in cooperage plants, and machine coopers were employed by them. If the machine coopers were compelled to join the Coopers' Union, these union employers would be entitled to free admission to their meetings. Moreover, since the machine coopers were in the minority, they would be controlled by their employers even in the union itself. The convention of the Federation, however, still thought it advisable that all coopers be brought under the jurisdiction of the Coopers' Union.1 The complainants are now organized within the international body, but as a separate local.

Hours of labor. The constitution names 8 hours as the maximum of a day's work. This is understood and treated, however, as a declaration in favor of an 8-hour day, and not as an ironclad rule.

Labor Day. Each local union may require the observance of Labor Day by its members, under such regulations as it may fix.

Piecework. The most of the work of the coopers is done by the piece.

Union label. The coopers have found it desirable to use two different labels; one for "slack" cooperage, which holds dry articles, such as flour, apples, and potatoes, and another for tight" cooperage, designed for liquids. On slack barrels the label is printed with a rubber stamp. Tight barrels are often painted; and it is found desirable, largely on this account, to press the label into the wood.

Union stamps or labels are furnished free of charge to strictly union shops. No shop is considered strictly union unless all coopers and machine operators are members of the Coopers' International Union, nor unless the apprentice laws of the International Union are complied with. If one manufacturer operates more than one shop in the same locality he can not use the stamp unless all his shops are union. In order to use the stamp a shop must employ at least one journeyman cooper.

The union label was adopted in 1896. In the summer of 1900 the general secretary estimated that 10 per cent of the output of the trade was sold under the union stamp. The Coopers complain that union-made goods, such as beer, are often put up in scab barrels and yet bear the label of the union whose members made the goods. They try to induce unionists to look out for the label of the coopers, as well as for the labels of the brewers or other workers. They have proposed to the Brewery Workmen that the two unions adopt a joint label; but the Brewery Workmen have not consented. The Brewery Workmen have of late shown considerable activity, however, in demanding that the breweries use union-label cooperage.

In April, 1901, the secretary wrote: "The demand for union-labeled barrels has become so great that we are having difficulty in supplying it. We have found the label to be our main hold."

Official journal. The official journal is a monthly paper, printed partly in English and partly in German. The constitution directs that the union labels of all labor organizations be printed in it each month. No advertisements may be accepted but those of firms "known to be fair to organized labor." The journal is sent free to all members.

CARRIAGE AND WAGON WORKERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA.

History.-The Carriage and Wagon Workers' International Union of North America was organized on August 10, 1891. There had existed previously District Assembly 247, the Carriage Workers' National Trade Assembly of the Knights of Labor. The union embraces blacksmiths, wood workers, painters, and trimmers. In some places, where many are employed, the different trades are organized into separate locals. Thirty-five local unions were reported in August, 1900, and 1,070 members, of whom 20 were women. The number of locals reported at the end of each fiscal year, August 10, is as follows: 1892, 15; 1893, 17; 1894, 17; 1895, 16; 1896, 14: 1897, 12: 1898, 10: 1899, 20; 1900, 35.

During 1900 the officers submitted to the members a proposition to withdraw from the American Federation of Labor and join the Socialist Trades and Labor Alliance. A similar proposition had been rejected by the previous convention. The executive council of the American Federation of Labor in its report to the convention of 1900 declared that it had every evidence that the members of the organization were not fairly represented by their officers. This may be indicated

1 Convention Proceedings, 1899, p. 1:29.

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by the fact that the proposition to withdraw from the American Federation of Labor was defeated by the popular vote. It has been reported that the officers, defeated in their purpose to carry the organization with them, have planned to break it up.'

The officers, on their part, make the same kind of accusations against the conservatives-accusations of scabbing and trying to destroy the organization-which the conservatives make against them and other Socialists. They appear, however, to be out of harmony with the general policies of the trade-union movement. They seem. for instance, to despise the union label of their own organization."

Objects.-The Carriage and Wagon Workers name among the objects of their organization, to uphold a fair rate of wages, to lessen the hours of labor, to educate the worker in economic and political questions, and to try to replace strikes by arbitration and conciliation.

The preamble of the constitution is as follows:

'Recognizing that organization is necessary to secure the amelioration of the condition of our fellow-craftsmen, better remuneration for our labor, the regulation of the hours constituting a day's work, and the elevation of ourselves socially, morally, and intellectually, we have organized the Carriage and Wagon Workers' International Union of America."

Conventions. The constitution of the Carriage Workers provides that conventions shall be held at such time and place as a general vote shall determine. Each local union has one delegate, irrespective of the number of its members.

No convention has now met since 1896. A proposition to hold one in 1900 was defeated by the popular vote.

Constitutional amendments. The constitution can not be altered or amended except by a general vote.

Officers. The Carriage and Wagon Workers have no president. Executive power is lodged in the hands of an executive board of seven members. Supervisory power is in a board of appeals of seven members, to which appeals from the decisions of the executive board, the secretary-treasurer, and other officers of the International Union or of local unions may be made. A further appeal lies to the whole body of members, on demand of two local unions in different cities.

These two boards are not composed, wholly or in part, of officers performing other duties in the union. The other officers are a secretary-treasurer and an undefined number of organizers. Such officers are chosen by popular vote, upon the Australian system. Nominations are made by locals, and any union which fails to make nominations is fined $5. The secretary-treasurer furnishes printed ballots, bearing the names of the candidates who have been nominated and have accepted the nomination, arranged in alphabetical order, with the names of their local unions, and with the names of the offices for which they are nominated. Any member who fails to vote in the election is fined 25 cents, unless he is reported sick or holds a traveling card.

The executive board is elected by the local unions of the place from which the secretary-treasurer is chosen. The board of appeals is elected by the local unions of another town, which is designated by general vote.

In every election a majority is necessary for a choice: if no choice is made in the first ballot, a second ballot is held, in which all candidates are dropped except the two who have received the highest votes.

The secretary-treasurer gives bonds for $2,000, and receives a salary of $50 per year, together with $4 a day while attending the convention, and railroad fare to and from the convention. The organizers receive $15 a week, with railway fares and hotel expenses. to be determined by the executive board.

The secretary of each local union is required to collect statistics regarding the hours of labor, the wages of day workmen and of piece workmen, and all matters of interest which the international secretary-treasurer may demand, and make a full report to the secretary-treasurer every 3 months.

Membership. The Carriage Workers provide that a member engaging in the sale of intoxicating liquors shall not remain in any local union. There is no further mention of qualifications for membership except in connection with charter members of locals: they are required to be persons working at the carriage and wagon industry or allied branches, and to be persons of good moral character.

The Carriage Workers have a provision for the election of honorary members, apparently persons not directly connected with the craft, by a two-thirds vote of any local union. No man who follows a calling violative of the laws of morality shall be elected an honorary member."

American Federation of Labor Convention Proceedings, 1900, pp. 68, 69.
See Carriage and Wagon Workers' Journal, January, 1901, p. 120.

Traveling and transfer cards.-Any member who wishes to travel may obtain a traveling card, good for 3 months. It entitles him to recognition and assistance from any local of the International Union. If a member wishes to transfer his membership from one local to another, he must pay up all dues and assessments and a fee of 25 cents for a transfer card.

Finances. The revenue of the International Union is derived from a per capita tax of 20 cents a quarter. There are no restrictions on the initiation fees or dues of the local unions. Payment of all initiation fees, dues, fines, and assessments is evidenced by adhesive stamps, which are pasted in the member's book, canceled and dated.

The receipts and expenditures in certain years have been as follows:

Strikes. Any local union which is about to present a demand or grievance must notify all its members to be present at a regular or special meeting, when a vote by ballot shall be taken, and a two-thirds majority is necessary to determine that the union will insist upon the demand or grievance. If such is the decision, the union must send to the international secretary-treasurer a statement of the grievance and of the action of the union. The secretary-treasurer is then to proceed to the place of difficulty, personally or by deputy, and, if possible, effect a settlement. No member is allowed to work in the shop where trouble exists while the grievance is pending. Strike benefits are paid only from the date of sanction by the executive board. If sanction is refused, the union must declare the strike off, and if it fails to do so it may be suspended at the option of the executive board.

The strike benefit is $3 per week for single men and $5 per week for married men and for single men with others dependent upon them for support. A local union must be organized 6 months before it can be entitled to strike benefits.

To create a strike fund, the executive board has power to levy an assessment of not more than 10 per cent, nor less than 1 per cent, of the amount earned by each worker per week. Such an assessment can not be levied oftener than once in 3 months except in case of strike or lockout, but in such cases an assessment may be levied weekly.

The union reported to the Federation of Labor in the fall of 1900 that it had won 4 strikes and lost 2 during the preceding year. Three hundred persons were involved, of whom 120 were benefited. The cost of the strikes had been about $2,800.

Hours of labor.-The convention of Carriage Workers in 1896 adopted the following resolution:

Whereas the unscrupulous competition has manifested itself in the ranks of the carriage and wagon craft, as well as in the Manufacturers' Association: and "Whereas it seems impossible for the great army of unemployed to obtain a mere subsistence under the present conditions of employment; and

"Whereas it has been demonstrated beyond any possible chance of controversy that the labor of the world can be accomplished in less than 10 hours: Therefore, be it

"Resolved, That the international union use its utmost efforts to reduce the hours of labor to such number as will insure to each worker of the craft an equalized state of employment and a more advanced state of civilization and education, and a strict enforcement of the child-labor laws."

In 1900 the secretary-treasurer reported that the prevailing hours were 10 a day, except in 6 local unions, which had obtained a 9-hour day.

Piecework. The constitution of the Carriage Workers contains no provision about piecework. The secretary-treasurer reports that it is allowed under protest. Journal. The union maintains a monthly journal of 16 pages, for which a subscription price of 50 cents a year is charged. The executive board has power to levy an assessment for any deficit in the cost of it. One-fourth of the space, and no more, may be devoted to correspondence in the German language, and 3 or 4 pages are regularly printed in German. The journal is published under the super

vision of the executive board, and the editor is chosen by general vote of the union or unions where the executive board is located. The paper is an ardent advocate of socialism.

Union label. The union label was adopted in 1894; 57 manufacturers were reported to be using it on January 1, 1900, and in August, 1900, it was reported that 7,000 labels had been issued since the adoption of it.

The secretary-treasurer procures the official labels and distributes them to the local unions; but the local unions pay the cost of them. No shop is entitled to the use of the label unless every worker employed in it is a member of the union in good standing.

CHAPTER X.

LABOR ORGANIZATIONS IN THE METAL AND MACHINE TRADES.

NATIONAL AMALGAMATED ASSOCIATION OF IRON, STEEL, AND TIN WORKERS OF THE UNITED STATES.

History. As its name implies, the Amalgamated Association is the result of the consolidation of various other orders and societies. The present order was organized at Pittsburg in August, 1876. The societies which were consolidated were known as the United Sons of Vulcan, consisting of boilers and puddlers: the Associated Brotherhood of Iron and Steel Heaters, Rollers, and Roughers of the United States, consisting of men employed at the furnaces and rolls, and the Iron and Steel Roll Hands' Union, composed of catchers, hookers, helpers, and others engaged about the trains of works. The oldest of these three bodies was the United Sons of Vulcan, which originated in Pittsburg, where a local union was formed April 17, 1858, known as Iron City Forge. It consisted exclusively of boilers. This order was founded by a few men who had held meetings secretly for some time for the purpose of discussing the advisability of organization. There was a fear at first that the order might be betrayed, and the employers might learn of all the features of the movement; and the consequent secrecy kept the order small until the year 1861. In that year, when, as a result of the civil war. a great revival in the iron trade took place, great efforts were put forth to extend the organization. Local forges were instituted in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri. A call was issued for a national convention to be held in Pittsburg September 8, 1862. At this convention a constitution and by-laws were adopted. The convention declared that the association should be known as the National Forge of the United States, United Sons of Vulcan. Up to 1867 strikes and lockouts were inaugurated solely by the men employed in the mill where the grievance arose, and the financial support for members involved in labor difficulties was obtained entirely by voluntary subscriptions. At the convention held at Harrisburg in 1867 the system of legalizing strikes and supporting them systematically was adopted, and remained as then ordered until the amalgamation. The question of establishing sick and death benefits was brought before several conventions of the order, but the proposition was always defeated, the main object of the organization for years being to educate its members and to solidify those employed in the trade.

The second order, chronologically, which was merged into the new association was the Associated Brotherhood of Iron and Steel Heaters, Rollers, and Roughers. This order was instituted in August, 1872, with a general office at Springfield. Ill. The membership consisted chiefly of those who were in charge of furnaces and rolls in the finishing departments of the Western mills, but few of the members working east of the Allegheny Mountains. The organization lasted 4 years, or until the amalgamation which took place in 1876 as the result of the efforts of the order of the United Sons of Vulcan.

In the case of strikes, voluntary contributions were made for the support of those on strike or who were locked out. No sick or death benefits were established, and the legalizing of strikes was left entirely with local bodies, as was also the arranging of wages.

The third organization which became a member of the Amalgamated Associa

tion was the Iron and Steel Roll Hands' Union, composed of catchers, hookers, helpers, and others engaged about the trains of works. This order was organized June 2, 1873, with its general office at Columbus, Ohio. The custom of legalizing strikes was the same as that which prevailed in the Associated Brotherhood of Iron and Steel Heaters, Rollers, and Roughers-that is, the ordering of the strike was left to the local bodies. Strike benefits were created through voluntary contributions, but neither sick nor death benefits were paid. This order had a brief life. practically struggling for existence until 1876, when it merged itself with the other organizations.

The organization has had its ups and downs, corresponding to a great extent with the ups and downs of the iron industry. Its first year was one of great success, but in 1878 the price of iron fell, and there were many strikes both against reductions of wages and against the "contract system." by which the first 4 weeks' wages and 25 per cent of all subsequent wages were retained to the end of the year, then to be paid to the men if profits should justify such payment." In 1879 trade revived, and there was a cessation of strikes. In this year the first president, Joseph Bishop, resigned his office because his salary was reduced from $1,500 to $1,000. Mr. John Jarrett was elected president and held the office until 1883.

In 1881 it was voted to include Canada within the jurisdiction of the association, and colored men were made eligible to membership. This was the year of the organization of the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions, which has since become the American Federation of Labor. The Amalgamated Association took a prominent part in the formation of the Federation, and Mr. Jarrett was its first presiding officer. The Amalgamated Association left the Federation the next year, however, because the plank in favor of protection, which had been put into the platform of the Federation, was removed. In 1883 steel-rail manufacturers reduced wages 33 per cent. In 1892 the association undertook the celebrated strike at Homestead.'

The number of sublodges of the Amalgamated Association in good standing, as reported at the convention of 1892, was 292, with 24,000 taxable members. In 1895, 34,000 members, in 290 locals, were reported.

Conventions. The convention meets annually on the third Tuesday in May. Onefourth of the whole number of representatives elected constitutes a quorum. "A sublodge with less than 100 members shall be entitled to 1 representative; a sublodge with 125 members shall be entitled to 2 representatives, and 1 representative for each additional hundred." Each representative is entitled to 1 vote, but must cast his vote in person. Representatives hold their office for 1 year. After their terms expire they continue to be permanent members of the convention, with the right to sit at any session of it; but they have no vote.

It is made the duty of one of the representatives of each lodge to forward to the secretary-treasurer the quarterly report of the lodge, together with all assessments levied by the national president, on or before the last days of March, June, September, and December. A lodge whose report for March 31 is not sent before April 10 loses its representation.

Representatives are elected annually, by written ballot, in the month of April. When 2 or more delegates are to be elected by a sublodge each ballot is to contain as many names as will make up a complete delegation. When one candidate has received a majority of all votes he is to be declared elected. On subsequent votes each ballot is to contain a sufficient number of names to complete the delegation. The candidate who has received the least number of votes is each time to be dropped. Delegates must be clear on the secretary's book, must be working at some of the trades which make up the association, and must have served 6 months in some office of the sublodge.

The actual railway fare of the delegates is paid by the national lodge; all other necessary expenses are paid by the locals.

A programme of business, containing any suggested alterations or amendments of the laws, originating either with the national officers or with any local lodge, is to be sent to each local by the secretary-treasurer 6 weeks before the convention. No resolution bearing upon matters of law or prices, not contained in the programme, can be entertained by the convention unless by consent of two-thirds of the delegates, except resolutions relating to the "base of scale," or minimum price of iron or steel on which the sliding scale of wages is based. An executive session is to be held at each convention with closed doors. The first business in executive session is the consideration and adoption of a scale of prices, and during such session no person may be present except the representatives to the national convention.

The constitution may be amended by a majority vote in convention.

1See below, pp. 216, 217.

'Carroll D. Wright, The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, pp. 4-7, 14-19.