Page images
PDF
EPUB

more elaborate machinery than election by convention, and is oftener found, therefore, in old and highly organized bodies. Whatever the method, it is almost always provided that a full majority of the votes cast is necessary to an election. If the election is by convention the candidate who has received the lowest vote on an unsuccessful ballot is usually dropped, and a new ballot is taken; and the process is repeated until a majority for one candidate appears. Less often in elections by convention, but usually in elections by popular vote, only the two candidates who have received the highest votes on an unsuccessful ballot are eligible when the ballot is repeated.

In elections by the members at large the Australian system is universally employed. Nominations are sent in by the several local unions, and official ballots bearing the names of the regularly nominated candidates are sent out from the national headquarters. In some organizations each candidate, in order to be eligible, must prepare a letter of acceptance, for publication in the official journal, outlining the policy which he intends to follow if he is elected. Several unions impose a fine, usually 50 cents, upon any member who is qualified to vote and fails to do so. It seems to be felt that the judgment of every member is more needed in the election of officers than in the decision of any other question. No union fines its members for failure to vote on constitutional amendments. The Cigar Makers got out a vote of 22,805 at the election of officers in March, 1901, while only from 7,000 to 10,000 voted on several constitutional amendments which were submitted about the same time. It is impossible to say how much the penalty of 50 cents may have had to do with the fuller vote for officers.

There is a considerable tendency to permanency in the tenure of office. Thus Mr. McGuire was secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters from the establishment of the union in 1881 up to 1901. Mr. Arthur has been at the head of the Locomotive Engineers since 1874. Though these cases are exceptional, it is common to find men who have served their unions for many successive years. The holder of an important office has an advantage as a candidate, in that he is better known to his constituents than any new man is likely to be. In the absence of a distinct feeling in favor of rotation in office, which seems to manifest itself only moderately, with regard to the higher positions in the trade-union world, he has an advantage in the tendency to let things continue as they are.

The most of the more important unions of Great Britain have fallen into so fixed a habit of reelecting their general secretaries, who are their principal executive officers, that the tenure of the office has become practically permanent. In some of the largest unions all provision for reelection has been dropped from the constitutions. The Cotton Spinners specially provide in their rules that the secretary shall continue in office so long as he gives satisfaction; and when the election of a new man is necessary, he is chosen in the light of a severe, practical, competitive examination.

No American union has reached any such development as this. All offices are filled by election at regular intervals, as a matter of course. The same man is often reelected year after year without opposition; but he must be reelected.

The salaries of the national officers are in most cases moderate in proportion to their responsibilities. In this respect, as in several others, the great railroad brotherhoods form a class by themselves. The presiding officers of the Engineers, the Conductors, and the Firemen are understood to receive $5,000 a year. No organization in any other field of work pays half so much. The Knights of Labor did pay Mr. Powderly $5,000 a year, as general master workman, for several years, but they pay such rates no longer. The president of the Marine Engineers now receives a salary which is believed to be the highest paid to any labor-union officer outside the railroad brotherhoods-$2,400 a year. The president of the American Federation of Labor receives $2,100, and the secretary, $1,800. The secretary of the Letter Carriers receives $2,000. The International Typographical Union pays its president

$1,400 and its secretary $1,700. The president of the Glass Bottle Blowers has $1,800; their secretary, the secretaries of the Stone Cutters and the Longshoremen, and the presidents of the Mine Workers, the Iron Molders, and the Machinists have $1,500. The secretary-treasurer of the Mine Workers has $1,300. The secretary of the Iron Molders and the secretary-treasurer of the Machinists have $1,200. The president of the Cigar Makers receives $30 a week; the president and the secretary-treasurer of the Boot and Shoe Workers, each, $22.50 a week. The commonest rates of pay for the principal officers-the president and the secretary—when they are expected to devote their full time to the work, range from $800 to $1,300 a year. Some receive smaller rates; and the salaries paid by those unions which expect their work to be done in leisure hours, in the intervals of employment at their trades, range down to nominal amounts.

MEMBERSHIP.

The prescribed qualifications for membership usually include either present employment or some fixed length of service in the occupation which forms the field of the union. A relation can often be traced between the required length of service and the amount of technical skill required. The Retail Clerks say that the candidate must have had one year's experience in some branch of the retail trade other than the liquor trade, and must be actively employed in a retail store at the time of application. The Boot and Shoe Workers only require that the candidate be actively employed at the craft. The Broom Makers require 1 year's work at the trade, the Bakers 2 years, the Electrical Workers 3 years, the Coremakers, the Machinists, and the Typographical Union 4 years, and the Pattern Makers and the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters 5 years. Some unions of skilled trades, however, such as the Boiler Makers, the Blacksmiths, the Flint Glass Workers, the Brotherhood of Carpenters, and the Stone Cutters, do not require the following of the trade for any fixed period. In the Brotherhood of Carpenters a candidate "must be of good moral character and competent to command standard wages." The requirement of the Boiler Makers is very similar. The Stone Cutters admit any practical journeyman "who can complete stonework true and perfect," including "all kinds of stonework— plain, molded, or carved." It should be remembered, however, in all such matters, that locals may impose restrictions in addition to those of the national bodies.

In many small-scale industries independent workers and small employers may be admitted. Thus the Teamsters admit anyone who is engaged in driving a vehicle and who does not own or operate more than 5 teams. The Cigar Makers and the Trunk and Bag Workers admit manufacturers who employ no journeymen; and in the case of the Cigar Makers such independent craftsmen, working alone or with the help of their families, form a large part of the membership. Working proprietors of small printing offices may belong to the Typographical Union, provided they conform to union rules and employ union members when they need help. The Painters and the Butcher Workmen leave the admission of employers to the option of the locals. The Barbers, however, specifically exclude them. Many unions which admit small employers exclude all who belong to employers' associations.

Several unions, including the Bricklayers, the Brotherhood of Carpenters, the Brickmakers, and the Musicians, admit only persons who are citizens of the countries they live in, or who have declared their intention to become citizens. To join the Boiler Makers one must be “a free-born male citizen of some civilized country." A few unions discriminate against foreigners in the matter of initiation fees. Thus while the general initiation fee of the Stone Cutters is $10, and an apprentice who completes his term within the jurisdiction of the association may join within one month after his term expires for $2.50, an applicant from a foreign country without a card from a recognized stonecutters' union must pay $25. If he brings a card showing membership in the union where he came from, he is admitted for $10; but if he had belonged to a recognized union in this country he would have been admitted without any fee.

The Flint Glass Workers admit Americans for $3; but foreigners must pay $50, and must also state their intention to become citizens of the United States. The Glass Bottle Blowers ordinarily charge Americans $5 and foreigners from $50 to $100, according to the decision of the general officers. The unions which pursue such a policy have good control of their trades, and at the same time feel the competition of immigrants somewhat seriously. Even in their case the wisdom of it is not always clear. The Flint Glass Workers, for instance, have found that keeping men out of the union does not always keep them out of the country, and that the policy of exclusion has raised up new nonunionists to plague them.

One or two

In the occupations in which both men and women work, both are usually admitted on equal terms. The Boiler Makers admit only males, but they are not likely to have applications from women. The Bakers specially forbid any distinction on account of “race, sex, creed, or nationality." The Retail Clerks, the Cigar Makers, and the Tobacco Workers admit men and women on the same footing. unions give women the advantage of lower initiation fees and lower dues. The great railroad brotherhoods exclude colored persons; but in this as in several other respects they stand quite apart from the rest of the labor world. The machinists formerly had a similar provision, but it was eliminated early in the 90's. The American Federation of Labor formerly refused to receive any national union whose constitution excluded the negro. Several unions, in their constitutions, specially forbid any distinction of race. The Hotel Employees receive colored persons, but organize them in separate locals. The Tobacco Workers, although their membership is largely in the South, declare in their constitution that they "will draw no line of distinction between creed, color, or nationality," but will "work hand in hand for the common good of all." The color question has, however, caused some friction in the labor organizations of the Southern States. In the earlier days of the labor movement there the democratic feeling among the few trade unionists was strong enough to bring whites and negroes even into the same local meeting rooms. It is strong enough still in some trades and in some places. As the unions have grown, however, separate locals have been demanded. Finally, in some places the city central bodies have begun to reject colored delegates. While there are still many places in the South where whites and negroes meet on an absolute equality in the labor organizations, there are others where not only separate local trade unions but separate city federations have become necessary.1

A few national unions provide for admission to membership on application to the national officers, if the applicant lives outside the jurisdiction of any local union. Those who join in organizing a new local are almost necessarily admitted by action of the national officers. In all unions, however, the regular mode of entrance is by vote of a local.

In many cases a written application is required, indorsed by two members in good standing. Such an application, when it is required, is usually referred to a committee, and the committee is often forbidden to report at the same meeting at which the application is presented. Whatever the preliminaries may be, the admission of the candidate depends upon the vote of the members. Often the vote is required to be taken by ball ballot; but many unions leave the method to the option of the locals, and a few require an open vote. In many a majority is sufficient to admit a candidate, and in many others the required majority is two-thirds. In several, two, three, or five black balls work exclusion. In a large proportion of these, however, those who cast the black balls are required, either in all cases or when they do not exceed a certain number, to give their reasons. Sometimes the reasons are presented in writing, and the names of the objectors are not known except to the president. If no reasons are given, it is usual to declare the candidate elected. If reasons are pre

1 See account of American Federation of Labor, pp. 36, 37.

sented, a new vote is taken; in many unions a two-thirds majority is then sufficient to admit.

Many unions have an apparatus of passwords for the exclusion of unauthorized persons from their meetings. In some cases, however, the possession of a due card showing membership in good standing is treated as sufficient evidence of a right in the meeting room; and it is, of course, not to be expected that technicalities of passwords will be insisted on where a man is well known to those about him.

A variable amount of formal ceremony appears among the unions, especially in connection with initiations. One or two, possibly more, have grips and signs as means of recognition. Some sort of pledge of faithfulness to the union is always administered. This is likely to include a promise of obedience to the laws of the organization, including adherence to its wage rates or scales of prices; a promise not to reveal any business or proceedings of the organization; a promise to use all honorable means to procure employment for members of the union in preference to others, and a promise not to wrong a member or see one wronged if it can be prevented. In at least one case there is a promise to buy none but union-made goods if union-made goods can be obtained. Obligations of a more general character, relating to moral and social duties, are sometimes added. The pledge is not usually made binding by oath, but simply by a promise upon honor. While rituals and ceremonies are felt by some to be a valuable help in binding members of the organization together, they are thought by others to be rather a hindrance to the work of a trade union. For instance, if a new local is to be established, and if secret ceremonies are required for the establishment of it, it is necessary to send a member of the organization to the spot, perhaps at considerable expense. If there is no secret work the local can be instituted easily and cheaply by an organizer of the Federation of Labor belonging to another trade. The secretary of the Plumbers called the attention of his union to this trouble in 1900, and suggested doing away with the secret ritual of the union. The convention, however, did not adopt the suggestion. Some unions, as the International Typographical Union and the Bricklayers, publish their initiation pledges with their constitutions and laws. The Machinists are understood to have reduced the ceremony of initiation to little more than the administration of the pledge, though the pledge itself is still treated as a secret.

Every national union issues some form of certificate of membership, by which its members, on going to new places, are able to obtain admission to the local branches. In many unions a distinction is made between a traveling card, which a member takes out when he travels without a definite destination, and a transfer or clearance card, by which membership is transferred from one local to another. It is almost always required that all dues and assessments be paid up before any card is issued. A few unions note any indebtedness upon the card, and make it the duty of the local to which the member goes to make collection. It is often permitted to pay dues for considerable periods in advance. In the case of a traveling card they may in some unions be paid up even for a year. The Bricklayers, on the other hand, forbid the collection of any dues in advance.

Some unions, such as the Tailors and the Cigar Makers, each of whose members is provided with a book in which all his payments to the organization are indicated, make this book the only credential.

The member who holds a card is always required to deposit it with any local in whose jurisdiction he may take work at the trade, within some short fixed period, often at the first meeting. He is usually required to deposit it in some local, or to obtain a renewal of it from the local which issued it, within a fixed time, under any circumstances.

The obligations of a local union to which a transfer card is presented vary greatly in different organizations. In some, as in the Marine Engineers and the Steam Fitters, a member who comes with a card is balloted for exactly like a new member.

In other words, his admission to membership is optional with the local. In most cases, however, the acceptance of a member on his credentials is a matter of course. Even in that case, however, a new initiation fee is sometimes required of him. This is not usual, however, except in the case of one who has been a member of the organization only a short time, say less than six months, and who comes from a local which has a lower initiation fee to one with a higher. In such cases the difference of initiation fee is often collected. This regulation is necessary in some cases to prevent persons who live where the initiation fee is high from evading it by obtaining membership where the fee is lower. Another provision, which is often found, permits a local union which has local sick and death benefits to charge a new initiation fee to a member transferred to it, or at least to charge any difference between its initiation fee and that which the member has paid, or, as an alternative, to exclude the member from the local benefits.

It is often provided that a local whose members are on strike need not accept transfer cards. This is to discourage members from coming where trouble exists, and especially to prevent the drawing of strike pay by persons who are not fairly entitled to it.

The secretary of the local which receives a transfer card is often required to forward it to the local which issued it, by way of notification that the transfer of membership has been completed. A few unions have more elaborate regulations. In the Brotherhood of Carpenters the clearance or transfer card has two coupons attached. When the card is deposited the financial secretary who receives it must sign coupon number one and affix the seal of his union, and mail both coupons to the financial secretary of the local which issued the card, as evidence that it has been deposited. The latter secretary must then sign coupon number two and affix the seal of his union, and return it to the former, as evidence that the card was legally obtained.

DISCIPLINE.

The maintenance of discipline, the judging of offenses, and the infliction of punishment fall almost entirely to the local unions. It is the local that decides for the most part what acts are to be considered offenses. In many of the national organizations, however, criminal codes have grown up, and in some of them the number of offenses specified is large.

No offense appears oftener in these national codes than "undermining" brother members in prices or wages or conditions of work. Allied to this is working or offering to work below the union scale. Several unions forbid taking a job or offering to take it for less than it has paid before. Going to work where a strike is on is mentioned rather less often; possibly because it is so obvious and grievous an offense that specific mention seems even less necessary. Revealing the business or transactions of the union to outsiders, and especially to employers, is often referred to. A few unions lay special penalties on revealing the name of a member who has opposed the admission of a candidate. Disturbing the meetings of the union by swearing, by abusive language, by refusing to obey the president, or by appearing in a state of intoxication, is mentioned in perhaps a dozen codes. A series of penalties is often provided for repetition of these offenses; first a small fine, then a larger fine, then ejection from the meeting, and perhaps suspension. Neglect of duty by an officer or a member of a committee is often punishable by a fine, and in the case of an officer by forfeiture of his position. Absence of an officer from meetings and failure to have at a meeting books which are in his charge are often specially provided for. Misapplication of funds of the union, or any sort of fraud against the union or its members, is often mentioned. Fraud against outsiders is not punishable under any of these national written codes, though some unions enforce the payment of debts due to outsiders, particularly to employers, and others announce that they will not support a member who is discharged for fraudulent conduct or for refusal to

« PreviousContinue »