The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-21
LOCKOUT POSSIBLE Cigarworkers Claim Breach of Agreement on the Part of
 Their Employers.
LOCAL ISSUES STATEMENT
Declares Conditions at One Shop Are Intolerable-Trouble Arises
 Over This Shop.

The following statement was issued yesterday by the Cigar workers of New Haven regarding the present situation in the trade here:
 "At a meeting of cigarmakers of this city held last night to consider the re- cent developments in the strike at J. r. kilfeather's shop, an ultimatum pre- sented by the Cigar Manufacturers as- sociatlon was read This ultimatum is to the effect that the Cigar Manufact- urers' association consisting of the fol- lowing firms: F. D. Grave, J. Schol, Osterweiss X Son, kafka & Co.,, Cum nlngham, c. E. Wirtz, w. Whalen, Geo. Boyer, J. r. Manning, Julius Laske, J. P Kilfeather will lock out all their help, packers, cigarmakers, shippers next Monday, unless the Ci- garmakers' union of New Haven would send for an agent of the International union to settle the strike at Kilfeath-9 CTS shop, which has been in progress for the last five weeks and is endorsed by all the cigarmakers locals in this country and Canada, against the most intoerable conditions inaugurated in aforesaid shop, the cigarmakers were certainly surprised to be confronted by a sudden lockout, since they believed that the Manufacturers association would adhere to the following agree ment arrived at between themselves and committee of the association. Here is the agreement:
 New Haven, Conn, Feb. 26, 1908.
 'At the meeting of the combined committees of the Cigar Manufactur- CTS association and Union 39 a differ ence existing in Mr. Kilfeather's fac tory was discussed and misunder- standing found to exist on both sides, the Cigar Manufacturers association | claiming the right to weigh their stock to which the committee of Union 39 did not object therefore we recommend l that the difference should and ought to be readily settled by MT. Kilfeather and his employees.
 "Signed. F. D. Grave, Pres.
 ''J F. Scholl, Sec.
 "The cigarmakers of course express ed their consternation and anger in unmistakable terms at this breach of agreement bearing their own signature and especially as the committee of the cigarmakers were again ready to con fer with them to settle the difficulty, without bringing on special agent from headquarters and thereby incur ring extra expense, but were practi- cally ignored by the manufacturers. The conditions which caused the trou- ble in Kilfeather's shop which are now practically being supported by the aforesaid Manufacturers association by their lockout declaration are in general as follows:
 "Mr Kilfeather recently engaged a | foreman from another city who imme- diately introduced such conditions into his shop as were not only unacceptable to the men employed there but posi- lively unbearable and intolerable, as they would not only greatly reduce the mems earnings (although not actually the prices paid per M but would alsC jeopardize and iniure the high stand ard of New Haven boasted product of cigars which would ultimately bring the cigarmakers blue label into con- tempt which has always been looked upon as a guarantee of excellence ot quality and make under good conditions but the system which has been intro duced. if permitted to continue. would prove most disastrous to the cigar in dustry here as it has in other cities where the industry has been almost arnihiated thereby. Under this sys- tenn the cigarmakers would be com pelled on account of the limited amount of stock weighed out to then either to work in 2 quantity of seed clippings into a ten cent cigar or lost his job. as there would be a cut throa race between the men to get out th' required amount of cigars.
 "We therefore recognize that tn , fight for the interest of the cigarmak , CTS in tins city at once becomes tn, concern of both the retailer and con sumner ana we believe it to be our dut. to set forth these reasons for the flgh