The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1919-05-03
IN THE LABOR WORLD

the core rooms of foundries to lift
more than 25 pounds.
In the United States there are now
more than two million child workers
between the ages of ten and sixteen.
The National Federation of Postal
Employees is demanding a wage bo-
nus, a 44-hour week and 80 days sick
leave and vacations.
Wages for bricklayers in London,
Ont, have been increased five cents
an hour, which makes the minimum
wage for this kind of work Y cents
an hour.
In Newport, R. l., bricklayers and
masons have raised wages from 80 to
SO cents an hour; painters have adj
vanced rates to SIS a day and sign
painters and paperhangers to Sc day.
Street railway employees in Muir
physboro, ILL.,, have been granted an
increase to SO cents an hour, while
electric light and power and gas COM
pany employees have been granted an
increase from 40 to 60 cents an hour.
The republic of Uruguay recently
enacted a law requiring the managers
of all stores, shops, pharmacies, facto-
ries, workshops and other establish
ments to supply chairs for the use Of
female employees whenever their work
permits.
The British ministry of reconstruc-
TONS SCENE for a national supply Of
electricity is based on the proposed
building of about twenty agiant gen.
Grating stations from which electricity
for the whole country could be sup
piled to the existing smaller general
ing stations, which i'll turn would be
used as distributing units.
Two hundred employees of the Con-
solidated Paper mills, Grand Rapids,
Wis, were made idle as the result of
President George Meads demand to
disband the union formed March 80
when George J. Schneider, Appleton,
organized a local of the International
Brotherhood of Paper Makers. Presf-
dent Mead insists on the open shop
and declines to recognize union labor.
The average wage Of farm labOrers
in Great Britain advanced during the
war from $3.50 a week to about $6.75
a week. Before the war the mems
wages were too low to enable them to
pay union fees, but since the war
rapid development in trade unionism
has taken place. The Investigators
found little evidence of unfriendly re-
1ations between employers and agri-
cultural workers.
Representatives of the Federation
of British Industries of the National
Alliance of Employers and Employed
and of labor generally met in London
recently to consider the scheme out
lined in the recent reports for the
housing committee relating to the for
nation of public utility societies as
partial means of solution of the hous
ing problem after war. The federation
delegates represented over 10000
firms, while the trade union represen-
tatives stood for a membership of
100000.
In accordance with the recommend
atoms made at Spartanburg, s. c., by
the cotton mill officials of the state the
cotton mills of Greenville inaugurated
the 56-hour-a-week schedule. Previ-
Gus to this agreement the number Of
hours worked each week was go. It
was reported that all the mills of that
section entered upon the new schedule.
Practically 1000 employees in and
around Greenville will be affected,
while other mills throughout the coun-
ty will swell this number considera-
bly,.
Employers of machinists at Madison,
Wis, were ordered to establish the
eight-hour day in all plants with a
minimum wage of 40 cents an hour for
men and 35 cents for women under a
decision of Umpire G. c. McChord, an
nounced by the war labor board. The
award also provided that employees en-
gagged on night work should receive
per cent more than day workers, and
that time and half should be paid
for overtime and double time for Sun
day work. Bonus systems we're abol
ished.
New York's bread line has been con-
verified into an employment agency. By
lottery scheme, soap concern Sc
lected 80 men from the line and gave
them jobs. When the slips were dis
tributed and then collected, a dis
charged soldier was the second to
draw a job.
A year OF industrial strife in the San
Francisco bay district shipyards and
contract shops ended when approx
mately 100000 machinists, boilermak-
ers and allied craftsmen, who were out
for two months or more as a result of
a strike, returned to work under a
compromise agreement.
Dining car conductors have become
unionized. J. A. Hennessy, national
chairman, says there are now 800 in
the union, 1O4 of which are Chicago
men.
Denial of advices made public at
Portland, Ore, that the Washington
shipyard wage conference had reached
an agreement to extend the Macy
award six months from March 80 was
made by C. r. Barrett, secretary Of the
Tacoma Metal Trades council. He said
the denial was contained in a tele-
gram from representatives Of the coun-
ell attending the Washington confer