Omaha daily bee., 1917-05-05
CHARGE EXTRA PRICE,
TO UNIONIZED SHOPS
Electrical Contractors Who
Are Paying the Scale Are
Forced to Pay Bonus.
FORCED TO BUY IN EAST

Six electrical work contractors who
are employing union electrical work
ers and paying the union scale during
the present electrical workers strike
say that wholesale houses are dis
eliminating against them in making
them pay higher prices for material
than they ever paid before, while they
are selling it cheaper to the contrac-
tors who are not paying the union
scale.
Suits will be filed against wholesale
dealers in electrical supplies who re-
fuse to sell to the contractors because
they are hiring the union men.
The six contractors complaining are
the Mislevic Electric company, the
w. w. Houck company. the Cahill
Electric company, the Frank Burk-
hart company and the R. Mustain
company.
"Thc wholesale houses are holding
US up for as high a price as they are
asking the individual" said D. L. Ca
hill of the Cahill Electric company.
The wholesale houses always have a
list price for their materials and then
it is customary to sell materials to
big office building or similar large
customer at rs per cent below the
list price and to sell to the electrical
contractor at 30 per cent below the
list price. The list price is Just a
kind of basis from which to figure.
Nov, however, we fellows who
are going on about our business, hir-
ing union men and paying the union
scale as before, are being held up for
the list price, thing that never
happened before. At the same time
the wholesalers are still selling to the
big office buildings at rs per cent be-
low list price and to the other con-
tractors at 40 per cent below list
price.
1--WE are confident this is the work
Of the Electrical Contractors asso-
citation, to which those paying the
union scale do not belong. We are
sure the orders to the electrical whole
salers come from this organization,
for one Of the wholesalers told one
of our small contractors he could do |
nothing for him in the way of dis
counts until he fired his union men. |
THAT is pretty plain talk, and we
are taking steps right now to start |
action against the association, and the |
Western Electric company in partic-
ular, on the grounds that they have
a combination in restraint of trade.
Buying From the East.
'We are going ahead with our jobs
in the meantime and buying our ma
terial from eastern cities. We are
getting it shipped in here, paying the
freight from l,500 to 1000 miles. and
still getting it cheaper than the price
the local wholesalers are asking US,
while >they are trying to freeze US
out. What's more, when the strike
is all settled, we will continue to buy
our material outside of Omaha. These
are the men who talk about boosting
Omaha and patronizing home indus
Try, and then they pull stuff like this ,
on us when we want to|buy material
from them.
"One of cur small contractors went
into a certain wholesale electrical
house here yesterday to buy some
supplies and was told, point-blank.
that he had better lay his union men
off if he wanted any further credit in
that place. So you see we are be-
ginning to find out their game. We
are beginning to learn the secret
of their scheme. They are
overcharging us and refusing US
credit so long as we employ union
men. 1t is part Of the Zig scheme to I
beat the uEions and the strike Be-
Cause we are willing to pay the union
scale and keep work going in the
city. they make it as hard as they can
for US"
The Omaha Business Mems asso-
ciation is holding almost iaily secret
it the Commercial club
looms, where plans to defeat the :,
strikers il the building trades are
discussed. The union men and the
favorable to the union be-
ieve that the orders to the whole
'ale houses to refuse credit and to
.aise prices of material proceed from
he Business Mems association down
Trough the Electrical Contractors as
ISOLATION.