Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-15
"OPEN SHOP" IS HERE
So Employers Associations
Secretary Asserts.
DECLARES STRIKE LOST
Saws Union Men Are Now Working
Beside Non Unionists.
PAMPHLET GIVEN TO WoRKMEN
Argument Of the Right to Labor Set
Forth and Handed Out With
Pay Envelopes.

Not only is the strike of the building
trades broken, but our business is running
along normally" said Mr. E. X. Hall, sec
rotary of the Employers Association, in an
official statement issued last night. The
frantic attempts of the trades unions to
take non-union men off the jobs is merely
Incidental. and does not affect the work
or its prosecution. We have some 1000
non-union men working in this city, and tn,
fact that occasionally the trades unions in
progress of the work or the ultimate result
the open shop. The open shop is now an
assured fact in the city of Washington.
The union mechanics in every branch of
trade recognize the open shop and know
that their fight is lost. The evidence of
this is that jobs are under way where
union and non-union plasterers are working
side by side; where union bricklayers are
backing up the work of non-union stone
settlers, with non-union carpenters on the
same job. Union carpenters and union
bricklayers are dropping out of their unions
all along the line and going to work on our
Jobs
"Non-Unioh Men Competent"
The statement is often made and is Wig
orously circulated by union men that non
union mechanics are not competent
want to refute that statement most en-
phat!cally. Some of the men working for
our employers are the best in their re-
spective branches, and / am willing to
point TO their work as evidence Good me-
chanics are not made by joining a union
and the unions have no MONOPOLY Of them
The open-shop man stands on his own
merits. We are inclosng in the nav en-
velopes OF all our employees pamphlet, and
II has in it rich food for thought for both
union and non-unon men. In the adyertis-
Ing columns of the daily papers we are
publishing under the head of Open Shop
Bulletin news which should interest every
reader directly or indirectly connected with
the building business
The pamphlet referred to by Secretary
Hall contains the following:
We want to correct any wrong impres-
sions you may have or misstatements that
may be made to you.
I'VE have established the open shop in
Washington as a permanent condition in
your trade, and shall on no account recog-
nize or deal with any union.
Any man, union or n-union, can Sc
cure employment with US, but we shall
give the preference to competent loyal
workmen who are at present in our EN-
ploy.
Days Work for Days Pay"
I'VE do not intend to use the open shop
10 lower wages, increase hours or impose
any other hard conditions on our men. We
do intend To insist upon fair days work
for fair days pay which we do not get
under closed shop system.
IF any union man IS now out of work
/. is because he left his job not to secure
more wages or fewer hours, but because
the union bosses were trying to compel
the discharge OF every non-union plumber
in Washington. The strikes IN the other
trades for this purpose were called after
three arbtratons had been had in all of
which it was decided that the master
plumbers had the right to employ nom
union men. In the last arbitration the
decision, which was rendered May % last
directed the unions then strike TO return
their men TO work at once. The unions
have violated all these arbitration decisions
and several of them have also broken their
trade agreements in their attempts to COM
pei the discharge of non-union workmen
Has the conduct of the unions been SO
just and fair that they have any right to