
Unions Committee Lays
Demands Before Com
pany's New York
Official Today.
ASKS FOR HIGHER PAY
AND BROADER POLICY
Local Officials Express Will
ingneSS to Confer With
Their Employees at
Any Time.

II have the authority from this
local to request our friends to
avoid working for the Postal here
tin some relief j. given from the
impOsitiOns now exercised by some
of the ignorant and incompetent
authorities
This paragraph dated Washing
ton. d. C., November 4, and signed
w" is in communication printed
in the Commercial Telegraphers'
Journal. setting forth at length the
grievances telegraph operators are
alleged TO have against the local
Office of the Postal Telegraph Com
Pany.
Ir is hacked un uy a statement made
Dog ". 81 Patton president ul ho
trlcsraru,rs' local union. No. "a that
unless tlc evils complained ot are ao0.-
.-.cI. fha operators working Tor the
Postal elu 2u on strike
a committee OF three, consisting OF W
A. rattou. w ~. Beattie and f. NJ
Canada, left this city last night for New
Ya~k, where today they VIII meet w
D., Baker. vice president and general
manager OF the Postal and lay before
hil their claim that the operators in
tho lo-a. Postal edices should De grant
ca tae following concessions
Concessions Asked.
-s An fncrraso of salary Of 10 per
cent an along the line.
\ minimum monthly salary OF s+u-
& dfteeu-miuuJe relief in the fore
nom rurTTE minutes for ILEtl. ana 4
ffteen-minutc relief In the afternoon.
y nnr-hpur day
4 cessation of tho practice OF the
0fnce employing operators IN tAt
United States Government employ,
10 the exclusion OF operators h1t
employed by the Government
President Patton. az the local said,
In discussing the matter;
Unless the operators are given relief
sought for. there will be a strike. ] have
their assurances that they are deter
mined not 10 endure the state of affairs
now existing IN that office. They have
told me they will go ON strike unless
there is relie'
May Meet Next Week.
IT the conference between as and the
general manager i'm New York does not
show us that there viii be an improve
ment in conditions. ! viii call special
meeting Of the local for Monday OF
Tuesday night next week The opera
tors VIII then make good their word, and
pledge themselves 10 walk out of the
ofhce and leave II without operators If
their demands are not met within a
certain time
such a course would deal a heavy
blow Co the office. for telegraph opera
tors are hard 90 get these days. and 100
vacancies would give the office no end
OF trouble before they could be filled.
AT present the minimum salary in
that office is S25 a month. How can a
man live on S25 a month"; The opera
tors ate allowed only fifteen minutes
for lunch They work nine hours a day,
taking stun over the wire, and have 10
gulp down "a lunch and be back at their
machines I'm thirteen minutes. We sub
INIT that such a thing is grossly unfair.
Fair" and 'Unfair."
THE Western Union is on The unfair
list. and yet it pays its night chief $50 n
month. The Postal is ON tie fair list
with as. and yet It's night chief gets
only $50 a month. The Western Union
pays its wire chief sl25 a month, and
thc Postal gives the same official I'm its
office only $50 Such comparisons i'm
salaries could he made an along the
lac.
our local is suFc thai the New York
heads Of the company are not DESTROYS
OF giving tie operators am ugly deal
aud We feel sure The matter can b..
Continued on Second Pase)