The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-06-06
Nearly Hundred Men Employed
as Helpers for Building Trades
Quit Work Last Monday
CONT CT0RS IN AGREEMENT
Refuse to Pay the Amount Demanded
by the Men and Strike May Prove
a Prolonged One.-Non-union
Men are Put to Work

The long expected strike among
the helpers employed for the differ
ent building tradesin Kenosha started
last Monday and as a result of the
refusal of mason and Acement con-
tractors to recognize the demands of
the union men nearlysa hundred men
are out of work, and work is practi-
cal1y tied upon all buildings now In
course of construction. The men are
demanding an increase of wages of
from So to $3.50 on the week and it
looks as if the contractors will refuse
to meet the increase demanded. The
strike cannot be considered general
strike as many men have remained
at work. On some of the jobs a few
men quit and others remained, but in
many cases the entire force of helpers
walked out. So far as can be learned
no attempt has been made TO have a
get-together meeting between the
men and the contractors and the con-
tractors declare that they will put on
new men as rapidly as they can be
found. They claim that there are a
lot of idle men in Kenosha who are
willing to do this class of work for
the wages offered by the contractors.
One of the contractors now work
ing on Main street building put two
non-union 1aborers to work early this
morning and he has had other app1i-
cations for work and will put the ap
plicants to work as rapidly as he
needs them. Eleven of the contrac-
tors of the city have signed an agree
ment in which the amount that they
clearly stated and the amount named
is in no case the amount demanded
by the union men. The contractors
who are party to this agreement are
James Phi1bin, C. E. Hansen, James
Jensen, Fred Larsen, Joseph Bendt,
J. H. Tu1ly, Emil Jensen. John Lar
sen, J. P. Beecher, Louis Christian
sen and Ed. Boldly.
The maximum wages to be paid by
these contractors are set at the fol-
lowing scale: Plasterer's 1aborers not
to exceed thirty-two and half cents
an hour. They are now asking thirty
FIVE cents. Cement workers not to
exceed twenty-eight cents an hour.
They ask thirty cents an hour. Ma
son contractors helpers at twenty
seven and a half cents an hour.
These also ask thirty cents.
Some of the contractors when seen
this morning stated that it would be
impossible for them to pay the prices
demanded by the union men, and that
they would be forced to give up some
Of the building rather than meet the |
advances demanded. Many of the |
men claim that the advance is not any
larger than the increase that has
been demanded by the representa-
tives of other building trades. The
scale demanded is higher than the
scale now being paid in Milwau-
kee.
The contractors had expected the
strike Monday morning, and for this |
reason they had rushed the work on
buildings the latter part of last week |
ia order to have them as nearly COM
p1eted as possible. Several large
buildings are being affected by the
strike, aud it is also expected shat
the strike will affect the building of |
sidewalks in the city. Many people
are now waiting for the decision of
the Council il regard to the sidewalk
ordinance, and for this reason the
sidewalk contractors are not very
busy.