Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

that they could buy the coal in the open market more cheaply than they could produce it.

'I suppose you would want to penalize us under the contract if we came on strike,' I remarked.

'More than likely I would,' he smiled. I then said that, as far as I was concerned, there would be no strike as long as we got our money on time; and that I believed in living up to the contract, and that, as long as I was committeeman, my influence would be used against illegal strikes. I told him it was to our interest to keep the mine running, and that was our purpose in laying the matter before him. We thought perhaps the men might get excited over the various rumors and shut the mine down. I pointed out that there were quite a number of men at the Warren mine who had recently lost their pay in other mines, and that these men could not be blamed if they became nervous about the rumors. We thought perhaps that he would be willing to do something to reassure the men.

'We'll do nothing,' was his comment. Turning to the Sub-District President, he asked, 'Did you ask the Northern Coal Company to give bond?'

'No; no complaints have been made about that company,' he replied. 'Have you asked the Kuehn Company?'

'No; there was no complaint there.' 'Well, then, I don't think it is quite fair to ask me to do so,' he said.

'Would you be willing to do so,' asked the Sub-Dist. Pres., 'if all the rest of the companies in the state were forced to furnish bond?'

'Yes, I guess I'd have to,' he said; 'but up until now you have n't shown me any good reason why I should.'

"You would, then, if we showed you a good reason?' went on the Sub-Dist. Pres.; to which he answered, 'Yes, I guess so.'

I thought to myself that a good reason, in his estimation, would be for us to bring indisputable proof that his company was bankrupt; and then how would he be able to furnish a bond? The fact that he had nothing before the war, the stories of his buying up mine after mine through stock deals and otherwise, have led everyone familiar with mining in this state to believe that his resources are widely scattered and that in this time of depression in the coal industry he has more than he can handle. The reported bad luck that he is said to have had with a new milliondollar mine in central Illinois certainly does not reassure us as to the stability of his companies. With the producing end incorporated in one company and the selling end incorporated in another, we wonder just how much would be attachable in case of trouble, outside of a few old worked-out mines. His appearance short and round-faced, wavy hair hair put one more in mind of a cigar salesman than of a competent manager of industry.

We returned to the hotel and reported our conversation to the District Vice President, who said that it was what he expected, and he wanted to know if the President seemed disturbed and how he took it. 'I have no doubt,' he said, 'that his companies are shaky, but how to prove it is another thing.' Then he asked, 'Does he sell mostly railroad coal? Perhaps he has a bad contract fastened on to him which he wishes to get rid of. By stirring up a strike, the strike clause in the contract would relieve him of the contract.'

I replied that I did not think so, because of the figure at which they were able to produce coal at the Warren mine. After hearing this figure, the District V. P. agreed with me that they should be making money at that particular mine, but they had the burden of the idle mines of the company to carry.

We went to lunch with the V. P. and there he agreed to look particularly into the affairs of the company, as much as he should be able, and also that we should stop in East St. Louis and see the organization's attorney, and have him get to work on the job to ascertain if possible just what the particular corporation which controlled the Warren mine is worth. With that we left the matter in the hands of the V. P.

Nov. 24. Saw the Top boss about having the washhouse cleaned, and he excused it by saying that the man who did that work was off yesterday, but he would see that it was kept clean in the future. I spoke also about cleaning out the showers and repairing one that was broken off, and he promised to do this. 'Bad-Eye' suggested to me that we ought to ask for more showers, but I told him that interpretations of the law by the Department of Mines and Minerals, as to a sufficient number of showers, was one for each 25 men, and we, having 9 showers for 190 men, could not make that demand. He said, 'It's a hell of a law. But since it's the law I guess we'll have to stand for it.'

Nov. 26. — Showers in washhouse not repaired. Saw the Top boss again this morning and he pleaded he had been short two men yesterday but would try and get it done to-day.

At quitting-time the showers in the washhouse had not been repaired. I went to the office and took it up with the mine manager, considering that I had given the Top boss plenty of time, and told him what had been given me as an excuse for not making the repairs. He was very frank and said, 'Hell! He's had a full force all the time. I'll see that he does it.'

Just then the Top boss walked into the office and the manager said, 'Bill, put a man on in the morning to fix those showers, and don't forget about it.'

-

Dec. 1. Dec. 1. Checks 20 and 172, buddies, claim seven hours each for piling rock yesterday, for which the boss said they were entitled only to four hours each. The mine examiner had taken their checks off the board yesterday, and when they went to get them, the mine manager told them to wait in their place until he came and looked it over to see what should be done. He came in at nine o'clock and after looking it over, told them to go ahead and clean it up. They say they put in the balance of the day, loading no coal and drilling no holes. Inquiry made of the driver corroborated their statement that they had loaded no coal. We went to the mine manager and learned that his reason for paying them only four hours each was that, according to the measurements of the fall, they should have been able to clean it up in that time. We reminded him that the contract provided for payment of such work by the hour and did not specify how much work should be done in any specified time. We told him that his remedy, under the contract, if he feared the men did not work fast enough, was to remain in the place or to put a representative in the place to see that the men did not shirk, or to send day men to clean the fall. Since he did not elect to do either, but had instructed these diggers to do the work, he was obligated to pay them for the time it took them.

While not trying to refute this argument, he continually talked about the number of cubic feet of rock the men piled, according to the measurements he had taken the day before. I told him that it was about time that the General Superintendent's idea of having rock piled by the cubic foot be tested out by sending a case up to the Joint Board, and that as far as I was concerned, I was willing to send this one up, as it was a clear-cut case where the men had done nothing else but pile rock for the

entire day. I told him that had I been in the men's place, I would have asked eight hours instead of seven, charging for the one hour they had waited for him to appear in the place; and as their claim was only for seven hours, we could ask for no more, but we intended to have that seven. I was determined that the case should go on up, but he seemed very reluctant and kept insisting that the committee go in and see the place and let him know that evening whether we believed the men had done the seven hours' work. We agreed to do that and went below to view the place.

When we got in, we found that the statement that the men had done no drilling the day before was true. We found also that there was a dip in the seam where they had shot the night previous to the fall, which had caused them to misjudge their shots and blow out the timbers - which had been hinted at by the boss, and from which I steered the conversation, for fear of complications in the settlement. Not having a tape-line or a rule, we first stepped the fall. Later we measured a scraper hand-over-hand, finding its length to be 10 feet, 4 inches, and in that way measured the fall. We found a number of discrepancies in the measurements as given us by the mine manager, the worst being in the thickness, he averaging it four inches while we found it nearer six.

After getting this information we decided that we probably could beat him at his own game measurements.

Stopping at the mouth of the room to eat a bite of lunch and confer before we went to our working-places, when the boss happened along, 'You are just the fellow we want,' we told him. 'We want you to use your tape-line, and then we think we can settle this case.'. We went into the place, measuring and remeasuring, figuring on the slabs of

rock with a piece of chalk, until finally we agreed on the number of square feet. Then I asked, 'Now, how thick is it?' We measured here and there, half a dozen places, and finally agreed to call it 6 inches. I refrained from multiplying the feet into cubic feet, and allowed the mine manager to do this, knowing from previous experience that instead of multiplying it by .5 feet, he would multiply it by .6 feet, in his ignorance of mathematics, thinking that would give him the correct number of cubic feet. Mentally I had already computed the results, knowing that this would make the desired number of cubic feet for which he would give each man seven hours.

After he had figured it, he looked at me and grinned. 'I guess you'd better get those 4-hour slips off these men and make them out new ones for 7 hours each,' I remarked.

He hesitated a moment and then said, 'It's a little scant, but I'll do it.'

While he was making out the slips, one of the diggers said, 'I was after the track-layer this morning to throw our track over as you told us yesterday, but he says he can't come until to-morrow. The way the gob is piled here, we can't get our car in unless the track is thrown over. What shall we do about that?'

The boss laughingly said, 'Dig out a little on the end of each tie and throw it over. I am paying a little more on this rock than you're entitled to, so that will even it up some.'

The digger, being a little soft, took it seriously and did not answer. The boss continued: 'Well, what do you think about it?' The digger stammered, ‘I — I don't know.'

'You don't?' I exploded; and then on second thought, continued, 'Well, damn it, I won't interfere,' vexed as I was at the man's denseness and ignorance of the contract. Then, thinking again, the poor devil needs a little help,

I said: 'Huck, listen to me. If the boss tells you to do anything, you do it. He's the boss. If he comes in here and tells you to throw your shovel in the gob, and load coal with your hands, you do as he tells you, and if at the end of the day you think you have not made enough money because of his instructions, ask him for additional pay, and if you can't settle it with him, bring your complaint to us.'

The man looked at me rather queerly after this lecture and I think he got the point, for he said: 'All right we'll throw it over.' I presume he was paid for it, because I heard no more from him.

[ocr errors][merged small]
[ocr errors]

...

Dec. 17. Checks 163 and 80 have fallen out again. Check 80 came to me this morning and said: 'My buddy is back again this morning. He has been off three days. I am through with him. I won't work with him any longer.'

I explained to him that that was a matter outside the jurisdiction of the Pit Committee and that he must take his complaint to the mine manager.

He appeared in the office to make his complaint while we were there taking up other matters. He told the boss what he had told me. The boss looked at me and asked, 'What shall we do. about these two?' I said that he came to me with his story and I told him

we had no jurisdiction and that he must come to the boss.

'Well,' the boss said, 'I can discharge him. He's been off three days.'

I said, 'Andy came to me this morning and told me he had been off, sick, and wanted to know if it was necessary to go to you and explain matters. I told him as long as his life check was on the board, to grab it and go on down, and not hunt trouble. You can't discharge a man who's been off sick.'

We all recognized the peculiar situation of these two men. The boss remarked, 'I'd settle this case by putting Andy off in a place by himself, but he is not capable of taking care of himself. We'll have to try to work out something to get them to work together.'

to

I suggested that he tell Frenchy to go on down and work to-day and we would discuss the matter later. We finally settled it by Bad-Eye and I agreeingwe both working in the same pair of entries with Andy and Frenchy go into their place and give them a good talking to, which we did. When we got in their place, we found Frenchy loading a car which he was just finishing, and Andy drilling a hole. Bad feeling was in the air, which would result in loss of wages to both of them if allowed to continue.

After greeting them, we all sat down at my invitation and I proceeded to talk to them. I told them both that they were not buddies from choice, that they did not work in this particular place through choice, nor in this particular mine through choice; that they both had applied for work because they needed to make a living; that the boss had designated the place and their buddy, and in order to make a living with the least effort, it was necessary for them to agree, at least while they were at work. I told them that, as far as we were concerned, they need never speak to each other outside their work

ing-place, but in the interest of them both they must coöperate and work together during working-hours.

Frenchy complained that Andy had a habit of leaving the place early, a half hour or so, leaving him to do necessary work that both of them should do. Andy complained that Frenchy would give him no advice or assistance in placing shots, causing sometimes useless labor on his part. We told Andy that it was his business to stay in the place and work as long as there was work for the two of them to do, and that he did wrong when he left the work for his buddy to do. We told the Frenchman that it was to his interest to see that Andy's shots did as well as his own, as in double work, such as obtains in this mine, it would necessitate Andy's loading some of the other's coal if his shots made none. We impressed upon them that we have enough trouble with the company without settling disputes among the men themselves, and that they must get along with each other. They promised to do their best, each saying that he would do his part if the other would. I will try and get over into their place occasionally when I have time, and try and keep them together.

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

Whether by accident or design, he put one sentence into the telegram that gave us a good argument to use on the drivers to have them continue at work. 'You may rest assured that the miners' organization will enforce decision that has been made.' We got the drivers together in the washhouse and read them the telegram. Some were in their workclothes and others had not yet changed. There was a division of opinion among them. Some of them are not in favor of wildcatting either to-day or Monday, but are willing to await the slow process of settlement, having had their fingers burnt in such matters before. Others said, 'Hell! That don't give us any assurance that we'll have a settlement by Monday. We'd just as well strike now.' I told them that if they wildcatted, they would have not only the company to fight, but our own organization, it being the organization's policy to delay the adjudication of any pending dispute as long as men were on illegal strikes to force matters.

While in the midst of this earnest talk with the drivers, with their minds flickering backward and forth, work or no work, the asst. manager stepped into the washhouse.

[ocr errors]

'What the hell's the matter — ain't there no work to-day?' he blurted out. 'Of course,' I quickly replied. 'Are n't the men going down?' 'Yes, but they can't work without these drivers.'

'Never mind,' I said, 'you go on down; they'll come.'

I saw the drivers bristle up the minute he stepped in, and I thought for a moment he had ruined by his bonehead action the effect of all my argument, but it seems that my assurance to him that they were going down was just the thing I should have said, because those that were dressed for work immediately went over to the shaft and the others went to change clothes. One who was

« ElőzőTovább »