Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-20
OPERATORS OFFER
MINERS IS CENTS
INCREASE PER TON
Also 20 Per Cent Raise Over
Day Scale Would Con-
tinue Working Conditions.

An increase in wages of Is cents
per ton and 20 per cent over the ex-
listing day scale. to become. effective
the bituminous coal min
ers return to work, was offered by the
operators at the meeting today of the
wage-scale committees in the central
competitive bituminous field.
In announcing the offer Thomas +.
Brewster. chairman of the operators
Ators had prob0s4d tite: sxistfnk Work-
ing conditions be continued and that
the contract be operative until March
81, 1922. 80.
Inadequate, Says Lewis.
John L. Lewis, acting president of
the United Mine Workers of America,
declared the increase was totally in
adequate, adding that the miners had
not assumed the offer had been made
seriously. The operators. he said, had
proposed increases in the price of
miners supplies which would absorb
practically all the wage advances.
Nothing was said about reduced
manded . thirty-hour week. An in
crease Of Is cents a ton, 1t was ex-
planned. would be an advance of 20
per cent over present wages for ma
chine mining, as compared with the
so per cent increase demanded by the
workers.
No Action on Restrictions.
Fuel Administrator Garfield still with
held today any action toward a nation
wide restriction of coal consumption.
Steps taken in localities where the
pinch Of coal famine has been felt
have been the action of regional coal
committees of the railroad admins
tration.
Workers was in conference with
Judge Ames at the Department of
Justice relative to reports from union
field observers that operators in many
regions are practically blacklisting
organized miners seeking employ
ment.
Operators and miners of the central
Pennsylvania field, an outlying dis
trict,", conferred with officials Of the
Department Of Labor. One of the
land and part of the West Virginia
fields indicated more miners have quit
work during the last twenty-four
"Check-of" Becomes Issue.
It was said further an important
question to be settled between the
operators and union officials is that
Of the collection of union dues by the
operators, a scheme known in the in
dustry as the "check-off." Hereto
fore, according to an operator, it has
been for years the practice at mines
employing union labor for the man
agement to hold out of each workers
pay his periodical dues to the miners
union and turn over to the union Of
ficers the sum of the dues collected.
AS result Of the recent strike, how
ever, the operators decided they would
no longer participate in union activi-
through operation of the check Off"
The officials of the United Mine
Workers are said to be urging the
operators not to refuse to have any,
thing more to do with the Check off,"
and to be making that point an i'm
portant one in their dealings with the
employers. The "check-off" system is
not confined to the coal industry. In
number of organized trades there is
in effect system whereby the en-
ployer collects for union officials the
trade union dues of his workmen.
It was declared by an observer in
innate with conditions in the soft coal
industry that the United Mine Work
ers' organization will lose much of
its strength II the miners officials can
not prevail upon the operators to re-
sumo the "check-off" system. The
regular collection Of weekly or MONTH
ly dues after the men have been paid
is said to be difficult in many instances
especially where a large proportion OF
the men are foreigners