The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-27
TRANSFERS DAZED
BY TERMS OFFERED
Merchant Truck Bureau In
sists on Ten Hour Day
at Same Pay.
BIG CUT IN OVERTIME
Labor Must Share in Helping
to Reduce Prices, Owners
Assert.
BIG CUT IN OVERTIME

While the threatened strike of $4,000
teamsters was averted temporarily last
night. new demands declared to be the
most drastic ever presented to a labor
organization were announced by wage
scale committee OF the Merchants
Truckmen's Bureau. They are even
more radical than those embodied In the
resolution adopted by the truck owners
last Sunday at the Waldorf-Astoria. and
not only demand that wages be lowered,
but that bond OF $500 be fled by both
employer and employees to assure the
payment of damages sustained 10 either
because of an unauthorized strike or a
lockout in contravention OF this agree
ment."
This provision in the new demands is
he most unusual of the entire list and
IL virtually unheard of in labor negotia-
lions. The other demands of the truck
owners are as follows:
THE same scale OF wages as paid at
present.
Ten hours constituting a day instead
f nine. as at present.
Overtime 10 DE paid for at the rate
of 81 an hour. No pay for an hour
when work nas. been done for only part
oI an hour"
Men Dazed at Demands.
The union representatives, who met
with the wage scale committee in the
City Club. agreed that the teamsters
would remain at work until final nego-
tiations have been completed. They de-
CARED, however, that they were dumb
founded by the new demands OF the
truck owners and were unprepared 10
comment on them The demands will be
presented to the teamsters at a mass
meeting to be called within few days.
The union leaders pleaded with the
truckmen to make present conditions IN
the business better. They asked that
the truclmen be more lenient In their
new demands. but were informed by tie
wage scale committee that no Gonces-
sions at all would be made by the truck
. owners.
"It is a peculiar thing" said William
Brown of Local SOL of the Transfers
Union. that the truck owners should
ask us to suffer because they declare the
cost of living is coming down. Our
wives tell us IL is not coming down. The
only things that are coming down are
silk shirts, diamonds and automobiles,
and we are unable to buy such articles
anyway"
In presenting the new demands to the
union men Arthur McKeever. chairman
OF the Wage Scale Committee, said:
'eWar prices grew from the urgent
denand for commodities and labor justly
participated in the increase in order that
The high cost OF living might DC met
Tho demand for merchandise has been
dir,nished by a lack of buying power
in this country and abroad until manr
commodities arc now selling below "hat
Il actually costs TO produce them but
labor costs still remain adjusted 10 "'u
prices.
Labor Must Aid Rcadjustment'
"This leaves the situation out OF
balance Employers have no incentive
10 produce under present labor costs be-
cause they cannot sell at a proht- The
world is working to correct the abnormal
conditions created by the war and 10 re-
establish an industrial balance. This
work must be shared by employer ana
ernployee alike and the sooner full CO.
operation is had toward this END the
Quicker the Job will be finished.
This committee has given careful
consideration to the facts that the nor
nal range of prices will probably De
higher than those of pre-war times that
the benefit of price reduction has not as
vet been felt to the full extent in reduc-
ina. the cost OF living and that living
conditions must be maintained upon tne
higher plane consistent with our ma
tional progress; but with these facts IN
mind we feel that II is the task of labor
TO make concessions and we nave ac-