Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1918-02-15
|SH|PYARO STRIKE
TO GO TO FINISH
UNION MEN SERVE ULTIMATUM
UPON EXAMINER MBRIDE
AND COMPANY.

work Will not De resumed IN the
Sloan shipyards except under closed
shop regulations. This was the unan-
imous decision of the $50 men who
attended a meeting held in Eagles
hall Wednesday night, and is shown
in a motion adopted, practically as
follows:
That the committee be clothed with
power to make settlement only for
closed shop conditions; and that Ex-
aminer Mcbride be notified that two
days will be given in which a settle
ment may be effected. II at the end
of this time no agreement be reached
the Sloan yards will be declared un-
fair to organized labor, and the men
will seek work in other shipyards.
! Several subsidiary motions were
passed with the purpose of clearly de.
fining conditions of settlement and
| fixing the status of some of the EN-.
ployes.
Trouble at the yards is chargeable
to violation by one government agen,
of an understanding had with the EN-.
ployes by another government agent
and of which agreement both agents
had full knowledge. 1t is the old
story of an attempt to seize an ad.
vantage in the belief that the work.
ers were "hog-tied."
! Henry McBride, examiner of the
, federal wage adjustment board, was
In Olympia all day Wednesday and
conferred with the strikers and with
the shipyard management A COM
mittee of the union visited Seattle
also and conferred with Mr.. Pigott
head for the government Of wooden
ship construction in this district.
Both Pigott and Mcbride made the
same plea: that they were with the
men and desired to grant the condi-
tons asked for. but that it was be-
yond their authority to 50 decide.
Mr.. Mcbride and c. J. Lord ap-
peared before the union meeting and
made extended talks. Mr.. Mcbride
recalled the understanding of week
ago that he be given a week in which
to effect q settlement. He said that
he recalled this In no spirit of criti-
cism, because condition had arisen
(the placing back in the yard of q
non-union man who had been laid of }
which had not been contemplated
when the understanding was arrived
at. He greatly desired to grant the
demands of the men, but that this
action was beyond his powers. He
urged the men to return to work and
give him one more week in which to
arrive at a solution, but could give
no guarantees of success. The COM
mittee which conferred with Mr..
Pigott reported an expression Of like
sentiments on his part. but he also
lacked authority.
Maritime Council Agent Anderson
made an address. calling attention to
conditions in other shipyards of the
district, and said that while many
officials might lack authority to de-
eide the particular question at issue.
there was one place where 1t could
be decided-in the Office of the Sloan
Shipyard Corporation. The speaker
declared that there had been much
friction in the Sloan yards from the
beginning. due unquestionably to
the shifty practices of the corporation
and not in any way chargeable to the
employees.
Mr.. Mcbride and Mr.. Lord retired
after a final plea for resumption of
work to give time for a settlement.
Wider discussion Of the questions
was then taken up and it was finally
decided that this constantly receding
and shifting authority to decide ques-
lions should be permanently located
and that speedily. There was appar-
ent feeling that there had been a
lack OF good faith on the part Of the
management Of the shipyards in car
rying out agreements with the men.
and the men on their part showed a
firm determination to put an end to
such practices.
Friday afternoon carpenters. ship
wrights and joiners. caulkers, and
steam engineers quit work at the
Sloan shipyards, and today the situa-
ton practically is unchanged.
Friday night a mass meeting Of
employees was held in the labor hall.
Third and Washington. and the griev-
ances of the workers discussed.
Briefly. the walkout was because
Of the tactics of the management in
batting the men by reinstating a
non-union employee who had been re-
lieved because of objection by the
union workers. This employee had
been laid of pending conference be-
tween union officials and government
o6lcials and decision Of the QuesA