Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-05-16
COMPANY CLAIMS ITS
SCALE ABOVE AVERAGE
About 500 Men Are Out
Company Ships Hogs Out
to Chicago Part Of the
Men Will Return

The great packing plant of John
Morrell and company of this city
Is In the throes Of general
strike. The trouble began Mon
day morning when the fierce gang
walked out upon being refused
rs cent raise, and eliminated at /
O'Clock today when the cutting and
killing gangs, involving about 260
men. refused to report for work
to the foremen of other depart
nlepts. whose employees had enter
ed into sympathetic strike with
the fierce crew.
Practically the entire plant lies
IDLE at this time, all the important
gangs having walked out. AS near
as can be estimated, more than
600 men have now struck, leaving
only the auxiliary crews at work.
Forty carloads of hogs, in the neigh
borhood Of 5000, were shipped to Chi
cago today and as fast as cars can be
procured, the incoming stock is being
re-shipped to the eastern markets.
Tho condition of affairs at the plant
is regarded as being of a very serious
nature, representatives of the sympa-
thetio strikers alleging that they will
not go to work until the members of
teh fierce gang are satisfied and return
to work.
Killers Have No Grievance.
A member Of the killing and cutting
gang stated this noon that they had
no grievance at all; but that they sim
ply would not report to other forenen
and do the work Of the strikers.
He stated that the men Of his crew
had been asked to report at O'Clock
to other departments and for that iea-
son they had refused to go to work.
AT 1889 o'clock committee Of four
men, representing the killing and cut
ting crews met and conferred with
President Foster. Following the con-
ference one Of the committee repeat
ed the statement that they had no
grievance and that the gang he repre-
sented would go back to work in the
morning.
Proprietors Makes statesmen.
One of the proprietors this afternoon
made the following statement:
Yesterday morning our fierce roll
ing and piling gang quit their work
after the pliers had presented re-
quest for twenty-five cents per day ad-
vance in their pay. The gang handling
green meat followed during the fore
noon after requesting similar raise.
Both advances we were unable to com.
ply with for the reason that having in
| vestigated the wages paid by other
packers at different points we find our
scale for such work to be as high as
| the highest and averages higher than
any house or place we have heard from
SO far We are still investigating 9th.
er points. Other gangs have stopped
work out Of sympathy with the men
who have struck for raise.
| With the information we possess at
/ this time the way is not open for us
to advance these wages without handi.
capping ourselves compared with 9th
er packing points"
In addition to the above statement
a member of the firm verified the facts
given by number of the killing and
/ cutting crew, saying that this crew
would report for work in the morning
and that the plant would continue run
ming on small scale, handling what
business could be attended to with the
reduced force of the plant.
In regard to the statement made BY
the firm. an apparently well informed
employee says that while the average
wage paid by the local plant may be
somewhat higher than that paid by
j other plants in the United States, he
alleges that the officials Of the con
Germ have based their statement or
information received from and pertain
| ing to the plants of Armour and Swift
He said further that because these
two plants do not pack meat in such
large quantities for English shipment
the special labor is not employed by
them that is employed In the Ottumwa
plant, and that in this respect ths
statement made by the firm errs; thai
they have not taken into consideration
the fact that for this special work
higher wages should be paid. In short
the wages received by the local EN-
1 ployes average high, but for the higher
| class work the men feel they are en-
| titled to more money.
The Condition Today.
Including the cutting and killing
/ gang. which will report for work in the
morning, in the neighborhood of COZ
men are out today. Following the
/ strike Of the tierce men yesterda,
morning at o'clock, the men working
i at the green meat chutes walked ou