The Washington herald., 1907-03-25
BUTLDINGCRISISN NEAR
Strike May Result at End Of
Sixty-day Period.
UNIONS FIRM IN DEMAND
Insist on ResubmittIng Disputed
Articles 40 ArbitratiOn-Pientif
Opportunities for Mechanics Mt
jamestown Exposition said to Far
nish Trades Unions Tramp Card.

II vas stated by prominent members OF
the Building Trades Unions Alliance yes
teFday, that they would not submit 10 the
attitude Of the Master Plumbers Assoeia-
ton. supported by the two Master
Builders Associations. in their action OF
Saturday night TO have the dispute be-
tween the master and jouTneyman plumb
ers over articles five and six OF the arbi-
tratiOH award Tesubmitted TO the arbitTa-
tion board for settlement. 1t was affirmed
that the building trades would not re-
cede from their position and under no cir
Cumstances would an Open-sh0p question
be considered. They said that the build
ing trades were doing their best to have
the matter settled amicably and would
do all possible TO avoid a strike. but if
1T because necessary such action would
be resorted to.
The trades say they have offered the
only condition upon which they will sub
nit 10 a resubmission of the disputed
clauses, and it was refused. This cOndi-
tion was that the men now working who
continued tc work after the lockout be
replaced by men in good standing IN the
Plumbers Union pending a decision. Il
was cOntended that this was only fair 10
the men who had stuck by the union and
who walked the streets for an entire year
while these men were working.
II was stated that II the master build
ers would not force the master plumbers.
the building trades would not force the
j0urneymen.
Crisis is Near at Hand.
The crisis will come when the sixty
days allowed under the arbitration award
for the men who continued at work dur
ing the lockout to apply for reinstate-
ment in the union has expired II these
men are reinstated they viii be subject to
the jurisdiction OF the union. and will be
pulled out of ali shops working non-union
men, and If they are not they will De
elassed as non-union men and the union
men working in the shops with them will
be pulled out.
One feature of the controversy that puts
a trump card in the hands of the build
ing trades, which, up to this time, has
not met with general notice. is the high
prices offered TO mechanics at jamestown.
The contractors doing work on the ex-
position grounds cannot obtain enough
men, and their envoys have been in the
city several times in the past two weeks
offering SO cents to 81 a day better wages
than are received here for men to work
at the exposition. AprO1os Of this it viii
be recalled that all the plumbers working
at the Norfolk Navy Yard went on strike,
and all accepted work or the exposition
grounds at greatly increased wages.
| II a strike is declared in this city prOba-
| bly, the same course win be pursued by
/ the local men to the more or less injury
to loca! business interests. The longer
decisive action is postponed by parley this
condition will be multiplied in effect The
sixty days allowed in the award will ex-
/ pire about the 1st of May, just at the
opening OF the boom building season, and
with the city depl sted by the annual exo-
dus 1t would probably be a record break
/ ing dull summer.
| Secretary Purcell, OF the Allied Building
Trades committee, when asked yesterday
as TO what would be the outcome. stated
that inasmuch as he had not received any
communication from the Master Builders
relative TO their action. he was not in a
position to make any statement concern
ling it. The communication would prob
ably be received in time, he said to be
laid before the meeting of the trades
Tuesday evening