Denver labor bulletin., 1918-08-10
Especial Correspondence,

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5.-A clean
cut victory has been scored by the
Sailors Union and the Marine Fire
mems Union of the Great Lakes, over
the Lake Carriers Association, other
wise known as the transportation end
of the steel trust.
| The Carriers Association and its
members have been compelled to sign
the agreement of cooperation between
organized seamen, the government and
the shipowners of the United States,
embodied in the nations appeal for
men to man the merchant ships"
The welfare passbooks and the anti
union welfare system established by
the carriers are abolished.
Training of men on the Great Lakes
for service on the governments over
seas merchant fleet is assured, thus
ending the long opposition of the car
riers to the plan agreed upon by the
shipowners on the gull and the At
lantic.
Wage and overtime questions are
submitted to arbitration. The carriers
discover that they are powerless to
maintain their stand against having
any negotiations or dealings with the
unions.
The strike, set for today at every
port on the lakes, and involving from
10000 to $4,000 men, has been called
off, So ready were the men to make
the fight, however, that some of them
refused to leave port on Saturday, the
9th, and large numbers of others in
ports not reached quickly enough by
the telegram calling off the strike
went out. These had to be notified
by long distance telephone from Wash
ington that they should go back to
work. The fight was won without
losses.
Must Obey Decision.
This proposed strike of the Great
Lakes sailors and firemen was called
off once before-in October of last
year-in order that the government
might try to bring the Carriers Asso-
citation into line with the rest of the
country. The government failed. A
few days ago, when Chairman Hur-
ley of the shipping board, in the abb
sence of Commissioner Stevens of the
shipping board, who has always ham
died the labor side of the shipping
boards work, issued a statement in
dicating very serious ignorance of
the facts, and declaring that there
was no good cause for the strike, he
was sharply answered in a public
lCItCI ny n. OiduoCI, SCSICId1y
of the Lake Sailors Union and men,
Der of the war labor board. Olander
showed that the strike had been called
for the purpose of compelling the car
riers to obey the decision of the ship
ping board, the labor department, the
Atlantic and gulf shipowners and the
organized seamen, to cooperate in
training the men for the nations new
merchant fleet, necessary to the win
ming of the war. He showed that the
lake carriers were the one rebellious
element in the situation.
Olander's Telegram.
What happened afterward is partly
told in this telegram, sent out to all
lake ports last night by Olander and
the general strike committee:
"The United States shipping board
took action this afternoon that makes
it possible for the seamen on the
Great Lakes to obtain a complete ad-
justment of the controversy without
resorting to strike. The shipping
board has sent the following order to
the Lake Carriers Association ad-
dressed to William Livingston, presi-
dent:
"'United States shipping board
hereby directs the members of the
Lake Carriers Association and the
Lake Carriers Association as an as