Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1918-09-14
UNION TRADES PUT
NON-UN|ON HOUSES
ON THE UNFAIR LIST
EDiCT le SWEEPING IN ITS SCOPE
SEND COMMUNICATION CON.
TANNING UlTlMATUM TO PROP.
ERTY OWNERS.

An ultimatum which virtually puts
on the unfair list all houses and pub
lie buildings in Ottawa, where non
union labor has been employed in any
of its several varities, has been hand
ed down by the Ottawa Building
Trades Council
The edict, which is in the form OF
letter over the Trade Councils sigma
ture, has been scattered broadcast in
unaddressed envelopes throughout the
city by house TO house canvassers.
The object OF the communication Is,
of course, intended TO protect union
men against the stain OF having TO
work along side of nOnunionists, and
at the same time preserve to the cOun-
ell its claim Of preference where skill
ei and unskilled men are needed.
The ruling follows recent occurrence
wherein card men were called upon to
work with others having no unionistic
affiliations They point out their pat.
riotism in doing everything within
their power to help our boys win and
ask the patriotic cooperation OF their
.0wnspeople in doing something to
help their cause.
The letter follows:
To the Property Owners and Business
Men of Ottawa:
ent Unions affiliated with the Ottawa
Building Trades Council have had 4
great deal Of trouble in the past and
especially OF recent date, on account
Of non.union men being forced on the
same jobs where union men were
working, We have been compelled for
our own and your protection to adopt
the following rule:
The moment that non.union man
in any of the building trades starts
| work on any job, the building on
which the work is being done auto
| matically becomes unfair to all trades
in the building Trades Council, and
no member of any trades affected will
be allowed to work on that building,
| This means that should your plumbing
| heating, carpenter work, painting,
| brick or plaster work, timing, cleo
| rical work or any of the work con
nected with the building trades, be.
| come defective after a building has
| become unfair to the Building Trades
Council you would be compelled to de-
| pend solely on incompetent non-union
men to put your building in repair,
and in some cases we doubt if even
they could be had as some of the
trades are zoe per cent union
The Union men of Ottawa have
proven that they are 100 per cent
| citizens in more ways than one. They
are striving to better their conditions
so thai they can live like human be.
| jnes and raise their children and edu-
cate them so as to make them better
citizens than the past has allowed the
working man TO be, and to be able to
go forth and compete with others, no
matter of what country or of what
birth, They have proven their loyal.
ty to their country by going out in
every drive that has been made for
Our Boys Over There and helping
to put it across with both their time
and their money.
The Building Trades Council turned
over to the Womans Relief Corps last
year almost $1,000 for the benefit OF
the Ottawa boys in the service of their
country.
We patronize home trade and thus
do our best to help the business men
of Ottawa; but in a great many cases
those same business men send out OF
town and bring in men to do work
that they could get done by Ottawa
labor in just as good manner and In
many cases a great deal cheaper
We believe we are entitled to do al
the work in Ottawa, and we further
believe that anyone who has givei
both union and non-unon men a fat
trial will say that the union man Il
the cheapest in the enl and in mos
cases for the more dependable of th
; two.
We are inclosing a list OF secretal
> les Of the various Unions in the Build
ing Trades Council and in case yo
! are in doubt as TO the maa who /
! figuring on your work, We ask tha
II you call up the secretary of the Unio
in question and he will give you fu
information so no one can tell 70
that he is union man when he Is no
il We also ask that you demand all me
u working on your building show you