Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-20
LOCAL BREWERS
DECLARE STRIKE
FOR HIGHER PAY
Five Hundred Men Cease Work
Following Refusal of Compa-
nies to Grant a Raise
wALKoUT IS MOST ORDERLY
Manufacturers Will Attempt to
Resume This Morning Under
Open Shop System

II ETWEEN 450 and 500 men are out
IL of employment as a result Of the
- brewery workers. strike, declared
at L o'clock yesterday afternoon, follow
ing the refusal of the local brewers
association to grant a wage increase
demanded by the bottlers and drivers,
and to grant the brewers a six-hour
day on Saturdays with full pay. The
loss in wages to the men concerned Will
be between $4,000 and $4,000 a week.
This morning the Maier, Los Angeles.
East Side and Mathie breweries all of
which were unioniZed up to l o'clock
yesterday, will attempt to resume bus
mess under the open shop plan. This
morning, also, union employees of local
agencies which bottle goods in this
city, though the beers are brewed else
where, will find themselves locked out.
There is only one exception to this
statement The local agency of the
Anheuser- Busch company has signed
the contract proposed by the union and
will continue with its old force intact.
Joseph Proebstle, financial secretary
of the International union, United
Brewery Workmen of America, arrived
in Los Angeles yesterday and at once
assumed charge of the local situation.
The walkout followed closely upon his
arrival, that action, however, being
taken with the sanction of the Central
Labor council of Los Angeles, whlch
was represented at yesterdays confer
ence by W. A. Engle, president, and
l.. w. Butler, secretary.
WANT INCREASE OF so CENTS A DAY
The demands of the men, refused by
the brewers were for an increase of 5O
cents day for drivers; a six-hour day
on Saturdays for brewers, with pay for
full time; and an increase for bottlers
of so a week. Bottlers are now paid $l1
or SIS weekly, ''class A" receiveing the
former wage and "class b" the latter
They ask for $19 and $40.
The walkout was accomplished III
orderly manner and with little appear
ance of feeling either on the part or
the men or their employers. The union
left on duty enough stablemen to care
for the horses; all engineers and fire
men needed to keep the refrigerating
plants in operation, and a sufnclent
number of brewers to finish the brew
already begun. These men remained at
work. however, with the understanding
that they would walk out Immediately
as soon as any attempt is made to con-
tnue business with non-unlon LABOR:
This attempt, the brewers say, Will
come this mornig.
The surprising feature of the strike
is the fact that both sides to the con-
troversy agree in their statements re-
gardine all important matters at issue
between them. There is no dispute IN
volving the facts, and personal rancor
apparently has not yet developed. Both
sides kept the contract made between
them some months ago in good faith,
and Yesterdays walkout was merely
the result of their failure to agree upon
terms for new contract to take the
place of the one which expired May 10.
The brewers, for their part, otered TO
renew the terms of this previous con-
tract for a period of three years. This
offer the men refused. and when their
counter er-propostion was rejected they
quit work.
he had come to Los Angeles from a
business trip down the coast during
which breweries in Portland, Seattle,
san Francisco and Fresno had signed
contracts granting substantial ad-
vances to their employees, advances
equal to those asked here. and in some
instances greater than the scale pro-
posed for Los Angeles.
SAYS INCREASE NOT WARRANTED
AT his meeting with the local brew
ors' associat ton yesterday, Mr.
Proebstle made a similar statement, to
which the Los Angeles brewers replied
that wages here are considerably
higher than they are in the east for
the same class Oh MOIh anu NAieib AOSeNi
business conditions do not warrant an
increase at this time. Speaking for
the brewers, William Kraemer, man
ager of the Los Angeles brewery, and
secretary of the association, DECLARED
that San Francisco is union ridden
city, and added that the breweries there
are unable to help themselves, even
though the terms wrested from them
by their employees are unjust.
The men complain that they have
tried several times in the past to Sc
cure a conference with their employers
but that they were always referred
until last night, after the strike had
been declared-to Mr.. Kraemer, from
whom they could get no satisfaction.
The employers complain that the men
have turned over the management or
their affairs to an outsider, who has
no interest in them and who should
be allowed no voice in the matter.
The unions directly concerned in the
strike, outside Of the brewery workers,
are the machinists', engineers, ire
mems and coopers' internationals.
One outside brewery, that of the
Union Brewing company at Anaheim,
is a member of the local association
and will be involved in the strike.
At Labor Temple last night 1t was
reported that one local brewery had
made deliveries of beer yesterday after
noon, eIDplbylhS JdpuINSS
When Mr. Kraemer's attention was
called to this he said no deliveries had
been made after strike by any firm
which is a member of the association.
He added, however that in some in
stances customers had sent drays or
exnress wagons TO the breweries for
sunplies and had secured them.
whether one or more of the drivers
so employed were Japanese he did not
know.