Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-09-03
STRIKE CONTINUES,
SOME FIRMS. YIELD
Several Contractors Pay Bricklay-
ers Additional Wage in Order
to Finish Jobs.
BUILDERS EXCHANGE REFUSES

While a strike committee of the
Omaha Builders exchange has issued
statement to the effect that the
contractors cannot grant the brick
layers, now on strike. the additional
cents an hour asked for. neverthe-
less a number of contractors are al
ready paying the required 75 cents
an hour, particularly on jobs that
were almost completed.
Statement by Builders.
The statement Issued by the Builders
exchange committee, with r. Gould
as chairman, Is an follows;
The contractors cannot pay the in
creased wage demanded by the bricklay-
ers because all the Jobs now being car
ried on were figured by them on n basis
of 40 cents an hour and the work let to
them on that basis. 1t Is unjust and un-
fair to them for the bricklayers to at
tempt to raise the wages on jobs already
contracted for by the contractors
Asked what would be done about jobs
in the future, Chairman Gould merely
said: "Well, most of the work to be
done this year Is already contracted"
I'VE will not pay the rs cents, that's all
there is to it," said Mr.. MCGOWAN OF
MCGOWAN & Jacobberger. "rd rather see
the laborers raised to IS cents an hour
than the bricklayers to Tb,"
Several Firms Pay Higher Wage.
Work ON the NJ. c. Peters mill is going
ahead on the basis of 20 cents an hour
for the bricklayers. This Job. is nearly
finished, and when the bricklayers an
nounced Wednesday morning that they
must have 6 cents or they would refuse
to work, the extra nickel was promised
them, and the work was not delayed at
all.
The real estate firm or Norris & Nor
ris is paying the advanced scale also on a
brick veneer house It is finishing at 1924
Pine street. I'VE s'nply went ahead and
paid them the advance asked for when
they put it up to us yesterday" said w.
c. Norris. When this job is finished. of
course, we will not start on the other
houses we contemplated, until this
I trouble is settled"
other Employers Yield.
At headquarters OF the bricklayers at
the Labor temple, it was stated that
there are quite a number of other con-
I tractors who are already paying the rs
cents. Among these jobs the bricklayers
mentioned the Joe Eastman job, at Fifty
first and California street; the crick
chimney being built on the Castle hotel;
the big apartment house at Thlrty-second
and Poppleton avenue; the McCabe
Methodist church at Forty-first and Far
nam street, and others.
Only a half days work remained to be
done on the Dewey apartment house OF
Hastings & Heyden when the strike
came. II think we will have the fore
man go ahead and finish that" said
Byron Hastings. IF not, Mr.. Benson and
! will put on our loveralls and finish Il
ourselves AS for the other apartment
houses we are building. I do not know
| just what will be done, but have con-
| fidence that the matter will be settled one
way or the other within a few days"
There were 800 union bricklayers In
Omaha at the time the strike was
called. OF this number $50 were working
just prior to the strike. Just how many
are still out It Is difficult TO state. al
though 1t is estimated at between 15O and
9OO