Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1908-03-28
GIRLS
Walk OUT
STRIKE AT PACIFIC TELEPHONE
COMPANY AT IL O'CLOCK To
DAY BECAUSE SHORTER HOURS
WERE NOT GRANTED.

Wnen the DuZZer DuzZed we !
walked OUT" is the story in brief of
the strike of telephone girls at the
Office of the Pacific Telephone COM
pany at IL o'clock today, when nine
girls, the entire force of both day
and night operators, quit the switch
board and walked out of the Office
because their demand for an eight
hour shift instead Of nine hours, had
not been acceded to by the manager.
G. Truitt.
The question of shorter hours has
been up between the employees and
the management for several months.
and the matter came to a focus to-
day at II o'clock when the chief
operator, Miss Irene M. Tobin, took
up the question with Manager Tru-
lit, giving him, as an ultimatum,
one hour to accede to their demands
or walkout would be made. The
hour ended when the ''buzzer
buzzed" for IL o'clock and the girls
threw off the receivers and left the
Office in body
They claim that the work in the
Lewiston Office is very heavy and
their shift is one hour longer than
that required in any other city in
the Northwest where the business is
of the Importance of that handled
here. They ask for shorter hours
but not for more pay, and complain
that the company has been long On
promises and they were tired of
! waiting.
"All the men about the Office are
working on an eight-hour shift"
said one of the young ladies, "and
the management is willing to say
that we deserve it, but it never
comes.
| Moscow and Colfax and all the
other considerable towns have the
eight-hour shift" said another, "and
we should be treated fairly"
Manager G. Truitr OF the tele-
phone company stated the question
of shorter hours had not been taken
up with him until 20 minutes before
the noon hour today. He stated,
however, that three weeks ago,
while in Spokane, he discussed the
eight-hour feature with the division
wire chief and the matter was soon
to be submitted to the headquar-
ters in San Francisco.
when the operators told me that
would have to give them definite
answer in 20 minutes or they would
walk out / told them they would
have to walk out, then, as it was
not a matter for me to decide, nor
could it be decided in Spokane. 1t
was the first j. timation that had
come to me Of dissatisfaction in the
! operating room, and from what
have been able to learn the matter
was hatched up on short notice by
those interested in the movement.
Immediately after the walkout
Manager Truitt secured communica
ton with the division superintend.
ent's office in Spokane and was giver
the assurance that six operators will
be sent out of that city for Lewiston
on this afternoons train aSd Will
take the places made vacant by tht
strikers.
The striking operators are Chic
Operator Miss Irene Tobin, Mrs
Magdaline Taylor, Miss Mabel Arm
: strong, the Misses Mary and Till
: Myers, Edna and Grace Schiebe
Miss Bessie Sampson and Mrs. Ger
trude Gibbons.
The operators upon leaving tn
telephone building carried away tn
head telephones used in their wori
When members Of the strikers wer
seen this aftrnoon they stated tina
as tn - O'Clock signal was give
some person in the front office CAV
the word to lock the doors. and !
order to prevent being locked !
- they raced for the exits with tn
" head phones in place.
la Miss Mabel Hanson and Mis-
N Grace Costly refused to join tn
as strikers and were on the boards du'
c. ing the afternoon to assist In givin
ly the best possible service under tn
circumstances.