Gunnison news-champion., 1913-10-24

Prior 70 shs calling Il - present cool ssrsse.
substantial differences sx~ssd besWeen The .sa<
and sas.r workm~a. o.S smaH minority Il the
miners msnsbssr II ~ snioa TINS United nia~
worsen Of America cisi..-s a nami.ership IN that
orssnizas.on hay a. MA II Colorado.
Utah and New hexico II ssly e4s out Of tstsl Of
2s.@s men employed Aspssx,1nasey 1s0 II sh~s<
members enrolled fvsa - uarshsrn pert of Col
orsdo where q strike hsd hsss ~ progress for many
months. and l.s@ from psi.ss where in this state
and IN Utah and New kssiss
Some weeks ago sf - officials Of she United
Nine Workers shs sasss and annouaced pub
hcly land privately shst Ga purpose 70 bring
about the recognition u hs esgsI BY the
Of ali coal mInss-sAst H. 1t his purpose and
that of his union 10 csnss, - aEerstoss to sign
form Of contract which, s..sg other thnss. ssssirss
the employment Of unsa ~. only IN sad sbost essl
mines.
because Of this sad usay Gther stipulssisas n shs
se-cslled contract wh0A = ipssshie Of salesesssss
sGainst the unioa-s vsssssy. irresponsible end saia
eorporated sssocistisa h.csase Of te facs shst
few of working IN ~ .inss meuhss e his
organisation. and were nskag demsadA ~ sssss-
tors declined to nsGosisas uus she subject
= Thereupon the snisn slRetsl mentioned sssssacsd
that, although fully s.sevsssd d. he wssla not
cell strike to enforce hs asnands. but would pefes
the matter to convensa Il representatives sslscssd
BY the miners in oil the sssl camps of the state.
convention call 1t INST IN Trinidad Two hum
dred and fifty so-called delegates present. One
hundred striking and Ne miners from northern
Colorado 50 theresbouts were officers or paid en-
ployes of the union Tho selected by those
in charge of this convention, end represent
ed the actually ct work in the mines In few, if
any, instances were deleestss selected by the
actually employed in the cool camps. This CONvEN-
TIoN voted to call a strike, and it accordingly
called for the 2srd inst. At thai approximately
50 per cent of the men engaged end about the coal
mines laid down their tools.
The real and at first the frankly avowed object
of the strike eaders-to compel the operators to sign
the union contracthas for effect upon the public
been increased to include number of new demands
which properly appeal, with force, to all right
thinking men who definitely advised of the
facts.
An advance of 10 percent in wages is demanded
This cannot be conceded. The wages of the miners
voluntarily advanced 10 per by the operators
in April, 1912, and business conditions do Justify
Iurther advance at ths time Inc coal miners OF this
state receive high higher compensation their
work than those of any state in the Union with the
coal from which that mined in this com
petition. In August last, the miners employed at as
of the mines of this state, the records of which
available received average wage of 49, per day.
and they could have worked had they elected do
26 days during the month at nearly every mine The
men themselves have not complained in this regard
and it has remained for union organizers from else
where to discover here a grevious wrong.
sem-monthly pay day, eight-hour work day
and check weighman demanded by the leaders of
the union preciptatng this strike. 1t is generally
known that the operators Of this have paid their
men twice month for many months. An eight t-hour
day was voluntarily put in force in the mines
time before the statute of the tate required it, There
is not mneowner in Colorado who will permit his
to have CHECK. .weighman of their own selection
at any time, and the statute conpes it.