New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-08-08
MARBLE MEN ON STRIKE
Building Trade Faces Its FIRST
Serious Struggle.
ASK so CENTS A DAY MORE
Five Hundred Employees Out and
Thousand More May Join the
Movement Tomorrow.


The first serious struggle IN the ouiid-
ing industry between unions and asso-
Citations Of employers has been started
by general strike Of the Whitestone
| Association NJ Marble Poishers ana
Rubbers on all contracts of the members
Of the Marble Industry EMPLOYERS AS
ISOLATION THIS is 70 be followed to-
morrow by a general strike ~ the heh-
arce Labor Club cf Marble Cutters IN
Guiding The carvers. II is feared gen
e-aI war in the building industry may
result
The rolisbers went on strike last week,
| but their action was kept quiet untn
Yesterday. in the hope that the men
vould change their minds When 1t was
found the strikers were obdurate the
employers decided m accept the gage
Of battle. and the cordial relations winch
have existed for many years between 1i'e
association employers and NUMBER OF
unions are now likely 10 be broken Inc
D
/ trades for the first time.
The demands are for IN Increase ID
wages Of 30 cents q day and the impo-
sitior Of conditions which the employers
consider oppressive and impossi Die.
| Among these is one 70 the effect that the
superintendents Of work must be mem
/ hers Of the union and another IS that IN
| cases where charges are made. against
EMPLOYERS Of not living up 70 an agree
mAnt the employers may be the Judges
in the first case. but in all subsequent
casas the union is 70 be the Judge
/ About 500 men are on strike at pres
ent and the expected strike OF the cut
/ ters and others tomorrow viii bring OUT
I about 900 more. but these strikes VIII
aIeo throw idle men on over fifty build
49,, u,bo are not on strike but who
cannot work Independent Of those WHO
NAV he forced into involuntary ldleness
/ IN shops. The wages paid 10 the marble
workers BY the association employers
are 81. So 50. 81. s42 IS and 8 go &C
cording 70 the work in the helpers anu
I mechanics branches.
A. meeting Of the Marble Industry
EMPLOYERS Association held late yesIeI-
dav afternoon in the Builders kx-
/ change No "a West 33d street. II was
decided unanimously TO have the
en,plove-s proceed ar once TO optaih
new men and that they Shout not con-
/ fer with the strikers The Emergency
/ Committee Of the Building Trades En-
nlova-x Association afterward indorsed
/ this action.
/ IN q staternent made last evening oy
BENJAMIN D. Traitel. president OF the
| Marble Industry Employers Associa-
/ ton. Mr.. Traitel said:
For 4 long time the building INDUS
/ trv has been dull, and there Is still niue
! doing in the trade, with the exception
| ~ some large contracts. Why any union
/ shnuld strike at such time / ran 70
understand The demand that the SUI
nertntenderts OF work must be members
~ the union IL most preposterous one,
tss the superntendents are representa-
,,ves NJ the employers and n We acced-
e6 ~ this We might AZ well put our
contracts I'm charge ~ the union
The control Of the work by the unions
would be complete II we also agreed 10
the demand that they should be the ar
biters OF all charges against employers
after the first charge. We have kept
the men IN work and paid the highest
wages for the sake OF harmony during
years Of the severest depression IN the
trade. and have always lived up 20 our
agreements and never lowered the
wages. no matter how dull times were.
The wages of one branch paid by US
were 81 a day. The men want 80 cents
a day advance On this vet some men
are working for s. IS day at the same
work for competing firms. I believe we
can got all the men We want and wo
will start right away TO man our jobs
and shops I do not know what the out
come Of his fight may be but we will
have no conferences with mon Oh
strike"