This will show that to date we have the support of the men here listed besides a few more. Officers elected so far are as follows:” The signatures of the officers and twenty-five members follow. The International then sent the following reply: “Replying to your letter, we are writing our Pittsburgh Local today in reference to your application for charter. According to the rules and regulations of our organization, no organization can be chartered in any city where we have a Local without consulting the older Organization.” This was signed by the Secretary of the International Association. The Pittsburgh Local then invited the Secretary of the colored organization to appear at their regular meeting. When the Secretary came, they told him he could have five minutes time in which to present his claims. Nothing resulted from this meeting and no written statement whatsoever was made by the Pittsburgh Local in spite of attempts to secure such. On a further appeal to the International, the Secretary of the Colored Plasterer’s Organization received the following letter from the International Secretary. “Replying to your letter, I enclose a copy of our constitution and refer you to section No. 34, page No. 8, which means that no charter can be issued to your organization unless approved by No. 31 of Pittsburgh, Pa.” An official of Local number 31 admitted that the rank and file would never consent to have colored people among them, and attend the social functions given by the Union, although he claimed they could not possibly reject a man because of his color, as it is a gross violation of their constitution. He explained the reasons for his local refusing a separate charter to the Negroes as follows: First, that if a charter would be granted to them, they would all become members for the nominal charter fee while their initiation fee for individuals amounts to thirty dollars, and this he said would be a discrimination in favor of the Negroes. But the greatest objection was that the colored plasterers asked for a smaller scale of wages, ($4.50 a day as compared with $6 for whites). When questioned as to his reason why the colored people would not prefer a higher wage, he explained that they could not get work as no one would employ a person of color at the same wages as a white person.[8] The Secretary of the short-lived colored organization gave as his reason for not joining the Union as an individual the fact that he was aware that the Union, even were he a member, would not supply him with a job, and that white Union men would walk out were he by any chance to be employed.