The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-10-15
Forcing Union Card
to Mean Something
In Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Cal. Oct. 49,
Out of 16 restaurants on State St., be-
tween the California and Arlington
hotel, nine are displaying union cards
in the windows thus leading one to
believe they are operating under clos
ed shop conditions. OF the seven with
out cards one is japanese, one
Chinese and a third is the Brown Mug,
43O, managed by Bob Phillips, men,
be of the Culinary Workers Union of
Los Angeles and a resident Of this
city for ten months. The card was
removed from his place of business
recently.
Union Card Misleading.
At a regular meeting of the Culin-
airy Workers Union held Oct. l in a
house owned by the Labor Temple
association at Figueroa and Santa
Barbara SITS. and to which members
of other crafts and committees from
the Central Labor Union and the
Building Trades Council were invited
and in attendance, the true conditions
in the restaurants were laid bare.
The union rules call for a nine-hour
day and six-hour week. The wages
called for in no case reaches $40 per
week. California has an eight-hour
law for women, but even this is violat-
ed in the Santa Barbara restaurants.
SO says the president of the local and
girls who work in these places. 1t is
claimed the worst offenders are to be
found among the Greek restaurants.
They hire relatives and their own
country folks and it is said they want
to work % hours out of the "a. I'm
sanitary conditions have also been re-
ported.
A member of the committee from
the Building Trades Council asked the
president if he was to understand that
the union card in the restaurant win
dows was being used only for the
purpose of drawing trade. The ans
Iwer was an unqualified ives" The
proprietors had signed contracts with
the union without every making any
attempt to live up to them. Not a
single restaurant was strictly union.
Embryo Capitalist and His
a. Brown Mug.
Bob Phillips, manager, and claiming
to be one of two partners owning the
Brown Mug restaurant and himself a
member for IL years of the Hotel and
Restaurant Employees Union, but hav-
ing refused to transfer into the
Santa Barbara local on coming here
from Los Angeles, was very much in
evidence and monopolized much OF
the time.
He is a man in the thirties with an
appearance as deceiving as the cards
in the windows. His true nature be
comes plain when you listen to hin
talk. This embryo labor skinner as
Stunning the air of one who has "ar
rived wanted to know why the care
had been removed from his place o.
business and not from his competi
tors. He was 'fairer than any o.
Them" To this he received the ans
wer that they had not got around t
the others yet. He would make oh
viously false statements and thel
say: There is a sister who WORKED
or me. She will tell you what | sa.
true" Three times he tried this
each time he was substantially con
radicted by the very ones he hopet
would help him.
l 1t was finally decided to appoint
committee to look into his case. HI
was handed a contract and told tn,
card would be replaced if the com
mittee found it advisable and he ant
his partner signed the agreement
which he agreed to do.
Then, despite the fact that he hat
repeatedly stated he maintained I'm
ion conditions he asked what was I,
be done with thee non-union girl
working under him. On being ques
toned he said four or five girls al
told worked for him. One cannot he'll
but wonder how contracts signed b,
men of his type can ever become any
thing but scraps of paper"
Another restaurant owner and ais,
a member of the union got up twic
and each time stated: 81 am on boil
sides of the fence, but l am witt
you"
The committees from the Contra
Labor Union and the Building Trade
Council promised their support b
pulling the trade" of union men ava
from scab restaurants, provided tn
culinary workers organized and show
ed they meant business.