Street Railway Strike (Part 5) - 1892

At precisely 12 o’clock, noon, on Thursday September 8, 1892, through the influence of Mr. George E. Tuckett, one of the directors of the Hamilton Street Railway Company, a conference was held at the company’s main office. Those present for the meeting included the directors of the company and a deputation from the discharged employees. The meeting, which lasted over half an hour, ended unsatisfactorily for the discharged employees.

          The new time-table was gone over in some detail and was pronounced by both sides as being as equitable as it practically could be. With regard to the employees’ association, the discharged men denied emphatically that there was any purpose to the organization other than for mutual assistance in case of sickness. The men did admit that those who joined the association were obliged to agree to stand by one another in case of trouble.

          Mr. Tuckett suggested that the men who organized the association should have been consulted the directors of the company beforehand:

          “ ‘Would Mr. Charlton attend a meeting of the association?’ Mr. Sharpe asked.

          “ ‘If I had been invited to attend the meeting for organizing this association, I would have been pleased to do so,’ said Mr. Charlton, ‘and I have no doubt that Mr. Griffin would have attended also; but, in view of the events which have been caused by this association, I would not have attended a meeting now, and am certain that Mr. Griffith would not either.’

          “ ‘Mr. O’Heir asked whether the men who had been discharged would be reinstated.

          “ ‘No,,’ Mr. Charlton replied, ‘not the men who have been discharged. There are only five or six of them. These men we have reason to know have been active in organizing opposition to the company, and we don’t want that class of men in our service.’

          “ ‘Will the men who left their cars yesterday be reinstated?’

          “ Mr. Charlton said that those men who were known to have been ringleaders in this movement would not be taken back in any event. As for the others he would not say.

          “Mr. Martin thought the conduct of those men who left their cars yesterday without consideration for the public traffic and the interest of the company was most reprehensible.

          “It was declared by all the employees present that this movement on the part of the men was not authorized, and was the outcome of a sudden impulse of sympathy and indignation when it was learned that those who had been sent to confer with the company’s officers were discharged without a hearing.

          “ ‘ We will tie up all our cars, and keep them tied up, rather than submit to dictation from our men as to how we should manage our business,’ said Mr. Charlton.”¹

¹  “A New Time-Table in Force : Easier for the Motormen and Conductors”

Hamilton Spectator. September 8, 1892.

After 3 p.m., Thursday, September 8, 1892, the deputation of Alderman A. D. Stewart and Rev. Dr. Burns went to the Street Railway Company’s offices to discuss the situation. President Charlton and Manager Griffith received the men appointed at the Gore Park mass meeting to represent the employees’ position.

Rev. Dr. Burns began by stating that he felt that there had been a serious misunderstanding between the company and the men. He felt that fifteen hour working days were far too much for the men, and he could not understand why it was necessary for the men to have to work fifteen hours a day for two days and four hours the third day. Alderman Stewart felt the men’s schedules should be equalized. He also stated that there was a serious misunderstanding over the nature of the employees’ association. The employees denied that they had organized for the purpose of striking and requested that the discharged men be reinstated :

“ ‘Neither of us,’ Alderman Stewart said, ‘came here to ask you to recede from a position you take if it is the right one, and we don’t want you to eat humble pie”²

² The Street Car Difficulty : A Satisfactory Settlement Arranged For” Hamilton Spectator. September 9, 1892.

President Charlton explained that the new schedule which, had just been drawn up, would go a long way to satisfy the men’s demands :

“It gave them the proper time off for meals. They had been considering the new schedule for some time, and some of the men, at least, were aware of this. He understood that the matter was referred to at the men’s meeting on Monday, so that the men could not say they acted in ignorance of the company’s action.”²

²  “Strikers May Go Back : The Street Car Troubles Nearing an End Now” Hamilton Herald .September 9, 1892.

As for the issue of reinstating the discharged employees, President Charlton absolutely refused to reconsider the company’s position.  President Charlton also would not countenance the existence of an employees’ association:

“The continuation of such an organization is not necessary. If the men want sick benefits, there are so many channels outside open for them to join and receive all the benefits they want. We cannot help viewing the organization as an undesirable thing – a menace to our interests. It can be made use of by designing people to do much harm to both the men and ourselves. Had I known of the proposition to start an organization, I would have advised against it. We want to have perfect confidence in the men. We Cannot, and will not, allow the men to share in the management.

“I understand one of the objects of the organization is to insist on our reasons for dismissing the men being made known. We will not do this. It must be one man for one job. A conductor must be a conductor and a motorman a motorman, but they must not take a hand with the management.  We will not countenance organization among the men.”²

President Charlton was firm in stating that the ringleaders of the organization would not be reinstated, but that the other men who had left their cars could be taken back if they made representations to the company on an individual basis.

Alderman Stewart and Rev. Dr. Burns promised to report back to the men, but stated to President Charlton that they found the conference to be most unsatisfactory.