Evening star., 1946-10-30
Hotel WaIkout
Costs Business
100000
Management, Unions
Remain Adumunt
In Strikes 18th Day

business life has been dealt body
blow by the hotel strike which has
cost the area an estimated $4,000, ,00(
in 10 days.
And there were no prospects o1
q turn for the better today as both
the Hotel Association of Washing
ton and the striking unions refus-
ing to yield in their stubborn stands
In a newspaper advertisement to.
day the hotel association presented
its proposal and that of the unions
and offered to "let an impartia
arbitrator settle anywhere between
these two"
Instead of previously cited figures
of and 4 cents, the advertisement
said the union had offered to &C.
cept liz cents for employees not re-
ceiving tips and cents for those
who do.
No Change, Levine Says.
Union Attorney Samuel Levine
said there actually was no change
from the compromise terms once
offered by Cancellation Commission
er Clyde Mills. In that proposal
the IL u cent increase was suggested
for about $40 dishwashers, now
making 81 cents an hour. but the
cents applied to more than 5000
other employees, he said.
Some of the 18 struck hotels are
virtually shut down and operating
at complete loss. But their losses
are only small part of the story OF
how the deadlock involving 5000
employees has spread its tentacles tc
squeeze something from most bust
nessmen's pockets.
Transportation companies, restau-
rants, laundries and stores and shops
of all types have felt the strike
Many workers other than the strik-
ing union members are temporarily
without a job. Sightseeing, one OF
the Capitals most lucrative and
dependable businesses, is a white
elephant these days.
Statler An Example.
No better picture of how complete
lv the strike has gripped its victims
can be drawn than that at the
$4,000, 900 Hotel Statler, newest In
the Nation.
In the modernistic setting where
normally 1,200 guests set lively
tempo, only half dozen die hards
remain.
Closed tight are the florist, haber-
dashery, jewelry, photography, bar
ber and beauty shops. That's true
also of three airline ticket offices and
the cigar stand. The operators OF
these concessions are suffering total
losses.
Guarding the property are 20
executives who remain on the JOB
day and night. They are charged
with the responsibility of keeping
the establishment in such cond1-
ton that it can open for business
as soon as the strike ends.
~r New Guests Barred.
No new guests have entered the
hotel since the strike began Oc-
tober IL. Ever alert for an emer-
gency, the score of hotel executives
roam through the empty corridors
in overalls, doing odd jobs and
keeping the elevators running for
the handful of guests.
Occasionally they hold fire
drill, each man coached in a par
ticular job to perform in case OF
fire.
While the Statler represents the
nadir of what has happened to
the hotel business, many others are
almost as badly off. Some, such as
the Wardman Park, are maintain
ing most of their concessions. But
unlike the Statler the Wardman
Park is made up largely of pern1a-
nent residents.
The Washington Hotel barber
shop and other services are closed,
but some barber shops, like those
at the Raleigh, Willard and Har-
rington, have remained open. de-
pending on outside trade to offset
some of the loss.
Taxi Drivers Feel Pinch.
Even as fewer and fewer lights
glow in the hotel windows at night
businesses largely dependent on the
hotels for existence are taking a
beating. Not the least of these is
the cab driver. There are more than
5000 cabbies in Washington, and
many are complaining of losses up
to 30 and 10 per cent. Some even
have given up the ghost and have
turned to other occupations.
Especially hard hit are hackers
who thrived on evening hotel busi-
ness.
Instead of 10 or Is trips to and
from hotels, the drivers now make
one of So" said Russell A. Sellers
assistant manager for 1,500 Premier
and Checker cabs.
A driver, Robert Cohen of Bell
Cab Co., explained it this way: ut
used to be that a driver could pick
up $40 or SIS while working 10 hours
Now you have to ride Is or 16 hours
a day to make the same money"
Railroads, Airlines Affected.
Tanning out in every direction.
the strike has put a crimp in rail-
road and airline transportation.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroads
Washington business has dropped
off 10 to Is per cent, but there now
is only 10 to 20 per cent vacancies
in sleepers, compared with 25 to 40
per cent befores the strike Those
who must come to Washington try
to finish their business in a day.
Airline revenues have dropped off
sharply, with the major lines serving
washington reporting declines up to
20 per cent. Especially noticeable is
the reduction in long haul pas
sengers. More visitors are travelling
short distances by fast planes arriv-
ing in the morning, and departing
the same night.
Some laundries figuratively are
being taken to the cleaners. None
probably is harder hit than the Yale
Laundry, which does much whole
sale" or bulk laundering for the
hotels. With 100000 gross busi-
ness annually, the laundry already
has lost $4,000 by the strike.
J. P. Conger, laundry president,
said the entire business had fallen
off 10 to II per cent, that to the
struck hotels 70 per cent, and whole