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Show PIECE WORK' CAUSES A PROTEST TWENTY-FIVE CAR REPAIRERS QUIT THE S. P. SHOPS. Men Claim They Cannot Make Wgg Under the Now Conditions Why They Object to System. The piece work system recently adopted by the Southern Pacific company com-pany in tho Ogden car repairing department de-partment is not proving satisfactory to employes, who say they are unable un-able to make the wages they should owing to tho fact that too much tinio is required to assemble repair material ma-terial for uee and the time thus used up Is their loss. Under the old system car repairers were paid from twenty to twenty-four cents per hour, according to their competency,, and they worked nine hours per day. This brought theso men from $1.S0 to $2.16 per day. Under Un-der the piece system the men claim they fall below this wage fully 25 per cent. Ab a result, about twenty-five twenty-five car repairers have quit during the last few days and others are likely like-ly to follow in the immediate future, unless the system is changed and the car repairers given a certain guaran tee. In conversation wltn a reporter, one of the car repairers gald: "The piece system would be satisfactory', satis-factory', perhaps, if the material needed need-ed in repairing cars was placed within with-in the immediate reach ot the men, or if the cars which need repairs were all assembled at one place, but this is not done and. aa a result, tho bad order cars are scattered over a wide area; and repairers have to chase here, there' and everywhere' In order to get material for use and then tramp back to the car to vhich they have been assigned.' " 'As a result" 6f this condition, more time is lost in chasing for material than is spent in actual car work. The men are required re-quired to work in tho water, mud mri rold and no nrotection Is given during the most inclement weather. In the opinion of car repairers the piece system is a decisive lallure, eo far, and if it is continued any lenrth of time there will be a heavy shortage in ono of the most important departments depart-ments in the Ogden shop plant "It la understood the Union Pacific has the piece system rn operation at Cheyenne, but the men are guaranteed guaran-teed regular wages, and, if this mottled mottl-ed was adopted at Ogcen tho result would be satisfactory . to the car repairer. re-pairer. "Of course, the system was Introduced Intro-duced here simply as an experiment, only a part of the force being put on piece work, but everything indicates now that the old method will be resumed re-sumed in the near future, and in that case there will probably be little trouble trou-ble in securing competent repairers and retaining them." |