The Connecticut labor press., 1920-04-03
O'MEARA ANSWERS BUILDERS CLAIMS
 ON CARPENTERS
c. F. of l.. President Points Out
 Facts Overlooked" in Statement.
By PATRICK F. O'MEARA, President C. F. of L.


 Due to the large paid advs. in the daily papers of this vicinity which came from the office of the Chamber of Com merce, and carrying the inducements of the Chamber of Commerce and the Employers Association, relating to the strike now in progress in the Carpen- ters and Joiners trades in this jurisdic- tion, President Patrick F. O'Meara of the Connecticut Federation of Labor when requested for an opinion upon thaA@merits of the claims of the Car penters and Joiners, as against those publicly posted in the aforesaid advs. stated as follows:
 T am very much surprised at the attitude first of the Master Builders Association in refusing the claims of the Carpenters and Joiners Locals 79 and 1742 of this district, and secondly of the attitude of the Chamber of Com merce of this city in lending their strength to the master builders without first giving an impartial hearing to those accused III the large advs in the newspapers of the city.
 If, as I stated, an impartial hearing was extended to the employees of the Master Builders Association, it would be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the claims of the men would be sustained in the effort to receive wage of $8 day.
 1t goes without contradiction that any. person can peruse the records of our national bureau of weather statis- tics and just for the immediate recol- lection of those that are interested, 1t will be found that there were approxi- mately thirty day of weather con- ditions- snow, hail and rain since January 1, 1920, including March 3l, 1920, that the men of this craft had to refrain from work.
 ' 50 let us figure out at the rate of $6.80 per day, which has been the rate i'll effect, that to lose 30 days time out of o1 days of the first three months of the year these men lost in wages the sum of $204; now if the men had worked the fun 91 days they would have received the sum of $618.80, mak- ing the total wage received by the men for the time worked of $414.80, or an average wage for the time that the men were under their natural liabilities of the o1 days of $455 and fraction
 The average wage paid to the un- skilled laborer today is in o5 per cent of the cases 65 cents per hour or $520 per day.
 eThe skilled mechanic, working un- der the extreme to the unski11ed one, has to furnish for his employment his tools first of all, and then his wearing equipment, so that to the person keen of conditions 1t cannot be galnsaid but that these two elements alone 2 in creased in many instances 80 % 05 per cent.
 < 4Now, \if the men have been receiv- ing the sum of $4.55 per day for the past o1 days, or an average wage of 57 cents per hour, and with butter at 72 cents pound, and a loaf of bread at IS cents 1t will take one and one half hours pay to get two of the staple articles of Eae
 The claim of the master builders and the Chamber of Commerce that this wage increase of the Carpenters and Joiners if granted, would greatly increase the cost of rents Is very absurd, for records show at the Department of Labor and the Revenue Department at Washington, D. C., that out of a group of 80o contractors and construction companies 154 of them had earned more than 100 per cent. on capital invested while one earned as high as one tf1ous- and three hundred apd nihety per cent, (1,3o0%). t
 Gan it be denied, that when men want more than $ cents per hour that mine owners, who are familiarly known as mine operators, were, and are today, making profits ranging from 100 to 785 per cent, and one owner has been charged with prohteering equal to 78 times its capital stock.
 Gan 1t be denied that cannery own CTS have been making profits as high as 2,032 per cent, the meat packers as high as 4244 per cent. in a great many instances? Can 1t be denied that dur ing the month of January, 1920, there was exported food products alone that amounted to the sum of $1lo,OOO,0 900, all for the purpose of shortening the home supplies in order to keep up the prices?
 gThe Carpenters and Joiners have been accused of breaking contracts. l was wondering just why the Chamber of Commerce did not mention anything about the sugar contracts that have been broken by vested interests, such as the Chamber of Commerce ln New Haven represents 100 per cent. Why, of course not, this must and will not be mentioned, because fnanciers and business interests can break all of the contracts they want to and feel immune by their conduct. ."I feel just like all good citizens of New Haven do at this time, that 1t comes from very bad graces of the Chamber of Commerce at this time to lend assistance to any combination ot employers that sees fit to cloak their own short cornings by largeF advs to try to influence those that~ do not un- derstand the real and ,exacting con- ditions under which the Carpenters and Joiners have to work in order to exist, in order to support their families, in order to only have minimum of sub sistence and a minimum of comfort