Evening star., 1934-06-03
EFFORTS TO HALT
BUILDING T|E-UPS
T0BE INTENSIFIED
Settlement of 4D. c. Strikes
Sought as ck-Back
Probe Is to Begin.
WALSH WILL CONFER
WITH LABOR LEADERS
Carpenters Council Meets To-
morrow Night, Plasterers and
Employers to Confer.

Efforts to solve Washington's grow
ing labor problems will be intensified
this week
Attempts will be renewed to settle
four strikes, while the Senate Com
mittee on Education and Labor will
launch preliminary work on its re-
Gently authorized probe of the kick
back racket and other alleged abuses,
not only in Washington, but through
out the country.
Chairman Walsh of the Senate COM
mittee will confer with labor leaders
preliminary to open hearings on the
investigation. This probe will take a
wide scope, as indicated in formal
statements of Walsh last week out
lining its objectives.
First public evidence of the kick
back racket since the recent prelimi-
nary hearing conducted by Senator
Walsh resulted yesterday in reinstate-
ment of three laborers on the new
Gallinger Hospital ward building after
they complained that they had been
discharged from work because they
had protested they were paid less than
the prevailing wage.
S50,000, 900 Work Delayed.
Meantime efforts will be resumed to
solve three strikes in the building
trades which have either stopped en-
tirely or delayed work on more than
S50000,000 worth of construction in
the city. One of the projects which
had been tied up was removed from
the delayed list during the week when
the District Commissioners revised
specifications on moving the Calvert
Street Bridge. 1t had been tied up
completely for lack of carpenters, who
are on strike.
1t is hoped that some move will be
made to settle the carpenters strike
but prospects in this direction are
rather vague, according to the latest
indications last night. The strike OF
carpenters will come before the Dis
trict Council of Carpenters tomorrow
night at its regular meeting at Car
penterS' Hall.
The strike of plasterers for an in
crease from sl50 to SITS an hour
and 80 instead of a 40 hour week
will be discussed tomorrow night al
a meeting between representatives OF
the plasterers and their employers. al
the Oyster Building, Twenty-sixth
street and Pennsylvania avenue.
4.
National Labor Board. has launched
a move for a meeting as early this
week as possible between heads of the
two international unions involved in
the jurisdictional dispute on the
triplet buildings-I. c. c., Depart
ment of Labor and Auditorium Build
ings on Constitution avenue in the
Federal Triangle.
Conference Invitation.
Harry C. Bates. acting president OF
the Bricklayers, Masons and Plaster
ers' International Union. who is in
Washington. has been invited to at
tend a conference with Senator Wag-
ner and representatives of the rivaI
union.
M. j. Colleran president of the Op-
erative Plasters' & Cement Finishers
international Association, whose local
No. SO, is on strike here. has beer
notified by letter of the move by Sen
ator Wagner. Colleran, who has
temporary headquarters at the Hamil-
ton Hotel here. has been out of the
city for several days, and the letter
was forwarded to his home in New
York State. 1t was not known last
night when a reply will be had from
Colleran.
A general strike is in effect at
the triplet buildings called by M. J
McDonough, president of the building
trades department of the American
Federation of Labor. because plaster
erS of the B. M. union have displaced
plasterers of the o. P. union. Both
are members OF the A. F. of L., but
only the o. P. plaSterers belong tc
the building trades department of the
A. F. of L.
Senator Wagner took steps to set
tie this dispute upon urgent request
of Harry D. Watts, vice president ot
James Stewart & Co., general con-
tractor on the triplet buildings. Watts
charged he could get no action out
of the A. F. of L. to settle the dis
pute between the two groups of the
A. F. of L. Watts also has asked
Senator Walsh to amend the pend
ing Wagner bill to prevent jurisdic-
tional disputes from prolonged tie-ur
o. public construction.
Negotiations to Be Renewed.
Negotiations to settle the strike Of
engineers, fremen and oilers OF
Carry's and Southern Diaries ict
cream plants failed yesterday to reach
an agreement, but will be resumed
probably tomorrow morning.
r. A. Dickson, president of the Gen.
trail Labor Union. who was conciliatol
in the negotiations, withdrew after
the close of the meeting, and an.
nounced he would make no further eff
forts. II am very disappointed thai
the meeting yesterday was failure,
said Dickson, because in my judg.
ment the strike was virtually settled.
He said disagreement over a com.
paratively minor clause in the pro.
posal led to the failure. Although hi
said he would take no further per.
sonal part in the negotiations he sale
he would interpose no objection tc
any other official of the Central Labor
Union doing so. Howard T. Colvin
conciliator of the Cancellation Service
Of the Department of Labor, partici-
pated in the negotiations yesterday
and will continue to meet with the
two groups.
Ice cream teamsters we're said still
to be negotiating with the manufac.
turers over the matter of a new wage
scale, the old one having expired last
week.