The Connecticut labor news., 1923-12-08

agreement expired May Ist, we main tained our peak to November Ist, when we accepted IpH per cent re- ductlon We signed up until May Ist,
 1923, and when that day arrived, we succeeded in convincing the. Chicago brick manufacturers that we were en- titled to the reduction we accepted
 IS months before. They agreed and we now once more enjoy the peak prices of a few years ago. The man ufacturers, however, did not increase the price of the finished product and l think that was because we have had practically no labor turnover and no strlkes-wild cat-and good efficient service IS the reason. We have not had a strike in Chicago since IoI4
 Our wage scale now IS as follows: About tour men on every plant, com monly called pensioners are paid 76c per hour. The common labor scale IS Soc per hour The seni-skilled % to o5e per hour and the skilled $I.o5 per hour.
 Those operating machines are al lowed from I to hours, according to the type of machine, per 8 hour day for o1ling and paid rate and one half for all work performed before or after regular hours Piece work CTS So to $I4 per day About 70 per cent. of our family men own or are paying for their homes About 60 per cent. of them own an automobile of some kind
 -Unionists Get Poor Wages ]
 We negotiate a wage scale for I2 manufacturers and 10 local unions, and I believe that the above is con- vincing proof that the labor move ment as organized by the American Federation of Labor is not failure
 I might mention that at St. Louis, I Mo-, and in the Hudson river district that clayworkers far outnumber the Chicago brick makers, but they arel not unionized and the wage scale> is 1 about one-half that paid in Chicago. | Some difference!
 At Brazil, Ind, we have one plant | eight plants are not or ganized. Our members enjoy the | eight hour day, very good wage scale, a minimum of 50 cents an hour for common labor and ranging from that on up to about 75 cents an hour. l was informed that 37 of our mem bers out of I22 owned an auto; so you see we have a few luxuries
 "The employees of the other eight plants are paid from 30 cents an hour up and work from to 10 hours a lay, and have no voice in the manner in which plants shall be operated. The same is true at Danville, H., where we have some 400 men employed. These men working as union men en- oy a real daily wage, have voice in deciding how work shall be done and practically all of the family men own ,r are paying for their homes. This las been accomplished in spite of the act that immediately across the state inc are located about I2 factories within a radius of 50 miles, that we rave been unable to organize and the wage scale ranges as low as 25 cents m hour. However, two of these have had their own trou- ,les, one at Brazil and the other at are in the hands of a eceiver.
 "I think that we have made the most progress in the state of Ohio where we have about six locals. | These locals were organized few l ears ago and we managed to secure I agreements including the 'check-oH. I However the. agreements were not { inform, the 9 hour day prevailing. last sprinb we met the manufactur- ITS in bodyYand we secured the 8 { lour day, wages same as paid for 9 { tours and a uniform agreement. The k