The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-07-20
Efforts to Negotiate Differ ences at Remington Arms and Ammunition Company Result in Failure
LEADERS INTIMATE STRIKE MAY SPREAD
 INTO OTHER FIELDS
This Is to Be a Fight to the Finish, Says President of International Machin- ists' Union


 Eotiations to settle differences be- tween Bridgeport mnchinists and the Remington Arms and Aummu- milton company. engaged on a gi- gantic scale In the manufacture of war munitions for the allied nr- mics, have failed.
 Labor leaders announced tonight that the first of the machinists would walk out Rt noon tomorrow. They added that within a week all work in the Remington shops and in the shops of subcontractors would be at a standstiII.
 Just how far the strike might spread in other anufacturing communities of New England, the labor leaders were unable to esti- mate.
 This announcement was made by J. J. keppler. international vice president of the machinists' union. and John A. John son. vice president of the Structural Iron workers, after a meeting attended by members of the machinists union and by more than a dozen heads of interna tional labor organizations.
 It was said that it was planned to have in the neighborhood of 300 men walk out at first. Then one after another of the various shops would be emptied of ma chinists. Six hundred hod-carriers work ing on new buildings by the Stewart Construction company for the Remington company already have taken a strike vote to follow the machinists out.
 Unless the plans of the labor organza- a. tions miscarry tomorrow or there is some unexpected development which speedily leads to a settlement of the demands of the machinists, 1500 men at least are said to be likely to be on strike by tomorrow night.
 Keppler, advised of call for a confer ence of union officials to consider the threatened strike, issued tonight in Wash ington by Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor said that he and other labor leaders here would pay no attention to any such call Neither Samuel Gompers nor the Pres ident of the United States can stop this strike now" he said.
 'T want to make one statement most emphatic. I want it known that if there is big argument in this town the peo- pie of Bridgeport have no one to blame but Maj. w. w. Penfield works man. ager of the Remington company. We have tried in every way to bring about
 
 ment by Major Penfield that German in- fuence brought about this situation, I want to say this: If anyone forced the issue, it was Major Penfield. We tried to confer with him. Even the United States government recognizes the right of the employe to confer with the en- ployer. Major Penfield has denied us this right"
 Keppler declined to say what other shops would bel called out if the men in the new plant of the Remington com pany went strike.
 Tt would not be right to have some of our men out on strike for eight hours and the others working in other shops for 10 hours a day." he said. within a week we will have all the manufactories in the city tied up''
 The Bridgeport Manufacturers associa- tion, according to a statement given out, decided today to stand up as a body be- hind the Remington company in it's de- cision to maintain an open shop. Tn re- gard to this statement Keppler said: That just beclouds the issue. That is the old stock cry raised by the manu- lecturers to gain the sympathy of the public and of the nonunion men. There was no mention of closed or open shops in Bridgeport until the Manufacturers as- sociaton made that statement today. As a matter of fact it was the Remington company or the oIeWaFt company or D0tfl, that started closed shop methods. They told the milwrights that they would have to join the carpenters union or quit. That was what started all this trouble.
 Tn the carpenters union they would receive $3.75 day. In the machinsts' union, where they belong, they would re- ceive $5 should think that would be sufficient answer to the charge that Ger man influences are behind the movement added Keppler. 'We did not start the thing. The Remington or the Stewart people did it.
 We wanted to settle that difficulty by a peaceful conference. We could not. Then the machinists demanded that if they had to strike to gain their demands they would also stand out for an eight hour day double time for overtime and reinstatement without discrimination of all the men who walked out.
 "It Is plain to see that this is to be a fight to the finish.
 Timothy Daly, president of the Polish- CTS and Buffers union, in statement tonight, said:
 'I understand from a published inter- to send an American Federation of Labor man here to take charge of the situation. I would like to know what Mr Gompers has got to do with this. The international unions are capable of taking care of themselves. He has no right to tell us what to do. He is elected and paid by the internationals and we tell him what to do." tat
 GOmpers Calls Conference