New-York tribune., 1921-03-06
" age Dispute
Brings Crisis
I'm Job Printing
Employers League Asserts
Open Shop or Temporary
Shutdown Will Come if
Unions Refuse to Confer
Would Make Cut April l
Declares High Scale in City
Makes Competition With
Middle West impossible

throughout the book and job printing
industry in New York may result il
Big Six, the powerful compositors
union, persists in its refusal to dis
cuss with the employers a proposal to
reduce wages. r. A kendrick. presi-
dent Of the Printers League. declared
Yesterday. The only alternative. Mr.
kendrick said, would be temporary
shutdown in the industry.
Ihe Printers League is the closed
SHOP division of the New York Employ
ing Printers Association. 1t has con
tracts with the eight unions of the
xrade, all OF which, save Typographical
Cnlon No. 6, have named represents
tlveS to confer with the executive COM
1hittee OF the league. One conference
mas already taken place
IN statement given out by the
4,eeague' Leon IL. Rouse, president of
Big Six, is quoted as saying his union
would not confer on wage matters until
IT'S contract expires October / next.
"A contract is contract" Mr.. Rouse
sald. We have always lived up to
ours IN the past. We intend to live
Zip to this one. Did you ever hear of a
scale @' ''se
To this Mr.. Kendrick retorted that
sne lea2ue mad no intention of repu-
oiatIng its contracts, but neither
did 1T have the ability to retain indi-
viduai employers on its membership
foii II they decided that to Withdraw
and operate OH an open-shop basis
were only means to keep their business
afloat. "0'-' ~ %
The league membership fell off at
the time of the last wage increase y
Mr. hendrlck continued, "some firms
preIerrng to conduct open shops
Ia!her than lose work by increasing
prices. NO one can safely predict to
~nae extent the leagues membership
WI shrihk i Big Six refuses to Join
me council which is seeking to escape
from disaster" ~'>'i'e
The Printers Leagues contracts
with five OF the eight unions exnire
April /. Those with the other three
Eun to October l. The league wants to
readjust all eight contracts April l.
In declining to meet the EMPLOYERS
IN conference at this time Mr.. Rouss
wrote TO the league that there was
now no question involving the con-
tractual relations between the two or
ganizatlons. ga In any event, he added,
Big SIX would deal individually With
- Ply cAo ana uoC as allleS OF the
other printing crafts.
Replying, the league expressed ;+s
emphatic. rejection of this posi- on
and our disapproval of it, not only for
ourselves, but in behalf of all the
cther crafts which are so vitallv af-
tected by this attitude Of TWO
graphical Union No. s. ~
In addition we wish to state.n the
communication ended, that it will be
necessary to meet such vital issue
frankly at the proper time"
AT the preliminary conference be.
tween the executive commtte Of the
,eague and representatives of the seven
other unions Mr.. kendrick expressed
ene personal opinion that the proposed
wage cue would be not less than 25 Der
cent.
Mr.. Kendrick said yesterday the time
had passed when the EMPLOYERS sav
costs should" be reduced.
Ihey must be reduced within the
next thirty days" he went on, "or we
VIII have situation similar to that
winch staggered the garment workers
last winter.
New York Losing Jobs
New York is losing printing Jobs
which have been here for years, There
IS no complaint as to the quality of the
York; 1t IS entirely question of cost.
II a perIodIcal can be printed III the
Middle West for less than il can he
printed here, the printer has little ar
gument with which to persuade the
publisher that he should not fail to re
new his contract. The same thing is
true OF books. AS q matter OF fact. the
distribution of printed matter with a
national circulation is cheaper in the
Middle West than here. To counteract
hat saving to the publisher, the New
York printer is almost forced to under
bid other cities. And that the New
York printer cannot do when New York
wages are higher than those of almost
every competitive city in the country.
Present conditions cannot continue.
Three things may happen. One of them
VIII happen. First, the printing indus
Try may go out of business, which
would be just as bad, if not worse. for
The union than for the employer. In
the fall Of 1919 this took place for sew
erai weeks, and certainly is not an i'm
possibility now. Second, wages can be
reduced by the modification of the con-
Sract terms. Five unions are DISCUSSING
TINS plan now, but 1t can hardly be sue
eessful unless the largest union--.Bip ip
Six'-joins in. Third, relations with
one or all of the unions can be discon-
tlnued, thereby bringing about q reduc-
ton of wages by the introduction of
the open shop"
Many Printers Out Of Work,
The employers are counting on the
Great number OF printers they claim
are out of work to render possible of
1ulilment their open shop threat if
conditions force them to carry it out.
On this phase of the question the
leagues statement says:
"Since the date of the last readiust-
ment, October l, when all of the eight
unions were awarded increases Of from
$50 to SO week, business has
dropped off to such extent that the
stability of firms which have operated
here for generations is ieopardjaed
and hundreds of men of all unions are
out of work. Mr.. Rouse. when asked
about the unemployment in his union
produced fragmentary figures SHOWING.
less employment in 362 shops in Jan
nary, 1921, than there was in but 83e
shops in January. 1920.
HIS figures show 5725 men en-
rioyed IN 1856 shops in January. 1920.
all men employed in 362 shops in
January 1871. There are approx
mately 5000 men unaccounted for bv
these hgures, the union boasting of an
active membership of more than 5000.
Guy no one at Big Six Headquarters
Eaa other data Tor publication.
Ihe employers, too, said they could
furnish no exact figures as to the unem-
Lioyment situation, but did emphasize
mat there was not one large plant in
the city operating at full capacity
n