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board who knowingly indorse a false and illegal application for benefit are subject to a fine of $3 each.

During the 5 years ending June 30, 1900, $23,331 was paid out for sick benefits. Strikes.-When any difficulty with employers arises, three officers of the local union must send a full statement of it to the secretary-treasurer for submission to the executive board. If more than one union exists in the locality, no application can be sustained unless all of them have voted on it and the proposition has been sustained by a majority of all votes cast. If more than 25 members are involved in any difficulty, it must be submitted to a general vote of the local unions and can only be approved by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast. Every local is required to vote in such cases within 1 week after receiving notice, on pain of a fine of $3, payable to the international union.

Members who participate in an authorized strike are entitled to a benefit of $3 a week, beginning on the day when the strike is approved by the authorities of the international union. The international executive board has power to appoint one or two members from other places to act with the local authorities in arranging the difficulty. If a settlement is agreed on which is not satisfactory to the union involved, it may be submitted to a general vote of all the local unions, and, if approved, is then binding.

Labor Day.-Men who work on Labor Day may be fined $2 at the option of the international executive board.

Wage scales. Much emphasis was placed in the convention of 1900 on the desirability of establishing fixed wage scales wherever the union had the power. The secretary remarked that the union had necessarily devoted much of its strength to getting members in regions where unionism was scarcely known, and that considerations of wages had been postponed to this primary necessity. Established wage scales were grievously needed; all the more because many of the members live in the South, where labor is poorly paid and general conditions are bad.'

Official journal.—The monthly official journal, The Tobacco Worker, is edited by the secretary-treasurer, and is sent free to all members. "Any member of the International Union may write articles for publication in the official journal, and the editor is required to publish the same unless said article or articles should be injurious to the Tobacco Workers' International Union." A member whose communication is rejected may appeal to the executive board.

The secretary, in his report to the convention of 1900, said that the management of the journal had been governed by the following purposes:

First. To advertise the union label.

Second. To educate the people regarding the label and organization.

Third. To present the grievances of other organizations to our membership and ask their aid.

Fourth. To fight the trust and all trust-made tobacco.

Fifth. To eliminate as far as possible all political sentiments, personal grievances, and disputes.

The expense of printing the paper during the preceding year, from 7,000 to 10,000 per month, was reported as $2,662. The receipts from advertising, subscriptions, and sales were $2,799.2

Union label.-The union label is furnished free of charge to all strictly union shops. It is provided that no shop shall be considered strictly union unless all the employees who are eligible are members of the International Union. It is also required that all boxes, pails, buckets, or other articles used in shipping the product be made by union labor as far as practicable. The union claims jurisdiction over all local unions composed exclusively of makers of boxes for tobacco. A manufacturer who operates more than one shop can not use the label unless all his shops are union. The International Union allows to local unions an attorney's fee, and an additional amount of $25 for committee work, for prosecuting each case of counterfeiting of the union label, when approved by the international executive board.

The union label was adopted in July, 1895. The secretary reports that at the end of the first year 12 manufacturers were using it; at the end of the second year, 30; at the end of the third, 45; at the end of the fourth, 63; at the end of the fifth, 90. During the first year 18,246,991 labels were issued; during the second, 38,657,531; during the third, 55,648,342; during the fourth, 104,187,757; during the fifth, 130,600,934. In the summer of 1900 the secretary estimated that about onefifth of the product of the trade was put out under the union label.

1 Tobacco Worker, October, 1900, pp. 20, 21.
The Tobacco Worker, October, 1900, p. 21.

In 1900 the Tobacco Workers complained of the introduction of an independent label by a local union of cigarette makers in New York. The American Federation of Labor convention of 1900 passed a resolution condemning this action of the New York union, and promising the Tobacco Workers all possible assistance in driving out cigarettes which bear the New York label.1

UPHOLSTERERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA.

History. The Upholsterers' International Union of North America was organized in 1892. It takes in workers at upholstering, mattress making, carpet laying, and drapery work. In the summer of 1900 it reported 16 local unions and 1,300 members, all of whom were male; in June, 1901, 23 locals and about 2,000 members. Convention and constitutional amendments.-The convention meets biennially on the second Monday in July, unless two-thirds of the local unions decide otherwise by a referendum vote. Each local union sends 1 delegate. Ex-delegates have the right to appear and speak in subsequent conventions, but not to vote or make any motion. The mileage of delegates is paid by the International Union; their other expenses by their locals. Every local which has 25 members must be represented. A smaller local may be represented by proxy, through the delegate of the nearest neighboring local.

Each delegate is the corresponding secretary of his local. When the delegate of any local is elected president of the International Union his local must elect another delegate.

The constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members of the convention. Provision is also made for a vote by referendum upon any measure of importance. Any local may propose laws for submission to the general vote. Thirty days is allowed for voting, and any local which does not report its vote within 15 days after the expiration of the 30 is counted as voting in the affirmative. Officers.-The officers are a president, 5 vice-presidents, a treasurer, and 2 other members, who, with the president, the first vice-president, and the treasurer, constitute the executive board All the officers are elected by the convention by ballot. A clear majority is necessary to a choice, and in case of failure to elect the vote is repeated and the candidate who received the fewest votes is dropped. The president fills also the place of a secretary. His salary is $624 a year. The treasurer is required to deposit all money in a responsible bank, under the direction of the local of which he is a member. He may not have more than $50 in his possession at any time. His salary is $25 a year. He must be the delegate of such local union as may be chosen by the convention, and in case he is not reelected a delegate his successor as delegate is to assume the duties of treasurer. His local is responsible for all money and property of the International Union which he holds as treasurer. The local is directed to appoint an auditing committee of 3 members, in June and December, to examine his books and accounts, count the money in his possession, and report to the president of the International Union. Statistics. The delegate of each local union is directed to send to the international president quarterly a report of the name of each member proposed, elected, rejected, or suspended, with the cause of rejection or suspension, the average wages paid, and general statistics of the condition of the trade. The finance secretary is to make a detailed quarterly report of all money which he has collected, to the international president.

Shop delegates. The constitution directs that every shop elect shop delegates, 1 for every 10 men or fraction thereof. It is the duty of these delegates to try to bring every worker in the shop into the union, and to watch the wages of the men, to see that none works below the scale. Where men are paid by the week the delegate must see that no man does more or less work than his wages amount to, estimating the work by the piece prices. The delegate must use every possible means to learn the amount of wages the men receive, and if a member of the union refuses to give the information he may be fined or suspended.

Employers. Any member who becomes financially interested in an upholstering business which employs one or more upholsterers for 6 months, must take a withdrawal card.

Woman workers.-The constitution says, "No member of the Upholsterers' International Union is permitted to work in a shop or factory where female help is employed at upholstering or at any of its branches excepting as seamstress."

1 American Federation of Labor Convention Proceedings, 1900, p. 170.

Apprentices. The constitution provides that not more than 2 apprentices shall be employed in a shop of 10 journeymen or less, with 1 additional apprentice for every 10 journeymen or major part thereof. No boy may enter a shop as apprentice under the age of 14. After 6 months at work the apprentice is required to take out an apprentice's card from the local, for which he is to pay $1.

Finances. The charter fee for new locals is $5. The per capita tax is fixed at "one-third of all dues collected each quarter, on a minimum basis of 25 cents per month each member." It amounts in practice to $1 a year. If the funds fall below $50 the president may levy an assessment of not more than 5 cents per capita. All official supplies of the locals must be bought from the international president, and this is doubtless a source of some revenue to the International Union. No local union may charge less than $2 for initiation, or less than 25 cents for monthly dues.

The constitution contains the curious provision that all money shall be forwarded to the treasurer " by post-office money order inclosed in a registered letter."

Strikes. While the constitution provides that the decision of a local union to go on strike shall be subject to the approval of the president and executive board of the International Union, the provisions for enforcing the supervision of the general officers are not clear or specific. Striking members are entitled to benefits of $5 a week for single men and $7 a week for married men. Assessments for the support of strikes may be levied on the locals in proportion to their membership, excluding members on strike.

The union reported to the Federation of Labor in the fall of 1900 that it had won 8 strikes, compromised 4, and lost 2 during the preceding year. Three hundred members were involved, of whom 200 were benefited. The cost of the strikes was $3,000.

Employment bureau.-Each local union is expected to have an employment officer, to whom members out of employment are to report, and to whom members are to give notice of any vacancies they know of. The president of the International Union is designated chief employment officer, and the employment officers of the locals are directed to correspond with him upon employment matters.

Hours of labor. The constitution forbids working more than 10 hours for a day's work, and forbids any member to work overtime for less than 50 per cent extra pay. The secretary asserts that these rules are enforced in every shop under the jurisdiction of the union.

Piecework. The practice of piece work is general among the upholsterers, and the union approves of it.

Union label.—A union label was adopted by the upholsterers in September, 1898. The constitution provides that it is to be issued to any firm which employes only members of the International Union, that it is to be supplied by the local unions without charge, and that the members themselves are to place it upon the articles they make. The president reported in the summer of 1900 that 18 manufacturers were then using the label, that some 30,000 labels in the aggregate had been issued, and that the label was supposed to be used on about 5 per cent of output of the trade. In March, 1901, the secretary reported that about 3,000 labels a month were used. In June he stated that such a demand for the label had arisen, espe cially in San Francisco, Indianapolis, and Detroit, that the total consumption was then about 18,000 a month. In San Francisco alone, he said, from 12,000 to 15,000 labels a month would be used.

PART III.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, CONCILIATION, AND

ARBITRATION.

CHAPTER I.

NATIONAL AND GENERAL TRADE SYSTEMS IN THE UNITED

STATES.

I. THE COAL-MINING INDUSTRY.

1. Early arbitration in the anthracite coal regions.-The report of Mr. Joseph D. Weeks on arbitration, published by the Massachusetts Bureau of Labor in 1881, describes the early joint agreements of employers and employees in the anthracite coal regions. He states that during the war the conditions there were very unfortunate. There had been alternate periods of prosperity and depression in the coal industry, which had resulted in strikes and frequently in violence. The character of the miners of the anthracite regions had greatly degenerated.

On April 6, 1868, the Workingmen's Benevolent Association of Schuylkill County was established, and this in the following year was extended to various other parts of the anthracite region, a General Council of the Workingmen's Benevolent Association being formed at Hazleton in 1869. Soon after the employers formed the Anthracite Board of Trade of the Schuylkill Coal Region. In April the miners belonging to the Workingmen's Association inaugurated a general suspension of work. On May 11 the General Council of the Workingmen's Benevolent Association resolved to try to establish a scale of wages based upon the selling price of coal. In June the employers' association presented a series of propositions on this principle, and an agreement was soon reached by which work was resumed in the Schuylkill district, although the strike continued longer in the other districts. This agreement fixed a certain scale of wages to be paid when the price of coal should be $3 as a basis. The workingmen were to receive one-fifth of all advances above this price and a corresponding reduction should be made in their wages if the price fell.

As a matter of fact, prices remained considerably above $3 and the employers became dissatisfied with the higher wages which they were paying They accordingly proposed a reduction in wages, and the refusal of the employees to accept the terms proposed resulted in a prolonged strike in 1870. This was finally compromised by another sliding-scale agreement having a somewhat different basis. The miners, however, broke this agreement with their employers early in 1871. Disputes had meanwhile arisen as to the rights of employers and employees in the matter of the recognition of unions and the granting of employment. Mr. F. B. Gowan, president of the Reading Railroad, proposed that the existing disputes as to wages and as to the conditions of employment should be settled by arbitration. An agreement was accordingly reached by which each side selected five arbitrators. These arbitrators met and chose Judge William Elwell as umpire. The representatives of the miners, however, refused to submit the question of wages to the decision of the umpire, and his judgment accordingly related only to the conditions of granting employment. A few weeks later, however, the miners of Schuylkill County agreed to abide by the decision of Judge Elwell as to the wages to be paid, and he accordingly established a new sliding scale. Within a

few months the price of coal fell below $2.75, which had been made the basis of the new sliding scale. The miners of one company after another, in violation of this award of the umpire, demanded that wages be kept up to the basis rates, and be not reduced with the lowered prices. The employers were forced to make this concession, but the action of the miners in thus seeking a temporary advantage resulted in the end of all attempts at arbitration in the anthracite region. Nevertheless joint agreements between organizations of employers and employees continued to be made from time to time in the anthracite region. The system of sliding scales prevailed up to the great strike in the anthracite field in 1900, but it could scarcely be said that they represented negotiations between employers and employees. The miners' organizations had virtually disappeared, and the sliding-scale system did little to prevent disputes. The demand of the miners in the strike of 1900 that the system be abolished was conceded.

Mr. Weeks also describes various early attempts at the formation of boards of conciliation and arbitration in the bituminous mines of western Pennsylvania and of Ohio, but none of these appear to have resulted successfully.

2. Bituminous coal field-introduction.-The most imporant result of the recent movement in favor of more peaceful relations between employers and employees has been the establishment of a system of joint agreements covering the bituminous coal fields of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and applying to more than 125,000 workingmen. Beginning in January, 1898, 4 annual conferences have been held between representatives of the United Mine Workers, the organization of employees, and representatives of the mine operators, who have no definite organization. These conferences agree upon a general basing scale of wages for the entire central competitive coal field covered by the system. On the basis of the general rate thus fixed special rates are adopted by local conferences of operators and miners, taking into account the wide differences in local conditions. One or two other matters of general importance, such as the size of screens to be used in screening coal previous to measurement, are covered by the general agreement, while the various local agreements in some instances are much more datailed, that adopted in Illinois between the State organization of the United Mine Workers and the Illinois Coal Operators' Association being especially elaborate. In Illinois there has also been developed within the past year or two a very satisfactory arbitration or conciliation system for the settlement of minor disputes arising in the interpretation of the joint agreement.

3. Origin of the bituminous agreement system.—It seems doubtful whether the system of collective bargaining and agreements which was established more than 30 years ago in the anthracite coal region had any influence in the establishment of the present system in the bituminous field. The labor organizations in the bituminous mines have had a very checkered existence. At various times they were relatively strong. During the period between 1880 and 1890, when the labor organizations were fairly well established, an attempt was made to introduce a system of agreements regarding the conditions of labor, but it never became thoroughly effective in preventing disputes. After the great strike of bituminous miners in 1894 there was a period of great depression in the mining industry. Wages fell greatly and the organizations among the miners became very weak. Conditions became so bad that finally in 1897 a very general strike of miners took place. During this strike the United Mine Workers greatly increased their membership. On account of the great prolongation of this strike and its serious effect upon the conditions of industry throughout the country, and particularly in the States directly concerned, the State boards of arbitration of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois undertook to cooperate in bringing about a settlement. One of the chief difficulties encountered was the lack of uniformity in prices for mining among the mines in the same district and among the different districts, as well as the lack of uniformity in the methods of payment and measurement. At the instance of these boards a convention of Pittsburg coal operators was held in the latter part of July, 1897, which declared itself in favor of arbitration and drew up articles of agreement regarding wages and conditions of labor. By these articles an attempt was to be made to establish a system of arbitration as regards differentials in rates of wages between different districts. Meantime a joint convention of the leaders of the striking miners and of representative coal operators was held at Pittsburg, and later, pursuant to adjournment, at Columbus. An agreement was reached in September, which was ratified by a special national convention of the United Mine Workers. This brought an end to the strike. The success in reaching an agreement in this manner, as well as the desire to avoid disputes in the future and to establish uniformity throughout the central competitive coal field, led the

1 See also testimony of various witnesses in the report on the Mining Industries, vol. xii, especially that of Mr. John Mitchell, p. 697, and of Mr. Hermann Justi, p. 677.

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