New-York tribune., 1909-01-16
HAT MAKERS ON STRIKE
USE or LABEL REFUSED.
Union officers Erpect $4,000 ~ orf'-
ers WI LeaUe Their Benches.

The promulgation yesterday Of decision OF the
National Fur Felt Hat Manufacturers Association
! by which union Journeymen were forbooen 10
! place the union label in hats results IN many
! thousand worSmen in factories IN THIS sectIoh OF
the country leaving their benches 10 go on stF1he
John \ Mof1ts president of the United Hatters
OF North America said that the strike would eI1ecE
| eighteen thousand employees.
| The issuance OF the order was followed by walk
outs in the hat factories IN Orange and Newark
| n. J.; Danbury and New Milford Conn., ana
| Brooklyn. In Orange, n. j. about four rhousaho
men and stopped work In Brooklyn nVe
| hundred hat workers left the factory OF Samuel
| Mundheinl & Co, at No Carlton avenue, as soon
| as the strike order reached them
Samuel Mundheim president OF the manufactur-
ers association said that the vote 10 discontinue
| the use OF the label was unanimous and that the
reason for it that union men had failed to
| keep an agreement with the Guyer Hot Company
| OF Philadelphia.
The Guyer Hat Company moved from Boston TO
| Philadelphia several weeks ago and began TO pay
| their tourneymen the Philadelphia wage scale
They had signed the Boston scale, which Is higher
| than the Philadelphia scale. When demand or
the journeynen that the Boston scale be paid until
the expiration OF their contracts was refused, the
| use of the union label withdrawn from the
firm by order OF the national officers OF the United
Hatters The Guyer company appealed TO the
manufacturers' association and the general order
to discontinue the OF the union label was then
| issued
| The leaders OF the hatters assert that the issu-
ance OF this order only the first step in gen
| eral plan of the employers to do away with the
| union label and that they were prepared for it
conference of representatives of the labor unions
is be called by the American Federation or
| Labor. It said that & large sum of money
had been appropriated TO carry the fight.
This a fight not only for the existence Of
our union' President Motfitt said yesterday, but
| for every union that uses label We are aoun-
dainty ready and able to carry on the fight to the
| end. We will win because are in the right We
did not suppose that such drastic action would pe
! token by the bosses, although relations had
| been strained for time. We are ready to ar
hitrate. and would have adjusted the Guyer case
by arbitration If the finn had been willing. but 1t
Insisted using the union label without permission
| BY the men Then the men forced to quit"
! Martin LawIor, secretary OF the United Hatters.
said the cause OF the trouble was the refusal OF
| the Guyer company TO 1--we up 10 It's contract with
| the union The statement that the men in the
| Philadelphia factory quit work., he said was
| misleading.
| The strike had little effect in this city because
| the large firms in the New York district we're not
| using the label. A meeting Of the employers Will
| Re held here to-day.
| Not all of the concerns in the manufacturers
association have Joined in the enforcement Of the
! order one Of these being the Dunlap company
! which employs between six thousand and seven
thousand hands. Charles A Keator, vice president
| Of the company said yesterday: We are a union
| concern and don't expect any strike The firm be
longs to the Manufacturers Association, but we
have not acted with 1t in this matter We VIII
| continue to use the label products"
| The National Hat Manufacturers Association
| has an agreement with the United Hstters OF
| North America 1t said. that. pending settlement
of all disputes by the boards of the two assocla-
! tons the men must remain at work The dispute
| over the substitution by the Guyer company Of the
| Philadelphia wage scale for the Boston scale was
| referred TO the national body By tie Guyer COM
| psnv but the manufacturers say, the men refused
| to abide by the contract Of their union aOn thls
| point President Mundheir said:
The trouble Is ell due TO the violation OF an
agreement by the union. The agreement was
made on July 81 19J7. and provided that the union
| Was TO give the Manufacturers Association ten
| davs' notice before II withdrew men or 'he Iaoe'
| from the factory of any of our members INC
| speciac violation was the Of the Glyer nat
| f.or,nan,- OF Philadelphia Three weeks ago the
| union withdrew men from this factory without due
| notice and it was then decided unanimously u
discontinue the union label
| r,anbnry Conn Jan 15.-About seven huhdreu
| ha.,er. 1ran+ ont at South NorwaIk four hundred
a. New Milford and about six hundred at the tiree
factories in Bethel which are members OF ''e asSo
ciaton while in this city about thirty -elsht nun
dred rersors were affected by the stTke oroer Inc
opinion prevails here that it will be long struggle.
| South Noryalk Conn, Jan. 15-The seven hun
| dred employees of the Crofut & Knapp company are
| on strike It is the only plant In the Nor"aIks
which has membership in the Manufacturers AS
sociarion ana the half dozen other factories are
continuing business as usual
Reading. Penn. Jan. 15-This is large hat
manufacturing centre but the strike will have no
effect here as ell the local fur hat factories are
conducted as open shops The wool hat concerns
use labels.
MISS PECK TO AID INJURED GUIDE.