The Connecticut labor press., 1920-12-18
NEW YORK PROBERS EXPOSE GRAPHING OF
 "'OPEN SHOP" CROWD
Drew, of Erectors' Association, Who Created Furore Here Last Week, One of Those Under Fire

The campaign to disrupt Organized Labor through the forcing of "the open shop" so-ca11ed, by the interests, has OverstePped itself according to revela- tions being made before the legislative committee Investigating building con- d1t1ons in New York and if 1t doesn't bust the scheme of those behind the movement, 1t will at any rate show them up But that doesn't by any means in d1cate that the unions have won the fiIght, which has hardly begun in fact, the surface having only been scratched Tn New York, although conditions gen. orally throughout the country are the same.
 The revelations are very interesting to workers and contractors in this sec ton, especially those referring to MT. Walter Drew, counsel for the National Drew spoke here week ago before teh Manufacturers Association at banuuet to start the movement against the unions and for the "open shop" in this section. In the course of his remarks, (trom which the press was carefully excluded and "statements'' given out afterwardO MT Drew tool. the brick clared that while his wage has risen IOC per cent. he laid half as many bricks per day because his union wouldn't allow him to lay more. This of course was promptly published in the local press but although the Brick1ayers' Union took around denia1s, and offered to open its records to any reputable committee of contractors or manufact- urers to disprove the statement, this offer hasn't yet been published and probably therefore not accepted.
 That the interests bebind the open shop movement are themselves respon- sibie for the high costs and their non union help Is not half as efficient as union men, was brought out forcibly at the New York hearings MT. Drew and his company, the National Erectors' association, are so involved and are be Drew became excited and was expelled from the hearings.
 From the Steel Trust down to a group of fnanciers who are preying on con tractors and therefore the builder, the movement to bust the union has been fostered the steel powers even going so far as to refuse material to big and responsible firms who employed union men" unless they fired the union men and employed non-union help. When they wouldn't they were forced to sub let their steel work to The National EreCtors association or other members of THE IRON LEAGUE" and the work cost them 25 to 5 per cent. more, which, of course, went into the pockets of the League members.
 Letters showing that Drew attempted to prevent the George A. Fuller Con struction company from erecting the Rhode Island hospital trust building at Providence, as a closed shop" job were offered in evidence before the commission. One of these letters was to Frank A. Vanderlip, director of the Fuller company, appealing to him to make 1t an 'open shop" job. MT. Drew contended that the erection of this big job with union iron workers would be detrimental to the open shop movement.
 Testimony that the Bethlehem Steel company, the United States Steel cor poration and manufacturers of fabri- cated steel are blocking building opera tons in New York and other cities by attempting to force the::T 'open shop" policy upon builders who employ union men was also heard by the committed Enforcement of the "open shop" prin- ciple in steel construction, 1t was testi- fled, IS merely the opening wedge" of the system which was to be extended throughout the country.
 Despite personal appeals to Eugene Grace, president of the Bethlehem Steel company. and Charles NJ Schwab, chairman of the board, Paul Starrett, president of the Fuller company, and Louis Horowitz, president of the Thompson-S -Starrett cOmpany-two of the largest construction companies in the United States-testifed that they were unable to purchase structural steel direct for erection under union shop conditoins.
 They declared they had been practi- cally driven out of the steel erection bulsneSs because of their employment of union men and had to have ali their structural work dore by members of the iron league of New oYrk or the Ma t1onal Erectors' association thus increas- ing the cost ct construction work
 Both MT. Sta1rett and MT. Horowitz testified that un:on structora1 steel workers were from 25 to 5 per cent more efficient than non-union erectors. and declared that when they were forced to le: the members of the Iron League or the National Erectors' association do the work 1t added from , to ID per cent to the cost of the job. Mir. 1orowitz declared he could have saved from ScZ5,G0G to $500,000 on one job, if he could nave done the work himself.