Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-09-04 | Page 7 | Industrial Board is Probing Abuses

IKTlBOl ! IS PHOBIC ABUSES) i - i Investigating Complaints ofj ! Injustices to Workmen in Industrial Plants. Almost daily uncoverfng phases of the i labor situation which never before have 1 come to the surface, and Injustices which in the past have gone unremedied, the state industrial commission 3s fast widen -! ing the scope of its activities, i During the past two months the attention atten-tion of the commission has been directed to numerous instances where employers have intentionally defrauded employees by refusing to pay them upon discharge. Injuslice to employees has been flagrant on the part of "wildcat" mining companies, com-panies, which, through the employment agencies, engage men to work In tunnel, crosscut and drift for a week or more, and sometimes a month, with no intention whatever, says Mr. Knerr of the industrial indus-trial commission, of paying them, and when asked for money try to induce the men to accept worthless mining stock in lieu of wages, or flatly refuse to pay and order the men off the place. There does not appear to be any law, says Mi. Knerr, to reach this class of impostors on honest labor. In some Instances It has come to the attention of Mr. Knerr where, upon accepting ac-cepting employment, the employee has been required to sign an agreement that, in the event he is discharged for cause, he shall forfeit a week's pay or any portion por-tion of a week's pay tha may be coming to him. "This clas? of defrauders of labor." said Mr. Knerr. "find little difficulty in producing pro-ducing a cause for discharge, and the man is discharged. The employer is the gainer. At the present time there Is no law by which this defrauder can be reached." An instance of the latter came to the attention of Mr. Knerr a few days ago. A man who had been working for a manufacturing manu-facturing concern which has branch offices of-fices and works in many parts of' the country appealed to Mr. knerr to aid him in recovering ?3.75 for one day's pay. The man had been discharged because he failed to report for work one morning, but as a matter of fact the man was suffering from an abscess under his arm, but had not reported It and had remained at home. When he asked for his "time" he was refused. The workman took the matter up with Mr. Knerr and the latter called upon the employing company for an explanation. ex-planation. An elaborate reply came back in the form of a letter, advising Mr. Knerr that the man had not fulfilled his part of the contract by failing to report his inability to work and must pay the pen- i ally. In this Instance the man was suffering suf-fering for actual necessities of life, and Mr. Knerr gave him, from his own pocket, the day's wages that was due. The members of the industrial commission commis-sion are taking all of these matters under consideration, with a view to introducing a measure at the next session of the legislature leg-islature -which will correct many existing evils in the labor world.