The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-03-24
Individual Agreements With
r. r. CumbersOme-JeWell.
Union Chief Answers Substi-
tute Plea of Employers.
!WOULD COST SIX MILLION
Services of 5000 Men Needed by
Individual Boards.
Claims Unions Only Real Rep
resentatives of Workers.

ChcagO, March 24.-Machinery to
draft individual agreements between
railroads and employees would cost rail
workers s6.o00.oO0 and require the
services Of over 5000 men.
Bert NJ. Jewell. president of railway
employees department of the American
Federation Of Labor. made this state
ment before the United States railroad
labor board today, as the opening shot
of his plea against abrogation of the
national agreements.
IF the national agreements were
abrogated," a said Jewell, 'the matter
of rules and working conditions would
go back to the individual railroads
and their employees; enormous ex-
penses would be required in formulat-
ing and making operative the re-
sultant agreements.
All Crafts Represented.
THE employees conference commit
, tee on each railroad would be COM
posed of at least one man from each
craft at each point on the railroad.
For the 107 roads, the services of
5,15S committeeman would be re-
quired at a total daily expense of $685.
769-or $5;91S442 for ninety days.
This sum does not include addi-
tional expenses for stenographic work
and printing"
Jewell presented table showing
total expense for each railroad.
Much of this enormous expense on
both rail management and rail labor,
, declared Jewell. "as we'll as consump-
| ton of time of highly skilled and es-
sential railroad officials and employees
would be eliminated by cooperation
between management and standard
recognized railroad labor organiza-
/ tions thru consideration of a confer
| ence committee authorized to repre-
sent corporations and the particular
| crafts"
! Shop Men ALI In Unions.
| Out of 455,T76 railroad shop en-
ployes below rank of general foreman
| 445,000 are actual members of Graf
! organizations, according to Jewell.
/ 'eThe federated shop crafts claim
the right to represent all employe.
eligible to membership" Jewell said =
| 1--WE do not contend that member
ship or non-membership in the respec
4 tive craft organizations shall operate
! to deny an applicant for employment
| the right to en- loyment SO long as ht
has the essential qualifications en-
/ abling him to per -orm the work fol
| which he is making application"
| Jewell told the board that prior Il
1919, there was hardly a time bu
i when some of the members OF one oil
| all of the federated shop crafts or
ganizations were not on strike.
Work For Efficiency.
'It is significant, however, h,
added, that since 1912 when the rail
way employees department was organ
lied, there has not been a single au
1 thorized strike of shopcrafts.
''It is also significant that during
this period the greatest progress tow
ard the attainment of just and rea
sonable wages and working conditions
uniform rules applying alike to all rail
roads was made.
I'VE hold that an agreement apply
ing alike to all railroads will be {
great factor in assisting to establish
efficient and economical railroad op
/ eration," declared the witness. "It will
remove the costly labor turnover al
ways existent and due mostly to thu
fact that wages and conditions of em
p1oyment on one railroad were mor'
J ia a1,nra hle thar, ON annfh her.