Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-06-26
WAGE DECISION
EXPECTED ON OR
BEFORE JULY 20
Announcement of Railway
Labor Board Has Elm
mated All Danger of Gen.
eral Strike, Says Lee.

ioi wage increase Will De maze on
or before July 20 by the railway la
Dor board, Judge r. NJ. Barton,
chairman, said in a statement late
today. The award would be retro
active to May l, the statement said ::
According to w. G.. Lee, presi-
dent of the Brotherhood of Rail-
road Trainmen and spokesman for
union leaders who gathered here
today, the boards declaration
would end all danger of a general
railroad strike.
Mr.. Lee said that secret plans
had been made by a disaffected
union element to spread the strike
throughout the country because of
the continued delay in announcing
the wage ruling.
THE men would have quit ut
midnight tomorrow night Mr..
Lee said. 1T was impossible to
hold them longer. Men of my or
ganization have been waiting pa
tiently for nearly a year"
The railway boards statement
declared that an agreement on a
method of working out the wage
problems had been arrived at and
that no time would be lost in
reaching a conclusion.
Lee and other representative
railroad brotherhoods who met
here today to discuss the railroad
wage situation, said there was no
doubt the men would be satisfied
with the promise of a decision to
relieve their impatience.
WAS the decision the result of a
warning of a probable strike
brought by you and your associates
to the board % Lee was asked.
"You can draw your own conclu-
sion as to that" Lee answered,
In later statement Mr.. Lee de-
clared that "even the most con-
servative members of these organ
izations lately have been bitterly
complaining of the delays and in
sist upon a decision"
Now that it has been definitely
decided that the award will be
handed down not later than July
20" the statement continue. I'VE
urge our members to continue to
carry out their obligations to their
organizat tons and the contract re-
lations with the employees as the
most effective means of helping
the situation"
: I'VE came here to prevent a
strike and at the same time to OBJ
tain full satisfaction for the men,
said Timothy Shea, president of
the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen, in commenting on the
boards announcements.
1--WE have held our men back for
three months, ever since the out
law strikes began. We have lost
10000 men by revoking charters
of unions which called walkoutS.
We could not hold the others an
other week, if the board had not
promised it's decision in the imme-
date future"
Resolutions reiterating 1t a e.
ments of the Chicago Yardmen S
association that its members, who
were the first to start the vacation
walkouts," would not return to
work until their full seniority
rights were restored, We're adopted
at a mass meeting called by the as
ISOLATION tonight Tor the announced
purpose of presenting their side of
the case to the public
The resolutions appeal to the
press and various civic and com
mercial organizations to urge the
Interstate Commerce commission
to restore their seniority rights.
Copies will be sent to the democrat
ic national convention.
John Grunau, president of the Or
ganization in his address charged
that "all present difficulties in the
railroad industry are due to the in
efficiency of the old line railroad
brotherhoods."
"But for the inefficiency of the
men at the head of the railroad
brotherhoods. the difficulties be-
tween the men and the roads would
have been settled within two
weeks" Grunau continued.
Because the brotherhoods failed
us, more than 275,000 men now
have left the roads and their places
are being taken by 16-year-old
youth in violation of the law. AS
a result of the inefficiency of these
boys, daily murder is being COM
mitted, the hospitals are filling
with legless and armless men and
millions of dollars worth of equip
ment is being destroyed.
''The brotherhoods approved the
announcement of the railroad
board that its decision would be
made by July 30 to have their own
bread and butter. They know near
ly every man in the service would
join us unless they took prompt ac-
ton to stop it. Sixty per cent of the
railroad workers have taken other
Jobs since we organized and they
will never go back until seniority
rights and higher pay are granted.
We are not to be starved out"
Washington, June 25.-An-
nouncement by the railroad labor
board in Chicago today that its
award in the pending wage con-
troversy would be given on Or be-
fore July 90 is expected both by
government officials and railway
union heads to exercise a powerful
influence in alleviating unrest
among the workers.
Setting a definite date for an
nouncing the award was received
with undisguised satisfaction by
union heads, who were plainly wor-
ried by the sporadic strikes in Bal
timer, Philadelphia and other