The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1920-04-10
ANTI-LABOR DRIVE
AROUSES THE IRE
OF UNION WORKERS
Latest Move Is Restricting Pay
ing of Strike
Benefits.
REORGANIZATION" PLAN
Case Against Electrical Workers
Indicates Trend of
Action.

Events of interest to the workers OF
America are taking place in such quick
succession these days that it behooves
the trade unionists to be on their guard.
Sinister forces are at work and as
has been said many times before, "Eter-
nal vigilance is the price of liberty.
After all the agitation and propagan-
da, after all the petitioning and pro-
testing and resoluting in favor of ex-
tending the government control of the
railroads, Congress "railroaded" the
Esch-C ummins bill through both houses
in less than no time. On top of this
costly piece of legislation by Congress
comes a ruling of the United States
supreme court in its decision favorable
to the United States Steel corporation,
in which the discovery is made that the
American Steel Trust is not a trust.
At any rate, if it is trust, it is not
bad trust-but a good trust.
The memory of labor is not so short
but what we can recall that it was not
so long ago that the United Hatters
and the American Federation OF Labor
were bad trusts" when the antitrust
law was used against them in the Dan
bury hatters case.
Now comes restraining order OF a
federal Judge that has backed all others
off the boards.
Last week United States District
Judge Faris in St. Louis delivered an
other stunning blow to organized labor.
Judge Faris issued a restraining order
against the Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, some of whose members are
on strike against telephone company
in that city. Press dispatches state that
il is one of the most drastic court
orders ever issued
The defendants named are the local
union, its officers and members, inter-
national officers and attorneys for the
organization.
The list of things which the defend
ants are restrained, by the order, from
doing is as follows:
Compelling, advising, persuading or
inducing by threats, intimidation, force
or persuasion, any employe to leave
service or refuse performance OF duty.
Compelling, etc, any person desiring
to seek employment.
Compelling, ETC., the former employees
out on strike to continue the strike.
Paving any strike benefits, or directly
or indirectly giving financial aid or
assistance to any employees on strike, or
who may go on strike.
Trespassing on the companys prem
ises. or in any way communicating Win
employees.
Doing anything, at any meeting OF
the local or otherwise, that will IN any
way tend to continue the strike, etc:
Similar federal injunctions nave
been issued against the Walters, Watt
resses and Cooks. Unions in st. LOUIS,
in cases where no interstate commerce
is involved.
The federal injunction becomes a
oowerful means in the fight against the
American trade-union movement 1t
will nullify the I'VE don't .patronizee
lists" and make peaceful picketing OF
union men crimel
Trade unionists see the application
for this order by the telephone COM
pany as. quite in line with the Amer
icanization" campaign instituted by the
Commercial Federation OF America,
new savior of American principles
which was organized in St. Louis some
two weeks ago by representative busi-
ness men of the Middle West.
Among other things the American
Federation of Labor has been declared
by this organization to be the most
dangerous force in American politics.
All movements looking to the organiza-
ton of the workers were denounced.
The strike order against the Electri-
cal Workers Union was obtained by
the telephone company because 1t IS
asserted that some SO wire men on
strike were interfering with its inter-
state business.