The group of company unions based on optional membership tended toward the employee-committee procedure. Their constitutions almost never provided for joint committees of management and employee representatives, which by definition make management a party to the company union. They were usually called "associations", "unions", "societies", "fraternities", or some other name emphasizing the organization of workers rather than the meetings of their representatives. 10 They usually termed their basic written document a "constitution" or "bylaws", as opposed to "rules", which was used for the other type." In this group were included practically all company unions providing for dues and for frequent and regular meetings of employees. Of the 58 company unions with optional membership, 42 possessed at least 2 of the 3 structural characteristics described above-dues, employee-committee procedure, and frequent 12 and regular meetings of employees. On the other hand, only 4 of the 68 company unions with automatic participation had as many as 2 of these characteristics, while 39 had none at all.

The number of company unions with dues, frequent and regular employee meetings, and employee committees was distributed between the two different types as indicated in table 31.

TABLE 31.-Number of company unions with specified attributes, by basis of participation, spring of 1935

Attributes

Company unions with dues, employee meetings, and employee-com

Restrictions on membership.-The most common restriction to participation, aside from employment status with the company, was the exclusion of persons in executive positions. In four-fifths of the organizations 13 persons holding such positions were excluded

10 All but 8 of the 58 optional-membership company unions had such titles.

After March 1933, in line with the tendency toward optional-membership organizations, the title "association" was much more commonly used. Although rare before that date, this title or some related name was used by half of the organizations set up after March 1933. Two company unions which were first formed after 1933 as "plans" with automatic voting rights changed to "employees' associations" when voluntary membership was established. Three organizations set up during N. R. A. used the term "union", one was subtitled "an independent vertical union", and another adopted a title similar to that of the trade-union in the field. None of the pre-N. R. A. organizations used the term "union", although one changed under N. R. A. from the designation "cooperative association" to "shop union." A few company unions established during N. R. A., although they presumed to be employee-representation agencies, had such titles as "club" or "mutual aid association."

11 See ch. IX, footnote 1, p. 99.

12 Monthly or oftener.

13 No information on this point was obtained for 20 company unions.

bor organizations.20 Such restrictive clauses occurred only organizations of the optional-membership type. All but one 21 in company unions set up after March 1933. In all of these a trade-union was active among the employees at the time the any union was set up. In most there had been strikes or bitterly tested elections to determine the bargaining agency. A number these restrictions were applied to "any other labor organizations". ne, however, limited the restriction only to unions competing with The company union. Thus one applied it only to "another labor organization or union within the factory."

In a majority of the company unions, 73 out of 126, the right to participate in company union activities continued during a lay-off. Some of these placed limitations upon this right.22 Those which charged dues suspended payment of dues during the lay-off. Four provided that discharged members who questioned the justice of their discharge retained membership until their cases had been decided by the last body of appeal.

The widely varying estimates of number of persons belonging to a particular company union further indicated the occasional vagueness of membership. Even where there were nominal dues the company union and company officials disagreed widely on the extent of membership in their plants. Estimates varied from "under onehalf" to "practically all"; "70 percent" to "100 percent"; "44 percent" to "67 percent."

Reasonably consistent estimates were obtained for 45 of the 58 company unions established on an optional-membership basis.23 Twenty-seven of the forty-five were reported to have enrolled threefourths or more of the eligible workers. Three of these, in effect, had a closed shop. Eleven had a membership of from one-half to three-fourths, seven from one-fourth to one-half of the workers. Benefit features, where they existed, tended to swell membership.

29 No information on this point was available for 25 company unions. Of the 14 which had such restrictions, 2 required that members must agree that the company union would be the sole collective-bargaining agency. Three other company unions permitted trade-union members to join the company union, but barred trade-union members or officers from holding office in the company union.

In one case the company, as a condition of signing an agreement with the company union, insisted that the organization remove from its constitution a clause excluding trade-union members.

21 This was an organization whose members broke away from a trade-union during a strike.

22 Eleven limited the length of time, varying from 2 to 6 months, or "as long as retained on the pay roll", or "as long as he retains his time clock number." One permitted retention of membership only with the approval of the shop committee. Two restricted the member's right to vote for the period of lay-off.

Since most company unions did not bar trade-unionists from joining and many trade-unions did not forbid their members to join the company union, there was an overlapping in membership which, in certain cases, was considerable. Thus trade-union officials in one case stated that many workers became members of the company union through fear of discrimination. As evidence of this they stated that many tradeunion members in good standing also joined the company union on getting jobs at the plant. Trade-union members in another company joined the company union to protect their seniority. In one case, in which many trade-union members also belonged to the company union, the activities of the inside union, which were largely social, were considered as not being in conflict with those of the trade-union. In another case in which a large duplicate membership existed, a bitter fight against the trade-union had been carried on by the management.

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o one hundred and twenty-five company unions. This includes one in which social funcdier by employee assessments, but no extra income was received from these functions. va provided that “The cost of each function shall be prorated among the members attending Information on this point was lacking for one case.

The assumption by management of company-union expenses did not always mean that the employer undertook as a matter of principle to bear the whole expense. In a few cases, management clearly indicated its intention or desire to have the company union finance itself. One constitution, after stating that the company would provide suitable meeting places and pay representatives for time lost from work, continued: "Except that, if the employee representatives so desire, they shall be at liberty to arrange for compensation to be paid by pro-rata assessment among the employees." Another stated that "The employees may arrange to pay all or any part of this compensation." Although some of these company unions had been in existence for a number of years, one of them as far back as 1919, only one had undertaken to share any expenses.?

In some cases management contributed more or less regularly to the company-union treasury rather than meet expenses directly. One company union opened a bank account, out of which payments were made by the company-union treasurer. He accounted to the company for all expenditures. At intervals the company gave him a check for deposit to this account, which was entered on the books of the company as "donations to the employees' association." 3

The cost to the employer of financing a company union varied with the activity and elaborateness of the organization and the payments made to representatives and officers of the company union. One company had a budget of $800 a month for its company union, not counting the salaries of the personnel men. Another contributed $500 a month to the company union. In a third case the company occasionally paid $500 to the association treasurer. Another company reported $227 paid in a 6-week period, exclusive of $40 a week for the paid secretary, and compensation and traveling expenses for employee representatives. In some cases the expense was only for postage and mimeographing.

Dues and assessments.-Thirty percent of the company unions required regular payment of dues from members or participants. Six others raised some funds by assessments, raffles, and parties, while one inactive organization apparently had no dues and no expenses.* Among the company unions covered, the practice of charging dues was in the main a development of the N. R. A. period and was con

This company union paid a part of the expenses of a delegation to the N. R. A. code hearings.

* In this procedure the purpose, as stated by the management, was to prevent the payment of representatives for their time from appearing on the company's books. It regarded donations to the association as "nobody's business."

• The origin of this plan was thus described to the field agent by the employer: Upon announcement of N. I. R. A., the employer called his men together and told them they could go ahead and form an organization for collective bargaining, and that they had better get a lawyer to show them how, but that he would not give them a penny for it; whereupon the men decided they could do it just as well without paying a lawyer.

• For some qualification as to the general validity of this conclusion, see pt. II, p. 63.