The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-04-29
Stop on Every Build
ing He Has Con-
tract For.
BricklayerS Want to Lay
Union Station Gem
ent Roof.
Power and RoundhouSe.
Men Lay Down
Tools.

mat tne DrlcklayerS are determined 10
insist on what they claim is their rights,
touching the work on the roof Of the
new Union Station. was made clear this
morning. when the order was issued 20
stop the brick work on every building
where Contractor Mcfarland has the
contract.
As result OF that order fifty brick
layers employed on the power house at
First and Myrtle streets northeast and
twenty-five bricklayers at work on the
Baltimore and Ohio roundhouse, at Ivy
City, laid down their tools this morning.
Order More Than Local.
officials OF the local brickIayers' union
said this morning that this order 20 re-
fuse TO work for Contractor MCFARLAND
Is more than local. as it viii apply to
every job IN the country controlled by
the contractor and will continue in force
until the Mcfarland Contracting Com
pany comedies the right Of the bricklay-
ers 10 lay the cement block roof Of the
new Union Station.
1t was stated this morning that last
August when the first work OF placing
the roof on the new Union station be-
gan that Mcfarland put laborers on
the joo. but the bricklayers entered
q protest. claiming that the work prop
erly belonged 10 them. Mr.. McFar-
land conceded the point ana the brick
layers did the work ready at that time.
No claim TO the work was made then
by The tile roofers. IL Is said.
LabOrers Again Put to Work.
Last week when more OF the roof
was to be covered laborers were again
put to work. and the bricklayers pro-
tested. Then it was that tile roofers
were put on the job. they claiming iu-
risdiction- The bricklayers refused 10
recognize the claim Of the tile roofers.
The claim Of the bricKlayers was dis
puted by Mr.. Mcfarland. 1t is said. and
they stopped work last Thursday as
stated in yesterdays Times. But the
tile roofers continued work and were
working this morning.
Others May Go Out.
President Bowen. of the International
Br1cklayers' Union. TO whom the oues-
tiOn Of Jurisdiction on the work In dis
pute was referred. has written the Of
ficers Of the local union that the Iaving
Of cement blocks in any form and used
for roofing or other purposes comes
within the Jurisdiction of bricklavers
and the work must be done by brick
layers. 1t was this decision that caused
the bricklayers TO take the action they
did on the power house and the round
house.
At present no other branch Of work on
the Union Station is affected. but if non
union bricklayers are put 70 work. then.
1t is said, the ether mechanics will quit.
Statement by Mcfarland.
]. c. Mcfarland, Of J. c. Mcfarland
& Co., said this afternoon;
There is nothing I can do. save to
wait for the roofers and the masons to
fight this out among themselves. Either
way we move we are confronted with
the threat that men viii stop work. I
don't believe the tie-up will last long"
After stating that the work OF the tile
roofing is such that masons know moth
ing about how to do it and that roofers
Mcfarland continued:
The masOns have had no skill what
ever in this kind of work. THE matter
of the cost is a small item We paw
roofers S4l6 and masons s. day. If
the matter Of wages were reversed we
would still prefer to have the roofers
do the work. We were informed tbat
the masons would strike If we employed
roofers to put on the tile roof We were
also told by the roofers that. IL we en-
ployed the masons, all our other en-
ployes, numbering l25, would strike and
all the other trades would be called out
at the same time.
1T is evident, therefore. that ibe
thing has resolved itself into a conflict
which we can control Either way We
turn. a strike is threatened. and the
only thing we can do is to let the
masons and the rOOfers fight the matter
out between themselves.
The masons. by the way. have never
come TO me 70 consult about the matter
nor have Trey sent their representative
to me-"