Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-08-23
By BETTY MILES

What Is q strike? Ask Capt.
ltal Transit workers and their
families.
A strike is weeks without a
paycheck.
A strike is weeks OF watching
lhard-won savings vanish.
A strike is pressure. mounting
each week, as bills come In that
can't be paid.
A strike is tension in the home.
STRIKERS always lose money"
said r. s. DeLany. of 5720
Chillum Heights drive, Hyatts-
vile. But we got the raise"
$457 Loss In Salary
Mr.. DeLany,s gross salary for
Ia five-day work week prior to the
strike was SIS. His gross loss Of
Income for the seven-week strike
was 1892. This was Offset by SIS
paid in benefits to the strikers by
the union. His loss for the strike
period was $457 in gross salary.
| The settlement provides a 10
Icent-an-hour raise now and an
additional 5 cents an hour be-
ginning next July /. Mr.. De-
Lany will have to work A weeks
at the l0-eent higher scale
which gives him 50 an hour in
wages and Al weeks at the higher
scale, $2.05 an hour. to recover
his loss. That would be a total
of 81 weeks Z, ss
"We've had food on the table.
but not as much. We've eaten
into the bank account, and 1t
wasn't too much to begin with. "
Tried to Prepare
1--WE dipped into our savings
| to the point that we nearly dip
ped 1t all out" Mrs. Delaney
declared. When the strike
doomed. she added. they tried to
put a little extra aside to take
care Of it.
Mr.. DeLany, q bus driver
has been with the company for
ia years. The DeLanys have
two daughters. Regina. "a and
Elizabeth, IL. Both girls went to
lSt. Jerome's School last year.
i The SIS a week the union
paid to the workers from the
third week of the strike on
didn't quite cover the cost of
food for the family. Toward the
last. it began to look bad, Mrs.
DeLany said,
II don't think it was worth it, !"
she said. II don't think well
make it up.
I II haven't discussed it with
my husband much. He knew the
way / felt"
1 Mr.. DeIany, who is warden of
the union and a member Of the
] strike committee, awakened his
wife at 2 am. Sunday morning
to tell her the strike was over
! ! Union Pay Suspended
I Under normal circumstances
as union warden. he is excused
from work by the company two
days a month, when he works
for the union. by which he is
paid. All union salaries, however,
including that of the presidents,
were Cancelled during the strike
Mr.. DeLany worked at strike
headquarters every day. which
presented the DeLanys with the
same transportation problem
that plagued every one else dur
ing the last seven weeks. Since
he needed the car to get down.
town and their apartment Is
pretty far out. Mrs. DeLany was
one Of the many homemakers
without transportation.
This is the first time the family
has lived through a major strike
[ "Everybody's glad it's over, y
4 Mrs. DeLany said.
About 500 of the striking
workers were not elfkible for the
SIS a week from the union be-
cause they were working at other
Jobs temporarily more than two
days a week.
} Men took jobs as grocery store
clerks. as taxi drivers. as ice
cream truck drivers.
Odd Jobs for Landlord
Some paid their rent by paint
ing or doing odd jobs for the
landlord.
:. One man got work as brick
layer and found jobs for several
friends. too.
/ With supreme confidence in
, the strikes outcome, one striker
made a $4,000 ddwn-payment on
a new house and then hired a
fellow striker to paint 1t.
S. H. Gardner. 1915 @ street
S. g.. converted his part-time
job with the Calvert Driving
j School. with which he normally
supplements his transit income
. into a. full-time job during the
, strike.
One hundred and four cases
were handled by the hardship
committee, which dealt with
CRITICAL financial problems.
- alS