The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-18
L.R.T. FIRING ITS
SIGNAL MEN; NEW
RISK TO WORKERS
Lay-offs Violate It's
Own Contract With
It's Company Union

NEW YORK. - The Interborough
Rapid Transit Co. Q.RT.) is speed
ing up its, campaign of lay-offs to
reduce the pay rolls by 20 per. cent,
along with the 10 to 80 per cent
wage cut ordered by the courts some
weeks ago.
The lay-off campaign is now TAX
ing form that menaces the lives
of every worker in New York who
has to ride the IRT. to work, as
well as the lives Of the subway and
elevated crews themselves.
Firing Signal Men
The signal department was picked
out for the second big slash in en-
ployment this week, discharges hay
ing already taken place last week in
another department.
This week at least rs signal men
are being fired. The result will ap-
pear in wrecks and accidents in the
very near future, as the present force
Of signal men is just enough to get
by with
Lay-offs in this department mean
speeding the other signal men, who
are already harrassed by wage cuts
and speed up.
Your Life In Danger.
Here is an issue in which all New
York workers must rally to the help
of the 1R.T. employees, not only be-
cause wage cuts in one industry hello
reduce wages in every other. but
because of the direct menace to life
Of the worker riders on the IR.T.
In the past when accidents took
place the company always blamed its
workers. 1t will try to do this in
the future. But who is really to
blame, when signal men are being
fired and a dangerous situation de-
liberately created by the company
and receivers?
Take Risk for SIT
Some idea of the ruthlessness of
the wage cuts on the I.R.T. can be
gained from the remark of one of
the receivers now being circulated
around, that, "$17 week is enough
for trackman." 1t is exactly these
trackmen, working at night, near
running trains, that suffer the great
est loss Of life. With part Of the
signal men abolished, the trackmen
will be slaughtered in still greater
numbers.
In cutting wages now, the receivers
are violating their own contract with
the IR.T.'s own company union, the
Brotherhood.
Continue Contract
The unfair contract of 1927 de-
scribed in the Daily Worker of Jan.
9, it has now been discovered, was
secretly continued forever, unless de-
nounced by one side or the other so
days before April 80, 1898, or Dec.
30 of any year thereafter. 1t was
| continued by bargain, known as q
supplementary agreement, arrived at
between Victor Bowling and Thomas
E. Murray, the receivers appointed by
the court, and the General Commit
tee of the Brotherhood. The sup
Elementary agreement was made on
Dec. 80, 1892.
The supplementary agreement pro-
vided for the wage cuts.
Break Own Contract
1t did not provide for the layoffs.
In fact it prohibited them! The first
article of the supplementary agree
ment says: page IL of the printed
agreement.)
"The Company agrees to employ
each of the several members of the
Brotherhood now in its employ for
the period Of one year from the LIST
day of January, 1888. -"
This is exactly what the company
is not doing. It Is breaking even its
own contract with its own company
union to discharge enough workers,
all members of the Brotherhood, to
reduce pay rolls by 20 per cent in
every department.
And it is going about this in way
to endanger the lives not only Of its
employees but of thousands of other
New York workers.