The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-02-17
REMINGTON co.
AND STRIKERS At
ODDS OVER PAY
Continued from Page One.

cents an hour, if they worth it. Some
may not be worth 20 cents
The men said this morning that fire.
quently they work all morning making
repairs, or substituting dies, and get
no pay for it. This is denied by the
| company.
The assertion Of the company that
an offer had been made to pay half
and let the men pay half for spoiled
work, is denied by the men. They
said they We're told to pay the full
price.
When they went to supt. ElIingham,
they said this morning, he told them
to wait for the f'shop ORDER They
said today they're tired of waiting for
the ''shop order,'' and that it prob
ably would never come.
The die sinI1ers' grievances hadn't
been made known according to the
company today. The strikers say that
the die sinkers belong to the same
union and that's why they quit.
The strikers believe that the fac
tory will be seriously hampered by
their leaving Men of their craft,
they said today, are hard to get and
if the company doesn't grant the de-
mands within three weeks, all will be
gone from the city.
It was admitted at the plant today
that the men were important, and it
was the belief that an adjustment
could be made, although the company
According to the strikers, some of
the trimmer makers have Joined with
them. The braziers, they say, will
soon be idle
To show how hard it is to get men
of their kind, the drop forgers say that
o hammers were idle at the plant, Dc
cause men could not be obtained for
them
The strikers mostly came to this city
from Springfield, Mass. They work
ed under Supt. EI1ingham there.
The following statement was au-
=horized by the local body of United
Association of T2rop and Machine
Forgers, Die Sinkers, Trimmer Makers
and Co-Workers:
''That the public may know the
conditions existing in the trouble of
the drop forgers and die sinkers at the
Remington Arms Co.. the union has
empowered a committee to give an
approved and authoritative statement.
First, we wish to say that the Rem
ington shops are good shops to work
in, and regret that the management
is in the hands of men who have
caused so much dissatisfaction among
the worknlen. Few men there are sat-
isf1ed with conditions.
THE guard system has become in
tolerant, inasmuch as it is detri- |
ment to the morals of the men. By
this we do not mean the guards sta
toned outside of the factory alto J
gether, though theJ come in for their |
share of the criticism. Inside of the |
works we have guards stationed to re-
port and watch men to see that they |
attend strictly to their work. These |
guards, not being mechanics and not |
knowing the nature of our work, are |
not competent to judge why a man
should leave his bench or machine.
1.-THE method of placing incompe- |
tan af he nf fTn MIR
ment department is a detriment to
good men coming here or staying here. |
AS every one knows the Remington |
Co. has had its employment agents in |
various cities advertising for men and |
offering a given rate of wages. We
know that the same agent uses every
means in his power, after enticing
men to come here, to beat down the
wages. Die sinkers, forgers and trim
mer makers have received letters from
the Remington Co. giving employment
at 20 cents, so cents and SIS cents re-
spectively and on arriving at the en-
pIoyTnent Office are told that the COM
pany never pays that rate to new men.
Forgers have been beaten as low as
50 cents hour, die sfnkers to As
cents per hour. and trimmer makers
to 40 cents per hour.
1--WE know that a great number of I
men have refused to begin to work ]
until given the rate. We can add that
the company would have no trouble |
in getting competent die sinkers, drop |
forgers and trimmer makers were the |
proper methods used by competent |
men in engaging them
'Our men have complained at varf-
GUS times that they have not received
the amount promised them. This we
know to be true having the informa
ton direct from each individual in
question
1.-The question of equipment is Sc |
rious one, though some of it is really |
beyond the control of amy one con
nected. Machinery is lacking for |
which we cannot criticise the COM |
pany. But we have fault to find with |
the supply of tools that go with the |
machine tools and such aus are easily !
made at the factory. Wrenches in |
particular are a bone of contention in |
the drop shop. In the die room we |
will mention the trucks used for NOV
ing dies around as one instance. A /
few days ago a man was seriously |
in il1red through a combination of a |
poor truck and a bad spot in the floor.
It is but a. short time ago that the |
same thing happened in the same spot
and in the same manner. ne man
nearly lost an arm and one probably
has lost the use of his feet We're the
Remington to use much. uaonay for
building and equipment as they do |
for unnecessary guard purposes we
would not be much in danger of
being injured killed.
ssNew notices and shop orders are
SO numerous and so conflicting that
we have ceased to pay attention to
them, accepting them as coming /
from an immature mind. The most |
recent was one to the effect that loaf
ing inspectors will be appointed, thus
ignoring competent mechanics who |
have been placed in charge of the
men
These conditions could not go on
without some action from the men
and action has been taken in unison.
The men are thoroughly organized,
which is a big surprise to the officials
of the company. The organization |
having been done 50 long ago that it