The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-25
Insist on Three Dollars for
Eight Hours and Time and
a Half for Overtime.
THIS THE RAILROADS
WILL POSITIVELY REFUSE
Outlook for Amicable Settle.
ment of the Trouble Is Not
at All Bright.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 24.-A COM
mittee from the Garments union present
ed to President Calhoun Of the United
Railroads this afternoon formal demand
for new annual contract giving con-
ductors and motormen fiat wage OF 81
for an eight-hour day and time and one
half for overtime,
On Saturday evening the executive
committee will meet again, and by that
time 1t is believed an answer Will have
been received from the United Railroads
The committee will then set the date
for the final meeting of the carmen.
which will decide what action shall be
taken upon the reply Of the United Rail
roads The demand will be unequivocally
refused, according TO Joint statement
made to the Associated Press today by
President Calhoun and General Manager
Mullaly, who said in substance:
"The United Railroads absolutely de-
cline to pay It's platform men So Tor an
eight hour day This Is positire and
final The company has gone the limit
In the matter OF wages. 1t VIII 60 no
further.
Will Pay Arbitrated Scale.
THE United Railroads is willing to,
and will cheerfully sign IA contract Tor
one year from May l, 1907. 10 May /,
1908. TO pay the scale awarded by the
arbitration committee. whose hndinss
were returned only seven weeks ago. Inc
officers of the company dc not believe
a strike Will occur. They hope such an
unfortunate move will be avoided. They
want peace. But in any event the So
eight-hour demand will never be granted.
That demand is wholly unjust, and from
the company's standpoint simply lmpos-
sible to meet, The United Railroads In
San Francisco is now paying It's plat-
form men the highest wages OF any Glty IN IN
Butte. Mont. The present scale was ae
termined by an arbitration cpm1nitInee tI,s,
composed OF Major Frank Mciaugniin'
representing the company, the ,,o RgN ISe
men, and Justice Beatty OF the supreme
Court, chosen by the two. II is as iol,
lows. For men one year IN service, 81
men TWO years in the service. 32 cents
and 3s.4 cents overtime; men three
years or longer In the service, 81 cents
and 1916 cents overtime.
High Average Now.
This means--in as much as more
than so per cent of the platform men
have been In the compeny's service three
years or longer-that the average wage
now paid is $3.50 a day. including aV-
erage overtime. This is for ten nour
day, and the average overtime put III
is eighteen minutes day.
"As the company understands the de-
mand about to be presented, the men
desire to reduce their daily wage on an
clare that conductors and motormen are
physically unable to work longer than
eight hours day. so 1t Is evident that
they do not desire 10 earn any more tnan
So a day by working overtime: nevertne-
less, they include In their demand tllne
and a han for overtime. 1t Is not prac-
tical to operate our railways under the
eight hour arrangement The men
know this Nor. we are quite sure, ~ou!d
the men formulate a demand 10 be Paid
80 cents day less on the average than
they are receiving.
Their demand, then, II assented TO,
would simply mean this. That the men
who work two hours and eighteen MIN
utes overtime and receive therefor 81 30,
which plus the ia, SO wage would make
their Si.35 instead of $3.50 a day-an In.
crease OF 80 cents day on top OF 70
per cent increase awarded them only
seven weeks ago. In face OF the fact that
the United Railroads s now paying. with
one exception. the highest wages Of any
city In the world. ~.
''This contemplated increase the Unit
ed Railroads cannot and Will not pay.
The company employs about 1000 plat
form men on its San Francisco system;
An increase OF So cents day would
therefore mean an Increased daily oper-
aung expense OF sl7oo, or about SSooooo