The copper era and Morenci leader., 1919-08-15
ROAD CONTRACTORS MAKE STATEMENT
 IN WAGE SCALE

Hare or 9o.Uo Tor PICK ana SnoVel Men
 Establish On cIifton-Springerv,L
 Road Is Prevailing Wage Scale In
 This District.
 The undersigned, engaged in the performance of county contracts in this county feel constrained to make reply to the recent article appearing in The Mining Juorna1 in reference to so-called strikes and tieup of work on the SpringerviIle and Eagle roads.
 The article referred to is in its statement of facts not fair to the con tractors and certainly is in the main misleading to the taxpayers and citi- zens of the county who are interested in the proper performance of our con- tracts and in the success of the pub lie work we have undertaken. We wish to correct any impression that we have jeopardized the performance of our contracts by failure to observe the laws of this state or by a refusal to treat tn a spirit of fairness with the men in our employ. The public is entitled as a matter of course and ItSut lO ll1iS dOklSuuO OA tAC P1AS VI it's servants whether they be contrac- tors or otherwise, and we realize that no public work can be. a success and of decided benefit to the commuynti of decided benefit to the community if it has entailed infraction of the law and has in any way worked an ims proper hardship upon the community or any members thereof.
 The article referred to is correct in it's statement of the opinion given by Mcbride, Assistant Attorney General of the state of Arizona to the effect that all work done by or for counties must be paid for at ''the prevailing scale prevalent in that county at the time." We believe that this is cor rect statement of the law, and the facts show that we have compiled with the law.
 That public work must be paid for at prevailing scale prevalent in the county at the time, means that the public contractors must pay the pre- yaiIing scale for the CLASS OF WORK called for in the contract. At the time the Springerville road con tract was let and work commenced under it there was DO other road work in progress in the county and there was no prevailing scale for that kind of work. It was necessary to make a scale. The scale was made by agree ment with the men employed and with those who are accustomed in this district to negotiate with employers fn behalf of employees in such mat ters, namely MT. c. J. Brooke, local agent for the Department of Labor and MT. Joseph Lord. assistant to HyweH Davies, Federal Conciliator for Ari- zona, and through these agencies the following scale of wages was deter mined:
 Pick and shovel work, $3.03 per day; ; Hand and churn drillers, $3.75; Ma chine drillers, $4.50 to $500; Black smith, sharpening hand steel, $4.00; Blacksmith, sharpening air drills, B to s5 50; Blacksmith helper, $3.25 to s3 50; powderman, $4 % to 500; Rock mason, 4.50 to $50.
 The main difficulty was in fixing rate of pay to pick and shovel men. At the time of commencing work the low est wage paid by the mining compan- ies in the district for common sur. face labor was about s2.73 per day. There was no agreed scale for the class of work, of pick and shovel work in road building in effect. One had to be made. Common labor on the farms was paid around $2:00; on ranch es, even less. The mining companies provided no standard inasmuch as their rates of wages were based on the siding scale under which, as the price of copper rises and profits are consequently greater, rates of wages automatically increase. The sliding scale is peculiar to the copper indus try in this state, and in this county, for instance, the Clifton Lumber Con- pany with whom MT. Brooks is en- ployed in a supervising capacity, does not pay it's emloyees upon the sliding scale. I does not regulate it's scale of wages upon the rise and fall of the price of copper, any more than do other businesses in the district inde- pendent of the copper industry.
 The highly organized copper indus. try, whose employees share the profits in time of prosperity and receive dim- finished wages when the price of cop per drops, can be conducted on lines which no other industry in the state at this time can initiate. Contractors on public work have endeavored to create a wage scale in consonnance with the kind of labor employed in that busi ness and can not hope to raise wages on account of an anticipated increase in profits.
 MT. Brooks was consulted in estab fishing our rate for pick and shovel men. It was then recognized that it