United labor bulletin., 1910-10-20
WEB PREssMENs UNION
STRIKES DENVER PAPERS
CONTINUED from page ~

News and Republican would not issue
papers in the city while the men were
out at the Post. but were allowed to
make their mail editions. Outside of the
mail editions the pressmen on the News
and Republican loafed in the press
rooms, doing nothing. There were meet
ings between the publishers and the To-
cal pressmen's union and temporary
settlement was reached by President
Berry of the pressmen's national organ
ization advising the men to return to
work and the publishers agreeing to a
20 per cent. increase. But no new con-
tract was signed; the signed and repudi-
ated contracts still existed and were III
the possession of the pressmen.
In June of this year the pressmen's
national organization held its convention
in Columbus, Ohio. At that convention
the dispute between the Denver publish
ers and the Denver pressmen's local
came up for discussion. The convention
found the repudiated contracts to be
valid and ordered the board of directors
of the national organization to effect a
settlement not later than August 1.
In pursuance of that resolution Vice
President A. l.. Kreitler of the national
organization came to Denver early this
month. He had with him written au-
thority from President Barry to settle
the matter. AS the Times under its new
ownership had no contract with the
pressmen Mr.. Kreitler called upon the
management of the Times and presented
virtual copy of the contract signed
and repudiated by the other publishers.
The Times signed and is now operating
under that contract with eminent sue
cess. But the other publishers again re-
fused to acknowledge the repudiated
contracts or to sign new ones similar to
that accepted by the Times with the un-
derstanding that If the Times contract
was signed the back pay contention
would be dropped, and Vice-President
Kreitler went back to Chicago. Satur-
day a committee from the pressmen's
local waited upon the publishers of the
Republican, the News and the Post to
effect settlement.
Frank H. Pidcock was spokesman for
the committee. He said to the publish
ers that the committee was there repre-
senting Denver Web Pressmen's union
No 22 and that they were directed to
say to the publishers that they would be
at the hall, Sc King block, until o'clock
Saturday evening awaiting the pleasure
of the publishers If they desired to COM
municate with them in regard to set
tlement.
Following this call from the committee
from No. %, the publishers prepared the
following letter to the pressmen, drawn
with the evident intention of making 1t
public:
To the Executive Committee of Web
Pressmen's Union, No. %.
Dear Sirs:-The Denver Publishers
association have received through you
what is in effect an ultimatum We feel
that we are confronted with strike by
your body unless we meet your demands
Your committee told us that this step
is without authority from the interna-
tional body or its executive committee,
although you had wired the executive
committee for authority to strike. You
know that the Denver publishers, who
are members of the Publishers associa-
ton, are working under contract with
your local union that is definite in Its
terms and which has been faithfully
lived up to by both the publishers and
the men. Neither side has been ac-
cused of failing in any way to faithfully
observe every provision of that contract.
You have not suggested that grievance
of any kind exists. The contract under