Evening star., 1934-04-28
WAGE GRAB DENIED
/. BY BUILDING MEN
ON EVE Of STRIKE
Association Answers Car
penters' Charges Aired
by McFadden.
$8.A.DAY AGREEMENT
IS DEFENDED IN LETTER
Workers Declare Contractors H.
legally Pocketed So a Day
in Last Year.

With strike OF union carpenters
threatened for Tuesday morning, tying
up work on all Federal buildings and
other union jobs throughout the city,
the Master Builders Association today
delivered its first formal reply to SEN
sational charges by the carpenters.
In letter to Representative McFad-
den, Republican. of Pennsylvania, who
had aired the carpenters charges in
the House. c. Wohlgemuth. jr., presi-
dent Of. the builders association, de-
MED union charges of wage grab" by
contractors. He declared the bona fide
wage agreement of So a day this year
had been in operation so long without
protest from the carpenters that the
union leaders under law now would
be prevented from challenging It's Va
lidity.
Defends Groups Acts.
Relating developments in wage
agreements during the past two years,
Mr.. Wohlgemuth declared his associa-
tion had acted with propriety through
out, and knew of no contractor who
had paid lower wages than required by
the Government.
Threatening a strike unless their
hour are met, the carpenters also are
charging that contractors Illegally"
pocketed So a day from the wages of
each carpenter during the past year.
a total of about $500, 900, now owed
the carpenters. Contractors today
were standing firmly by their posi-
tion for an So day. The carpenters
want an increase from 81 to $I.37la
an hour, and six instead of an eight
hour day
In his letter to Representative Nc
Fadden. the Master Builders presi-
dent took exception to statements by
McFadden imputing to the Master
Builders AN attitude OF hostility to-
ward the local carpenters union," and
alleging that Frank j. Sheehan, sec
retary OF the association, had been
the go-between in collecting money
from general contractors in connec-
tion with so-called wage grab"
Answers Davis Query.
Secretary of Labor Perkins yester-
day answered an inquiry by Senator
Davis, Republican, of Pennsylvania,
explaining the attitude of her de-
partment on the Bacon-Davis law.
fixing the prevailing wage rate"
under the present wage agreement at
IS a day.
Miss Perkins, referring to the pro-
posed investigation in the House,
said:
Il need not point out to you that
there are a number of Government
departments, aside from the Depart
ment Of Labor, which would be inter-
ested in the evidence presented to
the committee The Department
of Justice would certainly be inter-
ested, in so far as possible conspiracy
to violate Federal statutes could be
proved"
Explains Wage Law.
Referring to pay received by car
penters here. the secretary said:
Until April IA. 1888. there was in
effect a union contract, whereby car
penters in the District received $11 a
day. Thereafter, however, this con-
tract was superseded by another
agreement setting the rate at S8 This
agreement the employees allege to have
been entered into fraudulently.
"On September 80, 1893, the As
sistant Secretary of the Treasury
asked me to determine the prevailing
rate of wages for carpenters employed
in connection with the Department of
Justice and Archives Buildings. In
accordance with the terms of the
Davis Bacon law, I determined what
the prevailing rate was at that time
and found it was So day as set in
the agreement above referred to.
Il was forced by the law to reach
this decision regardless of what I
might have found concerning the
contract which brought the rate down
to that level, for the Davis-Bacon
law places upon me the duty of de-
termining what the actual prevailing
rate Is, without regard to the reasons