The Connecticut labor news., 1921-07-01
new HAVEN ROAD WILL
BE- AMONG FIRST HIT If
CUT IS INSISTED UPON
Shopmen Ready to Quit
to Prevent Reduction
Which Has Been Tenn
porarily Held Up On
Roads Not i'm Agree
ment With Men.
Road Doing EnOrm-
GUS Business Just
Now.

The entire nation is threatened
with a general railroad strike on
or about July Is, and the New
Haven Road is particularly in the
threatened zone and will be more
so if it attempts to carry out its
policy, announced yesterday, of
putting the wage reductions in eff
feet today. Unless some satisfac-
tory agreement can be reached be-
tween the railroad union chiefs in
session at Chicago today, on the
new order of the Railroad Wage
board postponing the reductions
On roads which have not yet
reached individual agreements
with their employees, nothing but
government interference can stop
the strike and this time, unlike
the impromptu strike of a year
ago, it will be authorized. The
strike will probably start with the
shopmen who have voted over
whelmingly to refuse to accept
the wage cut and a strike vote to
back up their refusal has been ap-
proved by the Brotherhood chiefs.
Under the original order of the wage
board the shopmen are cut from o5 to
II cents an hour and they number
throughout the country close onto oOO,-
900 and form actually the backbone of
the railroads. Without them engines and
cars would be able to run but a few days
before being crippled and thus the other
brotherhoods would be automatically
forced to join the strike, if it is called.
The trainmen brotherhoods who also are
due for a II IL per cent cut today are
not taking kindly to it either and in some
sections are insisting on strike to pre-
vent it until conditions in the country be-
come more settled The shopmen by vote
of 385,OOO to $4,000 have rejected the
cut. On
To, head off trouble the national wage
board early this week issued another or
der suspending the putting into operation
of the wage cut temporarily until the
various roads have reached agreements
with their employees or come to dead
lock, in which case the wage board would
again act. The New Haven road, in
which this section is most interested has
absolutely failed to reach any agree
ment with the employees but nevertheless
announces that it will put the wage cuts
as outlined into effect today.
The shopmen employed on the New
Haven number more than 5000 in nor
NAL times and nearly 1000 now. They
have almost unanimously rejected the
wage cut proposition and according to
reports among the men are prepared to
strike if necessary to stop it. The road,
evidently sensing trouble, has been work.
ing the crews in the shops overtime, and
practically night and day for some days
in the endeavor to have as much rolling
stock in good condition as possible. The
heavy traffic of the last few days and
the expected rush over the holidays will,
however, so bang up the rolling stock
again that should trouble occur, the road
will be crippled.
AS an instance of what the road is
doing in the transportation line was
the fact that yesterday one train
went through here on the way to
Boston in seven sections. Each sec
ton comprised 10 loaded passenger
cars and the entire seven followed
within 40 minutes of another train
made up IN three SeCt1OnS OF 10 cars
each 1t was almost an endless pro-
cession CT passenger trains as under
the law, the sections must keep lone
block" apart, which means on the
New Haven about four minutes.
With the extraordinarily heavy freight
that is also going over the road it IS
apparent that whatever Catch-up the
overtime of the shop crews is now
making will speedily be reduced to
nothing.
The labor officers are doing all they
can to prevent a premature Walk-out
on any road until the conferences now
on at Chicago have had a chance to
get at the matter They and the men
themselves realize the serious conSe-
,quences that would ensue should a
general strike occur and it will be
resorted to only as a last defense,
The feeling among the men is that
with the stupendous financial aid the
roads have received from the govern
ment, which aid was received under
the guise of subsidy to care for wage
agreements, the roads are double
dealing with them now. Thousands
of employees all over the country were
laid off by the railroads, the New
Haven among them, and the extra
money thus saved in wages diverted
to other expenses of the company.