The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1921-09-30
R. R. SHOPMEN
VOTE TO STRIKE
Will Defer Action Until New Work.
ina Rules Are Passed on
by Labor Board.
BIG FOUR GOING TO HELP.
Unions Demand Labor Board Include
All Remaining RuIes-juiy Wage
Cut Rejected - Majority for
Quitting on That Question,

Cn1caSO.-hallrOdu SllOplHeu UCiohS
.ng to the six federated shop crafts
dnionS have voted to strike against
the general railroad wage reduction OF
July l, 1921, but will defer any action
until the PRONUNCIATION now pending OF
working rules by the United States
Railroad Labor Board, when another
vote will be taken on acceptance or re-
lection of the rules.
This announcement was ofhclali!
male by 3. NJ Jewell, head of the shop
crafts organization, at mass meet
ng of Chicago shop workers.
Belief that stronger fight could be
made if strike is called, with preser-
Sation of the working rule as one OF
The goals, led to the decision to With
hold strike call for the present, MIR.
Jewell said. He and other speakers
counseled the men to wait until the
entire wage and rules situation was
before them rather than rush into a
strike, which Mr.. Jewell declared the
railroad management desired.
"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 a wage fight
alone" Mr. Jewell said. IF we want
to protect our best interests we must
wait until the time is opportune. But
if the Labor Board releases all the re-
naming rules to be acted upon at one
time, then we will have the whole mat
ter before US. We will need only one
vote-to accept or reject the ruies-to
determine what will be done"
This announcement was greeted with
applause and questioners jumped up i'll
all parts of the hall to press for fur
ther details. Answering one question:
Mr.. Jewell asserted that the shop
crafts would have the cooperation Of
other organizations, including the Big
Four Brotherhoods, if~a strike were
called, and urged his audience to pre-
pare for action.
The strike vote, completed August
1, was announced as showing con-
stitutional majority against the wage
reduction which went into effect July
l. This was the first official contirma-
ton of the result, which has been ru-
mOred for some time.
Condemnation Of the operations of
the Labor Board and of its decisions
was voiced by all speakers. Mr.. Jewell
charged that the railroads were at
tempting t use the board to take an
unfair advantage of the industrial sit
uation. The boards method of draft
ing rules TO supplant the national
agreement, a wartime measure under
which the employees work at present,
was asserted to be impractical, be-
cause only of the 1856 rules had been
substituted.
Mr.. Jewell said he would demand of
the board that ''fOr once it meet a sit
uatiOn in a practical way" and an
nOunce the remaining rules simulta-
neOusly instead of piecemeal. when
the board announces the substitute
rules, our committee will tke bal
lot" Mr.. Jewell said IF the rules
are not satisfactory and the ballot
says so, we will take the result to the
railroads. If they refuse to grant our
reasonable demands, they will have
to stand responsible and answer to the
American people,
n. p. Good, chairman of the Penn
sylvania System Federation of Shop
Crafts, said he thought that the Penn
sylvania had been selected to make a
fight for the open shop as the first
step IN such an agreement amonk all
railroads.
The piecework system>wa condemn
ed by Edward Tegtmeyer, vice presi-
dent of the Blacksmiths' Union. He
said the attempt of the roads to re-
instate piecework was an aggravation
to strike. THE railroads have been ex-
pecting us to strike" he said They
want us to strike SO they can put us
out of business. We want your sug-
gestions and advice, and when the
time comes tie your hats on. We're
going down the line, and going all the
way"
notwithstanding members OF
six railroad shop crafts at mass meet.
ings here pledged themselves to obey
the orders of the Railroad Department:
of the American Federation of Labor
Machlnists, boilermakers, car repair.
men, blacksmiths, sheet metal work
ers and electrical workers attended the
meetings.
They agreed not to engage in any
sporadic or local strikes and to follow
implicitly the program as arranged by
the union chiefs.
The fight now rests on the shoulders
of their officers.