The Washington herald., 1917-03-10

efoseV sehrcheo TO oeteet such
persons.
1t appeared at midnight. when street
car employees began to gather at the
Lyceum Theater to learn the result OF
the conferences looking toward a new
working schedule and agreement. that
the Washington Railway and Electric
Companys employees may vote to strike
Negotiations with this company were
deadIocked, while the conferences be-
tween the officials of the Capital Traction
Company and the union representatives
indicated progress.
Proceedings at the midnight union
meeting were confined to speeches until
of employees to be present before decisive
action was taken.
Would BE Effective Tomorrow.
Tr strike is voted it will go into effect
a. midnight tomorrow night. it was
stated.
Negotiations between employees and
President Clarence p. King. OF the WASH
Ington Railway and Electric Company,
are at a standstill because OF the refusal
of that official to treat with the repre-
senJativeS of the men as union officials
and the effort to have the employees sign
individual agreements, some of the men
said.
In the agreement offered to conductors
and motormen nothing is said about
repudiating the union, but an agreement
offered to the employees of the shops and
car houses reads:
Il, the undersigned. agree to accept
employment III the shops or car houses
Of the Washington Railway and Electric
Company as an individual and sever
all relations with the Amalgamated As
ISOLATION of Street and Electric Railway
Employees of America"
Refuse to Sign.
Employees in the P street shops were
declared to have refused to sign such an
agreement and union officials asserted
last night that number had been given
a stipulated time in which to sign or be
elected from the company's properties.
This action and the fact that conduc-
tors and rnotOrmen on the Washington
Railway and Electric lines were asked
to sign TCividual agreements has
brought the situation on these lines to
an acute stage.
Some of the conductors and motor
men signed the new working and wage
schedule presented by the company
but 1t is said that most Of the union
employees stood pat"
Garth Calderhead, financial secretary
of the union. said that the organization
had positive information that no men,
ber had signed the contract
The proposed contract increases the
scale of wages from a minimum of . l.
cents an hour and a maximum OF q
cents an hour to "A cents an hour up tc
80 cents an hour.
Raises Provided.
1t provides a raise of half a cent an
hour for employees of one and two years
service; one-and-a-half cents for three
year men: two-and-a-hah cents for fve
six and seven-year motormen and con-
ductors; three-and-a-haf cents for eight
nine and ten-year men, and three cents
for employees of more than decades ex-
perience.
Further than to refer to the fact thai
the contract provides for a smaller raise
for men who have been in the service
more than ten years than for those who
years, officials of the union declined tc
discuss the wage scale proposed in sec
ton 1 Of the contract. They said IS cent.
an hour Is what the union asks and wha
Is paid in a number Of other cities.
The Capital Traction Company treat
ed with the committee from the unior
consisting Of President George A. VIII
OurI, j. H. OOOhI1dn anu A. HOlllII
= President Hamilton Of the line went ovel
the situation and the new working sched
uIe presented by the men and agreed Il
consider 1t paragraph by paragraph
These conferences, which lasted until late
last night, will be resumed today, ant
Il Is understood that the report on thest
negotiations presented at the mass meet
ing early this morning indicated progress
towards an agreement.
With the Washington Railway ant
Electric Company, the relations between
men and company approached a critical
stage. The refusal Of President King to
treat with the grievance committee o.
the employees as union officials brought
an end to the proposal for a conference
union men stated.
International President Mahon, Of the
Employees Union, will insist upon tn,
recognition Of the union in the new agree
mcnt. He is in the city and while tax
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