The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-11-13
More Bitter Winter
Ahead Says Street
Car " Yorker
Older Men, Long Ago
Promised Pension,
Suffer Hardest
az 2 worker Correspondentl

Nby d HOEkcE
CHICAGO, Ill.-The coming win
ter months promise little good for
the employees of the Chicago Surface
Lines. The sweaty, slippery rails,
combined with fast schedules and
short layover time, promise nothing
but back breaking toll for the crews.
The schedules are so cut to the bone
that you can hardly make time, even
in fair weather, and as soon as the
weather gets dirty they go to smash,
with the result of grumbling passen-
gers, who are forced to wait for cars
in the rain and wind for a long
time. Especially hard will it be for
the old men who shaved away for 40
or so years to fill the Golfers Of the
various traction magnateS or pirates.
These old men were promised a
pension by the companies, union fax
erS and the City Council as long as
three years ago. They are carrying
on, being short winded, with aches IN
their bones, trying to keep up with
the younger men, and the elusive
pension Is further away than ever.
1t is about time to put pressure on
this unholy trinity of union, company
and politicians, to get what they have
promised with such assurance. Every
one would benefit by the retiring Of
the old men on pensions; the younger
men would benefit by getting better
runs. the extra men would get on
the regular list and a number of I'M
employed would be hired.
There is a shortage Of runs on the
Chicago Surface Lines. The econo-
mixing administration was always
ready to take some of them of, but
they have to encounter real traffic
jams on the lines before they would
put some of them on. Why not put
pressure on the company to put more
runs on, with longer running time
and increased lay-over time? Men
are worked to death on some lines.
And why keep the jerky, unsafe one
man cars? Some of them are carry
ing more passengers than the two
men cars. Only q few months ago
the City Council passed an ordinance
forbidding the collection of fares or
issuing Of transfers while the cars are
in motion. The ordinance was passed,
is it being obeyed? The company
expects the one-man car operators to
disregard this ordinance and the City
Council does not bat an eye,
The men cannot put pressure on
through the union, division 241,
Amalgamated Association of Street
and Electric Railways of America) be-
cause, beginning with the Interna-
tional President, Wnl. Mahon (who
is a real scab manufacturer in De-
troit and as such called police and
gorillas and judge to help him break
the heads Of the pickets and also
break the strike at his factory and
ending with the brave" members Of
individual Chicago depots (who are
never on the shortage lists If they
are conduCtors-tfe Company allows
them to steal a certain number OF
fares, OF generally are never "on the
list" and are in most cases plain
stool pigeons for the company all the
officers of this union are a bunch
of traitors and sell-out artists. The
way they engineered the recent wage
cuts, changes Of basic time and other
Swindles for the Company made even
the most broUbeaten Chicago car
men open their eyes and turn with
contempt from the mislea6ers Of Div
ision 231, who are always ready TO
cut someone else'S wages. The only
way out for the rank and file is TO
elect depot committees from among
themselves and these committees
shall take up the question of sched-
ules and other grievances on depot
scale; and also the question of a new
agreement with higher pay and PEN
sions on a city-Wide scale.
Such committees do net need char
oers from the scab manufacturer,
Mal7Cn, bat viii truly represent the
Inen to whom they will be responsible
directly. The old crowd of sell-out
artists, Quinlan, Taller and Kehoe,
and also the Board members, must
absolutely be kept off these commit
tees. Nobody but rank and fllers;
men who are not hck-spittles, union
stool pigeons, supervisors or callers
shall be selected on 1t.
In the next article We will print
revelations about the private graft of
Eyanson, the General Superintendent
of Transportation, in connection with
the sale of uniforms. Watch this
paper regularly!