Hitch in Negotiations Keeping Men Off Work, Sept. 19, 1922

Shopmen Confer With B. M’Bride on Settlement. . . Hitch in Negotiations on Return of Spencer Shopmen to Work This Afternoon

The return to work of the 1,700 striking shop crafts men at Spencer at once hinges on the result of a conference this afternoon between B. McBride, master mechanic at Spencer, and officials of the shop crafts. The conference began at 1:30 this afternoon and up until 2:30 no arrangement had been made regarding the exact time the men will return to work in accordance with the Warfield-Willard-Jewell agreement signed in Washington last night.

Meetings were also held this morning but some “hitch” developed and none of the men have returned to work. A similar “hitch” occurred in negotiations at Charlotte. At several points the men have gone back to work.

The exact nature of the “hitch” could not be learned. However, both sides were hopeful of a settlement as they went into conference this afternoon at Spencer at 1:30. The foremen returned to work this morning but none of the shopmen have gone back to work yet, it was learned from the master mechanics office about noon today. The shopmen, it is understood, are holding a meeting to determine their action in regards to returning to work.

The men are to be taken back by Mr. McBride, master mechanic, as fast as it can be done without confusion, according to messages sent out by Southern officials in Washington. The men also received their official instructions from union chiefs last night.

The men are to go back to work under the terms of the agreement reached in Chicago Thursday with their seniority rights unimpaired.

The new men hired during the strike are not be discharged if competent, but all men who struck are to be taken ack at work, and the situation brought about by more men than needed is expected to “work itself out: within the next few days.

The Southern made no attempt to organize new unions during the strike, and many of the men hired, according to Washington dispatches, were hired for an uncertain duration. The general opinion about Salisbury and Spencer is that many of them will return to their original homes within a short time. The men who struck are all expected to be back at work within 30 days. The only ones on the entire Southern system not likely to return are those convicted of violence. None of the shopmen at Spencer have been convicted, and none are charged as far as can be learned.

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From the front page of the Salisbury Evening Post, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 1922