Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-19

Columbus, 10 to 2O14 cents.
Sioux City, 18 to q cents.
st. Joseph, 10 to % cents.
Des Moines, 19 to "a cents.
1t will be seen by the above that Omaha is now paying higher
wages than any city in her class except Denver, where entirely
different conditions prevail than here, and where all wages are
much higher and living expenses accordingly.
These facts were laid before the committee that waited on
our Board of Directors, and also the further fact that an occupa-
ton tax had recently been levied against our company which
would require the payment to the city of about 100000 per annum,
and that it was necessary to maintain the high financial credit our
company has, in order to be able to secure the large additional
sums necessary for the development of this property. The men
were frankly told that the company could not afford to increase
their pay at this time, but they were assured that the policy of
the company would be the same in the future as it has been in
the past, to at all times pay it's employees as liberal wages as the
financial condition of the company would Justify. This seemed
to be satisfactory to the men, but eveidently not to the national
organizer, with whom we have refused to negotiate on this or any
other matter pertaining to the men in our employ, and because of
the position the officers OF our company have taken, a strike has
been voted by a bare majority of our union employees.
Regardless of the fact that great conventions and celebrations
are about to take place in the city of Omaha and that this city is
soon to have as its guest the Chief Executive of the United States.
I'll S proposed, if possible, to cripple the service of the Street Rail.
way Company at this critical time and force the demands of the
organizer, who hascome among us to stop the wheels of progress,
unless his unreasonable, unfair and unjust requirements shall be
complied with by the Street Railway officials.
At a second meeting with the committee representing the
union employees, held on September 18th, all matters of difference
between the company and the union were fully and freely dis
cussed. The committee was positively told that the officers of
the company would not violate their pledge with their nonunion
employees and enter into a contract with the union; that such an
act on their part would mean a closed shop and would compel all
nonunlon men to either join the union or leave the employ of the
company. They then asked if the company would arbitrate this
and other questions of difference, and were told that no man had
a right to arbitrate the question of whether or not he was going
to keep his agreements and pledges; that this matter of a written
agreement could not be arbitrated, because of the fact that the
company, relying on the good faith of the union men in their
agreement that no contract would be required, had pledged itself
to its nonunion employees in a manner that it could not and would
not violate.
The matter of an increase of wages and all other matters men
toned in the proposed contract were fully discussed, and the COM
mittee was told that if any abuses existed in the present schedule
of runs, the iffcers of the company would be glad to correct or
change them, to the end that the men might not be required to
undergo any hardships in their service. The committee was in
vited to suggest any changes of this character, either at the pres.
ent or at any future time, with full assurance that such, sugges-
tons would receive careful consideration.
This committee was further assured that an increase of pay
would be made at the earliest date it could prudently be done by
the Officers OF the company, Notwithstanding the fact that our
men are now receiving higher wages than any other like employees
in cities where similar conditions prevail to those in Omaha.
To the complaint that the union men in the employee of our
company had been Disseminated against, the committee were
asked to cite a single instance where this had been done, and the
fact was brought out that during the past two and a half years
no member of the union has ever made complaint to any of the
general officers of our company on this subject. The committee
was assured that if any instance could be cited where discrimi-
nations had been made or men discharged because they belonged
to the union, that immediate reparatiOns would be made. But not
withstanding all these assurances the matter finally came down
to the one question OF whether or not the company would enter
into an agreement with and recognize the local union, and on the
refusal of the company to consider this demand the conference
ended.
On September 10th a prominent labor leader in Omaha asked
the president of the Street Railway Company if he would have a
conference with Mr.. Pratt, the national officer who is now in the
city. To this request the following reply was made:
CATER careful consideration of your request that l should
meet Mr.. Pratt, an officer of the National Association of Street
Railway Employees, l cannot see that such a meeting would accom-
pish any practical results. The position of our company has
always been that its officers will at all times confer with its EN-
pOyes, either individually or by committees, and hear any com
plant they may have to make AND correct any wrongs, so far as
lies within their power, but that they will not negotiate with men
not in their employ. If am correctly informed the purpose of
MIR. Pratt is 10 secure the execution of a written contract between
the Street Railway Company and the union. This would be impos-
sible for the following reasons:"