The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-09-06
MINOR LABOR NOTES

The Cooperative Wholesale society
of Manchester, England, has decided
that its employees, numbering 10000,
should join trades unions.
Minimum wage scales affecting u
industries employing approximately
400 women have recently been fixed by
the Manitoba (Canada) minimum wage
board
At the meeting of the Wisconsin Fed
GRAFTON of Labor resolution was
passed against home guards, on the
ground that the troops are used in
case of strikes.
Washington hotel employees are con-
tending for the eight-hour day. Union
leaders declared that the time is au'
spicious for the establishment Of that
standard of hours in all crafts.
The proposed international demon
strative strike was not fully effective
anywhere in France. At Brest only
dock workers went on strike. Miners
in the department of Gard also stopped
work.
Wage increases to S525 a day, which
was the scale paid before a cut in pay
last winter, were announced by metal
mines of the Occur d'Alene district.
The new scale will be effective from
July 16, the last pay day. Ell
Hammonds Qnd) largest industry,
the Standard Steel Car plant, which
during war times employed 5000 men in
it's freight car and ordnance DEPART
ments, was made idle following walk
out of practically all employees.
Increases of so cents to ST day ,ii'sf~
wages were announced at BisbeG, Afiz.,
dating from July 10, for COPPER mines
in the Warren district ard smelterF at
Douglas. The new seai1e will be on the
basis of 24-cent copper because of the
continued higb,cost of living. :.
By & vote Of 36S tos4T;;
representatives passed the bill provid1
ing minimum wage of SO for all gov
eminent employees except those in the
postal service. The wage is exclusive
of the wartime bonus of $240 a year.
The measure now goes to the senate.
The Warner Brothers Corset COM
pany reopened to its $500 employees
after a shutdown of ten days, with an
IS per cent wage Increase. The COM
pany made no concessions in the mat
ter of a 44-hour week, and the CLOSED
shop" demand will come before board
of arbitration composed of one union
man, one company official and a third
man chosen by the two.
Shoe factories of Portsmouth, Ohio,
granted a second service dividend of
from to 10 per cent which will affect
70 per cent of the workers employed in
the shoe industry there. The amount
of dividends depends on the length of
service, but all employees who entered
the United States service and returned
to work will be given credit for the
time absent. A 10 per cent bonus was
granted in November, 1916.
The New Hampshire State Fedora
ton of Labor adopted platform of
agitation for the ensuing year, which
includes a demand for 44-hour week
as the general standard of hours OF
labor ratification of the suffrage
amendment, retention of the daylight
saving. and an increase of 20 per cent
in wages of postal workers. No action
was taken on the question of prohibit
ton. M
The Boston Newspaper Publishers
association agreed to grant the de-
mands of the News Writer'S union for
minimum wage scale of S45 week
for rewrite men and copy readers, S3S
for reporters and staff photographers,
and $50 for district men. Members OF
the union who receive more than the
minimum wage will receive 'propor-
tionate increases" The scale is retro,
active to June /.
Five hundred and fifty men en-
ployed at the Webb mine of the Cam
bria mining company, Bellaire, o., re
sumed work after being on strike for
nearly a week because of shortage
in pay of less than 81 each for 100
men. The company rectified errors in
35 of the mems envelopes but before
all could be corrected the mine had
been ordered shut down. The loss in
pay through no work during the strike
will be about $4,000.
Announcement was made at Iichi.
gan City, Ind, that the Haskell &
Barker Car company had shut down
its local plants pending adjustment of
labor difficulties. About $500 men arc
affected. The foundries are excepted
After disagreement of five weeks
duration between shoe manufacturers
and employees over the question of re-
ducing the working hours from AS d
week to As, the manufacturers at Hav
erhill decided to grant the demands
1t Is expected that the manufacturers
ans union will soon agree upon meth
cd of doing business without strikes
or lockouts.