The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-12-27
CARPENTERS MAY
 ASK FOR PROBE
(Continu

Continued from Page One.)~ workingman in those lines to submit to a cut Tn his wages for the coming building season.
 ' Building has been good and there has at no time been more than 50 Of our men out of work. We shall meet the bosses in fair discussion, but we shall stand firm for what we be- ieve to be our rights in the mat ter.
 We have. by our agreement with the Builders Exchange, from Dec. 3 to Jan. 1, to file our demand for ne scale" he went on. 'It is then usu- ally customary to take until Feb. 1 , to adjust the points in dispute. The 1919 wage scale was 75 cents per 1920 the Builders stalled us, off to April 30 and then further held is up until May IS when we were awarded $1 per hour.
 This year, however, they have al- ready asked that we get the matter settled by Feb. 15. They seem anx- ious to get the settlement over with. We are of the opinion that the haste of the Builders Exchange indicates a lively revival of building activities. While it has not been officially an nounced, I am quite sure that the carpenters will ask for an increase of 25 cents per hour, making the scale $1.25 per hour. and a A hour week. I have heard that there is some talk among the Exchange mem bers Of asking us to accept 40- hour week. the same plan as is fol- lowed in Boston On that point we are not yet ready to speak. It has it's advantages and disadvantages. 1 '+:rhe Boston employing builders i claim that starting to work on Sat urday morning only to knock off at 12 o'clock really works a loss to them. There may be some virtue in their ar i gument. That point will be disposed i of at the proper time.
 1 'Ti1e Builders Exchange has said much about the big profits which the carpenters and other workers in the l building trades have been making. l That is not true We have, just com pleted our figures for the last two i years which show us that the average wage the carpenters have received is ! about s2s to $30 per week
 Three or four years ago the bosses were satisfied to make E cents per day on a man. Now they are not satisfied unless they are making $4 to s6 per day off each man. Today the master plumbers are making a profit of s6 man off the journey men and s2-5o per day off the help CTS. We submit that fact without argument as to\ whether or not the bosses are losing on us when they give us $1 per hour.
 q for one believe that there
 should be an investigation of build
 CTS in Bridgeport on exactly the
 same lines that are being followed by
 the grand jury in New York city. A
 grand jury might find some interest
 ing things in profteering at the ex-
 pense Of the citifens of Bridgeport ii
 it went after things right Maybe
 that will be demanded if the workers
 are cut down in their wages so tha
 the bosses may pile up their profits :, l. "'We have investigated the cost o, : clothing and other articles which the working people have to buy. We
 can't find a single instance where i
 has been reduced in price to us so we shall ask what we only believe tt
 be fair in the way of a wage increase } We do not think that $1.25 per houl is a bit too much, based on the great ly increased profits now being made by the bosses.'