Evening star., 1921-10-15
10 Unions Vote
Authority to
Order Tie=up.
LEE FORECASTS
A RECORD FIGHT
Pick
Ten Roads as
First Victims.
By the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press
CHICAGO, October 15-Sixteen
railroad unions have taken a secret
strike vote and authorized their Off
GERS to order a walkout if deemed
advisable. c. J. Manion. president of
the Order of Railroad photographers.
announced today.
Although the sixteen will act indie
pendently of the four big brother
moods, joint meeting has been called
for pm. today. at which the broth
erhoods will submit their plan Of
action to the other organizations.
one high union official announced
that the date for the strike had been
Set but declined to reveal il. Octo-
Der 80 has been reported as the day.
The brotherhoods have also selected
! the list of ten roads on which the
strike will be effective the first day.
the same union official said 1t is un-
derstood that strikes would be or
dered on additional units of ten roads
! every forty-eight hours until the
roads either give in or the walkout
becomes nationwide.
Union leaders who had been hopeful
! of averting strike, some of whom
, had even opposed it, declared today
! that the action of the railroad eXecu-
uves yesterday in deciding on further
wage reductions had destroyed the
last hope of peace.
"Greatest in History.
1T will be the greatest strike in
history" w. G. Lee. president of the
: |: ,Ininen. was quoted as saying when
he left the union conference. 1T is
life and death struggle for our
organization and we are not going
into this with our eyes closed. Our
house is in order ana We are ready"
| Ninety-Seven per cent of the United
brotherhood of Maintenance of Way
employees and Shop Laborers' Union
! have voted to strike. j. c. Smock.
Smock said he would announce to-
, morrow night whether the strike Will
| be carried out.
| The vote was taken independently
of the Big Four brotherhoods, Ted
! Grated. shop crafts and switchmen's
i uinon, which already have announced
! strike votes.
| When the officials of the sixteen
! leading rail unions went into con-
T, ference this morning. Warren Stone,
| grand chief of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers. and w. G. Lee.
/ president of the Brotherhood of Rail-
way Trainmen, announced they would
! leave tonight for. their headquarters
| at Cleveland.
Leaders of the railroad brother
! hoods had assembled to consider the
challenge of the railway executives
in proposing a further wage reduc-
tlon OF approximately ~ per cent III
! the face of the strike vote just
| authorized by the railway men be-
cause of the IL per cent reduction of
last July.
The brotherhood chiefs indicated
that an Immediate walkout-at least
on some roads-was under consider
! alton, following yesterdays confer
ence of the railroad mems leaders
! with the executives. after the execu-
tives had announced they would apply
to the Railroad Labor Board for wage
| reduction.
| IF / were a betting man." said w.
G. Lee. president of the Brotherhood
of Railroad Trainmen. Il would bet
there will he a strike"
1.-The final decision is only the mat
! ter of a few days" said Lee. What
! else is there left to do? Since the men
have already voted for a walkout. 1
don't see how the roads can have
the nerve to suggest another cut"
! Thirty-day notice of the contem-
plated wage reduction. which is tech
nically a return to the wage prevail
| ing prior to the increase of July,
| 1920. is expected to be announced to-
day or Monday by the railroad execu-
tives. Reports were current today
that the railroads would announce
the wage cut effective in thirty days.
without reference to mediation by the
! labor board.
The official announcement of the
result of the executives decision on
the wage reduction explained that
the benefit of the proposed cut shall.
with the concurrence of the Inter-
/ state Commerce Commission. be pass
| ed on to the public in the reduction of
existing rates"
| VIII Observe Rail Inv.
| Notices to be posted by railroads
next week. announcing another 10 per
cent cut in wages. effective in thirty
days, will not mean an immediate re-
! duction on that date. it was authori-
, ,tatively stated in railroad circles to-
day. The railroads do not intend to
| violate the transportation act clauses.
providing for appeal to the United
! States Railroad Labor Board. it was
indicated. because to do SO probably
| would ALLEVIATE public opinion.
The plan to be followed, as provided
by the law, is:
| The railroads will post their notices
announcing the cut in thirty days and
! then invite the union committees to
/ conferences to discuss the cut. In
| event the union men refuse to accept
it. the dispute will then be referred
. to the labor board for adjustment,
| the cut being automatically suspend
! ed until either approved OF denied by
| the board. Decision by the board
may take anywhere from one to six
months. or even longer. depending
upon the amount of evidence taken
and the condition of the boards
docket.
! The board now has several hun
dred minor cases and the very impor-
tant rules and working conditions
dispute pending. In event the wage
cut case takes it's regular place on
| the docket it might not be reached
| before the first of the year and, as
| the unions probably would present
masses of evidence in opposition, the
hearing probably would consume sew
eral monthG.
| The proposed 10 per cent cut wouis
bring wages back to practically the
same level as prevailed prior to July
| 90, 1920.
For the principal classes of labor
| those schedules were: Passenger serv-
| ice engineers tday). $5.60-$6.60;
; freight service engineers (day), $500
| SS52; yard service engineers day,
| $5.60-s6.0S; passenger service fire.
; men day., Si-S5: freight service fire
| men (day), $4.25-S6.15; yard service
| firemen day, s4.16-s4.32: yard serv-
| ice foremen (day), .s5ss; helpers
| day. IS; switch tenders (day), 81;
machinists (hour), - cents; boiler
makers (hour), 72 cents; blacksmiths
| (hour). ~ cents; carpenters (hour),
! As cents; track laborers (hour), 40
cents; section. foremen (month), S100;
yard firemef helpers (hour), 531s
bot do 1o