Montana labor news., 1933-02-16
THE AUTO WORKERS. STRIKE

Due W many requests OF Dulle workers, regarding TIL
auto workers strike in Detroit, and due to the misstate
ments as to its cause in the daily press your editor ha
gathered a few facts from our Federated Press Cores
~pondents in Detroit.
In the first place, the daily press states that this strike
was a move on the part of Wall Street Bankers to fore,
a certain well-known auto manufacturer to the wall. Thi
manufacturer, himself gave out such a report. Reports
from the Strikers camp in Detroit states that abominablt
wages and conditions were the cause. Following is thu
statement given out by the union leaders regarding con
ditions.
"The men are forced by the threat of dismissal to
work so fast at heavy labor that the older men are
unable to work the full number of hours and are sent
home" the statement said.
women in some cases are operating punch press
.es and doing other work so hard that it should be
done by men at mems wages.
1T is not ncommo for men to work as many as
"a hours in one shift, while others are unemployed
who are able to do the same type of work.
1.-THE hours change from day to day so often that
it is uncertain whether a man will return from work
the same morning or any time that day or night.
The men are unable to notify their wives or families
when to expect them Sanitary conditions such as
one wash bowl for several hundred women were des-
cribed.
The strike leaders repeated their demand for rec
ignition Of shop committees, and declared the COM
pany had refused to receive the negotiations COM
mittee of rs appointed by the strikers.
Mayor Murphy has named a fact-finding COM
mittee to study working conditions and the strike
and to publish its findings. Some of the things the
committee might have noticed.
Two pickets carrying their pay checks pinned to
uioi1 lfato en.o4 for 90 hours, and $40 for 90
hours; Ford Co. foremen telling employees. eff Won
want the Ford plants to open up again, get the
}{f3ge& .slfllsGs to give I'M strikers evidencine their
desire to avoid tuA4 by ffeFcing two speakeasies inrps
the strike areasto shut down, while company police,
city cops and deputies finger their guns.
The editor also has a fascmile of a check issued one
worker in the Briggs plant for 40 cents. The worker was
Bennett. He reported six times for work in two weeks
and spent u cents carfare in order to earn the 40 cents.
His wage for the two weeks was S2.49 but the company
took out $500 for insurance, leaving. Mr.. Bennett 40
cents. All in all he worked two weeks and lost % cents
for it cost him " cents carfare.
The work was done at the Mack Plant of the Briggs
Manufacturing Co., and the check is dated January 5,
1888.
Six thousand men are now on strike. 80 per cent of
the workers in the auto plants are now organized with
the exception Of the Ford plants and many of them are
joining. A small number of scabs have been imported
by the Briggs people but very few bodies are produced.
In an effort to break the strike, police have arrested
Philip Raymond. Secretary of the union, and are holding
him for investigation as to his communist activities.
Latest reports state that help is flowing in to the strik-
es from all sections of the country, and employers fear
that the strike will spread throughout the entire auto
industry.