The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-07-20
Chicago Surface Car
Men Plan Struggle
Demand More Than 800
Wage Rise Put Over
By Union Officials

CHICAGO. Ill.-The tools of the
Chicago Surface Lines who are
ruling the street car men as their
union leaders" finally came out
with the cent per hour raise prop
osition disclosed two months ago
in the Daily Worker" We know
from an authoritative source that
the measly raise was agreed upon
by the union takers and their COM
pany bosses to still the growing
clamor among the men, who were
slowly being crushed by the N. R.
A. and increased living cost.
We were warning the rank and
file of Division 241 that an hour
day means fewer runs, and more
economy for the c. S. L. so that
they will break even in the measly
raise granted to us. We advised
the men to demand time and a half
pay after and half hours.
At the meeting of the membership
on July Emo, Kehoe, Secretary of
Division 241, after telling us a long
story of ID conferences with the
company, which offered him first /
cent an hour, then 2, then 3 cents
in installments of l cent each after
several months, finally they came
out with the dirt that they agreed
to recommend a company offer of
a 8 cents raise as from June LIST,
(predicted in this paperD and an
8 hour day as of September 18th.
This 8-hour day will be the same
kind of fake as the present 7 and
half hour day, because time and a
half pay for overtime will begin as
now alter and a half hours work.
The men did not like the idea of
this measly handout and demanded
strike vote They booed the union
lickspittles who mounted the plat
form and tried to tell them that it
was the best offer they would get
in view of the fact that Roosevelt
has not succeeded in pulling the
country out of the depression. One
especially provoked the men when
he announced the lamentable fact
that the company instead of having
s63 100000 income, as in 1929, was
forced to exist on only $4,000 900
yearly.
When the motion to accept the
offer came to vote, about 40 per
cent voted against it. 1t should
have been the other way, GO per
cent? but it was a good beginning.
Now our job is to organize the oppo-
sition group of Division 241, to wrest
the power from the corrupt leaders
and place it where it belongs-in
democratically elected and con-
trolled rank and file organization.
AS the first step toward it we will
issue shortly the first copy of our
own journal, Chicago Traction
Worker"
Through agitation and unmasking
of different stool pigeons we will
lay a broad basis for our organiza-
ton. Write Immediately to the
editor, Chicago Traction Worker"
Room 300, $50 North Wells st..
Chicago. Write us about the union,
the board members and their rela-
lions to the superintendent.
AS beginning, we are warning
the workers of the Limits Depo.
against Conductor Hennessey, who
came over from the Belmont avenue
line. He was recognized as a pro-
fessional Buffalo scah who is
protege OF Richardson himself.
Through the medium of the Chi
cago Traction Worker we will drive
out of our ranks Hennessey and
other stool-pigeons who are here in
order to terrorize us and hinder our
fight for decent bread, clothes and
shelter for our families.
(But in order to print our journal
we need money. We cannot solicit
subscriptions, because subscribers
will be risking too much. Send