New-York tribune., 1922-08-14
10000 Way
Men Here Ask
Strike Vote
President Cradle Urged to
Issue at Once an Order
Affecting the Erie and
Pennsylvania Lines
Owners Discount Move
Employees Will Not Quit,
Executive Says, as the
Job Market Is Crowded

Twentythousand maintenance Of
way employees Of the Pennsylvania
and Erie Railroads in the Metropolitan
district yesterday telegraphed their
national president demanding that a.
strike call be issued at once.
Members of the New York district
council of the union met at Harlem
and resolution was adopted for trans
mission to 2. F, Cradle. who now is
in Washington attending the confer
ence there. Bad faith is charged
against the management of the Penn
sylvania and Erie in failing to OBJ
serve an agreement made on July 4
for averting a strike then.
The resolution follows:
Whereas, in the present labor crisis,
various railroads throughout the East
ern section of the country have arbi-
trarily refused to abide by the under
, standing arrived at between our grand
president, E. F. Cradle, the United
States Railroad Labor Board, and rail
way executives, or have ignored the
same, and
Whereas, in particular the Pennsyl-
vania and Erie railroads, have made
themselves conspicuous by this arbi-
trary attitude in ignoring any and all
requests made to comply with the laws
of the land, i. e.. the decision of the
board, therefore, be 1t
"Resolved, That this New York Dis
trict Council composed Of representa-
tives of maintenance of way men on all
railroads entering New York, the tide
waters, go on record as demanding that
all employees under our jurisdiction on
any railroad that refuses to comply
with the decisions of the board, or the
understanding arrived at with our
Grand President Cradle, be Immediately
called on strike and remain thus until
all grievances of all employees now on
strike or that may hereafter be called
out in the same conflict are returned
to their present and former positions,
impaired, and be it further
Resolved, that without further re-
quest of negotiations or compromising
the Erie and Pennsylvania employees be
called out, with the understanding
above stated, and that a copy Of this
resolution be sent to Grand President
Cradle, copy spread upon the minutes
and a copy given to the daily press"
The resolution was signed by five
members of the district counciI--Leslie
Miller, T. j. Cremins, T. Kenison, A.
HaaS and L. j. Endean.
F. D. Underwood, president of the
Erie, denied that his road had refused
to confer with their employees, either
before or after the strike. He added,
however, that the Erie does not desire
to confer with union officials who are
not employed by the company.
"If President Cradle issues a strike
order our men will not go out" was
his confident prediction.
Union officers say that the total
number of maintenance of way work
ers in the New York district total
$4,000.
On July an agreement was reached
between the union and the roads for
joint conferences on revision Of
wages and working conditions. In case
of failure to agree such cases were to
be taken before the United States Rail-
road Labor Board, and pending nego-
tiations strike orders were to be with
held. This action on the part Of Presi-
dent Cradle averted q nationwide
strike on Independence Day.
The maintenance of way men here
say that the Erie and the Pennsylvania
systems have failed to observe this
agreement and that the only means
left for them Is to strike. They want
to go out to-day.