The sun., 1918-07-23
RAISE WHITE WINGS
PAY, M'STAY URGES
If Depletion in Ranks Con-
tinues City Will Face
Serious Plight.
NO STRIKE, Is BELIEF
Men Irritated Because Plea for
Higher Wages Has
Been Ignored.
NO STRIKE, rs BELIEF


resign in droves, In addition to Joining
the American Federation OF Labor. IL
their pay Is not raised before August /
caused Arnold b. McStay. Commissioner
Of street Cleaning. to say yesterday he
hoped the Board of Estimate would ffnd
some way to appease his men. He said
however, he could not believe Il ey would
strike The department is already short
1900 men Of tne number required to
keep the city tidy. and II the depletion
continued during the hot weatf er the.
result would be calamitous.
Tie 1000 members OF the Street
Cleaning Employees Protective As
ISOLATION are irritated because the Board
OF Estimate adjourned on Friday with
out having acted on their request for
20 per cent. increase for men now get
ting less than $1,000 year. and 10
per cent increase for those now getting
more than 1000. The request was re-
Terred by the board to the finance COM
mittee on July L., and the committee
Las not reported The Board of Esti-
mate adjourned subject to the call OF
the chairman" Mayor Hylan. The un-
Outstanding is that no meeting will be
held until September 81 unless some
emergency demands 1t. Tie street clean
erS VIII Try 10 prove t1at tHtlr pHsHt
requires emergency relief.
Locals to Join A. r. of l..
The locals" Of the association that
have voted to Join the American Fedora
ton Of Labor are No. l (the Manhattan
men) and No. 3 (the Brooklyn men).
The leaders say the other locals Will
follow suit this week. The A. F. Of L.
has not yet invited them in. but the
street cleaners say they would be well
coined with n shout.
For many years the sweepers got
$40 annually. This has been gradu-
ally raised to $3.50. The last advance
was effective May /. this year. when
the first grade men getting 1912 and the
second grade men getting $SSS were
consolidated in one grade at 1899. The
men complain that this Increase did not
begin to Offset the cost OF living.
The other members of the association
who Join in the new demands are the
drivers. who receive s1.O59 year; the
hostlers, s1,012: the auto drivers. who
get s1,059 year and want Ss5 week.
which they say Is the prevailing rate
for chauffeurs, and the stablemen, sec
ton keepers and boardmen. who get
$3.50.
The petition to the Board OF Estimate
was signed by T. r. Fitzgerald, business
agent Of the association: ]. kusch. pres
ident Of Branch /. and James Farrell.
They are the committee on salaries.
Their petition said:
THE reasons for asking this increase
Is that the cost OF living has increased
100 per cent. and our wages have only
increased about cents a day for
sweeper and 3S cents a day for a regular
driver. Our yearly expenses are
s1,367.20 and our salary is S939. leaving
n deficit OF s42S.20. The sweepers must
buy at least four uniforms at 1913
apiece, and they must be 1aundered
twice week at 80 cents EACH making
the annual laundry expense $40"
sweeper must also buy two uniform
hats a year. a storm coat and hat. two
pairs OF rubber boots. two pairs Of
working gloves. three pairs of Working
shoes and other articles, the cost OF
which has been jumping He must pay
per cent az his salary into the pen.
zion fund. which is l per cent. more
than the police have to pay
What Driver Faces.
"The driver of sweeper has to pay
81 cents pound for butter' the peti.
ton says. "He pays just as much as
the president OF a bank The man who
works out in the open air doing hard
work eats just double the amount Of
food that is necessary for the man sit
ting at desk all day. Should a man
be injured in the performance OF his
duties and become sick for thirteen
days he does not receive the salary
from the department
"A driver does not receive any pay for
overtime. He must work an hour. and
sometimes one hour and half. in the
summer time and in the winter from
one to four hours overtime WITHOUT any
compensation.
The section station keepers work
four hours on Sunday In winter and
all day Sunday in the summer and get
no pay for it, while outside concerns
pay time and one-half or double time
for all overtime and Sunday work.
IF the sweeper works on Sunday he
receives 80 cents an hour, against IS
cents an hour for weekday work The
stable men and hostlers are treated even
worse. Their allotment OF horses was
ten or eleven, now they are responsible
for seventeen or eighteen.
I'm the winter we do a hard days
work shovelling snow and Just get to bed
when the policeman calls US up again
20 go TO work.
I'VE pay per cent OF our salary
Into the pension fund. which Is more
than any other departments pay. The
street Cleaning Department Investigated
thirty seven families to ascertain what
St cost us to live and found that eight
could not live within the salary they
received from the department.
I'VE have subscribed $500, to Lib
erty Loans. $4,000 to the Red Cross.
We also gave to the knights OF Column
bus. We pay 81 n week for Liberty
bends and Is cents a month to the Red
Cross.
1--WE call attention TO the fact that on
account of the shortage In the depart
ment II is almost impossible for us to get
a day off to recuperate, Notwithstanding
the fact that our work Is becoming more
and more ardrous.
Plea Made to board.
I'VE sincerely hope that your honor
able board will take cognizance Of the
desire on our part to live as BELTS Amer
tcan citizens and to DE able to meet the
ever increasing cost OF living and act fa-
rorably upon this our appeal for what we
consider just and humane treatment OF
the street cleaning force of the greater
city"
Mr. Fitzgerald says that a great many
nembers OF the department are heavily
!n debt and that inability to continue
payments ON Liberty bonds Is common.
Commissioner McStay said yesterday
lie believed the men were entitled Il
higher wages. and that II they could bet.
ser their condition by Joining a labor
body he would consider them we'll ad.
Nised to Join. He said that it was be.
cause OF his efforts that the sweepers
were advanced from S2.75 TO SO day