Wheeling Chamber Helps to Adjust Labor Difficulties, 1920

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-from “The American City,” February 1920, pg. 181-183
 

Wheeling Chamber Helps to Adjust Labor Difficulties

Wheeling, W. Va.—The Wheeling Chamber of Commerce has taken much interest in the industrial situation during the last few months, and has used its good offices very effectively in a number of strikes which have broken out from time to time. Besides assisting in the settlement of a serious street car strike last spring, the Chamber mediated in the building trades strike, which tied up all building in the Wheeling district for a number of weeks, and was in a large measure responsible for getting both sides together to submit their differences to arbitration. The Chamber also mediated in several other labor disputes with satisfactory results. It was due partially to the work of the Chamber of Commerce that the steel strike, which greatly affected the Wheeling district, was quickly brought to an end in this district. The Chamber was neutral as to the issues involved and confined its efforts to acting as a mediator in the interest of the general public. It endeavored to convince the workers that the strike had proved to be a failure in other districts, and that to continue it in the Wheeling district would result chiefly in suffering and distress for the thousands of strikers and their families; also that it was doing an injustice to business in general and therefore injuring the community as a whole, and, if continued, would probably result in closing for an indefinite period several of the big mills in this locality, or in their removal. Thru the columns of the monthly bulletin and thru the local press the Chamber of Commerce is working not only to the end of stabilizing industrial conditions, but in the hope of bringing about better relations between the employer and the employe. It is also trying to establish such complete confidence in the Chamber of Commerce on the part of all employers and employes, as well as the general public, that the Chamber's services will be solicited before any lockouts, strikes, etc., occur. It is believed that the adoption of that policy for some time to come will make Wheeling conspicuous for its lack of industrial unrest.

H. P. CORCORAN,
Manager, Wheeling Chamber of Commerce.

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