The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-19
SHOPMEN VOTE ID REJECT WAGE, BUT
 POSTPONE STRIKE
Leaders Advise WaIkout, De- lay Until Labor Board Announces New
 Working Rules
By Associated Press

Chicago, September tS.-Railroad shopmen belonging to the six feder- ated shop crafts unions have voted to strike against the general railroad wage reduction of July l, 1921, but will defer any action until the pro- mitigation of working rules now pending before the United States rail- road labor board when another vote will be taken on acceptance or re- jection of the rules
 This announcement was officially made by B. M. Jewell, head of the shop crafts organizations, at mass meeting of Chicago shop workers to- day.
 Belief that stronger fight could be made if strike is called with pres ervation of the shopmen's working rules as one of the goals, led to the decision to withhold strike call for the present, Mir. Jewell said. He and other union speakers counselled the men to wait until the entire wage and rules situation was before them. rather than rush into a strike which Mir Jewell declared the railroad man-
 
 Real Fight Later
 We can make a real fight on the rules. proposition when we might not have the full support of other branches of railway employees on 8 wage fight alone,' Mir. Jewell said If P we want to protect our best interests. We must wait until the time is op- portune But if the labor board re- leases all the remaining rules to be rf fr1 at ( x.r;11 | have the whole matter before us. We will need only one vote--to accept or reject the rules--to determine what lwill be done"
 This announcement was greeted with applause and questioners jumped ID n sal, parts of the hall to press for further details. Answer ing cne question, MT. Jewell asserted that the shop. crafts would have the co operation of other organizations, including the big four brotherhoods, if a strike were called. and urged his audience to prepare for action.
 Confirm Wage Rejection
 The strike vote, completed August l, was announced as showing a con stitutional majority against the wage reduction which went into effect in July. This was the first official com firmation of the result which has been uinoltd lOi SOluS SOAuClniitt- ton of the operations of the labor board and it's decisions was voiced by all speakers at the meeting Mir. Jewell charged that the railroads were attempting to use the board to take an unfair advantage of the in- dustrlal situation. The boards meth pod of drafting rules to supplant the national agreement a wartime meas ure under which the employees work .,t a fn ha practical because only seven of the fS6 rules have been substituted.
 Mir. Jewell said he would demand of tho board that for once it meet a situation in a practicalsway, and an- nounce the remaining rules slmul- taneously instead of piecemeal.
 When the board announces the substitute rules, our committee will take a ballot" MT. Jewell said. 'Tf the rules are not satisfactory, and the ballot says so, we will take the result to the railroads. If they re- fuse to grant our reasonable demands they will have to stand responsible and answer to the American people,
 x. P. Good, chairman of the Penn sylvania system federation of shop crafts. said he thought the Pennsyl- vania had been selected to make a fight for the open shop as the first a step in such an agreement on all roads. Condemnation of the piece work system was made by Edward Tegtneyer, vice president of the black smiths union, who said the at tempt of the roads to reinstate piece work. was an aggravation to strike. "rhe railroads have been expecting us to strike he said. "They want us to strike so they can put us out of business We want your sugges- tions and advice and when the time comes, tie your hats on, we're going down the line and going all the way.H
 General charges that the railroads f'were opposing demands of the unions as part of the movement which Pres ident Jewell said was backed by $9.000,000 or more" were made. The object. lie said, was ito crush organ .ized 1abor.9 He cited alleged unfair saction by the railroads in offering to negotiate rules on each individual road and then failing to agree. Only five agreements had been completed among the 320 carriers on which sub rules were to be drafted. The unions seek to retain the present national agreements intact and the shopmen, according to the union officials wifi make a harder fight for retention of these rules than in opposition to re- duced wages.
 Cleveland, September 1S.-Members of six railroad crafts. affiliated with the American Federation of Labor at mass meetings here today and tonight pledged therhselves to obey the or ders of the railroad department of the federation. Machinists. boiler makers, car repair men, blacksmiths, sheet metal workers and electricians attended the meetings.
 They agreed not to engage in any sporadic or local strikes, and to fol- low implicitly the strike programme arranged by the union chiefs.