New Britain herald., 1921-05-04
RECORDS EXCEPTION
TO HERALD STORY
Explanation Of IS Hour Week
Plan Is Published Last Night

Monday tho order went out from
the International Typographical
Union 10 its members to strike I'm
less a 44-hour week. was granted
! knowing that the New Britain Record
employed ~ least some union print
ers and that newspaper offices which,
were run in combination with job
shops were affected by the edict OF
the union. also knowing that there
was no strike at .hc plant, the
Herald announced that an agree
mont had been reached at the Record
plant However, the Herald. II IL is
wrong. IL willing to correct its errors.
We publish herewith n so-called
denial" which was published IN
the Record last evening.
The New Britain Herald states
that The New Britain Record job
department. had agreed to the A.
hour demand OF the union. This Is
not a fact.
The Record always has been and
now is nm open shop and employs
men regardless OF whether they are
union men or not. For years the
chop has run as hours, and no agree
men; has been madc to run a. hours.
al our departments will run for 10
hours as in the past e.
work 20 more than "A hours. The
local Union submitted to me Record
a scale for 44-hour week when
was at the same, rate per hour, ana
makes n four hour deduction from
former fS-hour scale. This was fair
and leaves things Just as they have
been I'm former summers when we
ran only a hours.
As the matter now stands Union
men viii not work for more than ~
hours, and The Record Office is pay
ing them for. their ~ hours work.
The Union men on the newspaper
are working IS hours but they re-
ccivc the as hours pay, as hereto
fore, with no deduction as in the
case of the job men.
With the shortage of men for
long time past. The Record has had
TO hire men for any length OF time
they would work, some OF them for
only half time, and there were very
few men who worked As hours
week
For the present. The Record will
hire men for As hours a week if
they viii work As hours and will pay
them for as hours, and. in order to
ret our work done, will hire men for
what hours they will work and pay
them for hours worked at same rate
per hour. This has always existed.
There is practically no change. III
n man worked IS hours in the past
he got IS hours pay. II ~ hours he
got "a hours pay. This is just the
condition now. as far as the Record
is concerned. but the shop will be
open and running for 4s hours a
week as in the past. and, in fact.
nearer so hours a week, paying the
men for hours worked. If men will
work as hours a week, all right; IL
they will work only ~ hours 1t
means that The Record will have to
employ more men to secure hours,
but AT the same cost to The Record.
The local Union did not demand
4s hours pay for a. hours work.
Their scale asks only "a hours pay
for a. hours work. Practically
none of them has worked a. hours
regularly. -
The Record lis neither union or
non-union office. It has no label. 1t
makes no distinction.
The Record is an open shop and
there Is no change. We are hiring
men for IS hours a week. Just for
the time being IL we cannot secure
men enough to work the 4s hours.
we will be obliged to hire for ~ or
whatever hours they will give us al
proratn rny. There is a movement
on all over the country and every
thing is unsettled. No one knows
lust what the results will be.
Meantime. The Record remains
lust as IL was. an open shop, As hours
a week, no increase in wages per
hour. and there are only about four
men who are affected by the 44-hour
ruling. and they will get paid for ac-
tuai hours AZ they work. as always
Our condition has not changed.
The Record (ncwspaper depart
mcnt) is not affected and remains
as hours. as also tho prcssroom and
bindery. The job composing room
time will not be changed from Al
hours. but any union man can work
only a. hours in a week, at present
II there are men who Will work Al
hours those viii be hired, but in any
event The Record will pay only fol
the hours worked at same rate.
The Record has not given In
and has not changed from . 4s-houI
| office, is not a I4-hour ofii~s and thu
local union has dems nded nothing
| but what they had before.