The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-07-03
CENTRAL LABOR UNION PROTESTS
 TRADE SCHOOL
Charges School Is Used As Auxiliary to Manu-
 lecturers
Does Not Turn Out First
 Class Journeymen, is Councils Claim

A protest by the Bridgeport Central Labor Union on the management of the State Trade School in Bridgeport
 The Trades Unions of Bridgeport, in common with organized labor every where, believe in industrial educa- tion, and are willing at all times to of the opinion that the time has come to protest against the methods used in the Trade School in Bridgeport.
 the state Trade School in Bridgeport was made public today, as follows: Bridgeport, is supposed to be main tained by the state, but this is purely supposition, as in the opinion of the Bridgeport Central Labor Union, the policy is outlined and the manage ment dominated and controlled by the Manufacturers association, and this is so complete and thorough, that in- stead of being called State Trade School, 1t should be named kinder garten for the Manufacturers asso- citation. One of the many bad fea- lures of their management is that they take young boys who have not left school, where they are only con- fined of hours at their tasks, and compel them to labor and 10 hours a day. with the promise that they will learn them trade in two years, but the fact of the matter is, the very
 
 ciahsts who will never be able to command the wages of an all around mechanuic.
 The boys who work in the carpenter shop in the Trade School are now en- gagged in building a $5,000 house in school is receiving the regular con- tract price for same, but no one who keeps in touch with these affairs be- lieves it, and we question the right of the managemtnt to deliberately throw journeymen carpenters out of employment. We did know that that was the object of instituting Trade Schools. In the printing department work is being done for the state, an- other instance of taking an unfair ad- vantage of journeymen printers
 In the machine department we find that work is being done for most all manufacturers of Bridgeport, and we are told that the school is receiving the market prices for the products, but we are not shown where or how no one in Bridgeport believes it. and we are of the opinion that it is done for about half or even less than it would cost the manufacturers in their own shops, and they even go so far as to make gambling devices.
 When such conditions exist. how long can machinists and toolmakers command living wage? We know of one instance where boy working in the machine shop in the Trade School who had served about one year. was laced to work in a shop given about one-half the wages of the too1maker, doing part of the work that he had become good at while do- ing this work in the Trade School for. this particular manufactures and we find that this applies to all the trades. that when boy shows any proficiency as a specialist, he is given employ ment as specialist at a greatly re- duced wage simply to grind out more profits for the manufacturer.
 The manufacturers donated several thousand dollars, and we believe it has been a good investment for them, but we do not believe that the Trades School should hold any brief for the Manufacturers association.
 Neither do we believe that the state of Connecticut should foster money making institution for the benefit of the Manufacturers association.
 The first superintendent was not al- lowed to stay long as he showed a dis position to run the school as it should be run in the interests of all con- cerned.
 We know of one case where one small proprietor of a machine shop was forced out of business because of the Trade School securing the work which he formerly did
 In Trade Schools of other states we find that in buying tools for the pu- pils' use, there is a rule that there shall be submitted tools from at least two different firms so that there will be some chance of fair play, but in Bridgeport all the tools are furnished by one of the manufacturers and he purchas from one firm only, and this same manufacturer also furnishes one of his foremen two half days a week to the Trade School as an in- structor and pays him for his time, and most all of the other manufac- turers do the same. and they also send their apprentices to the school at certain times every week to get instruction and also pay them for their time. An agent for the Sawyer Tool Co.,, which is an eight-hour con cern tried to do business with the management of the school, but was told he did not have a chance.
 It is also rumored that the boys in the machine depar rtment have been ad- vised to have nothing to do with the union, and when the unions started to investigate it was impossible to get any of the boys to commit themselves, but it was told by one of the boys.