MONTANA. Billings.-H. W. Nelson: Labor conditions fair here. Employment has been unsteady during winter months. Theatrical stage employes are organizing. Great Falls.-H. A. Frentz: Condition of organized labor excellent. Work in building trades has been slack. Carpenters are now considering a demand for increase in wages. Clerks are working to secure early closing. Every trade here is organized, with exception of the street railway men. Our union label league is in splendid shape and doing good work. Miles City.-C. F. Harter: Work is fairly steady in most organized trades. The organized workers here have now started a weekly labor paper. Trades and labor council will hold an open meeting for the purpose of organizing a union label league. NEW JERSEY. New Brunswick.-Walter Reynolds: Work is steady in all lines. Hours and wages of union men are up to the standard here. Phillipsburg.-Joseph Stevenson: There are but few organized workers here as yet. We have two local unions organized, painters and carpenters. Painters who organized a year ago have reduced hours from nine to eight and increased wages from $2.25 to $2.50. They now have a demand for $3 per day. NEW YORK. Gloversville.-Chauncey Thayer: Organized trades in good shape and steadily employed. Glove cutters in some shops resisted wage reduction, but in others they returned to work at the old rate. Hope to report a central body shortly. Hudson.-Alburtis Nooney: Unions here are holding their own and obtaining standard wage scales. Organized labor in splendid shape. Street-car men of this city are asking for increased pay and have prospects of securing same without much trouble. Newburgh.-John Rothery: All unions in good shape. Clerks' union has secured agreement by which they get Friday afternoon off during July and August. They have a good strong organization here. Plumbers are asking increased wages and the matter is being arbitrated. Prospects favorable for the men. All building trades have been slack as regards employment, but prospects are bright for a good season next summer. Dayton.-W. O. Chase: All building trades busy and increasing in membership. Wages of organized workers are higher than the wages of the unorganized. Portsmouth.-N. L. Russell: All union men working. Building trades busy. A number of working agreements will be renewed during the month, but we do not look for any trouble. Railroad shopmen secured new agreements without trouble. We have an ordinance before the city council providing for a building and scaffold inspector for the protection of workmen. Wages of organized workers range from $3 to $3.40 per day of nine hours, while the unorganized work ten to twelve hours for $1.50 to $2 per day. Horseshoers organized during the month. Retail clerks and plumbers are organizing, with bright prospects for large membership. Springfield.-C. W. Rich: Organized labor has been making good strides. A building trades council has been formed, a woman's label league has been organized, a union label department is under way, and better wages have been secured for a number of trades. The union men are holding their own, but unorganized workers have had several cuts in wages. Paperhangers' union secured good increase in wages without strike. An active campaign is on for the union labels. OKLAHOMA. Ardmore.-D. N. Ferguson: Organized labor was never in better shape. Business in all lines is quiet at this writing. Unorganized workers accept whatever is offered them just in order to get the work. Have prospects of a number of new unions. Chickasha.-A. W. Bennett: Organized labor in good shape. There are comparatively few unorganized workers in the city. Cab drivers went on strike against a cut in wages. The strike lasted twenty-four hours, at the end of which time the employers capitulated and the men returned to work. An ordinance recently passed increases the wages of municipal employes. Haileyville.-G. W. Lindsay: Miners here are well organized. Expect to organize a union of cement workers shortly. Oklahoma City.-G. E. Warren and C. E. Connally: Condition of organized labor throughout the State is as good as could be expected, considering the general depression. Unorganized workers are in deplorable shape, there being a large number of them out of employment. Condition of the union workers is a hundred per cent better. The Labor Department of the State has been enjoined by the Federal District Court from enforcing the law compelling merchants to have all prison-made goods bear a label stating that they are convict made. The Commissioner of Labor will appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court. The District Judge based his opinion on the case upon interference with interstate commerce. Shawnee.-Samuel Atkins: About 99 per cent of labor here is organized and conditions are good. Two unions have signed agreement for the year without trouble. Butcher workers here have joined a federal union. Have one new union under way. PENNSYLVANIA. Allentown.-Chas. M. Rehrig: Inside employments have been steady, but trades employed out of doors have been uncertain on ac count of the weather. The new building of a local brewery is being erected under union conditions. Printers' union committee visits all local unions, booming their union label. Carbondale-C. J. Rechsteiner: Coal mines and railroad shops have been working full time, but building trades have been slack as regards employment during winter. As result of three days' strike, the musicians employed in moving picture shows gained increase in wages from $10 to $15 per week. The present wage scale is $15 per week. TEXAS. Brownwood.-C. A. Perkins: Work is steady, except in the building industries, and for unskilled laborers. Electrical workers and blacksmiths are likely to form unions shortly. There is constant demand for all union labels. Corsicana.-C. F. Barnes: Organized labor in good shape. All organized trades working full time and at fair wages. We have the eight-hour workday in all organized trades in this city. Sheet metal workers organized since my last report. Hope to report the laundry workers organized shortly.. Fort Worth.-C. W. Woodman: Organized labor in better condition than the unorganized, but work is uncertain in all lines. Plumbers obtained 50 cents per day increase for this year and another 50 cents increase for next year. This was obtained without strike. We are working for adoption of the initiative and referendum and recall on primary ballot in July. Palestine.-Edward M. Ware: Union men have better conditions than the unorganized. Carmen on one of the railroads obtained new contract with better working conditions. Employment is steady here. Paris.-J. J. Cunningham: Stage employes organized during the month. Organized trades in good shape and fairly steadily employed. WASHINGTON. Centralia.-J. W. Leftwich: The severe weather has caused a number of in dustries uncertain state of employment. Organized workers have the better of it as regards working conditions, in comparison with unorganized trades. Bartenders organized a short time ago. Carpenters, barbers, glove workers, and painters are about to organize. Spokane.-Wm. J. Coates: State of employment poor here. The city is overrun with unemployed, unskilled labor, with no prospects of work in sight. Considerable municipal work is being done by day labor, members of the federal labor union, at $3 per day of eight hours. Messengers organized union during the month. The work in connection with the proposed new Labor Temple is making steady progress, and the stock is selling rapidly. Tacoma.-Charles Perry Taylor: Most trades well organized, with exception of the building industries. Union men secure better conditions and wages than the unorganized. A trades council is being formed at Ellensburg. At the next county fair we will have exhibits of union label booths, in order to better advertise the union labels of the various trades. WEST VIRGINIA. Huntington.-G. T. Prout: The typographical union of this city is now a 100 per cent organization. Every printing shop in the city employs union-card men, and their label is constantly demanded. Organized labor in good shape. Work is comparatively steady. Flint glass workers have obtained 2 cents per hour increase through strike in the past two years. Furniture workers are organizing. A plumbing ordinance was recently passed by the city council. Central body here is doing good work booming the union labels. Mammoth.-C. N. Pickering: There have been several new unions organized since my last report. Have two new unions under way in this immediate vicinity. We look for considerable increase in membership in the near future. WISCONSIN. Sheboygan.-C. Schermeister: All building trades are preparing for new agreements and hope to secure the same amicably the first of May. Condition of organized labor fair, considering the severe winter just passed through. State Federation of Labor meets in convention here during July. Condition of organized trades fair. Continued agitation for the union labels. The above is summary of reports for the month from the following organizers: Illinois: R. Bohrman, Carlinville. John F. O'Flaherty, East St. Louis. Joseph W. Rizzie, Staunton. Geo. King, Taylorville. Indiana: J. O. Mick, Goshen. Kansas: G. O. Norris, Blue Rapids. H. J. Mohler, Coffeyville. Kentucky: Wm. Doss, Central City. Maryland: W. E. Cleverstone, Hagerstown. Maine: Joseph H. De Costa, Portland. Massachusetts: John J. Gallagher, Readville. Missouri: D. S. Martin, Moberly. Montana: John W. Davis. Bozeman. W. J. Marble, Oneonta. Geo. H. Allcorn, East Palestine. Frank Smurthwaite, Wellsville. Oklahoma: Geo. McConnell, Bartlesville. Pennsylvania: D. S. Smith, Akron. F. A. Burdick, Forest City. Frank Buerger, Latrobe. Grant Heilman, Lebanon. M. W. Forester, Monongahela. Tennessee: C. W. Merker, Memphis. Texas: R. S. Greer, Beaumont. Vermont: Denis Dineen, St. Albans. Virginia: James Brown, Richmond. Washington: R. E Eastman, Olympia. Canada: James Carty, St. Catherines, Ont. CANADA. Cranbrook, B. C.-E. H. Reed: DOMINION NOTES. A trades council has been formed here and promises to be fruitful of much good work in the labor movement of this city. Retail clerks have organized, and hope to report a union of teamsters next month. Edmonton, Alberta.—Mark C. Rogers: Organized workmen are asked for in preference to unorganized by most employers here. The majority of the most skilled mechanics are organized. Work is steady. Building trades have had the best winter in many years. Hotel and restaurant workers are enjoying a raise in wages. The new municipal voters' franchise has passed, allowing all over 21 years of age to vote. I organized a union of hotel and restaurant employes in Calgary during the month. Have unions of butchers and drivers under way. Galt, Ont.-J. W. Burgess: Condition of organized labor improving. Work is steady. Carpenters, bricklayers, and masons are asking increased wages. Electric railway men have organized since last report. Have several other trades in line, and hope to report them organized shortly. Guelph, Ont.-W. B. Parker: Work is steady considering the season of the year. Union men are far in advance of unorganized workers, as regards wages and hours. Stove mounters are likely to organize. Dominion Labor Congress will meet in this city in September. Lethbridge, Alberta.-J. M. Ritchie: The winter has been very dull, but conditions will improve with the advent of spring and building season. Unorganized labor in deplorable shape. Wages in the unskilled unorganized lines are lower than for years past. We hope to secure a wage scale in all city contracts, and if possible to have the union scale. A federal union was organized during the month. Have unions of tailors and bakers under way. Ottawa, Ont.-Wm. Lodge: Bookbinders, blacksmiths and helpers, and boilermakers and helpers have organized during the month. Have a union of stationery firemen under way. Port Arthur.-Andrew Boyd: Labor conditions fair here; better than last year. The month has been quiet in all departments on account of the close of navigation at this season. Coal handlers expect to obtain wage increase of 21⁄2 cents per hour next winter. This was promised by the management after an interview with them. Laborers of Fort William and longshoremen of Port Arthur are organizing. Sydney, N. S.-J. R. Martin: The unions are in good shape, having held their membership, and in many instances making good gain in membership. The organized trades here comprise carpenters, brick layers, molders, painters, plumbers, street-car men, and blacksmiths. Three labor men are in the field for the municipal election and have good prospects of election. Winnipeg. Manitoba.-W. J. Bartlett: Conditions are fair and employment steady. Horseshoers and asbestos and insulator workers have organized recently. Laundry workers are organizing. PORTO RICO. San Juan.-E. Sanchez Lopez and Rivera Martinez: Condition of organized labor good, but it could still be much better. Condition of unorganized labor is very poor. Work is uncertain and many workers are moving from place to place, seeking work. The Federacion Libre of Porto Rico is persistently working and maintains the general propaganda work in this city and in other towns throughout the island. Cigarmakers' union is the foremost organization in the work of promoting the union labels. We have a union of teamsters under way in this city. SANITARY STANDARDS. The following list of sanitary rules for factories deserves a general publicity, as it serves as a model for other trades than that for which it was designed. It represents needs which became plain after the investigation of 1,243 shops in the cloakmaking industry in New York. It was therefore accepted by the Joint Board of Sanitary Control of the Cloak Manufacturers' Association and the Cloakmakers' Union, the board being composed of seven members, two of whom were manufacturers, two union members, and three representing the public. 1. No shop to be allowed in a cellar. 2. No shop to be allowed in rear houses or attic floors without special permission of the board. 3. Shops located in buildings two stories or more in height must have one or more fire escapes. 4. All fire-escapes to be provided with ladders to the roof of same house or to an adjoining house; also with full length drop ladders properly located and adjusted. 5. In all shops which are not provided with automatic sprinklers, there should be kept a sufficient number of chemical extinguishers, or a sufficient number of fire buckets, properly located and filled. 6. Special caretakers to be appointed in each shop for the care of the fire buckets, and for their use in case of fire. 7. All openings and exits to fire escapes to be left unobstructed by tables, machines, boxes, partitions, and iron bars. 8. No doors to be locked during working hours. 9 No smoking to be permitted in workshop. 10. Conspicuous signs to be placed throughout the shop, marking location and direction of exits and fire-escapes. 11. Fire-proof receptacles, lined with tin, and having a tin cover, to be provided, in sufficient numbers, for rubbish. 12 Halls and stairways leading from shops to be adequately lighted by natural or artificial light. 13. Stairs to be provided with secure handrails and safe treads. 14. Sufficient window space to be provided for each shop, so that all parts of the shop be well lighted during the hours from 9 a. m. to 4 p. m. 15. Where gas illumination is used, arc lights or incandescent mantles should be used. 16. All lights to be well shaded, to be placed above operatives, and not too near them. 17. At least 400 cubic feet of space, exclusive of bulky furniture and materials, should be provided for every person within the shop. 18. The shop should be thoroughly aired before and after work hours, and during lunch hour, by opening windows and doors. 19. No coal should be used for direct heating of irons, and whenever stoves are used for heating shops, they should be surrounded by metal sheet at least five feet high. 20. Walls and ceilings of shops and water-closet apartments should be cleaned as often as necessary, and kept clean. 21. Floors of shops and of water-closet apartments to be scrubbed weekly, swept daily, and kept free of refuse. 22. A separate water-closet apartment shall be provided for each sex, with solid partitions to extend from floor to ceiling, and with separate vestibules and doors. 23. Water-closets to be adequately flushed and kept clean. 24. A special caretaker to be designated by the employer to take care of the shop and water closet apartments. 25. A sufficient number of water-supplied washbasins to be provided in convenient and light locations within the shop. 26. Suitable hangers should be provided for the street clothes of the employes, and separate dressing-rooms to be provided wherever women are working. 27. Water-closet apartments, dressing rooms, washrooms, and lunchrooms to be properly lighted, illuminated, ventilated, cleaned, and kept clean 28. All seats to have backs. AMERICAN FE Correspondents will please write on one side of the paper only, and address SAMUEL GOMPERS, Editor, Washington, D. C. All communications relating to finances and subscriptions should be addressed to FRANK MORRISON, Secretary, Washington, D. C. The publisher reserves the right to reject or revoke advertising contracts at any time. The editor will not be responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts. The American Federation of Labor is not sponsor for, nor interested in, any souvenir publication of any kind. Entered at Washington, D. C., post-office as secondclass matter. SUBSCRIPTION: Per Annum, 1. jan, '12, 35c; d f, 35c. Laborers prot 18149, tax, jan, '12, $2.50; df, $2.50.... Trades and labor assem, So Chicago, Ill. tax, jan, '12, to and incl dec, '12.. California state federation of labor, tax, feb, '12, to and incl jan, '13. Intl typograghical union, tax, jan, '12. Journeymen stonecutters assn of N A, tax, jan, '12.. Banders prot 14183, tax, dec, '11, 85c; df, 85c; sup, 24c.. Bottle cap, cork, and stopper workers 10875, tax, jan, '12, $15; d f, $15; sup, $1.50... Railroad machinists helpers 14116, tax, jan, '12, $2.40; d f. $2.40; sup, 50c. United trades and labor council of Dunkirk and vicinity, N Y, sup.... Suspendermakers 9560, sup. Federal labor 11345, tax, jan. 12, $1.95; df, $1.95; sup, 50c..... $0 70 5 00 10.00 10 00 860 54 42 10 194 31 50 530 1.00 16.00 4 40 225 1175 Federal labor 14198, tax, jan, '12, $1.25; df, $1.25; sup, $1.75.. 4 25 20 00 Central labor union, New Bedford, Mass, sup 1. 00 Executive Council, A. F. of L. JAMES DUNCAN, First Vice-President. ALLUD PRINTING TRADES ON COUNCIL 1 FW Yale, Saratoga Springs, N Y, sup. Bro of painters, decorators, and paperhangers of A. local 255, sup.. 60 1.00 Federal labor 13036, tax, oct, '11, $1.15; df, $1.15..... 230 Journeymen sailmakers 12751, sup 125 Central labor council, Santa Clara co, Cal, |