Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-07-24
FIRST STRIKE At
CHOCOLATE FACTORY
More Than 100 Girls Walk out
from Wrapping Department.
Claiming Broken Promises In
Their Pay-Four Loyal Work.
ers Roughly Handled

A waikout Of rs girls from the wrap
ping department In protest against the
reduction of their piece work price rate;
the following suit OF the girls from the
cocoa and labelling departments; the
rough handling Of four girls from
the last-named departments who
worked as strike breakers during the
forenoon; the alleged punching in the
face OF one Of the striking girls, Eleanor
Carney, by foreman named Horny
LaPont. who tried to rescue the loyal
workers at the instigation Of Everett
NJ. Buck. a superintendent, and the pos
sibflit1es Of the forced closing down Of
the entire plant OF tho Vermont Milk
Chocolate company very soon, vers the
dominant features Of tho FIRST STRIKE Of
the concern's help. which occurred yes
terday morning.
Tho girls walked out after they had
been informed BY ono OF the officials
OF the local plant that the concern had
decided to drop the standard price for
piece work packing of chocolate from two
and oue-haH cents per carton to two and
onc-fourth cents per carton, or the win
ter-time rate Of pay. Tho girls claim
that the concern posted notices at the
beginning of the summer months that
half cents per carton for the summer
because the work is more difficult and
that In the winter the price would be
dropped to two and one-fourth cents per
carton.
1t IL the claim Of the concern that
they, IN order to stimulate interest in
the work and to enable the girls to
make a good weeks pay when learning
and when not swift at wrapping. agreed
to pay the girls two and one-half cents
per carton, but as soon as they became
efficient and speedy the firm would re-
duce the price to two and one-fourth cents
per carton. which they did. The COM
pany claims that the girls can pack be-
tween 100 and 1S0 cartons of chocolate
per day. each carton containing IA cakes
Of chocolate, and that the weekly wages
Of these girls runs between s12 and s25
They also claim that they maintain a
high standard Of wages and that they
also have system Of rewards for eff
cient services by employees, They say
that the strike was started by few
dissatisfied persons who saw the high
wages they had been making lessened
by the drop In the carton price.
When the girls walked out they re-
manned on the plants property or near
the car station with their lunches, and
played the game of "wntchful waiting"
AS soon as they had left the factory.
so the strikers told the Free Press rep
resentative the company ordered the
girls who had been working on the cocoa
and labelling tables to the wrapping
tables to take the place Of the strik-
ers. The girls refused and also walked
out.
Four or five of the girls in the wra pping
department did not walk out with the
rest. When they came out at noon
they were set upon by their walkout sis
tiers and roughly handled. Everett NJ.
Buck. superintendent of the department
from which the strikers came, sent out
his assistant, Henry LaPoint, to aid the
four loyal girls who were being mauled
by the angry strikers. LaPoint himself
was set upon by strikers and, so the
strikers claim used his fists to defend
himself and punched Eleanor Garvey in
the face with such force as to render
her unconscious. She was removed to
her home In the police ambulance The
company claims that she was excited by
the crowd and tainted. The girls who
walked out stated yesterday that they
intend to stay out until they can see
President John Walker and nut their
case up to him personally, and If they
are not given their wage rate as before
they will never return.