The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-03-02
CHICAGO CARPENTERS
MAKE THE TROUBLE
Local Union Men Are Forced to Com
pete With Workmen Getting Chi
cago Scale of 5614 Cents, When
They Themselves Are Only Getting
so Cents Per Hour,

Lake county building contractors and
those who would like to see a re-
turn of the building activity of year
or two ago are wondering what will
be the effect of their raising the scale
of wages from so to 5sA cents an hour
April l.
In spite of the fact that the busi-
ness interests of the country are. try
ing to nurse the nation back to its
normal prosperity and there is re-
trenchment on all sides. the carpenters
have taken the opposite course and
have decided to give themselves 121a
per cent in wages.
They justify their action in the fol-
lowing manner: The Gary contractors
have made it a practice 10 hire CHI
cago carpenters The ara even some
of the contractors in East Chicago, In
diana Hsrbor and Hammond. have said
that they would rather pay the Chicago
men the so cents an hour they demand
than to pay the local artisans SO cents.
That being the case, the carpenters
in the Calumet region, or rather in
the Lake county council put their
heads together and decided if the con-
tractors, who have just come into the
region, feel that way about it the local
craftsmen might as well raise their
wages to the old Chicago figure of 56A
cents an hour.
Raise Effective April L.
The raise was made and will go into
| effect April l, in time to give the con-
tractors an opportunity to figure on it.
!
! erty have been considering the build-
| ing of costly business blocks while
materials are cheaper. but should there
be a general advance in wages at this
time they say il would put a stop to
many building projects.
The contractors have all acquiesced
! to the raise, but many of them are
chafng under the necessity for SO do
ing. They say that, while industry is
dead in other branches and the work
ingmen are glad to get anything at
all to do, the carpenters in Lake coun-
ty vote themselves a 1914 per cent raise
and get away with it.
| There Is now, and in the future there
will be. an enormous amount of build<
| ing activity as the cities of the Calus
met region grow and they maintain IL
is of greatest Importance that indus
trial peace be assured and the scals
of wages in the crafts be maintained
at something like a reasonable figure.
Now a Poor Time.
These same contractors say that if
| the raise in the scale hsd been au-
| thorized when the building activity
was at its heighth and everyone was
making a lot Of money it would not
be so bad. but to come at the present
time there is question as to the effect
it will have on the various building
projects now in contemplation.
Where the Hammond carpenters vera
getting 81 a day, they will now get
$3.50. The Chicago men are now get
ting S4SO, according to the statement
of a well-known Hammond union man.
In addition to this the building season
has been so expended that the COM
plant that carpenter can work only
about six months Of the year is no
longer founded IN fact
In Gary there are carpenters who
have worked practically every day
throughout the entire winter and do
not lose any more time at that season
of the year than they do in the suns
mer time.
The building of Gary has undoubtedly
complicated the local labor situation.
The demand for union men has been
so great that 1t was impossible, early
in the history of the new steel city. to
supply the workingn en- from this re-
gion.
Enter Chicago Market.
It became necessary to draw on the
Chicago labor market and this made
II necessar ~ to raise the sra Ie Of vraCes
to some where near the Chicago scale
before the offer Of employment was at
tractive enough TO tempt the Chicago
men 10 go to Indiana Harbor and Gary.
The creation Of a large class of for
eign union workingmen has also had
the effect OF causing trouble in the 10.
4 cal labor organizations