The Shingle Weavers Take a Stand

The following open letter has been addressed to the Shingle Manufacturers' Association by E. W. DeKramm, president of West Coast Shingle Weavers' Union No. 10, in relation to the reduction in wages proposed by the manufacturers at their last meeting: To the Shingle Association—Dear Sirs: At your last meeting, held in Turner's Hall, Seattle, you decided to try and raise the price of shingles and lower the scale of wages established by the West Coast Shingle Weavers' Union. At last, the mill owners regard us as a body of power, strength, usefulness, and now the union will endeavor to help the association to advance the price of shingles. If the association will only prove loyal to one another and not undersell one another and join us in this battle for higher prices, we will try and shut every mill down for thirty days. It is very essential to union men that they earn a living. Many men, women and children are depending on us for their daily bread. Why is it that the shingle business is at a standstill? Because you have been selling at such low figures that there is not a cent of profit in it. You now propose to give a scale of wages that a union man cannot live at. The average run of the 100 mills is an average of not over five months out of the year. You take a shingle weaver, for example, at $2 per day and paying $5 per week for board. Please figure for yourselves, and see if there is anything very encouraging to a shingle weaver. A cut in our scale of wages is out of the question, as at least $10,000 is ready for us to fight with. Our motto is, live and let live.