THE TWIN CITY STREET CAR STRIKE Union Carmen Defy Public Safety Commission Order. Mr. Gompers Instead of Ordering Strikers to Obey the State Tribunal Asks Governor for Conference to "Adjust" Matter. Of recent strikes, none perhaps has attracted more attention than that of the union carmen employed by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Only 18% of the employees of the company were unionized, the remaining 82% preferring to remain independent. The 18% adopted the usual violent union tactics in their efforts to compel all others to join with them and this lawlessness culminated in a riot Sunday afternoon, December 2nd, when thirty cars were damaged and twenty-two conductors and motormen assaulted and seriously injured. The Governor was compelled to call out the Home Guard organizations to assist the police, who were utterly unable to cope with the situation. Much capital has been made by the unions throughout the country over the refusal of the Twin City Company to allow union men to wear union buttons. This is only part of the truth. Not only did the union men wear buttons, but likewise the independent men, the buttons of the latter indicating membership in a co-operative organization which had been formed sometime prior to the dispute. These buttons, representing to a certain extent rival organizations, were a constant source of irritation, and the Public Safety Commission, to whom the Governor had turned over the strike for settlement, ordered that they be discontinued. The members of the independent organization cheerfully consented to the rule, but the union. members refused, and the company, in prohibiting the union men from going out on their cars until they had taken off their union buttons, was simply carrying out the order of the Public Safety Commission. The December bulletin of the Citizens Alliance, of Minneapolis, gives the following summary of the situation: "After the recommendations of the Safety Commission were issued ordering the men back to work, they returned to work and the company re-instated them strictly in accordance with the Safety Commission's order. "Shortly after this the striking street railway men filed a grievance with the state Safety Commission claiming the Street Railway Company had not complied with the Commission's order and were discriminating against Union men. "The Safety Commission took the matter up and referred it to a special committee consisting of Messrs S. F. Kerfoot, Chairman, W. M. Jerome, Secretary and Norman Fetter. "The committee considered the matter carefully, conducting hearings for a period of eight days. The testimony gathered at these hearings covered six hundred closely typewritten pages. Report of Investigating Committee "In order to improve conditions and lessen the friction described in the last paragraphs, and to avoid otherwise inevitable controversies and difficulties, your committee earnestly recommends: "1. The total disuse and abandonment of buttons or other insignia symbolizing the Union or the Non-union organizations, except that the committee sees no objection to the badge of the Employees Mutual Benefit Association to which all employees receiving a salary less than $2500 per annum are eligible irrespective of Union affiliations. "The reason for this recommendation is the fact that the evidence discloses in innumerable cases that the buttons of both organizations have been one of the principal causes of irritation, not only among the employees themselves, but between the employees and the public at large. Both sides have signified their willingness to abandon the use of the button or other insignia, if the Commission so request. "2. Your committee further earnestly recommends that all solicitation for membership and propaganda of every nature on behalf of the Union organization, as well as on behalf of the Non-union organization shall cease on the company's property, in and about stations and upon the cars. The reason for this recommendation is obvious, and needs no discussion. The committee is glad to report that both sides have willingly consented to acquiesce in an order or request of the Commission to this effect. "3. That the company be requested to prepare and post in all its stations rules for the purpose of effectuating the foregoing recommendations, with a provision that a violation thereof shall be cause for discipline. "4. Your committee finally recommends that the employees. (both Union and Non-union) and the public at large, be earnestly requested to avoid all utterances and conduct that would tend in any way to cause irritation or hard feelings; that the incidents of the past be over-looked, and that this request be carefully observed as a patriotic duty in this critical time. Dated November 19th, 1917. S. F. Kerfoot, Chairman, "The recommendations were adopted in full by the Safety. Commission and the Street Railway Company was instructed to post them in all their stations, together with an order requiring all employees to conform. "The Non-union men promptly complied and removed their buttons adopted by their co-operative organization some time previous to the controversy. The Union men refused to take off their buttons stating that these instructions were in the nature of a recommendation only and not an order... "On Thursday, November 22nd, report was made to the Safety Commission that the Union men were not complying with the order, and to remove the misunderstanding the Safety Commission passed the following motion, a copy of which was sent both to the Street Railway Company and to the men who were out: "After investigating the present situation of the Street Railway Company and its employees, the Commission sees no reason for further action on its part, and expects both the Company and its employees to conform in letter and spirit to the recommendations and requests made by the Special Investigating Committee and approved by the Commission. "The above motion was promptly posted by the Street Railway Company in its stations and on Saturday, November 24th, the Superintendents and Foremen talked to all the men who were out and used their best efforts to persuade them to comply with these instructions. "This was the first instance in the history of the Street Railway Company where a general order that was issued by the Street Railway Company had been disregarded by the employees and in order to maintain any sort of discipline, it was necessary that the order be inforced. "Accordingly on Sunday morning, November 25th, men who appeared with their buttons on were told they could not take their cars out and were instructed to report to the Superintendent on Monday. Those who reported to the Superintendent on Monday morning, were informed that the Company was complying with the order of the Safety Commission and that it must insist that its employees do likewise, and that any of the men who would report for work by Tuesday morning, November 27th, without their buttons, and would agree to abide fully by the recommendations of the Safety Commission, could go back to work. "The Union officials at once claimed that the Company had inaugurated a lockout. They went to the Safety Commission and made this statement, that they had not complied with these recommendations because they did not consider them mandatory and that they were merely suggestions. They further stated that if these recommendations were put in the form of an order, the men would comply with them. "Accordingly on November 27th, the Safety Commission passed a resolution making these recommendations a positive order, and instructing the Company and its employees to obey them, extending the time for the men to go back to work until Thursday, November 29th. "The Union men again refused to follow this order and stated that their official representatives who had promised that such an order would be obeyed, had no authority to make any such promise. "Contrast the loyal action of the 1800 Non-union employees who promptly complied with all the provisions of the recommendations of the Safety Commission, with that of the few disaffected employees who had been misled by Union agitators and who are to this day disregarding a positive order of the Public Safety Commission of the State of Minnesota. Strikers Riot in Streets of St. Paul "Further defying the Public Safety Commission's order, the strikers carried their efforts to the extreme of rioting. "Following a large demonstration held in Rice Park, St. Paul, Sunday afternoon, December 2nd, a riot was precipitated. Several hundred Union strikers and sympathizers ran amuck, blocking the streets and endangering the lives of pedestrians. About thirty cars were badly damaged and twenty-two conductors and motormen were assaulted and gravely injured. "The police were utterly unable to cope with the situation and it was only by calling out the Home Guards that the rioting was stopped and the streets cleared for traffic. "Following this, the situation became so serious that the Governor called into the Twin Cities Home Guard Organizations from various points in the state, so that with the local Home Guards and the Minneapolis Civilians Auxilary, there were approximately 3000 armed guards on duty for the preservation of law and order in this community. Sympathetic Strike Called by Organized Labor "Following the demonstration and riot in St. Paul, a continuous Convention was called by Union Labor. Every man in the Twin Cities and in the state was instructed to consider himself a delegate to this Convention and ordered to attend. "The Convention was called for Dec. 5th and assembled on that day in the Auditorium at St. Paul to consider the calling of a sympathetic strike to aid the striking street car men. About 5000 attended. |