Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1908-04-24
LOCKOUT IS THREATENED
shipbuiders and Employers Are Still
At Outs, and Time Limit For
Return Has Been Set.
Special to the Herald.

Special to the Herald
London, April PA repetition of
the great shipbuilding strike of the
nineties, one of the costliest and most
serious contests in the annals of Brit
ish labor, is now impending. The
time limit fixed by the Shipbuilding
Employers Federation within which
the striking workmen on the north
east coast may return to work will
expire tomorrow. The men have
twice voted against returning to work
on the terms offered and if they per-
sist in their refusal all the shipbuild-
ing yards in the country will be
closed. Such lockout would involve
fully quarter of million people.
The ship workmen on the northeast
coast have been on strike since last
January. Two disputes are involved
in the controversy. The earlier in
point of time and the larger is that
affecting the engineering trades. The
parties to it are the Northeast Coast
Engineering Trades Employers Asso-
citation and certain trade unions of
which the Amalgamated Society of
Engineers is by far the most import
ant Most of the employers forming
the association are also shipbuilders.
Others are builders of engines for
other than marine purposes, so that
the interests concerned extend consid-
erably beyond shipbuilding on the
side of both masters and men.
Last November the Employers AS
ISOLATION, having come to the conclu-
sion that they must propose a general
reduction of wages on account. of de-
pressed trade, sent out notices to that
effect to the men employed in engine
shops, boiler shops and foundries.
They proposed a reduction averaging
five per cent. The men are organized
in twentyeight societies, representing
engineers, machine workers, pattern
makers, iron FOUNDERS, moulders,
brass workers, boilermakers, painters,
and many other trades. The employ
ers have various agreements with
these societies. In some cases a
months notice, in others two months
notice must be given on either side of
any proposed change in wages, but to
make the movement uniform two
months notice was given in all cases.
During the two months, conferences
took place. with the result that twen-
ty-two out of twenty-eight unions
agreed to accept reduction which
s.iionr,ted 10 about ha1f dratFrif
by the employers, and was in the
nature of compromise.
With the unions which refused the
reduction, the Employers Association
had conference The proposals made
by the employers at this conference.
which were the same that had already
been accepted by the other unions,
were referred to ballot of the men,
The result was against accepting the
terms offered by the employers. In
accordance with this result the men
left work to the estimated number of
700.
Meanwhile the second dispute,
which is of precisely similar charac-
ter, arose in the shipbuilding yards.
The Parties to it are, on the one side,
three local shipbuilders' associations
from the Tyne, the Wear and Tees,
acting in concert. and, on the other
side, nineteen trade unions. Several
of these unions are also concerned in
the engineering dispute, as are most
of the employers, but the two con,
flicts are nevertheless quite distinct
The shipbuilding dispute came on
about month after the other. Few
men, comparatively, are out now, but
if the employers put into effect their
threat to close down all of the ship
yards unless the strikers return to
work tomorrow, widespread idleness
is sure to result.