Evening star., 1935-03-20
Action Follows Dispute on
JurisdiCtion-More Than
800 Affected.
SHORTAGE OF MATERIAL
STOPS CONSTRUCTION
Fight Is Referred to Information.
ais of Elevator Constructors
and Enginemen.

Strike in jurisdictional dispute be-
tween two unions, behind which are
two rival building trades departments
of the American Federation of Labor,
today had virtually tied up construc-
ton work on the new Internal Reve-
nue. Building addition at Tenth street
and Pennsylvania avenue.
The strike was called by the Hoist
ing and Portable Engineers when they
were denied the right to hoist ma
terials for constructing permanent
elevators.
Elevator constructors working for
the Otis Elevator Co. installing pas
senger elevators have been hosting
their own materials and today con-
tinued to do so, while nearly all other
trades on the job were tied up because
they had no materials on upper floors
with which to work.
Each Member of A. F. L.
The Hosting and Portable Engineers
belong to one of the building trades
departments of the A. F. of L.. while
the Elevator Constructors belong to
the other. Each of the locals is backed
up by its own international union, and
by the building trades department
with which it is affiliated in the A. F.
of l..
M. ]. McDonough, president of the
building trades department backing
the elevator constructors, was firm
in declaring the elevator constructors
affiliated with his department we're
on the job and would continue to
hoist their own materials.
I'VE will cooperate 100 per cent
with the elevator constructors in their
fight" said McDonough.
About 300 men working on the
building for John McShain, Inc, gen.
eral contractor, we're out of work to-
| day because of the strike by the seven
| hosting engineers, who had been
hoisting brick. stone and materials
for the other trades. The only men
on the Job today, according to the
general contractor. were plumbers and
! the elevator constructors. The only
trade actually on strike was the hoist
ing engineers.
McShain Arrives.
John McShain, the contractor, ar
rived in Washington today from his
home Office, in Philadelphia, to look
into the matter personally and see
what can be done.
| McShain explained he was the gen.
| eral contractor on the job, but that
the Otis Elevator Co. has contract
direct with the Government and is
not a subcontractor under his juris-
diction. Thus, McShain said, he is
caught by a fight with which he had
absolutely nothing to do.
Preliminary attempts to get the
matter up to President William Green
of the A. F. of L.. McShain said, SO
far had been unsuccessful.
Demand Is Refused.
r. J. Henderson. representing
Hosting and Portable Engineers
Local. No. 81. contended the lifting
of materials for construction of ele-
vators belongs to his union. When
| he demanded the work for his men
| it was refused. he said, and his union
called the strike.
John PosSehl, general president OF
the International Union of Operat-
| lIlS cIlSlIltcIS, SdtO IlIS Jul AoOlCClOLl Va
this union was clear cut, and that
the work in dispute here belonged
without question to his hosting en-
gineerS.
The matter, he explained, had been
taken up by the contractor and re-
ferred to President j. w. Williams
of the building trades department of
the American Federation Of Labor
before the elevator work started on the
Revenue Building.
Williams notified the contractor,
Possehl said, that the work of hoisting
materials for the elevators was vested
with the engineers under the laws o:
the building trades department. But
the elevator constructors refused to
abide by these laws and this decision,
PoSsehl said, so there was nothing for
the hoisting engineers to do but strike
to claim their own work.
The hoisting engineers will stand on
this decision of the head of the build
ing trades department. Possehl said
smphatically declaring there was noth-
ing more for his international to do
now but stand on their rights in the
strike. He characterized the action
Of the elevator constructors as a
pirate move" to take away work be-
longing to another union.