The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-12-06
Officials of the Central Yer
mont and the Rutland Are
Not Worrying
BOUND BY
CANADIAN INTERESTS
On the Rutland Passenger Conductors,
Brakemen and Baggagemen Already
Than Hours.

BURLINGTON, Dec. 6. = There is
practically no chance of the roadmen
q either the Central Vermont or tho
Rutland striking on January l or there.
abouts, regardless of what the decision
q the supreme court may be and
whether the Adamson law is in effect or
not The Central Vermont employees
a e bound by the understanding which
the Canadian members of the interna
tlonal brotherhoods reached long ago
not to strike during the progress of the
great war. The road is Il subsidiary Of
the Grand Trunk. The Rutland s men
VIII not strike, first, because all its
passenger conductors, brakemen and
Engagement already have a standard
Work-day of seven hours and ~
minutes; secondly, because they and
al other classes of roadmen are allowed
overtime at regular rates, even though
Trey may have worked less even than
Il IS, which is the shortest work-day of
al, provided their mileage is over 155
miles IN the cases of the classes mem
toned or 100 miles in the case of all
other classes; third, because 10 per
cent of the Rutland S men did not vote
IN favor of a conditional strike when
tie vote was last taken and, even il
they had, their previous vote no longer
hclds-a new vote would have to be
taken; fourth, because the present pay
fer a workdav is satisfactory.
Freight employees, railroad men saw,
alone would benefit from the Adamson
law, and they would not do so neces-
Sarily because of the dual system, of
beth time and mileage, in vogue on rail
reads all over the country The arbitra-
ton award OF 1913, they contend, is still
in effect. In accordance with it, passen-
ger and freight engineers and fremen,
II eight conductors and freight brake
men are paid on the basis of 100 miles
or 10 hours a day-10 miles being
equivalent to one hour. The overtime
rate per hour is reached by dividing the
/ pay for one 1O-hour day by ten. These
/ employees all get overtime after 10
| hours duty, no matter whether they
! have run 100 miles or less. If they
! have run over 100 miles III one day. but
/ have not been on duty as much as 10
| hours, they get the excess mileage over
| ard above a lO-hour day. For example,
would get excess mileage equivalent to
| Que hour overtime.
| Passenger conductors. brakemen and
| bGggagemen similarly have day based
upon l55 miles at 20 miles an hour, or
seven hours and 45 minutes. They are
given overtime if they run more than
100 miles, even though the time they
| take in doing so is less than 7&4 hours.
If they exceed 155 miles in one day,
regardless of the length of time con
sumed, their overtime or extra mileage
is allowed and is figured as before.
! What the men want is a fat eight.
hour work-day for all classes of road.
men as the basis of computation. Pas.
senger conductors. brakemen and BAG.
gagemen already have a 7a hour dar,
but other classes of employees have a
l0-hour day. Section three of the Adam.
sen act reads: ''Sec. 3. That pending
the report of the commission herein
provided for and for period of thirty
days thereafter the compensation OF
railway employees subject to this act
for standard eight hour work-dav
) shall not be reduced below the present
standard day 5 wage, and for all neees
!. sary time III excess of eight hours sucf
employees shall be paid at a rate not
less than the pro-rata rate for suel
! standard eight -hour workday.'' The
Adamson law makes no mention of ex
ira mileage, counted as overtime, MOI
of standard workday based on mile
age. If the law takes effect the three
classes Of passenger employees, engi
neers and fremen being the exceptions
will cease to have the benefit of the
mileage work-day, while all other class
es in both passenger and freight servic,
: at present frequently make more thar
they would be likely to make under the
Adams0n law.