Evening star., 1907-10-19
MASTER PAINTERS PLANT
BUSIEST SEASON OF YEAR AND
NO WORKERS.
Charge That Labor Unions Have
Tied Up Construction
in the City.

The employing painters Of Washington
are said to be up in arms because of what
several of them today termed "the arbi-
trary action of the Journeymen Painters
! Union" They declared that In many in
stances their contracts are being delayed
and there is a serious congestion of their
business which they are at this time pow
erless to remedy. The explanation was
made by several master painters that Oc-
tober and November constitute what is
known as the painters busy season, and
that usually at this period they generally
have from 100 to $50 men at work, where
as now there are but about 500 employed.
| 1t was further stated that the cause OF
| the present congestion and delay Is the
refusal Of the local painters union to al
| low outside mechanics to come into the
! District and go to work. as has been the
custom, the employers said. for number
| of years.
1.-The union refuses this year to accept
| travelling cards as it has done In former
years." said one employer. THE result is
! that we have but the local membership to
depend upon, and its numbers are not at
all sufficient to carry on the volume OF
work in hand. The present Is the busy
season for painters, and In previous years
we have employed from 200 to 250 out
side workmen. But this year the union is
deliberately holding outside men back
from this city. Pittsburg, Pa, is what Is
known as a spring town. That is, most of
its painting is done at that season Wash
ington is known a fall town. 1t has
been the practice in former years to In
terchange painters between the two cities
In the spring and fall. This year the union
has prevented the interchange, and we
have been left in very bad shape as re-
suit
Declined to Enter Coalition.
1t was also said that last spring the
Master Painters Association refused to
join forces with the Employers Associa-
| tion when requested to do SO, but decided
| to remain with the union.
Now as a result of that determina-
| ton" said one of the leading master
painters today. we are between satan
and the deep blue seattle painters union
and the Employers Association"
| Three of the most prominent painting
contractors in this city today gave their
views on the present situation. Secretary
w. NJ. Cleland of the Master Painters
Association said:
During the spring the Master Painters
Association was invited by the Employers
Association to join in the open shop move
ment in the building trades. We gave the
matter very earnest consideration and
finally decided to cast our lot with the
union. The reason for this decision was
that many of our members had entered
into contracts to be executed during the
fall. our busy season. and we did not care
to disrupt our working force during that
time. Another reason was we depended
upon a large travelling contingent that
has every fall relieved our demands.
Our city supports comparatively
small number of resident painters; not
nearly enough to supply the busy season
demand, which Is now upon us. We could
work the travellers (outside painters) now
very handily, but they seem to have been
sidetracked this season"
Busiest Season.
Another employing painter said:
September. October and November are
the busy months in the painting trade in
Washington, and our wants have always
been supplied heretofore by a large body
of travelling painters, amounting to two
or three hundred men, who come here
during our busy months. and there is
plenty Of work for all until after Thanks
giving day, or until after winter weather
comes on.
"The wages paid here, $3.50 per day for
eight hours, rank with the best wages
paid in the largest cities, and are high
enough to draw men from surrounding
cities where wages are much lower.
This year the union. 1t seems, has pre-
vented the issuing of travelling cards by
other unions Should men appear here
with travelling cards the local union will
not allow them to be deposited, and its
members will not work with others than
members Of the local union, the number
of which cannot meet the demands during
our fall seasons.
''The situation here simply shows the
abuses to which labor unions will resort.
1t is a corner in the market as tight as
any trust ever attempted. The purposes
are easily seen. They are: Build up wages
among yourselves for the few men we
local union have been charged with pre-
venting men from coming here. but, OF
course, they deny It, Notwithstanding the
denial the fact remains we are without
men enough to do our work, and we are
told by the walking delegate he cannot
supply men, notwithstanding our earnest,
continuous demands on him. I am not a
lawyer, but 1t appears to me to be In re-
straint Of trade and actionable under
some construction Of the interstate COM
merce law"
Prevention Of Upset Price.
The third master painter expressed his
Views as follows:
II venture the statement that had the
Employers Association not brought over
hundred painters to this city this sum-
mer. and thereby relieved q situation
brought about by the journeymen's union
the property owners Of Washington would
be paying an upset price for painters, for
union painters are scarer than the pro-
verbal hens teeth. and the union Is work.
Ing overtime to make them scarcer.
THE men brought here by the Employ
ers' Association are working in open or
non-union shops. Were a union employer
to engage one. his entire force of union
men would quit work. There Is, in fact
at out present stage, no open shop. It Is
either union or non-union.
II suppose you may say we 'conciliated
the union. The Master Plumbers Asso-
ciation exhausted arbitration. and 1t ap-
pears the only solution for ourselves Is
to Join in the fight, for the unions have
adopted the noted New York capitalists
motto, The public be -"
ALUMINIUM FOR WIRES.
Successful Experiments in Conduct