New-York tribune., 1922-05-04
Builders DEFY
UnternVera and
Labor Council
Flatly Reject His Plan for
Negotiating a Collective
Wage and Working Agree
ment With Union Body
Can't Be Kept, They Say
Lockwood Counsel Calls a
Large Part of Employers
Confessed Lawbrcakers'

trades employers announced yesterday
that they have taken a final, definite
stand in refusing to enter into new
wage and working agreement with the
Building Trades Council in accordance
with the plans Of Samuel Untermyer,
chief counsel for the Lockwood Com
mIttee. and that, so far as his and the
councils aspirations in the matter are
concerned, the situation was "a hope
less deadlock"
While the employers assert they are
willing to maintain the present wage
scale indefinitely, they decline fatty
TO enter into the year wage contract
sought by Mr.. Untermyer. on the basis
that mo man can predict what cond-
tions will be in 1928"
Insist on Separate Agreements
They declare that any agreements
made must be consummated separately
between the trade associations forming
the Building Trades Employers Asso-
citation and the unions of the trades
concerned. and not between the EN-
ployers and the unions central body,
the Building Trades Council.
Announcement of this stand was
made yesterday by c. G. Norman.
chairman of the board of governors of
the Building Trades Employers AS
sociation, few hours after Mr.. Inter
myer had denounced the employers
tactics before the Lockwood committee.
Il attribute the difficulty in reaching
a contract in the building industry
very largely to the unreasona BILE at
titude of the Building Trades Employ
ers' Associ2tion,' said Mr.. Untermyer.
The Building Trades Council has ap
peared willing to make every reason
able concession, but for some unac'
countable cause the employers as
sociation does not seem to want to
make a contract, notwithstanding the
fact that in the absence Of contract
the wages in certain of the skilled in
dustries connected with building are
going sky high
Charges Exploitation
MIR Untermyer charged the employ
ers with having exploited labor, de-
cared they were "in large part co1-
rcssed law breakers" and asserted the
senarate agreement plan TO be "wholly
t.rworkable."
"lt is true as Mr.. Untermyer states,
said Mr.. Norman, that the employers
decline TO make any contract running
i,to 1923, our reason being the belief
that the work Of housing will be so far
ompleted by the end of this year that
coo demand for labor will be materially
reduced. Advices to us now are that
commercial construction work will not
proceed while the present wage scale
is being paid
'ln spite of the agreed wage at the
present time the unions seem unable
90 hold their men in line. and de-
mands for more pay are being made
and met. We find that premiums are
being paid bricklayers, plasterers, tile
layers, plumbers, and, in some in
stances. carpenters.
An agreement under present con-
dtions doesn't mean anything so far
as the wage scales are concerned The
Building Trades Council doesn't in
clude the brcklayers, plasterers,
plumbers, stonecutters or painters, and
separate agreements would have to be
made with them.
Calls 1919 Pact Failure
From 1910 to 1919 individual trade
agreements were made in each trade,
The 1919 agreement was to stabilize
conditions and was the only agree
mcAt of the kind in nineteen years.
AS viewed by employers it proved
failure, for these reasons:
IL. Instead of stabilizine wages q
request was made at the end of the
1rSt TOUR months Tor an increase. ne
association employers were told the
men could get more money from the
ependents.'
"2. We were promised that this
agreement would cover all the trades
in the building industry in the city. In
TINS the unions failed.
"3. We were promised the agreement
would be underwrtten by the interna-
tionals. 1t was not.
"a, The unions guaranteed collec-
lively there would be no strikes. A
strike has existed on the 134th Street
power house since last October.
Overtime Agreements Broken
'5. The agreement provided that no
cons ecutive overtime would be WORKED d
unless through special permission.
Within thirty days this was violated
by the independents
"6. The unions agreed collectively
TO see that the work Of the association
employers was properly manned.
Through closed books the unions failed
and brought about the old conditions.
~. The Building Trades Council has
no power to make agreements other
than on wages and hours. The correc-
tion of abuses is the vital need now"
Mr.. Norman said that an employers
plan for separate agreements had been
submitted to the unions at a joint
meeting on Tuesday, but that no head
way had been made and that neither
side has any plans for future parley.
Cigli Helpless in Bed
Beniamino Gigli, tenor of the Metro
pOljtaO Onpra COmDanv who sanv