Los Angeles herald., 1909-05-02

MONG the members of the various
unions in Los Angeles no doubt
"A exists that the subject of this
brief sketeh-Charles B. Bailey, treas
urer of the Labor Temple association
since its formation--is the most popu-
lar and efficient member of organized
labor in the city.
Mr.. Bailey has lived in Los Angeles
since 1886, coming here with his par
ents from Moberly, Mo, when 1e years
of age.
When in 1903 the Labor Temple as
ISOLATION was formed and lot 100Xl25
feet on Maple avenue purchased in
1906 for $19,500, Mr. Bailey was placed
in control of the finances of the assoc
citation and the bulk of the work of
raising funds with which to erect a
building was left in his charge. How
we'll he carried out this trust is evil
deneed by his reelection as treasurer
each succeeding year since then. In
this capacity he has collected and paid
out more than $1UV,000 in the last four
years, and this TO the entire satisfac-
ton of the hundreds of stockholders
and the board of directors.
For several years he was chairman
of the building committee and is re-
sponsible III great part for the magni-
ficent seven-story building now near
ing completion, which is the home of
organized labor in Los Angeles and
credit to the city. The building has an
eighty-foot front and is valued at $225,
900, while the unoccupied twenty feet
of space is held at $4,000 Rental of
the halls aggregate 5000 a month.
Mr.. Bailey is a plumber by trade and
for years was treasurer of the plum
bers' union. He also is an honorary
member IF the Electrical Workers
union No. 81, which organization he
was president of for several terms. At
present he is a deputy plumbing in
spector in the employ Of the city.
Mr.. Bailey is 80 years old and resides
with his wife and three children in his
own home at 1873 North Toluca street.
In a local paper one day last week
appeared an interview with Struc-
tural iron worker employed in erect
ing a skyscraper in this city. Struc-
turaI iron workers are the men to be
seen at work on a narrow girder hun
dreds of feet in the air, face to face
with death every minute of the day,
with nothing to break the fall should
they make a misstep or become over
balanced. On being questioned as to
what wages he received for such
hazardous employment he said: TWEEN
ty-five cents an hour. / work ten
hours day. That amt so much if you
are thinking of danger The fellows
get more where there are unions, but,
you see, there amt any union here"
twenty-five cents an hour-$2.50 for
ten-hour day-is not a princely sum
for risking ones neck and leaving a
family dependent on charity should
an accident occur. For should such a
thing happen the men who work on
the steel frames are given no protec-
ton under the employers liability law
Should a man be hurled to the ground
and dashed to death his widow and
children would receive no financial as
sistance from the firm which profits
by the services Of the husband and IA
Their. And this man gets $3.50 a day
for this dangerous work. But there
is a real live union Of structural iron
workers in this city, whose members
receive from $3.50 to $3.50 a day for
eight hours, whereas the nonunion
workman quoted above receives but
$3.50 for ten hours, and when the
union bricllayers go to work on the