New-York tribune., 1921-11-14
Garment Strike
0f5O,OOOOpens
This Morning
Workers To Be Called Out
at 10 A. M. in Finish Fight
Against Return of Piece
Work i'm Women's Shops
Manufacturers Prepared
Say They Fighting to Give
Public Low Prices; Deny
Bad Faith With Union

The strike of $4,000 women's gar
meut workers in New York will be
called at 10 o'clock this morning. The
committee Of manufacturers that went
to Washington to confer with Secre-
sary of Labor James j. Davis an
nounced it had told the Secretary the
manufacturers could not recall their
determination to put the shops on a
piece-work basis, and the last chance
ofsavoiding the strike vanished.
The strike committee representing
the twelve locals in the International
Ladies' Garment Workers Union will
assemble at $3.50 o'clock this morning
at Beethoven Hall, in Fifti. street,
near Third Avenue. There they will
distribute thousands of posters to be
posted in halls, factories and elsewhere
abou. the city giving notice of the
strike. They are headed General
Strike Declared"
Set Walk-0ut for 10 o'clock
''To-day, Monday, the 14th of Novem-
ber," the poster continues, "at 10
o'clock-not one minute earlier or later
You calmly gather up your tools, and
in the we'll organized cloakmaker fash
ION you march to the various halls
designated to your unio-."
There was q meeting of the strike
leaders yesterday morning at 40 East
Twenty third Street, at which the last
details of the early morning gathering
were arranged. The manufacturers
committee, which did not return from
Washington until after l o'clock yes
terday morning, engaged a suite at the
Hotel Majestic and were in session all
afternoon and part of the evening.
They then gave out long typewriter
statement covering their conference
with Secretary Davis.
s'As matters stand now" the state
rnent says, "the piece-work system and
it's resultant decreased prices for the
consumer will be reintroduced into the
industry in New York City this morn
ing"
The statement contained twelve eNnum-
bered paragraphs. and was given out
with the request that it be credited
to Louis Lustig, president of the Cloak,
Suit and Skirt Manufacturers Protec-
tive Association.
The numbered paragraphs, setting
forth the points the committee had
agreement signed by the union
and the manufacturers on June for
the creation of a joint commission of
thirty to settle various questions stipu
lated the necessity of bringing up "the
productivity of the workers to q point
fair and proper to both sides"
The statement then says that the
manufacturers on the joint sub-com-
mittee of this commission concluded
that to bring up productivity without
lowering wages could only be done
through return to the piece system,
but that when they reported this to the
three union committeeman they were
told that rpiecework was "closed
book"
1t is denied that the manufacturers
had anything whatever to do with the
sending of the telegram by twelve
United States Senators suggesting q
two weeks truce, saying that if Schles-
inger's proposal to make the truce two
months were followed the mannfactur-
ers would either have to yield to the
union or face bankruptcy.
"No matter how great the sacrifice
by our association, no matter how ruin
GUS the loss to our members, no mat
ter how serious the depletion of the
women's garment market, we will un-
der no circum stances agree to any pro-
posal that would lend even the slight
est color of truth to Schlesinger's
CHARGE" the statement says.
A fat denial of breaking any con-
tract is made. and the blame is placed
entirely on the union. Not only has
ttlC QuiOu AAilCQ W dlu III lICIGdSlUk
production, the statement says, but
union members who tried to produce
more than the standard set by the
Union have been punished.
"No Other Way to Cut Prices'
Secretary Davis, l believe" Mr..
Lustig's statement continues, "under-
stands our viewpoint. He is thorough
iy in sympathy with every effort to
prevent strikes, and told US that it was
The desire of President Harding, as
we'll as of the entire Administration,
to conciliate wherever possible. He
appreciated to the fullest extent our
determination to lower prices, and we
row say that, as men experienced in
our industry, we know there is no other
way to bring down prices and to en-
able the public to purchase women's
garments within it's present means