The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-04-01
No. 13.
INTERNATIONAL
DEFIES LOCAL
Seattle Spirit Would Re-
duce Everett's Pay Roll

Local mionists are very sore at the
actions of the Brick and Stone AIasons
international in connection with the G.
y. depot. now building. \ brief review
of this trouble and of the united stand
taken by the building trades of this
city might not he out of place and will
explain why the above mentioned In
temational has been SO severely cen
surcd
In the early spring of 1909 small
bunch OF union carpenters walked out of
the Seattle union and went to work on
the A.-G.-P buildings, under open shop
conditions and for reduced scale of
one dollar or more per day. These men
were fined and expelled from the Sc
attic carpenters union. Chase & Co.,
held contracts on A.-Y.-P. fair buildings
and these dcserters, headed by one Mil
burn. went TO work for the company un-
der notorious open shop conditions,
thereby aiding the Builders Exchange in
their avowed attempt to break the build
lnP trades unions, or seattle.
When the contract was let for build
ING the Everett depot, Chase & Co. were
found to be the successful bidders Mil
burn and three other expelled carpen-
ters from the Seattle union came here
and went to work on the building, Mil
| burn being foreman. A committee from
the local union visited the work and
talked with these men and tried to in
duce them to square themselves with
the Seattle local so that there might be
no trouble.
These men finally agreed to pay their
back dues to the Seattle union. but
steadfastly refused to pay their fines
/ This OF course was unsatisfactory to
the Seattle union and no settlement could
be reached. The local carpenters then
had no alternative but to declare the
Job unfair and their action was comcurr-
ed in by the Building Trades Council.
/ The local bricklayers union, which works
in perfect accord with the building trades
in this city. called off two of their mem
bers who We're at work and refused to
allow their men to 90 on the Job
Third NicePres Duffy, of their Inter
national then appeared on the scene and
a stormy interview between him and
the local union ensued. Duffy demand
ed that the ban be removed from the
job as far As the bricklayers were con
cerncd. The local union stood pat with
the other building trade unions OF this
city. Unable to convince the BOYS that
it would be all right to scab on the other
trades if their own work was monizcd.
he returned to Seattle and sent brick
layer, from that city to the G.. y.
Job The local union immediately pro
tester the actions of Duffy to their In
tcmational. \ letter came back from
| their international See Treas. upholdmg
Duffy and scoring the Everett union
because they insisted that a Job that
was unfair to carpenters must be unfair
to bricklayers. He advanced the argu-
mcnt that Duffy had charge of the So
attic trouble for the hricklayers and had
found 1t necessary to make concessions
to contractors and they had perfect con
fidence in Duffy'~ Judgment. The in
ference was that what was good enough
for the bricklayers in Seattle was good
enough for them in Everett He furth-
er stated that il union bricklayers did
not do the work. scabs would. and that
it was to the best interest of organized
labor in this city to have union brick
layers in this work This is a surpris-
ing statement to come from high off
cial of an international and we wonder
where he got his conception of unionism.
/ This argument could just as logically be
applied to every bit of open shop work
in the United States and ii it was nut
into practice, where would the trade
union movement land Are we to un.
/ derstand that no matter how scabby a
! job may be To other trades it is fair to
bricklayers ii their union is reeognizedg
I The strength of our movement lies 10
concerted action by the different trades
involved IN any given piece of work.
What must we think of an internation-
al that valves aside the contentious of
sister craft as of no Importance as
4 long as they receive their own craft con-
ditiOns?
The sympathy of all local union men
are with the local bricklayers union. who
have true conception of the obliga-
tion they owe to their fellow workers
in other crafts, and not to the interna-
tional that would brazenly scab job to
give their own members employment.