The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-08-06
Locomobile Company Is
 Willing To Grant Help
 Eight Hour Working Day
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thy with our men.
 While had come here prepared to take the platform in person, after ma ture deliberation I can see no reason why we should indulge iTI further pub lie speaking today, for the men in the factory want to vote in. the qnestion of bonus or eight hour day. We will therefore provide a hall and hold this meeting tomorrow night, @
 s. T. Davis, Jr., president. of the Lo- cornoI3iIe Co, in a statement given out to thezpress, spoke of the pleasant re- Ia tions that have marked the progress of capital and labor in the Loconobile plant. and voiced the conapany's dis position to treat with its men towards adopting heseighty hour day if that is the wish of the majority of the work CTS He does not state what the com pany's position is in the matter Of maintaining the pay of the men. on the eight hour basis. the same as on the ten hour basis
 MT. Davis statement follows: | The Locomobile Company started to work on plan to share part of the profits of the company with it's men a way back in 1911, four years ago. 1 When the matter was fairly well | worked out business conditions were such that it was impossible to put it in operation In fact last year. after l the declaration of war business slack ened up to such an extent that the tinstituti onsw cut down to 32 hours 1 a. week. This affected the officials, I executive staff and clerical force and they were the last to go onto full time and full pay.
 "A1ong toward the holiday season when the company received substan- | tial orders for war business this schedule of full time became effec-' tive. Since then the force has been I increasing daily and the rates of wages of a large number of the men have been increased and readjusted- upwards in each instance.
 | tWhen the company found that the l volume of business was holding up l in a. way that would justify taking up l the subject it again resumed work on I the plan to share profits with tAe me chanica1 force. The factory organfza- tion was consulted and the subject I thoroughly discussed with various I'foremen and some of the men in an I effort to arrive at a decision as to 1 whether the men preferred 1ncreas- ed earnings through profit sharing or l a schedule of shorter hours. ! The forenlen, factory heads and | others consulted advised the manage rnent that it was the unanimous yer dict of the shops that the employees 1 desired, not shorter hours but more money in their envelope at the end of the week. Acting on this information i the company adopted the plan it had worked out and posted a notice giving
 
 commencing last Monday.
 ''This share will amount to from I $150,a0o, to $3oo.ooo for the current I year, distributed pro rata among all the workers from foreman to sweeper
 Some of the labor leaders in Bridgeport in their agitation for an eight hour day have been trying to influence the Locomobiles employees by stating that the profit sharing plan will not work out to their benefit. even threatening to tie up the plant with a strike.
 This company has only had one strike since it has been operating This was over 13 years ago. We are not in the habit of quarreling with the workmen and do not intend to. Ii
 we find, after the profit sharing plan has been in operation, that the men prefer a work week of shorter hours
 we will make our arrangements tc operate the plant on basis of eigh
 hours a day"