Show LABOR AND industrial two strong tendencies in we tb e world of labor marked tile tho year inthe in the united states one was ans toward a reduction of wages as a part of the return to normalcy and the other was town toward rd tins the establishment of df the open shop naturally both were contested by organized labor not wholly successfully tte the hallwa railway e executives took the lie lead in both amov movements but had many fol lowers in january rythe the national conference of state manufacturers associations cia ciati tiomi ons pledged support for the open shop move on the last day of that month the railway executives asked that the national working agreements be abrogated the railroad brotherhoods brothe appealed to president wilson to prevent wage reductions but he refused to interfere ry by order of the railway labor board sonae some of the working agreements were terminated tid on july I 1 and a wage cut averaging 12 per cent was put into effect the railways later announced they would ask aek further wage age exits cuts the membership of the brotherhoods brothe decided by vote that a strike should be called on october SO 30 but nine allied unions refused to support such a strike and on announcement no by the board that it would not consider wage cut requests until all working rule questions had been decided the strike order was wa canceled on december I 1 the board reconstituted the working rules so that tile the open shop principle was recognized in the packing industry there was a wage reduction in march and a strike was narrowly averted in september the large packing plants installed the shop representation system and in november under this plan the employees consented to a further reduction of 10 per cent the meat cutters repudiated this and called a strike on dec 5 there many minor strikes most of them short lived samuel gompers was reelected elected re president of the american federation of labor which held its convention in denver in june great britaina Brit ains coal miners went on strike on march 1 and for nearly four months the nations industries were mere near collapse the rail and transport workers refused to go out and the government would not yield to the file demands that the mines be nationalized so the miners returned to work on june 28 without having gained much |