United labor bulletin., 1910-11-17
DESIRE
CONTROL OF UNION.
Continued from Page 80


the same as i;.e printers got Hearst
to start the Los Angeles Examiner-and
that after the papers affected were feel
in the results of the fight they came to
the printing trades unions and asked them
to sign a contract. Then suppose the
unions would say that the publishers
must take into their organization the
papers that caused them to. lose the
fight What would they say? What
would the public say? They wouldn't
Say anything at all; they would just
laugh.
We will say you are in business, and
the man who is affected financially by
your business gets into a controversy
with you and when you want to make a
settlement of the differences he asks
that friends of his or people in his en-
ploy be made partners in your business
with full voting power-eligible to re-
ceive dividends, and force the adoption
of new business principles-principles
that would surely ruin your business.
What would you say?
You would say, 20, hell!'
Then we will take No. 5:
(5) That foremen should direct
all work; that they might assign the
various crews to operate the presses
as the necessities of the business
might require, but no press was to
be run short-handed, and that jour
neymen AND ALL OTHERS should
perform all work pertainings to
presswork that the foremen might
direct during. regular hours without
extra charge, and that foremen
should not be disciplined by the
union for enforcing the terms of the
agreement.
The joker of the whole controversy is
in the words AND ALL OTHERS.
In those three words lie the OPEN
SHOP
In those three words is the lie to the
statement that the publishers want to
settle with the pressmen.
That is the reason the pressmen will
not sign the contract with the publish
ers 1t calls for all others. At present
the work pertaining TO presswork" is
done by journeymen pressmen and mo
Others"
If the above contract had been signed
the proprietor could work the journey
men on a press with ALL OTHERS
the ALL OTHERS being non-union men.
No. 3 says that the number of men
on presses should continue as under the
old contract. 1t does not say the same
number of journeymen members of Web
Pressmen's union No. % should be en-
ployed.
The proposed contract seems to have
been drawn to deliberately insult the
union men with whom they proposed to
treat. Some say the contract was drawn
to deceive but the writer cannot view it
in that light for it stands out open as
book-and through it the open shop
smiles serenely.
All past differences have been dropped
by the pressmen, and they ask that the
publishers settle on a fair basis.
But the publishers will not.
George L. Berry, president of the In
ternational Printing Pressmen's and AS
sistants' union, in making his report to
Web Pressmen's union No 22 gives the
facts and advises the organization as
follows:
To the Officers and Members of the Den
yer Web Pressmen's Union No. %.
Dear Sirs and Brothers: After COM
plete investigation by the international
board of directors in connection with the
present difficulty between the publishers
of Denver namely: The Post, News and
Republican, beg to say, that it is estab-
Iished beyond question that due to the
strike now in vogue, that the above
have banded together for
purpose of establishing the open shop
(so-called) principles. Your board of di-
rectors have exhausted every measure
to secure an adjustment but Messrs.
Patterson, Tammen and Stapleton, repre-
senting the News, Post and Republican.
have demanded the follow
ing conditions:
First-The open shop. 'so-caled, but
which is nothing more or less than the
shop.
Second-That the local union bring
into its organization the notorious nom
union mechanics that have been import
ed through antagonistic employers asso-
Citations of the East.
Third-They have demanded reduc-
ton in our wages and also reduction
in the number of men that have hereto
fore operated newspaper presses of the
papers indicated above.
Fourth-They have refused arbitration
of all differences.
Fifth-They have demanded that our
board of directors repudiate our laws
and permit the publishers to work crews
on as many presses as they (the pub
lishers) desire.
With the above review of the essen
tial points raised by the publishers, in
my mind clearly demonstrates the an
tagonism of the publishers to organized
labor, particularly in view Of our willing
ness to return to the employment Of the
publishers under identically the same
conditions as prevailed at the time of
the strike. willing, therefore, to waive
our demands for increase in wages and
back pay. In the bringing to your atten-
tion the questions in this manner. have
in mind the securing of assistance from
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