The Connecticut labor news., 1922-01-06
GREED OF PACKERS
 AND ARROGANCE IS SHOWN BY WORKERS
Employers Refuse Arbitration Fear ing It Would Expose Soaking
 of the Public

reduction order and restore the form CT wage, pending arbitration pro- ceedings.
 The above plan will end the na- tion-wide strike of butcher workmen, says C. J. Hayes, general president of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen, in a memor andum of the strike submitted to Secretary of Labor Davis.
 The packing house workers,' says President Hayes, "listened to the ap peal of the government in the winter of 1917 and signed an agreement with the Presidents mediation commission to submit all disputes to arbitration during the war period.
 Had they exercised their economic warfare and during the years of 1919 and 1920, these workers could have exacted wages 100 per cent. higher than they obtained through the pro- cess of arbitration.
 ''ln March, 1919, the five big pack CTS addressed Secretary of Labor Wilson on their own initiative, re- questing that the Alschuler arbitra- ton agreement be extended for a period 10 run one year after peace had been signed and gave as their reason for desiring an extension of the agreement that they desired peace in the industry during the re- construction period
 "The packing house workers again listened to the earnest appeal of the department of labor and went along with the principal of arbitration.
 "On February 2I, few days prior to the exit of the Wilson administra- ton, the packers arbitrarily attempt ed to withdraw from their agreement with the department of labor. It was only after most earnest ersuasion by Secretaries Davis, Hoover and Wal lace that they were induced to return to that agreement for period of six months expiring September IS, 1921. The packers, however, before agree ing to return, compelled the employees to agree to accept a reduction of I2H per cent. in their wages. This was in March of this year
 "In July of this year the packers petitioned Judge Alschuler, the arbi trator, for another reduction of five cents an hour. After hearings and consideration, Judge Alschuler denied the request, setting forth in his award market did not warrant such a de- crease.
 Following the expiration of the Alschuler agreement, the Butcher five big packers and presented an agreement on the basis for negotia tions.
 "The demands contained in that agreement provided that the wage scale and working conditions then in effect should continue and that no change should occur except upon mu tual agreement or through the process of arbitration. The agreement did not contain any demand for the union or so-called closed shop
 The packers refused to negotiate with the union
 November Io the packers an nounced that the reduction would take effect November 2S and that un- skilled labor, which constitutes 65 per cent of total employees, would be re- duced 7N cents an hour-from 45 cents to 37H cents. The semi-skilled workers would be reduced , cents an hour and the skilled workers 3 cents an hour.
 The national executive board of the Butcher Workmen's union, inn mediately called upon the packers, seeking a conference to discuss pro- posed wage reduction. Such confer ence was refused. Al no time have the so-called representatives of the ferred with their fellow workers. Their agreement with the packers to accept wage reduction was never submitted to their fellow workers for ratification. In fact, the packers so- | called Industrial plan has never call l ed a meeting of the workers in any department of the packing plant. "The average wage of the unskill- | ed worker at the rate of 45 cents an l hour has been SIS week for the past six months, due to the fact that they have not worked over 40 hours per week."