The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1919-08-23
PRESSMEN GET
INCREASED WAGE
FROM PUBLISHERS
Committee to Confer This Week
With Employing Printers
in New Haven.
JOHNSON new ORGANIZER
Appointed by Major Berry to
Succeed Timothy A. Ryan as
Connecticut Agent.

The New Haven Printing Pressman,
Local No. ~, put new agreement and
wage scale before the employing print
ers of this city during the past week,
of September at which time the new
one is to take effect.
The Local held a.Specia1 meeting two
weeks ago Saturday, and at this meet
ing approved and adopted the new
agreement and wage scale which was
read before them by the chairman of
the wage scale committee.
Local No. u also has the honor of
mentioning the fact that one of it's
members has been appointed state or
ganizer of Connecticut by its Interna-
tiona1 President, George L. Berry, to
succeed Timothy A. Ryan, who had
held this position and who has with
drawn from the printing trade and is
now following the selling of printing
inks for the Ault & Wiborg Co. of New
York and Boston, who are the biggest
ink manufacturers in the world. The
secretary and treasurer of Local No. "a,
Walter A. Johnson being the member
appointed state organizer. Mr.. John
son has been working hard the past
two months in getting all the press
mans locals throughout the state in CO.
operating with one another, in adopting
minimum wage scale on the same
basis in every city in the state where a
local exists and has succeeded in get
ting their cooperation.
The officers and members of all the
locals of which Mr.. Johnson has visited
believe that it has been a good plan
to undertake, CHASING every man the
same and no matter what city in the
state he goes into he will receive the
same compensation. It will also be of
benefit to the employers throughout the
state that they will not be up against
wage competition as they have been in
the past, and it is hoped by Mr.. John
son that when all contracts have been
negotiated every member of the press
mems organization will be working un-
der the same conditions throughout the
state. ::
1t will also have tendency of abo1-
ishing the taking away of its members
who seek employment in other cities
where they get more compensation for
their work
It is known that the pressmen's trade
but will come pretty we'll up with other
Local No. "a has succeeded in put
ting through an agreement with the
newspaper publishers of New Haven
for the web pressmen, this being the
first one they have had with them.
They have been granted better working
conditions and wage increase. The
conference committee for the news
paper pressmen consisted of members
of that branch as follows: Edward
Mcmahon of the Times-Leader, Presi-
dent of the Local D. K. Fitzgerald of
the New Haven Union, Barney Marsh
of the Journal Courier, Joseph Coy1e of
the Register.
Local No. "a had the pleasure of en-
tertaining one of its international rep
resentatives at its last regular meeting,
Joseph A. Dart of Boston, who is Or
ganizer of New England. Mr.. Dart
was very much pleased with the action
taken by Local No. u upon the new
agreement and believes the membership
took the right step in adopting the wage
they have and believes tina: the press
men should be compensated more for
their work.
The membership feels that the en-
p1oyers will agree with them in the
adopting of a standard minimum wage
throughout the state, and hopes for
their cooperation in doing so as the
pressmen should receive more than
what they are getting.
The officers and members of the local
are striving to increase the membership
by bringing in the pressmen who are
not members of the local and who are
beginning to realize the necessity of
becoming a member of the organiza-
ton. The local believes that the new
wage schedule will have some effect
upon the building up of the local.
Mr.. Johnson belieevs that the en-
p1oyers do not realize the fact that it is
on account of the small living wage
which they are paying that leads the
biggest part of the men to go to other
cities where they can get better living
wage.
It is also an understood fact by the
officers of the local that if a satisfac-
tory increase is not granted through
on their new agreement
that the employers will be up against it
for the want of help more so than they
bers are preparing to leave the city to
go where they can get it.
Mr.. Johnson wishes to state also
through The Connecticut Labor Press
that the new postoffice address of the
local will be box 939, and wishes to ex-
tend success to all other locals on their
new agreements and contracts. He also
wishes to state that the next regular
meeting of the local will take place the
fourth Friday of this month, instead of
the third Thursday, as the hall in the
Eagle Temple will be used by the Eagles
for their convention.
The conference committee met with
the employing printers last Tuesday
afternoon and the outcome of this con-
ference was very unsatisfactory. Mr..
johnson feels that when the member
ship meets at special meeting this
week that the conditions of the employ
ing printers will absolutely be refused
as their terms will be far from being
met with the approval of the local. AL
though this is the first meeting between
the parties it is believed that better re-
suits will be obtained, as the local will
stick out for a better living wage than
what has been presented to them. The
committee of the local con-
sists of Walter A, Johnson, John Little