The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-09
OPERATORS ARE ON STRIKE They Quit Service at
 Chicago. WESTERN UNION AFFECTED Result of Employing Nsn- Unions
 at Los Angeles. Walk Out I'm Windy City Is without The Sanction of the National officers of the U. c. T.
 May Extend.
WESTERN UNION AFFECTED

operators employed by the Western Union in Chicago went on strike to- night at 12 o'clock. The trouble was precipitated by the Los Angeles strike which was inaugurated two days ago
 Tonight the local executive board of the Commercial Photographers Union met and passed resolutions requiring the men to refuse to work with the non-union operators employed in Los Angeles. When the men were notified of this step all operators in the Over land division of the local office refused to work any longer with the non-union men on the other end of the wire. When this announcement was made Night Chief Harry Price ordered all who refused to work to leave the office.
 He then went into other divisions and requested the men to go into the Overland division. In every case he was met with refusal, until over sew enty men had been sent home. The grievance committee of the union called on Mir. Price and notified him that unless every man was reinstated by midnight every union man In the office would be called out.
 This demand was refused and promptly at midnight, by prearrange- ment a whistle was blown and every operator employed in the main office with the exception of six wire and loop chiefs, together with Night Man ager Price filed out of the office. The men employed by the company at the various morning newspapers had been notified of the contemplated strike and they also cuit work. The local of
 ncials of the union tonight state that the day force employed by the conn pany most of whom belong to the union, would refuse to go to work In the morning. This will include all branch offices throughout the city.,l
 The national officers of the union spent all day today in an effort to pre- vent the rank and fi1e' of the organi- zation from taking matters into their hands and calling a strike. The men i for weeks have maintained q suIien attitude toward the company. The Chicago force was oIssatisfied with the basis of the San Francisco settlement. Ever since then they have been vis- Fitting the offices of Secretary-Treasurer Russell seeking information. Today his office was crowded all day long with operators looking for news re- garding the progress of the peace ne- gotiations in the west, but were given little satisfaction.
 q am waiting to hear from Presi- uSHb OHi1AA+ OhSAA 4 AS~@ = ~-~-- say nothing" he said.
 Such replies. together with the fact that the men believe, according to their own statement, that President Small submitted to defeat at San Francisco was what prompted the exec utive board of the local union to take action tonight.
 It was under these conditions that the strike was called without the sanc- ton of the national officials. After the men had quit work Sec retary Russell refused to talk about the controversy except to say that the men had taken matters in their own hands and undoubtedly felt that they were capable of handling their own affairs.
 Secretary Ulrich of the local union said:
 ''The men were utterly tired of the conditions under which they were working, and could not stand 1t any longer. When the additional insult or 1 asking them to work with n-union men in Los Angeles was put on them they refused to stand it and quit work.
 We could get no information of the situation on the Pacific coast from our national officers so we decided that it was up to us to take care of our selves"
 | When General Superintendent Cook of the Western Union was informed of the strike he said that he was un- able to say anything that would be | of interest and that he could not out line the action of the company nntii | morning.
 Fearing that trouble might arise fol- | lowing the walking out or the men an | official of the company, few minutes | before midnight, telephoned the cen- | tral station and requested that several
 policemen be sent to the main ofnce ot the company to preserve order, l One lieutenant and nVei policemen
 were ordered to report at the telegraph office After the 20 men and four wo- men quit they gathered in front of the building where the telegraph office Is located, and for half ah hour filled the
 air with cheers and whistles. but the police were given no cause for the ex- | ercise of their authority.