Evening star., 1915-03-23
Are at Deadlock With Employ
ers Over Form of New Work
ing Contract. 81
FIVE PLANTS IN DISTRICT
INVOLVED IN CONTROVERSY
Attorney Declares They Will Shut
Down Rather Than Submit to
Demands Of Union Men.

Union brewery workers Of wash
ington and counse, for the brewers OF
the District and nearby Virginia have
engaged IN "A controversy as 80 WI.
form a new working contract between
the union employees and the employing
brewers shall take, and the cor
troversy. IL was said today by both
sides to the struggle. may end IN
strike.
A number of differences as TO wing.
scales and time which existed last
year were adjusted IN a new contract
between the workers and employers
which will expire April .. The men de
cline to renew the old contract and
have set up certain claims which tho
counsel for the brewers declare the
employers Will not grant. A deadlock
seems to- have been arrived at. and
representatives. of tho international
unions to which some of the brewery
workers belong are in the city advis-
ing the men.
The breweries affected are the Chris.
Heurich, National Capital, Abner-
Drury. Washington and Arlington com
panies. The unions represented in CON
ferences far held between tho en-
ployers and employees include the Brew
cry Workers Union. the Beer Drivers
=
gineers' Union and the Fircmen's
linton.
The expiring contract between the
workers and the employers contained
a clause, put in II in anticipation of
the effect of the Jones-Works excise
law, which gave the right to the en-
ployers to discharge men II the loss OF
business from the law resulted in not
all the men employed by the brewers
being needed
ha haf .
ficient number of men have been laid
off and that the new contract shall not
grant the right to discharge any more
men. The brewers claim that the beer
business will be still further curtailed
and that there may he necessity for
discharging men again.
Situation as to Drivers.
Another bone of contention" be-
tween the men and the employers is
due to the following situation: Drivers
of beer wagons. who have always
earned no less than $26 a week. have
had the privilege of employing help
ers' on the wagons. Drivers have
earned. in fact. from ss5 to $50 a week
in guaranteed salaries and commissions
on sales of beer. the guarantee he ns
the helpers out of these receipts.
When the Jones-W Works law went in
| to effect in November and business
| was curtailed some drivers were laid
of and the drivers have since set
up the claim that the helpers" they
have been employing have been col
ored non-union men and that the driv
ers as union men have not properly
employed these colored helpers for
the past fifteen years. This compelled
the brewers to employ an additional
number Of drivers, on fat salary and
commission. each to do his own work.
without the aid of helpers" Under
this plan it is said the drivers have
earned from $25 to $50 a week. Now
they are asking the companies to pay
them a guarantee of $26 a week, plus
commissions on beer sales. and to hire
union helpers at S14 a week.
Attorney Leon Tobriner Is counsel
for the companies. He said today that
the companies will close down rather
than submit to the demands of the men
and that the production of beer in
Washington since the Jones-Works
law went into effect already has been
reduced 40 per cent, with the result
that the companies cannot afford con-
cessions to the men,