THE LUMPERS' UNION. TO THE EDITOR.

Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 9, 10 July 1885, Page 3

THE LUMPERS' UNION. TO THE EDITOR.

Sib— ln your issue of this evening appears a local re the Lumpers' Union, which I,~as a lumper of this port, cannot pass without remark, as it says that the Union has determined to wrge on the employera the aoceptanco of the Union rules w to employment of non-sooiety men, or that it would bo an act of oruelty to prevent uon-sooiety men from earning an honest livelihood, oreato a monopoly, and drive good men. from the port. We did urge the employers to ocoept our rules, for the following reasons :— AH the shipping companies, with one exception, also the Btevedores, accepted the rules in question, with, as I have laid, the on« exception— the Union Steam Shipping Company. This company timploys a permanent staff of men, w ith whom wo do not interfere, supplemented by outside or oaßual labour. These are the men whom wo wish to protect. Lumping is an occupation requiring considerable care and experience, without whioh aooidents are very liable to ooour. Now, the men belonging to the Union are all supposed to be, and I thoroughly believe are, men who understand their work, whilst the majority, in fact, with one or two exceptions, all the non-Union men (with the exception of the permanent ciaff), aro utterly ignorant of it. lam surSrised there has not been some serious acoient in consequence. It has also had the effect of overstocking the labour market in this particular work, for there aro men hanging about the wharves whose proper place is on C% railways, roads, and bush, encouraged to reuoin by a day's work now and again by this company. If this rule were accepted, instead of driving goom men from the place it would keep them. They do not wish ns to create a monopoly, yet our chief opponents in this matter is the biggest monopoly we have in the colony. I may say that the .sooiety baa not yet considered the reply, as it was not received till this morning. Our motto, Mr. Editor, is Defenoe not Defiance We think we aro entitled to have some bond of unity. Our employers are united, working under the title of tho Employers' Association; wo are the Wellington Branch of the Now Zealand Fedoratod Lumpers' Society. Can you sco any difference P Hoping you, with your usual courtesy, will insert this, I em, Ac, 9th July, 1885. Lumpsr.