Evening star., 1926-04-01
$15,0)D,OOO IN WORK
HELD UP BY STRIKE
Pay Demand of Steam Shovel
and Hosting Men Hits
D. C. Operations.

Approximately SIS 900 900 worth OF
new construction in the District Of Co
lumbia is affected by decision Of the
union steam shovel and hosting engi-
neers to strike today for an increase
in wages from SO to $12 per day.
While only about 135 union men
are affected. the steam shovel and
hosting trade here is practically AL
union and is one of the key trades IN
the building industry. All excavating
steam shovel concrete mixing. hoist
Ing and portable machinery work done
by union men is affected by the strike
order.
City Paving Affected.
A number Of District and Federal
jobs will be delayed by the wage dis
pute. Among the larger buildings af
fected is the Washington Building, at
Fifteenth street and New York ave
nue.. where work on digging the foun
dations ceased today.
About So. 500. 900 worth of residential
construction for which foundations,
etc.. have 10 be dug. and the entire
1926 paving contract for the District
allowed under the deficiency appro-
priation bill also are affected. This
will delay the paving of streets in the
vicinity of Trinidad and Monticello
avenue northeast and Sherman Circle,
in Petworth, valued al $50 900. Work
will be halted on two new additions
to the school system. namely. the
grade school authorized at Fifth and
Sheridan street northwest and the
grade school at Thirteenth and Nichol.
son streets northwest. the combined
cost of both being asout s425,000, and
the filtration plant now being built
bv the Federal Government Just off
the Conduit road near the District line
The proposed new $50 900 building for
the Chesa peake and Potomac Tele
phone Co. and a number of other jobs
are all hit by the strike. The Press
Club building will not be affected. as
an out-of-town firm is doing the ex
cavating work.
To Oppose Demands.
The Il employing steam shovel and
hosting engineers who do practically
all the work in the District have
pledged themselves to oppose the in
crease and have received support from
many of the general contractors anC
the Operative Builders Association
This week they formed a permanent
orga anization among themselves and il
is understood that a considerable
amount of money has been raised tC
oppose the demands of the union men
kilograms and advertisements have
been sent to other cities and the EN-
ployers hone TO import A number o1
non-union men and resume work on
their contracts within short time.
Contrary to the statement of the
employers this morning representa-
tives of Local No. -. international
Union of Steam and Operating Engi
neers. declared they still have a mum
Der of men at work where their de
mands have been met. A spokesman
for this organization claimed they are
in every way justified in asking for
their raise, and expressed determine
ton not to return to work until a
satisfactory settlement is arrived at
with the employers.
Four Years Without Raise.
The union men declared they have
not received an increase in wages for
more than four years. and that since
Slo per day is the standard wage be-
ing paid to members of their union
i'm practically every large city in the
country. it is only fair that this wage
should be the standard here. The
union men 1G6I Iilpll uSIlldlluS WUuiu
not add any burden to the general pub
lie and would only be bringing the
Washington members of the organiza-
tion up to the average wage standard
for this particular trade of the coun-
try.
On the other hand, however. the
employers state there are four other
trades in the building industry asking
increases from 81 to s. per day. They
say that If they grant an increase to
the steam shovel and hoisting en-
gineers they will have to aCquiese in
the demands for increases recently
made by the union carpenters, mill
workers, concrete rodmen and sheet
metal workers. This. they say, will
mean general wage increase of
about 10 per cent. which will add an
increased cost of from 6 to per cent
on building operations in the District.
The employers say that they do not
feel the general public would approve.
Names of Contractors.
The excavating contractors who
have this week formed the EXcavating
Contra Ctors' Association of the Dis
trict of Columbia and who have agreed
not to meet the w&ge increase are
Hyman n. Parsons, Warren s.
Brenizer Co.. Lockjoint Pipe Co., NJ.
Cain, Lynn Loomis Foundation Co,
Bright & Shepherd Contracting Co.
Vinson Contracting Co., l.. B. Haw e.
Co. J. A. Forbes. +. G.. Gummel, ]. b.
Latimer, Latimer & Maloney. B. b.
Allen. Loomis & Wetzel, William Cush
and G. 3. Mullin.
Mr.. Mullin was elected president of
the association.