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~06506 Re: JOHN L. LEWIS, ET AL | b7e bp INTERVIEW WITH want to make any trouble with the management and they did a not pay any attention to the fact that the men working in contin U.M.W, mines got their raise in pay sdoner, because the men in P.M.A. knew they were going to get a raise anyway, This matter was discussed at a P,M.A, meeting and the men said they were satisfied to let the leaders of P.M.A. work it out with the management. The wage scale and all other matters concerning the contract had been decided botween the union and tho management, and the men were just waiting for the management ta sign the contract with P.M.A. "On May 11, 1924, a notice was posted by the P.M.A. on the bulletin board at the mine, advising that a special meeting was to be held that night at Progressive Hall, 6th and Washington Streets, Springfield, Ill. This mecting was well attended, all the chairs being taken. Some of the members had to stand. I think there were about 450 men there, Although the notice did not say what the meeting was to be about, I had been told that the moeting was to ascertain what the members ¢& the P.M.A. wanted to do about the le named men who worc agitating for the U.M.W. Just prior to this tims the company had stopped checking off dues for the P.M.A. for 12 men, The activities of the 12 men were well kmown to the P.M.A., and it was known that theso were the 12 men whose dues were not checked off by the company. The meeting was called to draft a petition to the management saying that these 12 men should be forced to rejoin the P.M.A. or else be discharged from Mine B,. The refcrendun vote on the petition resulted in a vote of all the men present for the petition. I believe that seven of the 12 men later agreed to rejoin the P.M.A. and thoir names were deleted from the petition. None of the 12 men was present at this meeting, although the notice was posted in the usual place and no restrictions were placed on the persons attending the meeting. I don't know how the seven men were advised of the action taken at this mecting,. "The next morning, upon arriving at Mino B, the petition was presented to Falcetti, and he was told that the remaining five men either hag to rejoin the P.M.A. or be discharged from Mine B, because the P.M.A. men refused to work with two unions in the mine. Falcetti said that he would not fire the men, and that from that time on no dues for the P.M.A,. would be checked off from the salaries of any of the men. When the minagement refused to fire the 5 men, the P.M.A. mombers began loading the cars short. This action had been docided upon at the meeting the night before and it was further decided at that meeting that if the loading of the cars short did not influence the management, the men would strike. The strike was called after the management refused to fire theso five men. "As far as I know this wos the only reason for the strike. Nothing concerning the woge cispute had been mentioned, and I don't believe it had anything to do with the strike. ‘We bogan to picket the mine because we did - 248 » Fe me ee a ee mee ee