The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1923-08-30

IN the eyes of man or God for the de-
mands of union labor at the present
time when farmers by the thousands
are facing bankruptcy and the salar-
led classes in the cities are living
from hand to mouth in a constant
struggle to make ends meet Don't
pity the poor wage Garner, Mr.. Farm
Ell, the hard working laboring man any
more; he is the plutOcrat today. II
you have any pity left from the con-
temptation of your own sad state. fOI
your city cousins. lavish it on the So
called salaried man whose troubles are
akin to your own
Let us look into the current wage
scales of some of our building trades
and see how you would like to be a
bricklayer OF plasterer or Il carpen-
ter today Remember, these men have
no capital invested in their trades, eX
cept a few dollars for personal tools
They earned wages while learning the
trades and required no expenditure
for special education to acquire what
they know
Now. by arbitrary restrictions in the
apprentice system. they discourage
others from learning their trades; and
with the shortage of labor thus pro-
duced they are able to make wage de-
mands and restrict their working out
put to an extent that is almost unbe-
liebable to those who do not under
stand present day union methods.
l., hriol-1axrprC
New York forced a new wage agree
ment by which the contractors bound
themselves to pay $3.50 an hour or $12
for an eight hour day with the usual
overtime rates. for two years, and
provide continuous work for the brick
layers There has always been a
reason why bricklayers plasterers and
the like should receive a little higher
wage than other craftsmen, and that
was because their season was short.
The New York agreement for two
years. with continuous work, at the
highest wage ever known, has shat |
tered that precedent to pieces.
Wages in the Building Trades.
Especially noteworthy are the fig |
uiGS lOl AultdEO anu ANtN I VI ~ ]
where practically every member of the /
building trades receives $1.10 to $1.25 /
an hour. And the shortage of build /
ings in these cities is so great that in
every case the union scale is accepted !
as the minimum scale. When these
scales are stretched and overtime is
paid, and a bonus is added on, brick
layers and plasterers and a few other |
crafts are receiving from $14 to s26
day.
In Minnesota conditions are a little |
better, but that does not rebound to !
the credit of the unions. Wage cOndi-
tons were impossible in 1920 In 1921 |
the employers adopted the open shop, |
reduced wages 20 per cent and let the !
union men strike This year, because |
wages everywhere were going up, they |
added 10 per cent, making the scales
in effect today And S715 cents to |
$112h an hour, with overtime is not |
bad pay when thousands upon thou
sands of farmers are struggling to
keep the sheriff from the door
But these are open shop scales in
they are not the union
scales. nor are they accepted by the
unions. Wherever the closed shop is
still in effect and the unions have con-
troll in very many cases the 1920 peak
scale is paid; and there are now some
threats of strikes against the closed
shops for even higher wages in some
trades There is no such thing as de-
flation or reimbursement where union
labor is concerned.
If you We're going to build a house ,
IN your farm by day labor and had to
Day your men in farm products, lack ]
ng the ready cash, do you know what
t would cost you? Based on present
wages scales in Minnesota (Which are '
low, because of the y
,pen shop and on the farm prices of
arm products. it would figure out
like this; I
For every eight-hour day your stone 1
etter worked. it would cost You 10 |
ushels Of corn or the yield Of one 4
bird of an acre for one year. Your A
ricSlayer would cost you for one day n
early bushels of wheat, or the yield I
f three-fourths of an acre for one :
ear. The wages of your carpenters ]
or one day each, would cost you II }
ushels of potatoes or the yield of )
ne-sixth of an acre for one year =
Your plumber for one days work Y
rould walk off with a 10O-pound pig Y
hitch it took you eight months to l.
row from the time the SOW was bred a
o pay your electrician for one day G
on would have to give up quarter S
beef weighing 1877 pounds, which ;
'ould feed his family for two months {
he plasterer with a higher wage s
hen would demand "a pounds of but S
or for his days work, or the yield of ,
We or six average cows for week :
nd the painter for his days work, +
.ould take what you had left in the +
orm of S3 dozens of eggs. When the +