"The finding of this Committee of Arbitration by majority vote
shall be considered final in so far as the future action of the
respective organizations is concerned.
"Pending settlement by the Committee, there shall be no cessation
of work at the instance of either party to the dispute. The
Committee of Arbitration shall meet within two weeks after
reference of dispute to them."
The agreement was a triumph for the principle of pure conciliation as
distinct from arbitration by a third party. Both sides preferred to run
the risk of a possible deadlock in the conciliation machinery to
throwing decisions into the hands of an umpire, who would be an
uncertain quantity both as regards special bias and understanding of the
industry.
The initial meeting of the arbitration committee was held in Cleveland,
in May 1899, to consider the demand by the unions at Worcester,
Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, for a minimum wage which
the employers had refused. In each city one member of the National
Founders' Association was involved and the men in these firms went to
work pending the arbitration decision, while the others stayed out on
strike.
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