The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1911-01-21
Will Be Made to Have
Revolt. of Sea-Going Workers
Next May Made World Wide.
Lake Seamen's Cause Would
Be Helped. ''.,

AOINDON, Jan. lU.-J. I1dPelOCA
Wilson, member of parliament and +
president of the National Sailors and .
Firemens union of Great Britain. ad-
mitted today that a strike Of sailors,
affecting every English port, would
be called at the beginning Of corona
ton week next, May.
It is Wilson's intention to make
the strike worldwide if possible. He
declares that the time is ripe for
the sailors to get increased pay and
sweeping notifications in the condi-
tions of their labor, which he de-
nounced as unbearable. Asked
whether the Atlantic Coast Seamens
union, the principal American union,
would join the strike, Wilson said:
. To Tic Up Worlds shipping
I'VE hope to make the strike SO es -.
sailors and those of other countries
will see that the time is opportune
for world strike and will speedily
join U.s."
Wilson said that the union now has
membership of 10000 and that u
complete tieup cannot be averted. The
men not only want more pay, but
desire the establishment of a con-
ciliation board to have complete
charge of all disputes that may arise
in the future. They also will insist
on one-third of the wages Of all
sailors being paid to them on arrival
at their first foreign port of call.
The food given the seamen, he says,
is very bad on nearly every line and
this will also have to be improved.
That the food which nearly all the
steamship companies dish out to their
seamen is of so low a grade, and in
many cases so positively foul that
most seamen become physical wrecks
after some years in the service Of
the steamship companies, were the
facts brought out at the annual con-
vention of the international Seamen's
! union, which recently closed in De-
troit, Mich.
Seamen Lose Teeth.
It was shown that most seamen
lose their teeth before they reach
| the age of thirty-five from scuryy.
/ beri-beri and other diseases due to
! malnutrition and the cheap quality
of food given to tbs msts-e a11eaTlss
every seamen Is afflicted with Aome
| sort Of intestinal trouble. '15a;
| This underfeeding of seameH, to-
gether with the 'unsanity conditions
! under which they are compelled to
! live and the small wages they get.
are creating great deal of discon-
tent, and at the convention it was
determined to take concerted action
to force better conditions from the
steamship companies.
Will Strike If Necessary.
The British delegates to the con-
vention who were represented by
proxy, reported that over in England
they were trying to get a government
conciliation board to look into the
condition under which the English
seamen live and work.
If the conciliation board fails to
| bring any improvements from the
steamship companies then q strike Of
seamen will be in order. When such
a strike of seamen is called it will
be made worldwide, for the condi-
tions of seamen everywhere, and
more especially in the United States
are even worse than in Great Britain.
Average Wage $22.5O
The average wage of American sea-
men in $22.50 month. The average
| workday nominally is twelve hours
day, but there are few seamen that
work less than sixteen and quite fire.
quently men are made to work eigh-
teen and twenty hours day, the
law being that a. seamen must obey
! orders and work as told to. The
seamen know of no Sundays and no
holidays. A day off is a rarity.
The average time a seamen is en-
ployed is eight months a year. Split
this average wage of $3.50 for the
eight working months to cover the
twelve months in the year which the
! seamen has to live, and the average
Of $22.5O g. month is reduced to