The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1919-11-01
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
BOOSTS LOCAL LABOR
Executive Committee Takes Ac-
tion Upon Communication From
President O'Meara and Con-
fers With Him Upon Subject of
Having Building Contracts
Given to New Haven Firms.
Conclusions and Recommends
tions of the Committee.

Il De
Conclusions and Recommends
tions of the Committee.
The officers and board of directors
Of the Chamber of Commerce strongly
urge business patronage for home labor
and home industries of all kinds. We
believe that preference should always be
given, other things being equal, to the
products of New Haven factories and
to the wares in New Haven stores and
to New Haven artisans and mechanics
in the building trades. Those who have
had construction work to let out on
contract know that for some years we
have interested ourselves, sometimes
without welcome, to make the plea that
consideration should be given to New
Haven builders and New Haven con-
tractors in general in the interest not
only of such contractors but of New
Haven mechanics. We considered that
good and Justifab1e activity for the
benett of the community. We regret
to say, however, that there has not been
such measure of cooperation as we had
reason to believe would prove true We
are convinced that this is because the
people of New Haven have not thought
much about the matter and that COM
munlty discussion is needed to focus at
tentlon and give light on the subject.
Recently the Chamber of Commerce
of the American Federation of Labor
in Connecticut, communication along
this line which we were glad to receive
because it affords another point of ap-
proach to the difficulty and enables US
to call attention to the condition from
the point of view of the building trades
mechanic. Mr.. O'Meara's communica-
ton may be summarized as follows:
That many persons who have building
projects in mind do not investigate
whether New Haven contractors are
qualified to erect the building which
the plan to construct Some who have
permitted New Haven contractors to
bid have used bids of the latter, accord
ing to report in the trade, to check up"
the bids of out of town contractors, at
loss of time and money as well as
loss of the contract to the New Haven
contractor.
That out of town contractors who
come to New Haven use the streets,
sidewalks, and other privileges in COM
petition with New Haven taxpayers and
to the detriment of the latter
That at the present time and within
the last year a large proportion of the
bigger building work has been let to
contractors foreign to New Haven.
That New Haven made goods ought
i to be preferred to purchasers where
they are as good as the wares of COM
pet1tors and that this includes New Ha-
ven made cigars, hardware, rubber
goods, box goods, watches, clocks, toys,
etc.
That as a result of competition on
the part of outside firms local con-
tractors are often unable to keep their
organizations intact and in the con-
fusion that results the artisans and me-
the state which necessitates that they
commute to and from New Haven.
The executive committee of the
Chamber considered Mr.. O'Meara's
communication and discussed the his
tory of the Chambers previous efforts
along this line with the decision on the
part of the committee that the pres
ident be requested to appoint sub
committee to go into the matter more
fully with Mr.. O'Meara and with any
others who might be able to give assist
ance. The president of the Chamber
therefore appointed as such sub-com-
mittee Messrs. Wilson H. Lee, John E.
Otterson, Edwin P. Root, Walter E.
president, and Charles E. Ju1in, secre-
tary of the Chamber of Commerce, as
members ex-oflc1o.
Mr.. OMeara was requested to meet
with this committee which he did and
the matter was gone into very thor
ough1y from his point of view and from
the general knowledge of the members
of the committee of New Haven con-
ditions plus the previous experience of
the Chamber of Commerce along the
line already referred to. The commit
tee were agreed that it would be neces-
sarv to get additional facts and the
benefit of the experience of the repre-
sentative general contracting firms of
the city and therefore invited represen-
tatives of general contracting firms to
another conference also with Mr..
O'Meara present.
The following claims were made at
this conference:
(a) That New Haven contracting
firms in a very large percentage of in
stances where building jobs are let on
bids can secure the work as against the
bids of contractors from outside of
New haven because their D1dS are
lower
(b) That a number of New Haven
builders have or can build up organiza-
tions large enough to undertake and
complete any contract they secure.
&c That where contracts are not let
after competitive bidding but on cost
plus basis the New Haven contractor is
! Disseminated against in favor of an out
of town contractor; and that this prac-
tice is more frequent today than it has
ever been. We were told that the
rather lengthy list, made a part hereof,
represents contracts either now in pro-
gress or soon to begin or very recently
finished on which firms foreign to New
Haven have had the contract.
(d) That out of town contractors in
many instances have secured the jobs
| by representing, whether properly or
not, that they can complete the work
more quickly than New Haven contract
ors. This, your committee believes, is
very largely the result of better selling
by representatives of large contracting
firms foreign to New Haven than the