The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-07-31
TOLEDO TOOL co.
SLASHES WAGES,
more JOBLESS
Mobilize in Shops For
August LIST

A. OOC 1DG
TOLEDO, Ohio, - The Toledo
Machine & Tool Co., large manu-
facturers of punch presses and
shears for the auto and metal in
dustry made a drastic cut in wages
Saturday, July &c. This Toledo
slave pen is commonly referred to
as the Poverty and has always
lived up to its reputation, but now
it will have to be renamed "Pover-
tvs He'll Hole"
About three months ago the
workers in the Poverty were
given an intimation of what was in
store for them when the system of
time and one half for all overtime
work was abolished. Following this
vicious system of speed up was
established. Henry J. Hinde, con-
trolling stock holder and General
Manager of the plant resigned as
manager and certain Mr.. Green
ing was placed in charge of produc-
ton. He at once employed an
efficiency expert to devise ways and
means Of driving the slaves longer,
faster and cheaper. He has done
his masters bidding well. Produc-
ton is now 80 per cent higher and
some workers have been laid off.
Workers who have worked for the
Poverty" for as much as seventeen
years were laid off. This speed-up
game, in which the workers were
always "It," went merrily on and
conditions got steadily worse.
But the worst was yet to come.
Last Saturday the club fell with
resounding whack. Wages were
slashed in every department from
10 percent to rs per cent with the
average somewhere around Is per
cent. In the wet grinder depart
ment the cut amounted to IT cents
per hour. Workers formerly re-
ceiving 80 cents per hour now get
60 cents. Heavy planer operators
were rewarded for long and faith
full service with a IS cent per hour
cut. They now make from SIS cents
| to rs cents per hour. Lathe oper-
ators received cuts ranging from
z to Is cents per hour. Shaper
hands and drill press hands got cut
IL cents per hour. On the erecting
floor the big boss, Greening, and his
efficiency flunkey kindly presented
the workers there with the news of
a z to Is cents per cut in wages.
All common help, laborers, ETC., were
cut cents per hour. All this as
a reward for loyalty of years and
in spite Of the lying promises of
big, fat Herbert Hoover.
One more point to show the ex-
tent of the never satisfied greed
of the Poverty" is the treatment
accorded to the young workers.
Young workers are admitted as ap-
prentices and must sign up for
years.
The wage cuts at the Poverty
are just a sample of what has taken
place in every industry in Toledo.
In the building industry condi-
tons are horrible. The A. Bently
& Sons Co. and the H. j. Speaker
Co. are the largest contractors in
this part of the state. They have
always been open shoppers and try
to enforce the yellow dog contract.
They are now both cutting wages
TO the limit. On the Toledo Uni
versity job iron workers are getting
f,o:n $40 to $25 week under the
scale.
Carpenters on this job were
recently cut about Is per cent. The
laborers union cut their own scale
from 5 to so cents per hour in order
to get more work for their mem
bers. They did not get any more
work and they have lost some of
their working conditions besides.
You can see how the A. F. of L..
aids the open shop bosses in wage
cutting.
There are thousands of workers
out of work in Toledo. Other thou
sands have had their wages slashed
and are expecting layoffs soon.
There is a strong undercurrent of
mass resentment and hatred de-
veloping here. With proper effort
it would be easy to get Toledo
workers to organize. The sentiment
against war is strong. Toledo
should have huge demonstration
against Imperialist War and in de-
tense of the Soviet Union on Aug
ust first at the corner of Summit
and Jackson ST., at Z p. m.