Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1921-02-17
GENERAL LABOR NEWS

The strike that has paraIyzed the
whole railway system of West Aus
tralia for some time has been settled.
The men were granted an eight-hour
day.
The Wood Newspaper Machinery cor
poration, Plianfeld, N. J., announced
that the plant would be operated on a
schedule of forty-eight hours week
instead Of forty-four.
Seven mills at the Whitaker less-
ner plant Of the Wheeling Steel cor
poration, Wheeling, w. Va, idle for
several weeks, resumed operations
Three hundred men were re-employed.
Two thousand men in the operating
department of the Pullman company
were ordered to work nine hours a
day. The employees at a mass meet
ing agreed to work the extra hour, un-
der protest.
The Philadelphia district council Of
textile workers decided to resist
strenuously any wage scale reductions.
Most manufacturers recently an
nounced reductions ranging from 10
to % per cent, threatening to close
plants If not accepted.
Wages of all workers in the plants
Of the American Steel Foundries at
Hammond and Ann Arbor have been
reduced 10 per cent. This is the first
wage cut among steel workers of the
Chicago district. No announcement
has been made by the Illinois and the
Indiana steel companies.
At Glaze Bay, N. S., curtailment in
operation of the Dominion Coal COM
pany's collieries, with laying off Of
many employees, was officially an
nounced. Loss of a contract with the
Dutch government left the company
without a market for, coal outside the
maritime provinces, it was said.
Business agents of thirty-two unions
AFFILIATED with the Chicago Building
Trades council voted unanimously to
"stand pat' on the present SIPS an
hour wage for union building workers
and to insist that this same hourly
rate Of pay continue for the next three
years.
The Boston Building Trades Employ
ers association submitted to the
United Building Trades council a wage
agreement under which 80 cents an
hour would be the pay for mechanical
trades and from go cents to $1.16 for
other workers. Under the schedule
submitted, which calls for a forty
four hour week, time and a half
would be paid for overtime, with dou-
BILE time for Sundays and holidays.
Resolutions calling for the inaugural
tiOn of profit-sharing by employees of
Industrial plants were rejected at the
final meeting Of the congress of the
Pan-American Federation of Labor at
Mexico City. 1t was the sense of the
congress that efforts should be made
first to obtain legislation fixing mini
mum salaries. Alleged efforts by capt.
tai to reduce the cost of living at the
expense of Iaborers through decreased
wages" were made the subject of pro-
tests.
"A resolution declaring that wage
scales In the building trades are too
high and must be reduced when pres
ent contracts expire has been .unanim-
ously adopted by the board of adj
of the Building Trades
association of Cleveland,
Walter Klie, president, announced.
Approximately $4,000 men will be af-
fected. There is no intention, Mr..
Klie said. of abrogating contracts,
many Of which expire May l.
A cut Of SO 18 per cent in wages
Of Ioggers In the Grays harbor (Wash.)
district became effective upon agree
ment Of employers and employees
through the wage scale board.
Wages at the plants Of the Inland
Steel company and the Steel and Tube
company Of America. Chicago. viii be
reduced to thirty-eight cents an hour,
1t was announced. This Is the wage
employees were receiving from these
during the period frouo April
to August. 1918. The eight-hour day
VIII be continued and there viii be ex-
ira nay for overtime,