The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-11-02
FORCE CONTRACTORS
TO PAY TRIBUTE
Brindell's Building Trades
Council Holds Up New
York Contractors
THOUSANDS BLOOD
MONEY IS PAID

Unions Threaten to Have Buildings Torn
Down Unless Contractor Paid - In
experienced Carpenters Foisted On
Employers.
NEW YORK. Nov. 2.-Evidence that
building contractors using steel under
open shop conditions were mulcted of
huge sums of money during the last
year by labor representatives is accumu-
lating rapidly in the Lockwood commit
tees investigation of the building in
dustry.
Many instances in the possession of
the committee show that strikes were
called on buildings in the course Of con-
struction on the ground that the steel
in the structures was being handled by
men not affiliated with Robert 2. Brin-
dells Building Trades council. After
a period of negotiation between labor
representatives and employers the men
working on the job returned and the
steel erectors not affiliated with the
Building Trades council always re
turned with the other men.
EphTaim Levy, a builder, testified be
fore the committee that all the men on
his 100000 job on Seventh avenue
and Thirty-first street were called on
strike after Brindell asserted he would
have to make an example of the Job
because steel was being put in under
open shop conditions. Levy SAID ne
gave So. 900 to George Backer, who was
experimenting the job for BrindeI and
his committee, and Backer said he gave
it to two acknowledgment or walking
delegates.
Steel is required in the erection of
every building more than four stories
high. 1t was reported that the investi-
cation tends to show that great many
building contractors during the past
year were forced to pay tribute in order
to go on with their work and complete
it using irOnwOrkers not affiliated with
the Building Trades council.
The Iron Erectors' league has fire.
ouently made public statements concern
ing its implacable hostility to the idea
of the closed shop. 1t has used union
ir0nWOrkers as well as nOn-union men.
The union men are members OF the
IIousesmiths and Bridgemens union.
which is not affiliated with the Building
Trades council.
Labor representatives. under the guise
Of fighting the Iron EreCtors league,
it was said. have called strikes on build
ingS in the course of construction. The
men were generally called off the work
Wheh me DulIdlh2 was Wen up III lhe
air. The law requires the brick work
and masonry to follow the steel work
up to within several stories. \ strike
called when the work was well under
way caused great embarrassment to
builders because the orlckIayers, pias-
terers ana .otHeF workers couId not go
on WIN Jheir JOBS.
II the builder tried to night the strike
out on MS own terms ana denounced
those responsive Tor the STRIKE or or, IN
any way showed tRat ne was uhWllilng
to accede to the demands or those 10
mcnting the trouble threat was gen
orally made that he would have TO tear
down all the work done by non-qnlon
men; Such threat. if carried out
would have meant Greet loss to every
nulid@F ana possibly oankfuPtcx 10 some
Inc threat was ge4efilHE SuIlClehl. An
agreement was tfachFo anu tLe men 5l
work on lhc OulnIh@ would aSa,h take
up Their tasks. The status OF thc men
engaged IN the IRON work would IN no
way change, and tins tact has caused
NoIre interesting speculation by those as
SOClatei with the committee.