Omaha daily bee., 1918-12-06
WE'LL WIN STRIKE
SAYS SHORT FOR
GARMENTS union
Continued from Page One.l
Car Men Make Statement.

| Continued from Page One.D
Car Men Make Statement.
The executive committee OF the
street car mems union after a SEES
sion at the Labor temple and a con
ference with National Organizer
Jerry Burnett at the Castle hotel
gave out lengthy statement to the
Omaha and Council Bluffs public
setting out their grievances for the
present strike and accusing the
street car company of not living up
to their agreement with the war
labor board.
They say: "Our men are ready to
start the cars running the minute the
company recedes from its autocratic
position ana recognizes our organ
ization.'
When one of the members of the
committee was asked what action
had been taken on the telegram
Mayor Smith had received from the
war labor board stating that the
award of that board was in effect
until peace had formally been de-
clared, he said:
NJ action was taken. The strike
is still on. We did not receive any
telegram from the war labor board,
nor have we been advised that one
was received. We have never since
the strike received any communica-
tons from the board"
Their statement is as follows:
Open Letter to the People.
This is brief statement Of the facts
leading up to the street car strike, and
which We ask you to read carefully and
then judge TO who is responsible for
the present tie-up of the street car lines in
the two cities.
Last May an effort was made by the
street railway employees to get an increase
in wages by petition, said petition being
signed by practically every man on the
system. Not only was this request turned
down flat. but the man responsible for cir
culating the petition was discharged Only
after the men had protested was he re-
lnstated. The company, after ignoring
the petition advanced wages one cent the
petition asked for from 10 to "a cents ad-
vance.
The men were then without an organiza =
tion. but very shortly afterwards steps
were taken to form union. As soon as
the company learned Of this they ad-
vanced wages five cents per hour, although
they had informed the men two weeks
previous that 1t was impossible to ad-
vance wages.
Said Contract Was Fair.
The organization among the men grew
very rapidly. caused by the discomfort
with wages and working conditions. A
charter was applied for to the Amalga-
mated Association of Street and Electric
Railway Employees OF America, affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor,
and the organization is now known as Lo-
cal S07.
There have been four different agree
ments presented by the men to the COM
pany. each and every one has been turned
down flat. The first agreement presented
was acknowledged by Mr.. Wattles TO be
the fairest proposition ever presented to
the company, yet he refused to have any
thing to do with IL.
Inhumane Conditions.
The employees of the street car company
have been compelled to work under the
most trying conditions. their workday
stretching over a period of as much as
quate rest period. as these runs were split
into as many as four and five different
shifts. These kind of runs paid for about
ten hours of actual working time. =
Relief was sought for these abominable
conditions, but ever and always the COM
pany gave promises that they never kept
or ignored the pleas entirely. Any indica-
ton of discomfort from an employe was
cause for instant dismissal.
There vera other serious causes for dis
content such as men being discharged
without cause: arbitrary foremen; doing
work for the company or the interest OF
the company without pay; low wages and
poor and uncertain working conditions.
After repeated efforts to reach an ad-
justment with the company the union APP
pealed to the National War Labor Board.
and after an investigation at Kansas City
both sides agreed to accept the award
of the Board. This award has never been
lived up to by the company either in the
letter or the spirit. The minimum wage
clause and the penalty clause for over
time has not been lived up to. Further
more the intent of the award was to do
away with the inhumanely long work day,
but all the company did was to change the
time on their tickets by having runs start
in the evening instead OF the morning.
but still the men were asked to sign up
for their runs in the morning or lose 1t all.
Company Regulates War Board.
Not only has the company failed to live
up to the letter, but they have, ever since
the award was handed down, deliberately
changed the schedules on practically all
the lines until there are but a very few
reasonable runs left for even the old mon.
Men who mad runs that were completed in
two to Il hours are now working IL and
II, and even IS hours This discrfmina-
ton seemed to be intended to force the
men out upon the street; the company
tried TO force a strike or discourage
further organization among the men. In
stead of harmony and cooperation to help
win the war the practice was to create
discorG and force a break Only the high
resolve of the men to stand by the gov
eminent in the emergency kept them at
their post
A soon as the armistice was signed 1t
scanned that the tremendous strain under
which the men continued at work had
reached the breaking point Complaints
became so insistentF that 1t was decided
to make one last appeal to the company
for an adjustment. The executive board
was so instructed, and all their efforts
failing to get any consideration from rae
company there was nothing left for than
to do but to call the men off.
The arbitrary stand taken by the con-
parry has left neither room for discus
sion nor adjustment. The spirit Of Ameri-
can fair play has been replaced by an at
titude that knows only that might Is
right.
Our men are ready to start the cars run
ming the minute the company recedes from
their autocratic position and recognizes
our Organization so that we can protect
our children and agrees to humane work
ing conditions.
So far as the question Of violation Of
, the War board award, We have lived up
to II in letter and spirit. All we ask now
is for human conditions and justice, safety
and guarantee Of democracy in having