Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-04-24
TELEPHONE STRIKE
AM|CABLY SETTLED
Operators and Repair Men Re-
sumo Work after Being Prom
ised Additional Pay

Boston, April 2O--The telephone strike |
was ended tonight Several thousand |
operators employed by the New England |
Telephone g. Telegraph Co. and the
Providence Telephone company who !
walked out last Tuesday morning will |
return to work tomorrow morning |
Although no formal announcement was |
made of the terms of the agreement |
reached strike leaders said that they |
had won their contention for the right |
to deal directly with company officials |
even while the wires are under govern |
ment control. and that they have been
granted an increase of $500 a week in
their maximum pay.
The men workers, who struck later in
the week, partly in support Of the opera
tors and partly to enforce demands Of
their own, also will resume work to-
morrow. Their leaders said that they
had been granted an increase in wages
of so cents n day in the metropolitan
district and 62hs cents in other sections.
| They had asked for an increase of $1.40
| per day.
The agreement was reached after two
days of conferences between strike lead
ers, company officials Mayor Peters and
Assistant Postmaster-General John c.
Rooms It's basis was laid when Mayor
Peters visited Washington and persuaded
| Postmaster-GeneralB urleson to send Mr..
| Rooms to this city with full powers to
, act.
The settlement coming at just this time.
was particularly gratifying to Victory
Loan workers, who start their campaign
tomorrow, and to the officers and
civilians who are arranging the plans
for the parade of the Goth Division in Bos-
ton on Friday next.
1t was no less pleasing to business
men who have suffered great incon-
venience and substantial losses during
the last week, and to individual sub
scribers.
Late tonight Miss Julia S. O'Connor,
president of the telephone operators
department, confirmed the announce
ment of the company.
THE final settlement" she said has
been reached and it is the best ever
put over for the operators. The oper-
ators will return to work tomorrow
morning and service will be restored as
soon as possible"
Miss O'Connor said that the oper-
ators who ordinarily report at seven
o'clock would go to work tomorrow
morning and that others would meet
at the Boston Opera House at $3.50
o'clock, where the strikers committee
would make it's report No formal an
nouncement of the wage scale which
was agreed upon was made tonight,
but strike leaders said that the oper-
ators would receive $40 week after
seven years service and that the award
would be retroactive to January /. The
present maximum pay is SIG and the
operators demanded 1922.
Delegates from the strikers headquar-
ters made the rounds Of the exchanges
tonight and informed pickets that the
strike was over. BY midnight picket
{ ing had ceased in the metropolitan dis
trct.
William r. Driver. Jr, general manager
Of the New England Telephone & Tele-
graph Co. and the Providence Telephone
company. and representatives of the
New England joint council of telephone
workers issued the following statement:
o "A satisfactory settlement has been
S reached. The employees will return to
work at once. Justice and reasonable
$ recommendations for increased wages
. have been made by General Manager
: Driver and approved by Mr.. Rooms. In
n arriving at this understanding considera-
ton was given to the fact that no in
e creases had been made to the operators
: since December 1917. Full details have
d not been worked out, but will be within
a few days and then made public"
Mayor Andrew j. Peters, who wa:
X active in working for a settlement of tn,
strike, said
when / went to Washington / fel
certain that if ! could prevail upon tn,
:, postmaster-general to send Mr. Rooms t.
Y Boston with complete authority to NEE
with the operators and to accept for thu
,l,t i,lt