New Britain herald., 1922-04-08
PRINTERS WALK OUT AT C0URAN7 PLANT
Protest Against Employment ol
 Non-Union Worknen

N0n-Union WOrkmen Hartford, April S,--The Hartford Courant was a 16 page paper today | following the strike Of 40 composing room employees yesterday. The Conr- and made the following statement this morning.
 "Courant's" Statement
 Forty employees, quarters of the whole force employed by "The Courant's" composing room, quit their jobs yesterday alleging they were un- able to work any longer with men (aongside of whom they have been working for years). unless these fel- low workmen voluntaorily, or under compulsion by their employers, re- joined the typographical union. This is an attempt to fully unionize The Courant's" composing room, but the policy of the management has been to employ competent men with out attempting to interfere with their personal relations The paper has
 
 service, it has Masons and presumably anti Masons
 Union Troubles
 Several days ago a number of mem- bers of the typographical union, working in this office, waited on the manded that they rejoin. This was positively refused. They had had all they wanted. Yesterday morning an organizer of the union waited on the managers of "The Courant" and urged that the men be compelled to go back so as to restore peace. Incidentally he mentioned that so far "The Cour- ant" had been allowed to run an open shop" but this privilege could not be extended to meet the present situation. This was the first time "The courant" management had heard the paper was being run by any outside permission.
 Union Attacked
 "The typographical union is making a strenuous effort to secure full con- trol of the newspapers in this city.
  paper yesterday at the shortest possi- ble notice, if any notice at all, beyond the regret expressed by the organizer that such step would be necessary If the union men had been chucked out of doors so summarly by '"The Cou.ant" there would naturally have been a great outcry against such a cold blooded and unjustitiable pro- ceeding.
 Nobody working for "The Cour-- ant" has a word to say against his treatment by the concern. It pays full wages. Time and time again it has helped employees when in distress. It pays for their life insurance (and the families of two have very recently re- ceived $1,o00 each, for which the de- ceased had paid nothing,) and it has tried to make the getting out Of the paper a matter of common interest to the. whole "Courant" family. This sudden rupture of relations, supposed to be more than ordinarily friendly and mutual, is a sorry outcome of the constant efforts to improve conditions and remove the so-called labor ques- tion from under this roof.'
 The Other Side
 In a statement giving the Hartford Typographical Unions side of the case, Thomas Crosby, president of the union, said today that in 1914, Charles Hopkins Clark, publisher of the Courant, agreed with Joseph Dal- las, an international typographical union officer, that the scale of wages and working co1Aitions existing at that time should remain in force for two years and ten months and that the scale to included a verbal agree ment that none but union printers should be employed in the Courant's composing room.
 Because of the war emergency no new scale was negotiated except in creased at various times up to Jan uary 1, 1919, when new scale was agreed upon. At various times from 1914 to the present. the foreman of the Courant composing room has stip- ulated union card as condition of MT. Crosby said except during the war period when the union was not always able to procure enough union men to satisfy the publishers But in every case, MT. Crosby said, non-union men employed to meet the war emergency joined the Hartford Typographical union inn mediately.
 Agreements Recalled
 In the fall of 1920 the printers asked for an increase in wages and in a counter proposal, agreed to by H. H. Conand of the Courant and c. F. Chamberlain of the Times, 1t was stipulated, Mir. Crosby said, that the publishers should employ In It's composing room members of Typo graphical Union, Number 127, pro- vided said union furnishes enough men to enable the party of the first part to issue its publication promptly and regularly. The party of the second part (the union) agrees to use it's utmost efforts to furnish such men," This clause, Mr. Crosby said, oc- CUTS in the scale which existed up to 1920 and which was submitted as a whole as counter proposal to the demands of the union.
 Statement Misleading