The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-05-24
WalkOut at Wolff Plant Follows
Wage Dispute.
Men Demanded S-HOur Day
and Increase in Pay.
THEY DENY IT IS A STRIKE
Say They Will Seek Work in
Other Places.
Packers Will Ask for Federal
Protection.

night, IFS or more employees of the
Chas. Wolff Packing company, quit
work this morning. w. H. Hardy,
president of the local union of Meat
Cutters & Butchers Workmen of
North America. said, following the
walkout, that the packing company
after three weeks deliberation had
refused to pay the Chicago wage
scale, which if applied in Topeka
would mean an s-hour basic day. from
40 to so cents an hour for butchers
and meat cutters and time and a half
for overtime.
Police reserves were on the scene
when the employees quit. There was
no disorder. however. The police re-
mained on the job and were today
keeping an eye on the plant
To Ask Government Aid.
Charles Wolff, head of the packing
plant, announced that owing to the
fact that the company is filling gov
ernment contracts he will take the
matter of obtaining government pro-
lection for the plant up with the To-
cal federal labor commissioner. IF
necessary l will get into communlca-
ton with Washington he said. Union
officials claim that $50 employees
walked out. Wolff says the payroll
shows that approximately 175 quit.
There are still about 100 men on
the job at the plant" said Wolff to-
day I'VE hired a bunch of new men
this morning. We have suspended
the manufacturing departments tenn
porarily but we are able to continue
taking local orders. and will also con-
tinue to make country and carload
shipments
Charles Wolff. head of the packing
plant. stated this morning that the
company had offered the workmen a
40 per cent Increase in wages, tin1a
and a half for overtime and other
concessions, the 40 per cent raise be-
ing over and above the scale paid in
November 1917. Hardy declared that
the wage increase offered would mean
only a fiat raise of cents an hour
for butchers and 25 cents a day more
for week men
Wages Below Other Cities.
The high class butcher" said
Hardy. draws only 42h cents an
hour from the Wolff company. This
is only cents an hour more than the
common laborer gets in Kansas City
packing plants"
Wolff declared this morning that
the company is handling government
contracts. I'VE were told" said
Hardy, when we were negotiating
for more wages and better working
conditions, that the company carried
no government work. The OFFICERS oI
the company themselves told us this.
Now they come out and say they nave
government contracts.
we submitted our proposition to
the company. and the officials did not
answer it for two weeks. They re-
jected 1t and we sent it back. giving
them two weeks more
Hardy declared that all employees
at the Wolff plant except the office
force and bosses and a few strag-
glers had quit work. There are about
271 men and women employed at the
plant.
Say 1t Is Not a Strike.
About $50 of the men who quit
work went to Labor hall. Others
home Labor officials declare today
that the action on the part of the
union men is not a strike. I'VE are
simply quitting and if no agreement
is reached we will find work some
where else,'' they said, where wages
are higher and appropriate to the in
creased cost of living.
Wolff says that the employees have
been given three wage increases, IN
Guiding the last offer. in the last six
months.
"The demands of the men," he as
serted, "are the highest paid by any
of the big five packers. We have
been paying the average for all plants
our size, and the scale now in effect
runs from % cents an hour for COM
mon labor to 40 cents for skilled
workers
Both Sides Submitted.
Both the company officials and la
Dor leaders this afternoon submitted
for publication the demands and Of
fers made in the controversy.
The labor demands would make
eight hours constitute a basic days
work with such working day being
completed so far as possible in nine
consecutive hours. The demands also
call for double time on Sundays and
holidays and time and half for over
time on regular working days
The union men asked that the pro-
posed agreement become effective
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