The Press: The Unnecessary Strike

When 400 members of the Photo-Engravers' Union refused to submit their dispute with Manhattan newspaper publishers to arbitration four months ago, the engravers went on strike and 20,000 other newspaper employees refused to cross their picket lines. The eleven-day strike shut down Manhattan's dailies, cost the papers a total of more than $10 million in revenue and the employees more than $2,000.000 in wages. The engravers, among the highest-paid newspaper employees, finally agreed to go back to work and submit their differences (a $7.50 weekly wage increase v. $3.75 offered by the publishers) to a three-man fact-finding committee. Last week the fact finders announced their verdict (with the union member dissenting) : a $3.75 weekly package increase, i.e., just what the publishers originally offered before the strike took place. This week the engravers accepted the "distasteful bitter pill" by a vote of 209 to 76.