The sun., 1919-02-11
100000 WORKERS
ORDERED TO STRIKE
National Building Trades
Unions Order WalkOut
Throughout Country.
THE CONTRACTORS LAUGH
Not n Bit Of Construction Co
ing On. So They Won't
Be Affected.

\ strike AZ the basic building trades
union men who are working on contracts
held nv tho Building Trades Employers
Association has been called to become
effective to-day throughout the United
states. II is estimated that rroba bly,
100000 mon will have qui: work by the
end OF the week. according to the state
ment made by William l.. Hutcheson.
international presden, OF tho United
Brotherhood OF Carpenters and Joincrs.
who called the strike following con-
ference OF thirty unions at the Con-
t!ncntai Hotel.
Tire Building Trades Employers As
sociotiCn was authorit'' FOR n contra
d;ctcry estimate. Ronald Taylor. its
president. talking informally Of the sit
uation said that I've couldn't gee where
Mr.. Hutchinson was going to get tho
300 600 strikers 10" they are not emf
ployed by the building associate In
fact. he said that building is absolutely
flat--at it's lowest ebh all over the cour-
Try. II wont do them much good TO
strike for everybody's idle anyway he
continued "As far as New York goes
there ism; y single really large building
under construction Id be amazed il ]
should get a post card 20 come aud figure
d
months. Ii they nil walk out we may
take our feet off tho desk and Join EN-"
Mr.. Hutchinson would not estimate the
number of basic building trades men
who VII! strike in New York city, hu.
made his estimate general. There are
more than a million Of th',se men
throughout the country. but only IS per
cent. are employed by members ot the
Building Trades Employers Association,
ami II is only these who will strike
They include the trades Of masons, plas-
'erers, bricklayers hosting engineers
elevator constructors. soft stone cutters
tile layers, marble settlers and carpen-
"rs. the latter Of whom have been or
strike since December Q. The hrlckley-
-rs and hoisting engineers walked on,
saturday afternoon. There are said 70
BE- not more than a thousand hriCklgy-
ers and thirty engineers altogether.
Reports from nearly every section Of
he country state that building opera
tons are at s;sndstill, and that not
May can he made idle by the strike.
Mr.. IIutcheson. however. Is OF the opin-
an tina, the hasi, trades strike wi,
tutomaticallv throw our Of worl; the
reuaiudor Of Tho unions engaged In
building trades. which number more
than twenty, thus aver;iug the ne'ee
sity Of calling a "sympathetic strike.
ne said YESTERDAY.
lie also spoke OF tho probability o.
having strikers now out OF the army
and navy to picket in their uniforms
at the army base. Fifty-eighth street
and First avenue. Brooklyn. to-day Wher
number Of nor-union carpenters ant
dock builders will begin work
: 1t was the dollar a day" incres So
that was not granted that caused the
carpenters 10 strike. they said. But II
was an agreement wherein the Employ
ers Association and the carpenters had
adopted as n basis OF settlement. "thc
Joint arbitration plan not being lived
up to by thA carpenters that caused
the strike. the Employers Association
contends Now tho carpenters want e
take the matter before the War Labor
Board for settlement. bu, the F.iupio> Ell;
Association counters with this state
ment when the carpenters call OF the,
strike aud return to work any grievancs
that they may have can then be nd
iusted by the method provided in the
old agreement, which was approved by
the international union II is. therefore
unnecessary to call in any outside arb
tTation board.