The Connecticut labor press., 1919-07-26
PRINTERS TO
 DISCUSS WAGE
 ADVANCE SUNDAY
New Haven Typographical Union to Consider Communication
 of Publishers.
SAY THEY ARE SURPRISED
At Ultimate Increase of SIP Weekly on Newspapers-Scale
 Now in Force,

The regular une meeting of the New Haven Typographical Union was not held because the date conhicted with the convention of the New England Typographical Union, considered more important Especially the banquet) and It was voted to have the next meeting on July 27, tomorrow The scale. of wages for members employed on New Haven newspapers will be the principal matter to come up for action.
 The present scale cannot be opened without mutual consent and then 1t would take three-fourthS vote of the union to open 1t and ajority vote to accept the proposition of the publish CTS. The publishers have not agreed to the opening of the scale, which does not expire until May 1, 1920. The Con- necticut Labor Press is enabled to print what has transpired in this matter
 The following was approved o2-17 at special meeting June 13 If ratified by three-fourths vote of the July meeting it will become effective when officially signed:
 New Haven Conn.,, June Is, 1919.
 Present newspaper scale contract runs until May 1, 1920, at SPA for day work and $27 for night work. .'.
 Publishers offer the following :: Contract to be extended to November 1, 1921, (18 months) with no changes excepting i'll the scale, which shall be as follows: An immediate increase of $4 per week, making the day scale $28 and the night scale $31; with an addi- tiona1 increase of $1 on May 1, 1920, which will make the day scale $2o and the night scale $32.
 ''The publishers further agree that if Hartford union secures a substantial increase when its present scale expires i'll 1921; or if there is a marked in crease i'll the cost of living during the 18 months, following May l., 1920, they will meet representatives of the union to discuss further increases"
 At a special meeting held Sunday, July 6, the scale committee was in structed to submit to the publishers the following proposition as embodying the terms upon which the present contract may be mutually altered before it's na- turai expiration next May:
 From now until May 1, 1920, an in crease of ,$8 per week above the present scale; from May 1, 1920, until Novern- Der 1, 1920, an additional increase of $4 per Week-the entire scale from May l, 1920 and thereafter to be strictly in accord with International Typographical Union laws III all its provisions"
 Following is the four publishers re- ply to the proposition submitted to them pursuant to the action of the July 6 special meeting:
 New Haven, July Is, 1919.
 We have your most surprising com munication of July 7 i'll which you sug- gest a total increase of SIP per week, or 5O9o, i'll the wages of all members of the Typographical Union employed Al,o offices, although your present contract and scale of wages do not expire for nearly year to come. We cannot be- heve that you are serious i'll r:aklng\th1s suggestion, as an increase of such mag nitude is far beyond our ability to pay, and utterly out of the question. 1t would make the wages in New Haven far greater than in other cities of our class and represents scale of payment wholly out of line with the prices we are receiving from our customers.
 "In declining your proposal, we wish to remind you of the following facts:
 "On Wednesday, June I'll. the four publishers discussed the conditions III New Haven with your organizer, MT. !. I. Dallas of Boston, and voluntarily offered him a total increase i'll wages of S5 per week for every printer, if our
 
 pires May 1 next, should be extended for two years from that date. Four dollars of this represented voluntary increase over your present contract which does not expire for approximate lv a year: MT. Dallas replied that two year extension seemed to him to be 100 long, but that if we would grant the increase for an Is months extension, the proposition would meet with his entire approval and would be accepted bv the local union. We promptly made the suggested concession.
 MT. Dallas stated that the regular monthly meeting of the local union would be held on the following Sun dav, June 15 and that the offer would be considered and finally adopted at that time, to become effective as of June Is. Instead he caused special meet the second day following, Friday, une 13, to consider the proposition of the publishers. The meeting was held and we were informed on the following day that our offer, involving the voluntary S increase and the Is months exten- sion, had been accepted by vote ot @ to Y, well over the three-Quarter vote required.
 "A few days later, however, we were told by your secretary that the vote passed at the meeting of June l3 was not binding upon the Typographical Union, and would have to be ratified by another three-quarter vote at the nexf regular meeting, the meeting of June B having been special and not regular. Your regular monthly meeting, sched- u1ed to be- held on June Is, was omitted, although at least two special meetings of your entire union have recently been held, and in spite of the fact that the publishers were assured by your MT Dallas that final action on our offer of increased wages would be taken at such time. Had this been done there would have been no question as to the final1ty and binding nature of your action You would have definitely adopted the new wage scale and the Is months exten- sion of contract which had been agreed upon between your representative, MT. Dallas and the four publishers. Inas-