The New York herald., 1921-11-23
SHOPMEN HIT BACK
ATRIAL WAGE CUTS,
DEMAND INCREASES
13 Cents More an Hour to
Be Sought by Locals in
A. f. L. Crafts.
ROADS PLANS BLOCKED
Counter Claim Follows No
tice Sent Out to Precede
Reduction.
LABOR BOARD CLEAR SOON
Causes May Be Joined for
Early Decision-Owners
Can Evade Ruling.
LABOR BOARD CLEAR SOON

The countrywide move Of the rail-
roads for fresh decreases in wages met
its first concrete opposition yesterday
In counter demand by the nations
100000 shopmen for an increase Of 10
cents an hour.
Local chairmen OF the Federated
Railroad Shopcrafts on practically
every transportation system in the
country have requested the union
management to confer with them next
month about increasing the hourly
pay Of car repairmen to S5 cents and
machinists. boilermakers, blacksmiths,
sheet metal workers and electricians
to 80 cents.
The members Of the Federated Rail-
road Shopcrafts constitute the railway
Employer department Of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor. under the
leadership Of 3. M. Jewell. Although
his men, who are engaged mainly in
the upkeep and repair Of locomotives
and freight cars, empowered him with
strike vote in protest against the
wage cut of last. July, he refused,
along with ten other railway union
organizations, to join the train SER
vice employee brotherhoods in the re-
Gently averted strike.
General Reduction Opposed.
Uniform letters received by the rail-
way managers indicate that Mr.. Jewell
ordered his chairmen to take the lead
in opposing the intention OF the car
riers to reduce the wages OF all classes
or employees. Notices or the wage cut
were sent to the workers last week In
conformity with the decision OF the AS
sociation of Railway Executives to seek
concurrent reductions in operating costs
and freight rates.
The notifications OF the railroads car
ricd 10 per cent reductions for train SER
vice employees and provided that all
other classes of workers be cut down to
pay corresponding with the rates paid
for similar labor in other industries. The
roads now are preparing statistics on
living costs and wages for conferences
which they plan to begin about Decem-
ber IS.
The letters of the shopcrafts chairmen
to the managers merely asked for con-
held about December 20. A second letter
said a. pay increase of IS cents above
the existing hourly rates for shopmen
would be asked.
Machinists, boilermakers, blacksnliths.
sheet metal workers and electricians In
railway shops now receive "a cents an
hour Their new demand for 80 cents is
cents more than the rate awarded by
the United States Railroad Labor
xff fn1
MAY I, 1920. Prior to that increase
they were getting 70 cents an hour.
Under the cut effected last July they
we're reduced TO "a cents. The car re-
pairnen always have received cents
less an hour than the other five shop
crafts.
Labor Bonrd TO Get Disputes.
Although railroad arrangements have
taken no action on the requests for con-
ferences looking to wage increases for
these employees. such meetings probably
would provide only for the certincation
Of disputes by the union organizations
TO the Railroad Labor Board. A second
submission Of practically the samo dis
putes may be looked for from the rail-
roads as the result of their efforts to
reduce the present wage schedules.
In view of the Labor Boards recent
announcement that 1t soon viii order
into effect its final decisions Of pending
rules disputes for the shopcrafts, the
docket of the board may be cleared at
an early date for the consideration Of
wage proposals affecting that class of
employees.
Another possibility mentioned in rail-
road circles here II that some roads
might follow the lead of the Erie. New
York Central and others in leasing their
repair shops to private corporations,
thus leaving arrangements free to fx
wages and working agreements without
The jurisdiction of the Railway Labor
BOARD