UNION TO SELL MEAT.

Press, Volume L, Issue 14919, 18 March 1914, Page 2

UNION TO SELL MEAT.

$ AUCKLAND WATERSIDERS* SCHEME.

(srECI.VL TO "THE rRESS.") AUCKLAND. March 17. Should trade unionists foster the principle of co-operative purchase? This question has been raised and answered in the affirmative by tho Auckland Waterside Workers' Union", which has in hand a scheme for supplying its own members and those attached to arbitration unions throughout the oity with meat at cost price. Already the experiment is being made on a small scale, and on Saturday a special meeting of the union will be held for the purpose of considering a larger scheme, said to be placed on a proper business basis. An official of the union states that this is the first attempt by a Now Zealand trade union to adopt tho co-opera-tire purchaso principle. The idea, he told a "Star", reporter to-day, was to provide working men with one of tho principal food commodities at much cheaper rates than at present prevailing. Just now the idea was being tried on a small scale, and members of the union were purchasing meat direct from the freezing chambers. The result was that they were obtaining lamb at fourpence a pound, and mutton at threepence halfpenny, practically one half of the current prices in Auckland. Last Saturday 17!J51b was distributed in this way to the members, and the previous- week even more was sold, the method of procedure being for members to buy the carcases direct, and for the union to supply men to cut them up for division among the purchasers. He claimed that not only was the scheme valuable to the members of the union, but that it was calculated to foster the principle of arbitration. Speaking of the larger scheme the union has in view, the official said that a depot would probably be provided for distributing the meat, and members of all arbitration unions would be invited to become members of the Co-operative Buyers' Association. The enterprise, however, appears to leave the local butchers cold. "A mere flash in the pan." was the description applied to it oy one well-known tradesman, who stated that the Anion members were at present buying the best meat. If they attempted to establish a depot, he said, they would soon find that they could sell no cheaper than the Auckland butchers, and would have to conform to tho by-laws regulating the sale of meat. He did not think that the sanitary authorities would for very long tolerate the conditions under which the carcases were being cut up. and Auckland butchers need not be troubled about the scheme yet.