STRIKERS SEEK AID
OF TUGBOAT MEN
Marine Engineers Will Ask
Owners if Union Contract
Is Not Violated.
CREWS LOATH TO QUIT
500 Harbor Craft and 3,000
Men Would Be Affected
by Proposed Walkout.
LONG FIGHT PREDICTED
Frotest Made to Hoover
Against Hiring of Green En
gineers.
The next move In the attempt of the
marine workers to make their strike
mora effective by gaining- the support
of the tugboat engineers and crews
will be made at 10 o'clock this morn
ing, when union leaders will go to the
New York Towboat Exchange, 11
Broadway, and ask the owners to call
a meeting of the arbitration commit
tee to decide whether the men ehould
be required under their contracts to
handle "unfair" shipping.
The arbitration committee will be
asked to permit the men "not to dock,
undock, transport, supply steam or in
any way aid in the operation of unfair
steamships." Union officials said they
doubted If the tugboat owners would
agree to that demand. In the event of
the expected refusal. It was announced,
"the men will know what to do." They
will not strike, but they will be or
dered to "resign" rather than aid In
the clearance of "unfair" ships.
Events of the last week have shown
that the tugboat men do not take kindly
to breaking their contracts, which run
until January 1 of next year. There Is
a clause ln'the contracts, however, which I
provider for arbitration of certain dlf- j
fcrences, and it Is to this clause that the I
strikers have pinned their hopea The j
committee which will call upon the tug- j
boat owners this morning is made up J
of Thomas B. Healey, Edward Snyder |
and Thomas Sheehan.
Fear I.ower Wage Scale.
