NEW BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL FORMED TO
FIGHT JOINT AGREEMENT
A new building trades council to
oppose the one ruled by Simon
O'Donnell was organized today. It
was organized by representatives of
unions which do not want to sign the
joint arbitration agreement. It will
be called the Union Building Trades
Council of Chicago and Vicinity.
Already ihe following union bodies
have signified intention to join: Lath
ers, sheet metal workers, painters,
machinists, electricians, glaziers, up
holsterers, finishers and fixture hang
ers. Union men are predicting that the
death knell of the present Building
Trades Council will soon be rung.
They say it is only a matter of time
until every organization now affiliat
ed with the O'Donnell council will
flop to the new one.
The new council will fight to the
last ditch against the proposed agree
ment, fight with every man lined
solidly on the issue. It will insist that
each union be permitted to sign such
agreements as it deems satisfactory,
with no dictation from the building
trades council. It would take all reg
ulation of such matters from local
council jurisdiction and place it with
the unions' international officers.
Organization was effected at a
meeting held in the office of the ma
chinists, 106 N. LaSalle. Charles
Frye, business agent of the machin
ists, was elected temporary president
The new council will start off with
a membership of 20,000 union build
ing workers. The painters alone
number more than 10,000-
It was reported today that Simon
O'Donnell was ill at his home and
there would therefore be no meeting
of the Chicago Building Trades Coun
cil tonight If the council met to
night it would either have to rule
some more unions out of the coun
cil or else back water.
The painters who struck on the
Lumberman's Exchange building yes
terday are not concealing that the
real reason for the strike was that
non-union lathers were being worked
in place of union men who were
locked out last week. This gives the
walkout the coloring of a "sympa
thetic" strike, to which the council
is so bitterly opposed. .
If the Chicago Building Trades
Council backs up its threats the
painters, machinists and sheet metal
workers would be ruled out of the
organization at once, say its oppo
nents. Really the best news that has yet
come into the office of the locked-out
lathers was the announcement today
of the electricians that they would
stand by the lathers to the finish, no
matter what was required. The Elec
trical Workers, 134, met at 500 N.
State last night and unanimously
voted to lend every possible assis
tance to the lathers. "Tell us what
hyou want us to do and we will show
I you how quick we can act," was the
message sent to lathers' headquar
ters. The action of the electricians
is another severe blow to the Build
ing Trades Council.
Union glazers quit work on six mi
nor jobs because nonunion lathers
were being employed. One of these
was 1529-39 E. 67th. The glaziers
have been loud in their opposition to
the tactics of the Building Trades
Council, especially since an attempt
was made to spoof them by having
the finishers do their work. The fin
ishers declined the proposition.
This is not the first time there has
been a schism in the building trades
body. The present council was the
result of a split with the old Associ
ated Bdilding Trades, , the former
finally driving the latter from exis
tence. That was about six years ago.
o o
Over $17,000 gathered by new
county tax substations during first
day of operaUonj
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