Republican farmer., 1919-08-01
HELP AT GRAPH0PH0NE..
 FACTORIES HAVE QUIT:
 OFFICE FORGE ALSO OUT
Labor Officials After Con ference Say They Will Call a General Strike in City Next Week.

Following a conference of labor leaders in this city this morning it was stated to a re- presentative of the Bridgeport Times that plans have been aid to call a general strike and If possible, close every factory in Bridgeport, by next We'd nesday.
 The labor leaders contend that the Manufacturers Asso- ciation has Thrown down the gauntlet, assumed an uncom- promising, arbitrary attitude and forced them to make this decision"
 At the Graphophone factor ies this morning, even the of flee help quit their desks, in cluding clerks, bookkeepers,. stenographers and accoun- tants, making a total number of about 5000 to strike at thi shop.
 The entire force of the Monu-
 mental Bronze Co.,, consisting of 75 are on strike.
 The 1,50O workers at the Bry-
 ant Electric plant are still out No agreement has been reach ed between the 500 workers at
 the Remington-Yos ost and the man
 agement of the shop.
 The strike still exists among the force of 100 at the La Resista corset factory.
 Four hundred are out at the
 Hawthorne Mic. Go. plant. Seventy are still out at the Raybestos plant.
 One hundred are out at the
 paint of the HarveN Hubbell fac tory.
 The employees of the Singer Co.
 will take a strike vote Monday. Labor leaders predict that the Bridgeport Brass, the Singer, the Connecticut Electric and the American Chain Go. employees will be out Monday. The answer of the Graphophone Company to the demands of the
 
 with what they said was IS per cent. increase in wages. That meant the weekly wages for A hours would. be about the same the workers are now receiving for 4S hours. The company refuses to give women equal pay for doing the same work as men because they say it is necessary to have toilets and addi- tfonal equipment for women, and to oiI also that the turn over among the women is greater than among men, The company also refuses to recog- nlze the union and will recognize only such shop committees as are composed of workers who have been in their employ more than year and who are American citizens
 The company also state that all of their employees who do not accept these conditions by Monday at 1 p. m. will be considered as discharged. When this answer was conveyed to the employees the entire force includ- ing the office force walked out.
 Several hundred went to Rakoczi hall on Bostwick avenue the head uarters of the W. I. I. U. and the majority went to Machinist hall on Broad street. As this hall was not large enough to hold them they ad- Journeo 10 colonial nall on tauIlelo avenue.
 The office force will be organized this afternoon by the organizers of the Federation of Labor into the Clerks, Bookkeepers, Stenographers and Accountants local.
 The sentiment among the men throughout the city is that this matter cannot be settled by one shop now and another some other time. They say that all the demands in all the shops must be settled at the same time and that they will all stay out until this is effected.
 The shop committee proposed by the Graphophone company would be ab- solutely under the control of the com pany. Over 30 per cent. of their em- ployes cannot read English so that the members would only represent a very small minority of the employees when it is limited to those who have been in the employ of the company for mora than a year