The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-27
Engineers And Bremen Ready
 For Strike Vote
Men Claim An Honest En- deaVOr For AmicabIe
 Settlement.
SAY MANAGER RARDO
 VIOLATED PRECEDENT
Letter Cites Grievances Of The Employees And Refers To Efforts To Reach A Sat
 isfactOry Agreement.

New Haven, Sept. 27-The engineers
 and fremen of the New York, New
 Haven & Hartford Railroad, today
 received 8 letter from the adjustment committee of their brotherhoods and
 with it a blank ballot on which they
 are to vote on the question of SUD-
 porting the committee even to the cx-
 tent of a strike if deemed necessary
 to secure a change of the rules pro- mulgated a fortnight ago by General Manager Bardo and to which the en- gineers have made objection.
 The letter reviewed at some length the progress of the negotiations be-. tween the adjustment committee and General Manager Bardo, and sets forth that in spite of the fact that the rules were under Consideration the general manager, contrary to any known precedent, promulgated those rules and that later when 8 confer ence was secured on this point the committee and grand officers of the Brotherhoods were informed that there was no appeal above the office of Vice President Whaley.
 The letter sent the engineers, in substance, is as follows:
 Tn letter of August 3rd, 1913, Gen era1 Manager Bardo submitted draft of duties which he desired to put into effect and to give 30 days notice of a proposal to change the rules and schedules which were in effect
 ''The joint committee representing the engineers, hremen and hostlers met on August 19, to consider the rules fact that the proposed rules. intended a serious attack upon the Fundamental principles that schedules are based upon, namely, seniority, examinations and right of an aggrieved employe to appeal to the General Manager.
 AI-E.a 1F
 mittee made every honest endeavoEs to make an arnicab1e setttemeTit. Dur ing these conferences the committee made1 e1t0neessions to meet the recom- mendations and suggestions of the in- terstate commerce commission and of state of Connecticut by applying the one year and two year rule to engin- eerc on local. and through passenger service. In the judgment of the com with other rules and agreements will meet all necessary other requirements.''
 ''On September g, the committee again met with General Manager Bar do whose attitude at that time con vinced the committee that negotia- tions without the aid of the grand of fcers were useless. MT. Bardo was notified by letter to that effect and advised that the matter had been re- ferred to the chief executives of the for adjustment. On the same day, the executive officers took the matter in charge and notified MT. Bardo to that effect and requested a conference. During the interval in which they waited for a reply the general manager regardless of prev | ious and pending negotiations and in open defiance of the committee, l grand officers and organizations with l out any known precedent for such an act .1ut into effect the rules under dis | cussion by issuing G. M. circulars 2IO 1 and POP. In letter of the 18th, the | grand officers requested MT. Bardo to | recall his order that the discussion l might be held upon them and upon | that he had been called | from the city, they appealed to Vice President Wha1ey for action. He de- clined to act in absence of the gem eral manager and thereupon an ap- peal was made to Vice-President Illus tis. By the time this appeal had been made the other officials were ready to confer and upon receipt of infor- nation that they would represent him ( MT. Hustis0 the grand officers had a conference with MT. Wha1ey and MT. RardO on inc