Newark leader. ([Newark, Ohio]) 1917-1946, 1918-03-22
GENERAL LABOR NEWS.


earned by pieceworkers goes on and
fans the fame, says the London Dis
! patch. Cases are quoted of men MAX
! ing as much as. ESQ and f40 a week,
and only the other day man in Shef-
field boasted that with squirt" he
had been able to take home E45. These
high earnings are due primarily to the
agreement made not to reduce piece
rates during the war; and to the fact
J that with the enormous improvements
| in machinery many men can now pro-
duce in IS and 20 minutes as much
work as they used to produce in three
or four hours. And they are paid for
their IS and 20 minutes as If they
were three or four hours. An illustra-
tiOn of what is possible on a smaller
scale is that Of factory Of over 100
workers in which one weeks wage bill
showed an average Of rather more
| than f12 q head, including the office
| boy! At the present rate of progress
sion the E100,OO0,000 which the new
bonuses are estimated to cost the coun"
| try will soon be reached.
| Railroad tracks cannot be kept in
proper repair unless higher wages are
paid laborers, the railroad wage com
mission was told by representatives Of
the Maintenance of Way Employees
union. Thousands of men already
have left the railroads to take jobs
with industries or mines paying much
higher wages. In many localities sec
ton fOremen are said to be dependent
largely on farmers to do repair work
on the roads. The farmers will go
back to their agricultural duties with
the passing Of winter. T. Fl. Gerry,
president of the union proposed that
the poorly paid classes should receive
80 per cent increase, and that this
should be scaled down to about 20 per
cent for the better-paid men. He said
that 100000 are employed on main
tenance of way work by the railroads.
The Albion (Mich.) coal miners were
in conference but decided on nothing
except to stay out until they are given
raise In pay. The miners say that
all they ask Is the raise given last Oc-
tober by the federal authorities. They
now get 81 ton for mining the coal
and insist that the amount set for
Michigan mines is $1.45. Fuel Admin
istrator Prudden gave the men an I'M
crease of Is cents a ton at a confer
ence about a month ago and the oper-
ators claim that the men agreed to
stand by this agreement. The men
say they refused to accept this in
crease and insist on the full govern
ment raise.
The street car strike at st. Louis,
estimated to have caused a loss of
$35, 900 day to the company and mil
lions to retail business, ended in a VIC
tory for the union. The agreement
reached at a conference between rep
resentatives of the strikers and direc-
tors of the United Railways was rati-
fed by the $500 striking motormen
and conductors. The agreement in
cludes recognition of the union with
the open shop provlso and leaves the
question Of wages and hours, etc. for
arbitration.
Nearly 10000 men in the state Of
New York are employed in trades con-
nected with shipbuilding, and from this
number the state council of defense
hopes to obtain $1,000 workmen, New
York's quota of shipyard volunteers,
wanted by the United States shipping
board. Enrolment would not be for
immediate service, but subject to call.
A CT Of in q -
sired was from the state military cen
sus cards, and it is intended to mail
an enrolment blank to each man.
According to the report Of William
Green, secretary treasurer Of the Unit
ed Mine Workers of America, read at
the biennial convention Of the organi
zatiOn at Indianapolis, the membership
of the union shows an increase in the
average paid up membership for the
fiscal year ending November 80, 1917,
and was 55,595 greater than for the
year ending November S0 1916.
The department Of labor announced
that more than 10000 agents through
out the country would be engaged for
the next two weeks in the enrolment
of 250,000 men skilled in the ship
building trades. Two thousand of the
agents are appointees of trade unions
who are cooperating in building up
the industrial army for a final drive to
victory.
Girls who have been delivering tele
grams In Greater Boston must give UP
the field to boys. The state board of
labor and industries has ruled that no
female minor should be employed in