Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-08-02
St. Louis Telephone Girl Tells Story Of Grievances
Leader In Strike Gives Reasons For The Trouble
Company Not Asked to Recog-
rlize Union at Present
Time
DISCHARGE OF OPERATORS
CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE
Discusses System Employed by
Trust in Advancing
Girls Wages

Louis will be of particular interest
In Honolulu, owing to the fact that
the telephone users of this city know
nothing OF telephone girls. their trou-
bles and the trouble they sometimes
cause the telephone using public:
When Miss Leonora O'Reilly, a New
York expert ON woman's work, union
ism and strikes. was in St Louis re-
Gently she told OF a telephone girl
whose speech before a convention of
Woman's Trade Union League
aroused her to new enthusiasm.
She was new to the work." Miss
0Reilly said. Circumstances had
conspired to make her a leader. She
had never before made speech out
side the meetings of her trade union,
which was only a month old. Yet she
spoke with calm confidence, moder-
ately and sanely, setting forth the
grievances of telephone girls In st.
Louis and graphically showing their
importance to the business interests
Of the country.
Il realized" said Miss O'Reilly, that
this girl, so calmly confident and
armed, was the heir of all the women
who. have struggled in the organiza-
tons of labor since that day when
even trades unions of men denied
them recognition
This girl who aroused new enthusi-
asm in one who had spent a lifetime
in labor organization is Miss Lillian
miller. lately a supervisor in the Sgd.
ney exchange of the Bell Telephone
Company and now president OF the
Telephone Operators Union Of st.
Louis.
Not Regular Brick Thrower.
saw her Just after her release on
bond from the wyoming police sta
ton, where she had been charged
with throwing something more solid
and tangible than arguments at q tax
icab load OF strike breakers. She is
not the sort OF girl who throws bricks,
even under the stress Of strike emo
ton. She does not believe in throw
ing bricks. which are most ineffective
weapons for the war in which she
has engaged. Behind her wide brow
there is too much intelligence for such
folly, too much sanity and sense Of
the proportions Of things.
We talked of the telephone girls
strike for a long time; but she said
not one bitter word OF her opponent,
though she candidly stated his short
eomings.
Possesses Positive Personality.
She is q slip Of a girl in the middle
twenties and 5 feet high. Her eyes
and hair are dark; she wears glasses
to correct astigmatism. Her teeth are
large. regular and frequently displayed
by the lip movement of her trained
articulation. She will smile at q ghost
OF jest. but all the while Is sedately
conscious of the serious business Of
Me. Her voice is low and seldom
modulated. Her emotions are under
firm control. She would not attract
your eye in q crowd, yet is possessed
Of positive personality and good looks.
why are the telephone girls on
striker" I asked. She went at the sub
9ect methodically.
Because the Bell company dis
charged 80 tried and faithful girls for
participation in the organization OF a.
union and Is men for the same rea-
SON"
is that your only grievance? Is
there no question Of recognizing your
union. of wages. or hours of labor?
Not now The company has an
Dounced q new wage scale and has
said that it viii grant eight hours. We
have not asked for recognition of the
union, but have asked for the re-em-
ployment of union girls who, after
long and good service. were discharg-
ed and have been branded in the tele-
phone company's statements as in
competent We are free Americans
and insist upon our right to organize
q union. The company, which sent
agents to jefferson City to oppose the
passage of the woman's nine-hour la
Dor law, insists that we must not or
ganize That is the whole trouble.
Boston Union IL Strong.
There are unions of telephone OPP
orators in Boston and, l think, in
Memphis The union in Boston has
200 members and without a strike il
gained great, benefits for the girls We
had hoped to achieve our ends by
quiet conference, but the strike was
forced upon us. We wanted some re-
forms, which the company says it is
ready to grant, but which we could
not obtain without organization.
when we began to get together
the traffic chiefs called up the girls
one at a Nme and questioned them
about the union. Thirty-two of those
who favored II were notified that their
Reryices were no longer needed and
obey have been branded as incompe-
Tent.
Every one of the % has been in
the company's service three years and
some have seen 10 years service
Miss Margaret Cunningham, super