Evening star., 1939-06-07
Labor Troubles
In Capital
Subside
Milk Drivers Wage
Dispute Settled;
Carpenters Negotiate

Troubles on Washington's labor
front appeared to be subsiding to-
day. Overnight developments we're:
/. Settlement of a wage dispute
between milk supply company Of
flcials and 1,10O union workers.
2. Discontinuance of picket lines
that 1900 striking building laborers
had established'Monday at 100 con-
struction projects.
3. Opening of negotiations be-
tween carpenters and contractors
with the object of settlement of
wage and hour demands of 1000
carpenters who have threatened to
strike next Monday.
The Milk Drivers and Dairy EN-
ployes Union, in a two-hour session
last night, voted to accept a COM
promise offer from milk distributors,
providing for pay increases of so
cents to 50 a week for milk wagon
drivers and helpers of 13 local
dairieS. The dairy workers had asked
raises of 81 to SO weekly.
Pickets Are Removed.
Picket lines on construction prof.
ects were abandoned on recommend
alton of the Washington Building
Trades Council. John Locher, coun-
Gil secretary, explained today that
the action was taken because union
picketing of projects on which other
union labor is employed is "inadvis-
able The picket lines will be re-
sumed. Mr.. Locher said. only in case
nonunion workers are brought into
the picture, and contractors have
announced that they have no such
intentions.
Although no definite settlement
was reached at the conference of
representatives of the Carpenters
Union and the Master Builders AS
sociation late yesterday. Howard T.
Colvon, Labor Department concilia-
tor, who arranged the meeting. said
that the way was left open for an
other attempt at arbitration later in
the week. The carpenters are de-
manding 7-hour. s13 day instead
OF their present 8-hour sl2 day.
Confident of Settlement.
Union officials expressed conf
dence that settlement of both the
carpenters and building laborers'
demands would be made by the end
of the week They pointed out that
arbitration is simplified by the fact
that the unions can negotiate with
virtually the same employers rep
resentatives in each instance.
! Meanwhile. the National Park
Service was notified yesterday that
no start can be made on con-
struction of the Thomas jefferson
Memorial at the Tidal Basin be-
cause of the building laborers'
strike. Official notice had been
given the John McShain Co. Of
Philadelphia to proceed with the
work at once
Work on the memorial founda-
ton, under contract held by the
Raymond Concrete Pile Co. of New
1Olh, al cduS DtIllllu SClleuule De.
cause of leakage of ground water
into the footings. has come to a
| complete standstill. There is virtu-
ally no prospect now of completing
the foundation by June Is. the final
date set in the contract for delivery
of the completed foundation to the
Federal Government, it is said.
Although failure on the part Of
the contractor to complete the
foundation work by June Is will
automatically subject him to pen
atty under terms of the contract, it
has not. yet been determined
whether the penalty will be invoked
due to the fact that the strike
which has brought work there to a
halt is of general nature and is
beyond the power of the contractor
alone to settle.
There is said to be little diSpcsal
on the part of the Government to
waive imposition of the penalty for
delays due to the seepage Of ground
water through bedrock into the
foundation borings, it is understood.
This condition could reasonably
have been foreseen, it was explained,
and was predicted by some Federal