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UNITED STATES DEPARTM ENT OF LABOR
Frances Perkins, Secretary
B U R E A U OF L A B O R ST A TISTIC S
Isador Lukin, Commissioner
+
Handbook o f American
T rade ^Unions
1936 Edition
By
ESTELLE M. STE W AR T
B ulletin 7Slo. 618
U N IT E D ST A T E S
G O V E R N M E N T P R IN T IN G OFFICE
W A S H IN G T O N : 1936
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.
Price 30 cents
CONTENTS
Page
1
Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Part I
C hapter 1. Changes and developments in labor movement, 1929 to
1936_______________________________________________________
7
Membership___________________________________________________
7
Change in policies and form of organizations______________________
8
New unions____________________________________________________
9
12
National trade councils___________________________________________
Trade Union Unity League________________________________________
13
Defunct organizations_____________________________________________
16
C hapter 2. Collective-bargaining machinery___________________________
17
Local machinery__________________________________________________
17
Influence of international officers in local negotiations________________
19
Negotiation by joint action________________________________________
20
National agreements______________________________________________
21
Methods used by general membership organizations_________________
23
C hapter 3. Trade-union benefits______________________________________
24
Strike and lock-out benefits___________________________________
25
Superannuation and disability benefits_______________________
26
Life and accident insurance________________________________________ 27
Sick and unemployment benefits___________________________________
27
Other benefits____________________________________________________
28
C hapter 4. Union-label activities_____________________________________
29
Union Label Trades Department, American Federation of Labor___
30
International Allied Printing Trades Association_______________________32
C hapter 5. Governmental structure___________________________________
33
C hapter 6. Qualifications for membership______________________________ 37
C hapter 7. American Federation of Labor_____________________________
49
State federations of labor__________________________________________ 51
City centrals___________________________________________________
52
Part II. National and International Unions
Section A. Extraction of minerals:
Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, International Union of__________
56
Mine Workers of America, United__________________________________ 57
Oil Field, Gas Well, and Refinery Workers of America, International
Association of________________________________________________
60
Quarry W orked International Union of North America_____________
61
Section B. Manufacturing and mechanical industries:
Building trades:
Building Trades Department, American Federation of Labor__
66
Asbestos Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost
Insulators and_____ _________________________________
69
m
CO NTENTS
IV
Section B—Continued.
Building Trades—Continued.
Page
Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers’ International Union of
America------------------------------------------------------------------------70
Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers, International
Association of----------------------------------------------------------------75
Carpenters and Joiners of America, United Brotherhood of___
78
84
Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of_____________
Elevator Constructors, Operators, and Starters, International
Union of________________________________________________
88
Engineers, International Union of Operating__________________
89
Granite Cutters’ International Association of America, The___
91
Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers’ Union of Amer
ica, International________________________________________
92
Lathers’ International Union, Wood, Wire, and Metal_________
94
Marble, Stone, and Slate Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers, Tile
and Marble Setters’ Helpers, and Terrazzo Workers’ Helpers,
International Association of_______________________________
96
Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, Brotherhood
of_______________________________________________________
97
Plasterers and Cement Finishers’ International Association of
the United States and Canada, Operative__________________ 100
Plumbers and Steam Fitters of the United States and Canada,
United Association of Journeymen__________________________ 102
Roofers, Damp and Waterproof Workers’ Association, United
Slate, Tile, and Composition________________________________ 104
Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association______________ 105
Chemical and allied industries:
Powder and High Explosive Workers of America, United_____ 111
Cigars and tobacco:
Cigar Makers’ International Union____________________________ 112
Tobacco Workers’ International Union________________________ 113
Clay, glass, and stone:
Brick and Clay Workers of America, United__________________ 114
Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association of the United States and
Canada___________________________________________________ 116
Glass Cutters’ League of America, Window____________________ 117
Glass Workers of America, Federation of Flat________________ 119
Glass Workers’ Union of North America, American Flint______ 121
Pavers, Rammermen, Flaggers, Bridge and Stone Curb Setters,
International Union of_____________________________________ 122
Paving Cutters’ Union of the United States of America and
Canada, International______________________________________ 123
Potters, National Brotherhood of Operative____________________ 124
Stone Cutters’ Association of North America, Journeymen_____ 125
Clothing trades:
Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union________________________________ 129
Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated___________________ 131
Fur Workers’ Union of the United States and Canada, Inter
national___________________________________________________ 133
Garment Workers of America, United________________________ 134
Garment Workers’ Union, International Ladies’________________ 136
Glove Workers’ Union of America, International________________ 137
CONTENTS
V
Section B—Continued.
Clothing Trades—Continued.
Page
Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers’ International Union,
United__________________________________________________ 138
Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union, United___________________ 140
Shoe Workers’ Protective Union_____________________________ 142
Tailors’ Union of America, Journeymen______________________ 143
Food and liquor:
Bakery and Confectionery Workers’ International Union of
America_________________________________________________ 148
Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers of America,
International Union of United____________________________ 151
Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Amalga
mated___________________________________________________ 154
Furniture and woodworking:
Carvers’ Association of North America, International Wood___ 155
Coopers’ International Union of North America______________ 156
Piano, Organ, and Musical Instrument Workers, International
Union of________________________________________________ 158
Upholsterers, Carpet and Linoleum Mechanics’ International
Union of North America__________________________________ 159
Jewelry trades:
Diamond Workers’ Protective Union of America______________ 161
Jewelry Workers’ Union, International_______________________ 162
Leather manufacture:
Leather Workers’ Association, National______________________ 164
Leather Workers’ International Union, United________________ 165
Leather Workers’ International Union of America, United_____ 167
Metals and machinery:
Metal Trades Department, American Federation of Labor_____ 170
Automobile and Metal Workers’ Union of America----------------- 172
Automobile Workers, International Union Unitedc____________ 173
Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers, International Brother
hood of_________________________________________________ 173
Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, InterNational Brotherhood of__________________________________ 176
Carmen of America, Brotherhood of Railway_________________ 179
Engravers and Sketchmakers, Friendly Society of------------------- 181
Engravers’ Union, International Metal_______________________ 182
Firemen and Oilers, International Brotherhood of_____________ 183
Foundry Employees, International Brotherhood of____________ 184
Horseshoers of the United States and Canada, International
Union of Journeymen____________________________________ 185
Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers of North America, Amalgamated
Association of___________________________________________ 186
Machinists, International Association of_____________________ 187
Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Industrial Union
of______________________________
194
Metal Polishers’ International Union________________________ 195
Molders’ Union of North America, International______________ 197
Pattern Makers’ League of America_________________________ 199
Stove Mounters’ International Union of North America_______ 200
Wire Weavers’ Protective Association, American______________ 201
VI
CO NTENTS
Section B—Continued.
Paper and printing:
Paper:
Page
Paper Makers, International Brotherhood of_____________ 203
Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers, International Broth
erhood of___________________________________________ 204
Wall Paper Crafts of North America, United_____________ 206
Printing:
Bookbinders, International Brotherhood of_______________ 207
Engraved Union of North America, International Photo.. 209
Lithographers of America, Amalgamated___________________ 211
Pressmen and Assistants* Union of North America, Inter
national Printing______________________________________ 214
Printers, Die Stampers, and Engravers’ Union of North
America, International Plate__________________________ 216
Siderographers, International Association of______________ 217
Stereo typers and Electro typers’ Union of North America,
International__________________________________________ 218
Typographical Union of North America, International____ 219
Rubber manufacture:
Rubber Workers of America, United___________________________ 223
Textile industries:
Lace Operatives of America, Amalgamated_____________________ 225
Textile Operatives, American Federation of____________________ 226
Textile Workers of America, United___________________________ 227
Miscellaneous manufactures:
Brooms, etc.:
Broom and Whisk Makers’ Union, International____ _______ 230
Electric light and power and manufactured gas:
Utility Employees of America, Brotherhood of_____________ 231
Section C. Transportation and communication (except United States
Post Office):
Water transportation:
Engineers’ Beneficial Association of the United States of America,
National Marine_________________________________________ 234
Licensed Officers of the United States of America, United_____ 236
Longshoremen’s Association, International___________________ 237
Masters, Mates, and Pilots of America, National Organization. _ 238
Seamen’s Union of America, International____________________ 239
Air transportation:
Air Line Pilots’ Association_________________________________ 240
Street and road transportation:
Street and Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of
America, Amalgamated Association of_____________________ 242
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers of America, Inter
national Brotherhood of__________________________________ 244
Steam railroad transportation:
Railway Employees Department, American Federation of Labor. 247
Brakemen-Porters, National Association of___________________ 249
Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees,
Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship_______________________ 250
Conductors, Brotherhood of Dining Car______________________ 252
Conductors, Order of Sleeping Car___________________________ 252
CONTENTS
VII
Section C—Continued.
Steam railroad transportation—Continued.
page
Conductors of America, Order of Railway____________________ 253
Dining Car Employees, Brotherhood of_______________________ 256
Dining Car Employees, National Brotherhood of______________ 257
Engineers, Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive___ 258
Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Locomotive_________ 260
Maintenance of Way Employees, Brotherhood of_____________ 263
Porters, Brakemen, and Switchmen, Association of Train______ 265
Railroad Workers, American Federation of___________________ 266
Signalmen of America, Brotherhood of Railroad______________ 267
Station Employees, Brotherhood of Railroad_________________ 269
Switchmen’s Union of North America________________________ 270
Train Dispatchers’ Association, American____________________ 271
Trainmen and Locomotive Firemen, Association of Colored Rail
way------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 272
Trainmen, Brotherhood of Railroad_________________________ 272
Yardmasters of America, Railroad___________________________ 275
Yardmasters of North America, Railroad_____________________ 276
Communication (other than United States Post Office, classified
under Government service):
Radio Telegraphists’ Association, American__________________ 278
Telegraphers, Order of Railroad_____________________________ 279
Telegraphers’ Union of North America, Commercial___________ 281
Telephone Workers, International Brotherhood of_____________ 283
Section D. Trade:
Advertising:
Bill Posters and Billers of America, International All ance of__ 286
Retail selling:
Clerks’ International Protective Association, Retail___________ 287
Section E. Professional, semiprofessional, and recreational groups:
Actors and Artistes of America, Associated_______________________ 289
Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians, Federation of____ 291
Draftsmen’s Unions, International Federation of Technical Engin
eers, Architects, and_________________________________________ 292
Musicians, American Federation of______________________________ 293
Newspaper Guild, American____________________________________ 294
Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the
United States and Canada, International Alliance of Theatrical— 296
Teachers, American Federation of_______________________________ 298
Section F. Government service:
Federal, State, and municipal:
Federal Employees, National Federation of---------------------------- 301
Fire Fighters, International Association of____________________ 302
Government Employees, American Federation of_____________ 303
Master Mechanics and Foremen of Navy Yards and Naval
Stations, National Association of__________________________ 305
United States Post Office:
Letter Carriers, National Association of______________________ 307
Letter Carriers, National Federation of Rural------------------------- 308
Letter Carriers’ Association, National Rural--------------------------- 309
Mail Association, Railway__________________________________ 310
Mail Service, National Council of Officials of the Railway-------- 312
Postal Employees, National Alliance of--------------------------------- 313
V III
CO NTENTS
F—Continued.
United States Post Office—Continued.
Postal Supervisors, National Association of___________________
Postmasters of the United States, National Association of_____
Postmasters of the United States, National League of District
Post Office Clerks, National Federation of____________________
Post Office Clerks of the United States, United National Associ
ation of_________________________________________________
Post Office Employees, National Association of Substitute_____
Post Office Laborers of the United States, National Association of.
Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees, National Federation of__
S e c t io n G. Personal service:
Barbers’ International Union of America, Journeymen_____________
Building Service Employees’ International Union_________________
Hotel and Restaurant Employees’ International Alliance and Bar
tenders’ International League ofAmerica_______________________
Laundry Workers’ International Union____________________
S e c t io n H. Agriculture:
Sheep Shearers’ Union of North America, No. 1, Incorporated_____
S e c t io n I. General organizations:
American Labor Alliance________________________________________
Industrial Workers of the World_________________________________
Master Workmen of America____________________________________
S ection
Page
314
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
323
325
325
327
330
331
332
333
INDEX OF UNIONS
[Organizations marked with an asterisk (*) are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor]
♦ Actors and Artistes of America, Associated_________________________
Agricultural Workers (American Federation of Labor locals)__________
Aircraft Workers of America, Industrial_____________________________
♦ Air Line Pilots’ Association________________________________________
American Labor Alliance___________________________________________
Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians, Federation of_______
♦ Asbestos Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators
and-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Automobile and Metal Workers’ Union of America___________________
♦ Automobile Workers, International Union United____________________
Automotive Industrial Workers’ Union________________________________
♦ Bakery and Confectionery Workers’ International Union of America__
♦ Barbers’ International Union of America, Journeymen________________
Bartenders’ League. See Hotel and Restaurant Employees’, etc.
♦ Bill Posters and Billers of America, International Alliance of__________
♦ Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers, International Brotherhood of__
♦ Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers, International Brotherhood
of_____________________________________________________
♦ Bookbinders, International Brotherhood of____________________________
♦ Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union_________________________
Brakemen-Porters, National Association of__________________________
♦ Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers of America, Interna
tional Union of United____________________________________________
♦ Brick and Clay Workers of America, United_________________________
♦ Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers’ International Union of America__
♦ Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers, International Associ
ation of________________________________________________________
♦ Broom and Whisk Makers’ Union, International______________________
♦ Building Service Employees’ International Union____________________
Building Trades Federation, United_________________________________
Butcher Workmen. See Meat Cutters, etc.
Canners’ Industrial Union__________________________________________
♦ Carmen of America, Brotherhood of Railway__________________________
♦ Carpenters and Joiners of America, United Brotherhood of____________
♦ Carvers’ Association of North America, International Wood___________
Cement Finishers. See Plasterers, etc.
Chauffeurs. See Teamsters, etc.
Chemical Workers (American Federation of Labor locals)_____________
Chemists. See Architects, etc.
♦ Cigar Makers’ International Union___________________________________
IX
Page
289
329
168
240
331
291
69
172
173
169
148
323
286
173
207
249
151
114
70
75
230
325
64
147
179
78
155
110
112
176
12
X
IN D E X OF U N IO N S
♦ Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees, Brotherhood
of Railway and Steamship_______________________________________
♦ Clerks* International Protective Association, Retail__________________
♦ Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated_________________________
Conductors, Brotherhood of Dining Car_____________________________
Conductors of America, Order of Railway___________________________
♦ Conductors, Order of Sleeping Car__________________________________
♦ Coopers* International Union of North America______________________
D e c o r a t o r s . See Painters, etc.
♦ Diamond Workers* Protective Union of America_____________________
Dining Car Employees, Brotherhood of_____________________________
Dining Car Employees, National Brotherhood of_*____________________
♦ Draftsmens Unions, International Federation of Technical Engineers,
Architects, and__________________________________________________
Page
250
287
131
252
253
252
156
161
256
257
292
and Radio Workers* Union_____________________________
12
Electrical Industry Employees* Union_______________________________ 168
♦ Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of_____________________ 84
♦ Elevator Constructors, Operators, and Starters, International Union of__ 88
Engineers* Beneficial Association of the United States of America,
Marine_________________________________________________________ 234
Engineers, Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive___________ 258
♦ Engineers, International Union of Operating_________________________
89
Engravers and Sketchmakers, Friendly Society of____________________ 181
♦ Engravers* Union, International Metal______________________________ 182
♦ Engravers* Union of North America, International Photo-------------------- 209
F e d e r a l Employees, National Federation of________________________
301
♦ Fire Fighters, International Association of___________________________ 302
Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Locomotive_________________ 260
♦ Firemen and Oilers, International Brotherhood of____________________ 183
♦ Foundry Employees, International Brotherhood of___________________ 184
♦ Fur Workers* Union of the United States and Canada, International__ 133
♦ Ga r m e n t Workers of America, United______________________________
134
♦ Garment Workers* Union, International Ladies*______________________ 136
♦ Glass Bottle Blowers* Association of the United States and Canada____ 116
♦ Glass Cutters* League of America, Window__________________________ 117
♦ Glass Workers of America, Federation of Flat----------------------------------- 119
♦ Glass Workers* Union of North America, American Flint_____________ 121
♦ Glove Workers* Union of America, International_____________________ 137
♦ Government Employees, American Federation of_____________________ 303
♦ Granite Cutters* International Association of America, The___________
91
E l e c t r ic a l
Cap and Millinery Workers* International Union, United___
Heat and Frost Insulators. See Asbestos Workers, etc.
♦ Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers* Union of America,
Internati onal___________________________________________________
♦ Horseshoers of the United States and Canada, International Union of
Journeymen____________________________________________________
♦ Hotel and Restaurant Employees* International Alliance and Bartenders*
International League of America_________________________________
♦ Ha t t e r s ,
138
92
185
325
INDEX OF UNIONS
Workers of the World__________________________________
♦ Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers of America, Amalgamated Association of__
I n d u s t r ia l
XI
Page
332
186
♦ Je w e l r y
Workers’ Union, International______________________________
L a c e Operatives of America, Amalgamated__________________________
♦ Lathers’ International Union, Wood, Wire, and Metal________________
♦ Laundry Workers’ International Union______________________________
Leather Workers’ Association, National_____________________________
♦ Leather Workers’ International Union, United_______________________
Leather Workers’ International Union of America, United____________
♦ Letter Carriers, National Association of_____________________________
♦ Letter Carriers, National Federation of Rural________________________
Letter Carriers’ Association, National Rural___________________________
Licensed Officers of the United States of America, United_____________
♦ Lithographers of America, Amalgamated______________________________
♦ Longshoremen’s Association, International___________________________
162
225
94
327
164
165
167
307
308
309
236
211
237
International Association of____________________________
♦ Mail Association, Railway_________________________________________
Mail Service, National Council of Officials of the Railway_____________
♦ Maintenance of Way Employees, Brotherhood of_____________________
♦ Marble, Stone, and Slate Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers, Tile and
Marble Setters’ Helpers andTerrazzo Workers’ Helpers, International
Association of__________________________________________________
Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Industrial Union of_____
Masons. See Bricklayers, etc.
♦ Masters, Mates, and Pilots of America, National Organization________
♦ Master Mechanics and Foremen of Navy Yards and Naval Stations,
National Association of__________________________________________
Master Workmen of America---------------------------------------------------------♦ Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, AmalgamatedMechanics’ Educational Society of America-------------------------------------♦ Metal Polishers’ International Union----------------------------------------------♦ Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, International Union of-------------------♦ Mine Workers of America, United__________________________________
♦ Molders’ Union of North America, International_____________________
Moving-picture-machine operators. See Stage Employees, etc.
♦ Musicians, American Federation of-------------------------------------------------Newspaper Guild, American_______________________________________
187
310
312
263
♦ Ma c h in is t s ,
Field, Gas Well, and Refinery Workers of America, International
Association of___________________________________________________
♦ Oil
♦ Pa in t e r s , Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, Brotherhood of__
♦ Paper Makers, International Brotherhood of_________________________
♦ Pattern Makers’ League of America________________________________
♦ Pavers, Rammermen, Flaggers, Bridge and Stone Curb Setters, Inter
national Union of_______________________________________________
♦ Paving Cutters’ Union of the United States and Canada, International-Photoengravers. See Engravers, Photo.
96
194
238
305
333
154
169
195
56
57
197
293
294
60
97
203
199
122
123
XII
IN D EX OF U N IO N S
♦ Plano, Organ, and Musical Instrument Workers, International Union of__
Plasterers. See Bricklayers, etc.
♦ Plasterers and Cement Finishers’ International Association of the United
States and Canada, Operative____________________________________
♦ Plumbers and Steam Fitters of the United States and Canada, United
Association of Journeymen_______________________________________
Porters, Brakemen, and Switchmen, Association of Train_____________
Porters, Sleeping Car (American Federation of Labor locals)___________
Postal Employees, National Alliance of______________________________
Postal Supervisors, National Association of__________________________
Postmas+ers of the United States, National Association of_____________
Postmasters of the United States, National League of District_________
♦ Post Office Clerks, National Federation of___________________________
Post Office Clerks of the United States, United National Association of__
Post Office Employees, National Association of Substitute____________
Post Office Laborers of the United States, National Association of_____
Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees, National Federation of_________
♦ Potters, National Brotherhood of Operative_________________________
♦ Powder and High Explosive Workers of America, United_____________
♦ Pressmen and Assistants’ Union of North America, International Print
ing------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------♦ Printers, Die Stampers, and Engravers’ Union of North America, Inter
national Plate___________________________________________________
♦ Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers, International Brotherhood of__
Page
158
100
102
265
246
313
314
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
124
111
214
216
204
Workers1 International Union of North America_____________
61
Radio Telegraphists’ Association, American_________________________
Radio Workers (American Federation of Labor locals)________________
Radio workers. See Electrical and Radio Workers’ Union.
Railroad Workers, American Federation of__________________________
Railway Employees, International Association of_____________________
♦ Roofers, Damp and Waterproof Workers’ Association, United Slate, Tile
and Composition________________________________________________
♦ Rubber Workers of America, United________________________________
S c r e e n Actors’ Guild______________________________________________
♦ Seamen’s Union of America, International___________________________
♦ Sheep Shearers’ Union of North America____________________________
♦ Sheet Metal Workers International Association______________________
Ship Builders, Iron. See Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, etc.
Shipbuilding workers. See Marine and Shipbuilding Workers, etc.
Shoe and Allied Craftsmen, Brotherhood of__________________________
Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union, United___________________________
Shoe Workers’ Protective Union____________________________________
♦ Siderographers, International Association of_________________________
Signalmen of America, Brotherhood of Railroad______________________
Spinners, International Mule_______________________________________
♦ Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United
States and Canada, International Alliance of Theatrical____________
State and Municipal Employees (American Federation of Labor locals) State, City, and Town Employees, Federation of (Massachusetts)_____
278
168
266
246
104
223
288
239
330
105
♦ Qu a r r y
128
140
142
217
267
224
296
300
300
IN D EX OF U N IO N S
Station Employees, Brotherhood of Railroad_________________________
Steam Fitters. See Plumbers, etc.
Steel Workers. See Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers, etc.
*Stereotypers and Electrotypers’ Union of North America, International.
♦ Stone Cutters’ Association of North America, Journeymen____________
♦ Stove Mounters’ International Union of North America______________
♦ Street and Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees of America,
Amalgamated Association of_____________________________________
♦ Switchmen’s Union of North America_______________________________
X III
Page
269
218
125
200
242
270
Union of America, Journeymen____________________________
♦ Teachers, American Federation of___________________________________
♦ Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers of America, International
Brotherhood of__________________________________________________
Technicians and technical engineers. See Architects. See Draftsmen.
♦ Telegraphers, Order of Railroad----------------------------------------------------♦ Telegraphers’ Union of North America, Commercial__________________
Telephone Workers, International Brotherhood of____________________
Textile Operatives, American Federation of--------------------------------------♦ Textile Workers of America, United_________________________________
Timber and sawmill workers. See Carpenters, etc.
♦ Tobacco Workers’ International Union______________________________
Train Dispatchers’ Association, American----------------------------------------Trainmen and Locomotive Firemen, Association of Colored Railway___
Trainmen, Brotherhood of Railroad_________________________________
♦ Typographical Union of North America, International________________
279
281
283
226
227
Carpet and Linoleum Mechanics’ International Union of
North America__________________________________________________
Utility Employees of America, Brotherhood of_______________________
159
231
Paper Crafts of North America, United_______________________
Waterproof Workers. See Roofers, etc.
♦ Wire Weavers’ Protective Association, American-------------------------------Workers’ Alliance of America---------------------------------------------------------Y a r d m a s t e r s of America, Railroad_________________________________
Yardmasters of North America, R a i l r o a d „----------276
206
201
331
275
♦ Ta il o r s ’
♦ Up h o l s t e r e r s ,
♦ Wa l l
143
298
244
113
271
272
272
219
PR EFA CE
Probably no better evidence of the vitality of the American labor
movement could be presented than the difficulties which confronted
the Bureau of Labor Statistics during the period this handbook
was in preparation. Constant shifts and changes—the affiliation
with the American Federation of Labor of independent groups, the
merger of other groups, the creation of national and international
unions out of local units that had been directly under the jurisdiction
of the American Federation of Labor—all combined to make it
necessary to treat the situation as of an arbitrary date.
This date was fixed at March 1, 1936, and the information con
tained in the handbook, with regard to such fluid characteristics of
organization as membership and affiliation status, is authoritative as
of that date. The other essentials that make up the information
compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in this series of hand
books of American trade-unions are not so variable. Thus, juris
diction, form of government, method of negotiating agreements, and
other elements entering into the actual economic functioning of a
labor organization, remain fairly constant. It is these elements,
brought together in one volume, that constitute the chief value of
the Bureau’s compilation.
ISADOR L u BIN,
Commisioner of Labor Statistics.
xv
UNITED
STATES
DEPARTMENT
OF
LABOR
Bulletin o f the
Bureau o f Labor Statistics
Number 618
WASHINGTON
March 1936
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADEUNIONS
Introduction
This edition of the Handbook of American Trade-Unions, the
third that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has published, is in two
parts. Part I presents, in chapter 1, a brief review of the outstand
ing changes and developments that have occurred within the labor
movement since 1929, when the preceding edition of the handbook
was published. Succeeding chapters discuss important activities and
aspects of trade-unionism and the constitutional provisions by which
these are regulated. The specific features treated are: Collective
bargaining machinery (ch. 2); trade-union benefits (ch. 3); promo
tion of union labels (ch. 4); governmental structure (ch. 5) ; and
qualifications for membership (ch. 6). The American Federation of
Labor is discussed briefly in chapter 7.
These analyses are so brief as to be little more than suggestive out
lines, using as illustrative material the information available in
the detailed data presented for each national and international or
ganization in part II. Reference may be made to these detailed
studies of the organizations in part II to amplify the text given in
part I.
Part II contains the major part of the bulletin, the information
covering the 156 national and international unions. Data presented
for each of these organizations deal with its relation to the Ameri
can Federation of Labor, the date of its founding and its historical
development, as far as that is obtainable, and the essential facts of
its structure and functions arranged under the following headings:
1
79315*— 36----- 2
2
HANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR AD E-U N IO N S
(1) Objects, (2) territorial jurisdiction, (3) trade jurisdiction, (4)
government, (5) qualifications for membership, (6) apprenticeship
regulations, (7) method of negotiating agreements, (8) benefits, (9)
official organ, (10) headquarters, (11) organization, i. e., extent and
distribution, (12) membership reported to the Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics.
Organizations are classified first into broad trade groups following
as closely as possible the classification used by the Bureau of the
Census. This is then broken down into industrial divisions, each of
which is prefaced with a short review of the recent significant organi
zational changes and developments within that industrial division.
A list of the organizations in each classification is divided into Ameri
can Federation of Labor affiliates and independent organizations.
Where a union’s jurisdiction overlaps the industrial classifications,
as, for example, the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association,
which is both a building-trades union and a metal-trades union, a
cross-reference is provided.
The first Handbook of American Trade-Unions appeared in 1926,
as Bulletin No. 420. The method used in compiling it was to request
all the known trade and labor organizations of national scope and
significance to furnish the Bureau with copies of their constitutions,
official journals, trade-union directories, a statement of their total
membership and any other pertinent material, and a brief historical
sketch of the origin, founding, and early development of the organi
zation. The historical data presented by the organizations themselves
were amplified, as far as possible, by further research, especially with
reference to origins and early history, and the relationship between
present-day trade-unions and those of the era preceding the founding
of the craft union movement under the American Federation of
Labor.
Much of the data presented in the handbook was derived from the
constitutions of the international organizations, particularly the
detailed statements of jurisdiction, the machinery of government,
qualifications for membership, apprenticeship regulations, and the
various benefit plans. Collective-bargaining machinery is explicitly
provided in some constitutions, but that is not general. Where the
constitution did not cover the point, the international officers were
asked to furnish a comprehensive statement of the methods used by
their respective organizations to secure collective agreements.
Three years after the publication of Bulletin No. 420, a revised
edition was published as Bulletin No. 506, Handbook of American
Trade Unions, 1929 edition. For this revision, each organization was
given a copy of the report dealing with it as carried in the 1926 edi
tion. The responsible official of each international or national union
INTRODUCTIO N
3
was asked to make all necessary corrections, revisions, and additions,
not only to bring the material up to date but to check any errors that
may have appeared in the first bulletin. New organizations not
appearing in the 1926 edition were asked to present all the material
necessary for a complete and authentic report.
The same method was used in revising the bulletin for this 1936
edition. In that way authentic data, verified and approved by the
organizations themselves, were provided. The international officers
have been cooperative and helpful and have given time and effort
to insure reliable and authentic presentation of the material covering
their organizations.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines a national or international
trade or labor organization as one having national scope and sig
nificance, with locals or branches in more than one State, and having
recognized headquarters and general officers representing and gov
erning the entire membership. Headquarters need not be a fixed
location or office, since not infrequently, particularly among smaller
or newer organizations, the home or place of business of the secre
tary is the official address of the union. The determining point, as
far as the Bureau is concerned, is that that address shall be generally
recognized by the membership as the administrative center of the
organization.
This definition eliminates many bona fide labor organizations, be
cause they function locally only. While unquestionably unions of
this type are often an important element of the labor movement, the
practical problems involved in getting in touch with every one of
them and obtaining the necessary information makes their inclusion
in the handbook quite impracticable. Moreover, they tend, far more
than do the organizations with a wider coverage territorially, toward
instability and a shifting status. These local movements are often,
though by no means always, secessions from established organiza
tions. They may, in fact, in many cases, be regarded as strikes
against policies and practices of the older groups. When the differ
ences which caused the secession are adjusted, the insurgent faction
is apt to return to the parent body. This frequent change in status
as between an independent group and a subordinate local of an in
ternational adds to the practical difficulty of listing all independent
local unions in the handbook, since the situation at the time the
information was collected may have changed materially by the time
the bulletin was printed.
On the other hand some elasticity in that part of the definition
which requires interstate character is necessary under certain cir
cumstances. When an industry is localized, as, for example, the
automobile industry or the tannery industry, the Bureau recognizes
4
HANDBO O K OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
that organization therein can be highly significant and still be con
fined to what is essentially a limited geographic area. In that case,
however, the inclusion of these organizations does not nullify the re
quirement of national significance, since their geographic scope is
limited by the distribution of the industries with which they are
concerned.
The membership figures used in the handbook are those reported
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the organizations themselves,
except in the case of certain unions which do not, as a matter of
policy, divulge their membership for publication. If these unions
are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, the member
ship represented by the number of votes to which they are entitled
in convention has been used in the handbook. That number is, how
ever, only the total paid-up membership in good standing on whom
the per capita tax due the Federation has been paid in full. It is
more likely to be a minimum than a representative figure.
PART I
5
Chapter 1. Changes and Developments in Labor
Movement, 1929 to 1936
The outstanding characteristics of the labor movement in the years
1929 to 1936 are the marked shifts in membership and the changes
that are taking place in structure and policy.
MEMBERSHIP
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has no first-hand information on
trade-union membership for the years 1930-34. The conclusion may
fairly be drawn from current and generally accurate knowledge of
the trend of events that union membership held its own for about 2
years after the depression began in 1930, fell off appreciably in the
latter part of 1931, and declined sharply in the period 1932-33. To
ward the end of 1933 and in 1934, however, under the stimulus of the
National Industrial Recovery Act and the explicit recognition and
protection of the right to organize set out in section 7a of that act,
membership increased in most of the established unions, and organi
zations were started in fields previously unorganized. Figures for
these years are available only for the organizations affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor and show only the number of mem
bers in good standing on whom per capita tax had been paid in full
to the federation at the time the membership audit was made; that
is, they take no account of members out of work, on strike, or excused
from payment of dues for any reason.
The total paid-up membership of the American Federation of
Labor1 for those years was:
1930 __________________________________________________________________ 2 , 961, 096
1931 ___________________________________________________________________ 2 , 889,550
1932 _____________________________________________________________________ 2 , 532,261
1933 ___________________________________________________________________ 2 , 126,796
1934 ____________________________________________________________________ 2 , 608,011
This edition of the handbook covers 156 organizations, as com
pared to 146 in 1929. Of those listed here, 110 are affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor, and the rest are independent. On
this showing, the total organized strength of the American Federa
tion of Labor, including the directly affiliated trade and federal
labor groups, is 3,967,582, and of the independent unions, 687,740.
1 American Federation of Labor. Report of the executive council to the Atlantic City
convention, 1935, p. 7.
7
H ANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
8
These figures, however, include Canadian members of American
unions.
After deducting the Canadian membership 2 from the aggregate,
the total, as nearly as the Bureau of Labor Statistics is able to de
termine from reports made directly or indirectly to it, is 4,517,498
organized workers in 154 national and international unions and in
groups organized directly under the American Federation of Labor.
Data on membership could not be secured from two organizations in
the independent group, but they are believed to be comparatively
small, and their inclusion probably would not increase the total by
more than 3,000 to 4,000.
In presenting this figure of 4,500,000 as the approximate strength
of organized labor in the United States, attention is particularly
directed to the unknown factor of the numbers organized in inde
pendent local groups, which sometimes attain a substantial member
ship. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has no foundation upon which
to base an estimate of the organized strength of groups that have no
national entity.
CHANGE IN POLICIES AND FORMS OF ORGANIZATION
Changes in organizing fields, policies, and mediums are of more
importance, however, than fluctuations in membership. From that
viewpoint, developments in the labor movement in the 6 years since
the Bureau’s former study of American trade-unions was published
have been interesting and of considerable significance. Industries
which have heretofore seemed impervious to the doctrine of unionism
have responded to organizing campaigns conducted by both the
American Federation of Labor unions and the independent groups.
A number of the old craft unions have extended their jurisdictions
and broadened their fields in the effort to combat encroachments from
new organizations which have no craft boundaries or traditions.
In fact, the greatest increase in organization in the past 5 years
has been among semiskilled and unskilled workers in the massproduction industries and in the rapidly developing fields, such, for
example, as the electrical-equipment industries. Of the 25 national
and international unions listed in this handbook which were not in
the 1929 edition, 10 were created after the passage of the National
Industrial Recovery Act of 1933, and 7 are in fields heretofore not
covered by any national group.
The movement to organize the mass-production industries has
developed two forms of organization, the federal labor union and
the independent industrial union. The first and most extensively
• Canadian membership by courtesy of the Canadian Department of Labor.
CH ANG ES AND DEVELO PM ENTS IN LABOR M O VEM ENT
9
used of these forms is the directly affiliated American Federation of
Labor federal labor union. This device has always been used to ex
tend organization to workers, chiefly the unskilled, in localities or in
dustries in which no affiliated national or international union func
tioned. It differs from the directly affiliated trade-union, which has
frequently been used as the nucleus around which to build a national
craft union, in that a federal labor union must be composed of work
ers in different, and usually unclassified and unorganized, callings.
While it has been a structural and functional element of the American
Federation of Labor from the first, it was of no particular value as an
organizing medium until the movement to unionize the mass-produc
tion industries took shape. Then it became the instrument for ex
tending organization, without regard to craft limitations and require
ments, to great numbers of factory workers not identified with any
craft. Accordingly, when the campaigns to organize the automobile,
rubber, cement, electrical-manufacturing, and other mechanized in
dustries were undertaken, the workers were organized into federal
labor unions under the immediate direction and control of the
American Federation of Labor.
From the enactment of the N. I. R. A. in June 1933, to the San
Francisco convention of the American Federation of Labor in Oc
tober 1934, the federation organized and chartered 106 federal labor
unions in the automobile industry, 75 in rubber manufacture, 20 in
the aluminum industry, and about 30 in the cement industry. The
total number of directly affiliated trade and federal labor unions in
creased from 673 in 1933 to 1,788 in 1934. This number had been
reduced to 1,354 by October 1, 1935, chiefly because of the formation
of two international unions, the International Union of United Auto
mobile Workers and the United Rubber Workers of America, which
absorbed the federal labor unions in their respective jurisdictions,
and because local unions of sawmill and lumber workers merged
with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners in accord
ance with an agreement between that organization and the executive
council of the American Federation of Labor.
N EW UNIONS
This handbook lists 25 national and international organizations
that did not appear in the 1929 edition. These are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
International Union of United Automobile Workers.
Air Line Pilots’ Association.
Federation of Flat Glass Workers.
American Federation of Government Employees.
10
HANDBO O K OF AM ERICAN T R A D E-U N IO N S
United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers’ International Union.
National Association of Master Mechanics and Foremen of Navy Yards
and Naval Stations.
Sheep Shearers’ Union of North America,
United Rubber Workers of America.
Independent:
Automobile and Metal Workers’ Union.
Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians.
Brotherhood of Utility Employees.
American Newspaper Guild.
United Licensed Officers.
National Association of Substitute Post Office Employees.
National Federation of Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees.
National Leather Workers.
United Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union.
Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers.
American Radio Telegraphists’ Association.
Friendly Society of Engravers and Sketchmakers.
Brotherhood of Dining Car Employees.
National Brotherhood of Dining Car Employees.
National Association of Brakemen-Porters.
American Labor Alliance.
Master Workmen of America.
All but six of these have been organized since 1929, but two of
them are the outgrowth of older unions which have merged since
then. These two organizations are: (1) The United Hatters, Cap
and Millinery Workers’ International Union, which is an amalga
mation of the United Hatters of North America (Bui. No. 506, p.
143) and the International Union of Cloth Hat, Cap and Millinery
Workers (Bui. No. 506, p. 142). The amalgamation eliminates dual
ism and split jurisdiction in the hat industry. The new union is
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, as were the two
it supersedes. (2) The United Licensed Officers is a merger of two
independent unions in maritime transportation, the Ocean Associa
tion of Marine Engineers (Bui. No. 506, p. 102) and the Neptune
Association (Bui. No. 506, p. 104). The latter organization was
composed of licensed deck officers, and the merger brings the licensed
officers of both deck and engine departments on shipboard into one
organization.
The six organizations which, while not new, were not included in
the earlier bulletin, are the Sheep Shearers’ Union of North America,
the National Association of Master Mechanics and Foremen in Navy
Yards and Naval Stations and the Friendly Society of Engravers
and Sketchmakers,3 which have expanded their territorial jurisdic
tion from local to national groups and affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor since 1929, and three independent unions—the
8 This organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor in 1933, but with
drew in 1935.
11
National Federation of Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees, and
the two organizations of dining-car employees—with which the
Bureau of Labor Statistics was not in touch at the time.
Only six of the new organizations are in wholly new fields—the
affiliated Air Line Pilots’ Association, International Union of United
Automobile Workers, United Rubber Workers of America, Sheep
Shearers’ Union, the independent organization of automobile work
ers, and the American Newspaper Guild. The American Federation
of Government Employees is dual to the older National Federation
of Federal Employees, from which it seceded, and the new organiza
tion in the glass industry covers machine operators and excludes
the skilled cutters who hold membership in another affiliated union.
Industrial unionism is the basis upon which five of the new groups
have established independent organizations. These are the Brother
hood of Utility Employees, the National Leather Workers, the
United Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union, the Automobile and Metal
Worker’s Union, and the Industrial Union of Marine and Ship
building Workers. In every case these organizations encroach, in
whole or in part, upon established American Federation of Labor
unions, but as they repudiate the craft autonomy principles of the
older unions and are designed to function industrially, they cannot
be considered dual organizations in the strict sense, except, per
haps, in the case of the dual organization of automobile workers.
The rest of the recently established independent unions, on the
other hand, are essentially craft groups and are clearly dual. The
members of the Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and
Technicians would be eligible either to the affiliated International
Federation of Technical Engineers, Architects, and Draftsmen’s
unions or to the directly affiliated groups in the chemical industry.
One of the post-office organizations, the National Association of
Substitute Post Office Employees, cuts across the jurisdictional lines
of affiliated and independent unions to organize, as a class, a group
of men eligible to one of several other established unions. The other
organization in the postal service, the National Federation of Post
Office Motor Vehicle Employees, covers men in occupations included
in the jurisdiction of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
and Chauffeurs.
The jurisdictional claims of the affiliated Commercial Teleg
raphers’ Union cover radio operators as well as Morse and teletype
operators, but the wireless men have organized their own craft in
dependently. The two organizations in dining-car service are Negro
groups, which, while established on race lines, are dual to an Ameri
can Federation of Labor jurisdiction, as the newly formed diningcar-service branch of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees InterCH ANG ES AND DEVELO PM ENTS IN LABOR M O VEM ENT
12
H ANDBOOK OF AM EKICAN TK ADE-UNIO NS
national Alliance and Bartenders’ International League covers the
same field.
Workers in the electrical-equipment industry, including radio
manufacture, are organizing on a national scale, an industrial union
called the United Electrical and Radio Workers’ Union, but as this
is still in the formative state it is not included in this bulletin.
Another international group which has not progressed sufficiently
to be considered an established organization is the International
Association of Railway Employees. This organization is designed
to federate, and eventually to amalgamate, the many scattered
organized groups of Negro workers of all classes and occupations in
railroad employment.
The most important of the newly organized federal labor unions,
and directly affiliated local trade-unions resulting from the organiz
ing activities of the American Federation of Labor since 1933 are
treated in the discussion of unions by industrial divisions in part II.
NATIONAL TRADE COUNCILS
A new organizing device has come into use as a means of making
the transition from scattered local organization to national entity.
This medium is the national trade council, and it is being used by
both the American Federation of Labor directly affiliated groups
and the independent bodies. These are not national organizations
within the Bureau’s definition, since the component organizations are
still unrelated, either to each other or to a central authority. Yet
it is not always possible to determine at just what stage of develop
ment a national organization actually comes into existence, and these
coordinating and cooperating groups are at least potential national
labor unions.
They grew out of the need of some cohesive element, particularly
among the automobile and rubber workers, where organization
spread rapidly. Although not widely scattered territorially, the in
creasing number of local unions in those industries created an un
wieldiness that the national trade council was designed to correct.
These are representative, delegate bodies similar in structure to a
city central labor union. The important difference is, however,
that they represent only one industry.
The National Council of Automobile Workers’ Unions was founded
in June 1934, and at that time it represented 106 federal labor
unions in the automobile industry. It assumed general supervision
over the affairs of the various locals as they affected the interests
of the workers as a whole, and served to coordinate their scattered
activities and functions. It also undertook a program of education
CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN LABOR MOVEMENT
13
and discipline in preparation of completely integrated organization
on a national scale. Pending the granting of an international char
ter of affiliation with the American Federation of Labor to the
organized automobile workers, the National Council was the recog
nized central agency dealing with the workers in the industry.
A similar body functioned in the rubber industry, but with the
marked difference that the National Council of Rubber Workers
included not only the production workers organized in directly
affiliated federal labor unions, but representatives of the various
craft unions employed in the industry. This council was especially
active in the collective-bargaining field, sending representatives to
assist local unions in drawing up and negotiating agreements, in
which it undertook to secure uniform terms.
National joint councils of directly affiliated local unions of gaso
line station attendants and workers in the coke and gas industry
were created in July 1935, and other groups, particularly the various
scattered groups .of stenographers and clerical employees, plan to
develop that medium as a stepping stone to national organization.
Outside the American Federation of Labor the national joint coun
cil is proving the means of establishing intercourse and coordination
among scattered groups, a function which for the affiliated local
unions is performed by the American Federation of Labor itself,
through its officers and organizers. Two of these joint councils exist
at present in the independent field. They are the National Coordi
nating Committee of Rank and File Groups in Social Work, and the
National Conference of Employee Pharmacists Associations, both
with headquarters in New York City.
The National Coordinating Committee was established in February
1935, following a national convention of groups in the field of social
work organized in the interest of the rank and file workers as distinct
from professional organizations in the same field. Since then State
and city groups have federated into coordinating committees in some
localities, and the National Coordinating Committee has appointed
a committee to draft a constitution for the proposed national organi
zation, which will be submitted to the local group for discussion and
revision, prior to calling a national convention. A journal published
by the New York groups—Social Work Today—serves as a clearing
house for reports of activities throughout the movement, and as the
organ of the National Coordinating Committee.
TRADE UNION UNITY LEAGUE
At the time of the publication of the 1929 edition of the trade-union
handbook, a number of left-wing industrial unions had recently been
14
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
organized, and others were in a formative state. The National
Miners’ Union, the Needle Trades Workers’ Industrial Union, and the
National Textile Workers’ Union, were briefly mentioned in the
earlier bulletin.
This independent left-wing movement found expression, during
the period 1929 to 1934, in the organization of industrial unions, in
most cases dual to existing national trade-unions, in a number of the
basic industries, and in their federation into the Trade Union Unity
League.
The Trade Union Unity League was a development of the Trade
Union Educational League, which was organized in 1920 and which
was, in its turn, an outgrowth of left-wing movements of earlier
years. The general policy of the Trade Union Educational League
during the 9 years of its existence was the strengthening of the leftwing minority movement in the trade-unions. It was active in several
of the outstanding strikes of the period, particularly among textile
workers. The first organized split of any importance away from the
United Mine Workers of America occurred after the coal strike of
1927-28, when through the influence of the Trade Union Educational
League, the National Miners’ Union was organized in 1928. This was
followed by the organization of the National Textile Workers and
the Needle Trades Workers’ Industrial Union.
In September 1929, the Trade Union Educational League changed
its program and its constitution and became the Trade Union Unity
League. It declared that its policy would be to further “the organi
zation of new revolutionary industrial unions in industries where
there are no unions and in industries where the existing unions are
corrupt and impotent.” Where established unions held control, the
old policy of fighting “for their revolutionization” and for mass ac
tion through amalgamations and breaking down of craft lines, was to
be continued.
Following out this program, industrial unions were organized on a
national basis and industrial leagues, some of which developed into
national unions, were organized locally. The most important of the
national unions, in addition to the three already mentioned, were
Marine Workers’ Industrial Union, Auto Workers’ Union, Steel and
Metal Workers’ Industrial Union, Food Workers’ Industrial Union,
Shoe and Leather Workers’ Industrial Union, and the Canning and
Agricultural Workers’ Industrial Union. Other groups that were
active locally, chiefly in New York City, were those in the tobacco and
meat-packing industries, and office workers.
Organizing efforts of the Trade Union Unity League and its com
ponent industrial unions were directed chiefly toward the unskilled
CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN LABOR MOVEMENT
15
and semiskilled, particularly in the mass-production industries. The
basic unit of organization was the “rank and file” shop committee.
The membership of the Trade Union Unity League reached its
maximum early in 1934, when an affiliated membership of 125,000 was
reported. The largest union was the Needle Trades Workers’
Industrial Union with 30,000 members.
As militant, radical organizations, the Trade Union Unity League
unions had aggressive strike policies and conducted many strikes in the
industries where they had an organized nucleus. Many of the strikes
of the period 1930 to 1934, either were instigated by the Trade Union
Unity League or were conducted by that organization after they
broke out. Thus many of the coal and textile strikes during 1933
were fostered or led by the left-wing unions and the Trade Union
Unity League. In answer to the charge of Communist influence and
affiliation the Trade Union Unity League made the declaration that:
“The Trade Union Unity League and its affiliated organizations are
not political parties. They are trade-unions based on the struggle
of the workers against the bosses. They embrace workers of all opin
ions including Republicans, Democrats, Socialists, Communists, and
others.” It was pointed out, however, that “Communists are, of
course, among the most active workers in these unions.”
The official organ of the Trade Union Unity League during its
active existence was Labor Unity. Publication was suspended upon
the dissolution of the league.
The 1935 convention of the Trade Union Unity League, held in
New York City, decided upon the formal dissolution of the league
as a left-wing trade-union center and the disbanding of its affiliated
organizations. This movement had begun as early as 1933, when the
members of the National Miners’ Union returned to the United Mine
Workers, and had been more generally carried out during the months
immediately preceding the 1935 convention. Since then, formal an
nouncement of the dissolution of the affiliated Trade Union Unity
League organizations has been made through the official journals of
those that maintained such publications. For example, the Marine
Workers’ Voice, official organ of the Marine Workers’ Industrial
Union, in announcing the dissolution of the organization, urged its
members to join the International Seamen’s Union.
Thus the federation of left-wing industrial organizations came to
an end on March 17, 1935, and the policy of the former Trade Union
Educational League is revived—that is, the development of the leftwing minority within the trade-unions themselves, to bring about
changes in both economic and political programs and policies of the
standard trade-unions. This is the program and practice to which
16
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
the American Federation of Labor and its component organizations
apply the phrase “boring from within.”
A committee for the unification of the trade-unions, organized at
the time of the dissolution of the Trade Union Unity League, is all
that remains at the present time of the federated left-wing move
ment.4
DEFUNCT ORGANIZATIONS
Of 15 organizations treated in the 1929 edition of the handbook as
national or international unions which are not so treated in the 1936
edition, 7 have either passed out of existence or have been eliminated
because their existence is doubtful, or for other reasons. Those
which are known to have disbanded are the Automobile, Aircraft,
and Vehicle Workers (Bui. No. 506, p. 52), and the Service Post
masters’ Association (Bui. No. 506, p. 187). The Railway Agents
Association (Bui. No. 506, p. 78), the International Association of
Policewomen (Bui. No. 506, p. 183), and the Loyal Legion of Log
gers and Lumbermen (Bui. No. 506, p. 108) have been dropped as
being outside the field of trade-unionism, and the International Mule
Spinners (Bui. No. 506, p. 198), in the absence of positive informa
tion to the contrary, is classed as a local and not as an international
organization (see p. 225). The American Registered Pharmacists
(Bui. No. 506, p. 214) was listed in 1929 as a potentially national
organization though admittedly local in fact. It has still not ex
tended beyond California and is consequently eliminated.
The remaining eight organizations 5 have passed out of existence
as individual entities, but they are still active in the labor movement
and are accounted for in this handbook.
4 S o u rce: R eport from Labor R esearch A ssociation (allied w ith th e T. U. U. L .) to the
B ureau of Labor S tatistics, dated May 24, 1935.
5 These are Ocean A ssociation of M arine E n g in eers; N eptune A sso cia tio n ; Cloth H at,
Cap and M illinery W orkers’ In ternation al U n io n ; U nited H atters of N orth A m erica ;
A ssociated Silk W ork ers; A m algam ated Food W ork ers; W indow G lass C utters and F latten ers’ A ssociation of A m erica, I n c .; and W indow G lass C utters and F la tten ers’ P rotec
tive A ssociation o f Am erica.
Chapter 2. Collective-Bargaining Machinery
The main purpose of trade-union activity is regulation and, if
possible, control by the workers of their wages, hours, and working
conditions. The most practical means of attaining this purpose is a
signed working agreement. According to a student of the organized
labor movement, all the unions affiliated with the American Federa
tion of Labor “regard the trade agreement as the embodiment of
trade-union aims and measure their success or failure by the number
and character of agreements which they sign.” 1 The same attitude
is taken by most of the unaffiliated organizations as well.
Consequently definite machinery is provided by many labor unions
as the medium for achieving binding labor agreements, setting forth
in specific terms the wages, working conditions, and industrial rela
tions which, usually, are to obtain for a fixed period of time. The
procedure by which agreements are consummated is popularly called
collective bargaining and among the most successful organizations
is carried on through clearly defined channels. Collective-bargain
ing machinery and procedure may be materially changed in some
important respects in consequence of recent national policies as re
flected in such legislation as the National Industrial Recovery Act,
the National Labor Disputes Act, and the National Mediation Act,
which introduce the Government as a factor in collective bargaining.
However, this element has not yet called for any significant changes
in trade-union methods of negotiating agreements. Such changes
as have occurred have affected chiefly the practices and policies of
employers in the matter of contractual relations with employees, and
have on the whole strengthened existing methods and machinery of
collective action.
LOCAL MACHINERY
Trade agreements, in nature and coverage, range all the way from
instruments of purely local application negotiated by representatives
of a local trade-union with individual employers, to collective agree
ments with a national coverage affecting an entire industry, and
signed by the national representatives of organized workers and
organized employers. However, the great majority of the trade
agreements secured by American trade-unions are negotiated, signed,
1 Lorw in, Lew is L., T he A m erican Federation of Labor, W ashington, D. C., B rookings
In stitu tion , 1933, p. 309.
79315°—-36------3
17
18
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
and applied locally, generally with individual employers or local
groups of employers.
This is true even of some strongly organized trades, and in many
cases the nature of the work, or the character of the industry, makes
local control the only feasible system. In the building trades, for
instance, the fact that the construction industry is not organized on
the basis of a working staff permanently in the employ of a given
employer, as is the case in manufacturing, makes general agreements
impractical. Hence, with two exceptions, building-trades agreements
are negotiated by local trade-union representatives with local em
ployers, either individually or in association.
One of the exceptions referred to concerns large contractors em
ploying union labor and doing business in different parts of the
country. In this case the international officers of the Bricklayers,
Masons, and Plasterers5 International Union negotiate a basic agree
ment, but even that leaves most of the details subject to local in
fluence and adjustment. The other exception noted is the case of
the sprinkler fitters, discussed later.
In large, well-organized centers, such as Chicago, the Building
Trades Council becomes the negotiating medium because of author
ity delegated to it by the component craft unions. Chicago buildingtrades employers are also well organized and in consequence the col
lective-bargaining machinery of that city, as of most large cities,
consists of a joint conference board composed of eight representatives
each of the Building Trades Council and the Building Construction
Employers’ Association. A standard agreement is made the basis
of the negotiations, by which general working conditions and the
principle of arbitration of differences are established. Wage scales
and local conditions peculiar to each craft are then negotiated and
signed separately by the employer groups in each of the different
trades, as tile setting, plastering, etc. The terms accepted by the
representatives of the Building Trades Council are referred to the
respective craft unions for ratification by a general vote of the
members affected.2
The methods used by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers and the
International Ladies’ Garment Workers are essentially local, so far
as negotiations and the character of the agreements are concerned;
but the various local units, covering distinct crafts or manufacturing
processes, form joint boards for collective-bargaining purposes.
While this illustrates procedure in highly organized centers where
the various crafts act together, it is hardly representative of the bulk
of trade agreements, since group action is not general.
■ Source: Christenson, C. Lawrence, Collective Bargaining in Chicago, 1929-30. Chi
cago, University of Chicago Press, 1935.
COLLECTIVE-BARGAINING MACHINERY
19
INFLUENCE OF INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS IN LOCAL
NEGOTIATIONS
Even where the collective-bargaining machinery and the responsi
bility for securing and enforcing working agreements are wholly
local, the parent body of many organizations undertakes to exercise
a degree of authority and, in some instances, of control. One method
by which this is done is to require that the local agreement be sub
mitted to the general executive body of the international union for
approval before it becomes binding (bridge and structural iron
workers, plasterers, blacksmiths, machinists, meat cutters and butcher
workmen, printers, utility employees, and others). Another method,
which is a variant of the one just described but which signifies a
greater degree of direction and advice from the parent body, is for
the general executive board or the chief executive officer of the in
ternational union to pass upon the terms that the local union has
decided to propose to the employers, before the local representatives
enter into negotiations. Among the unions following this practice
are those of the operating engineers, granite cutters, firemen and
oilers, teamsters, photoengravers, printing pressmen, barbers, and
ladies’ garment workers.
Another method of determining the terms which shall form the
basis of local negotiations takes control out of the hands of the exec
utive officers and places it in the convention, or, infrequently, in the
constitution pf the international union. This plan as a rule cannot
go beyond enunciating general principles such, for example, as the
40-hour week, or the 5-day week, and a minimum-wage scale. This
leaves to local bargaining the actual wage scale, payment for over
time, and all matters that must be adjusted to local conditions. The
asbestos workers, sheet-metal workers, tailors, iron, steel and tin
workers, and brewery workmen use this method. The outstanding
example of local negotiation on terms dictated by the organization
as a whole is the American Federation of Musicians, and the only
difference between that system and a national agreement covering
the trade is the fact that the actual agreements are local and indi
vidual rather than general. The musicians’ method is in reality in a
class by itself, as the terms which agreements must fix are incor
porated in the constitution of the organization. If employers in that
field were represented by a central agency, instead of being, as they
are, wholly dissociated, the musicians’ negotiating methods would un
doubtedly produce a uniform, national agreement in fact, instead
of, as now, in effect but not in fact, because each local union of the
American Federation of Musicians does the actual negotiating.
These various methods of centralized regulation keep local condi
tions from becoming so divergent as to endanger the standards which
20
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
the union as a whole is organized to maintain, at the same time leav
ing with the local union the responsibility of making the best terms
it can and of enforcing them after they are made. The degree of
success achieved by the local union depends, of course, upon its own
organized strength and bargaining power. In some cases, when local
negotiations threaten to break down, the international officers take a
hand in the proceedings with the purpose of placing the entire
strength of the organization back of a local situation. The executive
officers of the bricklayers; electrical workers; hodcarriers; iron, steel,
and tin workers; and typographical unions, for example, are called
in to assist local representatives when negotiations reach the deadlock
stage. The national officers of the International Union of Pulp, Sul
phite, and Paper Mill Workers serve ex officio as members of local
committees when agreements are being negotiated, and a general
officer of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers
is present during negotiations for local agreements. The national
officers of the United Shoe and Leather Workers also help the local
unions to conclude agreements locally.
On the employers5 side, where the agreement is of local origin and
application, the negotiating body may be the representative of an
individual employer or firm, or of a small group of employers acting
together more or less informally, or of an employers’ organization
formed partly or wholly for handling labor relations. Local unions
negotiate with organized employers wherever possible, in the interest
of uniform standards and stabilized conditions of employment. As
in the case of the unions themselves, joint action among employers is
generally confined to the large centers.
NEGOTIATION BY JOINT ACTION
An intermediate stage between purely local determination of in
dustrial relations and national control is illustrated by the practices
of the railroad organizations and the bituminous-coal miners.
The negotiating unit in railroad employment is the individual
railroad or system. The collective-bargaining agency on the work
ers’ side is the general wage or adjustment committee representing
all locals of a given organization on each railroad or railroad sys
tem. This is the medium used by each of the four large brother
hoods in railroad operation, the railway clerks, maintenance-of-way
employees, and the signalmen. Generally these committees are elect
ed in convention or by referendum by the membership they repre
sent. These delegate bodies then meet the representatives of the
general management of the respective roads or systems, for the pur
pose of drawing up an agreement covering the men they represent.
Each of the railroad brotherhoods has, in addition, a more highly
COLLECTIVE-BARGAINING MACHINERY
21
centralized body composed of the chairmen of the wage or adjust
ment committees on the individual roads or systems who form a gen
eral committee of systems federations. It is this general committee
which handles the so-called concerted movements involving transpor
tation workers over wide areas. At times these general committees
of the brotherhoods have joined forces to bring about adjustments
in acute situations.
The most effective collective-bargaining machinery of the United
Mine Workers operates as a joint body representing geographic units.
The negotiating machinery for the central competitive field (States of
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and part of Pennsylvania) consists of eight
representatives of the coal operators and eight representations of the
United Mine Workers from each of the four districts comprising the
central competitive field. These 64 delegates constitute the interstate
joint conference, which is conducted as a convention, under a formal
program. The actual bargaining is carried on by the scale commit
tee of 16 members, composed of two representatives of each side from
each State. When and if this body reaches a decision, it reports to
the whole conference, where the terms offered by the scale committee
are finally acted upon. This agreement is general and outlines poli
cies but does not fix binding terms. Details are worked out locally, in
negotiations between districts or subdistricts and local operators’ as
sociations or individual employers. Many details involved in meet
ing purely local conditions are concluded between the local union at
the mine and the mine management. But all local agreements and
conferences must be consistent with the general standards and
policies declared by the interstate agreement.
NATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Participation in collective bargaining on a national scale takes
various forms, and results in varying degrees of coverage. In the
strict interpretation of a national agreement as one controlling an
entire industry on a Nation-wide basis, the United States can
scarcely be said to have national agreements. However, in the highly
localized and well-organized glass and pottery industries, and in the
specialized skilled craft of wire weaving, agreements are essentially
national, and in certain subdivisions of other industries the collectivebargaining machinery and the coverage of the agreement are on a
national basis.
One of the most important national agreements is that of the
sprinkler fitters, a division of the plumbing trade. The installation
of automatic-sprinkler systems is controlled by a group of contrac
tors who are completely organized. Representatives of this group
meet with the international officers of the United Association of
22
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Journeymen Plumbers and Steamfitters to effect a trade agreement
covering the entire field of automatic-sprinkler installations and
maintenance. Similarly, the national officers of the International
Molders’ Union negotiate with representatives of the Manufacturers’
Protective and Development Association on general agreements
covering one phase of foundry work, that of stove molding and the
making of hot-water castings.
Another instance of national control of a single factor in an indus
try not otherwise regulated nationally is the hosiery branch of the
textile industry, where an agreement covering all organized hosiery
mills is concluded between representatives of the nationally or
ganized manufacturers and the general officers of the American Fed
eration of Hosiery Workers, which is a part of the United Textile
Workers.
Another aspect of attempted national control is in effect the re
verse of the practice, discussed under local systems, by which local
unions must receive approval from the parent body of the terms
they propose. In a few cases, notably elevator construction, paper
and wall-paper making, and commercial airplane operation, the na
tional officers of the union and representatives of the organized
employers draw up general terms and conditions, which are then
submitted to local negotiation for acceptance. This general agree
ment is in fact merely the basis for local bargaining, but it is sig
nificant of the effort to centralize the bargaining machinery.
One type of agreement is, with the exception of the Boot and
Shoe Workers’ Union, practically always negotiated by the national
officers of the unions involved and is uniform but not detailed. This
is the union-label or union-shop-card agreement. However, the em
ployers’ side of the bargaining machinery is more often than not
purely local.
National agreements arrived at in conference between national rep
resentatives of the unions and the national associations of employers,
and covering all organized workers in the respective industries, are
the rule in the flint- and window-glass and glass-bottle industries,
and in the general-ware division of the pottery industry. Bargaining
machinery, however, differs slightly. The general executive board
constitutes the bargaining agency for the Glass Bottle Blowers’ Asso
ciation, while in other branches of the glass industry wage-scale com
mittees representing each manufacturing division are elected by the
constituent departments and meet with employer representatives of
their respective departments and processes. In pottery this division
is geographic rather than technical, the agreement for the potteries
east of Pittsburgh being negotiated by the eastern general-ware stand
ing committee, while that covering the rest of the industry (the
COLLECTIVE-BARGAINING MACHINERY
23
greater part) is handled by the western general-ware standing com
mittee. The bargaining agency of the manufacturers is the labor
committee of the United States Potters5 Association, an elected body
representing proportionally the eastern and western plants, the china
and semiporcelain factories, and large and small operators.
The committees representing the workers are appointed by the
President of the National Brotherhood of Operative Potters, but two
elected officers of the brotherhood, the secretary and the first vice
president, are ex-officio members. These committees enter into nego
tiations with the employers5committee on the basis of a price list and
general working conditions adopted by the convention of the brother
hood prior to the opening of the wage conferences. Each local of the
national organization has the right to submit its demands to the
convention. These are then sifted and compiled, and the results are
submitted to the convention for final adoption as the instructions of
the general organization to the wage committees.3
METHODS USED BY GENERAL MEMBERSHIP
ORGANIZATIONS
Two organizations, the Sheep Shearers5 Union and the Actors’
Equity Association, have unique bargaining methods that are worth
noting. These are both general-membership bodies, without local
divisions. The sheep shearers at each corral elect a business com
mittee of three members before starting to work. This committee
negotiates the prices that shall be paid for that specific shearing and
serves as an adjustment committee for that corral during the shearing
season.
The “equity contract’5, which is the basis of employment relations
on the legitimate stage, is the instrument that covers general working
conditions and equity standards, and establishes the equity, or union,
shop. It is negotiated by the executive officers of the Actors’ Equity
Association in conference with the representatives of the associations
of theatrical managers and producers. The conditions set forth in
that contract, which deal with rehearsal periods, number of perform
ances, expense of costumes, working conditions, and protection of the
workers in a broad and general way, are not subject to adjustment or
modification by any producer or any performer, but must govern
the performance for which the contract was drawn for the duration
of that production. However, each participant in the production
makes his own personal arrangements with the management in the
matter of casting, salary, and other purely individual demands or
concessions.
* Source: McCabe, David. National Collective Bargaining in the Pottery Industry.
Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Press, 1932.
Chapter 3. Trade-Union Benefits
In the formative years of the trade-union movement the doctrine
of high dues and high benefits was advocated by labor leaders as an
organizing medium. Most of the strongest unions adopted the policy
of establishing such features as strike and death benefits practically
from the start and have continued to maintain them. A few under
took sick benefits nationally, but in most cases these became so burden
some that they could not be retained. Later some internationals added
new features such as unemployment benefits, disability and old-age
pensions, and the like, as need rose and union treasuries increased.
Decreased earnings, unemployment, and falling membership have,
however, been reflected in shrinking union funds, and the trend to
ward expanding the number and kind of trade-union benefits has
been, for the time being, definitely checked. A considerable number
of new unions have no benefit features, and some of the older organ
izations have discontinued their systems. Here again, recent Federal
and State legislation in the fields of old-age security and unemploy
ment insurance will undoubtedly affect trade-union practices in those
respects.
Two forms of benefit, on the other hand, are quite generally pro
vided by international unions. These are strike pay, and a death
benefit which takes the form of a lump-sum payment and is in effect
a contribution to funeral expenses and doctor bills; it is not in most
cases large enough to be considered a provision for dependents. A
few unions, among which are the United Brotherhood of Carpenters
and Joiners, the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers, and the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin
Workers, pay a small funeral benefit to a member upon the death of
his wife.
Some of the large organizations make strike benefits a responsi
bility of the local unions involved and do not use international funds
for the purpose. Among these are the Amalgamated Clothing
Workers and the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.
STRIKE AND LOCK-OUT BENEFITS
Strike benefits usually cover lock-outs as well as strikes, and in
some cases, “victimization”, which nowadays means discharge for
union activities, although originally it grew out of the necessity
for helping men who were blacklisted by employers.
24
TRADE-UNION BENEFITS
25
Strike benefits are carefully protected as a rule and the conditions
under which they are granted are rigid. A fundamental requirement
is that the member on strike shall be in “good standing’5 in his
local—that is, that his dues and other financial obligations have been
fully met—and that the local shall be in good standing in the inter
national. Strikers receiving strike pay must report daily to strike
or local-union headquarters and must be available for and accept any
duty in connection with the strike that may be assigned to them by
the strike committee.
Not all international unions fix the amount of the strike benefit.
Instead, in many cases, the amount of money each striker receives
depends upon a number of variable factors—the funds available in
both local and international treasuries, the circumstances of the
individual in the matter of dependents, immediate needs such as
rent, and so on. Benefits are seldom payable until a strike has been
in progress for a stipulated period of time, usually 1 week or 2 weeks.
Some internationals, conversely, set a maximum limit to the issuance
of strike pay. This varies widely, some unions paying strike bene
fits for not more than 4 weeks, while others, particularly among the
transportation unions, may continue to pay for 6 months or longer.
In practically all cases, however, the responsible authorities reserve
the right to discontinue strike benefits whenever an unsettled dispute
drags out to the point where union funds are seriously in jeopardy.
Strike funds, or “defense funds” as they are called in trade-union
parlance, are raised in several different ways. Some unions divert
a fixed percentage of the per capita tax paid by local unions to
international headquarters; others make regular assessments upon
the membership monthly or quarterly in addition to dues; others
use general funds for strike purposes as long as possible and then
levy special assessments upon the entire organization to create an
emergency fund if it is necessary for the strike to continue.
The following items are examples of the amounts paid to striking
members from the funds of the parent body when the strike benefit
is a definite sum fixed by the laws of the international: Boilermakers
and plasterers, $10 a week; molders, $9.60 a week to journeymen,
from which weekly dues of 75 cents are deducted, $5.35 a week to
non journeymen members, from which 35 cents are deducted as dues;
oil-field workers, $10 a week to married men or those with depend
ents, $5 a week to single men without dependents; photoengravers,
$25 a week to journeymen, $5 to $12 to apprentices according to num
ber of years served; stereotypers, $15 a week to journeymen and $8
to apprentices; iron, steel, and tin workers, $8 a week if funds per
mit, if not, $5; boot and shoe workers, $5.
26
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
SUPERANNUATION AND DISABILITY BENEFITS
Practices in the matter of granting benefits or pensions for old
age and disability vary considerably, but these systems are not gen
eral among American unions. So far as they exist they are of four
types— (1) lump-sum payments upon retirement from active work
on account of age or disability (operative plasterers, quarry work
ers, street- and electric-railway employees and motorbus operators);
(2) monthly pensions paid out of general or special funds to which
the recipient has made only such contribution as is essential to
membership in the union (bricklayers and masons, bridge and struc
tural iron workers, carpenters and joiners, sheep shearers, electrical
workers, granite cutters, printers, and printing pressmen); (3)
monthly pensions under an annuity system payable only to annuitants
who have made contributions during their years of active member
ship in the union (Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, Brother
hood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Rail
road Trainmen); and (4) admission to the home for aged and dis
abled members owned and maintained by the international (carpen
ters, printers, printing pressmen, railway conductors, and jointly,
the other three railroad brotherhoods), and temporary admission for
treatment to tuberculosis sanatoriums (printers, printing pressmen,
and stereotypers and electrotypers).
Continuous membership in good standing over a long period of
years, usually 20 or 25, but 30 for carpenters, is required for eligibil
ity to old-age and total-disability benefits, even when that is only a
small lump-sum payment. Personal circumstances are a qualifying
consideration in some cases, but that is not general. For example,
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners pays superannua
tion benefits only to persons over 65 years of age who are without
means and unable to support themselves, while the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers imposes no limitations upon the
personal means of the beneficiary, requiring only that he retire from
the trade. The minimum-age qualification is 65 years in most unions,
although in three cases (bridge and structural iron workers and the
two printing-trades unions) members become eligible at 60 years of
age. The Granite Cutters5 Union sets the retirement age at 62 years.
The lump-sum payment granted upon retirement for age or dis
ability by the Quarry Workers’ International Union is $50, which is,
in fact, a commutation of the death benefit; by the Operative Plas
terers’ International Association, $200; and by the Amalgamated
Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees, $800. The
method used by the International Association of Bridge, Structural,
TRADE-UNION BENEFITS
27
and Ornamental Iron Workers is to allot monthly sums up to a
maximum of $1,000, after which the pensioner is dropped from the
pension rolls.
The amount of the pension paid by the internationals maintaining
pension systems ranges from $60 a year (granite cutters) to $40 a
month (electrical workers). There is no clear distinction in any case
between superannuation and disability. The maximum payable to
retired railroad men is higher ($65 a month for engineers and $70
for firemen and for trainmen), but the amount of pension received
depends upon the kind and number of contributory policies carried
by the individual.
LIFE AND ACCIDENT INSURANCE
Some unions, notably the railroad brotherhoods and the Interna
tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, have insurance depart
ments through which several kinds of insurance, including life and
accident, are handled for the members. A number of other organi
zations, including a few of the smaller ones and some of those
recently established, use the group-insurance method. As this plan
is contributory it is not considered a trade-union benefit in the true
sense.
SICK AND UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
The payment of benefits for the relief of sick and unemployed
members is almost wholly a local responsibility, when it is under
taken at all. Very few international unions attempt either sick
or unemployment benefits from the funds of the parent body. The
constitutions of some internationals provide for the payment of sick
benefits by the international, among them the Bakery and Con
fectionery Workers’ International Union, the United Association of
Journeymen Plumbers and Steamfitters, and the Journeymen Tailors’
Union, but information is not available as to application and opera
tion. The International Photo Engravers’ Union provides a weekly
benefit of $15 for a period of 7 years, subject to extension not to
exceed 3 years, for any member of the union who becomes incapaci
tated for work because of pulmonary tuberculosis.
Only one international union, the International Association of
Siderographers, undertakes unemployment benefits and as this is a
very small group the plan is on practically the same footing as the
unemployment-relief efforts of local unions.1
1 See Monthly Labor Review, July 1934, for description of unemployment benefit plans
of local trade-unions.
28
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
OTHER BENEFITS
Legal aid in the prosecution or defense of claims by members is
a feature of the benefit service of the Brotherhood of Locomotive
Firemen and Enginemen and the International Alliance of Theatri
cal Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators. The
unions covering pattern making, sheep shearing, and wood carving
provide tool insurance for their members.
Chapter 4. Union-Label Activities
A device closely connected with the union agreement, which is used
by international unions functioning in jurisdictions where the use
of such a device is practical, is the union label, or the union shop or
store card. The union label is confined to products of such character
as to permit the application of the label upon the product of the
workers. It has, however, a fairly wide scope. Cigars and tobacco,
clothing, mattresses and upholstered goods, brooms and brushes, and
printing are the outstanding products upon which distinctive union
labels are either attached, as in clothing and brooms, or printed, as
in the case of bands on cigars and tags on tobacco, and the familiar
label of the allied printing trades. The label takes other forms, such
as the watermark of the International Brotherhood of Papermakers,
which is impressed into the paper manufactured in union mills, and
the characteristic insignia of the American Federation of Musicians,
which is often part of a union musician’s uniform. In some kinds of
clothing such as shoes, hats, and gloves, where the ribbon type of label
is impractical, the union label is stamped inside the product.
Union store and shop cards are most widely used by such organiza
tions as the Retail Clerks International Protective Association, the
Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen, and the Journey
men Barbers’ International Union. Many other organizations use a
button to designate union membership, but except perhaps in the
case of street-car employees, that is an individual matter and does
not necessarily imply any contractual employment relation.
The use of union labels and shop cards is granted only to union
shops and ordinarily under an agreement negotiated by international
officers, although the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union label agreement
is made locally. A union-label agreement is general in its terms, deal
ing with working and sanitary conditions and covering broad prin
ciples, but leaving wages, number and classification of workers, and
other details to local determination. Some carry an arbitration clause.
Control of the union label is vested in the international officers and
the administrative work in connection therewith is usually a function
of the secretary-treasurer. Where the union label is an article of
cloth or paper attached to a product, its actual issuance is handled by
the international office and the label is consigned in the required quan
tities to the designated local official for distribution to the local shops
or stores.
29
30
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
A union label is essentially a trade mark and as such is registered
and protected by trade-mark laws. Practically all States recognize
and give legal status to the various legitimate devices signifying
union-made goods or union membership.
Union-label committees for promoting the use of and demand for
union-label goods are a feature of the organizational activities of
practically all organizations, and among the obligations imposed by
union membership in principle is that of patronizing shops, stores,
and manufacturers using union labels and dealing in union-made
products. City central labor unions are frequently particularly active
in this field. In addition, certain agencies exist for the sole purpose
of promoting the union labels or, as in the case of the printing-trades
label, of controlling it. These agencies are the Union Label Trades
Department of the American Federation of Labor and its subordinate
local label leagues and the International Allied Printing Trades
Association and its subordinate allied printing trades councils. The
Women’s Trade Union League and the various “women’s auxiliaries”
attached to many of the standard unions are also active agents in
trying to create consumer demand for union-label goods.
UNION LABEL TRADES DEPARTMENT, AMERICAN
FEDERATION OF LABOR
The Union Label Trades Department was organized in April 1909.
It is composed of “national and international unions, regularly
chartered by and affiliated to the American Federation of Labor,
using labels, cards, or buttons on the products of their members to
designate membership therein.” It was organized—
to promote a greater demand for products bearing the union label and of labor
performed by union workers; to investigate into, devise, recommend, and
within the limits of its authority, carry into effect methods for the advertise
ment of union-label products.
Control over the laws and trade regulations governing the use of
union labels remains with the affiliated organizations, and the de
partment has no authority over their issuance or use. It is merely
an educational and publicity medium for promoting a demand for
union labels.
The department holds a convention each year just preceding the
convention of the American Federation of Labor, at which its officers
are elected. The executive board consists of a president, five vice
presidents, and a secretary-treasurer. The secretary-treasurer is the
full-time salaried official, charged with the duty of “carrying out the
purposes for which the department was created.” The department
issues an official directory of manufacturers using union labels.
UNION-LABEL ACTIVITIES
31
Local label leagues are established with the endorsement of the
central labor union of the city or town. There are 160 of these local
label leagues under charter from the department.
The organizations represented in the department are:
American Federation of Labor.
Bakery and Confectionery Workers’ International Union of America.
Barbers’ International Union, Journeymen.
Bookbinders, International Brotherhood of.
Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union.
Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers of America, International
Union of the United.
Broom and Whisk Makers’ Union, International.
Carpenters and Joiners of America, United Brotherhood of.
Cigarmakers’ International Union of America.
Clerks’ International Protective Association, Retail.
Coopers’ International Union of North America.
Electrical Workers of America, International Brotherhood of.
Engineers, International Union of Operating.
Engravers’ Union of North America, International Photo.
Garment Workers of America, United.
Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association of the United States and Canada.
Glove Workers’ Union of America, International.
Hatters, Cap, and Milinery Workers’ International Union, United.
Horse Shoers of United States and Canada, International Union of Journey
men.
Hotel and Restaurant Employees* International Alliance and Bartenders’ In
ternational League of America.
Laundry Workers’ International Union.
Machinists, International Association of.
Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Amalgamated.
Metal Polishers’ International Union.
Molders’ Union of North America, International.
Musicians, American Federation of.
Paper Makers, International Brotherhood of.
1
Pressmen and Assistants’ Union of North America, International Printing.
Printers, Die Stampers, and Engravers’ Union of North America, Interna
tional Plate.
Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States
and Canada, International Alliance of Theatrical.
Stereotypers and Electrotypers’ Union of North America, International.
Stove Mounters’ International Union.
Tailors’ Union of America, Journeymen.
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers of America, International
Brotherhood of.
Textile Workers of America, United.
Tobacco Workers’ International Union.
Typographical Union, International.
WaU Paper Crafts of North America, United.
32
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
INTERNATIONAL ALLIED PRINTING TRADES
ASSOCIATION
The International Allied Printing Trades Association is a dele
gate body composed of representatives of the International Typo
graphical Union, the International Printing Pressmen and Assist
ants’ Union, the International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, the
International Stereotypers and Electrotypers5 Union, and the Inter
national Photo Engravers’ Union. Its specific purpose is “to desig
nate the products of the labor of the members thereof by adopting
and registering a label or trade mark designating such products.” It
functions through local units, which it charters. These local units
are the local allied printing trades councils which are formed in
localities where two or more local unions of the component interna
tionals exist. They are composed of three representatives from each
of the crafts and are largely self-governing.
The International Allied Printing Trades Association issues a
“universal label license” to all printing trades employers who agree
“to employ in printing, binding, and production of all printed mat
ter, photoengravings, electrotypes, stereotypes, and all other illus
trated matter entering into printing and printed products, none but
members in good standing in unions” comprising the allied printing
trades councils, “to pay their scale of wages, to observe their appren
tice laws, and comply with their working rules.” Any work which
an employer using the label puts out on contract or has done in an
outside shop must be done under the same conditions as those re
quired in label shops.
The allied printing trades council acts as the representative in the
locality of the international association in the regulation and control
of the allied printing trades label. Each local council has a num
ber which appears on the labeled work done under its jurisdiction.
Most of the component organizations in the printing industry have
their own distinctive union labels. However, where an allied printing
trades council exists, only the joint label may be used.
Chapter 5. Governmental Structure
“The international union in convention assembled” is declared in
the constitutions of practically all labor organizations to be the
supreme authority and governmental medium. Conventions are
gatherings of delegates representing all local unions in “good stand
ing” in the international. To be in good standing a local must be
current with all its financial obligations to the parent body and have
complied with any regulations or requirements which might affect
its status in the international.
Delegates are elected by the constituents whom they represent, and
representation is based upon paid-up membership in good standing.
The basis of representation and the size of the delegations in con
vention vary considerably.
Conventions formerly were annual affairs for a large percentage
of the international bodies. In recent years the tendency has been
to lengthen the interval between conventions, a tendency that has
become even more pronounced during the depression era. With ex
ceptions to be noted later, these conventions are the sole legislative
body of the organization and the medium for the selection of the
general officers to whom the affairs of the organization are entrusted.
The administration of trade-union affairs between conventions is
in the hands of its elected officials. That administrative agency is
a highly organized, centrally powerful one, or it is a weak interna
tional unit with autonomy retained by the local unions, according
to the manner in which control has developed. The trend is toward
an ever-increasing centralization of control in the hands of a power
ful general executive board, with corresponding diminution of selfgovernment on the part of the component local unions. Where this
is the governmental principle, the constitutions of the subordinate
locals are imposed by the international, and even local bylaws are
subject to the approval of the general executive board.
On the other hand, some international unions are, in effect, loose
federations of wholly autonomous local groups, and in others the
governing body is merely the instrument for administering rules,
decisions, and policies arrived at by referendum vote of the entire
membership taken at fairly frequent intervals. The Granite Cutters’
International Association and the International Wood Carvers’ Asso
ciation are examples of the referendum method. Two organiza79315°—30-----4
83
34
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
tions in the building trades may be cited to illustrate the extremes of
central authority and local autonomy. The International Brother
hood of Electrical Workers has in recent years revised its constitu
tion to develop a highly centralized governmental machinery with
comprehensive powers. The International Union of Operating
Engineers, on the other hand, has a constitutional provision by which
each constituent local union reserves the right and the power at its
own option—
to approve or reject all or any part of any legislative act, measure, resolution,
bylaw, rule, or constitutional amendment enacted by the convention or promul
gated by any general officer or officers. These reserved powers are expressly
declared to include all measures relative to elections and finances of the
organizations.
So extreme a conception of local automony is not apparent in any
other constitution, however, although the International Alliance of
Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators
and the International Alliance of Bill Posters and Billers enunciate
the principle of “home rule” for component local units.
Between these opposing attitudes toward local self-government are
various degrees of hegemony. Generally speaking, the organizations
in the transportation field have centralized control in the hands of
the international officers, and the locals are subordinate branches
governed directly and minutely in all matters except those of purely
local concern. This is notably true of the railroad brotherhoods, the
railway clerks, and the teamsters. On the other hand, in two of the
maritime unions—the National Organization Masters, Mates, and
Pilots and the International Seamen’s Union—and in street-railway
transportation, the local branches are largely self-governing.
The degree of authority over local unions is wholly a matter of
development within the separate organizations, and no one form is
characteristic of industrial groups. For example, some building
trades have centralized control and some have local independence,
while others have adopted a plan which differs from both of these
methods. In addition to the electrical-workers’ organization already
noted, the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association, the In
ternational Association of Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron
Workers, and the United Association of Journeymen Plumbers vest
practically complete control in the general executive board. Local
unions of bricklayers and masons, on the other hand, have consid
erable autonomy, and among the smaller groups—marble polishers,
roofers, etc.—the local union is, in effect, the most powerful unit.
The third plan referred to, practiced by the carpenters, the painters,
and the lathers, is territorial control through the district council,
which is composed of all the local craft unions within a fixed area.
GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE
35
Where these district councils exist they constitute the governing body,
and because of the localized character of building work they are the
most powerful factor in the organization.
The blacksmith’s organization functions through district councils
also, and the international constitution provides that “action by a
district council in regulating the affairs of the district shall be final.”
Similarly, the International Typographical Union, the International
Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, and the United Textile Workers
delegate a substantial degree of control not to the local unions but
to the agency representing groups of local unions. This grouping
may be territorial, which is the only basis in the case of the printers;
or, as practiced by the ladies’ garment workers and the textile work
ers, it may be territorial or craft or both.
Diverse practices are also found in the matter of election of general
officers, general legislation, and constitutional amendments. A major
ity or two-thirds vote in convention enacts legislation and elects gen
eral officers in most cases. Quite generally, however, constitutional
amendments adopted by convention vote must be ratified by a refer
endum vote of the whole organization, and in a few instances all con
vention decision must be confirmed by popular vote. Another
method of selecting officers, used infrequently, is to submit to referen
dum candidates nominated in convention. That is the practice of
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, the International
Union of Operating Engineers, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers,
the Amalgamated Lithographers, and the International Union of
United Brewery Workers. In the International Brotherhood of
Bookbinders, nominations for general officers originate in the local
unions, and decision is by referendum vote of the general membership.
The more usual practice, where the referendum is the prevailing
method of determining policies and selecting officers, is to nominate
as well as elect by the referendum process. In general, this is the
method used by smaller groups for whom the expense of conventions
is a consideration. At the same time, it is also used by some of the
largest, most highly organized and affluent organizations. Nomina
tion and election of general officers by referendum is the practice of
37 national and international unions, 33 of which are affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor. The practice is general among
the unions in the clay, glass, and stone classification, with the single
exception of the glass-bottle blowers. It is used by both miners’
organizations and by four in the paper and printing industries—
paper makers, printers, pressmen, and stereotypers. Among the re
maining referendum unions are some of the largest in the American
Federation of Labor, including the International Association of Ma
chinists, the United Brewery Workmen, and the Railway Mail Asso-
36
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
ciation. The nonaffiliated unions using the referendum method are
the American Radio Telegraphists’ Association, the American Fed
eration of Railroad Workers, the United Shoe and Leather Workers,
and the Shoe Workers’ Protective Union.
In a few cases the initiative, referendum, and recall are the sole
medium of popular expression in matters vital to the organization
as a whole; and conventions, if held at all, are called by referendum
vote to deal with emergencies.
Chapter 6. Qualifications for Membership
Qualifications for membership in American trade-unions, as out
lined in the national and international constitutions, are shown in
the following chart. Constitutional requirements, however, do not
in all cases cover the whole situation; and in extreme cases they may
not, as a matter of fact, actually control. Rituals sometimes contain
phrases which by interpretation may exclude whole classes and
groups of workers, such as Negroes. In other cases a certain degree
of latitude may be allowed the local union, which permits it to de
vise various exclusive measures for limiting membership. Practices
of that nature are more apt to be used in periods when work is scarce
than in more prosperous times.
Except for the relatively few unions that admit only journeymen,
training qualifications are seldom explicit. A common measure of
fitness is “ability to command the minimum scale in effect” in the
local to which the application for membership is made. That pro
vision leaves the determination of fitness with the employer, since
receipt of the minimum wage presupposes ability to earn it.
An important restriction practiced by some of the large organiza
tions, particularly in the building trades, pertains to citizenship.
Aliens must either be naturalized or have declared their intention of
becoming citizens by taking out their first papers before joining the
organization. It is interesting to note that the Hodcarriers, Build
ing, and Common Laborers5 International Union, an organization
with a very large proportion of foreign-born members, has that pro
vision. The United Licensed Officers require actual citizenship, and
the International Seamen’s Union uses the phrase “eligible to become
citizens”, a limitation which bars Asiatics without specifically refus
ing them membership because of race. In some cases, notably in the
Federal service, citizenship is a prerequisite to employment. Hence,
although the stipulation is not made in the constitutions of organiza
tions in this field, its members are necessarily citizens.
The race issue has presented difficult problems and has created
serious situations from the beginning of the organized-labor move
ment. The American Federation of Labor has since its inception
declared for the organization of all workers without regard to “race,
creed, color, or sex.” At the same time some of the most important
and powerful organizations affiliated with the federation specify
that applicants shall be white, others exclude orientals; still others
37
38
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
admit Negroes but not on an equal footing or on the same terms as
white workers. The American Federation of Labor has no control
over the internal policies of its affiliated international organizations,
hence cannot apply to them its own rules in this matter even though
it admits the element of inconsistency in the situation. It under
takes to offset the discriminatory policies of component organizations
by organizing under its own jurisdiction the colored workers refused
by certain internationals. For that reason many federal labor unions
are really dual organizations, such, for example, as the directly
affiliated locals of switchmen, freight and baggage handlers, station
employees, and other railroad workers in the South, but these are
exclusively Negro organizations, the members of which are ineligible
to the international unions in those jurisdictions.
Outside the American Federation of Labor, barriers are perhaps
even more pronounced, since the railroad brotherhoods are strictly
white organizations. One of them excludes Mexicans and American
Indians. On the other hand some independent organizations are
exclusively Negro. The National Alliance of Postal Employees was
organized for colored railway-mail clerks who are refused member
ship in the Railway Mail Association, and there are several inde
pendent organizations of colored railroad men in addition to the
American Federation of Labor locals in that field. Some organiza
tions are exclusively Negro because of the nature of the work as well
as because of the policies of unions in related jurisdictions. The
directly affiliated unions of Pullman porters and the two independent
brotherhoods of dining-car employees are examples of Negro or
ganization in occupations in which Negroes are employed almost
exclusively.
The minimum-age requirements shown in the chart are in most
cases those applying to apprentices. Where an organization has a
maximum age limit, applicants who are older than the fixed age may
in many cases be admitted as nonbeneficiary members, but in actual
practice the number of elderly men applying for union membership
is probably negligible.
Another interesting aspect of attempted selection of membership
is the clause in some constitutions barring persons who hold mem
bership in certain other organizations. Usually this is a precaution
against radicalism as expressed by the I. W. W., the Communist
Party, and other organized minorities. In other cases, as in the
United Mine Workers, it is also used to exclude ultraconservative
or reactionary doctrines. Many organizations have a prohibition
against dual membership.
Physical fitness, to be determined by physical examination, is a
requirement of some unions, but in almost all cases that is an element
QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
39
of the insurance and beneficiary side of union membership. Failure
to qualify physically does not debar an applicant from membership,
as a rule, but only from benefits.
Some interesting provisions are found under the heading “Other”
in the chart; for example, the literary requirements of four unions.
A definitely restrictive measure is apparent in the wire-weavers’
requirement of “4 years’ apprenticeship in a union shop”, but that
is frankly an exclusive journeyman organization.
On the whole the qualifications fixed by constitutional provisions
are not such as would be apt to exclude any considerable number of
applicants. At the same time, as already stated, these provisions do
not, in all cases, tell the whole story.
Qualifications for membership in American trade-unions (as fixed by constitutions)
Organization
Bakei
ers’
Boilermakers
and Iron
Ship Build
ers, International
Brotherhood
of.
Bookbinders,
International
Broth
erhoodof.
Boot
andShoeorkers,
Workers’Union__
Brewery
UnionofW
United. International
Brickand Clay
Workers,
Bricklayers,
Masons,
andUnited.
Plaster
ers’International
Union.
Bridge,
Structural,
andOrnamental
Iron W
orkers,
sociation
of. International As
Sex
Both..
White..
Male..
Both_.
Male.........
Both.........
Orientals
ble. ineligi ---do........
Male..........
Colored
helpers
---do........
hold
member
ship
in
‘’auxil
iary”locals.
---do.........
Both..
_do_.
-do..
Male—
---do..
.do.
Age
17minimum.
Not over 55.
18minimum
16minimum.
Citizenship
Training
2years’
experience
(for Actors
Eq
uity
branch).
License............
Examination
for
journeyman
membership.
Citizenship
orciti
zenship
tion. declara Journeymenonly..
Examination___
Competent
to
command minimum-wage
scale
Eligibility
ofpro
su
pervisors,
prietors,
em
ployers, etc.
Ineligible-
Must
read,English.
write, and un
derstand
Physical
examination
(men)
for
beneficiary
member
ship.
Proprietors
eli
gibleemployers.
if theyareare
not
ofprivate
I. W.
Proprietors
emto Ineligible
W.,public
Stateif member
Militia,force,
ploying3not
or
police
de
exceed
black
smiths
ble. are eligi tective force.
‘Citizen
of some
civilized
try.’’ coun “Indenture”mem Employers may
retain member
bership for first ship.
16minimum. Citizenshiporciti year.
Foremen
zenship
declara
ble. ineligi
tion.
16minimum. Citizenshiporciti Competent to Foremenineligible.
command
zenship
scaleexist-of
tion. declara ing
Competent
17minimum. .....do—
command
existtoof
ing
scale
wages.
.do.
Other
Ineligible
ifBig
member
I. W.
W., Oneorganization.
Union,ofCom
munist
Read
andwrite.
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Actors andArtistes, Associated—
Airline Pilots*
Architects
andAssociation_____
Engineers, etc., Fed
eration
of.
Asbestos
W
orkers,
tional Associationof.etc., Interna
sry
and Confectionery
’International
Union. WorkBarbers’
International Union,
Journeymen.
Billtional
Posters
andof.Billers, Interna
Alliance
Blacksmith,
Forgers,of.etc.,
InternationalDrop
Brotherhood
Race
O
Broom
andWhisk Makers*Union, “Asiatic
International.
excluded.labor”
6 ence
months'
experi
formember
“auxili
ary
ship”; journeymanship
forfull
membership.
16-65.
Carpenters
Brotherhoodandof. Joiners, United
17-60
Male.
Carvers’
Association, International
Wood.
Cigar
Makers’International Union- Norestrictions.
Clerks,
Brotherhood of Rail White.
way. etc.,
Clerks’
International
Association, Retail. Protective
Clothing Workers, Amalgamated.
Conductors,
ofDining White.
Car. Brotherhood
Conductors,
Order
of
Railway___
--- do.
do.
Conductors, Order of Sleeping Car. --Coopers’International Union.
Cutters’ League,
WindowGlass_ restrictions
Diamond
juris
Union. Workers’ Protective Nowithin
diction (jour
neyman
or
ganization).
Negro
2..........
Dining
Car
Employees,
Brother
hoodof.
Both------ ---------__do......... 16-50L__do......... Over 16.
Male.
__do.
---do.
16
Both18malefemale.
Male-
Free
fromdisease.
hereditary“Believes
or con
tracted
in
the
existence
of
a Su
preme Being.”
Contractor
members
may
not
Contractors
who
hire only
union
join
contractors' oremploy
men
and
pay
ers’
associations.
union
ble. scaleeligi
.do.
do.
Foremen
and
pro
prietors
whojour
do
not
employ
neymen
eligible.
“Actual
ence.” experi
Notincurable
afflicteddisease
with chronic
(benefior
ciary
members).
Foremen
and
fore
women
ineligi
ble.
3 ence.
months’ experi
“Sound in body and mind.”
orciti-Citizenship
zenship
declara
tion.
Journeyman.
Citizenship
orciti
zenship
tion. declara
do.
Journeyman
May
notother
holdrailroad
membership
in any
labor
organization.
Physical
ex
amination
or
certificate
fromcompany doctor.
membership
only.organizationby reasonof employment (all waiters and 70percent of the cooks in dining-car service areNegroes.)
21Applicants
Constitutionover
does50,notnonbeneficiary
specifyrace, but
it is aNegro
Male.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
Building
Inter- No restrictions,
nationalService
Union.Employees’
Carmen,
Brotherhood
of Railway.. White......... . Both.
Qualifications for membership in American trade-unions (as fixed by constitutions)—Continued
Organization
Bace
Sex
Age
Citizenship
W h ite
Engravers’
International
Metal. Union,
Engravers’
Union,
International
Photo.
Federal
Employees,
National Fed
eration
of. International
Fire
Fighters,
Asso Nowithin
restrictions
ciationof.
diction. juris
Other
Physical
examination or cer
tificate
tor. fromcompany doc
N e g ro *
Elevator
ConstructorsUnion
and Oper
ators, International
of. No restrictions__ Male_____
Citizenship
orcit
Engineers’,
Beneficial
Association,
izenship
Marine.
tion. declara
do
21m inim TT m _
Engineers,
International
BrotherhoodGrand
of Locomotive.
Engineers,
Operating.International Union of
Engravers
and of.Sketchmakers,
Friendly Society
Eligibility
su
pervisors,ofpro
prietors,
em
ployers, etc.
6 prentice
months orashelp
ap
ertion.andexamina
License
by U. S.of
Department
Commerce
Navy. or
“Not
subject to any dis
ability
life.” hable to endanger
Must
read
lan
guage
of theand
roadwrite
onwhich
he
works.
Member
organization
closedoftoany
organized
labor
re
quiredwhere
by State
law.
Journeyman,
or 3
years ofa7-year
apprentice
term.
Journeyman___ Employers
ble. ineligi Persons learning trade at
21minimum.
do -penaltrade
institution
or teach
ing
in the
a school
not
approved
by
union
are
ineligible^
(*)_________
Both_____
LioftTisft
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Dining
Car Employees,
National
Male_____ 18-65_____
Brotherhood
of.
Draftsmen*
Unions,
International
Federation
of Technical
Engi No restrictions.neers,
etc.
Electrical
Workers,
Male
for craft 18-55_____
Brotherhood
of. International
members.
Both
intele
phone
partment.de
Training
White
—ineligi
Mexi TUT«1a
cans
ble.
No restrictions
Tlnt.h
.....do.........
Garment
orkers* Union, Inter
nationalW
Ladies*.
Firemen
Enginemen, Brother
hoodofand
Locomotive.
Firemen
and Oilers,
Interna
tional Brotherhood
of.International
Foundry
Employees,
of. International.
FurBrotherhood
Workers*Union,
18 m in im u m
30days’experience
Physical
examination
for
beneficiary
members. Read
andwrite English.
. . do........ 16minimumNo
restrictions
Nowithin
restrictions
juris
diction.
Journeyman___
Glass
W
orkers*
Union,
American
Male_____ 18
Flint.Workers* Union, Interna
Supervisors
Both__
__
Glove
tional. Employees, American No restrictions
cluded. ex
( 3) ......................................
Government
Federation
of. International Determined lo
Granite
Cutters*
Association.
cally.
Hatters,
restrictions
United.etc., International Unioi Nointional.
interna
91
Citizenship
Men’s Hat Department____
laration. ordec
Supervisors
power
to with
hire
and
discharge
are
excluded.
MaU _
Citizenship
cit
Hodcarriers,
Building
Com
izenship ordecla
mon
Laborers’
Union,andInterna
ration.
tional.
Journeyman___
Horseshoers,
International Union
“Provided
out
do . ,
of Journeymen.
ofbation.
work”.no6member
months’ispro
Citizenship
orcit
Hotel
andand
Restaurant
Employees’
Both ........
izenship decla
Alliance
Bartenders’
League.
ration.
Constitution
does notaspecify
race, but
it is aNegro organization
by reasonof employment (all waiters and70percent of the cooks in dining-car serviceareNegroes).
**American
citizenship
prerequisite
of employment,
henceof membership.
Garment Workers, United-
QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
Competent
tocom
mand
minimum
scale.
not other
hold membership
and
Must
demonstrate Foremen
inin the
any
organization
women
andfore
allto May
competency.
having
power
trade.
hire
and
dis
chargeexcluded. Do.
OO
Qualifications for membership in American trade-unions {as fixed by constitutions)'— C ontinued
Organization
Race
Sex
a
Training
Eligibility
ofpro
su
pervisors,
prietors,
em
ployers, etc.
Other
Citizenship
orcit 2years’experience.
izenship
ration. decla
Determined
local
ly.
Foremen
andfore
women
ible. inelig
( 3)
(3) ..........
(3).............. .........................
21...........................
byUnit
Citizens.___________ Licensed
ed
States
State
governor
ments.
Journeyman..............
( 3) ....................
Citizenship
cit
izenship ordecla
ration.
Journeymanship
for marble
ishers—
-no pol
re
quirements
others. for
Member
ofdual organization
ineligible.
HANDBOOK OP AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Iron,
Steeland
TinWorkers,
Amal No restrictions..
gamated
Association
of. Interna
_____ do........
Jewelry
W
orkers’
Union,
tional.
Lace
Operative?, Amalgamated... .... Determined
cally. lo
Lathers’
International
Union,
Wood, Wire, and Metal.
Laundry
Workers’ International No restrictions
Union.Workers,
Leather
Leather Workers, National_____
United______ _____ do______ Both................
Leather
Workers of America, Norestrictions
United.Carriers,
Letter
National Associa _____ do____
tionof.Carriers, National
_____ do.*__________
Letter
tion ofCarriers,
Rural. National Associa
Letter
Federa
tion of Officers,
Rural. United______ ____ do.4__________ Male_____
Licensed
Lithographers,
Amalgamated___
Longshoremen’s
Association, Inter Norestrictions.
national.
Machinists,
International
Associa __ do____________
tionAssociation,
of.
Mail
Railway
__________ White___________ M »1
restrictions
Mail
Service,
juris
Officials
of theNational
Railway.Council of Nowithin
diction.
(< )._ ............................. Male..
Maintenance
of
Way
Employees,
Brotherhood
do
Marble,
Stone, of.and
Slate Polishers
and
Sawyers,
Helpers,
tional Association
of. Interna
Citizenship
Age
Marine and Shipbuilding Workers, No restrictions.
Industrial Union of.
Masters, Mates, and Pilots, Na- White............... Male.
tional Organization.
Mine Workers, United.
Male.
Molders’ Union, International.
Both.
Over 16.
16.
Musicians, American Federation of. No restrictions
within juris
diction.
Oil Field, Gas Well, and Refinery ..— do________
Workers, International Associa
tion of.
Painters, Decorators, PaperhangMale.
ers, Brotherhood of.
Paper Makers, International Broth No restrictions.
erhood of.
Pattern Makers’ League...................
3 American citizenship a prerequisite of employment, hence of membership.
<Negro members may not hold office.
Journeyman sta
tus for mold
ers—no require
ments for nonjo u r n e y m a n
members.
“Sound health.” “Firm be
liever in God the Creator
of the Universe.”
Proprietors who
are not employ
ers are eligible.
Foremen and su
perintendents ex
eluded.
“Working” fore
men and supperintendents
eligible.
“ Top foremen” Ineligible if member of Na
tional Civic Federation,
ineligible.
I. W. W., One Big Union,
or any other dual labor or
ganization, Ku Klux Klan,
and Chamber of Commerce
of United States. Persons
“engaged in the sale of in
toxicating liquor” are in
eligible.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
Master Mechanics and Foremen, No restrictions
U. S. Navy Yards, National As within juris
sociation of.
diction.
Both
Meat Cutters and Butcher Work
men, Amalgamated.
Both
Metal Polishers* International
Union.
Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, No restrictions.
International Union of.
United States li
cense and 2
years’ experi
ence.
Journeyman and Determined local Contractor members may
competent to ly.
not hold membership in
command scale.
an employers’ or contract
ors’ association.
1 year of appren
tice term.
Cn
Qualifications for membership in American trade-unions {as fixed by constitutions)'—Continued
Organization
Race
Age
Citizenship
Training
Foremen eligible
if in civil serv
ice.
Superintendents
excluded.
Journeyman_________
Journ eym an competency de
termined by ex
amination.
(3 ) ...............................................
Postal Employees, National Alli N f i g r n
ance of.
( 3) _________________
Postal Supervisors, National Asso No restrictions.
ciation of.
do
Postmasters, National Association
of.
dr»
Postmasters, National League of
District.
( 3) ___________________
Both..................
Supervisors ex
Post Office Clerks, National Feder
cluded.
ation of.
Post Office Clerks, United National No restrictions.
(3)
Association of.
dn
(3 )
Post Office Employees, National As
sociation of Substitute.
dr>
( 3 ) . ..... ......................................
Post Office Laborers, National Asso
ciation of.
( 3 ) . ______________________
Supervisors ex
Post Office Motor Vehicle Employ
cluded.
ees, National Federation of.
Both
16 minimum.
Potters, National Brotherhood of
Operative.
Powder and High E x p lo siv e No restrictions..
Workers, United.
dn
Employers “actu
Pressmen and Assistants’ Union, In
ally working at
ternational Printing.
trade” eligible.
Printers’ U n io n , International
------------------------------ —
............................................................... Journeymen only.
Plate, etc.
C5
Other
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Pavers, Hammermen, and Flaggers,
etc., International Union of.
Paving Cutters* Union, Interna Determined lo
tional.
cally.
Ttnt.h
Piano, Organ, and Musical Instru
ment Workers, International Un
ion of.
Plasterers and Cement Finishers’
International Association, Oper
ative.
Plumbers and Steamfitters, United
Association of Journeymen.
Sex
Eligibility of su
pervisors, pro
prietors, em
ployers, etc.
Under 65..
Sheet Metal Workers’ Association..
16-45....
Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union,
United.
Shoe Workers’ Protective Union__
Siderographers, International Asso
ciation of.
Signalmen, Brotherhood of Railroad
Spinners, International Mule_____
Stage Employees and Moving Pic
ture Machine Operators, Interna
tional Alliance of Theatrical.
Station Employees, Brotherhood of
Railroad.
Stereotypers and Electrotypers’ In
ternational Union.
Street and Electric Railway Em
ployees, etc., Amalgamated Asso
ciation of.
License.
Citizenship or cit
izenship declara
tion.
Eligible to become
citizen.
( 6) ---------------
Both...
Over 16.
____do_.
____do...
Over 18-
Practical demon
stration of com
petency.
C itizenship or C om petent to
command mini
declaration.
mum wage.
Citizenship or cit Journeyman.
izenship declara
tion.
Supervisors ex Not afflicted with a chronic
cluded.
Licensed officers
excluded.
Determined local
ly.
Sound bodily health.
Must have been member in
good standing of union of
craft previously followed.
Persons on pay roll of police
departments of railroads
excluded.
Examination of
competency.
Both..
Both..
Over 18.
Under 65..
Citizenship or citi Journeyman.
zenship declara
tion.
Must be vouched for by 2
members in good standing.
May not hold membership in
any other organization in
th (industry.
Minor supervisors
may retain mem
bership at dis
cretion of local
union.
Citizenship or cit Journeyman.
Stone Cutters’ Association, Jour
izenship declara
neymen.
tion.
_do_.
Stove Mounters’ International
Union.
Male..
Switchmen’s Union of North Amer White__
ica.
8American citizenship a prerequisite of employment, hence of membership.
• Citizenship requirement is inferentially an exclusion of orientals.
• Negroes organized separately into locals under the jurisdiction of white locals.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP
Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill No restrictions.
Workers, International Brother
hood of.
Quarry Workers’ International Determined lo
Union.
cally.
Radio Telegraphists’ Association...
Railroad Workers, American Fed
eration of.
Roofers, Damp and Waterproof
Workers’ Association, United
States, etc.
Seamen’s Union, International____ ( 5).
Sheep Shearers’ Union_______
■ <!
Qualifications for membership in American trade-unions (as fixed by constitutions )—Continued
Organization
Race
Sex
Age
Citizenship
T raining
Those with rating
power excluded.
Owners and oper Members of Communist
ators of more Party ineligible.
than 1 vehicle
excluded.
Telegraphers, Order of Railroad---- White___ _____ Both.............. .
Telegraphers’ Union, Commercial._ ____do_________ _ do_______ Over 16___
Telephone Workers, International
___do________ 18-55_______
Brotherhood of.
Textile Operatives, American Fed
eration of.
Textile Workers, United__________
Tobacco Workers’ International
Union.
Train Dispatchers’ Association,
American.
Trainmen, Railroad Brotherhood
of.
Trainmen, Association of Colored
Railway.
Members promot Not afflicted with any dis
ed to high super ease or subject to any com
visory positions plaint liable to endanger
are transferred life.
from local to
general member
ship.
No restrictions..
... .do___ _ ...
Both_________ Under 60. _
White_________ Male... ____ Over 21. ___
____do_________ ____do_______ 18-65_______
Negro_________ ____do___
1 month’s experi
ence.
Typographical Union, International
B o th .............
Journeyman
Upholsterers, etc., International No restrictions._
Union.
Utility Employees, Brotherhood of.
B o t h __ ____ 18 and over ..
Wall Paper Crafts, United________
Journeyman ___
do
Wire Weavers’ Protective Associa White 7_______ M a le.._____ 2 1 _________ Citizenship or cit
izenship declara
tion.
tion.
21
_______
Yardmasters of America, Railroad. _ do .............. . ... do
Yardmasters of North America, __ do_________ ____do... ___
Railroad.
7Christian.
Other
Physical examination.
Loss arm or leg does not
make applicant ineligible
if employed within juris
diction.
4 years’ apprenticeship must
be served in a union shop.
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Tailors’ Union, Journeymen______ No restrictions..
Teachers, American Federation of.
Both ______
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, etc., Inter No restrictions.
national Brotherhood of.
Eligibility of su
pervisors, pro
p rietors, em
ployers, etc.
Chapter 7. American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor celebrated, in 1931, the fiftieth
anniversary of its founding, and published the record of its half cen
tury of continuous participation and leadership in the American
labor movement in a pamphlet entitled “Fifty Years of Service.”
Structurally the American Federation of Labor continues to be
what it was at its inception—a federation of autonomous national
and international organizations of workers in various crafts, trades,
and industries. The number of these affiliated trade-unions which
make up the American Federation of Labor has fluctuated greatly
in the course of the 50 years, but for the past 15 years it has varied
only slightly. When the 1929 edition of the Handbook of American
Trade-Unions (U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bull. No. 506)
was published, 106 national and international unions were affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor. This edition (March 1936)
shows that 110 are so affiliated. Part of this increase represents ex
pansion into industries and occupations previously unorganized,
either because the industry itself is of quite recent development, as in
air transportation, or because the workers have only recently re
sponded to organizing efforts, as in automobile and rubber manufac
ture. These newly organized fields and the Sheep Shearers’ Union,
which, although established in 1913 did not join the Federation until
1932, represent the first clear gain in jurisdiction and coverage, as
distinguished from numerical growth of membership, that the Ameri
can Federation of Labor has made in a decade.
A national or international union becomes identified with and part
of the American Federation of Labor in one of two ways. Either it
organizes independently because of organizational movements and
initiative within the industry or occupation and, as an established
entity, applies to the American Federation of Labor for a charter
of affiliation, or it is created by the American Federation of Labor
from its own local groups which it has been instrumental in forming.
These local groups are known as directly affiliated local trade-unions
when all the members are of the same or allied trades and occupa
tions, and as federal labor unions when the membership represents
varied and unrelated trades and occupations.
Both methods of affiliation are illustrated in the recent accessions
to Federation membership. The American Federation of Govern
ment Employees, the International Union of United Automobile
Workers, and the United Rubber Workers were created from directly
79315°—3<
5
49
50
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
affiliated local trade and federal labor unions and have therefore been
identified with the Federation from their inception. Three others—
the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, the Sheep Shearers’ Union of
North America, and the National Association of Master Mechanics
and Foremen in Navy Yards and Naval Stations—were established
organizations which had functioned independently for years. They
have all joined the Federation since 1932. The air-line pilots, on the
other hand, organized their association in 1931 and made immediate
application for affiliation.
Under the laws and basic principles of the American Federation
of Labor each of its component national and international unions is
wholly self-governing. The Federation as such has control only over
the local unions which it charters as directly affiliated units. Hence
the authority of the American Federation of Labor extends only to
those matters which concern the component unions as a whole, or, in
other words, organized labor as a movement. In recent years, and
particularly within the past 3 years, the participation of the Ameri
can Federation of Labor in the labor movement has been increasingly
notable in the field of labor legislation.
The government of the American Federation of Labor is'in the
hands of the executive council, elected in convention, which meets
quarterly and oftener if called, and which delegates actual adminis
tration to the president, the secretary, and the headquarters staff, in
cluding the legislative representatives. The executive council until
1934 consisted of president, secretary, treasurer, and eight vice presi
dents. In 1934 the number of vice presidents was increased to 15,
and in 1935 the separate offices of secretary and treasurer were com
bined into one office of secretary-treasurer. Vice presidents are
by custom chosen from the officers of affiliated internationals—
usually presidents or secretaries—although there is no law governing
their selection, and one international may hold more than one office
in the governing body of the American Federation of Labor.
Among the duties of the executive council, as defined by the con
stitution, are those of carrying out all decisions and instructions of
the annual conventions, initiating such legislative action as a con
vention may direct and watching legislative measures directly affect
ing the interests of the workers, and using aevery possible means to
organize” workers into unions affiliated with the American Federa
tion of Labor. The executive council passes upon applications for
affiliation and is in consequence indirectly responsible for defining
jurisdictional boundaries and at times for deciding jurisdictional con
flicts. It must submit to each convention a detailed and comprehen
sive report of its year’s work, covering such points as its activities,
failures, and successes in carrying out the instructions of the preced-
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR
51
ing convention in organizational and legislative matters; a report
upon State and Federal legislation, both enacted and pending, affect
ing the interests of the workers and the manner in which these are
affected; and a report upon other phases of the labor movement such
as workers’ education, civic movements, and so on. An official organ,
the American Federationist, published monthly, is both an educa
tional and an organizational medium, and serves as the means of
stating authoritatively the position and viewpoint of the American
Federation of Labor on current problems and developments. The
American Federation of Labor Weekly News Letter distributes to the
labor press news of interest to workers and reports of matters in
volving workers, written from the labor viewpoint.
All the policies and programs which control the activities of the
executive council are adopted in convention of the American Fed
eration of Labor as a whole. These conventions are held annually
and are attended by delegates representing all the affiliated bodies—
national and international unions, directly affiliated local trade and
federal labor unions, State federations, and city central bodies. Dele
gates are elected by the constituents whom they represent, and rep
resentation is apportioned on the basis of total membership in good
standing. The decisions of conventions constitute the statutory basis
of all American Federation of Labor policy and action.
Other groups besides the national and international and directly
affiliated trade groups that hold membership in and are chartered
by the American Federation of Labor are the departments, of which
there are 4; the State federations of labor, of which there are 49
(Puerto Eico is listed as a State); and city centrals, of which there
are 730.
The four departments are Building Trades, Metal Trades, Rail
way Employees, and Union Label Trades. These are discussed in
other sections of the bulletin.1
STATE FEDERATIONS OF LABOR
A State federation of labor is structurally a counterpart of the
American Federation of Labor and is composed of all organizations
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor within the State
that choose to identify themselves with the State body. A State
federation of labor may not permit the affiliation of a union that is
not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. On the other
hand, no member organization of the American Federation of Labor
is required to affiliate with the State body.
1 B uilding Trades D epartm ent, p. 66 ; M etal T rades D epartm ent, p. 1 7 0 ; R ailw ay E m
p loyees’ D epartm ent, p. 2 4 7 ; U nion Label Trades D epartm ent, p. 30.
52
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
State federations of labor are principally legislative agencies, deal
ing with measures that may be introduced into State legislatures,
which affect workers favorably or unfavorably, in a way similar to
the procedure of national legislative representatives in the broader
field of Congressional action. Some State federations are also ac
tive in civic and educational matters, but their relation to the eco
nomic aspects of trade-unionism is largely unimportant.
CITY CENTRALS
City central bodies, or central labor unions, on the other hand,
are primarily economic, although they may play a prominent part
in civic and educational activities as well. A central labor union is
a delegate body composed of representatives from each local union
affiliated with it. The same rule applies here as with the State
federation—a local union of an international not affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor may not be represented in the cen
tral labor union; neither may an independent local union, or one
that has been suspended or expelled from its parent body, be seated.
Thus, unless these rules are disregarded, a city central is strictly an
Ajnerican Federation of Labor agency. Some internationals require
their local unions to join the central labor union of their community
if one exists. That requirement is not general, however, and locals
are frequently free to make their own decision about joining, or re
maining in, a central body.
The central labor union was the first American form of joint ac
tion among different organized labor groups and, as a form, is as
old as the Republic. It is still the agency which, next to the local
union of which he is a member, touches the individual worker most
closely. As a rule the central body must act upon and approve any
strike action contemplated by an affiliate, and frequently becomes
the most active medium for carrying on a strike and, sometimes, for
negotiating the strike settlement. Agreement committees assist local
unions in negotiating agreements and in wage movements; adjust
ment committees act as mediators and, occasionally, arbitrators; and
label committees carry on promotion activities in the interest of
union-made goods. The educational and propaganda work of cen
tral labor unions is among their most important functions, and prac
tically all the “labor press”, exclusive of the trade-union journals
published by the internationals, is made up of the weekly papers
which are the official organs of the many central labor unions
throughout the country. In one instance, a radio station is main
tained which is devoted to educational, political, and economic sub
jects of particular interest to workers, especially organized workers.
PART II
National and International Unions
Section A. Extraction of Minerals
The dual organization of national scope in the mining industry,
the National Miners’ Union, which had just entered the field at the
time the 1929 edition of the handbook was published, became one
of the Trade Union Unity League group and, like the others, has
since disbanded. Dual unionism among the miners continued how
ever. The Progressive Miners operates only in the bituminous-coal
fields of southern Illinois, but it claims a large following there in
opposition to district 12 of the United Mine Workers. The United
Anthracite Workers was organized in 1933 as a secession group in
the W i Ikes-B arre-S cranton district of the Pennsylvania anthracite
fields, where it carried on considerable strike activity. It disbanded
in October 1935.
The United Mine Workers benefited materially from the collective
bargaining clause of the National Industrial Recovery Act and the
aggressive organizing campaign which was inaugurated immedi
ately after the passage of the act. Its reported membership of
600,000 is considerably in excess of that reported in 1929 (450,000)
and twice that indicated by its voting strength in the American
Federation of Labor during the depression years.
The metal-miners’ organization, the International Union of Mine,
Mill, and Smelter Workers, suffered a serious reduction in member
ship and bargaining strength during the depression but is now show
ing considerable improvement in both numbers and union activity.
Its reported membership of 34,062 is considerably in excess of that re
ported in 1929 and, to judge by its voting strength in the American
Federation of Labor, is the largest in its history.
The International Association of Oil Field, Gas Well, and Re
finery Workers also made notable progress under the Recovery
Act and is now on a much more substantial footing than it has been
at any previous time in its history. Several favorable agreements
have been successfully negotiated with some of the largest oil-pro
ducing companies, and its reported membership of 53,000 is in strik
ing contrast to its negligible membership as represented by its voting
strength in 1932 and 1933. By 1934 this had increased to 125, indi
cating a membership of 12,500, and the present report to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics shows a marked growth in the year from August
1934 to August 1935, during which several union-shop agreements
were secured.
55
56
HANDBO O K OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
Organizations in this industrial group are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, International Union of.
Mine Workers of America, United.
Oil Field, Gas Well, and Refinery Workers of America, International
Association of.
Quarry Workers’ International Union of North America.
Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers, International Union of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized May 15, 1893, as the Western Federation of Miners.
Organization of the metal miners grew out of the Idaho strike of
1892. The Western Federation of Miners began as a craft union of
miners, but gradually it absorbed the mechanical craftsmen and
became, like the United Mine Workers, an industrial organization
of all workers “in and about the mines.”
The Western Federation of Miners maintained an independent
existence from 1893 to 1896, when it affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor. This affiliation ended in 1898, and the union,
radical from its inception, became the prime factor in the Western
Labor Union. For 3 years, 1905 to 1908, it was part of the Indus
trial Workers of the World, which it was instrumental in organizing,
and was active in radical politics.
It reaffiliated with the American Federation of Labor in 1911
and has remained in affiliation since. Internal dissension growing
out of that move resulted in a number of secession movements fos
tered by the Industrial Workers of the World.
In 1916 the union passed through what was practically a complete
reorganization along conservative lines. It expanded both its terri
torial and its trade jurisdiction and changed its name to the Interna
tional Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers.
O
.—“The objects of this organization shall be to unite the various per
sons working in and around the mines, mills, smelters, metal refineries, tunnels,
open pits, open cuts, and dredges, into one central body; to practice those vir
tues that adorn society and remind man of his duty to his fellow man, the
elevation of his position, and the maintenance of the rights of the workers; to
increase the wages and improve the condition of employment of our members
by legislation, conciliation, joint agreements, or strikes.”
T
.—United States, Alaska, Canada, and Mexico.
T
.—The metal-mining industry, covering, specifically, mines,
mills, smelters, metal refineries, tunnels, open pits, open cuts, and dredges.
G
.—1. Internationa] executive board, composed of the presi
dent, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and seven other elected members.
“ shall * * * between conventions have full power to direct the workings
of the international.”
2. Local unions: Autonomy not defined in constitution.
bjects
e r r it o r ia l j u r i s d i c t i o n
rade j u r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
EXTRACTION OE MINERALS
57
3. Initiative and referendum: “The initiative and referendum shall govern
all legislation.” Nomination and election of general officers by referendum.
All elected officers subject to recall.
4. Convention: Held annually. Constitutional amendments adopted by con
vention subject to ratification by referendum.
Q
.—Any person working within the jurisdic
tion is eligible to membership.
A
.—None.
M
.—“Local unions or groups of local unions
may enter into wage agreements for a specified time, providing such agreements
have the approval of the executive board. Negotiations for agreements must
be made between the representatives of the local or locals affected and the
employers, with at least one member of the executive board or representative
of the general organization present.”
B
.—Strike a n d lock-out.
O
.—None.
H
.—319 Judge Building, Salt Lake City, Utah.
O
.—Local unions only : Alabama, 14; Arizona, 6; California, 5;
Colorado, 2; Georgia, 1; Idaho, 4; Illinois, 5; Iowa, 3; Kansas, 3; Michigan, 7 ;
Minnesota, 9; Missouri, 2; Montana, 14; Nevada, 2; New Mexico, 6; North
Carolina, 1; Ohio, 2; Oklahoma, 4; Pennsylvania, 2; Tennessee, 4; Texas, 1;
Utah, 9, Washington, 1; West Virginia, 2; Wisconsin, 1. Total, 110.
M
.— 34,062.
u a l if ic a t io n s
foe
m e m b e r s h ip
p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a t io n s
e t h o d of n e g o t ia t in g a g r e e m e n t s
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l
organ
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip
reported
Mine Workers of America, United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Columbus, Ohio, January 25, 1890. Records of local
organizations of miners have been found as far back as 1849 when
the anthracite miners in Pennsylvania established a union. The Civil
War and the depressed years following it destroyed a national move
ment under the American Miners’ Association, which had started in
the soft-coal fields of Illinois and spread eastward. That collapse
was followed by another organizing effort in 1869, when the Miners’
and Laborers’ Benevolent Association was formed. This organiza
tion met with a fair degree of success at first, but was demoralized
by the panic of 1873 and the first general miners’ strike of 1875,
known as the “long strike.” The Molly Maguires, a secret organiza
tion of Irish mine workers, grew up in the anthracite districts at
about the same time and was composed of the low-paid immigrant
laborers, among whom a lawless and disorderly element developed.
Mine operators called upon the Pinkerton Detective Agency to
identify the members of the secret, oath-bound Molly Maguires and
to bring them into the open. The Pinkerton Detective Agency
turned the job over to one of their operatives, an Irishman, who
gained membership and standing in the society and incited the mem
bers to violence. On the strength of evidence obtained by the Pinker
ton spy, a number of the leaders of the Molly Maguires were hanged
58
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
or imprisoned for murder and the discredited society was effectively
demolished, carrying the Miners and Laborers’ Benevolent Associa
tion down with it.
The next move toward organization came from the bituminouscoal fields where, during the successful years of the Knights of Labor
(1881-85), active organizing work was carried on among the miners,
and several miners’ assemblies were established, particularly in the
district that has since become known as the Central Competitive
Field. Two independent group movements developed in the same
territory—the National Federation of Miners and Mine Laborers,
formed in 1885, and the National Progressive Union, formed in 1889.
In January 1890 these independent groups and a number of the
Knights of Labor assemblies joined, at Columbus, Ohio, to found the
United Mine Workers of America.
The new consolidated organization made substantial progress until
the panic of 1893 demoralized wage scales and living conditions.
With a fraction of its original membership in good standing, the
United Mine Workers called a strike in the bituminous-coal fields in
1897 and won the first interstate agreement covering four States and
mines producing, at that time, one-third the soft coal mined in the
country. The agreement granted union recognition and created ad
justment and negotiating machinery.
This victory was followed by expansion first into other soft-coal
fields and then into the anthracite region. Anthracite miners had
been unorganized since the days of the Molly Maguire movement
more than 20 years before, and their wages had not been increased
since 1880. They responded to the organizing efforts of the United
Mine Workers, begun in 1899, and in 1902,150,000 struck against low
wages, poor living and working conditions, and the truck system.
That strike, which is often called “the greatest strike in American
industrial history”, gained wide public sympathy and support. It
was finally settled through the intervention of the President of the
United States, who called the president of the United Mine Workers
and the coal operators into personal conference with him and ap
pointed the Anthracite Strike Commission to arbitrate the dispute
and to report upon conditions in the anthracite fields.
Early in its history the United Mine Workers encountered difficulty
with the craft unions, particularly the engineers and machinists
organizations, because of its policy of including all workers “in and
around the mines.” The miners, however, were strong enough to
force the craft men into line and to establish the organization as an
industrial union.
EXTRACTION OF MINERALS
59
Objects .—“To unite in one organization, regardless of creed, color, or national
ity, all workmen eligible for membership, employed in and around coal mines,
coal washers, and coke ovens on the American Continent; to increase the wages,
and improve the conditions of employment of our members by legislation, con
ciliation, joint agreement, or strikes; to demand that not more than 6 hours
from bank to bank in each 24 hours shall be worked by members of our organi
zation; to strive for a minimum-wage scale for all members of our union; to
provide for the education of our children by lawfully prohibiting their employ
ment until they have at least reached 16 years of age; to secure equitable statu
tory old-age pension and workmen’s compensation laws; to enforce existing just
laws and to secure the repeal of those which are unjust; to secure by legisla
tive enactment laws protecting the limbs, lives, and health of our members;
establishing the right to organize; prohibiting the use of deception to secure
strike breakers; preventing the employment of privately armed guards during
labor disputes; and such other legislation as will be beneficial to the members
of our craft”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—North America.
T rade jurisdiction.—Workers in and around coal mines.
Government.—1. International executive board, composed of the president,
vice president, secretary-treasurer, and one member elected from each district,
“shall have full power to direct the working of the organization.”
2. D istricts: “Formed with such members and territory as may be designated
by the international officers, and may adopt such laws for their government as
do not conflict with laws or rulings of the international or district unions or
joint agreements.”
3. Subdistricts: “Formed and assigned such territory as may be designated by
the district of which they are a part, and may adopt such laws for their govern
ment as do not conflict with the laws or rulings of the international or district
unions or joint agreements.”
4. Local unions: “Local unions may adopt such laws for their government as
do not conflict with the laws and rulings of the international, district, subdistrict
unions or joint agreements.”
5. Convention: Meets biennially; legislates for body. Constitutional amend
ments by convention only. Election of general officers by referendum.
Qualifications for Membership.—Any wage earner employed in or around
coal mines is eligible to membership. “Mine fhanagers, top foremen, operators*
commissioners, persons engaged in the sale of intoxicating liquors, and members
of the National Civic Federation” are ineligible.
“Any member accepting membership in the Industrial Workers of the World,
the Working Class Union, the One Big Union, or any other dual organization
not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, or membership in the
National Chamber of Commerce or the Ku Klux Klan shall be expelled from the
United Mine Workers of America and is permanently debarred from holding
office in the United Mine Workers of America; and no members of any such
organization shall be permitted to have membership in our union unless they
forfeit their membership immediately upon securing membership in the United
Mine Workers of America.**
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Agreements in the anthracite field are
uegotiated by the district boards and the operators.
In the bituminous-coal fields committees of miners and operators negotiate
the basic agreement on terms determined upon in convention.
60
HANDBOOK OP AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
B enefits .—Strike. (Sick, accident, and death benefits may be established
locally by a two-thirds vote of the members.)
Official organ.—United Mine Workers’ Journal.
H eadquarters.—Tower Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—The unit of organization is the geographic district. District
no. 1, northern anthracite field, comprising Lackawanna, upper Luzerne, parts
of Sullivan and Susquehanna Counties, in Pennsylvania, 120 locals; no. 2f
Somerset, Cambria, Blair, Clearfield, Jefferson, Indiana, Elk, Armstrong, Centre,
Huntingdon, Bedford, Tioga, Cameron, Clarion, McKean, Lycoming, and Clin
ton Counties, Pa., 195 locals; no. 3, mostly Westmoreland County, Pa., 58 locals;
no. 4, Fayette and Greene Counties, Pa., 72 locals; no. 5, Allegheny, Washington,
and portions of Armstrong, Butler, Fayette, Beaver, Mercer, and Westmoreland
Counties, Pa., 193 locals; no. 6, Ohio and the Panhandle of West Virginia, 239
locals; no. 7, lower Luzerne, northern Schuylkill, parts of Carbon and Columbia
Counties, Pa., 46 locals; no. 8, Clay, Parke, Owen, and Fountain Counties (blockcoal field), Ind., 21 locals; no. 9, part of Schuylkill, part of Dauphin, part of
Columbia, and all of Northumberland Counties, Pa., 81 locals; no. 10, Washing
ton, 24 locals; no. 11, part of Clay, Gibson, Fountain, Greene, Knox, Perry, Pike,
Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Vigo, and Warrick Counties, Ind., 154 locals;
no. 12, Illinois, 143 locals; No. 13, Iowa, 70 locals; no. 14, Kansas, 42 locals;
no. 15, Colorado and New Mexico, 70 locals; no. 16, Maryland, 30 locals; no.
17, Boone, Clay, Fayette, Greenbrier, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mc
Dowell, Mercer, Mingo, Nicholas, Putnam, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne, Webster,
and Wyoming Counties, W. Va., 421 locals; no. 18, Provinces of British Columbia
and Alberta, Canada, 17 locals; no. 19, Bell, Knox, Harlan, Whitley, McCreary,
Laurel, Pulaski, and Clay Counties, Ky., and Tennessee, 135 locals; no. 20,
Alabama, 108 locals; no. 21, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and northern Texas, 106
locals; no. 22, Wyoming, 53 locals; no. 23, Hopkins, Webster, Henderson, Union,
Ohio, McLean, Christian, Muhlenberg, and Daviess Counties, Ky., 68 locals; no.
24, Michigan, 8 locals; no. 25, Missouri, 33 locals; no. 26, Province of Nova
Scotia, Canada, 24 locals; no. 27, Montana, 22 locals; no. 28, Virginia, 51 locals;
no. 30, Boyd, Carter, Floyd, Knott, Letcher, Magoffin, and Perry Counties, Ky.,
96 locals; no. 31, Monongalia, Marion, Harrison, Preston, Taylor, Barbour,
Randolph, Upshur, Lewis, Gilmer, Braxton, and Webster Counties, and that
portion of Nicholas County containing coal or coal mines being operated, or
capable of being operated, along the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad,
West Virginia, 230 locals. Total, 2,930.
Membership reported.—600,000.
Oil Field, Gas Well, and Refinery Workers of America, International
Association of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in California in 1917 from a group of independent local
unions which sprang up through California and the Gulf States.
An International Brotherhood of Oil and Gas Field Workers was
chartered by the American Federation of Labor in 1900 and remained
in affiliation, but with a diminishing membership, until 1905.
It disbanded in 1906.
The World War stimulus to the industry and the favorable orga
nizing activities of that period revived unionism among the oil
EXTRACTION OF MINERALS
61
workers. A new international organization was formed in 1918 and
chartered by the American Federation of Labor. Post-war strikes
and, later, unemployment, disrupted the movement in the oil regions
of the Middle West and the Gulf States, but the California organiza
tion continued intact and succeeded in improving working condi
tions materially. After the passage of the National Industrial
Recovery Act in 1933, a successful organizing campaign extended
organization throughout the petroleum industry.
Objects.—“It shall be the object of this association to work for the reduction
of hours of daily toil, the establishment of tolerable conditions, and to adjust
and establish a high standard and fair rate of wages, thereby assuring to all
workers in the industry just compensation and time to share in the benefits
flowing from organization.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States, Canada, and Mexico.
T rade jurisdiction.—The oil, gas-well, and refinery industry.
Government.—1. Executive council, composed of president, secretarytreasurer, and five vice presidents, “shall have general supervision of the busi
ness of the international association and subordinate unions between
conventions.”
2. Local unions: “To locals is conceded the right to make all necessary laws
for local self-government which do not conflict with the laws of the international
association.”
3. Convention: Meets biennially; legislates for organization and elects gen
eral officers, who are, however, subject to recall by popular vote. Constitutional
amendments either by convention or referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—All persons engaged in the industries
covered by the jurisdiction are eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated locally by representatives of
unions and operators, with a representative of the Department of Labor when
necessary.
B enefits.—Strike.
Official organ.—International Oil Worker.
H eadquarters.—Barr Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—Local unions only: Arkansas, 3; California, 14; Georgia, 3;
Illinois, 1; Indiana, 1; Kansas, 7; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 5; Maryland, 1;
New Jersey, 2; New Mexico, 2; New York, 2; Ohio, 3; Oklahoma, 36; Penn
sylvania, 5; Texas, 57; Utah, 1; West Virginia, 2; Wyoming, 5. Total, 152.
Membership reported.—53,000.
Quarry Workers’ International Union of North America
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Washington, D. C., September 8, 1908.
Objects.—“The objects of this union are to rescue the trade from dangers
surrounding it and by mutual effort to place ourselves on a foundation suffi
ciently strong to prevent further encroachment on our craft. We propose to
encourage a higher standard, to cultivate a feeling of friendship among our
members, to assist each other to secure employment, to reduce the hours of
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
daily labor, and to secure adequate pay for our work, and by legal and proper
means to elevate the moral, intellectual, and social conditions of our members.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—North America.
Trade jurisdiction.—Quarrymen, quarry and paving-cutter blacksmiths, derrickmen, engineers and firemen, steam-drill and air-drill runners, laborers, softstone quarrymen and channelers, rubbers, lumpers, and boxers, riggers of der
ricks, cranes, or other devices used in handling stone, and stone-derrick men
wherever employed.
Government.—1. “For the government of this union there shall be elected an
executive board consisting of an international union president, international
secretary-treasurer, and an international union committee consisting of five
members.” The president and the committee are elected annually by the three
locals nearest the seat of government. The secretary-treasurer is elected bienni
ally by referendum. He is the administrative officer.
2. Local unions: “All branches shall have power to make their own local
laws, provided they are approved by the international union committee and do
not conflict with the constitution; and such local laws shall be as binding on
the members of the branch as this constitution.”
3. Referendum: General business referred monthly to branches for action.
Convention only on referendum call. Constitutional amendments by initiative
and referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—“Each branch shall be the judge of the
qualifications of its membership.”
Apprenticeship regulations.—“The terms of apprenticeship shall be regu
lated by branches.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by local unions, subject to
approval of the executive board, and must conform to State terms where such
exist.
B enefits.—Strike; death; old-age (flat-sum payment and exemption from
dues and assessments).
Official organ.—Quarry Workers’ Journal.
H eadquarters.—Barre, V t.; subject to removal by referendum vote.
Organization.— Local unions only : United States —Alabama, 1 ; California, 1;
Connecticut, 1; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 4; Maine, 11; Maryland, 1;
Massachusetts, 9; Missouri, 4; Montana, 1; New Hampshire, 6; New York, 2;
Ohio, 13; Pennsylvania, 2; Rhode Island, 2; Tennessee, 1; Texas, 1; Vermont,
15; Virginia, 1; West Virginia, 3; Wisconsin, 2. Canada —British Columbia, 1;
Ontario, 1. Total, 85.
M e m b e r s h ip reported —7,279.
62
Section B. Manufacturing and Mechanical Industries
A very large proportion of the organizations and of the member
ship embraced in the trade-union movement falls within the group
ing called manufacturing and mechanical industries by the Bureau
of the Census. This broad classification is in many instances divisible
into smaller industrial groups, so that 13 industry divisions are here
presented. In the case of the somewhat elastic group called metals
and machinery, however, finer division and subdivision becomes
impracticable because the craft character of the typical American
Federation of Labor unions in those fields cuts across industrial lines.
Take, for example, an attempted division of unions into those cover
ing the manufacture of transportation equipment. Two American
Federation of Labor affiliates, the International Union United Auto^
mobile Workers and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen of America,
and the independent unions in the automobile industry and the Ma
rine and Ship Building Workers Industrial Union would clearly come
within that classification. But to present that group as including
only the four or five organizations listed would be to give an erroneous
impression, since other organizations are also concerned with the man
ufacture of transportation equipment. Among these are are the In
ternational Association of Machinists, the International Brotherhood
of Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders, the International Brother
hood of Blacksmiths, etc. Hence the group classified as “metals and
machinery”, while of outstanding importance in a very wide field of
industrial activity, cannot be so closely subdivided as to follow the
customary divisions of manufacturing industry. The same situation
exists in less degree in other broad industrial groups, such as build
ing trades, which include, for example, organizations of sheet-metal
workers and electrical workers, the membership of which is by no
means confined to the building industry. On the other hand, in
groups such as clothing manufacture, the textile industry, paper and
printing, the unions listed cover those fields and only those fields.
BUILDING TRADES
The building-trades unions, as organizations, continued to main
tain a characteristic stability, but membership suffered materially in
the period 1929-34. No outstanding movements or events have oc
curred in the history of the individual unions since 1929. Two or63
64
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
ganizations have extended their jurisdictions in a direction that
might be regarded as an effort to control the raw material in their
respective fields. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Join
ers in April 1935 was granted jurisdiction over logging, lumber,
sawmill, and shingle-weaving operations and thereafter absorbed
over 100 local trade-unions covering workers in those fields which
were directly affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
The Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers now in
cludes the manufacture and mixing of paints, oils, and varnishes
in its declared jurisdiction. Such changes of jurisdiction as have
occurred among other building-trades unions since the publication of
the 1929 edition of the handbook have been strictly within trade
lines, and have been technical adjustments growing out of develop
ments within the construction industry.
Secession movements and dual unionism are rare in the building
field. The American Labor Alliance (p. 331) reports two buildingtrades unions, one in Newark and one in Summit, N. J., covering all
building craftsmen, and the United Building Trades Federation, in
corporated in the State of Maryland, claims a membership of 2,600
and has one branch in Wilmington, Del. Dual organizations of
this character are almost entirely local in nature. In the Building
Trades Department, however, a condition of dualism was created as
the result of a schism that occurred in the 1934 convention of that
body. A dispute arose over the seating of delegates from three
international unions which had not held membership in the depart
ment for several years, but which had reaffiliated 6 months prior to
the convention. These organizations were those of the bricklayers
and masons, the carpenters, and the electrical workers. The depart
ment convention refused to honor their credentials or to seat their
delegates. The dispute was referred to the convention of the Ameri
can Federation of Labor, which followed immediately after that of
the department. The parent body declared the action of the de
partment illegal and outlawed the 1934 convention of the Building
Trades Department as failing to conform to the fundamental laws
of both organizations. The executive council was directed to call
a conference of building-trades organizations within 45 days of the
adjournment of the convention.
This convention was held in Washington, D. C., in November 1934,
attended by the three international organizations in dispute and
some, but not all, of the unions in the department. The outcome
of the conference was the reorganization, by the executive council of
the American Federation of Labor, of the entire department, involv
ing the cancelation and reissuing of its charter.
BUILDING TRADES
65
Only four organizations—the International Union of Operating
Engineers, the International Hodcarriers, Building and Common
Laborers’ Union, the International Association of Marble, Stone,
and Slate Polishers, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters
and Chauffeurs—joined with the Bricklayers, Masons, and Plaster
ers’ International Union, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and
Joiners, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
in the newly launched Building Trades Department. That left 12
organizations which refused to affiliate and which continued to
recognize the former group as the official Building Trades Depart
ment. Litigation to recover titles, seals, and other property followed
and resulted in a court decision declaring that both bodies were
illegally constituted. Consequently there was no Building Trades
Department in a position to function as such, and with the slate clean
the executive council was free to take action to establish one. A con
vention was accordingly called which all building-trades organiza
tions affiliated with the American Federation of Labor were invited
and urged to attend. This conference met in Washington in June
1935, attended by delegates from the same seven organizations as
had taken part in the reorganizing conference held in November
1934. The officers elected at the November meeting were reelected,
and a charter was issued to the Building Trades Department thus
constituted as an entirely new entity. However, the 12 organizations
that had comprised the major portion of the old department refused
to take any part in this reorganization and did not affiliate with the
new department.
At the 1935 convention of the American Federation of Labor, the
delegate representing the new department was refused a seat by a
substantial majority vote. Following that action, a series of confer
ences was held while the convention was in session, at which agree
ment was reached to refer the whole matter to a committee of three
from each side of the controversy, empowering the committee to
arrive at a binding decision. This committee met within 30 days
of the adjournment of the 1935 convention, as instructed, came to
an understanding, subject to the approval of the constituent or
ganizations, and issued a call for a convention of all building-trades
organizations for the purpose of organizing a new Building Trades
Department.
Organizations in the building trades are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Building Trades Department.
Asbestos Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insula
tors and.
Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers’ International Union of America.
------ 6
79315°— 36
66
HANDBOOK OP AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers, International Associa
tion of.
Carpenters and Joiners of America, United Brotherhood of.
Draftsmen’s Unions, International Federation of Technical Engineers,
Architects, and. (Classified under Professional, etc.)
Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of.
Elevator Constructors, Operators, and Starters, International Union of.
Engineers, International Union of Operating.
Granite Cutters’ International Association of America, The.
Hodcarriers, Building and Common Laborers’ Union of America, Inter
national.
Lathers’ International Union, Wood, Wire, and Metal.
Marble, Stone, and Slate Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers, Tile and
Marble Setters’ Helpers, and Terrazzo Workers’ Helpers, International
Association of.
Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, Brotherhood of.
Plasterers and Cement Finishers’ International Association of the United
States and Canada, Operative.
Plumbers and Steam Fitters of the United States and Canada, United
Association of Journeymen.
Roofers, Damp and Waterproof Workers’ Association, United Slate, Tile,
and Composition.
Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
Stone Cutters’ Association of North America, Journeymen. (Classified
under Clay, glass, and stone.)
Independent organizations:
Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians, Federation of. (Classi
fied under Professional, etc.)
Building Trades Department, American Federation of Labor
The Building Trades Department was established in Feburary
1908 as the first result of action taken at the 1907 convention of the
American Federation of Labor declaring that “for the greater de
velopment of the labor movement departments subordinate to the
American Federation of Labor are to be established.”
There was in existence an organization known as the Structural
Building Trades Alliance of America, a combination of buildingtrades unions founded in Indianapolis, Ind., in 1903. This alliance
was independent of the Federation, although composed chiefly of
international unions that were in affiliation with the American Fed
eration of Labor.
Following its adoption of a policy of group or industrial divisions,
a committee representing the American Federation of Labor met
with a committee representing the above-mentioned alliance and, as
a result of their conferences, the Building Trades Department of the
American Federation of Labor was organized.
The declared objects of the department are “the encouragement
and formation of local organizations of building-trades men and the
BUILDING TRADES
67
conferring of such power and authority upon the several locals of
this department as may advance the interests and welfare of the
building industry; to adjust trade disputes along practical lines as
they arise from time to time; and to create a more harmonious feel
ing between employer and employee.”
Membership in the Building Trades Department is “confined to
national and international building-trades organizations that are
affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and which are uni
versally employed in the building industry either in erection, repair,
or alteration.”
The department recognizes “the justice of trade jurisdiction” and
aims “to guarantee to the various branches of the building industry
control of such work as rightfully belongs to them and to which they
are justly entitled.” To that end the constitution of the department
provides for a board of arbitration to act on “all cases of trade
disputes between affiliated organizations on questions of jurisdiction.”
The board is composed of one representative from each of the con
testing parties and a building-trades man selected by the president
of the Building Trades Department. Decisions of the board ar&
“binding on all parties concerned” but are subject to appeal to the
executive council or to the convention of the Building Trades Depart
ment.
The Building Trades Department is governed by an executive coun
cil composed of president and six vice presidents, no two members of
which may belong to or represent the same international union.
The president is the chief administrative officer.
BUILDING TRADES COUNCILS
The department operates through local building-trades councils
organized in cities and towns, membership in which is made up of
the locals in each city and town of the international unions com
prising the Building Trades Department. The councils are delegate
bodies, representation being based upon the total membership of each
affiliated local. The constitution and bylaws governing local coun
cils are imposed by the department.
Trade movements and strikes must first receive sanction of the
national or international union of the craft involved and then of
the local building-trades council. When a strike is called the local
council “shall have full jurisdiction”, and the business agent of the
council “shall have full power to order all strikes when instructed
to do so by the council or its executive board.”
State building-trades councils may be organized at the option of
the local councils, and when organized are chartered by the depart-
68
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
ment with “power to make their own laws in conformity with the
laws of the department.”
ORGANIZATION
Nineteen international unions are eligible to membership in the
Building Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor,
namely:
Asbestos Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators
and.
Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, International
Brotherhood of.
Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers’ International Union of America.
Bridge and Structural Iron Workers, International Association of.
Carpenters and Joiners, United Brotherhood of.
Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of.
Elevator Constructors, International Union of.
Engineers, International Union of Operating.
Granite Cutters’ International Union.
Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers’ Union, International.
Lathers, International Union of Wood, Wire, and Metal.
Marble, Stone, and Slate Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers, Tile and Marble
Setters’ Helpers, International Association of.
Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers, Brotherhood of.
Plasterers and Cement Fnishers, International Association of Operative.
Plumbers and Steamfitters, United Association of Journeymen.
Roofers, Damp and Waterproof Workers’ Association, United Slate, Tile, and
Composition.
Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
Stonecutters’ Association of America, Journeymen.
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers, International Brotherhood of.
S tate councils .—States having State building-trades councils
and the number of local councils therein are California, 28; Con
necticut, 14; Indiana, 20; Massachusetts, 23; New Jersey, 18; New
York, 28; Ohio, 23; total, 7 States, 154 councils.
L ocal councils .— United States—Alabama, 2; Arizona, 2; Arkan
sas, 2; Colorado, 5; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia, 1; Florida,
8; Georgia, 3; Idaho, 2; Illinois, 30; Iowa, 9; Kansas, 6; Kentucky,
4; Louisiana, 5; Maine, 2; Maryland, 3; Minnesota, 4; Michigan, 7;
Missouri, 5; Montana, 2; Nebraska, 3; Nevada, 1; New Hampshire,
2; North Carolina, 4; North Dakota, 2; New Mexico, 1; Oregon, 4;
Oklahoma, 10; Pennsylvania, 31; Rhode Island, 4; South Carolina,
1; South Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 4; Texas, 10; Utah, 1; Virginia, 4;
Washington, 11; West Virginia, 5; Wisconsin, 10; Wyoming, 2.
Camuda—Alberta, 2; British Columbia, 2; Manitoba, 1; New Bruns
wick, 1; Nova Scotia, 1; Ontario, 5; Quebec, 1. Total, 227.
The Building Trades Department holds an annual convention,
preceding the convention of the American Federation of Labor,
BUILDING TBADES
69
Vic© presidents are elected annually in convention, while the salaried
officers (president and secretary-treasurer) are elected every third
year. The headquarters of the department are in the American
Federation of Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Asbestos Workers, International Association of Heat and Frost
Insulators and
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1904 from directly affiliated American Federation of
Labor local unions.
O b je c t s .—“The object of the International Association of Heat and Frost
Insulators and Asbestos Workers shall be to assist its membership in securing
employment, to defend their rights, and advance their interests as workingmen;
and by education and cooperation raise them to that position in society to which
they are justly entitled.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r isd ic t io n .—All workers engaged in “the practical mechanical appli
cation, installation, or erection of heat and frost insulation such as magnesia,
asbestos, hair felt, wool felt, cork, mineral wool, infusorial earth, mercerized
silk, flax fiber, fire felt, asbestos paper, asbestos curtain, asbestos millboard, or
any substitute for these materials, or engaged jn any labor connected with the
handling or distributing of insulating materials on job premises.”
G o vernm en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president, secretarytreasurer, and three vice presidents of equal rank, “shall supervise the affairs
of the international association.”
2. Local unions: “Local unions are subordinate branches of the international
association and can only exercise local autonomy in matters upon which the
international constitution and bylaws are silent.” They “shall have power to
regulate the hours of labor to less than 8 hours per day, and to fix wages within
their chartered jurisdiction or trade-agreement radius.”
3. Convention: Held quinquennially; enacts legislation and elects general
officers.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Applicants for mechanical (journeyman)
membership must pass tan examination. Applicants for improver membership
must be not less than 18 nor more than 25 years of age, and must read, write,
and understand the English language. Applicants for apprentice membership
must be not less than 17 nor more than 20 years of age, and must read, write,
and understand English.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“Local unions shall have power to regulate the
working conditions of * * * apprentices in any manner they deem proper.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g ag r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated locally, by committees from
local unions and local employers, but must contain “the several principles as
declared, enacted, and adopted by the international association”, including the
prohibition of “contracting, subcontracting, lump work, or piecework.”
B e n e f it s .—Strike and defense fund maintained by proportionate diversion of
per-capita tax.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Asbestos Worker.
H ea dquarters .—211 Machinists Building, Washington, D. C.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Local unions: United States—Alabama, 2; California, 3; Colo
rado, 1; Connecticut, 1; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia, 1; Georgia, 1;
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Illinois, 3; Indiana, 4; Iowa, 3; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 2; Maryland, 1; Massa
chusetts, 2; Michigan, 1; Minnesota, 2; Missouri, 2; Montana, 1; New York,
8; New Jersey, 3; Nebraska, 1; Ohio, 7; Oklahoma, 2; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania,
3; Rhode Island, 1; Tennessee, 2; Texas, 4; Virginia, 4; Washington, 3; West
Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 1. Canada—4 (distribution not reported). Total, 76.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .— 4,000.
Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers’ International Union of
America
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized October 17, 1865. The first steps toward national unity
among the scattered local organizations of bricklayers were taken by
seven men belonging to the Philadelphia and Baltimore associations.
Meeting in Philadelphia on October 17,1865, they drafted a consti
tution, elected officers, and instructed the secretary to “correspond
with all bricklayers’ unions known to exist in the United States, re
questing them to send delegates to the next convention, to meet in
Baltimore on January 8, 1866.”
This convention was held as planned, with delegates from eight
cities in attendance, and the International Bricklayers’ Union of
North America was established. Two years later the name was
changed to National Bricklayers’ Union. During the panic of
1871-73 and the years of depression which followed, the organization
was demoralized, losing 95 percent of its membership. The 1879
convention met in Covington, Ky., with only three unions repre
sented—Covington, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. The entire mem
bership at that time was 229. The organization did not disband,
however. It met again in 1881, reorganized, and survived. Stone
masons were admitted to membership and in 1883 the name was
changed to Bricklayers and Masons’ International Union, with juris
diction over Canada, where organization had already begun with the
chartering of a Montreal local in 1880. The journal of the organiza
tion was established in 1898.
Absorption of an independent organization, the Stone Masons’
International Union, in 1903 brought about an increased membership
and a wider field, and in 1910 jurisdiction was extended to plasterers.
To include them definitely in the organization, the name became and
remains Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers’ International Union of
America.
The union maintained an independent position in the labor move
ment from its inception until 1916, when it changed its policy and
joined the American Federation of Labor as an affiliated body. That
necessitated some readjustment of the jurisdictions held by unions
already in the American Federation of Labor, the most important
BUILDING TRADES
71
of which involved the transfer to the bricklayers’ organization of the
skilled marble setters holding membership in the International Asso
ciation of Marble Workers.
O b je c t s .—“The object shall be to unite into one parent body, for mutual
protection and benefit, all members of the mason craft that work at the same,
who are citizens of the country within its jurisdiction, without condition as to
servitude or race.”
T ebbitobial jtjbisd ictio n .—United States and possessions, and Canada.
T rade jtjbisd ictio n .—“Brick masonry.—Bricklaying masonry shall consist of
the laying of bricks made from any material in, under, or upon any structure
or form of work where bricks are used, whether in the ground, or over its
surface, or beneath the water; in commercial buildings, rolling mills, iron
works, blast or smelter furnaces, lime or brick kilns; in mines or fortifications,
and in all underground work, such as sewers, telegraph, electric, and telephone
conduits. All pointing, cleaning, and cutting of brick walls; fireproofing; block
arching; terra-cotta cutting and setting; the laying and cutting of all tile,
plaster, mineral wool, and cork blocks, or any substitute for above material;
the cutting, rubbing, and grinding of all kinds of brick; and the setting of all
cut-stone trimmings on brick buildings, is bricklayers’ work.
“Stone masonry shall consist of laying all rubble work, with or without mor
tar; setting all cut-stone, marble, slate, or stonework (meaning as to stone,
any work manufactured from such foreign or domestic products as are speci
fied and used in the interior or on the exterior of buildings by architects, and
customarily called ‘stone’ in the trade).
“Cutting all shoddies, broken ashlar or random ashlar that is roughly dressed
upon the beds and joints, and range ashlar not over 10 inches in height; the
dressing of all jambs, corners, and ringstones that are roughly dressed upon
the beds, joints, or reveals, and the cutting of a draft upon same for plumbing
purposes only; and the cleaning and pointing of stonework.
“This to apply to all work on buildings, sewers, bridges, railroads, or other
public works, and to all kinds of stone, particularly to the product of the
locality where the work is being done, and the same shall be considered stone
masonry.
“Stonemasons shall have the right to use all tools which they consider neces
sary in the performance of their work.
“Artificial masonry.—The cutting, setting, and pointing of cement blocks and
all artificial stone or marble, either interior or exterior, when set by the usual
custom of the stonemason and marble setter. All cement that is used for back
ing up external walls, the building of party walls, columns, girders, beams,
floors, stairs, and arches, and all materials substituted for the clay or natural
stone products, shall be controlled by members of the Bricklayers, Masons, and
Plasterers’ International Union, for which the highest rate of wages shall be
demanded.
“Cement masonry.—Laying out, screeding, and finishing of all cement, con
crete, brown-stone composition, mastic and gypsum materials, also for fire
proofing, waterproofing, cement and composition base, and vault lights. The
cutting of all cement and concrete for patching and finishing. The bushham
mering of all concrete when cast in place. The operation of the cement gun,
the nozzle and the finishing of all material applied by the guns, also the opera
tion of the cement-floor-finishing machines. The cement mason shall have the
right to use all tools necessary to complete his work.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
“Marble masonry.—Marble masons’ jurisdiction claims shall consist of the
carving, cutting, and setting of all marble, slate, stone, albereen, carrara,
sanionyx, vitrolite, and similar opaque glass, scagliola, marbleithic, and all
artificial imitation or cast of whatever thickness or dimension. This shall
apply to all interior work such as sanitary, decorative, and other purposes
inside of buildings of every description wherever required, including all polish,
honed, or sand finish; also the cutting and fitting of above materials after same
leave mills or shops, and the laying of all marble tile, slate tile, and terrazzo
tile. Foremen over any marble masonry shall be marble setters, and at no
time shall anyone other than a bona fide marble setter act as a foreman on all
marble masonry.
“Plastering.—All exterior or interior plastering, plain and ornamental, when
done with stucco, cement, and lime mortars or patent materials; artificial
marble work, when applied in plastic form; composition work in all its
branches; the covering of all walls, ceilings, soffits, piers, columns, or any
part of a construction of any sort when covered with any plastic material in
the usual methods of plastering; the casting and sticking of all ornaments of
plaster or plastic compositions; and the cutting and filling of cracks is the
work of the plasterer. All cornices, molding, coves, and bullnoses shall be
run in place on rods and white mortar screeds and with a regular mold; and
all substitutes of any kind, when applied in plastic form with a trowel, or
substitute for same, is also the work of the plasterer. Foremen over plasterers
on operations within the jurisdiction of this international union shall be
members of the Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers’ International Union of
America.
“Marble mosaic and terrazzo work.—Marble mosaic, Venetian enamel, and
terrazzo; the cutting and assembling of art ceramic, glass mosaic, and the
casting of all terrazzo in shops and mills.
“All scratch coat on walls and ceilings where mosaic and terrazzo is to be
applied shall be done by plasterers, with an allowance of not less than onehalf inch bed to be conceded to mosaic and terrazzo workers.
“All bedding above concrete floors or walls, that preparation, laying, or set
ting of the metal or wooden strips and grounds, where mosaic and terrazzo is
to be applied, shall be the work of the mosaic and terrazzo workers.
“All terrazzo finished (rustic), or rough-washed for interior or exterior of
building, or any substitute that is applied under the same method as mosaic
or terrazzo, shall be set by mosaic and terrazzo workers.
“Cutting and assembling of art ceramic and glass mosaic comes under the
jurisdiction of the mosaic workers, and the setting of same shall be done by
tile layers.
“Tile-layers' work.—The laying or setting of all tile where used for floors,
walls, ceiling, walks, promenade roofs, stair treads, stair risers, facings, hearths,
fireplaces, and decorative inserts together with any marble plinths, thresholds, or
window stools used in connection with any tile work; also to prepare and set
all concrete cement brickwork, or other foundations or materials that may be
required to properly set and complete such work; the setting or bedding of
all tiling, stone, marble, composition, glass, mosaic, or other materials forming
the facing, hearth, or fireplace of a mantel or th$ mantel complete, together
with the setting of all cement, brickwork, or other material required in con
nection with the above work; also the slabbing and fabrication of tile mantels,
counters, and tile panels of every description and the erection and installation
of same. The building, shaping, forming, construction, or repairing of all fire
place work, whether in connection with a mantel-hearth facing or not, and
BUILDING TRADES
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the setting and preparing of all material, such as cement, plaster, mortar,
brickwork, ironwork, or other materials necessary for the proper and safe
construction and completion of such work, except that a mantel made ex
clusively of brick, marble, or stone shall be conceded to be bricklayers’, marble
setters’, or stonemasons’ work, respectively.
“It will be understood that the word ‘tile’ refers to all burned-clay products
as used in the tile industry, either glazed or unglazed, and to all composition
materials made in single units up to 15 by 20 by 2 inches, except quarry tiles
larger than 9 by 9 by 1% inches, also to mixtures in tile form of cement, that
are made for and intended for use as a finished floor surface, whether upon
interior or exterior floors, stair treads, promenade roofs, garden walks, interior
walls, ceilings, swimming pools, and all places where tile may be used to form
a finished surface for practical use, sanitary finish, or decorative purposes, or
setting all accessories w^hen built in walls, or for decorative inserts in other
materials. The foreman over any tile work shall be a tile layer, and at no
time shall anyone other than a bona fide tile setter act as foreman on tile work.
“Where a member is qualified and competent to work at branches of the
trade other than his card of membership may designate, he shall be required to
have two vouchers who are qualified workmen as their card of membership
shows them to be, of the branch of the trade desired to be added to such mem
ber’s card of membership, to vouch for him, and he shall apply to headquarters
through the union where he holds membership for a change of title, with the
signatures and register numbers of the vouchers attached thereto; and if
approved, he shall not be interfered with while working at either branch, pro
viding he obeys all working rules required, but he must demand and receive
nothing less than the standard wages demanded by the branch of the trade
at which he is working and must be a fully qualified journeyman of said branch
of trade.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. “The powers of this international union are executive, legis
lative, and judicial. The government and superintendence of subordinate unions
shall be vested in this international union as the supreme head of all unions
in its jurisdiction. It shall be the ultimate tribunal to which all matters of
general importance to the welfare of the several unions or any members thereof
shall be referred for adjustment, and its decisions thereon shall be final and
conclusive. To it shall belong the power to determine the customs and usages
in regard to all matters in relation to the fellowship of the craft.”
All legislative powers are reserved to this international union, duly convened
in session, and shall extend to every case of legislation not delegated to or
reserved for subordinate unions.
All the executive and judiciary powers of this union, when not in session,
shall be vested in the executive officers—the president, first vice president,
secretary, and treasurer.
The president “shall have a general supervision of the interests of this union
as the supreme executive officer.”
The executive board, composed of the president, first vice president, secre
tary, and treasurer, “shall have entire control of all executive business and the
official journal of this union when not in session, viz, all grievances relating to
and all strikes and lock-outs, the settlement of all disputes between employers
or exchanges and members of this union or subordinate unions”, and shall have
“entire control over all judicial business of the international union when not
in session.”
2. State and Provincial conferences: Chartered by the international union
when two-thirds of a State or Province affiliated so vote.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
“Each State or Provincial conference shall regulate all details and construe
the proper definition of practical masonry in its several branches.” “Conferences
shall also regulate their own apprentice laws, subject to the general laws”, and
shall have power “to establish and maintain beneficial or mortuary funds for
the benefits of their members.”
3. Local executive committees: “Where there are two or more unions existing
in any city or town, each union shall be required to elect or appoint three dele
gates whose duties shall be to meet and establish a uniform rate of wages,
initiation fee, and hours of labor, together with rules and regulations under
which all can work in harmony. The body thus convened shall be known as
the executive committee, to which shall be referred the construction of all
general working laws for all branches of the trade for such city or town.”
4. Local unions: Subordinate; “Powers reserved to subordinate unions: To
regulate its rate of wages; its rates for legitimate overtime work; to establish
beneficial or mortuary funds; to establish measures and regulate the details as
to joint arbitration; to designate what constitutes an ‘emergency’ as to working
overtime; to regulate by details questions that may arise as to what consti
tutes masonry; as to affiliating with other trades or building-trades councils;
to define the distinction between contractors and journeymen; to define its
local jurisdiction and operate its area of territory; to establish and maintain
a strike fund; to establish and maintain State and Provincial conferences”,
subject to the provisions of the constitution of the international union.
5. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s fob m e m b e r s h ip .—Applicant must be “a practical bricklayer,
stonemason, cement mason, plasterer, marble mason, tile setter, or mosaic and
terrazzo worker, and competent to command existing scale of wages for work”,
and must be a citizen or have declared his intention to become a citizen of the
country in which he works.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip re g u l a tio n s .—“It being impossible for the international union
to formulate and maintain a general apprentice law within its jurisdiction,
it hereby grants to each subordinate union the power to regulate its own
apprentice laws”, subject to certain restrictions:
“Every apprentice shall be registered with the international union at the
time of his indenture, * * * a register number * * * to be assigned
to the apprentice until the day of his initiation.
“No subordinate union shall be allowed to indenture apprentices to journey
men, but only to recognized union contractors of their jurisdiction.
“Each and every apprentice binding himself to serve a stated term shall be
required to fill his contract with his employer or leave the business entirely.
“All regularly assigned apprentices shall be required to serve not less than
3 years.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by committees of local unions
and local employers. International officers are called upon to assist if agree
ment cannot be reached locally.
A supplementary agreement is made between international officers and con
tractors operating in more than one city.
B e n e f it s .—Strike; relief; old age; mortuary.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Bricklayer, Mason, and Plasterer.
H ea dq ua rters .—815-817 Fifteenth Street, NW., Washington, D. C.
O r g a n iza tio n .—State conferences: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecti
cut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minne
sota, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Penn-
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75
sylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
Provincial conferences: Ontario.
Local unions.—Divided into craft groups in cities and large centers where
there are a sufficient number to maintain separate organizations (i. e., brick
layers, tile layers, plasters, marble masons, stone masons, etc.) : United
States—Alabama, 9; Arizona, 3; Arkansas, 0; California, 20; Colorado, 7;
Connecticut, 19; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia, 3; Florida, 15; Georgiav
10; Idaho, 3; Illinois, 59; Indiana, 41; Iowa, 20; Kansas, 22; Kentucky, 15;
Louisiana, 6; Maine, 12; Maryland, 8; Massachusetts, 37; Michigan, 32; Min
nesota, 17; Mississippi, 4; Missouri, 22; Montana, 7; Nebraska, 8; Nevada, 1;
New Hampshire, 8; New Jersey, 41; New Mexico, 1; New York, 70; North
Carolina, 12; North Dakota, 4; Ohio, 50; Oklahoma, 18; Oregon, 6; Penn
sylvania, 68; Rhode Island, 5; South Carolina, 4; South Dakota, 5; Tennessee,
8; Texas, 25; Utah, 3; Vermont, 2; Virginia, 8; Washington, 7; West Vir
ginia, 11; Wisconsin, 29; Wyoming, 3; Canal Zone, 1; Virgin Islands, 1.
Canada—Alberta, 3; British Columbia, 3; Manitoba, 2; New Brunswick, 3;
Nova Scotia, 1; Ontario, 27; Quebec, 4; Saskatchewan, 4. Total, 844.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—No report. On basis of American Federation of
Labor voting strength, 65,000.
Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers, International
Association of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Pittsburgh, Pa., February 4, 1896, by local unions
of six large cities, which merged to form the International Associa
tion of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers.
The 1914 convention extended the jurisdiction of the union and
changed its name to International Association of Bridge, Struc
tural, and Ornamental Iron Workers and Pile Drivers. This move
brought about a dispute with the United Brotherhood of Carpen
ters and Joiners over the locals of pile drivers concerned and resulted
in the suspension of the bridge-workers’ union from the American
Federation of Labor. It then relinquished the locals of pile drivers
to the United Brotherhood and dropped “pile drivers” from the
new title, retaining however, the claim to the ornamental-ironwork
ers. The association was reinstated, but the American Federation
of Labor has never recognized the extension of jurisdiction or the
title used by the international association. So far as its American
Federation of Labor charter is concerned, it is still the International
Association of Bridge and Structural Iron Workers.
Objects.—“The objects of the International association shall be to encourage
and develop a higher standard of skill; to cultivate feelings of friendship
among the craft; to equitably distribute opportunities of employment; to secure
by legal and proper means pay commensurate with the hazard, physical and
mental taxation and exhaustion, and average life endured by its members in
performing the services of the trade; to discourage piece work and promote
safe and reasonable methods of work; to cultivate the moral, intellectual, and
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
social conditions for the well-being of its members, their families, and depend
ents and in the interest of a higher standard of citizenship.,,
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and possessions, and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—“The fabrication, erection, and construction of all iron
and steel, ornamental lead, bronze, brass, copper, and aluminum; reinforced
structures or parts thereof; bridges, viaducts, inclines, dams, docks, dredges,
vessels, locks, gates, aqueducts, reservoirs, spillways, flumes, caissons, coffer
dams, subways, tunnels, cableways, tramways monorails, blast furnaces, stoves,
kilns, coolers, crushers, agitators, pulverizers, mixers, concentrators, ovens,
cupolas, smoke conveyors, penstocks, flagpoles, drums, shaftings, shoring, fur
and storage rooms, fans and hot rooms, stacks, bunkers, conveyors, dumpers,
elevators, vats, enamel tanks and vats, tanks, towers, pans, hoppers, plates,
anchors, caps, corbells, lintels, Howe and combination trusses, grillage and
foundation work; all grating, bucks, partitions, hanging ceiling, hangars, clips,
brackets, flooring, floor construction and domes, rolling shutters, curtains,
frames, kalameined and iron doors, cast tiling, duct and trench frames and
plates; all wirework, railings, including pipe, guards, fencing, grillwork, side
walk and vault light, skylight, roofs, canopies, marquise, awnings, elevator and
dumb-waiter enclosures, elevator cars, tracks, faces, aprons, operating devices,
sash, frames, fronts, lockers, racks, bookstacks, tables, and shelving; metal
furniture, seats, chutes, escalators, stairways, ventilators, boxes, fire escapes,
signs; jail and cell work, safes, vaults, safe-deposit boxes; corrugated steel
when attached to steel frames, frames in support of boilers; material altered
in the field, such as framing, cutting, bending, drilling, burning, and welding,
including by acetylene gas and electric machines; metal forms and false
work pertaining to concrete construction; sectional water tube and tubular
boilers and stokers; traveling sheaves, vertical hydraulic elevators; bulkheads,
skip hoists; the making and installation of all articles made of wire and
fibrous rope; all rigging in shipyards, vessels, and Government departments;
false work, travelers, scaffolding, pile drivers, sheet piling, derricks, cranes;
the erection, installation, handling, and operating of same on all forms of
construction work; all railroad bridge work, including their maintenance; the
moving, hoisting, and lowering of machinery, and placing of same on founda
tions, including in bridges, cranes, derricks, buildings, piers, and vessels; the
loading, necessary maintenance, erection, installation, removal, wrecking, and
dismantling of all of the above housesmith work, and submarine diving in
connection with or about same.
“The above claims are subject to trade agreements and final decisions of
the American Federation of Labor.”
G o vernm en t .—1. The executive council consists of general president, general
secretary, and nine general vice presidents.
The general executive board consists of general president, general secretary,
and a general vice president to be selected from time to time by the general
president.
The president “shall exercise a general supervision over the affairs of the
international association * * * shall appoint all officers and commit
tees * * * shall decide all points of law and have power to suspend any
subordinate body for violation of constitution and laws * * * and with
the approval of the general executive board shall have full power to effect
a settlement of any strike.”
The executive council is the court of appeal from decisions of the general
executive board.
BUILDING TRADES
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2. District councils: Where two or more locals exist in any one city or local
ity it shall be mandatory for them to form a district council or joint executive
board for the control of all local unions in the jurisdiction.
3. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution and regulations imposed by inter
national office.
4. Convention: Held quadrennially on the third Monday of September at
such place as may be designated by the executive council. Elects general
officers; enacts legislation. Constitution amended by convention action.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“To be admitted to membership in any
local union of the international association one must be a practical workman
versed in the duties of some branch of the trade, of good moral character, and
competent to command standard wages. Any person or member known to
hold membership in the Industrial Workers of the World, the One Big Union,
or any organization of communists, or who by act or deed does or says any
thing in furtherance of the objects or welfare of these organizations, or in
any organization whose purpose, aims, or objects are contrary to the purposes,
aims, and objects of the international association, shall not be eligible to mem
bership in the association.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“There shall be admitted to membership in
the international association men who can read and write, of not less than 17
nor more than 30 years of age, for the purpose of acquiring a practical knowl
edge of the various branches of the trade, who shall, to qualify as journeymen,
serve an apprenticeship of 2 years.
“The number of apprentices in a local union shall be limited to the yearly
average membership of the local union.
“Apprentices on construction work may be employed at the ratio of not more
than one apprentice to every seven journeymen employed by any employer.
“Apprentices on ornamental and finishing work may be employed at the
ratio of not more than one apprentice to every four journeymen.”
Apprentices must pass a satisfactory examination before being admitted to
journeyman membership.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions, with the
advice and subject to the approval of the general executive board; generally
deal with employers’ associations.
B e n e f it s .—Old-age and disability pension; death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Bridgemen’s Magazine.
H
.—Syndicate Trust Building, St. Louis, Mo.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—District councils: Chicago and vicinity, Cincinnati and vicin
ity, New York City and vicinity, western New York (headquarters at Syracuse),
St. Louis and vicinity, St Paul-Minneapolis and vicinity, Texas (headquarters,
Galveston).
Local unions.—United States—Alabama, 4; Arizona, 1; Arkansas, 1; Cali
fornia, 9; Colorado, 1; Connecticut, 2; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia, 2;
Florida, 4; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 16; Indiana, 7; Iowa, 4; Kansas, 2; Kentucky,
1; Louisiana, 2; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 6; Michigan, 3; Minnesota, 2;
Mississippi, 1; Missouri, 5; Montana, 3; Nebraska, 1; New Hampshire, 1; New
Jersey, 9; New York, 18; North Carolina, 1; Ohio, 11; Oklahoma, 4; Oregon, 1;
Pennsylvania, 16; Rhode Island, 1; Tennessee, 2; Texas, 10; Utah, 1; Virginia,
3; Washington, 3; West Virginia, 2; Wisconsin, 6; Wyoming, 1. Canada—
British Columbia, 1; Manitoba, 1; New Brunswick, 1; Ontario, 3; Quebec, 2.
Total, 178.
Railroad system locals: “There shall be issued to the bridgemen working
directly for railroad companies a separate charter which shall be designated
eadquarters
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
railway system charter. * * * Railway locals shall have the right to move
their charters with them throughout and over their respective systems and
hold their meetings likewise. The jurisdiction of systems locals shall extend
to all of the work being done directly by their respective railroad companies.”
Santa Fe system local (headquarters Topeka, Kans.) ; Chicago, Rock Island
& Pacific system local (headquarters, Chicago, 111.).
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—14,000.
Carpenters and Joiners o f Am erica, U nited Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., August 12, 1881. Efforts toward na
tional organization of carpenters were made in 1854 and again in
1867. Although both of these movements failed, local organizations
of carpenters were maintained in cities and in some cases were fairly
powerful. The third movement toward consolidation of the various
scattered groups of organized carpenters came through a four-page
journal called “The Carpenter”, which commenced publication in
St. Louis, Mo., in May 1881. After 3 months of agitation on the
part of the journal a conference was held in Chicago on August 8,
1881, attended by 36 delegates representing 12 local unions, with a
combined membership of a few more than 2,000. At this meeting
was founded the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America,
the word “America” specifically including Canada and other British
dominions as well as the United States.
The United Order of American Carpenters and Joiners, a local
body of New York City and vicinity, which had been in existence for
years and had grown powerful in its own field, remained outside
the newly formed brotherhood until 1888. Amalgamation was then
accomplished through compromises and concessions which involved
the retention by the New York group of a degree of its own identity
and a merging of the two names. Thus the organization became
the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.
Woodworkers not in the building trades were organized into two
groups—the International Furniture Workers’ Union, founded in
1873, and the Machine Wood Workers’ International Union, organ
ized in 1890. In 1895 these two organizations united, becoming the
Amalgamated Wood Workers’ International Union, and affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor.
Jurisdictional disputes over carpentry shop and mill work began be
tween the two organizations and continued with increasing intensity,
coming to a head in 1903, when American Federation of Labor offi
cials tried to bring about an amicable adjustment. This effort did
not succeed and the United Brotherhood continued its organization
work among cabinetmakers and shop craftsmen, making serious in-
BUILDING TRADES
79
roads on the membership of the rival union. From 1909 to 1911 re
peated efforts were made to amalgamate the two organizations.
Finally the 1911 convention of the American Federation of Labor
ordered the Amalgamated Wood Workers to come to terms with the
United Brotherhood as drawn up by representatives of the two unions.
Revocation of their charter was threatened as the penalty for noncompliance. By that time the membership of the Amalgamated Wood
Workers was less than it had been at any previous time in its history.
In April 1912 the organization merged with the United Brotherhood
under an agreement which was in effect absorption.
Prior to the founding of the original brotherhood in 1881 the
Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners of Great Britain
established an American branch. While it was a fairly large and
successful organization, it never had the following which the brother
hood gained, chiefly, perhaps, because it was primarily a beneficiary
society rather than an aggressive trade-union. In 1890 it was char
tered by the American Federation of Labor as an affiliated organiza
tion, although clearly dual to the previously chartered United Broth
erhood of Carpenters and Joiners. The story of the relations between
these two organizations is essentially the same as in the case of the
woodworkers. The United Brotherhood, with the help of the Ameri
can Federation of Labor and later of the Building Trades Depart
ment of the American Federation of Labor, fought persistently for
amalgamation, using the slogan: “One trade, one organization.55 E f
forts to bring the two organizations together under an agreement
which would preserve the identity and autonomy of both failed re
peatedly. In 1912 the Amalgamated Society refused to participate
in further conferences, and its charter was revoked by the American
Federation of Labor in August 1912. In 1913 something in the nature
of a truce was arrived at, by the terms of which the United Brother
hood asserted jurisdiction over members of the Amalgamated Society
in trade matters, leaving to the rival organization its nominal mem
bership and its beneficiary features. This arrangement resulted in
practical absorption of the Amalgamated Society by the brotherhood,
and in 1924 the society passed definitely out of existence.
Timber and sawmill workers and shingle weavers have made
numerous attempts to establish and maintain national organizations,
but they have met with indifferent success. The casual nature of
the work, and the infusion of radical philosophies through the In
dustrial Workers of the World on one hand and company union
ism on the other, have proved disrupting factors. A national union
of shingle weavers was chartered by the American Federation of
Labor in 1903 which, with varying changes of jurisdiction and title,
continued a precarious existence until 1918, when it merged with
80
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HANDBOOK OB AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
the International Union of Timber Workers which the American
Federation of Labor had chartered the year before. This combined
organization grew greatly during and immediately following the
World War, going into the 1920 convention of the American Federa
tion of Labor with a voting strength of 10,100 as compared to 2,300
at the time of the merger, and TOO for the two organizations in 1917.
However, these gains were not retained. Membership fell 50
percent in 1921 and continued to decline so rapidly that in 1923, with
a membership of only 244, it disbanded entirely. Thereafter, local
unions in these fields were organized and chartered directly by the
American Federation of Labor. By decision of the executive coun
cil of the Federation in April 1935 jurisdiction over the logging,
lumber, and related industries was granted to the United Brother
hood, at which time there were about 125 directly affiliated local
unions of woodsmen, sawmill workers, shingle weavers, plywood,
and veneer workers, mostly in the South and the Pacific Northwest.
Thus, broadly speaking, the jurisdiction of the United Brother
hood of Carpenters and Joiners now covers wood in any form to be
used for any purpose except wooden barrels.
O b je c t s .—“The objects of the United Brotherhood are: To discourage piece
work, to encourage an apprentice system and a higher standard of skill, to
cultivate feelings of friendship among the craft, to assist each other to secure
employment, to reduce the hours of daily labor, to secure adequate pay for
our work, to establish a weekly pay day, to furnish aid in cases of death or
permanent disability, and by legal and proper means to elevate the moral,
intellectual, and social conditions of all our members, and to improve the
trade.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and possessions, Canada, and New
foundland.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—All branches of the carpenter and joiner trade, logging
operations, and sawmills. Specifically, “all milling, fashioning, joining, assem
bling, erecting, fastening, or dismantling of all material of wood, hollow metal,
or fiber, or of products composed in part of wood, hollow metal, or fiber, the
laying of all cork and compo, all asphalt shingles, the erecting and dismantling
of machinery, and the manufacture of all wood materials where the skill, knowl
edge, and training of a carpenter are required, either through the operation
of machine or hand tools.
“Our claim of jurisdiction, therefore, extends over the following divisions
and subdivisions of the trade: Carpenters and joiners, railroad carpenters,
bench hands, stair builders, millwrights, furniture workers, shipwrights and
boat builders, reed and rattan workers, ship carpenters, joiners and calkers,
cabinetmakers, floor laying, box makers, bridge, dock, and wharf carpenters,
car building, and all those engaged in the running of woodworking machinery.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General executive board—composed of general president,
first general vice president, secretary, treasurer, and one member from each
of the seven territorial districts—decides “all points of law, all grievances
and appeals submitted to them in legal form, and their decisions shall be bind
ing until reversed by a convention” ; has “power to authorize strikes * * *
enter into agreement with sister organizations with reference to jurisdiction
BUILDING TRADES
81
over work; or a general offensive and defensive alliance ♦ * * make agree
ments with employers covering our jurisdiction.” It also constitutes a board
of trustees for the management and control of brotherhood property and
funds.
2. State and Provincial councils, which are federations of local unions within
the State or Province, “have power to make laws to govern the local unions,
district councils, and the membership of the brotherhood.” Where such councils
are “composed of as many as five local unions of the State or Province, rep
resenting 55 percent of the membership, it shall be obligatory on all local unions
within the State or Province to affiliate.”
3. District councils: “Where there are two or more local unions located in
one city they must be represented in a carpenters district council composed
exclusively of delegates from local unions of the United Brotherhood, and
they shall be governed by such laws and trade rules as shall be adopted by
the district council and approved by the local unions and the first general vice
president. District councils may be formed in localities other than cities where
two or more local unions in adjoining territory request it, or when in the
opinion of the general president the good of the United Brotherhood requires it.”
They shall “have power to make bylaws, working and trade agreements for
the government of their local unions and the membership of the United
Brotherhood working in their districts * * * have power to enforce working
and trade rules in their respective localities. * * * They shall adopt bylaws
and rules governing local, strike, and other donations, except sick donations,
and shall provide for and hold trials of all violations of trade rules.”
Local unions other than those working on building material shall not have
a voice, vote, or delegate in any district council of the building tradesmen, but
may establish their own district councils under bylaws approved by the first
general vice president.
4. Local unions: “Local unions where no district council exists shall have
the power to make bylaws and trades rules for their government and the
members of the United Brotherhood working under their jurisdiction”, and
“shall have power to regulate and make payment of sick donations.”
5. Convention: Held quadrennially; nominates general officers. Election of
officers by referendum. Constitution and laws amendable only by referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n for m e m b e r s h ip .—Citizenship or declaration of citizenship
intentions. Applicants for beneficiary membership must be under 60 years
of age.
“A member can enter into the business of contracting providing he pays the
union scale of wages, obeys trade rules, and hires none but members of the
United Brotherhood, and that he is not and does not become a member of
any contractors or employers’ association.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“An apprentice of good moral character be
tween the ages of 17 and 22 years may be admitted to membership as a semibeneficial member, and after having served 4 years as such and qualifying * * *
he shall be classed as a full beneficial member.
“An employer who employs two or more journeymen may have one appren
tice, but the number may be increased at such rate as the district council or
local union having jurisdiction may decide.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n r s .—In large centers, agreements are made
between the executive officers of the district council and the employers’ associa
tion in building work; in mill and shop work, and in localities having no district
council, agreements are generally negotiated by the local union with the
individual employer.
79315°—36------ 7
82
HANDBO O K OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
B e n e f it s .—Strike and lock-out; total disability; pension; home for super
annuated members; funeral (member and wife) ; sick (by locals only).
O ff ic ia l organ .—The Carpenter.
H ea dquarters .—Carpenters’ Building, Indianapolis, Ind.
Organization.—Territorial districts:
District No. 1. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut, New York, Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
District No. 2. New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, District of Columbia,
Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.
District No. 3. Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
District No. 4. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
District No. 5. Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa,
Kansas, Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma.
District No. 6. Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, California,
Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Alaska.
District No. 7. Dominion of Canada.
State councils;
Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey,
New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas,
Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Provincial councils; Ontario and Quebec.
District councils :
United States:
Alabama.—Montgomery.
California.—Bay Counties (San Francisco and vicinity) ; Fresno County;
Los Angeles; Sacramento; San Diego; San Joaquin; San Luis Obispo
and vicinity; Santa Clara Valley.
Connecticut.—Bridgeport and vicinity.
District of Columbia.—Washington (includes Alexandria, Va.).
Florida.—Jacksonville and vicinity; Volusia County; West Palm Beach
County.
Illinois.—Chicago and vicinity; Fox River Valley (Aurora, Batavia, and
St. Charles) ; Tri-City (Rock Island, Moline, and Davenport, Iowa) ;
Tri-Counties (East St. Louis and vicinity) ; Will County (Joliet.).
Indiana.—Fall Cities (New Albany and vicinity) ; Lake County (Gary,
Hammond, etc.).
Iowa.—Cedar Rapids.
Kentucky.—Fall Cities (Louisville) ; Kenton and Campbell Counties
(Covington) ; Tri-State (Ashland, Ky., Huntington, W. Va., and Ironton,
Ohio).
Massachusetts.—Berkshire County (Pittsfield and vicinity); Boston;
central Massachusetts (Hudson, Framingham, and Marlboro) ; Hol
yoke; Lawrence; Lowell; Middlesex (Arlington, Wakefield, Woburn,
Winchester, Reading, and Stoneham) ; Newton; Norfolk County;
northern Massachusetts (Fitchburg, Leominster) ; North Shore (Salem,
Gloucester, etc.) ; South Shore (Quincy, Braintree, etc.) ; Springfield;
Taunton; and Worcester.
Michigan.—Grand Rapids; southern Michigan (Ann Arbor, Jackson,
Battle Creek, and Lansing) ; Tri-County (Bay City, Saginaw, and
Flint).
Minnesota.—Twin City.
BUILDING TRADES
83
Missouri.—Kansas City (includes Kansas City, Kans.) ; St. Louis and
vicinity.
Nebraska.—Omaha.
New Jersey.—Bergen County (Hackensack) ; Burlington County; Essex
County (Newark, Orange, Montclair, etc.) ; Hudson County (Jersey
City and Hoboken) ; Middlesex County (Perth Amboy, New Bruns
wick, etc.) ; Morris (Somerset and vicinity) and Union Counties; Pas
saic ; P'ohatcong Valley and vicinity.
New York.—Adirondack (Glens Falls, Hudson Falls, Fort Edward, and
Lake George); Albany; Buffalo; Elmira; Mohawk Valley (Utica,
Herkimer, Oneida, Ilion, etc.); Nassau County; New York City and
vicinity; Rochester.; South Shore (Long Island) ; Troy; and West
chester County (Yonkers, etc.).
Ohio.—Cuyahoga County ; Hamilton County (Cincinnati, includes Kenton
and Campbell Counties, Ky.) ; Miami Valley (Dayton and vicinity).
Oregon.—Portland.
Pennsylvania.—Delaware County (Chester, Media, and vicinity) ; Lehigh
Valley (Allentown, Bethlehem) ; lower anthracite region (Shamokin, Mahanoy City, and vicinity) ; Main Line (Ardmore, Berwyn, and
West Chester) ; McKeesport; middle anthracite (Hazleton and vicin
ity) ; Monongahela Valley (Charleroi, Monessen, and vicinity) ; Mont
gomery County (Norristown, Pottstown, and vicinity) ; Philadelphia;
Pittsburgh; Shenango, and Beaver Valley (New Castle, Sharon, and
vicinity) ; Wyoming Valley (Wilkes-Barre and vicinity).
Puerto Rico.—San Juan Territorial Council.
Rhode Island.—Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls.
South Carolina.—Charleston.
Texas.—East Texas (Longview and vicinity) ; Jefferson County (Beau
mont, Port Arthur, etc.).
Utah.—Salt Lake City.
Washington.—Grays Harbor (Aberdeen and vicinity) ; Seattle, King
County, and vicinity; Skagit Valley (Bellingham and vicinity);
Tacoma.
Wisconsin.—Fox River Valley (Oshkosh, Neenah and Menasha, Fond
du Lac, Green Bay, etc.) ; Milwaukee; Wisconsin River Valley (Wau
sau, Stevens Point, and vicinity).
Canada:
British Columbia.—Vancouver.
Ontario.—Frontier, (Niagara Falls, St Catherines, Thorold, etc.).
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 27; Arizona, 7; Arkansas, 14; Cali
fornia, 102; Colorado, 14; Connecticut, 34; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia,
4; Florida, 33; Georgia, 13; Idaho, 10; Illinois, 154; Indiana, 53; Iowa, 29;
Kansas, 23; Kentucky, 19; Louisiana, 12; Maine, 10; Maryland, 7; Massa
chusetts, 100; Michigan, 39; Minnesota, 21; Mississippi, 13; Missouri, 37; Mon
tana, 19; Nebraska, 11; Nevada, 5; New Hampshire, 10; New Jersey, 85;
New Mexico, 9; New York, 167; North Carolina, 22; North Dakota, 3; Ohio,
83; Oklahoma, 29; Pennsylvania, 123; Rhode Island, 7; South Carolina, 9;
South Dakota, 3; Tennessee, 14; Texas, 65; Utah, 9; Vermont, 7; Virginia,
16; Washington, 70; West Virginia, 35; Wisconsin, 43; Wyoming, 9; Cana]
Zone, 1; Hawaiian Islands, 1; Puerto Rico, 5; Virgin Islands, 1. Canada—
Alberta, 3; British Columbia, 7; Manitoba, 1; New Brunswick, 1; Ontario, 33;
Quebec, 16; Saskatchewan, 2; Nova Scotia, 2. Total, 1,737.
M e m b e r s h ip
.—156,528.
reported
84
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Electrical W orkers, International Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in St. Louis, Mo., in November 1891. Five cities—
St. Louis, Mo.; Evansville and Indianapolis, Ind.; Toledo, Ohio;
and Chicago, 111.—were represented by delegates of existing or
ganizations of linemen and wiremen chartered under the American
Federation of Labor. Milwaukee, Duluth, and Philadelphia desig
nated members of the St. Louis union to act as proxy for their or
ganizations. Thus was formed the National Brotherhood of Elec
trical Workers of America.
By 1899 the organization was spreading to Canada, and at the
convention of 1899 the jurisdiction was expanded and the name
changed to International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
A secession movement in 1905-06 disrupted the organization, but
in 1914 the factions reunited.
O b je c t s .—The objects of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Work
ers are, namely, to organize all electrical workers into local unions, to develop
and to maintain a higher standard of skill, to encourage the formation of
schools of instruction for teaching the practical application of electricity and
for trade education generally, to promote reasonable methods of work, to culti
vate feelings of friendship among those of our craft, to settle all disputes be
tween employers and employees by arbitration (if possible), to assist each
other in sickness or distress, to secure employment, to reduce the hours of
daily labor, to secure adequate pay for our work, and by legal and proper
means to elevate the moral, intellectual, and social conditions of our members,
their families and dependents, in the interest of a higher standard of citizen
ship.
T erritorial j u r is d ic t io n .—United States and Territories, Canada, Cuba,
and Canal Zone.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Electrical workers shall be organized under five gen
eral branches of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, namely,
outside electrical workers; inside electrical workers; voice, sound, and vision
transmission and transference electrical workers; railroad electrical workers;
and shop electrical workers.
Outside electrical workers.—These shall include: Linemen, outside electrical
inspectors, outside cable splicers, trimmers, and maintenance men; aerial and
underground cable men and combination trouble men working for distributing
companies; load dispatchers, metermen, station attendants, and switchboard
operators in central lighting and power stations; telephone switchboard opera
tors, and trouble men working for distributing companies; fire and police
operators, maintenance and batterymen, signalmen, and electrical lay-out men;
operators of electrical apparatus when generating, furnishing, or supplying elec
tricity ; electrical rail grinders, foremen, groundmen, and helpers.
They are to have jurisdiction over the following: All electrical construction
work outside of isolated plants and the property lines of any given property;
but not electric signs, and not street electrical decorations, except when mess
enger or guy wire is necessary for support and when fed and controlled from
the street.
BUILDING TRADES
85
Series arc lamps and wiring when fed and controlled from the street, and
are the property of the distributing company; line work consisting of poles
and towers, including wires or cables supported therefrom; all work necessary
to the assembling, installation, erection, operation, maintenance, repair, con
trol, and inspection and supervision of all electrical apparatus, devices, wires,
cables, supports, insulators, conductors, ducts, and raceways when part of
distributing systems outside of buildings and railroads and outside the directly
related property and yards. (But they are to install and maintain the catenary
and trolley work on railroad property.)
The operation of switchboards and associated apparatus in central lighting
and power stations of distributing companies; line work in public, private, or
amusement parks; and bonding of rails.
In cases where the distribution system makes entry into private property,
yards, or buildings, this jurisdiction shall end at the first partition or point
of distribution therein.
Inside electrical workers.—These shall include: Wiremen, fixturemen, crane
men and crane repairmen: signalmen, load dispatchers, troublemen, switch
board operators and erectors; operators of electrical apparatus when generat
ing, supplying, or furnishing electricity for other than distributing companies;
inside cable splicers, picture-machine operators when the machines are used
for educational or advertisement purposes other than theatrical; inspectors,
shopmen, bridge operators, crane operators, meter testers and installers; in
side batterymen, fire- and burglar-alarm installers and repairmen, and marine
electrical workers.
They shall have jurisdiction over the following:
All electrical signs; all street electrical decorations when no messenger or
guy wire is necessary for support; installation, construction, inspection, opera
tion, maintenance, and repair of all electrical work in isolated plants and
within property lines of any given property, beginning at the first point of
distribution therein, except line work consisting of poles and towers, including
wires or cables supported therefrom.
Voice, sound, vision, transmission and transference electrical workers.—These
shall include: 1. Radio engineers, operators, installers, inspectors, maintenance
and repair men engaged in the application of electricity to the transmission
and transference of voice, sound, and vision with ethereal aid. They shall have
jurisdiction over the following work:
The installation, operation, inspection, maintenance, and repair of radio,
television, voice and sound production and reproduction apparatus, and appli
ances by means of which electricity is applied in such transmission or trans
ference production and reproduction of electrical effects,
2. Male telephone workers employed by telephone companies and actually
engaged in the inside construction, installation, maintenance, and repair work
associated with telegraph, telephones, dictaphones, and all electrical apparatus
made use of in the transmission, transference, production, and reproduction of
voice, sound, and vision through metallic conductors.
They shall also have jurisdiction over the following:
Installing, maintaining, and repairing all telegraph, telephone, dictaphone,
and switchboard work, beginning at the first point of distribution or the first
terminal inside of buildings or property lines.
Railroad and Pullman electrical workers.—Railroad and Pullman electrical
workers are those employed by railroad and Pullman companies, including wiremen, fixturemen, armature winders, metermen, electrical inspectors, switch-
86
H ANDBO O K OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
board operators; generator, motor, and substation attendants; electric-crane
operators; cable splicers; signalmen and signal maintainers; power, telephone,
and telegraph linemen and repairmen; groundmen; electric rail grinders; rail
bonders; electrical bridge operators; batterymen; and all electrical workers
employed by railroad and Pullman companies.
They shall have jurisdiction over all electrical work on the property of the
railroad and Pullman companies.
It being provided, however, that on any electrical construction or reconstruc
tion work which requires more than 6 days for one man to perform, they shall
receive wages and conditions equal to those prevailing in the locality in which
the work is being done, and under no circumstances shall railroad electrical
workers do any construction or reconstruction work where building-trades
mechanics are doing work in connection with the same.
Shop electrical workers.—Shop electrical workers are those that manufac
ture, assemble, test, inspect, rebuild, and repair all electrical machines, switch
boards, panel boards, control boards, electrical devices, and all electrical appara
tus in manufacturing and repair shops. They shall have jurisdiction over all
such shop work.
In cases of units where impractical to be moved, they shall repair same on
the job, it being definitely understood that men who are employed in shops
and doing what is known as combination electrical installation, repair, and
maintenance work come under the jurisdiction of the inside electrical workers.
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General officers are: President, secretary, treasurer, 10
vice presidents, and 9 elective members of the executive council. The presi
dent is the chief administrative officer, with comprehensive powers. The vice
presidents are organizers. The executive council is a trial and audit board.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; laws and regulations imposed by the inter
national brotherhood.
3. Convention: Biennial; enacts legislation and elects general officers for
4-year term. Constitutional amendments by initiative and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s fob m e m b e r s h ip .—Any electrical worker of good character
not over 55 years of age—nor less than 16—and of good sound health and not
subject to any disability liable to endanger life, is eligible to membership,
provided he passes a satisfactory examination. Class B membership is open
to “any female engaged in the manufacture or operation of any electrical
apparatus or device.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a t io n s .—Each local union has power to adopt its own
apprentice or helper system or rules, as the conditions of each community may
require. But after an apprentice or helper has worked 6 months under the
supervision or jurisdiction of a local union he shall be admitted or initiated
into the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
If, after being admitted to membership, it is later found upon investigation
that a member is not sufficiently acquainted with the electrical trade, or with
the branch or type of work on which he is engaged, to earn or command the
established wage, then a local union may—through its executive board or a spe
cially appointed committee—require such member to attend electrical-study
classes or devote time toward becoming a competent, properly informed elec
trical mechanic.
M eth o d of n e g o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—The Council on Industrial Relations for
the electrical construction industry of the United States and Canada is a con
ciliation medium composed of five representatives each of the brotherhood and
BU IL D IN G TRADES
87
of the National Electrical Contractors Association. Its services are used when
local agreements cannot be reached or carried out.
B e n e f it s .—Funeral; insurance; pension. Female members are entitled to
a small funeral benefit.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Journal of Electrical Workers and Operators.
H eadq ua rters .—1200 Fifteenth Street NW., Washington, D. O.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Local unions only, organized into separate occupational
groups, as automobile battery and ignition workers, bridge operators, broad
casting workers, cranemen, cable splicers, electric light and power company
employees, insidemen, linemen, maintenance men, marine and navy-yard elec
tricians, outsidemen, power-house men, railroad electricians, radio workers,
shopmen, station operators, studio workers and sound technicians, trimmers,
telephone operators, etc.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 10; Arizona, 4; Arkansas, 3; Cali
fornia, 41; Colorado, 5; Connecticut, 14; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia,
3; Florida, 8; Georgia, 6; Idaho, 5; Illinois, 39; Indiana, 30; Iowa, 20; Kansas,
7; Kentucky, 7; Louisiana, 6; Maine, 5; Maryland, 6; Massachusetts, 26;
Michigan, 17; Minnesota, 13; Mississippi, 4; Missouri, 14; Montana, 14; Ne
braska, 5; Nevada, 3; New Hampshire, 5; New Jersey, 21; New Mexico, 3;
New York, 54; North Carolina, 7; North Dakota, 3; Ohio, 42; Oklahoma, 9;
Oregon, 6; Pennsylvania, 40; Rhode Island, 5; South Carolina, 3; South
Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 11; Texas, 33; Utah, 4; Virginia, 11; Washington, 16;
West Virginia, 10; Wisconsin, 17; Wyoming, 4; Canal Zone, 2. Canada—
Alberta, 3; British Columbia, 3; Manitoba, 3; New Brunswick, 2; Nova Scotia,
2; Ontario, 19; Quebec, 5; Saskatchewan, 2. Total, 623.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—130,000.
TELEPH ONE-O PERATORS’ D EPAR TM ENT
The telephone-operators’ department of the International Brother
hood of Electrical Workers is an autonomous department within the
brotherhood, having jurisdiction and complete control over telephone
operators. It was organized as a department in November 1918.
Previous to the establishment of the department, organization of
telephone operators existed first as sublocals of local unions of electri
cal workers and later as regularly chartered locals of the brotherhood.
The first of these to be chartered by the international brotherhood
was that organized in Boston in April 1912. The officers of the
department are president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.
“The department officers shall have the same jurisdiction over affairs
relating exclusively to the department which international officers
have over affairs relating to the brotherhood.”
Any telephone operator actually engaged in the trade is eligible
to membership. Chief operators are organized separately with the
consent of the local union.
The department pays a funeral benefit. Conventions are held every
other year, at which the general officers are elected. Amendments to
constitution, bylaws, and local rules, by referendum.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
There are at present 14 local unions of telephone operators, with a
total membership of 3,000, in the following States: Illinois, 5; Massa
chusetts, 4; Montana, 2; Oregon, 1; Washington (State), 1; Maine, 1.
The headquarters of the telephone-operators5 department is 5
Boylston Place, Boston, Mass.
E levator Constructors, Operators, and Starters, International
Union of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized July 18, 1901, in New York City, as the International
Union of Elevator Constructors of the United States. Jurisdiction
was later extended to Canada, and in 1903 the name of the organiza
tion was changed to International Union of Elevator Constructors.
A jurisdictional dispute with the International Union of Building
Service Employees over elevator operators and starters ended in
1922 with a decision by the American Federation of Labor grant
ing the jurisdiction over these workers to the elevator makers, and
in 1934 the name was changed to conform to the expanded juris
diction.
O b je c t s .—“The object of the international union shall be to bind together
and unite the locals of which it is composed for mutual interest and protec
tion.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .— United States and Canada.
T
.—“The construction, installation, and operation of eleva
tors and elevator machinery. Specifically: Hydraulic, steam, electric, belt, hand
power, or compressed air; also, assembling and building escalators or travel
ing stairways; the assembling of all cars complete; putting up of all guides,
either of wood or iron; the setting of all tanks, whether pressure, open, or
pit tanks; the setting of all pumps (where pumps arrive on job in parts they
are to be assembled by members of this union) ; all electric work connected
with car, machinery, and hoisting; all overhead work, either of wood or iron,
and supports for same where required; the setting of all templets; all automatic
gates, indicators, or foundations, either of wood or iron, that would take the
place of masonry; the assembling of all hydraulic parts in connection with ele
vators ; all locking devices in connection with elevators; the boring, drilling, and
sinking of all plunger elevators; all link-belt carriers; all air cushions, with
the exception of those built of brick or those put together with hot rivets; the
operating of all temporary cars, and all work in general pertaining to the erec
tion and equipment of an elevator complete.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president (who is
also chief organizer), secretary-treasurer, and eight vice presidents. The gen
eral executive board shall decide all points of law, all grievances and appeals
submitted to it in legal form, and their decisions shall be binding as law until
reversed by a convention. The executive board shall meet annually and may
submit new legislation and rules to referendum vote.
2. Local unions: Autonomy not defined by constitution.
3. Convention: Time indeterminate. Elects general officers. Constitution may
be amended only by convention.
rade
j u r is d ic t io n
BUILDING TRADES
89
Qualifications for membership.—All persons employed within the jurisdic
tion are eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated locally on terms embraced
in a mutual agreement drawn up by a joint committee representing the manu
facturers and the international union. Local agreements signed by the general
executive board.
B enefits.—Strike.
Official organ.—The Elevator Constructor.
H eadquarters.—Suite 1515, Philadelphia Saving Fund Building, 12 South
Twelfth Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Organization.—Elevator constructor local unions: United States—Alabama,
1; Arkansas, 1; California, 2; Colorado, 1; Connecticut, 1; District of Colum
bia, 1; Florida, 3; Georgia, 2; Illinois, 5; Indiana, 3; Iowa, 2; Kansas, 1;
Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 2; Maryland, 1; Maine, 1; Massachusetts, 3; Michi
gan, 4; Minnesota, 2; Missouri, 2; Montana, 1; Nebraska, 1; New York, 7;
North Carolina, 1; Ohio, 6; Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 6; Rhode
Island, 1; Tennessee, 4; Texas, 4; Virginia, 2; Washington, 2; West Virginia,
3; Wisconsin, 2. Canada—British Columbia, 1; Ontario, 3; Quebec, 2; Mani
toba, 1. Total, 88.
Elevator operators and starters local unions: United States—California, 1;
Georgia, 1; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 1; Michigan, 2; Nebraska, 1; Ohio, 3; Penn
sylvania, 1; Tennessee, 1. Ganada—Ontario, 1. Total, 13.
Membership reported.—18,000.
Engineers, International Union of Operating
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized December 7, 1896, in St. Louis, Mo. At the American
Federation of Labor convention of 1896 four engineers representing
other trades were in attendance. They conceived the idea of a
separate union for engineers and called a meeting of engineers in
St. Louis in December of the same year. The National Steam En
gineers’ Union was thus established. In 1905 the name of the or
ganization was changed to International Union of Steam Engineers,
and in 1915, on account of widened jurisdiction, it was again changed
to International Union of Steam and Operating Engineers.
A union of steam-shovel and dredge men was formed the same
year the engineers organized, which affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor in 1915. The engineers protested against what
they considered a dual organization within the Federation and by
1918 had secured a convention decision ordering the steam-shovel
men to amalgamate. This the Brotherhood of Steam Shovel and
Dredge Men refused to do. They were expelled from the American
Federation of Labor in 1918 and for 10 years maintained an inde
pendent existence, the only unaffiliated union in the building in
dustry. By a referendum vote of the two organizations an amalga
mation took place in April 1927, which was virtually absorption of
the Brotherhood of Steam Shovel and Dredge Men by the engineers.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
The new title “International Union of Operating Engineers” was
adopted in April 1928.
Objects.—“The objects of the organization are: The elevation of our craft
to its proper position in the ranks of workers; to encourage a higher stand
ard of skill among our members; to cultivate feelings of frienship among
the men of our craft; to assist each other in securing employment; to reduce
the hours of labor; to secure a higher standard of wages for work performed;
and by legal and proper means to elevate the moral, inteUectual, and social
conditions of our members.”
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States, Canada, and Canal Zone.
Trade jurisdiction .—“All those engaged in the operation of steam boilers,
stationary, marine, Diesel, portable, hoisting, and electrical engines, gas engines,
internal-combustion engines, or any machine that develops power.
“All hoisting and portable engines and boilers on building and construction
work, when operated by steam, electricity, or compressed air, including pumps,
siphons, pulsometers, concrete mixers, stone crushers, air compressors, ele
vators when used for hoisting building materials, street rollers, steam shovels,
cableways, clamshell buckets, orange-peel buckets, pile drivers, dinky loco
motives, or any other machine that develops power.”
Government.—1. General executive board, consisting of the general presi
dent, five vice presidents, and general secretary-treasurer. “All the powers
of the International Union of Operating Engineers when not in session shall
be vested in the general executive board. * * * The general president
shall act as chairman. He shall have full control of all matters of interest to
the organization.”
2. Joint executive board: “Where there are two or more local unions in
one city or town, there shall be formed a joint executive board, to be com
posed of three members from each local union. * * * joint executive
boards may adopt such bylaws as they may deem necessary to govern their
local conditions, providing they do not conflict with the constitution of the
general organization.”
3. Local unions: “Local unions reserve power at their own option by vote
of their members to approve or reject all or any part of any legislative act,
measure, resolution, bylaw, rule, or constitutional amendment enacted by the
convention or promulgated by any general officer or officers. These reserved
powers are expressely declared to include all measures relating to elections
and finances of the organization.”
4. Convention: Held quadrennially; enacts legislation and nominates general
officers. Election of general officers by referendum. Constitutional amend
ments by convention and referendum or by initiative and referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—“A candidate for membership must be a
competent engineer or apprentice engineer. He shall possess a license in locali
ties where such is required. * * * No person who is a member of any
organization opposed to organized labor may be admitted to membership.”
Apprenticeship regulations.—Determined by legislation in States which
require that an engineer be licensed. No apprenticeship required in work for
which no license is demanded.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by local unions with local
employers upon terms approved by the general executive board prior to
negotiation.
B enefits .—Strike; death.
Official organ.—The International Engineer.
H eadquarters.—1003 K Street NW., Washington, D. C.
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Organization.—Local unions: United States—Alabama, 4; Arizona, 1;
Arkansas, 1; California, 27; Colorado, 6; Connecticut, 2; Delaware, 1; District
of Columbia, 6; Florida, 3; Georgia, 4; Illinois, 32; Indiana, 9; Iowa, 4; Kan
sas, 8; Kentucky, 4; Louisiana, 4; Maine, 1; Maryland, 4; Massachusetts, 17;
Michigan, 5; Minnesota, 11; Mississippi, 1; Missouri, 8; Montana, 6; Nebraska,
3; New Jersey, 8; New Mexico, 1; New York, 32; North Dakota, 1; Ohio, 41;
Oklahoma, 5; Oregon, 8; Pennsylvania, 16; Rhode Island, 3; South Carolina,
1; Tennessee, 4; Texas, 11; Utah, 2; Virginia, 3; Washington, 13; West Vir
ginia, 2; Wisconsin, 11; Canal Zone, 2. Canada—Alberta, 3; British Columbia,
5; Ontario, 13; Quebec, 1. Total, 358.
Membership reported.—35,000.
Granite Cutters’ International Association of America, The
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Rockland, Maine, March 10, 1877. Organization of
granite cutters began as early as 1820, but continued purely local
in character until 1877, when the local unions then in existence met
in Rockland, Maine, and established the Granite Cutters’ National
Union. Jurisdiction was subsequently extended to Canada, and since
1905 the organization has been known as The Granite Cutters’ Inter
national Association of America.
Objects.—“The objects of this association are to encourage a regular appren
tice system and a higher standard of skill; to cultivate feelings of friendship
among the craft; to assist each other to secure employment; to reduce the
hours of daily labor; to discourage piece work as tending to degrade the trade;
to secure adequate pay for our work; to furnish aid in case of death and to
assist, to the best of our ability, disabled members; to endeavor by legal and
proper means to elevate the moral, intellectual, and social conditions of our
members, and to improve the trade.”
Territorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—“It is hereby declared and set forth that The Granite
Cutters’ International Association of America claims the right of jurisdiction
over cutting, carving, dressing, lettering and all metal lettering, sandblasting,
sawing, and setting all granite (natural and artificial) and hard stone on
which granite cutters’ tools are used. This includes from the roughest of
street work and rock-faced ashlar to the finest of molded wrork, carving statu
ary, machine-cutting, turning, rubbing, polishing or dressing, sandblasting
(including work of preparing and placing of composition necessary), sawing
and setting of any kind of granite (natural and artificial) and other hard
stone on which granite-cutting tools or machines are used, and making up,
sharpening, or dressing such tools either by hand or machine.
Government.—1. General executive council, composed of six members and
the international president, is the executive and administrative power.
2. Branch associations: Subordinate; dues, officers, officers salaries, etc.,
determined by international constitution.
3. Referendum: All general officers elected by referendum; international
association business submitted to branches for action monthly.
4. Convention: On referendum call only; constitutional amendments by con
vention, except that in “extreme emergency” amendments may be made by
referendum.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Qualifications for membership.—“Eligibility of persons presenting them
selves for membership shall be determined by branches where application is
made.”
A pprenticeship regulations.—“The number of apprentices shall be left with
the different branches to regulate, but in no case shall there be more than three
apprentices employed to each full tool-sharpener’s gang of journeymen, nor
more than two when the number of journeymen engaged is less than a full
gang; when six or less are employed there shall be but one apprentice. No
apprentice tool sharpener to be employed unless there are at least three journey
man tool sharpeners employed. No apprentice polisher to be employed unless
there are at least three journeymen polishers employed.
“The term of apprenticeship at granite cutting shall be 3 years; at tool
sharpening, 2 years; and at polishing, 2 years; and no apprentice shall be ad
mitted to membership in this association unless he has completed his full term
of apprenticeship. It shall be the duty of the branches to see that appren
tices are given a fair opportunity to make themselves proficient at our trade.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by local branches on terms
approved by the executive council.
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; death; loss of sight.
Official organ.—The Granite Cutters’ Journal.
H eadquarters.—25 School Street, Quincy, Mass.
Organization.—Local unions only: United States—California, 4; Colorado,
2; Connecticut, 10; District of Columbia, 1; Georgia, 4; Illinois, 1; Kentucky,
1; Louisiana, 1; Maine, 11; Maryland, 3; Massachusetts, 18; Michigan, 1;
Minnesota, 3; Missouri, 1; Montana, 2; New Hampshire, 5; New Jersey, 2;
New York, 6; North Carolina, 2; Ohio, 5; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 4; Rhode
Island, 2; South Carolina, 1; Texas, 3; Utah, 1; Vermont, 13; Virginia, 2;
Washington, 1; Wisconsin, 2. Canada—British Columbia, 1; Ontario, 1; Que
bec, 1. Total, 116.
Membership reported.—No report. On basis of voting strength in American
Federation of Labor, 5,000.
Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers’ Union of
America, International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Washington, D. C., April 13, 1903. The organizing
convention was called by officials of the American Federation of
Labor for the purpose of forming a trade-union from the various
directly affiliated local unions of hod carriers and building laborers.
The first convention was attended by delegates from 26 American
Federation of Labor local unions. At the second convention, held
the next year, delegates from 130 locals of the new international
organization were in attendance. The name of the union as at first
established was International Hod Carriers and Building Laborers5
Union of America, and it was solely a building-trades union. Later
it widened its scope to include unskilled labor in other fields, and
the name was changed to include “common labor.55
Upon the dissolution of the American Brotherhood of Cement
Workers in 1916, the cement laborers who had been members of that
BUILDING TRADES
93
organization were taken over by the hod-carriers’ union. In 1918
the Compressed Air and Foundation Workers’ International Union
merged with the Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers’
Union, and in 1929 the Tunnel and Subway Constructors’ Interna
tional Union joined the hod-carriers’ union by an agreement between
the two organizations. The tunnel and subway workers continue
as a unit and retain complete jurisdiction over that class of work.
Objects.—“The object of this union shall be the protection of its members,
to assist each other by all legal means to obtain fair and just treatment for
all laborers, and to elevate their social position.
T
.—United States and possessions, and Canada.
T
.—“Wrecking of buildings; excavation of buildings; dig
ging of trenches, holes, piers, and foundations; digging, lagging, and sheeting
of said foundations, holes, and caisson work; concrete for walls, foundations,
floors, or any other construction, whether done by hand or any other process;
tending to masons, mixing and handling all materials used by masons, build
ing of scaffolds for masons and plasterers; building of centers for fireproofing
purposes; tending to carpenters; tending to and mixing all material for plas
tering, whether done by hand or by any other process; clearing of debris from
buildings; shoring, underpinning, and raising of old buildings; drying of plas
tering when done by salamander heat; handling of dimension stones; and com
mon laboring in the construction of streets, sewers, and tunnels. Working in
air pressure (compressed air) whether in caisson cylinders, subway tunnels, or
compartments; sinking of all open caissons for whatever purpose they may be
used; common laboring in factories, mills, and shipyards.”
G
.—1. General officers, president, six vice presidents, secretarytreasurer. “The international union shall have supreme ruling power over all
local unions.” Its powers “shall be executive, legislative, and judicial, * * *
its jurisdiction shall be the ultimate tribunal and * * * its decisison shall
be final and conclusive.”
2. District councils: Composed of delegates from local unions, have jurisdic
tion, supervision, and . control over all matters relative to agreements with
employers covering wages, hours, and working conditions in their localities; and
have jurisdiction over “all things necessary to guard the interests” of compo
nent locals. Affiliation of locals mandatory.
3. Local unions: “The government and superintendence of subordinate unions
shall be vested in the international union as the supreme head of all local
unions. * * * The jurisdiction of local unions shall be that assigned to
them by the international union.”
4. Convention: Held every 5 years, unless otherwise ordered by referendum.
Enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Q
.—“No person shall be accepted to member
ship in any local union under the jurisdiction of the international union un
less he is actually working at the calling and is a man of good moral characrer
and known by at least two members in good standing.” Applicants must be
citizens or have made legal citizenship declaration.
A pprenticeship regulations.—No apprentice system.
Method negotiating agreements.—Negotiated locally between local unions
or district councils and individual employers, subject to approval of inter
national office. General officers assist in conferences if needed.
B enefits .—Death.
Official organ.—None.
e r r it o r ia l j u r i s d i c t i o n
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H ea dq ua rters .—25 School Street,
Organization.—District councils:
Quincy, Mass.
Illinois—Chicago, Peru, and St. Clair and
Madison; Massachusetts—Boston; Mississippi—Gulfport; Missouri—Kansas
City; New Jersey—Essex County, Hackensack, Jersey City, and Perth Amboy;
New York—Greater New York and Syracuse; Ohio—Cleveland; Pennsylvania—
Cresson, Pittsburgh, and Somerset.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 23 ; Arizona, 1; Arkansas, 3; Califor
nia, 37; Colorado, 6; Connecticut, 14; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia, 2;
Florida, 3; Georgia, 1; Idaho, 1; Illinois, 110; Indiana, 14; Iowa, 20; Kansas,
9; Kentucky, 4; Louisiana, 6; Maine, 2; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 21;
Michigan, 5; Minnesota, 11; Mississippi, 7; Missouri, 14; Montana, 9; Nebraska,
3; New Jersey, 45; Nevada, 1; New Hampshire, 1; New Mexico, 1; New York,
46; North Carolina, 2; North Dakota, 2; Ohio, 25; Oklahoma, 3; Oregon,
4; Pennsylvania, 42; Rhode Island, 2; South Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 4; Texas,
17; Utah, 3; Virginia, 4; Washington, 15; West Virginia, 5; Wisconsin, 8;
Wyoming, 3. Ccmada—Alberta, 1; Nova Scotia, 1; Ontario, 2. Total, 566.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—52,500.
Lathers’ International Union, Wood, W ire, and Metal
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor,
Organized December 15, 1899, in Detroit, Mich.
Object.—“Our object shall be to encourage and formulate local unions of the
craft, the closer amalgamation of locals under one head to establish the 8-hour
day, to effect an equitable adjustment of all differences arising from time to
time between our members and their employers, to the end that trade quarrels,
strikes, and lock-outs may be reduced to a minimum, to more thoroughly in
culcate the principles of unionism and secure an improvement of the conditions
under which we labor.”
T
.—United States and Canada.
T
jurisdiction .—“Erecting and installing of all light iron construction;
furring, making and erecting of brackets, clips, and hangers; wood, wire, and
metal lath, plaster board, or other material which takes the place of same, to
which plaster material is adhered; corner beads, all floor construction, arches
erected for the purpose of holding plaster, cement, concrete, or any other
plastic material.
“The foregoing classification of work, as defined in numerous decisions and
rulings since this jurisdiction was granted our organization, covers such work
as—
“Light iron partitions, constructed of channels, flat iron, Knapp Berger, and
other patent pronged studs, iron wall furring, all light ironwork for suspended
and other metallic lath ceilings; making and erecting light iron brackets,
which are used in connection with ornamental plastering for cornices, paneled
ceilings, groin, elliptical, Gothic, proscenium, and all other arches of this
description; the erection of metal comer beads, metal picture mold, metal base
screed; and other metal specialties which are covered with plastic material;
the wrapping of beams and columns, the placing of steel tile and other forms
of floor reinforcement, the placing, nailing, and tying of all wire and metallic
lath no matter for what purpose used—which includes wire cloth, expanded
metal, all Hy-Rib, Self-Sentering, Shure-Bond, Trussit, Ferro-Inclave, FerroLithic, Plate Lath, Channelath, Rib-Centering, Kno-Fur, Corr-Mesh, Trusses-VRib, Truss-Metal, Key-Ridge, and all other similar forms of self-supporting lath;
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BUILDING TRADES
95
the fabrication and installation of all light iron erected for the purpose of
receiving metallic lath or plastic material, and all other forms of lath, including
wood, plaster board, Bestal board, button lath, woven-wood lath, metallite lath,
mastic board, Bishopric board, E-Cod-Fabric, welded-sheathed-lath, composite
or brick lath, basket lath, and lath of any other make or description erected to
receive or hold plastic material.”
G
.—1. The president “shall supervise the affairs of the international
union”, with extensive executive powers. General executive board, composed of
the seven vice presidents, is a trial and appeal board.
2. District councils: Composed of delegates from local unions in districts
having two or more locals. Affiliation compulsory on part of locals. “A district
council shall have such authority within the limitations of the laws of the
international union as may be delegated to it by the local unions of which it
is composed.”
3. Local unions: Autonomous within limits of national constitution. Consti
tution and bylaws subject to approval of general office.
4. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Q
.—Discretionary with local unions, but ap
plicant must have 2 years’ experience in the trade, be a citizen of the United
States or of Canada, or have declared citizenship intentions. “No one shall
be discriminated against for race or color.”
A
.—“All apprentices shall work not less than 6
months on wood lath before being placed on metal.” Apprenticeship term “shall
in no case be less than 2 years.”
“Apprentices shall in no case be admitted to any local union in excess of
one apprentice to each local and one additional to each five members, said
apprentice not to be under the age of 16 years nor over the age of 21 years.
* * * The matter of shop distribution of apprentices shall be left entirely
to the will of the local.”
M
.—Wage scales and working conditions
established locally either by district councils or local unions. Wage scales
uniform throughout a district where a district council exists; such scales and
working conditions approved by component local unions.
B
.—Funeral.
O
.—The Lather.
H
.—Lathers’ Building, Cleveland, Ohio.
O
.—State and district councils: California—California State
Council, Golden Gate District Council, Southern California District Council;
Florida—Florida East Coast District Council; Illinois—Illinois State Council,
Mississippi Valley District Council (includes St. Louis, Mo.) ; Massachusetts—
Massachusetts State Council; Minnesota—Twin City District Council (Minne
apolis and St. Paul), Interstate District Council (Duluth, Minn., and Superior,
Wis.) ; New Jersey—New Jersey State Council; New York—Capital District
Council, Central New York District Council, Westchester, Greater New York
and Long Island District Council, Western New York District Council; Ohio—
Buckeye State Council; Oregon—Oregon State Council; Pennsylvania—West
Penn District Council (Pittsburgh and vicinity) ; Washington—Washington
State Council.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 2; Arkansas, 1; Arizona, 1; Cali
fornia, 20; Colorado, 3; Connecticut, 6; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia,
1; Florida, 2; Georgia, 3; Idaho, 1; Illinois, 15; Indiana, 8; Iowa, 4; Kansas,
2; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 2; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 10; Michigan, 4;
Minnesota, 4; Mississippi, 1; Missouri, 5; Montana, 3; Nebraska, 1; Nevada, 1;
overnm ent
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
New Jersey, 11; New Mexico, 1; New York, 15; North Carolina, 1; North
Dakota, 1; Ohio, 13; Oklahoma, 2; Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 7; Rhode Island,
1; Tennessee, 2; Texas, 6; Utah, 2; Yirginia, 2; Washington, 6; West Virginia,
2; Wisconsin, 7; Wyoming, 1. Canada—British Columbia, 1; Ontario, 1;
Manitoba, 1. Total, 189.
Membership reported.—8,100.
Marble, Stone, and Slate Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers, Tile
and Marble Setters’ Helpers, and Terrazzo W orkers’ Helpers,
International Association of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Detroit in 1901 as the International Union of Marble
Workers. After the Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers5 Interna
tional Union joined the American Federation of Labor the organ
ized marble setters who were then members of the International As
sociation of Marble Workers transferred their membership to the
bricklayers’ international and the marble workers changed the name
of their organization to the International Association of Marble,
Stone, and Slate Polishers, Rubbers and Sawyers. In 1918 the
Bricklayers, Masons, and Plasterers’ International Union requested
the marble workers to make provisions for the admission into their
union of tile-setters’ helpers. Application for this extended jurisdic
tion was opposed by the International Hod Carriers, Building and
Common Laborers’ Union. By decision of the American Federation
of Labor, however, jurisdiction was granted to the marble-workers’
union, and in 1921 tile and marble-setters’ helpers were taken into
the organization and the name changed in accordance therewith. Still
later, jurisdiction was extended over the terrazzo-workers’ helpers
and now all of these branches of the craft are recognized in the title
of the organization.
Objects.—“The objects and aims of this international association are to dis
courage piece work, to encourage an apprentice and improver system, to culti
vate feelings of friendship among the men of the different industries named, to
assist each other to procure employment, to reduce the hours of daily labor,
and secure adequate pay for our work, and by legal and proper means elevate
the moral, intellectual, and social conditions of our members.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction .—“The sawing, rubbing, and polishing of marble, stone,
and slate used for structural, sanitary, decorative, commemorative, and other
purposes inside and about buildings of every description, in subways and ceme
teries or wherever required for floors, wall linings, wainscoting, ceilings, stair
ways, steps, platforms, tile, door and window trims, counters, store fronts,
vaults, operating rooms, bath and toilet rooms, and switchboards.
“Our polishers and rubbers shall polish, rub, and clean all marble, stone,
slate, and glass, and all compositions and imitations that require the same
process of finishing required in polishing, rubbing, and cleaning marble, stone,
or slate; this work applies to shop and building, hand and machine.
BUILDING TRADES
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“Sawyers shall run all gang, cable, and diamond saws, set all blocks in gangs,
and hammer and set all saws.
“Marble-setters’ helpers shall do all utility work, such as loading and unload
ing trucks at shop or building, rigging for heavy work, and such other work
as is required in helping a marble setter.
“Tile-layers’ helpers shall do all the cleaning of tile set by the tile layer,
handle all sand, cement, lime, tile, and all other materials that may be used
by tile layers after being delivered at the building.
“Terrazzo-workers’ helpers shall do all the handling of sand, cement, lime,
terrazzo, and all other materials that may be used by the marble, mosaic, and
terrazzo workers after being delivered at the building, or at the shoprubbing
and cleaning all marble, mosaic, terazzo floors, and bare wainscoting when run
on the building by hand or machine.
Government.—1. General executive council is the governing body, composed
of president, seeretary-treasurer, and nine vice presidents, with the president
as the chief executive officer, with comprehensive powers.
2. Local unions: Autonomous, but constitution and bylaws must be approved
by general president.
3. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Qualifications for membership.—Applicants for membership must be or be
come citizens of the United States. Four years’ apprenticeship is required for
marble polishers before admission to the union.
A pprenticeship regulations.—Apply to marble polishers only, in which
branch there is a 4-year term. One apprentice to each five journeymen, but not
more than five apprentices per year are allowed in any one shop.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by local unions. Constitu
tional requirement: “Local unions must embody in their constitutions and by
laws a general law providing for a form of agreement with employers and the
establishment of a joint committee of arbitration.”
B enefits .—Death.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—Room 306, 815 Fifteenth Street NW., Washington, D. C.
Organization.—Local unions only: California, 2; Connecticut, 2; Colorado,
1; District of Columbia, 2; Illinois, 4; Indiana, 4; Maryland, 2; Massachusetts,
3; Oklahoma, 1; Ohio, 7; Pennsylvania, 8; Rhode Island, 1; Washington, 1;
Wisconsin, 1; Iowa, 1; Kentucky, 1; Vermont, 1; Michigan, 2; Minnesota, 2;
Missouri, 5; New Jersey, 3; New York, 8; Tennessee, 1. Total, 63.
Membership reported.—5,500.
Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America,
Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Baltimore, Md., March 15, 1887. Incorporated De
cember 7, 1894. Painters took an active and prominent part in the
Knights of Labor movement from the beginning and were extensively
organized thereunder. They were, however, among the first to break
away from that movement and join the ranks of the craft unionists.
At the instigation of the organization of painters in Baltimore, Md.,
a conference was called m that city on March 15, 1887. This meeting
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
was attended by representatives of Knights of Labor assemblies and
independent craft unions to the number of 13. From this confer
ence emerged the Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators. A
journal was started the first year. In 1890 the name was changed
to include the paperhangers, and the title then adopted remains the
official name of the organization.
A division of interests between the locals of the East and of the
Middle West crystallized into a conflict over the location of perma
nent headquarters, which up to 1894 had been in Baltimore. The
result was a schism and the organization of the western faction into
a new body. Both organizations functioned independently, the in
surgent western group soon outstripping the parent union in mem
bership and aggressiveness. In 1900 the executives of both groups
met with representatives of the American Federation of Labor in
Washington and secured an adjustment which brought them to
gether as one organization. Headquarters were retained by the
western group at La Fayette, Ind.
Originally composed exclusively of house painters and decorators,
the brotherhood has extended its scope to the entire field of painting
as well as paperhanging and the decorative arts, and by so doing has
absorbed into its own membership the United Scenic Artists, the
National Paperhangers’ Association, the National Union of Sign
Painters, and the Amalgamated Glass Workers’ International Union
(stained- and decorative-glass workers).
In 1934 the brotherhood was given jurisdiction over the unorgan
ized field of paint and varnish manufacture.
O b je c t s .—The objects of this association are: The aiding of members to
become more skillful and efficient workers; the promotion of their general
intelligence; the elevation of their character; the regulation of wages, hours,
and conditions of labor; the cultivation of friendship among the members of
the association and the rendering of assistance in securing employment; the
promotion of their individual rights in the prosecution of their trade or trades;
the raising of funds for the benefit of sick, disabled, or unemployed members
and the families of deceased members who continuously complied with our
laws; and such other objects for which working people may lawfully combine,
having in view their mutual protection and benefit.
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America shall have jurisdiction of all house, sign, pictorial, coach,
car, automobile, carriage, aircraft, machinery, ship, and railroad-equipment
painters; over all decorators, paperhangers, hardwood finishers, grainers, glaziers,
vamishers, enamelers, gilders, and scenic artists; over all men engaged in
applying or removing paints, oils, varnishes, water colors, wallpaper, or other
materials used in the various branches of the trade; and over all glass workers,
to wit: Setters of art glass, prism glass, leaded glass, and protection glass,
bevelers, cutters, glaziers in lead or other metals, shade workers, silverers,
scratch polishers, embossers, engravers, designers, painters on glass, chippers,
mosaic workers, benders, cementers, flat-glass or wheel cutters, and other
BUILDING TRADES
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workers in glass used in the construction of buildings or for architectural or
decorative purposes; and over all workers engaged in the mixing, testing, pre
paring, manufacturing, and handling of lead, color, oil, lacquer, varnish, and
paint; and shall be comprised of an unlimited number of local unions, district
councils, and other subordinate bodies, subject to its laws and usages.
G o vernm en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president and six vice
presidents, exercises “general supervision over the affairs of the brotherhood.”
2. District councils, composed of delegates from all local unions within a
given jurisdiction, “shall have legislative and executive power on all matters
relating to the common interest and welfare of the local unions in the district
subject to a referendum vote of all affiliated locals. * * * They shall estab
lish a uniform rate of wages, dues, and initiation fees * * * and shall
have power to frame all working or trade rules and to enforce the same.”
Affiliation of local unions to district councils compulsory.
3. Local unions: Local bylaws subject to approval of the general executive
board. Locals, where no district council exists, control wage scales and work
ing conditions.
4. Convention: Held quadrennially. General officers elected by general
assembly. Amendments to constitution and revision of laws by convention and
referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .— “Any person to be admitted to membership
in this brotherhood must have followed for 3 years one of the branches of our
trade as enumerated in the constitution and be competent to command the mini
mum wages established by the local union or district council in which he
applies for membership.
“The admission of contractors to membership or the refusal thereof shall be
determined by the bylaws of the local union or the district council * * *
but they must comply with the trade rules and working conditions of the locality
in which the work is done, must pay the union scale, and hire only union men,
and not belong to any employers’ or contractors’ association.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“Any boy engaging to learn the trade of paint
ing, paperhanging, decorating, or other allied trades enumerated in this con
stitution, must be under the age of 21 at the time of his registration (unless
by dispensation) ; shall be required to serve a regular apprenticeship of 3
consecutive years; and shall register with the local union or district council
in the locality where he is employed. * * * An apprentice leaving (his
employer) except for good reasons shall not be permitted to work under the
jurisdiction of any local union in our brotherhood, but shall be required to
return to his employer and serve out his apprenticeship.
“Apprentices in the last year of their service shall be initiated as apprentices
and entitled to a seat in the union, but shall have no vote.
“Each local union and district council shall make regulations limiting the
number of apprentices employed in each shop to one for such number of
journeymen as may seem just.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated locally, by district coun
cils where such exist, otherwise by local unions, generally with individual
employers, and are subject to approval by the general executive board.
“There is no stated policy regarding agreements, further than that they
must specify that only members of the brotherhood be employed and that the
contractors pay the prevailing wages and observe the working conditions.”
B e n e f it s .—Strike; death (member and member’s wife); total disability;
injury (by some locals).
Official organ .—The Painter and Decorator.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
H ea dq ua rters .—Painters’ and Decorators’ Building, La Fayette, Ind.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Conferences: Alabama (State); California (State);
Cali
fornia, Oakland, joint executive board; Colorado (State) ; Connecticut (State) ;
Connecticut Valley; Florida (State); Illinois (State); Indiana (State); Iowa
(State) ; Kentucky (State) ; Massachusetts (State) ; Merrimac Valley (Massa
chusetts) ; Michigan (State) ; New Jersey (State) ; New York (State) ; Ohio
(State) ; Oklahoma (State) ; Pennsylvania eastern district; Pennsylvania west
ern district; Texas (State) ; Twin Cities conference (Minneapolis and St. Paul,
Minn.) ; Wisconsin (State) ; glass workers, Pacific coast conference; paperhangers, national conference; sign and pictorial painters, eastern conference;
sign and pictorial painters’ national conference; sign and pictorial painters’
Pacific coast conference; vehicle painters, national conference.
District councils: California—Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Santa
Clara County, San Francisco; Georgia—Atlanta; Illinois—Chicago, Du Page
County, Mississippi Valley (Rock Island) ; Indiana—Indianapolis; Maryland—
Baltimore; Massachusetts—North Shore (Gloucester, Beverly, etc.), Berkshire
County, Boston, and Natick and vicinity; Missouri—St. Louis, Kansas City;
Nebraska—Omaha; New Jersey—Bergen and Passaic Counties, Essex County;
New York—Buffalo, Manhattan and Bronx, Rockland County, Westchester
County, Nassau County and Queens, Kings County, Hudson River Counties;
Ohio—Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus ; Pennsylvania—Philadelphia, Pitts
burgh ; Quebec—Montreal.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 18; Arizona, 9; Arkansas, 12; Cali
fornia, 72; Colorado, 12; Connecticut, 25 ; Delaware, 2; District of Columbia, 6;
Florida, 28; Georgia, 9; Idaho, 4; Illinois, 99; Indiana, 42; Iowa, 18; Kansas,
16; Kentucky, 10; Louisiana, 11; Maine, 7; Maryland, 4; Massachusetts, 58;
Michigan, 27; Minnesota, 11; Mississippi, 10; Missouri, 35; Montana, 14; Ne
braska, 8; Nevada, 3; New Hampshire, 5; New Jersey, 38; New Mexico, 3;
New York, 101; North Carolina, 9; North Dakota, 4; Ohio, 71; Oklahoma, 23;
Oregon, 14; Pennsylvania, 75; Rhode Island, 7; South Carolina, 7; South
Dakota, 2; Tennessee, 12; Texas, 48; Utah, 6; Vermont, 4; Virginia, 11; Wash
ington, 22; West Virginia, 13; Wisconsin, 25; Wyoming, 6. Canada—Alberta,
2; British Columbia, 2; Manitoba, 1; Nova Scotia, 2; Ontario, 12; Quebec, 7;
Saskatchewan, 1. Total, 1,103.
M e m b e r s h ip reported —90.000.
Plasterers and Cement Finishers’ International Association of
the United States and Canada, Operative
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1864 as the National Plasterers5 Organization of the
United States. The name was changed in 1889 to Operative Plaster
ers5 International Association of the United States and Canada. In
1916 the American Brotherhood of Cement Workers was dissolved,
and the cement finishers belonging to that organization were trans
ferred to the plasterers5 union. The name was again changed to
signify amalgamation with the cement finishers, and the present title
was adopted in 1916.
O b je c t .—The object of this association shall be to facilitate the organization
of the trade it represents, for mutual benefit, protection, and education.
BUILDING TRADES
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—Plasterers: “All interior or exterior plastering
101
of cement,
stucco, stone imitation, or any patent material when cast; the casting and
setting of same; also comer beads when stuck must be done by practical
plasterers of the Operative Plasterers and Cement Finishers’ International
Association. This includes the plastering and finishing with hot composition
material in vats, compartments, or wherever applied; also the setting in place
of plaster boards, ground blocks, patent dots, cork plates; also the sticking,
nailing, and screwing of all composition caps and ornaments. The preparing,
scratching, and browning of all ceilings and walls when finished with terrazzo
or tile shall be done by plasterers of this association, allowing sufficient thick
ness to allow the applying of the terrazzo or tile; and the application of any
plastic material to the same must be done by members of the Operative Plas
terers and Cement Finishers’ International Association who are practical plas
terers. All casting must be done by members of “shop-hand locals.” The ap
plying of any plastic materials to scffits, ceilings, and perpendicular work is
recognized as the work of the plasterer, except a base 6 inches or less when the
same is of the same material as the floor. * * * No member of this asso
ciation shall be allowed to work to any comer beads that are put on beams,
arches, or groin ceilings.
“All casting and finishing of all imitation stone shall be the work of the
membership of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Finishers’ International
Association.”
Cement finishers: “All concrete construction, including the foremanship of
same, such as buildings, bridges, elevators, smokestacks, curbs and gutters,
sidewalks, street paving, alleys, and roofs, of mass or reinforced concrete;
slabs and all flat surfaces of cement, rock asphalt, mastic flooring, whether
laid free-handed or in a free-cast form on the job; the finishing or washing
of all concrete construction, using any colored pigment when mixed with ce
ment in any other form—composition, terrazzo, granitoid, mosaic, and nail
coat, whether done by brush, broom, trowel, float, or any other process, in
cluding operation of machines for scouring floors, or any other purpose they
may be used for in connection with the cement-finisher’s trade. The rodding,
spreading, and tamping of all concrete, and the spreading and finishing of all
top materials, sills, coping, steps, stairs, and risers and running all base 6
inches or less in height when floors of the above-mentioned materials are
used; patching, brushing, rubbing, chipping, and bush-hammering of all con
crete constructions; setting of all strips and stakes and grades; all glass set
in cement; the pointing and patching around all steel or metal window frames
that touch concrete; the laying and finishing of Egyptian material roof. Above
does not include any work done in and by the usual method of plastering.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General officers: General president, first vice president, and
12 additional vice presidents; secretary-treasurer, editor, executive board, and
organizer. The executive board consists of three members: General president,
first vice president, and secretary-treasurer.
“The executive board shall have control of all executive business and shall
fill all vacancies. They shall have power to settle all disputes, grievances,
lock-outs between employers or exchanges”, and their “decisions shall be bind
ing, subject to an appeal to the convention. * * * They shall have full
and complete control over all strikes.”
2. Local unions: Autonomy not defined in constitution.
3. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Q u a l if ic a t io n s fob m e m b e r s h ip .—“No applicant for membership shall be
initiated into any local of this association until he has completed his full term
of apprenticeship to the trade.”
A p p b e n t ic e s h ip b e g u l a t io n s .—“Subordinate associations shall have jurisdic
tion over the apprentice system. * * * In any local where there are not
more than 25 members there shall be not more than 2 apprentices allowed.”
Ratio of apprentices to journeymen governed by agreement—not by constitu
tional provision.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions with local
employers, either individually or in association. Agreements subject to approval
of the executive board.
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; death.
Official organ.— The Plasterer.
H eadquarters.—Castell Building, Middletown, Ohio.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 7; Arizona, 3;
Arkansas, 6; California, 32; Colorado, 7; Delaware, 2; District of Columbia, 1;
Florida, 3; Georgia, 6; Idaho, 3; Illinois, 34; Indiana, 28; Iowa, 14; Kansas,
12; Kentucky, 6; Louisiana, 6; Maine, 1; Maryland, 3; Massachusetts, 6;
Michigan, 12; Minnesota, 7; Mississippi, 2; Missouri, 14; Montana, 8; Nebraska,
4; Nevada, 1; New Jersey, 2; New Mexico, 1; New York, 12; North Carolina,
5; North Dakota, 1; Ohio, 26; Oklahoma, 11; Oregon, 6; Pennsylvania, 38;
Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 2; South Dakota, 2; Tennessee, 8; Texas, 20;
Utah, 4; Virginia, 7; Washington, 12; West Virginia, 9 ; Wisconsin, 9 ; Wyoming,
4. Canada—British Columbia, 1; Manitoba, 1; Ontario, 7 ; Quebec, 1; Saskatch
ewan, 2. Total, 420.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—18,000.
Plumbers and Steam Fitters of the United States and Canada,
United Association of Journeymen
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized October 11, 1889, in Washington, D. C. Prior to the
founding of the present United Association, an organization known
as the International Association of Plumbers, Steam Fitters, and Gas
Fitters was formed at Cincinnati, Ohio, composed of Knights of
Labor locals and a few independent craft unions. This organiza
tion and representatives of local organizations which had not iden
tified themselves with the national body met in Washington on
October 11, 1889, and established the United Association of Journey
men Plumbers and Steam Fitters.
A dual organization, the International Union of Steam and Hot
Water Fitters, was chartered by the American Federation of Labor
in 1899, and both unions functioned separately until 1912, when
amalgamation was ordered by the American Federation of Labor
and the Building Trades Department. The International Union of
Steam and Hot Water Fitters refused to comply with the order and
was expelled from the federation. Subsequently, while actual amal
gamation did not occur, local organizations of the outlawed union
withdrew from the parent body and were chartered as local unions
BUILDING TRADES
103
of the United Association of Journeymen Plumbers and Steam Fit
ters, and the International Union of Steam and Hot Water Fitters
passed out of existence.
O b je c t s .—“The aspirations of this association are to construct an organiza
tion which shall subserve the interest of all its members and be a fitting mon
ument to the unions attached thereto. The objects of this association are to
protect its members from unjust and injurious competition.”
T erritorial j u r is d ic t io n .—United States and possessions and Canada.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—All branches of the pipe-fitting industry (plumbers, gas
fitters, steam fitters, sprinkler fitters, railroad fitters, marine plumbers, marine
fitters, general pipe fitters, steam, sprinkling, and marine fitters’ helpers and
apprentices).
G overnment .—1. General officers, composed of president, secretary-treasurer,
assistant secretary, 13 general organizers, and 14 vice presidents (7 plumbers
and 7 steamfitters), “shall have full discretionary powers over all things con
nected with the association between conventions (except decisions made at con
ventions) .”
2. State associations: Delegate bodies chartered by the association. “Where
such State associations exist it shall be mandatory upon all locals in that
State to affiliate.” * * * State associations “shall have power to create
* * * such funds as in their judgment seem wise, such funds to be used
for the protection and promotion of the trade in their respective jurisdiction.”
3. Local unions: Subordinate.
4. Convention: Held quadrennially; enacts legislation and elects general
officers. Amendments to constitution and revision of laws by convention or
by initiative and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any competent journeyman plumber or
steam fitter is eligible to membership. Competency determined by examination.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“Whenever necessary, local unions may allow
each shop 1 apprentice, where they employ 1 or more journeymen steadily, and
1 additional apprentice for every 5 men steadily employed up to 20; but in no
case shall any shop be entitled to more than 4 apprentices. Each apprentice
shall be registered by a joint committee of employers and journeymen and must
serve an apprenticeship of 5 years.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions, generally
with employers’ associations.
A national agreement covering sprinkler fitters in Local No. 669 (branches in
Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Newark,
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Providence), is made between the general officers
of the United Association and representatives of several concerns manufacturing
and installing automatic fire-extinguishing apparatus. (Kansas City, Minne
apolis, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and San Francisco sprinkler fitters make
local agreements with sprinkler companies.)
B enefits .—Strike and lock-out; sick; death.
Official organ.—Plumbers, Gas and Steam Fitters’ Journal.
H eadquarters.—Machinists Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization .—State associations: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida,
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, New England, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North
Carolina, Potomac (District of Columbia), Texas, Washington, Westchester
County (New York), and Wisconsin; Ontario and Saskatchewan.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
District councils: Central New York, Greater New York; Hudson Valley
(N. Y.), Los Angeles, Northern California, Great Lakes, Hudson County (N. J.),
Milwaukee Pipe Trades, Boston and vicinity, New England, Buffalo and
vicinity.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 4; Arizona, 3; Arkansas, 4; Cali
fornia, 41; Colorado, 8; Connecticut, 22; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia, 3;
Florida, 16; Georgia, 6; Idaho, 4; Illinois, 45; Indiana, 26; Iowa, 20; Kansas,
11; Kentucky, 6; Louisiana, 5; Maine, 7; Maryland, 3; Massachusetts, 45;
Michigan, 17; Minnesota, 12; Mississippi, 3; Missouri, 13; Montana, 9;
Nebraska, 5; Nevada, 2; New Hampshire, 6; New Jersey, 34; New Mexico, 1;
New York, 68; North Carolina, 8; North Dakota, 3; Ohio, 40; Oklahoma, 11;
Oregon, 7; Pennsylvania, 39; Rhode Island, 6; South Carolina, 4; Tennessee, 8;
Texas, 21; Utah, 3; Virginia, 8; Washington, 13; West Virginia, 6; Wisconsin,
22; Wyoming, 4; Hawaii, 1; Canal Zone, 2. Canada—Alberta, 3; British
Columbia, 4; Manitoba, 2; New Brunswick, 3; Nova Scotia, 1; Ontario, 13;
Quebec, 3; Saskatchewan, 3. Total, 688.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—65,000.
Roofers, Damp and W aterproof W orkers’ Association, United
Slate, Tile, and Composition
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Pittsburgh, Pa., September 8, 1919. It is an amal
gamation of two international unions engaged in roofing work, the
International Slate and Tile Roofers’ Union of America, organized
in 1903, and the International Brotherhood of Composition Roofers,
Damp and Waterproof Workers, organized in 1907.
O b je c t s .—“To create and maintain a more harmonious and amicable relation
one with another for the mutual benefit of all concerned; to increase, nourish,
and sustain the prestige and dignity of all affiliated locals, at the same time
guaranteeing to and retaining by each its own local and individual autonomy; to
broaden the scope of usefulness and extend the field of employment of each
and every individual member; to confederate as far as possible dur some
what spasmodic individual efforts into one continuous collective undertaking
for the upbuilding and improvement of this association.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—Slate, tile, and composition roofing; specifically, “all
slate where used for roofing of any size, shape, or color, including flat or
promenade slate, with necessary metal flashing to make watertight. All tile
where used for roofing of any size, shape, or color, and in any manner laid, in
cluding flat or promenade tile, with necessary metal flashing to make watertight.
All cementing in, on, or around the said tile and slate roof. All laying of felt
or paper beneath the above-mentioned work. All dressing, punching, cutting
of all roof slate or tile. All operation of slate-cutting or punching machitfdry.
All substitute material taking the place of slate or tile, as asbestos slat-1 or
tile, cement or composition tile, excepting shingles of wood and metal tile.
All removal of slate or tile roofing as defined above where the same is to be
relaid. All forms of plastic slate, slag, and gravel roofing. All kinds of
asphalt or composition roofing. All rock-asphalt mastic when used for damp
and waterproofing. All prepared paper roofing. All compressed paper, chemi
cally prepared paper, and burlap when used for roofing or damp and waterproof-
BUILDING TRADES
105
ing purposes, with or without coating. All damp-resisting preparations when
applied with a mop, three-knot brush, or swab in or outside of buildings. All
damp courses, sheeting, or coating on all foundation work. All tarred floors.
All laying of tile or brick when laid in pitch tar, asphalt mastic, marmolite,
or any form of bitumen.”
G o vernm en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president and six
vice presidents. General secretary-treasurer is an international officer but not
a member of the general executive board.
General executive board has general supervision over the association; deci
sions binding unless reversed by convention.
2. Local unions: Largely self-governing. Autonomy not definitely fixed.
3. Convention: Held every 2 years, or subject to referendum call. Enacts
general legislation, acts on general executive board decisions, and elects general
officers.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any skilled or apprentice roofer is eligible
to membership; but members must be or become American citizens.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—Under control of local unions.
M eth o d of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions with indi
vidual employers.
B e n e f it s .—Funeral.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Journeyman Roofers’ Magazine (quarterly).
H ea dq ua rters .—3091 Coleridge Road, Cleveland, Ohio.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: Alabama, 2; California, 10; Colorado, 2;
Connecticut, 3; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia, 2; Florida, 3; Georgia, 2;
Illinois, 11; Indiana, 5; Iowa, 1; Louisiana, 1; Maryland, 3; Massachusetts, 6;
Michigan, 2; Minnesota, 1; Mississippi, 2; Missouri, 6; Nebraska, 1; New
Jersey, 8; New York, 8; Ohio, 9; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 3; Texas, 4; Utah,
1; Washington, 2 ; West Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 1. Total, 108.
Four other local unions, Locals Nos. 100, 101, 102, and 103, are maintained
by the United Association for workers in the trade located “in any locality
where the requisite five men for the formation of a local cannot be found.”
They are general membership organizations, membership graduated from
Local No. 100 to Local No. 101 after 1 year’s membership, then to Local No.
102, etc. Membership in Local No. 103 entitles member to all rights and privi
leges of membership in a regularly organized local.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—5,500.
Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized January 25, 1888, in Toledo, Ohio, as the Tin, Sheet
Iron, and Cornice Workers’ International Association. In 1896 the
name “Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers’ International Associa
tion” was adopted. This was changed in 1903 to Amalgamated
Sheet Metal Workers’ International Alliance. In 1907 the Copper
smiths’ International Union amalgamated with the sheet-metal
organization, and the chandelier, brass, and metal workers joined
in 1924. The convention of 1924 changed the name of the union to
the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
O b je c t s .—“The objects of this international association are to enlist the
voluntary cooperation and support of all eligible journeymen sheet-metal
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
workers as members, to the end that adequate wage scales and desirable
working conditions consistent with the times in which we live may be established
and maintained, and thus provide for our members and their families full
opportunity for study, mental development, and a reasonable measure of recre
ation, all of which are necessary and essential to good citizenship.
“To develop and maintain by proper training and instruction, a sufficient
number of practical journeymen sheet-metal workers as members, who are
fully qualified by knowledge and experience to fulfill the most exacting re
quirements of our trade to the satisfaction of those who may have occasion
to employ our members directly or indirectly, thus encouraging the use of
sheet metal and establishing for ourselves that measure of prestige and public
confidence necessary to successfully resist unwarranted encroachment on our
trade rights, thus creating a demand for the products of our trade which in
turn means increased opportunities for employment for our members.
“It is our purpose and desire to encourage and establish in each locality a
legal and proper form of working agreement between our affiliated local
unions and their respective employers which will provide by mutual agree
ment for our members a uniform working day of not more than 8 hours
* * * a uniform working week of not more than 5 days (40 hours), with
no work on Saturdays; the absolute elimination of all overtime work except
in cases of extreme emergency or for causes beyond human control; an ade
quate minimum-wage scale for journeymen sheet-metal workers and an ade
quate graduated wage scale for registered apprentices, based upon a reasonable
percentage of the established journeymen wage scale; * * *
“To provide by mutual agreement between our affiliated local unions and
their respective employers for the proper training and instruction of a suf
ficient number of registered apprentices to meet all reasonable and necessary
requirements of our trade under the supervision and direction of a joint com
mittee representing the employers and the local union.
“To establish and maintain legal and proper business relations between
affiliated local unions and their respective employers based on confidence and
understanding, so as to guarantee successful operation of practical and proper
agreements mutually agreed upon. * * *
“To eliminate the practice of piece work and bonus systems and to likewise
eliminate the practice of accepting and doing work on a lump-sum basis, or on
any other basis, by members of this international association except in accord
ance with the established hourly or daily wage rate and the established working
conditions of local unions chartered by and affiliated with this international
association.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture, fabrication, assembling, erection,
hanging, adjusting, installing, application, alteration, repairing, dismantling, re
conditioning, and maintenance of all sheet-metal work of 19-gage or lighter,
said jurisdictional claim to include: Flat, formed-in-brake, pressed, corrugated,
or ribbed sheets; rolled, drawn, pressed, stamped, or spun shapes and forms of
plain or protected steel, iron, tin, copper, brass, bronze, aluminum, zinc, lead,
german silver, monel metal, stainless steel, and any and all other alloy metals
of 10-gage or lighter; together with all necessary or specified reinforcements,
brackets, hangers, straps, plates, T’s, angles, channels, furrings, supports, an
chors, clips, frames, ornaments, trimmings, grilles, registers, castings, hardware,
plastic cements, and mechanical equipment, regardless of gage, weight, or ma
terial when used in direct connection with or incidental to the manufacture,
fabrication, assembling, erection, hanging, adjusting, installing, application,
BUILDING TRADES
107
alteration, repairing, dismantling, reconditioning, and maintenance of all sheetmetal work of 10-gage or lighter.
We also claim for our members full jurisdiction over the erection and fasten
ing of any and all materials and work specified in this jurisdictional claim,
whether same he applied to wood, steel, stone, brick, concrete, or other types of
structure or base, and likewise full jurisdiction over the making of all connec
tions, attachments, seams, and joints whether nailed, screwed, bolted, riveted,
cemented, poured, wiped, soldered, brazed, welded, or otherwise fastened and
attached, and all drilling and tapping in connection with or incidental thereto.
Any and all types of sheet-metal foundation forms; wall forms; column
forms; casing; moldings; plain or corrugated domes; slab forms; flat, ribbed,
or corrugated sheet forms used in connection with concrete or cement con
struction; including sheet-metal inserts to provide specified openings; also per
manent column guards.
Any and all types of sheets—flat, formed-in-brake, corrugated, or otherwise
formed or reenforced; and all rolled, drawn, pressed, or stamped sheets, shapes,
and forms of plain or protected metal specified for use in connection with or
incidental to roofing, decking, flooring, siding, waterproofing, weatherproofing,
fireproofing, for base and support of other materials, or for ornamental or
other purposes.
Any and all types of formed, rolled, drawn, stamped, or pressed sheet-metal
shingles, sheet-metal tile, sheet-metal brick, sheet-metal stone, and sheet-metal
lumber, when specified for use as roofing, siding, waterproofing, weatherproofing,
fireproofing, or for ornamental or any other purpose.
Any and all sheet-metal work specified for use in connection with or inci
dental to steeples, domes, minarets, lookouts, dormers, louvers, ridges, copings,
roofing, decking, hips, valleys, gutters, outlets, roof flanges, flashings, gravel
stops, leader heads, downspouts, mansards, balustrades, skylights, cornice
molding, columns, capitals, panels, pilasters, mullions, spandrils, and any and
all other shapes, forms, and design of sheet-metal work specified for use for
waterproofing, weatherproofing, fireproofing, ornamental, decorative, or display
purposes, or as trim on exterior of buildings.
Any and all types of sheet-metal buildings including hangars, garages, service
stations, commercial or storage buildings of permanent or portable design,
whether manufactured, fabricated, or erected to meet specific requirements or
whether constructed of standard patented units of flat, formed-in-brake, corru
gated, rolled, drawn, or stamped sheets, shapes, and forms of plain, protected,
or ornamental design.
Any and all types of sheet-metal marquise, vestibule and storm door en
closures, window frames, mouldings, cornice, pilasters, mullions, panels, sills,
heads, awning covers, corner posts, stops, light troughs, reflectors, and
deflectors, bulletin boards, and any and all types of sheet-metal signs specified
for use in connection with or incidental to display windows, building fronts,
store fronts, and theater fronts; for fireproofing, weatherproofing, waterproofing,
ornamental, or display-advertising purposes.
Any and all types of sheet-metal bill boards, bulletin boards, and sheetmetal signs specified for use on the exterior of buildings for advertising and
display purposes, and any and all types of sheet-metal signs and bulletin boards
specified for use in connection with or incidental to the equipment and opera
tion of theaters, hotels, hospitals, apartments, factories, and other types of
buildings of interior or exterior design.
Any and all sheet-metal work used in connection with or incidental to the
equipment and operation of grain elevators, mills, factories, warehouses, man-
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HANDBOOK OB AMEBICAN TBADE-UNIONS
ufaeturing plants, and commercial buildings, including elevator legs and en
closures, chutes, hoppers, carriers, spiral, automatic, or other conveyors, pack
age chutes, fire apparatus and enclosures for same, pipes and fittings, dampers,
machine guards, cyclones, fans, blowers, dust-collecting systems, ovens and
driers, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, and all other types of sheetmetal work and equipment, mechanical or otherwise, in connection with or
incidental to the operation thereof.
Any and all types of sheet-metal window frames, sash, bucks, doors, frames,
trim, picture moulding, frieze moulding, wire moulding, chair rail and base,
panels, wainscoting, mullions, pilasters, sills, permanent vestibule partitions,
smoke and fire screens, portable and permanent screens and partitions for hos
pital, office, commercial and factory use; toilet, shower, and dressing-room
partitions; elevator and other types of enclosures specified for use as equip
ment and interior trim.
Any and all types of sheet-metal ceilings with cornices and mouldings of
plain, ornamental, enameled, glazed, or accoustic types; any and all types of
sheet-metal side walls and wainscoting of plain, ornamental, enameled, or
glazed types, including sheet-metal tile; and the application of all necessary
wood or metal furring, plastic or other materials, to which they are directly
applied.
Any and all moving-picture booths and any and all sheet-metal work in con
nection with indirect-lighting systems, including side lights and footlights in
theaters, auditoriums, schools, etc.
Any and all types of sheet-metal work specified for use in connection with
or incidental to direct, indirect, or other types of heating, ventilating, airconditioning, and cooling systems; including risers, stacks, ducts, fittings,
dampers, casings, recess boxes, outlets, exhausts, ventilators, frames, grilles,
registers, fans, and motors; air washers, filters, air brushes, housings, airconditioning chambers, unit heaters, cabinets, and any and all other sheetmetal work and equipment, mechanical or otherwise, in connection with or
incidental to the proper installation and operation of said systems, and all duct
connections to and from same.
Any and all types of warm-air furnaces, including assembling and setting-up
of all cast-iron parts, sheet-metal hoods, casings, wall stacks, smoke pipes,
trunk lines, cold-air intakes, air chambers, vent pipes, frames, registers, dampers
and regulating devices, and all other sheet-metal work and equipment, mechani
cal or otherwise, in connection with or incidental to the proper installation and
operation of same.
Any and all types of sheet-metal smoke pipe, elbows, fittings, and breeching
for boilers, heaters, and furnaces. All sheet-metal lagging and jackets on
engines. Any and all sheet-metal drip pans, exhaust pipes, heads, safety flues,
and other appliances in connection with or incidental to boilers, heaters,
furnaces, engines, machinery, etc.
Any and all types of sheet-metal furniture and equipment, lockers, shelving,
library stacks, warehouse, factory and storage stacks, bins, etc., specified for
use as equipment or incidental to the operation of offices, factories, libraries,
hotels, apartments, schools, banks, public and semipublic buildings and for
general commercial use.
Any and all sheet-metal work in connection with or incidental to the equip
ment and operation of kitchens in hotels, restaurants, lunchrooms, drug stores,
banks, dining cars, public and semipublic buildings, including ranges, canopies,
steam tables, work tables, dish washers, coffee urns, warming closets, sinks,
B U IL D IN G TRADES
109
drain boards, garbage chutes and incinerators, refrigerators, and all other
sheet-metal work in connection with kitchen equipment or refrigerating plants.
Any and all types of sheet-metal work in connection with or incidental to
laundry equipment and machinery, washers, clothes dryers, and laundry chutes.
Any and all types of sheet-metal work and coppersmith work in connection
with or incidental to the manufacture, fabrication, assembling, maintenance, and
repair of automobiles, aeroplanes, pontoons, dirigibles, blimps, and other types
of aircraft and equipment, and any and all types of aircraft hangars.
Any and all types of sheet-metal chandeliers, lamps and lighting fixtures,
ornaments, decorations, household ware, and miscellaneous articles for use in
factories and mills; any and all types of sheet-metal switch boxes, cut-out boxes,
panel boards, cabinets, and speaking tubes.
Any and all types of sheet-metal badges, buttons, and novelties, with all hard
or soft soldering in connection with same by flame or other method.
Any and all types of sheets, tubing, pipes, and fittings, used in connection with
or incidental to coppersmithing work, regardless of gage or material. The man
ufacture, fabrication, assembling, erection, maintenance, repair, and dismantling
of all said coppersmithing work, including the bending of tubes, pipes, and coils
and all pipe fitting in connection with or incidental thereto, and the testing of
equipment when installed to insure proper operation.
Any and all sheet-metal work and coppersmithing work in connection with or
incidental to building, maintenance, and repair of ships and boats, including
smokestacks, life rafts, life buoys, crows’ nests, blockheads, telegraph and speak
ing tubes, switch and cut-out boxes, lagging on boilers and engines, lining of all
partitions, paint and lamp lockers, refrigerating compartments, battery compart
ments, galleys and shower baths, ventilation and kitchen equipment.
Railroad shopmen shall include sheet-metal workers (tinners), coppersmiths
and pipe fitters employed in shops, yards, and buildings, and workers on pas
senger coaches and engines of all kinds, skilled in the building, erecting, assem
bling, installing, dismantling, and maintaining parts made of sheet copper,
brass, tin, zinc, white metal or lead, black planished and pickled iron of 10
gage or less, including brazing, soldering, tinning, beading, and babbittihg; the
bending, fitting, cutting, threading, brazing, clamping, and testing, connecting
and disconnecting of air, water, sand, gas, oil, and steam pipes; and the opera
tion of babbitt fires and pipe-threading machines, oxyacetylene thermit and elec
tric welding on work generally recognized as belonging to railroad shopmen.
In accordance with established practice, we claim for our members the right
to apply and install any and all types of slate, tile, asbestos-shingle, and
asphalt-shingle roofing; any and all types of prepared paper and felt roofing;
any and all types of sheet, roll, plastic, asphalt, tar, slag, gravel, or other com
position roofing, specified as insulation or waterproofing in localities where
there is no established local union of the United Slate, Tile and Composition
Roofers, Damp and Waterproof Workers’ Association.
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General executive board, composed of the general president
and 11 vice presidents elected by convention vote, exercises supervision over
all the affairs of the organization. The general president “shall protect the
interests of the international association and by virtue of the power vested in
him * * * he shall supervise the advancement of its interests. The general
secretary-treasurer is the administrative officer.
2. Convention: Triennial; elects general officers and enacts all legislation,
except that, if at any time the general executive board deems a new law neces
sary to govern the association in a matter not provided for in the constitution,
such law may be submitted to referendum.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
3. Local unions: “Obligated to recognize, observe, and be governed by the
specific provisions and requirements” of the international constitution. Local
autonomy granted only with regard to local benefit features with which “the
international association is in no way financially or otherwise connected or
involved or in any way responsible or liable.”
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—An applicant must be a journeyman sheetmetal worker not over 45 years of age, who is or has declared his intention to
become a citizen, and must be qualified by experience to command not less than
the established scale. Working foremen and superintendents are eligible; own
ers, contractors, and jobbers, ineligible.
Negro sheet-metal workers may be organized in separate locals “with the
consent of the white local” of the locality, or in “auxiliary locals” if consent of
white local is not obtained. Negro locals are under the jurisdiction of the white
locals.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip reigulations .—Controlled locally. (Constitution requires that
provision be made in agreements for “the proper training and instruction of a
sufficient number of registered apprentices between the ages of 16 and 21” to
meet all necessary requirements of the trade on the basis of not more than one
apprentice to every four journeymen regularly employed. Four-year term.)
M ethod of neg otiating agr eem ents , —Negotiated by local unions, subject to
approval of the general executive council, on the basis of terms of a uniform
agreement incorporated in the international constitution.
B e n e f it s .—Strike and lock-out; funeral.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea dq ua rters .—Transportation Building, Washington, D. C.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions (only one general local permitted in a city or
locality) : United States—Alabama, 4; Arkansas, 2; Arizona, 1; California, 23;
Canal Zone, 1; Colorado, 5; Connecticut, 3; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia,
1; Florida, 7; Georgia, 6; Idaho, 1; Illinois, 34; Indiana, 15; Iowa, 16; Kansas,
5; Kentucky, 8; Louisiana, 3; Maine, 1; Maryland, 4; Massachusetts, 4; Michi
gan, 5; Minnesota, 11; Mississippi, 4; Missouri, 7; Montana, 5; Nebraska, 4;
New Hampshire, 1; New Jersey, 10; New Mexico, 1; New York, 21; Nevada, 1;
North Carolina, 3; Ohio, 23; Oklahoma, 2; Oregon, 4; Pennsylvania, 19; Rhode
Island, 2; South Carolina, 2; South Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 7; Texas, 15; Utah, 2;
Vermont, 1; Virginia, 6; Washington, 8; West Virginia, 7; Wisconsin, 9;
Wyoming, 3. Canada, 13 (distribution not reported). Total, 342.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—16,000.
CHEMICAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES
Although the chemical industries are practically unorganized, some
effort toward organization has been made. One international union
in the powder and high-explosive industry has maintained a pre
carious existence since 1901, but its membership has always been
small, showing no appreciable increase even during the war. One
independent professional organization includes chemists, and chem
ical factory workers have formed federal labor unions in about 25
different localities. The executive council of the American Federa
tion of Labor, in its report for 1934, refers to the close relation be
tween the chemical industry and the soap and glycerine industry, in
which several federal labor unions have been organized, and recom
CHEMICAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES
HI
mends a coordination of effort in organizing both fields by means of
a national council.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Powder and High Explosive Workers, United.
Independent organizations:
Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians, Federation of. (Clas
sified under Professional, etc.)
Powder and High Explosive Workers of America, United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized December 5, 1901, from local unions directly affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor.
O b je c t s .—“The objects of this organization are to organize and unite under
one banner all branches of our craft; * * * to assist each other in securing
employment, to reduce the hours of labor, to secure a higher standard of wages
for work performed, to oppose the use of machinery that is a source of danger
to life and limb, and to minimize the risk by the use of the most safe and
improved machinery.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture of powder and high explosives.
G o vernm en t .—1. Executive council: Composed of president, vice president,
secretary-treasurer, and two additional elected members; has general super
visory authority over the organization.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution imposed by general office, but they
“shall have power to frame and adopt bylaws”, subject to the approval of the
executive board.
3. Convention: Biennial; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“To be eligible to membership the applicant
must be of good character and be engaged in the industry as a worker at the
time of application.” Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g ag r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions, but must be
uniform; contract form issued by international. Union label used on products of
union shops.
B e n e f it s .—Strike.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H eadquarters .—Columbus, Kans.
O rg a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: Georgia, 1; Indiana, 1; Kansas, 1; Penn
sylvania, 1. Total, 4.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—125.
CIGAR AND TOBACCO INDUSTRY
In spite of efforts of the executive council of the American Federa
tion of Labor to effect an amalgamation of the two organizations in
the tobacco industry, as directed by convention decisions, they continue
to function as separate unions. These are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Cigar Makers’ International Union.
Tobacco Workers’ International Union.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Cigar Makers’ International Union
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City, June 21,1864. The first organization
of cigar makers was formed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1845; the next in
Baltimore, Md., in 1851. Thereafter local organizations increased in
number, but remained independent of one another until 1863, when a
conference was held in Philadelphia. This conference led to a second
one, held in New York City on June 21, 1864, at which the National
Cigar Makers’ Union was founded. Three years later the name was
changed to the Cigar Makers’ International Union.
This organization was among the first to establish the 8-hour day
for its members. It adopted an 8-hour lawTat its 1885 convention and
had established it in successful operation by May 1, 1886. It was
also instrumental in launching the American Federation of Labor.
O b je c t s .—“For the amelioration and final emancipation of labor.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and possessions, Canada, and Cuba.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture of cigars, including, specifically, work
done by cigar makers, packers, stemmers, strippers, banders, branders, labelers,
and casers, and any other cigar-factory employees.
G o vernm en t .—1. Executive board composed of president and seven vice presi
dents. The president is the executive bead of the organization, with wide
powers.
The third vice president must be a member of and elected from a Canadian
union.
2. Local unions: Autonomy limited.
3. Initiative and referendum.
4. Convention: Previous convention may set date, which may be changed by
referendum. General officers elected and legislation enacted by convention.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—All persons engaged in the cigar industry,
regardless of color or nationality, shall be eligible to membership; this shall
include foremen and manufacturers who employ no journeymen cigar makers.
Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—All persons learning cigar making, stogie mak
ing, or packing shall serve an apprenticeship, the time such an apprentice shall
serve to be determined by the style of work learned. Those learning strictly
hand work and packing shall serve not more than 3 years; mold work not more
than 2 years; bunch making or rolling not more than 1 year; machine bunch
breakers not more than 3 months; rolling-machine bunchers not more than 6
months; and automatic machine work not more than 3 months.
Local unions shall have power to stipulate the number of apprentices for each
kind of work under their respective jurisdiction. Local unions shall submit
their apprentice laws for approval by the international executive board.
Manufacturers who do not employ at least one journeyman for his full time
shall not be allowed an apprentice.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions with local
manufacturers with approval of international executive board. Locals act
independently of each other and there is dissimilarity in rates, especially
in different parts of the country. Union label issued by international through
CIGAR AND TOBACCO INDU STR Y
113
local secretaries to union shops conforming to laws laid down by the inter
national.
B e n e f it s .—Strike, lock-out, and victimization.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Cigar Makers’ Official Journal.
H ea dquarters .—604 Carpenters’ Building, Tenth and K Streets NW., Wash
ington, D. C.
O rg a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: United States—California, 4; Colorado, 1;
Connecticut, 13; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 10; Idaho, 1; Illinois, 16;
Indiana, 6; Iowa, 6; Kansas, 3; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 1; Maine, 2; Mary
land, 2; Massachusetts, 13 ; Michigan, 9; Minnesota, 3; Missouri, 6; Montana, 2;
Nebraska, 2; New Hampshire, 1; New Jersey, 4; New York, IT; Ohio, 10; Oregon,
1; Pennsylvania, 14; Rhode Island, 1; South Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 3; Texas, 3;
Utah, 1; Virginia, 2; Washington, 3; West Virginia, 3; Wisconsin, 17; Puerto
Rico, 6. Canada—Ontario, 4; Quebec, 1. Total, 195.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—No report. On basis of voting strength in American
Federation of Labor, 7,000.
Tobacco W orkers’ International Union
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in St. Louis, Mo., May 25, 1895. Independent organiza
tions of tobacco workers had been in existence since the early sixties
and were brought together in convention in St. Louis in May 1895,
at which the National Tobacco Workers’ Union of America was
founded. Three years later the name was changed to Tobacco
Workers’ International Union.
O b je c t s .—“The educational, social, economic, and fraternal betterment of all
persons employed in the craft.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and possessions, Canada, and Mexico.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture of smoking and chewing tobacco, snuff,
and paper-wrapped cigarettes.
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president-secretarytreasurer and six vice presidents. “The international president shall be the chief
executive of the international union, * * * . The general executive board
shall render such assistance to the president as he may require and watch
legislative measures directly affecting the tobacco workers generally.”
2. Local unions: Largely autonomous; exact status not fixed by constitution.
3. Initiative and referendum: General officers elected by referendum; conven
tion on referendum call only. Constitutional amendments by initiative and
referendum or by convention when held.
Q u a l if ic a t io n for m e m b e r s h ip .—Applicants for membership, under 60 years
of age, “may be elected upon their own statement.” Male and female mem
bership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M eth o d of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated independently by local
unions with individual employers. There is no uniformity as to terms or dura
tion of contract. Union label controlled by locals.
B e n e f it s .—Strike, lock-out, and victimization; sick; death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea dq ua rters .—S'06-9 Realty Building, Louisville, Ky.
79315°—36----- 9
114
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Organization.—Local unions: Illinois, 1; Kentucky, 4; Michigan, 1; Mis
souri, 2; New York, 2; North Carolina, 12 ; Ohio, 2; Pennsylvania, 2; Virginia,
2; West Virginia, 1. Total, 29.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—10,000.
CLAY, GLASS, AND STONE
The 1929 edition of the handbook of American trade-unions listed
three organizations of workers in window-glass manufacture, two of
which were affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The
independent organization was identical in jurisdiction to one of the
affiliated organizations, but confined its activities to the plants of a
single company so that although they were dual they were not rival
organizations. Since then a realinement has occurred which elimi
nated the dual character of these unions by putting all the cutters,
the skilled handicraftsmen, into one organization, regardless of the
place of employment, and creating a new organization, the Federation
of Flat Glass Workers, with jurisdiction over the machine operators
employed in plants manufacturing window glass by the sheet-draw
ing process. Both organizations are affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor.
No changes in structure or scope have occurred in the other organi
zations in this group, which are all affiliated with the American Fed
eration of Labor.
Brick and Clay Workers of America, United.
Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association of the United States and Canada.
Glass Cutters’ League of America, Window.
Glass Workers of America, Federation of Flat.
Glass Workers’ Union of North America, American Flint.
Granite Cutters’ International Association of America, The. (Classified under
Building Trades.)
Marble, Stone, and Slate Polishers, Rubbers, and Sawyers, Tile and Marble
Setters’ Helpers, and Terrazzo Workers’ Helpers, International Association of.
(Classified under Building Trades.)
Pavers, Rammermen, Flaggers, Bridge and Stone Curb Setters, International
Union of.
Paving Cutters’ Union of the United States of America and Canada,
International.
Potters, National Brotherhood of Operative.
Quarry Workers’ International Union of North America. (Classified under
Extraction of Minerals.)
Stone Cutters’ Association of North America, Journeymen.
Brick and Clay Workers of America, United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., May 18, 1894. The National Brick
Makers’ Alliance was organized in 1896 from a group of directly
CLAY, GLASS, AND STONE
115
affiliated American Federation of Labor unions. It existed under this
name until 1909, when, because of extension of jurisdiction to the
terra-cotta industry, the name was changed to International Alliance
of Brick, Tile, and Terra Cotta Workers. In 1915, as a result of
dissension in the organization, a second organization was formed
under the name of the United Brick and Clay Workers. The ma
jority of the rank and file of the membership went with the second
organization and after a short period of dual unionism an agreement
was reached with the officers of the International Alliance of Brick,
Tile, and Terra Cotta Workers through which that organization
passed out of existence and the name of the new organization, United
Brick and Clay Workers of America, became the official title of the
brickmakers’ union.
O b je c t s .—“The object of the union is to organize all the brick and clay
workers of America, to raise the standard of wages, to reduce the hours of
labor, to assist in securing employment and, by all honorable means, improve
the moral, intellectual, economic, and social status of its members.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—“All building, sewer, paving, fire, and ornamental brickmakers; all building-tile, drain-tile, and sewer-pipe workers; all plain, orna
mental, and architectural terra-cotta workers; stoneware and art-pottery
workers; and clay miners.”
G overnm en t .—1. Executive council, composed of president, nine vice presi
dents, and secretary-treasurer.
2. District councils, “formed at conventions only * * * shall have gen
eral supervision and control of all matters relating to agreements with employ
ers ; shall arrange the wage scale, hours of labor, and all details necessary to
guard the interests of the unions within the district.” Affiliation to a district
council is mandatory on the part of local unions.
3. Local unions: “Each local union shall have power to fix its own bylaws,
initiation fee, reinstatement fee, and dues, not in conflict with the constitution”,
except where a district council exists.
4. Convention: Meets biennially.
5. Initiative, referendum, and recall: General officers and district council
officers elected by referendum, yearly. Legislation by initiative and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any man over 16 years of age working at
the brick and clay industry, except foreman, is eligible to membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of neg otiating ag r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by locals except where dis
trict councils exist. Label under control of executive council.
B e n e f it s .—Death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Union Clay Worker.
H eadquarters .—1550 West Ninety-fifth Street, Chicago, 111.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: Alabama, 8; Georgia, 2; Illinois, 29;
Indiana, 6; Iowa, 2; Kansas, 1; Kentucky, 10; Maryland, 4; Missouri, 3; New
Jersey, 2; Ohio, 35; Pennsylvania, 32; Washington, 3; West Virginia, 3. Total,
140.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—22,000.
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HANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR AD E-U N IO N S
Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association of the United States and
Canada
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Baltimore, Md., in 1890. The Glass Blowers’ League
dates back to 1846, and was one of the leading factors in the Knights
of Labor movement. The Independent Druggist Ware League was
organized in 1868, functioning chiefly in the Pittsburgh district and
farther west. The various craft organizations met in Baltimore in
1890 and formed the United Green Glass Workers’ Association. In
1891 the newly formed national organization withdrew from the
Knights of Labor and remained an independent body until 1899,
when it affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The
name was changed in 1896 to Glass Bottle Blowers’ Association of
the United States and Canada. In 1901 the bottle blowers then in
the American Flint Glass Workers were transferred to the Glass
Bottle Blowers’ Association.
O b je c t s .—“The objects of this association are to thoroughly unite all glassbottle makers and others engaged in the industry for their mutual benefit and
protection; to regulate and maintain a uniform price list throughout the trade;
to enact and enforce such laws as may be deemed necessary for the purpose
of successfully carrying on the work of the association, and to take an active
interest in all things that promise to advance the interests of its members.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—The manufacture of glass containers of all kinds.
G o v er n m en t .—1. Executive board, composed of president, vice president, and
eight members elected by the convention, “shall exercise all the powers of the
association between sessions. * * * The national president shall have gen
eral superintendence over and enforce all laws of the association.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate; authority not fixed in constitution. Glassfactory employees’ department: Subordinate to local branches.
3. Convention: Held biennially, and decides “all questions affecting the gen
eral interests of the trade, such as making price lists, regulating wages, amend
ing constitution and bylaws, confirming, modifying, or rejecting any act or
acts of any officers, executive board, committee, or member of the association.”
Election of general officers by convention.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any man or woman employed in and
around a glass plant is eligible to membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Agreements covering the skilled work
ers in the entire industry negotiated by executive board members and manu
facturers. Supplementary agreements covering the unskilled workers in the
glass-factory employees’ department sometimes handled locally.
B e n e f it s .—Strike and lock-out; insurance (contributory).
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea dq ua rters .—Philadelphia Savings Fund Building, Philadelphia, Pa.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local branches only. United States—California, 5; Colo
rado, 1; Florida, 1; Illinois, 8; Indiana, 15; Kansas, 1; Maryland, 2; Michigan,
1; Minnesota, 1; Mississippi, 2; Missouri, 4; New Jersey, 9; New York, 10;
CLAY, GLASS, AND STONE
117
Ohio, 1 2 ; Oklahoma, 1; Pennsylvania, BO; South Carolina, 1; Tennessee, 1;
Texas, 4; Virginia, 1; Washington, 2 ; West Virginia, 8; Wisconsin, 2. Canada,
4. Total, 126.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—6,000.
Glass Cutters’ League of America, W indow
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Charleston, W. Va., December 6, 1917, as the Cutters
League.
The original organization of window-glass workers dates back to
the 1870’s under the Knights of Labor. In 1880, Local Assembly No.
300 of the Knights of Labor was founded as a national trade body,
covering the four skilled crafts in window-glass manufacture—the
gatherers, the blowers, the flatteners, and the cutters—and including
practically all the men in the country engaged in the industry. For
nearly 20 years this assembly functioned as a powerful unit, control
ling wages and working conditions on a union-shop basis through
national agreements with the manufacturers. Dissension within the
organization, largely political and factional, resulted in a secessionist
movement on the part of the cutters, the smallest group. Withdraw
ing from Local Assembly No. 300 in 1896, they organized the Win
dow Glass Cutters’ League. The flatteners soon followed their ex
ample and organized separately.
Both these groups found that their greatest opportunity for organ
izing lay in the plants using machinery instead of hand processes
for manufacture because the parent organization refused membership
to workers in the machine plants. The secession unions accordingly
developed as organizations of skilled workers in the cylinder-machine
plants, although they tried to assume jurisdiction over flattening and
cutting in the hand plants as well. They amalgamated in 1902 to
form the Window Glass Cutters and Flatteners’ Association of
America, Inc. After 1908 this organization gave up any further at
tempt to organize the cutters and flatteners in the hand plants, and
confined its activity to the machine plants.
A dual organization came into the field with the creation, in 1910,
of the Window Glass Cutters and Flatteners’ Protective Association,
which organized the machine plants of the American Window Glass
Co. While not a company union, this organization confined its ac
tivities to the employees of that company, which had plants in
various parts of the country, operating cylinder machines. The cyl
inder-machine process, although it displaced both the gatherer and
the blower, produced glass in a cylindrical form which had to be flat
tened by hand before it could be cut.
118
HANDBO O K OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
An improved machine process was introduced into the industry
about 1917 which produced fiat glass by the sheet-drawing method.
The skilled flattener was thus eliminated, but cutting still had to be
done by hand. Shortly after the Libby-Owens Co. began manufac
turing flat glass on sheet-drawing machines, its cutters organized as
the Cutters’ League. Although the jurisdiction of this new organi
zation paralleled that of the Window Glass Cutters and Flatteners’
Association which the American Federation of Labor had chartered
in 1925, the Cutters’ League secured affiliation with the federation
when it applied for a charter in 1928, because it confined its organ
izing and collective-bargaining activities to the Libby-Owens plants,
while the older union functioned in the independent plants using
cylinder machines. Thus, in 1928, three organizations existed in
identical jurisdictions, and two of them were affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor. Considerations other than craft
lines kept them distinct. The unaffiliated group, the Window Glass
Cutters and Flattener’s Protective Association, although clearly dual
to the two craft unions in the American Federation of Labor, con
fined itself wholly to the employees of the American Window Glass
Co. and did not interfere with the organization in the Libby-Owens
plants or those of the independent manufacturers.
In 1930, however, the two affiliated organizations amalgamated as
the Window Glass Cutters’ League of America. By that time the flat
tener had been practically eliminated as the sheet-drawing machine
steadily displaced the earlier cylinder process. Three years later the
independent union in the American Window Glass Co. plants merged
with the Window Glass Cutters’ League.
In consequence dualism in skilled hand work has been eliminated.
The cutters are now all that remains of the old hand processes in
window-glass manufacture, and all organized cutters belong to the
Window Glass Cutters’ League. While there is another affiliated
union in the industry, its jurisdiction specifically excludes the skilled
cutters.
Objects .—“The objects and purposes of the Window Glass Cutters’ League of
America are to maintain a regular apprentice system and a higher standard of
skill; to cultivate a feeling of friendship among the membership; to assist each
other to secure employment; to reduce the hours of daily labor; to secure ade
quate pay for our work; and to promote the interests and welfare of the
members and their dependents.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Window-glass manufacturing plants using sheet-drawing
machines.
G o v e r n m en t .—1. National officers: President, secretary-treasurer, executive
board of four members, and wage committees of four members each, for the
various processes of manufacturing of which at present there are four. The
president is the administrative head. The executive board has general supervi-
CLAY, GLASS, AND STONE
119
sion over all business. The wage committees have full power to negotiate wages
and working rules.
2. Local unions or preceptories: Subordinate; regulations dictated by the
general organization.
3. Initiative, referendum, and recall: General officers elected by referendum
and subject to recall; constitutional amendments by initiative and referendum.
No convention.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—The members of the league shall be confined
to known practical window-glass cutters.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—Apprentices must be between the ages of 16 and
30 years and serve a term of 3 years. The president and executive board shall be
empowered to determine the percentage of apprentices and shall have full
authority over the apprentice system. Brothers and sons of members of the asso
ciation are given preference in granting apprenticeships.
M ethod of nego tiating a g r ee m e n ts .—Working agreements and wage scales
established by wage committee for each department in conference with com
mittee representing manufacturers.
B e n e f it s .—Death (member and wife).
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Glass Cutter.
H ea dq ua rters .—11 East Gay Street, Columbus, Ohio.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Locals or preceptories only: Arkansas, 1; Indiana, 1; Louisi
ana, 1; Ohio, 1; Oklahoma, 2; Pennsylvania, 5; West Virginia, 5. Total, 16.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—1,400.
Glass Workers of America, Federation of Flat
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Columbus, Ohio, in 1934. The evolution of the
manufacture of flat, or window, glass from a highly skilled hand
process to a machine process calling for skilled hand labor only in
the cutting of the finished product, has brought with it drastic
changes in the nature of the organizations in the industry. Origi
nally all skilled workers in the window-glass industry held member
ship in one organization, the National Window Glass Workers.
After window-glass-making machines were introduced this union re
fused to accept into membership those working in plants using the
machine process. This resulted in separate organizations of the
skilled .men employed in machine manufacture, the flatteners, and
the cutters. The hand industry did not long survive competition
with machine manufacture, and the National Window Glass Work
ers, which had in fact outlived the hand industry, disbanded in 1928.
Technological changes and inventions again changed manufacturing
processes and produced glass in a continuous flat sheet instead of in
the earlier cylindrical form, which still had required the skilled work
of the flattener. Thus, with the flattener eliminated, the cutters
remained the only skilled craft workers. They have retained their
organization in the machine plants as the Window Glass Cutters’
League.
120
HANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
Although organization has been a tradition of the industry since
the early days of the Knights of Labor, the machine operators em
ployed in the new processes, as distinct from the skilled handicraftmen, remained largely unorganized until 1933, when the Window
Glass Cutters’ League undertook to unionize them. At first the
league merely expanded its field to include the machine men. De
ciding later to maintain its identity as a skilled craft union, the
league called a convention of the flat-glass workers at which an inde
pendent organization was founded which embraces the industry
exclusive of the cutters. On the basis of this jurisdictional delimita
tion, the new organization was chartered by the American Federa
tion of Labor as an affiliated union.
O b je c t s .—“The objects of this federation shall be to unite in one organiza
tion, regardless of creed or nationality, all workers employed in and around
factories engaged in the manufacture and marketing of window glass, plate
glass, laminated glass, or any form of sheet glass for whatsoever purpose
used; to assist each other to secure employment; to reduce the hours of daily
labor; to secure adequate and increased pay for our work by legislation, con
ciliation, wage agreements, or strikes, not in conflict with laws of State or
country; and to promote the interest and welfare of its members and their
dependents.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture of sheet glass of any description, up
to but not including the cutting process.
G overnm en t .—1. General officers consist of general president, secretarytreasurer, executive board, and wage committees, elected for a term of 2 years.
“The general president shall be the chief executive officer.” The executive
board, which has general authority and supervision, consists of five members,
one to represent each of four territorial divisions, and one to represent the
entire membership.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution imposed by general constitution.
3. Initiative, referendum, and recall. No convention.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—All persons except cutters employed in
sheet-glass factories are eligible. Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Wage scales and working agreements
negotiated by the wages committees, of which the general president is an ex
officio member, for each department. For purposes of wage negotiations the
industry is divided into a plate-glass department and a window-glass depart
ment, which are further divided into processes (Libby-Owens-Ford, Fourcault,
etc.). Only members working in a given process may vote in the election of
wage committeemen for that process.
The wage committee shall adjust wages and rules for working. They shall
meet in conference at the call of the general president, and in no case shall
they confer with manufacturers without full representation of the committee.
The wage committee shall have full authority to settle the wages for the de
partment which they represent. An agreement must be concurred in by the
entire wage committee to be valid and binding.
B e n e f it s .—None.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Flat Glass Worker.
CLAY, GLASS, AND STONE
121
H eadquarters.—11 East Gay Street, Columbus, Ohio.
O rg a niza tio n 1.—Local unions only: Arkansas, 1; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 2;
Louisiana, 1; Ohio, 3; Oklahoma, 2; Pennsylvania, 7; West Virginia, 6.
Total, 23.
M
.—12,000.
e m b e r s h ip
reported
Glass Workers’ Union of North America, American Flint
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Pittsburgh, Pa., July 1, 1878. Flint-glass workers
were among the first to organize assemblies under the Knights of
Labor, but withdrew in 1878 and organized a craft union.
O b je c t s .—The object of this order shall be the elevation of the position of its
members for maintenance of the best interests of the order, and all things
pertaining to the business in which all the members under its jurisdiction may
be involved.
T erritorial j u r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture of tableware, bar and hotel ware,
illuminating wares, electric bulbs, clinical thermometers, handblown automobile
lenses, lamp working, mold making, cutting, and engraving.
G o vernm en t .—1. Administrative officers: President, vice president, secretarytreasurer, assistant secretary-treasurer. “The position of the president shall be
that of an executive * * * and he shall have general superintendence of
the order.”
Executive board, composed of 58 members, representing all branches of the
trade and the various sections of the country, acts as an advisory board to the
president.
2. Local unions: “A local union shall have full power to adopt such bylaws
or rules as may be deemed necessary, provided they are not in conflict with this
constitution.” Local bylaws and rules must be approved by the national
president.
3. Convention: Meets annually. “The convention alone possesses power and
authority to amend or repeal the fundamental or general laws and regulations of
the union and fix the salaries of its officers.” General officers elected by
referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“Any workman who is connected with the
trade represented by this union, whether he is a blower, presser, finisher, foot
finisher, mold blower, gatherer, mold maker, cutter, engraver, or lamp worker,
and not under the age of 18 years, may become a member of this union, provid
ing said workman be a person of sober and industrious habits.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“No apprentices shall be taken into the union
until the expiration of their term of apprenticeship, unless for good and suffi
cient reasons.
“If any apprentice quits or leaves his place, he shall not be allowed to work
in any other shop. Should the firm discharge him, they shall not put on
another apprentice until the expiration of his term of apprenticeship.
“In case of any manufacturer retiring, suspending, or otherwise stopping the
operation of his business, the national president shall have power to grant the
apprentices a card, providing they have worked 2 years or more at the trade.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—National agreements covering the in
dustry are negotiated annually by representatives of the union and the organ*
122
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
ized manufacturers. There are 15 departments in the industry, and agreements
covering each department are made by representatives of that department.
B e n e f it s .—Strike, sick, and death.
O ff ic ia l organ .—The American Flint.
H ea dq ua rters .— Corner Huron and Jefferson Streets, Toledo, Ohio.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: United states—Arkansas 1 ; California, 2 ;
Illinois, 5; Indiana, 13; Maryland, 5; Massachusetts, 3; Minnesota, 1; New
Jersey, 9; New York, 5; Ohio, 21; Oklahoma, 2; Pennsylvania, 28; West
Virginia, 31. Canada—Alberta, 1; Ontario, 1; Quebec, 1. Total, 129.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—6,223.
Pavers, Rammermen, Flaggers, Bridge and Stone Curb Setters,
International Union of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized August 28, 1905.
O b je c t s .—“We declare to the world that our aims are: First, to establish
an international union of pavers, rammermen, asphalt workers, mastic-asphalt
workers, asphalt-block, brick, iron-slag, and wood-block pavers, flaggers, bridge
and stone curb setters, by which we may more closely combine the street
building industry within our jurisdiction; second, to protect our industrial
interests by close mutual intercourse; third, to abolish the 10-hour working
system, and also the subcontract system, and to establish a new schedule or
system in vogue by the general government; fourth, to persuade employers to
agree to arbitrate all differences which may rise between them and their em
ployees, in order that the bonds of sympathy between them may be strengthened
and that strikes may be avoided; to secure to its members the full enjoyment
of the profits of their labor, sufficient leisure in which to develop their intellec
tual, moral, and social faculties by association; in a word, to enable them to
share in the gains and honors of advancing civilization.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .-—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—“All paving and ramming of streets, highways, road
ways, and alleys, and repairs of the same and other places where the laying
of granite, cobblestone, bluestone, asphalt block, sheet asphalt, wood block,
brick, bitulithic, curb, bridge, and flag and mastic asphalt, and other materials
used for surface finishing of streets, etc.”
G o vernm en t .—1. “The government and management of the international
union shall be vested in the executive board”, composed of president, eight
vice presidents, general secretary, and treasurer. The president is the chief
organizer.
2. District council, composed of three or more locals in a locality, “shall
be the tribunal on all trade matters in said locality, and all local unions
affiliated shall be required to conform to all laws and mandates of said body,
and all business transacted in any such district council shall be mandatory on
all local unions affiliated therewith.”
3. Local unions: Subordinate; chartered and grouped according to class
of work performed by members.
4. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person engaged in work covered by
jurisdiction is eligible to membership. Men employed as foremen are admitted
if they are under civil service.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
CLAY, GLASS, AND STONE
123
M ethod of nego tiating a g r ee m e n ts .—No definite method.
B e n e f it s .—Strike.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea dquarters .—819 Third Avenue, New York City.
O r g a n iza tio n .— Local unions: California, 3 ; Illinois, 6 ; Kentucky, 3 ;
Maine,
2; Maryland, 2; Massachusetts, 2; Missouri, 6; New Jersey, 3; New York, 40;
Ohio, 8; Pennsylvania, S'; Rhode Island, 1; Wisconsin, 3. Total, 82.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—No report. On the basis of voting strength in Amer
ican Federation of Labor, 2,000.
Paving Cutters’ Union of the United States of America and
Canada, International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Lithonia, Ga., in 1901. The first national organiza
tion of paving cutters was formed at Baltimore, Md., in 1887, by
representatives from local unions in all the important centers of the
industry. By 1892 the trade was thoroughly organized. However,
an extensive lock-out throughout New England in 1892 proved dis
astrous, and being followed by the panic of 1893, wrecked the union.
Reorganization was not attempted until 8 years later. Meeting in
Lithonia, Ga., in 1901, the paving-cutters’ unions then existing as
directly affiliated American Federation of Labor locals organized the
present International Paving Cutters’ Union.
O b je c t s .—“The objects of this union are to protect our trade from dangers
surrounding it, and by mutual effort to place ourselves on a foundation
sufficiently strong to prevent further encroachment on our calling. We propose
to encourage a higher standard, to cultivate a feeling of friendship among our
members, to assist each other to secure employment, to reduce the hours of
labor, and to secure adequate pay for our work: * * * to endeavor to
bring about the amalgamation of the trades engaged in the stone industry and
to secure legislation in the interest of the working masses.”
T erritorial j u r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—“It is hereby declared that the Paving Cutters’ Union of
the United States of America and Canada have sole jurisdiction over the
cutting of stone paving blocks, which includes: Flanged, beveled, and all stone
blocks used in courts, alleys, yards, or streets for paving; also stone blocks and
rough ashlar used for building purposes on which paving-cutters’ tools are
used.”
G o v er n m en t .—1. “The government and management of this union shall be
vested in a board of seven directors”, one of whom is the international president,
the other six being representatives elected by each of the six districts. The
president is the administrative and executive head, elected by referendum of
the whole membership, and is the only full-time salaried official.
2. Local unions: “Branches”, largely autonomous, but under the direction of
the board members of their respective districts.
3. Initiative and referendum: International business referred to branches for
action; constitutional amendments either by referendum or by a committee
elected for that purpose. No convention.
124
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“Each branch shall be the judge of the
qualifications of all applicants for membership.’,
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“No apprentice shall be less than 16 years of
age.” Two-year term.
“Any member in good standing may employ an apprentice, but must first
obtain the sanction of his branch.”
M ethod of nego tiating a g r ee m e n ts .—A regional agreement between the inter
national union and the Granite Paving Block Manufacturers’ Association covers
practically all of the industry in New England. Elsewhere agreements are
negotiated locally.
B e n e f it s .—Death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Paving Cutters’ Journal.
H eadq ua rters .—Rockport, Mass.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Territorial districts:
District no. 1. Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island,
and Connecticut.
District no. 2. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Michigan.
District no. 3. Canada east of British Columbia.
District no. 4. Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia, North
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio,
Indiana, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
District no. 5. Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa,
Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
District no. 6. Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah,
Idaho, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and California.
Local unions: United States—California, 1; Connecticut, 2; Delaware, 1;
Georgia, 3; Maine, 10; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 4; Minnesota, 2; Missouri,
3; New Hampshire, 6; New Jersey, 2; New York, 3; North Carolina, 2; Pennsyl
vania, 7; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 1; Wisconsin, 3. Canada—New
Brunswick, 1; Ontario, 1; Quebec, 4. Total, 58.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—2,200.
Potters, National Brotherhood of Operative
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at East Liverpool, Ohio, December 29, 1890.
Objects.—“For the purpose of mutual protection, elevation, and relief of
operative potters and their families, and for the further purpose of cooperation
in any and all matters affecting the interests of their crafts.”
T erritorial ju r isd ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The pottery industry.
G o vernm en t .—1. Executive board composed of president, seven vice presi
dents, and secretary-treasurer.
Western general-ware standing committee consisting of national secretarytreasurer and two members appointed by the president.
Eastern general-ware standing committee consisting of first vice president and
two members appointed by the president.
The president is the administrative head of the organization. Executive board
acts in an advisory capacity.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution and general working rules dic
tated by national organization; but locals “shall have full power to adopt such
CLAY, GLASS, AND STONE
125
bylaws and rules as may be deemed necessary, provided tbey are not in conflict
with the constitution of the national union.”
3. Convention: Held annually. “The convention shall have power and au
thority to make or repeal any laws deemed necessary.” General officers elected
by referendum. Legislation also by initiative and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s fob m e m b e r s h ip .—“All persons, male and female, who are
connected with any of the branches of the trade represented in the National
Brotherhood of Operative Potters and not under the age of 16 years, may become
members of the order, providing such persons are of sober and industrious
habits.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a t io n s .—Vary with different branches of the trade.
Five years’ apprenticeship required for mold makers, dish makers, pressers,
and casters; 3 years for kilnmen, handlers, dippers, turners, sagger makers,
and packers; 2 years for jigger men.
In the dipping branch one apprentice is allowed for the first journeyman
and one additional for every three journeymen additional.
In the turning branch one apprentice is allowed for the first journeyman, a
second apprentice to four journeymen, and one more for each additional three
journeymen.
Jiggers, 1 apprentice to 5 journeyman or less, 2 to every 10 journeymen, and
1 to every additional 5 journeymen.
Dish makers, one apprentice to each three journeymen or less, one appren
tice to every four journeymen; mold makers, one apprentice to every five
journeymen in the pressing and casting trades.
No journeyman may be discharged to make a place for an apprentice, but
additional apprentices may be put on if competent journeymen cannot be
obtained.
Before any apprentice is started in the trade, even within the ratio estab
lished by the agreement, the employer shall make application to the head
quarters of the organization for a competent journeyman. If such journey
man is not supplied within 24 hours the employer may put on an apprentice,
if within the established ratio for that trade.
M eth o d of neg o tiatin g ag r ee m e n ts .—Universal agreement negotiated by the
officers of the national brotherhood and the manufacturers’ association. Wage
scales and price lists determined by national convention.
B e n e f it s .—Strike, death, tuberculosis treatment; legal aid in case of serious
accident.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Potters’ Herald (weekly).
H ea dq ua rters .—East Liverpool, Ohio.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only, organized by separate branches, or mixed:
California, 2; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 3; Maryland, 2; Minnesota, 1; New Jersey,
10; New York, 2; Ohio, 48; Pennsylvania, 7; Tennessee, 1; Virginia, 1; West
Virginia, 7. Total, 85.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—11,000.
Stone Cutters’ Association of North America, Journeymen
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized December 5, 1887. Craft unions of stonecutters were
among the earliest established in the United States, but the organiza
tion as it exists today was launched on December 5, 1887, at a con
vention held in Chicago, 111., attended by representatives from 20
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HANDBOOK OE AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
widely scattered cities. The stonecutters were the first craft to ob
tain a universal 8-hour day, which was accomplished by 1904. Up
to 1907 the Journeymen Stone Cutters5Association had been an inde
pendent organization, but it affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor in that year.
Two rival organizations of stonecutters existed in New York
City—the New York Stone Cutters5 Society and the Architectural
Sculptors and Carvers5 Association of New York. In 1915 both
these organizations merged with the Journeymen Stone Cutters,
which thus became the only organization in the trade, with juris
diction over carvers as well as cutters.
The official organ of the association has been in continuous publi
cation since 1888.
Objects.—“The objects of this association are to protect the trade from the
dangers surrounding it and by cooperative effort to place ourselves on a foun
dation sufficiently strong to prevent further encroachment. We propose to
maintain an apprentice system, to encourage a higher standard of skill, and to
cultivate a feeling of friendship among the men of our craft.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—“The cutting, dressing, carving, fitting, picking out of
all stone for position on the wall, drilling and patching of all stone, marble,
Caen stone, and artificial stone, exterior and interior, in or about a building,
irrespective of any finish that may be specified; the trimming and rubbing
down of all stone and artificial stone where stonecutters* tools, carborundum,
emery, or coarse sandstone is used; the molding of all artificial stone and the
cutting of terra cotta in shops; all reinforced concrete, concrete cement blocks,
or artificial stone dressed or cut with stonecutters’ tools, bushhammer, and
patent hammer; this classification to cover all stonecutting done in quarries,
shops, or buildings, and in the construction of bridges, culverts, manholes,
archways, etc., and the cutting of street curbings and all rock-faced stone
cutting.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General officers are president, vice president, general secre
tary-treasurer, and an executive board of five elected members, one from each
district. They are the executive and administrative heads of the organization.
“All local, State, and provincial conferences shall be subordinate to and abide
by the rulings of officers of the association.”
2. State, provincial, and district conferences: Formed from two-thirds or
more of the locals in their respective territories, and “shall have power to make
laws to govern themselves * * * so long as such laws do not conflict with
the constitution and bylaws of the association.”
3. Local unions: “All local unions shall have the right to establish their own
local laws, provided they do not conflict with the constitution.”
4. Convention: Held triennially, enacts general legislation. Election of gen
eral officers by referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Journeymen stone cutters and carvers, bluestone cutters and carvers, marble cutters and carvers, bridge and curb cutters,
tool sharpeners and grinders, and all who operate stone, bluestone, marble, and
artificial stonecutting and sawing machinery, and all molders in artificial stone
plants, and all who are engaged in the fabrication of stone, bluestone, or arti
ficial stone, who are citizens of the United States or Canada or who have
CLAY, GLASS, AND STONE
127
declared citizenship intentions are eligible to membership, after demonstrating
ability by actual work performed. “Planermen and all machinemen, including
all men operating lathes or carborundum machinery used in the fabrication of
all materials over which we claim jurisdiction, may become members. * * *
Molders of cast or artificial stone will be taken in under a separate charter.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip reg u l a tio n s .—“No applicant under the age of 16 years or
over 20 shall be allowed to apprentice himself to the trade. All apprentices to
the stonecutting industry shall serve a term of 4 years and shall comply with
all the rules and regulations governing journeymen.
“One apprentice will be allowed to every 5 men in a shop; 2 apprentices to
15 men; but in no case shall there be more than 3 apprentices in any one shop.
“Locals shall stipulate the rate of wages apprentices under their jurisdiction
shall receive each year.
“The employer shall provide all tools for apprentices until said apprentices
become journeymen. Apprentices are not to use pneumatic machines.”
M ethod of neg otiating a g r eem ents .—Negotiated by local unions with local
employers, generally individually, but occasionally in association.
Constitutional prohibitions.—“This association strictly prohibits piece work
and subcontracting of stone cutting or carving * * *. Any member taking
a contract shall be compelled to take out an employer’s card. Employers shall
not work at cutting or carving unless they have two or more members of the
association employed. * * * This association does not permit its members
to do any carving unless they receive carver’s wages. Carvers shall receive at
least $2 per day more than journeymen cutters. * * * No member of this
association shall be allowed to work on any material that is fabricated in a
prison. * * * No member of this association shall be permitted to make
time contracts with employers. No member of this association is to cut stone
where lines are drawn on by apprentices or nonmembers.”
B e n e f it s .—Strike and lock-out; death.
O ffic ia l organ .—The Stone Cutters’ Journal.
H eadquarters .—Insurance Building, Indianapolis, Ind.
O rg a n iza tio n .—Districts:
District no. 1: California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Wash
ington, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota,
Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Oregon, Missouri, Kentucky, New Mexico.
District no. 2: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan.
District no. 3: Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Okla
homa, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, District of Columbia, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont, New
Hampshire, Maine.
District no. 4: New Jersey, New York.
District no. 5: Dominion of Canada.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 1; Arkansas, 1; California, 2; Colo
rado, 2; Connecticut, 4; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 2; Georgia, 1; Idaho,
1; Illinois, 9; Indiana, 11; Iowa, 4; Kansas, 6; Kentucky, 3; Louisiana, 1;
Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 3; Michigan, 3; Minnesota, 4; Missouri, 4; Ne
braska, 1; New Jersey, 2; New York, 11; Ohio, 14; Oklahoma, 2; Oregon, 1;
Pennsylvania, 9; Rhode Island, 1; Tennessee, 4; Texas, 5; Utah, 1; Virginia, 1;
Washington, 1; West Virginia, 3; Wisconsin, 4; Wyoming, 1. Canada—Alberta,
2; British Columbia, 2; Manitoba, 1; Ontario, 6; Quebec, 3; Saskatchewan, 1.
Total, 141.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—5,700.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
CLOTHING TRADES
The outstanding developments in the clothing industry are the
notable increase in membership after the adoption of the N. I. R. A.,
particularly in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union,
and the affiliation in 1934 of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers
with the American Federation of Labor. Thus, after 20 years of
independence, one of the largest organizations in the clothing in
dustry and the largest independent union dual to an existing affili
ated union changed its policy. It neither merged with nor
absorbed the United Garment Workers, the affiliated union in the
same jurisdiction. Instead, jurisdictional and functional boundaries
were set which leave both organizations free within their allotted
fields. These boundaries merely recognized the situation actually
existing—that is, that the Amalgamated Clothing Workers domi
nated the manufacture of men’s suits, overcoats, and heavy wear
in general, while the United Garment Workers’ field was confined
almost entirely to shops making overalls, work shirts, etc., with
which they had union-label agreements. The Amalgamated took
over the neckwear workers who had previously been organized into
directly affiliated locals, and is now extending its organizing activi
ties into shirt manufacture.
With the dissolution of the Needle Trades Workers’ Industrial
Union, the Trade Union Unity League group, dual unionism is prac
tically eradicated nationally, although it still exists locally to some
extent.
The merger of the two affiliated organizations in the hat and cap
industry eliminated a condition of split jurisdiction which had ex
isted within the American Federation of Labor for many years.
These two organizations—the United Hatters of America and the
Cloth Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers International Union—have
become the United Hatters, Cap and Millinery Workers’ Interna
tional Union, with jurisdiction over the entire industry. Each
branch, however, retains its autonomy, and the amalgamation is in
effect a federation rather than a merger.
Among the shoe workers dualism is more pronounced nationally
now than in 1929. Whereas the earlier bulletin listed two national
organizations in that field, there are now three, with the establish
ment in 1934 of the United Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union. This
group absorbed some of the scattered local groups of shoe workers,
as well as the Shoe and Leather Workers’ Industrial Union (the Trade
Union Unity League group) and part of the Shoe Workers’ Pro
tective Union. In addition, disaffected locals of the Boot and Shoe
Workers’ Union in the Brockton, Mass., district seceded from the
parent body in 1933 and organized the Brotherhood of Shoe and Al-
CLOTHING TRADES
129
lied Craftsmen. This brought about the discharge of those members
of the new brotherhood who were employed in shops having unionshop agreements with the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union, the organ
ization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. This
caused a strike in the Brockton district which ended in recognition of
the Brotherhood of Shoe and Allied Craftsmen, and the virtual elim
ination of the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union from Brockton, the
center of the men’s shoe industry. The brotherhood reports a mem
bership of 13,000 in 16 craft locals in Brockton, and 1 branch local of
mixed crafts in Worcester. While it is regarded as a local union and
is therefore not treated in detail in the handbook, it is of sufficient
significance to be noted among recent developments.
Organizations in the clothing trades are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Boot and Shoe Workers* Union.
Clothing Workers of America, Amalgamated.
Fur Workers’ Union of the United States and Canada, International.
Garment Workers of America, United.
Garment Workers’ Union, International Ladies’.
Glove Workers’ Union of America, International
Hatters’, Cap, and Millinery Workers’ International Union, United.
Tailors’ Union of America, Journeymen.
Independent organizations:
Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union, United.
Shoe Workers’ Protective Union.
B oot and Shoe W orkers’ Union
Affiiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Boston, Mass., April 10,1895. The first union of shoe
workers to achieve any degree of permanency was the Federal Society
of Journeymen Cordwainers, which originated in Philadelphia in
1794 and figured in the famous conspiracy trial of 1806. The initial
step toward-national organization occurred in October 1835, when a
convention was held in New York City which founded the National
Cooperative Association of Journeymen Cordwainers. This organi
zation, of course, was composed of skilled hand workers.
The introduction of shoemaking machinery brought about the for
mation of the Knights of St. Crispin, a national organization which
undertook to regulate the use of machinery. This organization
flourished remarkably for several years and instituted in 1868 the
Daughters of St. Crispin, the first national trade organization of
women in the country. One of its organizing slogans was “Equal
pay for equal help.” The decline of the Knights of St. Crispin and
the rise of the Knights of Labor were coincidental, and the shoe
workers became a strong factor in the Knights of Labor. By taking
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79315°— 36
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
women into membership in their Knights of Labor assemblies they
forced a change in the constitution of the Order of the Knights of
Labor to include women workers on the same basis as men.
Local and district assemblies within the Knights of Labor multi
plied so greatly that the shoe workers were granted the right to form
a national trade assembly. This was accomplished in 1884. Not all
the shoe-workers5 locals in the Knights of Labor joined the National
Trade Assembly of Shoe Workers, however. In the conflict with the
order which followed an attempt to force them to do so, the National
Trade Assembly withdrew from the Knights of Labor and formed
the Boot and Shoe Workers’ International Union, under the banner
of the American Federation of Labor.
In the American Federation of Labor at the time there was another
union of shoe workers, founded in Lynn in 1879, known as the Lasters5
Protective Union. In 1895 the two old organizations, together with
the local organization which had remained with the Knights of Labor
and eight entirely independent local unions, met in Boston and
amalgamated under the name of the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union.
The new organization was at once chartered by the American Federa
tion of Labor as an affiliated union.
O b je c t s .—“The purpose of this organization is to organize all shoe workers
in North America into one trade-union, affiliated with the legitimate and recog
nized trade-union movement of the United States, Canada, and the world. We
declare against all divided or opposition organizations of wage earners of the
same craft as opposed to true interests of labor and destructive of success to
the labor cause. We invite all shoe workers to unite with us to the end that
we may more effectively regulate wages and conditions of employment; control
apprentices; reduce the hours of labor; abolish convict contract labor; prohibit
the employment of children under the age of 16; promote the use of our union
stamp and all other union labels; assist and support all other legitimate tradeunions to the full extent of our power; and to take such further action in pro
moting the interests of shoe workers or other wage earners as may seem desir
able from time to time, keeping pace with industrial development.”
T erritorial j u r is d ic t io n .—United States, Canada, and Newfoundland.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The boot and shoe industry.
G o v er n m en t .—1. “The government of all local unions and members shall be
vested in the general union as the supreme head, to which all matters of
general importance shall be referred, and whose decisions shall be final.
“The administrative power of the general union when not in session in con
vention shall be vested in the general officers” and the general executive board.
The general officers are president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer; the
general executive board is composed of the three officers named and eight
members elected at large.
2. Local unions: “Each local union shall have power to adopt bylaws gov
erning matters of local usage, provided such bylaws have been approved by the
general executive board.”
3. Convention: Biennial, unless otherwise ordered by general vote of mem
bership ; elects general officers and legislates for organization. Amend
ments to Constitution may be made either by convention or by referendum.
CLOTHING TRADES
131
Q u a l if ic a t io n s fob m e m b e r s h ip .—Any male or female boot or shoe worker
over 16 years of age is eligible to membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“Any member of the boot and shoe workers’
union wishing to learn a particular part of the trade outside the jurisdiction of
his own local union shall make application to his local executive board to inter
cede in his behalf with the local executive board having jurisdiction over the
part of the trade to be acquired * * *. In no case shall an application be
considered unless the member has been 1 year in good standing.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Union-label agreements negotiated by
international officers, approved by local unions; wage contracts made by locals
with individual firms.
B e n e f it s .—Strike; victimization; out-of-work (local); death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Shoe Workers’ Journal.
H ea dq ua rters .—246 Summer Street, Boston, Mass.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Joint councils: Chicago, 111.; Brockton and Whitman, Mass.;
St. Paul, Minn.; St. Louis, Mo.; Rochester, N. Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and
Montreal, Canada.
Local unions; United States—Alabama, 8; California, 5; Connecticut, 2;
Illinois, 18; Indiana, 3; Kentucky, 2; Maine, 2; Massachusetts, 22; Minnesota,
3; Missouri, 14; New Hampshire, 4; New York, 15; Ohio, 12; Pennsylvania, 3;
Tennessee, 2; Virginia, 2; Washington, 2; West Virginia, 3; Wisconsin, 16.
Canada.—British Columbia, 1; Ontario, 11; Quebec, 1. Total, 146.
M e m b e r s h ip
reported .— 45,000.
Clothing W orkers of Am erica, A m algam ated
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in October 1914 at Nashville, Tenn. The Amalgamated
Clothing Workers of America grew out of a split in the United Gar
ment Workers of America at the convention of that organization held
in 1914 at Nashville. When the convention met a considerable number
of delegates were disfranchised and denied seats on the floor. They
withdrew to another hall in the same city and held a rump convention,
electing officers and transacting business in the name of the United
Garment Workers.
Almost immediately after the close of the Nashville conventions a
lock-out occurred in Baltimore in one of the largest garment shops in
the country. Still acting as officers of the United Garment Workers,
the general executive board of the seceding faction carried the Balti
more fight to a successful conclusion, which resulted in a greatly
increased membership under the secession banner.
Litigation on the part of the original organization against the use
of the name “United Garment Workers of America” by the seceders
led to the adoption at a special convention held in New York City in
December 1914 of the name “Amalgamated Clothing Workers of
America” and complete dissociation from the parent body. It func
tioned as an independent industrial union until October 1933, when,
through an agreement with the United Garment Workers which lim-
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
ited the field of operations of both organizations, it received a charter
from the American Federation of Labor.
Objects.—“To improve and maintain conditions of labor among the men’s
clothing workers.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture of men’s and boys’ ready-to-wear
clothing, leather garments, shirts, and neckwear.
G overnm en t .—1. “All legislative powers shall be reserved to the Amalgamated
Clothing Workers of America, duly convened in session (except those allowed
under the initiative and referendum) ; its executive and judicial powers when
not in session shall be vested in the general executive board.”
General executive board consists of president, secretary-treasurer, and 15
elected members.
2. Joint board: Composed of the locals in a city or locality where two or more
local unions exist; “shall transact all such business for the local unions as may
be provided in its bylaws.”
3. Local union: “Each local union may make its own bylaws, provided they
do not conflict with the constitution or bylaws of the organization.”
4. Convention: Meets biennially; enacts legislation and nominates general
officers. Election of officers and amendments to constitution by referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person over the age of 16 employed in
the clothing industry, except foremen and forewomen, is eligible to membership.
Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local joint boards or local
unions with local employers, either individually or in association.
Terms of agreements vary greatly, but all provide machinery for mediation or
arbitration of differences involving interpretation of agreements or awards
through the “impartial chairman” system, which gives a disinterested third
party the authority to interpret agreements.
Supplementary agreement entered into by the clothing manufacturers of
Chicago, Rochester, and New York, and the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of
America provides unemployment insurance in those cities.
B e n e f it s .—Local only; sick and death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Advance.
H ea dquarters . 15 Union Square, New York, N. Y.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Joint boards: Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Buffalo, N. Y .;
capitol district joint board, Albany, N. Y.; Chicago, 111.; Cleveland, Ohio, Cin
cinnati, Ohio; Connecticut (headquarters, New Haven); Montreal, Canada;
Milwaukee, W is.; New York, N. Y.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Rochester, N. Y .; shirtmakers (New York) ; Toronto, Canada; Twin City, Minn.; Pennsylvania joint
board (headquarters, Pottsville, Pa.).
Local unions.—Shop is the unit of organization under supervision of shop
committee and shop chairman; local unions are formed on basis either of
occupation (cutters, tailors, pressers, etc.) or nationality and language, but in
small centers all members belong to same local union; United States—Cali
fornia, 2; Colorado, 1; Connecticut, 2; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 13; Indiana, 2;
Iowa, 2; Kentucky, 1; Maine, 1; Maryland, 9; Massachusetts, 14; Minnesota, 4;
New Jersey, 7; New York, 50; North Carolina, 1; Ohio, 9; Oregon, 1; Penn
sylvania, 28; Tennessee, 1 ; Virginia, 2; Wisconsin, 4 ; Canada—Ontario, 8 ;
Quebec, 6. Total, 171.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—125,000.
CLOTHING TRADES
133
F ur W orkers’ U nion of the U nited States and Canada,
International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City, June 16, 1913.
O b je c t s .—“For the purpose of promoting unity of sentiment and action among
those employed at the fur craft in the United States and Canada, and joining
them closely together for mutual protection, we shall endeavor to further our
interests and promote the following: To thoroughly organize and elevate the
fur craft; to establish a perfect apprenticeship system; to establish uniform
wages for the same class of work regardless of sex; to reduce the hours of
labor; to substitute arbitration for strikes wherever it is possible to do so;
to seek the abolition of sweatshop and child labor; to promote the use of the
union label as the sole guaranty of union-made furs; to support the union label
of all other bona-fide trade-unions; and assist all trade-unions to the full
extent of our power/’
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade jtjbisd ictio n .—“The international union shall have jurisdiction over
the following branches of the fur trade: Fur cutters, fur squarers, fur opera
tors, fur nailers, fur finishers and liners, fur ironers and examiners, fur beaters
and cleaners, fur pointers, fur-glove makers, fur-cap makers, fur-band makers,
fur-persian makers, fur-skull makers, fur-rug makers, fur-muff-bed makers, fur
head and tail makers, fur trimmings and fur pieces, fur garments of all de
scriptions, fur hand dressers, fur hand shavers, fur machine shavers, fur
machine fleshers, fur floor workers, fur dyers, fur hand and machine pickers and
shearers, fur scrapers, fur combers, fur dyeing of all descriptions; hatters’ fur
workers, sheepskin tanners, sheepskin dyers, feather-boa workers.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. “Government of all local unions and members shall be
vested in this general union as the supreme head, to which all matters of
general importance shall be referred and whose decisions shall be final. The
administrative powers when not in session in convention shall be vested in
the general executive board.”
General executive board composed of general president, general secretarytreasurer, and 11 vice presidents.
2. Local unions: “Each local union shall have power to frame its own
local bylaws, which must in no way conflict with the constitution of the
international/’
3. Convention: Meets biennially; elects general officers and legislates for
organization.
Contitutional amendments by convention or by initiative and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“Any person to be admitted to membership
in a local union must be a fur worker, competent to command the minimum
wage.” Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“Any local union may take into membership
apprentices upon temporary union cards issued for not less than 6 months
* * * We favor the adoption of a legal apprenticeship system, the parents
binding the boy to remain at least 3 years, and the employer binding himself
on his part to teach the fur-working trade, but such employer shall not have
more than 1 apprentice for every 10 journeymen in his employ. Not more
than three apprentices shall be allowed in any shop.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions or local
joint boards, generally with manufacturers’ association where there is more
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
than one employer. General policies embodied in agreements are determined
by the international.
B e n e f it s .—Strike and lock-out; funeral.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H eadquarters , —9 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, N. Y.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Joint boards or councils; New York joint council; Twin
Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul); joint board of Montreal; joint board
of Toronto.
Local unions (separated in branches in New York City; otherwise mixed) :
United States—California, 1; District of Columbia, 1; Illinois, 1; Maryland,
1; Minnesota, 3; Missouri, 1; New Jersey, 4; New York, 11. Canada—Ontario,
3; Quebec, 3. Total, 29.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—12,000.
Garment Workers of America, United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City on April 10, 1891. Prior to 1891
garment workers were variously organized under the Knights of
Labor, in directly affiliated American Federation of Labor local unions
and in independent groups not identified with either movement. The
American Federation of Labor locals and some of the independents
came together in convention in New York City on April 10,1891, and
organized into the United Garment Workers of America. The new
union immediately became affiliated with the Ajnerican Federation
of Labor.
Two years later an extensive lock-out of the cutter members of the
union was undertaken by the clothing manufacturers of New York
and vicinity. Cutters organized in Knights of Labor assemblies were
offered the jobs of the locked-out union men. Instead of accepting,
however, the Knights of Labor men joined the new craft union.
Shortly afterward the tailors in the Knights of Labor took similar
action.
With the rise of special-order work in garment factories a new
organization sprang up, beginning in Chicago, known as the Special
Order Clothingmakers’ Union. After an independent existence of 2
years it was chartered by the American Federation of Labor as an
affiliated national union in 1902. The United Garment Workers
protested the infringement of jurisdiction; and the convention of the
American Federation of Labor, upholding the United Garment Work
ers, ordered amalgamation of the clothing unions. This was accom
plished in 1903 by agreement between the two unions.
Shirt and collar makers had been since 1900 organized under the
Shirt Waist and Laundry Workers’ International Union. In 1909
jurisdictional lines were readjusted, and the shirt workers in that
union were transferred to the United Garment Workers.
CLOTHING TRADES
135
Discord within the United Garment Workers5 ranks culminated in
a split during the convention of 1914. A considerable number of
delegates withdrew and, holding a rump convention, organized the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers.
O b je c t .—Not stated.
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture of men’s, boys’, and children’s readyto-wear clothing, special-order made-to-measure clothing, men’s rainproof cloth
ing, bathrobes, men’s bathing suits, all kinds of aprons and white goods, over
alls, trousers, rompers, play suits, work shirts, dress shirts, nainsook and linen
underwear, collars, and cuffs.
G overnm en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president, who shall
be chief organizer), auditor, and four other elected members, exercises “all
judicial and executive powers of the organization when not in session” in con
vention. When the general executive board is not in session the president
“is the chief executive officer with full power as such”, subject to the approval
of the general executive board and general convention.
2. District councils: Composed of three or more local unions in a city or
locality. “District councils shall transact business pertaining to the welfare of
the various local unions, such as organizing, label propaganda, and adjust all
differences before same are referred to the general executive board.”
3. Local unions: Local unions have power to enact bylaws for local govern
ment, subject to the approval of the general executive board.
4. Convention: Held every 5 years, enacts legislation and elects general
officers. Constitutional amendments by convention and referendum or by
initiative and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“Candidates, male or female, to be admit
ted to membership in a local union * * * shall be not less than 16 years
of age”, shall be actually engaged in some branch of the garment-making indus
try covered by United Garment Workers’ jurisdiction, and shall not be “a
member of any other organization of the trade.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—One apprentice allowed in each factory for
the first cutter and one additional apprentice for every additional three cutters.
Three years’ apprenticeship in the cutting branch.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—An agreement covering about 25 per
cent of the membership is made annually by a committee of the United Gar
ment Workers’ general office and a committee of the Union Made Garment
Manufacturers’ Association. This contract calls for the union label, sets prices,
hours, and shop conditions, and provides for adjustment of grievances.
Other agreements are negotiated locally, generally with individual employers,
and provide for price committees, which set piece rates.
B e n e f it s .—Strike and victimization; death; sick (by locals).
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Garment Worker.
H eadq ua rters .—Bible House, New York City.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions, usually organized on basis of craft, as tailors
and cutters; or product, as shirts, overalls, etc.: United States —Alabama, 3;
California, 7; Colorado, 2; Delaware, 1 ; District of Columbia, 1 ; Georgia, 8;
Illinois, 12; Indiana, 8; Iowa, 3; Kansas, 1 ; Kentucky, 4; Louisiana, 1 ; Mary
land, 2; Massachusetts, 4; Michigan, 6; Minnesota, 2; Mississippi, 1 ; Missouri,
7; Nebraska, 1 ; New Hampshire, 4; New Jersey, 9; New York, 25; North Caro
lina, 3; Ohio, 12; Oklahoma, 1 ; Oregon, 1 ; Pennsylvania, 31; South Carolina, 1 ;
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Tennessee, 1 ; Texas, 8; Utah, 1 ; Vermont, 2; Virginia, 3; Washington, 2 ; West
Virginia, 1 ; Wisconsin, 3. Canada —Alberta, 1 ; Manitoba, 1 ; Ontario, 4. Total,
188.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—37,043.
Garment W orkers’ Union, International Ladies’
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.*
Organized in New York City in 1900. The earliest organization
among workers in the women’s garment trades were shop unions and
a Knights of Labor assembly organized in 1882. Combinations of
the various shop unions were local and sporadic throughout the
eighties, usually under the leadership of the Knights of Labor. In
May 1892 delegates from the organized cloak makers of five cities met
in New York and formed the International Cloak Makers’ Union of
America. This organization, however, was short-lived, and a period
of factional strife and dual unionism divided along national and
political lines followed. As a result of the chaotic conditions thus
produced, many of the organizations became locals of the United
Garment Workers. General strikes in 1894-95 demoralized organiza
tion among the workers in the women’s-garment trades, and for the
next 5 years the only union which retained any vitality was a group
of cloak makers who went by the name of the United Brotherhood
of Cloak Makers of New York. Out of this brotherhood, after a
convention held in New York on June 3, 1900, attended by delegates
from unions of various branches of the industry, grew the Interna
tional Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. This new organization was
immediately chartered by the American Federation of Labor as an
affiliated international union.
Activities of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union,
outside the economic field, include the development of educational
and recreational departments, with active participation in Brookwood
Labor College, and the maintenance of a health center for medical
examination and treatment and of a vacation home.
O b je c t s .—“The object of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union
shall be to obtain and preserve for all workers engaged in the ladies’-garment
industry just and reasonable conditions of work with respect to wages, work
ing hours, and other terms of employment; to secure sanitary surroundings at
their places of work and humane treatment on the part of the employers; to
aid needy workers in the industry; to cultivate friendly relations between them;
and generally to improve their material and intellectual standards. Such ob
jects shall be accomplished through negotiations and collective agreements with
employers; the dissemination of knowledge by means of publications and lec
ture courses; through concerted efforts to organize the unorganized workers
in all branches of the industry; and through all means and methods cus
tomarily employed by organized workers to maintain and better their standards
of living.”
CLOTHING TRADES
137
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r isd ic t io n .—Women’s and children’s garment-making and accessory
trades.
G o vernm en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president, secretarytreasurer, and 21 vice presidents, 3 of whom shall be residents of New York
City, comprises the executive and judicial power of the organization and exer
cises “general supervision.”
2. Joint boards: When two or more locals of each branch of the trade exist
in any one city or locality, joint boards must be formed consisting of an equal
number of delegates from each local. “The main object of the joint board
shall be to attend the complaints of members against employers, to supervise
or control union shops, to organize nonunion shops, and to see to it that harmony
prevails among the local unions affiliated with it. Adjustments by the joint
boards of disputes with employers shall be binding upon the local unions.”
3. Local unions: Subordinate, but “with power to enact and enforce such
local bylaws as may be considered necessary.” “Members of local unions are
primarily members of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union and
subject to its orders, rulings, and decisions.”
4. Convention: Meets biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendment by convention only.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any worker engaged in the industry is
eligible to membership, except foremen, forewomen, and anyone having the
power to hire and discharge. Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of nego tiating a g r ee m e n ts .—Generally negotiated by joint boards
with manufacturers’ associations.
B e n e f it s .—Local unemployment insurance, sick benefit.
O ff ic ia l organ .—Justice, Giustizia, Gerechtigkeit, and Justicia.
H eadquarters .—3 West Sixteenth Street, New York City.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions organized on basis of the different subdivisions
of the trade, such as cloakmakers, dressmakers, designers, embroidery workers,
etc.; in the largest cities these may, in turn, be divided into nationality groups:
United States —California, 8; Connecticut, 8; Georgia, 1 ; Illinois, 13; Indiana,
1 ; Maryland, 3; Massachusetts, 12; Minnesota, 2; Missouri, 11; New Jersey,
18; New York, 40; Ohio, 12; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 17; Texas, 5; Virginia,
1 ; Washington, 2; West Virginia, 1 ; Wisconsin, 2; Puerto Rico, 4. Canada—
Montreal, 5; Toronto, 4. Total, 171. Joint boards and joint councils: 17.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—210,000.
Glove W orkers5 Union of America, International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Washington, D. C., December 17, 1902, by delegates
from a few local trade-unions of kid and heavy-leather glove workers
directly affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. When
chartered as an international organization it was granted jurisdic
tion over wool gloves and mittens, and with the development of the
manufacture of canvas work gloves the field was extended to the
entire industry.
O b je c t s .—“To thoroughly organize our craft; to regulate wages and condi
tions of employment; to establish uniform wages for the same class of work
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
regardless of sex; to control apprentices; to reduce the hours of labor; to
abolish contract and convict labor; to prohibit the employment of children
under 16; to promote the use of the union label as the sole and only guaranty
of union-made gloves.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—The manufacture of gloves and mittens of cloth or
leather.
G o v er n m en t .—1. Executive board, composed of president, secretary-treasurer,
and seven vice presidents, has general supervision and authority.
2. Local unions “shall have privilege of adopting bylaws governing matters
of local usage, provided they do not conflict with international constitution.”
3. Convention: Biennial, enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person not an employer, superintend
ent, foreman, or forewoman who is actually engaged in the occupation of mak
ing gloves or mittens is eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip reg ulatio n s , —Controlled by local unions, insofar as the ap
prentice system obtains.
M ethod of r e g ulatin g a g r e e m e n t s .—Shop and wage agreements are nego
tiated by officers of local unions with local employers, subject to approval of the
international union. Union-label contract is negotiated and signed by the
executive board. Both agreements expire at the same time.
B e n e f it s , —Strike and lock-out (by special assessment).
O f f ic ia l organ .—Monthly Bulletin.
H eadquarters .—Machinists’ Building, Washington, D. C.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Local unions only: Illinois, 3; Minnesota, 1 ; New York, 2;
Wisconsin, 2. Total, 8.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—4,500.
Hatters, Cap, and Millinery W orkers’ International Union,
United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
This international union is an amalgamation of two international
unions, each of which was affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor. The organizations included were the Cloth Hat, Cap, and
Millinery Workers International Union and the United Hatters of
North America. The amalgamation took place at a joint convention
held in New York City on January 19, 1934. The new organization
was chartered by the American Federation of Labor under the pres
ent title.
The United Hatters of North America was organized in 1896. The
earliest organization of hatters in the country was the Hatters’
Union, of Danbury, Conn., organized in 1810. Various unions were
formed in the early half of the nineteenth century, which by 1854
had amalgamated into two international unions, the National Hat
Makers and the International Hat Finishers. In 1896 these con
solidated and became the United Hatters of North America.
The Cloth Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers’ International Union
was organized in New York City in 1901 at an organizing convention
CLOTHING TRADES
139
at which nine independent local unions were represented. It secured
affiliation with the American Federation of Labor the following year.
Extensive organization of the millinery workers began in 1909 and
lasted several years, during which time agreements with organized
employers were secured which materially improved conditions in the
trade. In 1916 the United Hatters of North America protested
against the control of the millinery trade by the United Cloth Hat
and Cap Makers, and 2 years later the dispute resulted in the expul
sion of the cap workers from the American Federation of Labor.
The union continued to function successfully in both the cap and
millinery trades, and in 1923 the United Hatters withdrew their
claim to jurisdiction over the millinery trade by agreement with
the cloth hat and cap makers. This resulted in the reaffili
ation of the cap workers’ organization with the American Federation
of Labor in 1924. A merger of the two organizations to control the
headgear industry had been advocated for several years and was
finally achieved in the amalgamation agreement by which the new
organization was created. As a result of that agreement the Cloth
Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers’ International Union became the
cap and millinery department, and the United Hatters of North
America became the men’s hat department of the new international.
Each department operates under its own constitution, and although
they are largely autonomous, they are governed by the international
constitution which applies to the international as a whole. Power
to issue charters to local unions and to issue and control the union
label is vested exclusively in the international.
O b je c t s .—“The object of this international union shall be to unite in one
organization all workers, men and women, eligible for membership; to secure
and preserve for all workers in the industry * * * higher wages, shorter
hours, just and reasonable conditions of work, and the advancement of their
cultural and general welfare.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The production of men’s and ladies’ headwear, such as
men’s and boys’ felt hats, men’s and boys’ straw and panama hats, felt hat
bodies and hoods, men’s and boys’ sewed hats of all materials and descriptions,
men’s and children’s caps of all materials and descriptions, ladies’ and chil
dren’s hats of all materials and descriptions.
The men’s hat department shall have jurisdiction over all workers engaged in
the making of men’s and boys’ felt, straw, and panama hats and felt-hat bodies
and hoods for men’s, women’s, and children’s hats. The cap and millinery depart
ment shall have jurisdiction over all workers engaged in the making of ladies’
and children’s hats of all materials and descriptions and of men’s and children’s
caps and sewed hats of all materials and descriptions.
G o vernm en t .—1. International executive board, consisting of the interna
tional officers—president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and assistant sec
retary-treasurer—and five members from each department, elected by convention
vote for a period of 4 years. Two of the international officers must be the
department presidents. The international president is the chief executive officer
140
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
in direct charge of all organizing activities; the international secretary is cus
todian of and directly responsible for the union label; the board members com
prise a general executive and administrative body and a trial board.
2. General executive board for each department has exclusive authority over
departmental affairs which do not involve the international union.
3. Local unions: Chartered by the international union but subordinate and
subject to the jurisdiction of their respective departments.
4. Convention: International convention meets quadrennially; elects general
officers. Departmental conventions held biennially; elect departmental officers,
and legislate for their respective departments.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any worker in the jurisdiction is eligible
for membership in the international. The cap and millinery department im
poses no restrictions but excludes from membership those having the power to
hire or discharge. The men’s hat department requires that applicants shall be
21 years of age or over, and must be citizens or applicants for citizenship.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r eg ulatio n s .—Men’s hat department only: “To constitute a
journeyman a boy shall be required to serve a regular apprenticeship of at least
2 consecutive years in a fair shop, and in all cases until he is 21 years of
age. * * * Any boy in order to be eligible to be registered as an apprentice
to learn the hatting trade must be able to speak the English language and also
have a fair practical knowledge of it.
“Apprentices shall be distributed throughout the various departments of a
factory in proportion to the number of men employed in each department.
“All shops under our jurisdiction shall be allowed apprentices in the following
manner: Shops employing 10 men shall be entitled to 1 boy, and 1 boy more for
each additional 10 men. In case of shops having less than 10 men the local
association shall have discretion in the matter and shall register boys or not in
such shops as they think fit.”
M ethod of nego tiating a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated locally.
B e n e f it s .—Jurisdiction retained by the departments which provide strike and
lock-out benefits.
O f f ic ia l organ .— None.
H ea dq ua rters .—245 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only. Cap and millinery department: United
States —Alabama, 1 ; California, 4; Connecticut, 1 ; Georgia, 1 ; Illinois, 5;
Massachusetts, 3; Michigan, 1 ; Minnesota, 2; Missouri, 7; New York, 3; Ohio, 3;
Pennsylvania, 3; Wisconsin, 2. Canada —Ontario, 2; Quebec, 2. Total, 40.
Men’s hat department: California, 2; Connecticut, 9; Illinois, 2; Massa
chusetts, 3; New Jersey, 7; New York City, 6; Pennsylvania, 4; Minnesota, 1.
Total, 34.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—25,000 (cap and millinery department, 18,000; men’s
hat department, 7,000).
Shoe and Leather W orkers’ Union, United
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Boston, Mass., in December 1933. This organization
is an amalgamation of several existing industrial and craft unions,
both national and local. The component organizations were the
National Shoe Workers’ Association, the Shoe Workers’ Protective
Union, the Shoe and Leather Workers’ Industrial Union (affiliated
with the Trade Union Unity League), and the Shoe Workers’ Union
CLOTHING TRADES
141
of Salem, Mass. The amalgamating convention was called as an
effort to consolidate scattered forces and to create one industrial
union in shoe manufacture and allied trades. The merger which was
actually affected included only those listed, as the Boot and Shoe
Workers Union (the only one affiliated with the American Federa
tion of Labor) did not participate. Later a faction of the Shoe
Workers’ Protective Union withdrew from the new amalgamated
organization, and, resuming the title of the old organization, con
tinued to function independently.
O b je c t s .—“The object of the U. S. L. W. U. shall be to obtain and preserve
for all workers engaged in the shoe industry and its component parts just and
reasonable conditions of work with respect to wages, working hours, and other
conditions of employment; to secure sanitary surroundings in their places of
work and humane treatment from their employers; to aid needy workers in the
industry; to cultivate friendly relations between them; and generally to im
prove their material and intellectual standards. Such objects shall be ac
complished through concerted efforts to organize the unorganized workers
in all branches of the industry; through a militant program of strikes; through
negotiations and collective agreements with employers; through the dissemina
tion of knowledge by means of publicity and lecture courses; and through all
other means and methods usually employed by organized workers to maintain
or better their standards of life.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—The footwear industry and allied trades, including the
tanning of shoe leather and the manufacture of shoes and shoe parts of any
material.
Government.—1. General executive board of 21 members elected by popular
vote on a proportional-representation basis, i. e., the New England territory is
represented by 8 members; the Atlantic States territory by 5 members; Middle
West States in which the industry is located by 5 members; and 1 member for
each of 3 branches of manufacture—wood-heel making, rubber, and last or
pattern making. The administrative and executive power of the organization is
vested in this board.
2. General organizer and general secretary-treasurer elected by popular vote.
General organizer has direct charge of all organizing activity and also assists in
the negotiations of wage scales and agreements and the adjustment of grievances
and disputes.
3. Local unions: Subordinate; may adopt bylaws, subject to the approval of
the general executive board. “All members of the local unions are primarily
members of the United Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union and subject to its
orders, rulings, and decisions.”
4. Convention: Held biennially. Initiative, referendum, and recall.
Qualifioations for membership.—Any worker, male or female, above the age
of 16 years who is actually employed in work covered by the jurisdiction is
eligible to membership. No member may hold membership in any other organi
zation in the industry.
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated locally, with the advice and
cooperation of the general organizer.
B enefits.—None.
142
H ANDBOOK OB AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
Official organ.—United Shoe and Leather Worker.
H eadquarters.—120 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass.
Organization.—Local unions (organized on craft basis in some cases, as
cutters, stitchers, lasters, etc.) : Illinois, 1; Maine, 4; Massachusetts, 36; Mis
souri, 1; New Hampshire, 5; New York, 4; Ohio, 4; Pennsylvania, 1. Total, 56.
Membership reported .—30,000.
Shoe Workers* Protective Union
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Haverhill, Mass., in 1901. A group of finishers or
ganized a local union in 1901 and shortly afterwards were joined by
turn workers who seceded from the Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union.
The union remained a local craft body until 1917, when it extended
to other branches of the industry and organized various craft groups
in the Haverhill plants.
A national union called the United Shoe Workers was founded in
1909. By 1913 it had expanded greatly, due largely to the absorption
of several small independent craft locals, among which were a num
ber of unions of cutters and stitchers still organized under the
Knights of Labor.
At a convention held in Haverhill in 1924 the Shoe Workers’ Pro
tective Union and the United Shoe Workers merged into one organi
zation under the title of the former older union.
A third group called the Amalgamated Shoe Workers of America
was organized in 1922 by scattered locals of various crafts in Mas
sachusetts and New York. This group has been gradually absorbed
by the Shoe Workers’ Protective Union. In 1933 the Shoe Workers’
Protective Union participated in the amalgamation convention which
created the United Shoe and Leather Workers’ Union, but later a
substantial faction withdrew and is now continuing as the Shoe
Workers’ Protective Union.
Objects.—“Workers must organize in a labor union democratic in form, un
compromising in principle, and energetic in action. We recognize the necessity
which confronts the shoe workers of organizing into local, national, or prefer
ably one consolidated organization of the entire industry, and we pledge our aid
and assistance to any movement having such object in view which wiU not
prove injurious to ourselves.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
Trade jurisdiction.—The manufacture of shoes “in whole or in part.”
Government.—1. General officers are president and a general council of nine
elected members. The president is the chief executive officer of the union
with wide powers. The general council “shall execute the instructions of
the general conventions, and between conventions shall have full power to
direct the workings of the organization”, and shall supervise and direct the
work of the general president.
2. Local unions: Largely autonomous. Constitution and bylaws subject to
approval of general council.
CLOTHING TRADES
143
3. Initiative, referendum, and recall. Nomination and election of general
officers by referendum. Legislation and amendments to constitution by initia
tive and referendum.
4. Convention by referendum call only. Call submitted annually.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person over the age of 16 engaged in
the manufacture of boots or shoes and component parts thereof, is eligible to
membership. Male and female membership. Eligibility of working foremen,
working forewomen, and working supervisors, to membership is discretional
with the local unions.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip reg ulation s .—None.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g ag r eem ent .—Negotiated locally with individual manu
facturers or manufacturers’ associations and ratified by general vote of the
members affected.
B e n e f it s .—Death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea dq ua rters .—683 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, Mass.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only : Illinois, 3; Massachusetts, 28; Missouri,
9 ; New Hampshire, 2; New York, 7; Wisconsin, 1. Total, 50.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—20,000.
Tailors’ Union of America, Journeymen
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1883. Historically the organi
zation of tailors began before the nineteenth century. Three unions
existed in 1806, one of which, that in Boston, celebrated a centennial
of continuous existence in 1906. The first efforts at consolidation
and national organization were made in 1865, when the Journeymen
Tailors5National Trades Union was formed in Philadelphia by rep
resentatives from seven cities. This organization lived until 1876,
when it disintegrated.
The various local unions comprising it continued to function, how
ever, and at the instigation of the Philadelphia union they were again
brought together in convention in that city in 1883, when the Jour
neymen Tailors5 National Union of the United States was organ
ized.
In 1896, the American Federation of Labor convention held in
Cincinnati granted to the Journeymen Tailors5 Union of America
jurisdiction over all custom tailors in the employ of merchant tailors
in the United States and Canada, where custom clothing is made to
the measure and to the order of each individual customer.
The introduction and development of the factory system in cloth
ing manufacture, with its cheaper production and less-skilled work
men, produced a second organization composed of what was known
as “shop tailors.55 This organization, the Tailors5 National Progres
sive Union, was chartered by the American Federation of Labor. It
favored amalgamation with the older union in order to control both
kinds of work.
144
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
The custom tailors, however, feared the consequences of lowering
craft standards sufficiently to let in the shop tailors and refused to
amalgamate with or to take into membership the ready-made cloth
ing workers.
But difficulties arose with the introduction of “special order”
tailoring in the garment factories. That system employed skilled
tailors and threatened the whole merchant-tailoring trade. Never
theless, on three different occasions—in 1899, in 1901, and in 1903—
the Journeymen Tailors rejected in referendum the proposal to admit
the special-order tailors to membership. The attitude remained one
of craft caste. In 1900 the special-order clothing workers formed a
union of their own, called the Special-Order Clothing Makers5Union,
which was chartered by the American Federation of Labor. Three
years later it amalgamated with the United Garment Workers. This
left the Journeymen Tailors with a fast disappearing field of opera
tion, especially in smaller cities and towns.
In 1903 agreement was reached between the United Garment
Workers of America and the Journeymen Tailors’ Union of America
as to the jurisdiction of workers employed in special-order houses
making custom clothing. This agreement provided that workmen
engaged in custom work or in ready-made clothing retailing below a
fixed price, came under the jurisdiction of the United Garment
Workers, while the Journeymen Tailors retained jurisdiction over
the workers engaged on higher-priced products.
In 1909 the Journeymen Tailors5 convention voted to extend its
jurisdiction to “all workers engaged in the manufacture of legiti
mate custom tailoring, no matter what system of work is used.” This
jurisdiction was never specifically granted by the American Federa
tion of Labor, and for 4 years the matter was not pressed, although
amalgamation of all the unions in the garment industry was pro
posed and discussed during those years in various conferences of the
needle-trades unions.
With a more radical element in control of the union, the 1913 con
vention declared for industrial unionism and control of the tailoring
trade, and changed the name of the organization to Tailors5 Indus
trial Union.
This move resulted at once in a clash with the International
Ladies5 Garment Workers5 Union and the United Garment Workers
and the refusal of the American Federation of Labor to recognize
either the claim or the new title.
When the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America launched its
movement for industrial organization of the clothing industry in
1914, the executive board of the tailors’ union submitted to its mem
bers a proposal to become part of the new organization under an
CLOTHING TRADES
145
agreement drawn up by the executive officers of both unions. This
proposal was approved by referendum vote of the tailors’ union.
At the convention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers in 1915
the executive board of the tailors’ union constituted part of the steer
ing committee, and the secretary of the tailors’ union was elected to
the secretaryship of the amalgamated body.
Meanwhile a disaffected element which from the first had protested
the hasty nature of the referendum on amalgamation was rallying a
following, under the leadership of the Chicago local, to demand a
reconsideration. It succeeded in forcing the issue on the grounds
that the membership did not realize that they were identifying them
selves with a secessionist organization. The second referendum pro
posal, worded so as to reaffirm the old craft jurisdiction, allegiance
to the American Federation of Labor, and repudiation of the alliance
with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, carried by a substantial
margin.
Consequently, by the end of 1915 the Journeymen Tailors’ Union
had returned to its former status as a craft union, in recognized
standing with the American Federation of Labor, and resumed its
original title. It remains an organization of skilled men in the
steadily diminishing field of merchant tailoring.
An extension of jurisdiction to cover cleaning, dyeing, and pressing
was granted the Journeymen Tailors’ Union by the American Fed
eration of Labor in 1912. In 1916 this had occasioned a jurisdictional
controversy with the laundry workers, since laundries had added
cleaning processes to their line of work. This was adjusted in 1919
by an arbitration decision which gave to the Laundry Workers’ In
ternational Union those cleaners, dyers, and pressers who were
employed in laundries.
Later the Chicago local of cleaners and dyers withdrew from the
Journeymen Tailors’ Union and sought admission to the American
Federation of Labor as a directly affiliated union. The decision of
the executive council of the Federation in that connection was that
because “of the expansion of the cleaning and dyeing industry to
embrace work on products such as furs, gloves, ladies’ garments, shoes,
carpets, etc., coming under the jurisdiction of various national and
international unions”, it is “for the best interests of all concerned”
that unions of workers engaged in cleaning, dyeing, and pressing
should be directly affiliated American Federation of Labor locals.
In consequence, while the Journeymen Tailors’ Union still claims
jurisdiction and has some locals of cleaners, dyers, and pressers,
workers of this class are also organized in directly affiliated American
Federation of Labor locals in some instances and hold membership in
the Laundry Workers’ International Union in others.
----- 11
79315°— 36
146
H ANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
Objects.—“The objects of the Journeymen Tailors’ Union of America are,
namely: To elevate the industry, to encourage a high standard of skill, to culti
vate friendship and fraternity between the workers in the industry, to assist
each other to secure employment; to secure the weekly system of employment,
free shops, limit the hours of labor, and to use our influence with the law
makers of each State and Province to secure the passage of laws that will
prohibit sweating and home work, to secure adequate pay for our labor, to
assist each other in case of need and distress; and by all honorable and just
means to elevate the moral, social, and intellectual conditions of our members
and all wage workers.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States, Canada, and Newfoundland.
T rade jurisdiction.—Custom tailoring.
Government.—1. General officers: General secretary-treasurer, assistant sec
retary; general executive board of five members. Secretary-treasurer is the
executive head of the organization. General executive board, elected by unions
in and about headquarters, is a trial and appeal board.
2. Local unions: Largely self-governing; autonomy not defined in constitution.
3. Convention: Held quadrennially, enacts general legislation. Secretarytreasurer elected by referendum.
Qualifications for membership.— All workers engaged in the custom-tailoring
trade, in cleaning, dyeing, and pressing, and bushelmen working in the clothing
industry are eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—“An apprentice is one who has no previous
experience at tailoring, and at the expiration of 3 months they shall become
members of the union. The local union shall regulate the number of apprentices
allowed in each shop and wages of the apprentices.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by local unions subject to
approval of the general executive board, but must contain “a provision * * *
demanding piece work or week work, free sanitary workshops adequately
equipped as to tools, light, heat, ventilation, etc., and a limitation of hours.”
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; victimization; sick and disability; funeral.
Official organ.—The Tailor.
H eadquarters.—7915 Clyde Avenue, Chicago, 111.
Organization.—Local unions only: United States —Alabama, 1; California, 9;
Colorado, 2; Connecticut, 3; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 1; Georgia, 2;
Illinois, 4; Indiana, 2; Iowa, 5; Kansas, 2; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 2; Massa
chusetts, 5; Michigan, 5; Minnesota, 3; Missouri, 2; Montana, 1; Nebraska, 2;
New York, 3; North Carolina, 1; North Dakota, 1; Ohio, 10; Oklahoma, 3;
Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 11; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 1; Tennessee, 4;
Texas, 7; Utah, 1; Virginia, 4; Washington, 5; West Virginia, 4; Wisconsin, G.
Canada —British Columbia, 1; Ontario, 3; Quebec, 1. Total, 125.
Membership reported.—8,629.
FOOD AND LIQUOR
Dual unionism in the food industry has been eliminated to some
extent by the disbanding of the Food Workers’ Industrial Union
(T. U. U. L.) and the reaffiliation of the Amalgamated Food Workers
with the parent body, the Bakery and Confectionery Workers’ Inter
national Union. In recent years the Amalgamated Food Workers had
been confined chiefly to New York City and to the field which brought
about the first split from the international in 1913—that is, Jewish
FOOD AND LIQUOR
147
bakeries. It undertook some organizing work among the machine
operators in the bakery-goods factories of Greater New York, and one
of the terms of reaffiliation was that the “factory branch” should be
kept intact and retain its industrial form of organization.
While the committee of the American Federation of Labor assigned
to direct the work of organizing the unorganized mechanized indus
tries considered canneries as too important a field to be overlooked,
little progress was made. Fifteen unions of cannery workers affiliated
directly with the American Federation of Labor scattered throughout
the country were reported to the 1934 convention. In the meantime
the employees of one of the large canning plants in New Jersey organ
ized an independent industrial union known as the Canners’ Industrial
Union. This organization won 55 percent of the votes cast at the elec
tion held under the direction of the National Labor Board (May 1934)
to determine employee representation. So far it is confining its
activities to the New Jersey plants of the Campbell Soup Co.
The repeal of the prohibition amendment to the American Consti
tution revitalized the organization holding jurisdiction over the
brewing industry. This, in turn, brought into the open once more
the old jurisdictional disputes in which the brewery workmen have
been repeatedly involved. The International Union of United
Brewery Workers has been, since its inception, a quasi-industrial
union, claiming the right to organize all persons employed directly
in connection with the manufacture of beer and related products.
In 1933 the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Chauffeurs
reopened the question of its right to the brewery-truck drivers, and
the two engine-room organizations—the International Union of
Operating Engineers and the International Union of Firemen and
Oilers—filed similar claims to the workers in those crafts employed
in breweries. The contention was, substantially, that as the brewing
industry, and with it the brewery-workers’ organization, had died
out during the prohibition era, the situation existing in 1933 was in
effect an entirely new one, to be handled de novo on the basis of the
craft-autonomy doctrine of the American Federation of Labor. The
convention of 1933 supported the jurisdictional claims of the craft
unions by approving the decision of the executive council that juris
diction over the teamsters, engineers, and firemen in the employ of
brewing companies belonged to the respective craft unions. The dis
memberment of the United Brewery Workmen, which that decision
called for, was emphatically rejected by the membership in a refer
endum vote, and the matter is still hai^ging fire. Employing brew-
148
HANDBO O K OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
ers have signed inclusive agreements with the brewing workmen in
some cases, and in others the teamsters have secured agreements
applying only to transportation and delivery of brewery products.
Organizations in the food and liquor industries are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Bakery and Confectionery Workers’ International Union of America.
Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers of America, Interna
tional Union of United.
Hotel and Restaurant Employees’ International Alliance and Bartenders’
International League of America. (Classified under Personal service.)
Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Amalgamated.
Independent organizations:
Conductors, Brotherhood of Dining Car. (Classified under Railroad
transportation.)
Dining Car Employees, Brotherhood of. (Classified under Railroad
transportation.)
Dining Car Employees, National Brotherhood of. (Classified under
Railroad transportation.)
Bakery and Confectionery W orkers’ International Union of
America
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Pittsburgh, Pa., January 13, 1886. Organization
of bakers began as early as 1880, but it was sporadic, with unions
springing up at various times in the cities and dying out again
without getting a foothold in the trade. In 1885 a weekly paper
was established by the former secretary and a handful of survivors
of the New York union, which in 1880 had conducted a successful
strike. The paper, Deutsch-Amerikanische Backer-Zeitung, printed
in German, was a trade and propaganda organ which soon gained a
wide circulation and exerted a strong influence on the German bakers
throughout the country. As a result of the paper’s agitation and
educational work the moribund unions revived locally and met in
national conference in Pittsburgh in 1886. Twenty delegates repre
senting 17 cities founded the Journeymen Bakers’ National Union
of North America.
Later jurisdiction was extended to candy and ice-cream makers,
and in 1903 the name “Bakery and Confectionery Workers’ Interna
tional Union” was adopted. The original publication remains as a
distinct part of the official organ of the union.
A secession movement among the Jewish bakers of New York
City in 1913 led to the creation, several years later, of an industrial
union known as the Amalgamated Food Workers of America (Bui.
506, p. 160). This union continued independently and in 1929 re
ported 12,000 members in 26 local branches in 6 States. For 15 years
FOOD AND LIQUOR
149
it published the Free Voice of the Amalgamated Food Workers and
maintained sick and death benefit funds on a contributory basis.
In consequence of merger negotiations between the officers of the
Bakery and Confectionery Workers’ Union and the Amalgamated
Food Workers Union early in 1935, the members of the latter organi
zation, by a referendum vote, decided to reaffiliate with the inter
national.
The merger was accomplished in May 1935 by an agreement that
preserved the benefit rights of the members of the independent organ
ization, which thus passed out of existence. Locals of the Amalga
mated Food Workers were absorbed into existing locals of the Bakery
and Confectionery Workers in some instances and chartered as sepa
rate units in others. The “factory branch” of the Amalgamated was
an industrial union composed of members employed in the large
mass-production baking plants. The amalgamation agreement pro
vided that the industrial character of the factory branch would not
be disturbed, and that no mandatory transfer of its membership to
other labor organizations would be attempted.
O b je c t s .—“The international union aims at the promotion of the material
and intellectual welfare of all workers in the baking and confectionery indus
tries: (1) By organization; (2) by education and enlightenment by word and
pen; (3) by the reduction of the hours of labor and maintaining adequate wage
standards; (4) by gradually abolishing such evils as may prevail in these
industries; (5) by establishing labor bureaus wherever possible; (6) by assist
ing members in matters concerning the union; (7) by assisting local unions in
the abolition of night work and establishing day work in localities where local
conditions make it possible to do so; (8) by making propaganda for the 6-hour
workday and the union label.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and possessions and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Bread, cake, pie, cracker, pretzel, pastry, candy, and ice
cream manufacture.
G overnm en t .—1. General executive board, composed of 15 members, is the
controlling body and “represents the international union in every respect.” It
shall “make such provisions and rules as may become necessary for the best in
terests of the organization”, shall be “the governing body and guardian of the
international union label. * * * decide all questions of jurisdiction and law,
and shall have full power to authorize strikes.”
The general executive board is made up of “the quorum” consisting of 4
members selected by the local unions in the vicinity of the international head
quarters (Chicago), and 11 other members elected by and representing the
11 territorial districts.
The quorum must hold a meeting at least once every 2 weeks and act upon
all business coming before it. Its decisions are subject to approval by a twothirds vote of the 11 nonresident members of the general executive board.
The other international officers are the international executive secretaries—
corresponding secretary, financial secretary, and secretary-treasurer—and the
international general organizers.
2. Local joint executive boards: “Wherever more than one local union exists
in any one city or vicinity, a local joint executive board must be formed, with
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HANDBOOK OB' AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
full, power to adjust all differences between locals and members and their em
ployers, subject to approval of the general executive board” and “make laws
and rules * * * to enforce the working conditions adopted by the
locals. * * * The local joint executive board shall be the controlling body
in all strikes and lock-outs.”
3. Local unions: “Every local union shall have the right to adopt bylaws,
which, however, must be in accord with the constitution of the international
union”, and may appeal all decisions of the general executive board to the ensu
ing convention or to referendum.
Local unions may organize apprentices and helpers into auxiliary unions
under their jurisdiction.
4. Convention: “The convention is empowered to amend the constitution; to
reform the organization of the international union; and to take all steps which
it judges to be in the interests of the union.” Conventions held triennially.
5. Referendum: General officers nominated and elected by referendum. All
laws passed in convention and decisions and rules of the general executive board
are subject to ratification by referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s fob m e m b e r s h ip .— “Any person of good character actually
employed in any of the industries mentioned in this constitution may become a
member” of the union; but “no candidate for membership shall be accepted who
is not a citizen of the United States or Canada, or has not declared his or her
intention to become such.” Male and female membership.
Male applicants must pass a physical examination by a “duly licensed, reliable
physician”, selected by the local union, to be eligible to benefit. Those failing
to meet the physical requirements are admitted as nonbeneflciary members.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—Apprenticeship term, 2 years, during which
the apprentice “must be thoroughly instructed in all branches of the trade.”
Ratio regulated by trade agreements, not by constitutional requirement.
M eth o d of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions on terms
approved by general executive board prior to conference. Agreements are
generally made with individual employers. International officers assist in nego
tiations if called upon by local to do so.
B e n e f it s .—Strike and lock-out; sick; death (member and wife). Female
members are not eligible to benefits.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Bakers’ Journal and Deutsch-Amerikanische BackerZeitung.
H ea dq ua rters .—2719 Best Avenue, Chicago, 111.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Districts:
District no. 1. New York and New Jersey.
District no. 2. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
and Connecticut.
District no. 8. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia, Vir
ginia, and West Virginia.
District no. 4. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
District no. 5. Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan.
District no. 6. Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
District no. 7. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
District no. 8. Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
District no. 9. California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.
District no. 10. Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alberta, British Colum
bia, and Alaska.
District no. 11. Canada with the exception of British Columbia and Alberta.
FOOD AND LIQUOR
151
District councils: District no. 1, Hebrew joint organization, New York City;
no. 6, headquarters in St. Louis; no. 10, headquarters in Oakland, Calif.
Joint executive boards: New York City, N. Y .; Los Angeles, Calif.; Detroit,
Mich.; Springfield, Mass.; New Britain, Conn.; Chicago, 111.; Baltimore, Md.;
Pittsburgh, Pa.; Cleveland, Ohio.
Local unions: United States—Arizona, 3 ; Arkansas, 1 ; California, 13 (2
auxiliaries) ; Colorado, 2 ; Connecticut, 11; Delaware, 1 ; District of Columbia,
1 (2 auxiliaries); Georgia, 1; Illinois, 24; Indiana, 5; Iowa, 7; Kansas, 4;
Kentucky, 2 ; Louisiana, 2 ; Maryland, 3 ; Massachusetts, 15; Michigan, 8;
Minnesota, 3; Missouri, 9; Montana, 3; Nebraska, 1; Nevada, 1; New Hamp
shire, 2 ; New Jersey, 16; New York, 32; Ohio, 21; Oklahoma, 7; Oregon, 2 ;
Pennsylvania, 13; Rhode Island, 2 ; South Dakota, 1 ; Tennessee, 2 ; Texas, 7;
Virginia, 2; Washington, 6 (1 auxiliary) ; West Virginia, 4; Wisconsin, 10.
Canada—Alberta, 1; British Columbia, 1; Ontario, 2; Quebec, 2. Total, 253.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—30,576.
Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers of America,
International Union of United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Baltimore, Md., August 29, 1886. The earliest form
of organization among the brewery workers was mutual-aid socie
ties which sprang up during the fifties. The first labor union was or
ganized in Cincinnati on December 26, 1879. New York followed in
1881, with a strong local organization which, however, met a serious
defeat in a strike later in the year and broke up. For several years
thereafter organization of brewery workers in New York was carried
out in strict secrecy under the Knights of Labor. An aggressive and
successful boycott of the products of antiunion breweries carried out
in 1886 by labor organizations in other crafts brought the brewery
organization of New York into the open. All the breweries in New
York City were organized and covered by an agreement which recog
nized the union.
Local organizations in various cities followed rapidly. In August
1886 delegates from five cities met in Baltimore and organized the
National Union of Brewers of the United States. An official journal
was established at once, the first number appearing on October 1,
1886. The new national union affiliated with the American Federa
tion of Labor in March 1887. The next convention, held in Detroit
in 1887, expanded the organization to cover the entire industry and
changed its name to National Union of the United Brewery Work
men of the United States.
The policy of industrial unionism proclaimed by the brewery work
ers from the beginning led to a succession of long-drawn-out juris
dictional disputes with craft organizations which were organized
later and chartered by the American Federation of Labor. These
conflicts involved first the coopers, then the firemen and engineers,
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
and then the teamsters. At the insistence of these combined organi
zations the charter of the brewery workmen was revoked by the
American Federation of Labor in June 1907 on the grounds of en
croaching on established jurisdictions and refusal to comply with
convention decisions. In the following convention of the American
Federation of Labor in November 1907, the charter was ordered re
stored in its original form, recognizing jurisdiction over all workers
employed in the brewing industry.
Prohibition demanded readjustments within the brewery industry
and the extension of jurisdiction of the United Brewery Workmen
to soft-drink manufacture. This was followed in 1918 by an incur
sion into flour and cereal milling, a jurisdiction previously held by
the International Union of Flour and Cereal Mill Employees, but
which was left unclaimed after the collapse of that organization
in 1910.
This comprehensive jurisdiction was recognized in the expansion
of the title of the brewery workers to International Union of
United Brewery, Flour, Cereal, and Soft Drink Workers, by the
American Federation of Labor in 1918.
With the extension of the charter rights to embrace flour- and
cereal-mill workers they launched a campaign, and succeeded in
organizing approximately 38,000 flour-mill workers, and obtained
recognition of the organization in the majority of the plants that
were organized. When recognition was secured in collective-bar
gaining agreements there followed immediately in its wake claims
of jurisdiction by numerous craft organizations over many workers
engaged in the milling industry, which led to a demand by brewery
workmen for full and complete jurisdiction over all men engaged
in the milling industry. This was denied by the American Fed
eration of Labor on the objection of numerous craft organizations,
whereupon the Brewery Workers International Union surrendered
their jurisdiction over the flour- and cereal-mill workers. So far
as organization exists at all in this field, it is in directly affiliated
American Federation of Labor local unions.
When the restoration of the brewing industry was brought about
by the modification of the Volstead law on April 7, 1933, claim to
jurisdiction over beer drivers, engineers, and firemen employed in
breweries was renewed by the international unions of those occu
pations. The executive council of the American Federation of Labor
granted the jurisdiction to the respective organizations over the pro
test of the brewery workers. The 1933 convention of the American
Federation of Labor upheld the executive council decision. The
brewery workers’ organization, however, served notice on the Amer
ican Federation of Labor that it could not and would not comply
with the decision to dismember their industrial form of organization.
FOOD AND LIQUOR
153
Efforts on the part of the American Federation of Labor to con
ciliate included a proposal, to which the brewery workmen agreed,
to submit the convention decision to a popular vote of their member
ship. In this referendum 99.3 percent of the brewery workmen
voted to uphold industrial unionism.
O
.—“The organization seeks to promote the material and the intellec
tual welfare of the workers (in the industry) by means of organization, edu
cation and enlightenment by word and pen; reduction of the hours of toil
and increase of wages; active participation in the political labor movement
in the country on independent labor class lines.”
T
.—United States and Canada.
T
.—Brewery, malt, yeast, vinegar, alcohol, wine, cider,
cereal-beverage, soft-drink, and mineral-water workers.
G
.—1. General executive board of 16 members, including two
general secretaries, a general organizer, one representative from each of the
nine geographic districts, and four members chosen from locals of the city in
which international headquarters is located, is the contolling body. The
quorum, composed of the two general secretaries and the four resident
members, is the administrative medium.
2. Joint local executive boards: “In places where there are more than one
union of the international organization it is imperative to form a joint local
executive board”, which “shall be the controlling body in all strikes and lock
outs. * * * shall have control of the union label”, and “shall deal with all
questions and transact such business as may be in the interest of the local
unions.”
3. Local unions: “All local unions shall reserve the right to adopt special local
constitutions and bylaws, providing such constitutions are in concert and accord
ance with the laws of the international organization and are endorsed by the
general executive board.”
Branches: Branches of local unions may be formed of more than 5 and less
than 20 in places where there are not enough to form and maintain a local.
Such branches are under the control and regulation of the parent local.
4. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and nominates general
executive board members. Constitutional amendments either by convention or
referendum. Election of officers by referendum.
Q
.— Actual employment in the industry and
citizenship or first naturalization papers are required. Foremen and office
employees not eligible. Male and female membership.
A
.—Established locally in agreements with em
ployers. Term of apprenticeship is generally 2 years. Ratio of apprentices to
journeymen varies.
M
.—“Local unions are obliged to submit their
contracts to the joint local executive board and the general executive board for
indorsement before they are submitted to proprietors * * *. When making
new contracts at least those minimum wages and maximum hours as decided by
the convention shall be demanded and enforced”, and “it shall be obligatory upon
all unions to insert the arbitration clause in all contracts.”
B
.—Strike and lock-out.
O
.—The Brewery Worker.
H
.—2347-2351 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio.
bjects
e r r it o r ia l j u r i s d i c t i o n
rade
ju r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s
for
m e m b e r s h ip
p p r e n t ic e s h ip
r e g u l a t io n s
e t h o d o f n e g o t ia t in g a g r e e m e n t s
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l o rg an
eadquarters
154
HANDBOOK OP AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Organization .—Joint executive boards: San Francisco, Calif.; New Haven,
Conn.; Chicago, 111.; New Orleans, La.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston and Worcester,
Mass.; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.; St. Louis, Mo.; Hudson County (Jersey
City) and Newark, N. J .; Albany and vicinity, N. Y.; Brooklyn, N. Y.; Buffalo,
N. Y.; New York, N. Y .; Syracuse, N. Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio;
Toledo, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Scranton-Wilkes-Barre and
vicinity, Pa.; Seattle, Wash.
Local unions organized by departments (brewers, soft-drink workers, bottlers,
drivers, etc.) in large centers: United States—Arizona, 1; California, 17; Colo
rado, 4; Connecticut, 4; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 3; Georgia, 1; Illinois,
22; Indiana, 11; Iowa, 4; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 2; Maryland, 4; Massachusetts,
9; Michigan, 11; Minnesota, 11; Missouri, 11; Montana, 8; Nebraska, 1; Nevada,
1; New Hampshire, 1; New Jersey, 9; New York, 29; Ohio, 25; Oklahoma, 1;
Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 42; Rhode Island, 2; South Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 3;
Texas, 6; Utah, 2; Virginia, 1; Washington, 7; West Virginia, 3; Wisconsin, 30;
Wyoming, 2. Canada—Alberta, 3; British Columbia, 3; Manitoba, 1; Ontario,
10. Total, 311.
M
.— 42,000.
e m b e r s h ip reported
Meat Cutters and Butcher W orkm en of N orth Am erica,
A m algam ated
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1897 from a group of directly affiliated American
Federation of Labor local unions.
O
.—“The object of this organization shall be the elevation of the posi
tion of its members; the maintenance of the best interests of the organization,
and to obtain, by conciliation or other means just and legal, a fair remuneration
to members for their labor; and to afford mutual protection to members against
obnoxious rules, unlawful discharge, and other systems of injustice or
oppression/’
T
.—North America.
T
.—The slaughtering and meat-packing industry and “sau
sage makers and meat cutters, no matter where employed.”
G
.—1. Executive board, consisting of a president, nine vice presi
dents, and a secretary-treasurer, is “the highest authority in the order.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution and regulations dictated by inter
national.
3. Convention held quadrennially or biennially on referendum call. Enacts
legislation and elects general officers. Initiative and referendum.
Q
.—“All wage earners in any way connected
with slaughtering and packing establishments, sausage makers, and meat cutters,
no matter where employed, who are over 16 years of age, with the defined excep
tions of superintendents, bookkeepers, office clerks, timekeepers, and managers of
wholesale houses”, are eligible to membership. “Retail-market owners and part
nerships not employing help and who are not members of any employers’ asso
ciation may join either as active or honorary members.” Male and female
membership.
A
. —None.
M
.—Negotiated by local unions, generally
with individual employers, but must be approved by the executive board.
B
.—Strike and lock-out; death.
b jects
e r r it o r ia l j u r i s d i c t i o n
r a d e j u r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s
for
m e m b e r s h ip
p p r e n t ic e s h ip rjeg ulato ns
ethod
of
n e g o t ia t in g
e n e f it s
agreem ents
FURNITURE AND WOODWORKING
155
—The Butcher Workman.
—160 North La Salle Street, Chicago, 111.
O
.—Local unions only: Alabama, 5; Arizona, 1; Arkansas, 1; Cali
fornia, 20; Colorado, 3; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 2; Idaho, 5; Illinois,
85; Indiana, 8; Iowa, 6; Kansas, 3; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 1; Maryland, 1;
Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, 5; Minnesota, 4; Missouri, 7; Montana, 6; Nebraska,
2; Nevada, 1; New Jersey, 4; New York, 19; North Dakota, 2; Ohio, 19; Okla
homa, 4; Oregon, 11; Pennsylvania, 2; South Dakota, 2; Tennessee, 2; Texas,
12; Utah, 2; Washington, 19; West Virginia, 2; Wisconsin, 14; Wyoming, 2;
Canal Zone, 1. Total, 237.
M
.—54,300.
O f f ic ia l
H
organ.
eadq u arters.
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip re por ted
FURNITURE AND WOODWORKING
Woodworking and kindred trades are covered by four organiza
tions besides the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners,
which controls cabinetmaking, and sash and door millwork. These
four organizations are small, and are affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor. Two of them are distinctively craft-unions,
the International Wood Carvers’ Association embracing only highly
skilled artisans in the limited field of wood carving, and the Coopers’
International Union being confined to the manufacture of barrels.
The International Union of Piano, Organ, and Musical Instrument
Workers holds a charter for the entire industry, but the industry is
practically unorganized.
The fourth, and the largest union in the group, is the Upholsterers,
Carpet, and Linoleum Mechanics’ International Union of North
America. It is neither a craft nor an industrial union, for its juris
diction covers varied and unrelated fields, including the manufacture
and installation of window and wall hangings, and awnings; mattress
and box-spring manufacture; furniture upholstering; and the laying
of floor coverings.
No change worthy of note has occurred in any of these
jurisdictions.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Carpenters and Joiners of America, United Brotherhood of. (Classified
under Building trades).
Carvers’ Association of North America, International Wood.
Coopers’ International Union of North America.
Piano, Organ, and Musical Instrument Workers, International Union of.
Upholsterers’, Carpet, and Linoleum Mechanics’ International Union of
North America.
Carvers* Association of North America, International W ood
Affiilated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1883, in Philadelphia, Pa. Wood carvers organized
as early as 1861 in Boston and 1863 in New York City. The New
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
York organization continued to function and was one of five which
sent representatives to a gathering in Philadelphia in January 1883
to make preparation for a general convention of the craft to be held
later in the year. This convention took place in Cincinnati in
October and established the National Wood Carvers’ Association of
North America. With the spread of the organization into, Canada
the name was changed a few years later to the present one, the
International Wood Carvers’ Association of North America.
Objects.—“The objects of this association are to advance the material inter
ests of wood carvers by regulating the apprentice system, maintain an efficient
system of insurance of the tools of all members of the several associations
affiliated with the international association, abolish contract and piece work,
and to establish a normal 6-hour day, 5-day week.”
T
.—United States and Canada.
T
.—Wood carving by hand, machine, or spindle.
G
.—1. The central committee, consisting of chairman, secretary,
treasurer, and three trustees, “shall be elected by the branch of the city, town,
or village elected by referendum vote to be the seat of the central committee”,
and “shall conduct the business of the international association.”
A board of supervisors of five members “shall be elected by the branch of
the city, town, or village elected by referendum vote as the seat of the board
of supervisors” and “shall control the action of the central committee in its
administration.”
2, Local unions: “Affiliated” ; autonomy not definitely fixed, but they are
largely self-governing.
3. Referendum: International association business, constitutional amend
ments, and selection of governing branches, by vote of general membership.
Convention on referendum call only.
Q
.—Any hand, spindle, or machine wood carver
of good character who is or has declared his intention of becoming a citizen of
the country in which he works is eligible to membership.
A
.—Four-year term.
“Firms employing on an
average during the year 5 men shall be entitled to 1 apprentice; those employ
ing on an average 10 men, to 2 apprentices; those employing on an average 15
men, to 3 apprentices; and for each additional 25 men there shall be allowed 1
more apprentice.”
M
. —Negotiation by local unions and local
employers.
B enefits.—Strike; death; tool insurance.
O
.—The International Wood Carver.
H
.—17 Buttonwood Street, Dorchester, Mass.
O
.—Local branches only: United States—California, 2; Illinois,
2; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 1; Michigan, 2; Minnesota, 1; New York, 4;
Ohio, 3; Pennsylvania, 2. Canada—Quebec, 1. Total, 21.
M
.—800.
e r r it o r ia l
ju r is d ic t io n
r a d e ju r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n for m e m b e r s h ip
p p r e n t ic e s h ip
ethod
f f ic ia l
of
r e g u l a t io n s
n e g o t ia t in g
agreem ents
organ
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip
reported
Coopers’ International U nion of N orth Am erica
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Titusville, Pa., November 10, 1890. A national
organization known as the Coopers of North America existed in 1870,
FURNITURE AND WOODWORKING
157
but died out. It seems to have survived locally in a number of
localities. The present organization was founded by representatives
of some 10 or 12 local unions, which formed the national organiza
tion in 1890. This organization was chartered by the American
Federation of Labor as an affiliated union in 1891.
A long-fought jurisdictional dispute with the United Brewery
Workmen over cooperage work in breweries is the outstanding inci
dent in the history of the Coopers’ International Union. The termi
nation of the dispute left a very considerable part of the cooperage
work in the hands of workers belonging to the United Brewery
Workmen. Prohibition also limited the cooper’s field of work ma
terially, and the introduction of metal barrels has affected the entire
cooperage trade.
O
.—“To make industrial worth, not wealth, the true standard of
individual and national greatness; to prohibit the employment of children
under 16 years of age in shops and factories; to gain some of the benefits
of labor-saving machinery by a gradual reduction of hours of labor; to use
all lawful and honorable means in our power to abolish the system of contract
convict labor in the different States where it exists; and to abolish convict
cooper shops in State penitentiaries; * * * to encourage the adoption of
proper apprentice laws governing all branches of mechanical industry, as we
believe that such would tend to elevate the standard of mechanism of America;
to demand better sanitary conditions for coopers employed in breweries, packing
and provision houses, oil houses, and in all places where a large number of men
are employed; to secure from employers agreements recognizing the Coopers’
International Union of North America, regulating prices, and to settle by
arbitration all diffeernces between employers and employees not specifically
covered in such agreements; to cooperate with employers to advance the price
of making and selling barrels when practicable; to secure employment of our
members in preference to nonunion men * * *; to use all honorable means
at our command to achieve the purposes herein declared.”
T
.—United States and Canada.
T
.—The manufacture and repair of cooperage, staves, and
heading, either by hand or by machinery.
G
.—1. General executive board, composed of president, secretarytreasurer, and five vice presidents, “shall have general supervision over the
international union.”
2. Local unions: Each local union “shall have autonomy over its own af
fairs, and shall make its own contracts governing hours of labor, working
conditions, and scale of wages.”
3. Convention: Held quadrennially; enacts legislation and elects general
officers. Constitutional amendments either by convention or by initiative and
referendum.
Q
.—An applicant for membership “must be
an American citizen or declare his or her intentions to become one as soon
as possible. * * * women over 18 years of age may be admitted to mem
bership under the same laws as male members.
A
.—“No member of any local shall take an ap
prentice without the consent of his local, and in no case shall he be allowed
to take an apprentice under 16 years of age; and no more than 1 apprentice
bjects
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for every 10 hand coopers shall be allowed, said apprentice to serve his time
of 3 years at the bench, the local to decide what wages he shall receive while
serving his apprenticeship.”
M
.—Negotiated by local unions independ
ently, but must be approved by general executive board. Union label under
control of international.
B
.—Strike; death.
Official organ.—Coopers* Journal
H
.—168 Dartmouth Street, Boston, Mass.
O
.—Local unions only.
California, 2; Illinois, 4; Indiana, 1;
Iowa, 1; Kansas, 1; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 1; Maine, 1; Maryland, 1;
Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, 1; Minnesota, 2; Missouri, 4; New Hampshire, 1;
Nebraska, 1; New Jersey, 3; New York, 7; Ohio, 5; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania,
4; Rhode Island, 1; Tennessee, 3; Texas, 2; Washington, 2; Wisconsin, 4.
Total, 56.
M
.—3,000.
ethod
op
n e g o t ia t in g
agreem ents
e n e f it s
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip
reported
Piano, Organ, and Musical Instrument Workers, International
Union of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., August 8, 1898, as the International
Union of Piano and Organ Workers of America. Later, jurisdiction
was extended to include stringed instruments—mandolins, guitars,
and banjos—and the name of the organization was changed to Inter
national Union of Piano, Organ, and Musical Instrument Workers.
Objects.—Not declared.
—United States and Canada.
—The piano, organ, and musical-instrument industry.
G
.— 1. Executive board, consisting of president and nine vice
presidents has executive control of the organization.
2. Local unions: Autonomy only as regards local trade conditions. Funds of
local organizations subject to regulations of the general executive board.
3. Convention: Held quadrennially; enacts legislation and elects general offi
cers. Constitutional amendments by convention and referendum or by initiative
and referendum.
Q
.—“All persons engaged in the piano, organ,
or musical-instrument industry of good moral character and competent work
men at their branch of the trade shall be eligible to membership, except super
intendents.’* Male and female membership.
A
.—Constitutional regulation: “Local unions shall
have power to stipulate number of apprentices under their respective jurisdic
tion. Manufacturers who do not employ at least one journeyman for his full
time shall not be allowed an apprentice.” In practice, none.
M
of
.—None.
B
.—Strike and lock-out; sick; death.
O
.—None.
H
.—1112 Clarence Avenue, Oak Park, 111.
O
.—Local unions only: Illinois, 2; New York, 3; Pennsylvania, 1.
Total, 6.
M
. - - 600.
T
ju r is d ic t io n .
e r r it o r ia l
T rade
ju r is d ic t io n .
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s
for
p p r e n t ic e s h ip
r e g u l a t io n s
ethod
m e m b e r s h ip
n e g o t ia t in g
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l
organ
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip reported
agreem ents
FURNITURE AND WOODWORKING
159
Upholsterers, Carpet and Linoleum Mechanics’ International
Union of North America
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., August 8, 1892. The first upholsterers’
union of record conducted a successful general strike in New York
City in 1850. Organization of the craft was sporadic and localized
until 1892, when eight unions combined in a conference held in
Chicago and founded the Upholsterers’ International Union of North
America. It was chartered by the American Federation of Labor as
an affiliated international in 1900. The convention of 1929 changed
the name of the organization to Upholsterers, Carpet and Linoleum
Mechanics’ International Union to conform to this expanded jurisdic
tion, but it is still chartered by the American Federation of Labor
under its original title.
O
.—“The objects of the Upholsterers’ International Union are: To
secure adequate pay for our work; to reduce the hours of daily labor; to dis
courage piece work ; to encourage an apprentice system and a higher standard of
skill; to assist each other to secure employment; to cultivate feelings of friend
ship among the craft and by legal and proper means to elevate the moral,
intellectual, and social conditions of all our membership, and to improve the
trade.”
T
.—United States and Canada.
T
.—“The hanging, cutting, measuring, estimating, and sew
ing of draperies, curtains, wall hangings, window shades, and awnings; cutting
and sewing of furniture covering and slip covers; cutting, sewing, and making
of cushions; slatting walls for hanging of fabrics tacked on walls, bunting
and flag decorating; drilling holes in stone, metal, cement, wood, etc., for the
purpose of installing or attaching fixtures, which are a part of the equipment
used with the work enumerated; upholstering of furniture, sleeping cars, day
coaches, machine- and hand-tufted pads, cushions, and casket trimmings; auto
mobile, carriage, and aircraft upholstery and trimming; automobile-top making;
cutting and making of slip covers for automobiles and carriages and sewing of
materials used in connection with such work; linoleum cutting, measuring,
and laying; laying of everlastic linoleum, dreadnought linoleum, cork and
rubber tile; laying of matting and other floor covering; laying, cutting, measur
ing, and sewing of carpets; mattress making and box-spring making; sewing
of material used by different branches of the craft.”
G
.—1. General executive board, composed of international presi
dent, international secretary-treasurer, and one member representing, respec
tively, the upholstery sewers, the carpet sewers, the carpet upholsterers, lino
leum and rubber-tile layers, the mattress workers, wholesale upholsterers, and
awning workers “shall have general supervision of the union between con
ventions.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution, dues, and regulations dictated by
international. Local unions may adopt bylaws for local government.
3. Convention: Held biennially, unless otherwise ordered by referendum. En
acts legislation and elects general officers. If convention is not held, election
is by referendum. Constitutional amendments by convention, or by initiative
and referendum.
bjects
e r r it o r ia l j u r i s d i c t i o n
rade j u r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
160
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Q
&
.—Any person actually employed within the
jurisdiction is eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
A
.—“The number of apprentices allowed in each
shop shall be fixed by the local union having jurisdiction.” Provided for in
agreements. Apprenticeship term, 2 to 5 years.
M
.—Negotiated by local unions, with
approval of the general executive board. Generally involve only individual
employers. Union label.
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out.
O
.—Upholsterers’ Journal.
H
.—230 East Fifty-eighth Street, New York City.
O
.—Local unions only; “mixed” locals of all branches prevail;
separate organizations for mattress makers, wholesale upholsterers, etc., exist
in some large centers. United States—Alabama, 1; California, 12; Colorado,
1; District of Columbia, 2; Florida, 1; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 9; Indiana, 1;
Iowa, 2; Maryland, 2; Massachusetts, 5; Michigan, 3; Minnesota, 3; Missouri,
6; New Jersey, 2; New York, 12; North Carolina, 1; Ohio, 6; Oklahoma, 1;
Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 2; Texas, 1; Virginia, 1; Washington, 3; Wisconsin,
3. Canada—Ontario, 1. Total, 84.
Membership reported.—11,500.
u a l if ic a t io n
p p r e n t ic e s h ip
ethod
f f ic ia l
of
for
m e m b e r s h ip
r e g u l a t io n s
n e g o t ia t in g
agreem ents
organ
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
JEWELRY TRADES
One highly skilled craft union and one formed more nearly on
industrial lines deal with diamond cutting and polishing and the
manufacture of jewelry and allied products, including the setting of
diamonds and cutting, polishing, and setting of precious stones other
than diamonds. Thus one organization, the Diamond Workers’ Pro
tective Union of America, confines its field solely to diamond polish
ing and cutting. It is essentially a local union, as the craft is a
highly localized one, and its working agreements are confined to the
shops operated by members of the employers’ association. Never
theless it is chartered by the American Federation of Labor as a
national union.
The International Jewelry Workers’ Union contains the skilled
lapidaries working on other precious and imitation stones; skilled
engravers and designers; and platinum, gold, and silver workers; and
in addition, machine operators in the mechanized branches of the
trades producing costume jewelry, vanity cases, and novelties of
various kinds. The Jewelry Workers’ Union is among those making
spectacular membership gains within the recent past, its voting
strength in the American Federation of Labor being six times as
great in 1934 as in 1933.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Diamond Workers’ Protective Union of America.
Jewelry Workers’ Union, International.
JEWELRY TRADES
161
D iam ond W orkers’ Protective Union of Am erica
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized September 16, 1902, in New York City. The first or
ganization was known as the Diamond Polishers5 Protective Union
of America. Jurisdiction was later extended to cutters and setters,
and in 1903 the name was changed to the Diamond Workers5 Protec
tive Union of America.
O
.—“The aim of this organization is to promote the moral and financial
welfare of all workers in the diamond-cutting industry.”
T
.—United States.
T
.—Diamond polishing, cutting, and sawing.
G
.—1. The executive board, composed of president, secretary, and
treasurer, and delegates elected by and from the different shops and branches,
“shall transact all business of this organization.”
Executive committee, composed of president, secretary, and treasurer, “shall
represent the union in all instances” and “shall execute decisions of the execu
tive board and general meetings.”
“The delegates are recognized officers of this union. * * * They shall
control all matters in their respective shops, receive complaints, and try to
settle all controversies between the members and the employer except when
wage questions are involved.”
2. General meetings: “Regular general meetings shall be held once every 3
months. * * * General strikes can only be declared and assessments can
only be levied at a general meeting.”
3. Shop and branch meetings: Called by order of the president. “Members
must attend all shop and branch meetings when called.” General president
presides at branch and shop meetings.
General officers elected by popular vote.
Q
.— All bona fide diamond workers are eligible
to membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“The executive board shall have the right to
give consent for the admission of apprentices to the trade subject to the
following rules:
“Every member can make application to the executive board in writing to
have his son admitted to apprenticeship, provided such son shall be 16 years
old at the time application is made.
“At no time shall the number of apprentices admitted exceed 10 percent of
the total number of members of this union.
“No apprentice shall be admitted before he has been subjected to a physical
examination and has had his eyesight tested by the physician and optician
assigned by the union. The reports received from these authorities must be
satisfactory to the board.
“As soon as apprentices shall receive a wage of $18 they shall no longer be
included in the number of apprentices in regard to the percentage admitted
to the trade.
“Apprentices admitted by request of employers shall be included in the 10
percent allowed and shall be subject to the same supervision, rules, and
regulations laid down by this union for other apprentices.”
bjects
e r r it o r ia l j u r is d ic t io n
rade j u r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s fo r m e m b e r s h ip
79315°— 36----- 12
162
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
M ethod op neg o tiatin g a g r e e m e n t s .—Officers of the union and of the
Diamond Cutters Manufacturers’ Association are the collective-bargaining
agency.
B enefits .—Strike and lock-out; death (by assessment) ; optical care once
every 2 years.
H ea dq ua rters .—132 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, N. Y.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—General membership; no locals.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—240.
Jewelry W orkers’ Union, International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City in September 1916. An International
Jewelry Workers’ Union composed of a number of directly affiliated
unions, was chartered by the American Federation of Labor in 1900.
This organization maintained a precarious existence with a steadily
decreasing membership until 1912, when it surrendered its charter
and disbanded. Such local organizations as remained intact returned
to the American Federation of Labor as directly affiliated locals.
In 1916 representatives of these unions met in New York and estab
lished a new International Jewelry Workers’ Union affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor.
This second organization was formed on industrial lines rather
than with the craft limitations of its predecessors, and it immediately
became involved in jurisdictional disputes. The first of these was a
conflict with the Diamond Workers’ Protective Union over the dia
mond polishers and cutters who held membership in the jewelry
workers’ union. This was adjusted in 1918 by the transfer of those
craft workers to the Diamond Workers’ Protective Union. Later
the International Association of Machinists protested against the
inclusion of jewelry tool and diemakers in the jurisdiction of the
jewelry workers’ union and the metal polishers and buffers’ union
claimed jurisdiction over all metal work in the jewelry trade. The
dispute with the machinists was settled out of court, but the Amer
ican Federation of Labor sustained the metal polishers and ordered
the jewelry workers’ union to release its metal workers to the craft
union. This the International Jewelry Workers’ Union refused to
do, and it was suspended from the American Federation of Labor in
1920. After the suspension, the American Federation of Labor again
chartered a local of the jewelry workers in direct affiliation with the
federation. To check this move and to preserve the entity of the
international, concessions were made to the metal polishers, and the
International Jewelry Workers’ Union was reinstated in the Amer
ican Federation of Labor.
O b je c t s .—“The object of this international shall be the encouragement and
formation of local unions throughout the American continent composed of male
JEWELRY TRADES
163
and female workers, or members at large; to establish a uniform wage for the
same class of work regardless of sex; to abolish the sweatshop system, child
labor, competitive piece work and home work; to protect the interests of the
workers by bringing about a perfect system of apprenticeship; to reduce the
hours of labor; to substitute arbitration for strikes wherever possible to do so;
to promote the use of the union label as the sole guaranty of union-made goods;
to support the union label of all other bona fide labor organizations and to assist
all labor unions to the full extent of our power.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n . —“This organization shall have jurisdiction over the fol
lowing branches of the jewelry industry: Platinum, gold, and silver workers;
chain, bracelet, and locket makers; setters of precious stones, pearls and imita
tions thereof; lapidary workers on precious stones and imitations thereof;
designers, engravers, chasers, enamelers, and engine-turners; emblematic but
tons, badges, pins, banners; society emblems, medal and medallion workers and
assemblers of same; modelers, casters, polishers, lappers, and colorers; platinum,
gold, and silver plating workers; refiners and melters; drop and press hands and
all metal mountings used in optical goods; makers of platinum, gold, and silver
findings; watchcase workers and repairers thereof; watch and clock workers
and repairers thereof; cigarette, vanity, watchcase, mesh-bag and jewel-box
workers of all metals; dental mechanics; the making of all tools and dies used
in the jewelry industry; all metal and celluloid buttons and jewelry vanity
workers; all those employed in the making of jewelry novelties out of precious
and semiprecious metals of all descriptions.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president, 11 vice
presidents, and secretary-treasurer.
“The administrative powers of this body when not in convention shall be
vested in the general executive board with full power of supervision of the entire
affairs of the general body and its subordinate locals.”
2. Local unions: “Government of all local unions and members shall be
vested in the international as the supreme head to which all matters of impor
tance shall be referred and whose decisions shall be final. Each local union
shall have the power to frame its own bylaws, which shall in no way conflict
with the constitution of the international.”
3. Convention: Meets biennially. Constitutional amendments either by con
vention or by initiative and referendum. Nomination and election of general
officers by referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any wage earner in any branch of the
industry under the jurisdiction of the International Jewelry Workers’ Union is
eligible for membership. Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a t io n s .—“There shall be a legal apprenticeship system
established by each trade under the jurisdiction of the International Jewelry
Workers’ Union. The number of apprentices shall be determined by the condi
tions prevailing in each trade, subject to the approval of the general executive
board. The employer shall be bound under an agreement to teach the trade to
the apprentice.
“Apprentices, upon entering shops under the jurisdiction of the International
Jewelry Workers’ Union, shall be registered by local unions. When they are
admitted as apprentice members of the local union they shall be registered with
the secretary-treasurer of the International Jewelry Workers’ Union as such.
“Local unions shall provide for the appointment of a committee on appren
tices, whose duties shall be to inquire into the educational qualifications of
applicants for apprenticeship, and if after such examination the committee
164
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
finds the apprentice has not made satisfactory progress, it shall so report to
the union for such action as it is deemed proper to take.”
M eth o d of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions but ap
proved by the general executive board. Union label in some union shops.
B e n e f it s .—Strike and lock-out.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea d q u a r te r s .—Room 402, Bible House, 45 Astor Place, New York, N. Y.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 1; California, 2;
Connecticut, 5; Colorado, 1; Illinois, 3; Massachusetts, 6; Michigan, 1; Mis
souri, 2; New Jersey, 1 ; New York, 11 ; Ohio, 1; Pennsylvania, 2; Rhode Island,
2 ; Washington, 1. Canada—British Columbia, 1; Quebec, 1. Total, 41.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—10,000.
LEATHER MANUFACTURE
In listing the following three organizations as national unions in
the leather industry, some explanation is needed. The National
Leather Workers’ Association, as at present constituted, is not, within
the Bureau’s definition, a national organization. At the same time
it is the union which is functioning in one of the chief tanning and
leather-processing centers of the country, and it has agreements cov
ering most of the plants in that center (Peabody, Mass.). On the
other hand, the United Leather Workers’ International Union, the
affiliated American Federation of Labor union holding jurisdiction
over the leather industry, is not represented in Massachusetts at all.
The third organization, the United Leather Workers’ International
Union of America, is older than the National Leather Workers’ Asso
ciation, and is a rival not only in the same field but in the same
locality. Since 1929 it has established one local in New York.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Leather Workers* International Union, United.
Independent organizations:
Leather Workers’ Association, National.
Leather Workers’ International Union of America, United.
Leather W orkers’ Association, National
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Peabody, Mass., in March 1933 as the result of a strike
which ended with an agreement recognizing the newly established
union.
O bjects .—“To establish and maintain as far as possible, a uniform rate of
wages upon as high a standard as possible, consistent with the true interest of
trade as affecting all persons employed in the plants where skins, hides, or
leather are manufactured, handled, or processed and in the factories of the
byproducts thereof; * * * to protect its members from illegal or unjust
treatment; to protect, educate, and elevate, by the use of all honorable means,
all persons employed in the plants where skins, hides, or leather are manufac-
LEATHER MANUFACTURE
165
tured, handled, or processed and in the factories of the byproducts thereof;
* * * to secure for the workers the full enjoyment of the wealth they create;
sufficient leisure in which to develop their intellectual, moral, and social facul
ties; all of the benefits, recreations, and pleasures of association; in a word,
to enable them to share in the gains and honors of advancing civilization; to
use all our efforts to secure, by all fair and honorable means, humane labor
legislation for all persons employed in the plants where skins, hides, or leather
are manufactured, handled, or processed and in the factories of the byproducts
thereof.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r isd ic t io n .—The manufacture, processing, and handling of skins,
hides, and leather and byproducts thereof, exclusive of the remanufacture of
leather in its finished state.
G o vernm en t .—1. National officers are national organizer and secretary-treas
urer elected by convention, and a national executive board composed of five mem
bers at large elected by convention, and one member representing and elected
by each local union. The national executive board directs the affairs of the
organization and exercises “full power and jurisdiction over the national secre
tary-treasurer and national organizer in the performance of their duties.”
2. Convention: Held annually.
3. Referendum.
4. Local unions: Subordinate; subject to direction of national executive board
under national constitution.
5. Shop stewards: Local representatives of national officers.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person employed within the jurisdiction
is eligible. Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip re g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of neg otiating a g r eem ents .—National representatives of organiza
tion negotiate with individual employers on basis of a uniform agreement.
B e n e f it s .—Strike.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H eadquarters .—Woolworth Building, Peabody, Mass.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: Massachusetts, 5.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .— 8,250.
Leather Workers* International Union, United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Indianapolis, Ind., in April 1917. Harness and sad
dlery workers had two organizations—the United Brotherhood of
Harness and Saddle Workers and the National Association of Saddle
and Harness Makers. These two arganizations merged in 1896 and
became the United Brotherhood of Leather Workers on Horse Goods
and affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Trunk and bag makers organized the Trunk and Bag Workers’
International Union at Louisville, Ky., in 1895 and affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor in 1898. This organization increased
its jurisdiction extensively during the following years and in 1903
became the Travelers’ Goods and Leather Novelty Workers’ Inter
national Union.
166
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
The Amalgamated Leather Workers of America, composed of tan
nery workers, existed as a national union affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor from 1901 to 1912, when its charter was surren
dered. From that time such organization as existed among tannery
workers outside of Massachusetts was carried on through directly
affiliated American Federation of Labor locals.
In 1917 all these organizations amalgamated to form the United
Leather Workers5 International Union. Before this amalgamation
took place, however, the Travelers5Goods and Leather Novelty Work
ers International Union had suffered disruption because of a seces
sion movement on the part of the pocketbook workers. This group,
after a few years5intensive organization, established itself as an inde
pendent national union in 1923 and remained independent until 1926,
when it sought affiliation with the American Federation of Labor.
The United Leather Workers protested their affiliation as a distinct
craft, and the question was for a time compromised by chartering the
locals of the International Pocket Book Workers5 Union as directly
affiliated American Federation of Labor locals. In 1928 the pocketbook workers amalgamated with the United Leather Workers under
an agreement which allows the former independent organization to
retain its name and to continue complete jurisdiction and autonomy
over workers in the handbag, pocketbook, and fancy-leather-goods
trade.
O b je c t s .—“The object of this union is to establish and uphold a fair and
equitable rate of wages and decrease the hours of labor and regulate all trade
matters pertaining to the welfare of its members; to educate the wage earner
in all economic questions that are necessary to better the conditions of the wage
workers and to elevate their position; and to maintain and protect the interest
of the craft in general.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and possessions and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .— “The production of leather and byproducts thereof”,
except gloves and shoes. Specifically, tanneries and the manufacture of harness
and saddlery, travelers’ goods, pocketbooks and leather novelties, and machinery
belts.
G o vernm en t .—1. General executive council, composed of the general presi
dent, two vice presidents, and six elected members, is the controlling body.
President and secretary-treasurer are the chief administrative officers.
2. Local unions: Autonomous within the limits defined by the national con
stitution.
3. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention or referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person employed within the jurisdic
tion is eligible to membership. In Pocketbook Workers’ section, foremen and
forewomen with power to hire and discharge are not eligible. Male and female
membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—Three-year term; 1 apprentice to 10 journey
men.
METALS AND MACHINERY
167
M eth o d of neg o tia tin g a g r eem ents .—Negotiated locally with individual
employers in the general trade. Pocketbook makers have standard agreement
covering all establishments operated by members of the manufacturers' asso
ciation.
B enefits .—None.
O ff ic ia l organ .— None.
H ea dquarters .—Walsix Building, Kansas City, Mo. Pocketbook Workers’
headquarters, 53-55 West Twenty-first Street, New York, N. Y.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions: Alabama, 1; California, 1; Colorado, 1; Dela
ware, 2; Illinois, 7; Kentucky, 1; Michigan, 1; Minnesota, 1; Missouri, 2;
Nebraska, 1; New Hampshire, 1; Ohio, 2; Oklahoma, 1; Pennsylvania, 4;
Tennessee, 1; Texas, 3; Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 3. Total, 34.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—No report On basis of voting strength in American
Federation of Labor, 2,700.
Leather W orkers’ International Union of America, United
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Peabody, Mass., September 2, 1915.
O b je c t s .—“The object of this union is to establish and uphold a fair, equi
table rate of wages and decrease the hours of labor and regulate all trad©
matters pertaining to the welfare of its members; to educate the wageworkers
in all economic questions that are necessary to better the conditions of wage
workers and to elevate their position and to maintain and protect the interest
of the craft in general.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The production of leather and byproducts thereof.
G o v er n m en t .—General officers consist of national organizer, national secre
tary-treasurer, and an executive board of nine members.
2. Local unions: Subordinate.
3. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers. Legislation and con
stitutional amendments by convention or by initiative and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person “working in the production or
transportation of leather and byproducts thereof, and of good moral character”,
is eligible to membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M eth o d of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—None.
B e n e f it s .—Strike.
O ff ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea dq ua rters .—Lowell, Mass.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Local unions only: Massachusetts, 2; New York, 1.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—1,180.
METALS AND MACHINERY
The trend away from organization along the established and ac
cepted trade lines is more pronounced in the metal-trades and heavygoods industries than in any other field. This is evident from the
many attempts that have been made in the past few years to form
industrial unions in industries in which organization has heretofore
made little headway. The automobile industry is the outstanding
168
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
example of this tendency, but the movement is no less significant in
such industries as shipbuilding, heavy electrical equipment, and air
plane manufacture.
In the latter field an organization has been launched as the Indus
trial Aircraft Workers of America. It was founded in Hartford,
Conn., in January 1934 and is so far confined to that area, where it
reports a membership of 1,500. It is organized as an industrial union
under the shop committee plan, with general headquarters at 450
Asylum Street, Hartford, Conn.
Workers employed in the manufacture of electrical goods and
equipment have been organized locally in various manufacturing
centers and with several different kinds of organization and affilia
tion. By 1934 the employees in radio-manufacturing plants had
been organized into federal labor unions, with about 9,000 members
in IT different centers. This movement was especially strong in
Philadelphia, where an excellent agreement was made with one of
the large radio-manufacturing concerns.
Workers in the plants making heavy electrical equipment, on
the other hand, organized independently but locally. The employees
of the General Electric Co. at West Lynn, Mass., decided, in 1933, to
establish a labor organization to supplant the company union which
had been in operation there for some time, and the employees of the
Schenectady plant of the same company followed their example.
The Lynn group, organized as the Electrical Industry Employees
Union, applied to the American Federation of Labor for a charter
as a directly affiliated union. The A. F. of L. directed the Electrical
Industry Employees Union, as a condition of affiliation, to release to
the craft unions those members over whom national craft unions
held jurisdiction. This the industrially organized Lynn group re
fused to do, and the charter was not granted.
On June 1, 1935, a conference of independent groups in the elec
trical equipment and radio industries was held at Lynn, at which the
organized workers at three General Electric plants, and those of
the Radio Corporation of America plant at Camden, N. J., were
represented. This conference drew up a provisional constitution for
a national organization which was later established as the United
Electrical and Radio Workers Union, covering “all workers in the
electrical and radio industry, irrespective of trade, operation, craft,
creed, nationality, race, or political beliefs.”
An industrial union in the shipbuilding industry which has
achieved some success and considerable prominence because of the
intercession of President Roosevelt in a protracted strike, is the
Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers, organized in
METALS AND MACHINERY
169
1934. This group had its inception as a local union in Camden,
N. J., in 1933, but expanded during the following year into national
scope. Organized definitely along industrial rather than craft lines,
it is, of course, independent and cuts across the jurisdictional claims
of many of the standard unions.
The complicated situation among the organized automobile workers
crystallized into one international union affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, and one rival independent organization.
The various directly affiliated American Federation of Labor local
unions held a constitutional convention in Detroit in August 1935 and
were granted a provisional charter of affiliation with the American
Federation of Labor as an international under the title International
Union United Automobile Workers. The executive officer was ap
pointed by the executive council of the American Federation of
Labor, to direct the affairs of the organization for the time being,
instead of an elected president.
A number of independent groups of automobile workers held a
conference in Detroit at the same time. The strongest of these
groups were the Associated Automobile Workers of America, com
posed of local unions which had formerly been chartered by the
American Federation of Labor, but which had withdrawn in 1934,
and the Automotive Industrial Workers of America. Both of these
organizations had a definite industrial unionism philosophy. This
conference created a steering committee instructed to work toward
the creation of an industrial union in the automotive industry. In
consequence, an organizing convention was held in Detroit on Decem
ber 21 at which the Automobile and Metal Workers’ Union of
America was launched. The Mechanics’ Educational Society, an
organization of skilled tool and die makers in the automobile plants
which had refused to ally itself with the American Federation of
Labor groups, merged with the industrially organized automobile
workers as part of the new organization. However, not all the local
units comprising the Automotive Industrial Workers’ Union acceded
to the terms of the merger, and about 25 locals withdrew from the
amalgamation and voted to maintain the Automotive Industrial
Workers’ Union as an entity.
No significant changes, other than fluctuations in membership,
have occurred among the established standard unions in the metal
and machinery industries.
The unions presented in this classification are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Metal Trades Department, American Federation of Labor.
Automobile Workers, International Union, United.
Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers, International Brotherhood of.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders, and Helpers of America, International
Brotherhood of.
Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers, International Asso
ciation of. (Classified under Building Trades.)
Carmen of America, Brotherhood of Railway.
Draftsmen’s Unions, International Federation of Technical Engineers,
Architects and. (Classified under Professional, etc.)
Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of. (Classified under
Building Trades.)
Engineers, International Union of Operating. (Classified under Building
Trades.)
Engravers’ Union, International Metal.
Firemen and Oilers, International Brotherhood of.
Foundry Employees, International Brotherhood of.
Horseshoers of the United States and Canada, International Union of
Journeymen.
Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers of North America, Amalgamated Associa
tion of.
Machinists, International Association of.
Metal Workers’ International Association, Sheet. (Classified under
Building Trades.)
Molders’ Union of North America, International.
Pattern Makers’ League of America.
Polishers’ International Union, Metal.
Stove Mounters’ International Union of North America.
Wire Weavers’ Protective Association, American.
Independent organizations:
Automobile and Metal Workers’ Union of America.
Automotive Industrial Workers of America.
Engravers and Sketchmakers, Friendly Society of.
Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Industrial Union of.
Metal Trades Department, American Federation of Labor
The Metal Trades Department of the American Federation of
Labor was established as a department in June 1908. A federation of
some of the metal-trades unions had been functioning since 1900, when
the Federated Metal Trades was organized. While not all of the
metal trades were included, the federation organized local metaltrades councils in various cities. It was an independent organization,
but when the departmental program was undertaken by the American
Federation of Labor, the Federated Metal Trades, with its nucleus of
industrial federation in the metal industry, was taken over and char
tered as the Metal Trades Department of the American Federation of
Labor. Thereafter the affiliated metal-trades unions in the Ameri
can Federation of Labor which had not been identified with the
Federated Metal Trades became members of the Metal Trades Depart
ment.
The purpose of the department, as declared in its constitution, is
“the encouragement and formation of local metal-trades councils and
METALS AND MACHINERY
171
the conferring of such power and authority upon the various local
organizations of this department as may advance the interest and
welfare of the metal industry”; to “adjust trade disputes” ; and “to
use its good offices in assisting affiliated national and international
unions in the adjustment of any dispute arising over a question of
jurisdiction.”
It is governed by an executive council consisting of the president,
secretary-treasurer, and six vice presidents, no two of whom shall be
representatives of the same organization. The president “exercises
supervision over the Metal Trades Department throughout its
jurisdiction.”
Membership in the department is “confined to national and inter
national metal-trades unions which are chartered by and affiliated
with the American Federation of Labor and metal-trades councils
chartered by and affiliated with the department, and which are
employed in the metal industries.”
Local metal-trades councils are formed wherever “there exist three
or more local unions of trades” affiliated with the Metal Trades De
partment. These councils are governed by the laws and constitution
of the department, and any bylaws adopted for local government
must be approved by the executive council of the department. The
territorial jurisdiction of a local council is determined by the executive
council.
Trade movements and strikes undertaken by a local council must be
sanctioned by the international officers of all local organizations
involved and by the department before being carried out.
ORGANIZATION
The 16 national and international unions comprising the Metal Trades Depart
ment are:
Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers, International Brotherhood of.
Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, International
Brotherhood of.
Bridge, Structural, and Ornamental Iron Workers, International Associa
tion of.
Draftsmen’s Unions, International Federation of Technical Engineers, Archi
tects and.
Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of.
Engineers, International Union of Operating.
Firemen and Oilers, International Brotherhood of.
Foundry Employees, International Brotherhood of.
Hod Carriers, Building and Common Laborers’ Union of America, Interna
tional.
Machinists, International Association of.
Metal Polishers’ International Union.
Molders’ Union of North America, International.
Pattern Makers’ League of North America.
172
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Plumbers and Steam Fitters of the United States and Canada, United Asso
ciation of Journeyman.
Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
Stove Mounters’ International Union of North America.
Metal-trades districts: Marine Workers Metal Trades District Council of the
Port of New York; District Council Office Equipment Workers. Total, 2.
Local metal-trades councils: Navy Yard Metal Trades Councils: Bremerton,
Wash.; Brooklyn, N. Y.; Charleston, S. C.; Charleston, Mass.; Newport, R. I .;
Philadelphia, Pa.; Portsmouth, Ya.; Portsmouth, N. H .; Vallejo, Calif.; Wash
ington, D. C.; Panama, Canal Zone. Total, 11.
Miscellaneous councils: Ohio, 5; Alabama, 1; Georgia, 1; Massachusetts, 1;
New York, 3; Illinois, 1; Kansas, 1; Michigan, 1; Iowa, 1; Wisconsin, 3;
California, 3; Virginia, 1; New Jersey, 1; Pennsylvania, 2; Oregon, 1; Washing
ton, 2; Missouri, 1; total, 30.
The Metal Trades Department holds a convention annually at a
time and place designated by the executive council. The custom is
for the Metal Trades Department to meet in convention 3 days prior
to the convening of the convention of the American Federation of
Labor. The officers are elected annually in convention.
The headquarters of the Metal Trades Department are in the
American Federation of Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Automobile and Metal Workers’ Union of America
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Detroit, Mich., December 21, 1935. This organiza
tion is a merger of three independent organizations which were
formed at different stages of the movement, begun in 1933, to or
ganize the automobile industry. The organizations were the Asso
ciated Automobile Workers, the Automotive Industrial Workers’
Association, and the Mechanics’ Educational Society of America.
The Associated Automobile Workers was formed by a group of
local unions which had been chartered by the American Federation
of Labor as federal labor unions, but which withdrew in 1934 as a
result of disagreement over policies and organized independently.
The second group, the Automotive Industrial Workers Association,
was formed about the same time. It had no connection with the
American Federation of Labor, and was from the first established
upon industrial unionism principles. The Mechanics’ Educational
Society was organized in 1933 as a craft union of skilled tool and die
makers in automobile manufacture. It expanded in 1935 to cover
all workers in the metal trades.
At a convention held in Detroit in December 1935, these three
organizations merged their separate entities into one industrial union,
the jurisdiction of which, according to its title, goes beyond the
automobile industry into the wider field which the Mechanics’ Educa
tional Society sought to include.
METALS AND MACHINERY
173
As in the case of the other newly created union in the automobile
industry, this group is considered for the purposes of the handbook
as of too recent origin to make a detailed analysis practicable. Head
quarters are temporarily in the Stormfeltz-Lovely Building, Detroit^
Mich., and its reported membership is approximately 38,000.
Automobile Workers, International Union United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Detroit, Mich., in August 1935. After the enactment
of the National Industrial Recovery Act in 1933 active organization
campaigns were undertaken in the various automobile manufacturing
centers to establish unionism and collective bargaining among the
workers in that industry. By October 1934, 106 federal labor unions
had been created, and a National Council of Automobile Workers was
formed to serve as a clearing house and a coordinating medium for
that large number of scattered groups. The 1934 convention of the *
American Federation of Labor instructed the executive council to
proceed with the organization and chartering of the automobile
workers as an international union, with the proviso that “the Amer
ican Federation of Labor shall for a provisional period direct the
policies, administer the business, and designate the administrative
and financial officers” of the newly created international.
Its chartered jurisdiction covers “all employees directly engaged
in the manufacture of parts (not including tools, dies, and ma
chinery) and assembling of those parts into completed automobiles,
but not including job or contract shops manufacturing parts or
any other employees engaged in said automobile production plants.”
Because of its recent formation and its provisional status, an
analysis of the constitution of the Automobile Workers’ Union and the
distribution of its locals is impracticable in this edition of the hand
book. The headquarters of the ad interim president is Hoffman
Building, Detroit, Mich., and the reported membership is 35,000.
Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers, International
Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Atlanta, Ga., in 1889. An organization called the
Grand Union of Machinists and Blacksmiths was formed at Philadel
phia, Pa., on March 3, 1859, by delegates from five cities in three
States. It did not survive the Civil War and was succeeded by local
assemblies of machinists and blacksmiths, organized under the
Knights of Labor, the first of which was in Philadelphia in 1873.
174
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
The present organization began as an association of railroad black
smiths under the title of International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths.
It was practically wiped out by the American Railway Union strike
of 1894, but revived sufficiently to secure a charter from the American
Federation of Labor in 1897. Jurisdiction was extended to include
blacksmith helpers and in 1903 the name of the organization was
changed to International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths and Helpers.
Drop-forgers formed an organization at Boston, Mass., in 1900 and
in 1905 merged with the International Association of Machinists.
They withdrew later and formed an independent organization known
as the Brotherhood of Drop Forgers, Die Sinkers, and Trimming Die
Makers. Affiliation with the American Federation of Labor was
refused because of conflicting jurisdiction, since blacksmiths included
drop-forging in their claims. In 1919 the Brotherhood of Drop
Forgers amalgamated with the Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, which
^then became the International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop
Forgers, and Helpers.
O b je c t s .—“Believing it to be the natural right of those who toil to enjoy to
the fullest extent the wealth created by their labor; and realizing that under
the changing industrial conditions of our time and the enormous growth of
syndicates and other aggressions of capital it is impossible for us to obtain the
full reward of our labor except by united action; and believing that organization
founded on sound principles as to the wisest use of our citizenship, based upon
the class struggle along cooperative, economic, and political lines, with a view
of restoring the common wealth of our governments to the people, and by using
the natural resources and means of production and distribution for the benefit
of all the people, * * ♦ we pledge ourselves to labor unitedly in behalf of
the principles herein set forth, to perpetuate our association on the basis of
friendship and justice, to expound its objects, and work for their general
adoption.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States, Canada, and Canal Zone.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—“It is hereby established and imperatively ordered that
the following shall be blacksmith work, which includes all blacksmith work in
the railroad shops, shipyards, navy yards, arsenals and naval stations, auto
mobile shops, carriage and wagon shops, motorcycle shops, contract shops, frog
and crossing shops, drop-forge shops, spring shops, chain shops, nut, bolt, and
rivet shops, acetylene-, electric-, or thermit-welding shops, and all other shops
where blacksmith work is done.
“(a) All forging, all welding, whether by acetylene, electric, or thermit or any
other process, also flue and tube welding, straightening of iron and steel, both
hot and cold; all blacksmiths’ work on structural-shaped steel, all forging, tem
pering, and dressing of tools, including sharp-edge tools and instruments;
bending and straightening, of angle iron, channel iron, T-iron, and I-beams,
whether done hot or cold, from furnaces or fires, operating forging and upset
ting machines, drop-forging and trimmers, both hot and cold; axle forgers, bolt
machines, bulldozer-machine work, or any machine doing blacksmith work, and
all work performed on Bradley hammer, punch, and shear machines when con
nected with the blacksmith department; hot or cold hand-press machines; all
frames on engines, cars, tanks, and trucks, all welding of rails, building up
METALS AND MACHINERY
175
switch points and frogs, and all track work; all dredge-dipper and steam-shovel
work; hardeners, case-hardeners, annealers, and heat treaters; and the reclaim
ing of scrap.
“(b) Automobile and wagon and carriage shops; putting on, taking off, and
fitting auto fenders, putting on running-board brackets; building and rebuilding
fire trucks; making and repairing all springs, putting on and taking off all
springs, making all springs and spring fittings; setting and riveting when done
in conjunction with blacksmith work; grinding pertaining to blacksmith work;
benders, resetters, bath men, forgers, and finishers.
“(c) Putting on and taking off rubber tires, putting flanges on wheels, putting
on and repairing bumpers, putting on and taking off wheels, putting on and
riveting fiber of brake bands, putting on and taking off radius rods, putting on
pyrene brackets, repairing and setting all axles, straightening and repairing of
auto frames, putting on brackets for radiator, fitting up windshields, putting
handles on doors, fitting handrails on back of auto, fitting up gongs. All drilling,
filing, lining up wheels, adjusting brake rods, tip welding and tire setting, mak
ing and putting on license brackets, headlight brackets, making and putting on
body iron.
“{d) All the foregoing, and in addition thereto any other work which does
now or in the future may, as industries develop, fall naturally within the scope
of the jurisdiction of blacksmiths, drop-forgers, and helpers.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General president “shall have the direction and supervision
of all subordinate and district lodges * * * and have full control of the
work of the organization throughout the jurisdiction of the brotherhood.”
General executive board consists of president, secretary-treasurer, and seven
elected members, one of whom shall be a member of a local in Canada.
2. District council: Composed of delegates from all affiliated locals within
a given district; affiliation compulsory. “Action by a district council in regu
lating the affairs of said district shall be final.” Constitution dictated by inter
national brotherhood.
Railroad councils: Composed of delegates from affiliated shops or locals;
affiliation compulsory. Constitution dictated by international brotherhood.
3. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution and bylaws dictated by inter
national brotherhood.
4. Convention: Held quadrennially.
Initiative, referendum, and recall: Nomination and election of general officers
by referendum; constitutional amendments by initiative and referendum; re
call of officers provided for.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any man who is a competent worker at
any of the occupations embraced in the jurisdiction, “capable of earning the
minimum wage established by the organization in his locality”, is eligible to
membership. Persons who are members “of the Industrial Workers of the
World, State militia, miners’ police, sheriff’s office, police force, detective force,
or secret-service force” are ineligible. Any blacksmith “conducting a black
smith shop and employing not to exceed three blacksmiths” may be admitted
to membership.
Colored: “Where there are a sufficient number of colored helpers they may
be organized as an auxiliary local and shall be under the jurisdiction of the
white local having jurisdiction over that territory. * * ♦ Colored helpers
shall not transfer except to another auxiliary local composed of colored mem
bers, and colored members shall not be promoted to blacksmiths or helper
apprentices and will not be admitted to shops where white helpers are now
employed.”
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
A p ib e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“Any boy engaging himself to learn the trade
of blacksmithing must serve 4 years. He shall in no case leave his employer
without just cause. Any difficulty arising between the apprentice and his em
ployer must be submitted to the shop committee.
“The following ratio of apprentices will be allowed: One to every five black
smiths regularly employed.
“No boy shall begin to learn the trade until he is 16 years old nor after the
age of 21 years.
“Apprentices who have served 6 months shall be eligible to membership.
“Local unions shall do all in their power to encourage the apprentice system.”
M eth o d of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by district councils or local
unions, approved by the general executive board. District councils and rail
road systems councils must establish a minimum-wage rate, by constitutional
requirement. Contracts covering railroad workers are negotiated in conjunction
with other railroad crafts.
B e n e f it s .—Death.
O ff ic ia l organ .—International Brotherhood of Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers,
and Helpers’ Bi-Monthly Journal.
H ea dq ua rters .—2922 Washington Boulevard, Chicago, 111.
O r g a n iza tio n .—District councils: Chicago; Greater New York; San Francisco
and vicinity; St. Louis; New Orleans; Boston; Pittsburgh and vicinity; Phila
delphia and vicinity; Norfolk, Va., and vicinity; anthracite district.
Railroad systems councils: Missouri Pacific; Canadian Pacific; Baltimore &
Ohio; Frisco; New York, New Haven & Hartford; Illinois Central and allied
lines; Milwaukee System; Louisville & Nashville; Erie; Chicago & North
Western; Rock Island; Chesapeake & Ohio; Southern and allied lines; Big
Four; Norfolk & Western; Boston & Maine; Central of Georgia; Missouri,
Kansas & Texas; Delaware & Hudson; Denver & Rio Grande; northwest dis
trict (Wisconsin); Mobile & Ohio; Wabash; Atlantic Coast Line; Santa Fe;
Burlington ; Chicago & Alton ; Seaboard Air Line; Pennsylvania ; Union Pacific ;
Southern Pacific; New York Central and allied lines; Delaware, Lackawanna
& Western; Lehigh; Chicago Great Western; Central of New Jersey; Grand
Trunk; switching and terminal lines.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 6; Arizona, 2; Arkansas 2 (1 colored
auxiliary); California, 5; Colorado, 2; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 3
(1 colored auxiliary) ; Georgia, 4 (1 colored auxiliary) ; Idaho, 1; Illinois, 18;
Indiana, 11; Iowa, 5; Kansas, 2; Kentucky, 5; Louisiana, 3; Maryland, 5;
Massachusetts, 5; Michigan, 7; Minnesota, 5; Mississippi, 2; Missouri, 6;
Montana, 6; Nebraska, 1; Nevada, 1; New Jersey, 4; New York, 10; North
Carolina, 1 (1 colored auxiliary); Ohio, 19; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 14;
South Carolina, 3 (2 colored auxiliaries) ; Tennessee, 7 (1 colored auxiliary) ;
Texas, 7 (2 colored auxiliaries) ; Utah, 1; Vermont, 1; Virginia, 5 (2 colored
auxiliaries); Washington, 7; West Virginia, 6; Wisconsin, 10; Wyoming, 2;
Canal Zone, 1. Canada—Alberta, 2; British Columbia, 2; Manitoba, 2; New
Brunswick, 2; Nova Scotia, 1; Ontario, 5; Quebec, 5. Total, 235.
M
.—5,000.
e m b e r s h ip
reported
Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America,
International Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., October 1, 1880, at a conference held
by representatives of nine independent unions. A few years later
METALS AND MACHINERY
177
boilermakers in the South organized the National Brotherhood of
Boilermakers, at Atlanta, Ga. At a special conference held at Chi
cago, September 1, 1893, the two national organizations consolidated
under the name of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers,
Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America.
Objects.—“Organization being necessary to protect the wage earners and to
institute better conditions with the assistance of progressive, intelligent com
binations, therefore, in order to emancipate our fellow craftsmen from the
oppressive burdens they are now suffering under, we have organized this
brotherhood.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and possessions and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—“The construction, erection, assembling, and repairing
of all boilers, drums, tanks, parts, and work in connection therewith, including
boiler fronts, heat units, water walls, tube supports and castings (except the
unloading, hoisting or lowering, and placing of complete boilers, steam drums,
and assembled sections of water-tube boilers to their approximate position) ;
all connections between the boiler and stack (commonly known as breeching)
built of sheet steel or iron, supports for the same (which are not part of the
building structure), uptakes, smoke boxes, air and water heaters, smoke con
sumers, hot or cold air ducts (except when used for ventilating purposes),
pontoons, brewery vats (except glass enameled tanks), water towers (except
structural frames and balconies) ; all iron and steel pipe-line, pen stocks and
flume work; steam, air, gas, oil, water, or other liquid tanks or containers re
quiring tight joints, including tanks of riveted, calked, or welded construction in
connection with swimming pools; gasometers, including all framework in connec
tion with same. All steel stacks in connection with power plants, furnaces,
rolling mills, manufacturing plants, and all other power plants (except small
power plants in connection with hotels or office buildings, and sectional or other
steel stacks erected in office buildings or hotels), all extensions or repairs to
such stacks shall be done by the boilermakers.
“The following work in and around blast furnaces and rolling mills: Hot
stoves, blast furnaces, cupolas, and dump cars; all steam, air, water, gas,
oil, or other liquid-tight work; ore, water, and toilet cars.
“All iron and steel shipbuilding, all work in connection with mold loft, all
fabricated parts of ships, all metal plates and shapes, the hoisting and placing
of same in connection with construction and repair of iron and steel ships;
barges, tankers and boats, masts, derricks, booms, airports, metal doors, venti
lators, foundations, pillars and stanchions, inboard and outboard fittings, such
as house pipes, bitts, chocks, plugs, pads, ringbolts, railings, metal ladders,
gratings, doublers and stiffening rings, fire and engine room and other portable
floors and platforms; all drilling, tapping, and reaming in connection with con
struction, installation, and repair of ships and their equipment; all plate
straightening on tank and ship work.
“The building and applying of steel cabs, running boards, including front
ends, fire doors, fire-door frames, ash pans, netting and diaphragm work, enginetender tanks, steel underframes, and pressed-steel tender truck frames; the
applying and removing of all staybolts, grates, radials, flexible caps, sleeves,
crown bolts, stay rods, and braces in boilers, tanks, and drums; removing and
renewing all tubes (including arch tubes), metal headlight boards, windshields,
metal pilots; the building and repairing of gasoline- and electric-propelled
motorcars, the laying out and fitting up of any sheet-iron or steel work made
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79315°— 36
178
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-TJ7HONS
of 16-gage and heavier, except where steel or iron is galvanized, pickled, or
black-tarnished; water-wheel and turbine work, including turbine castings, the
operating of punches, shears, rolls, pneumatic hammer, air rams, bull, jam,
and yoke riveters, building and repairing of steam shovels and snow plows,
I-beams, angle iron, T-iron and brake beams; drilling and tapping in connection
with the above classification of work; also all acetylene and electric welding
or any other welding process used on work coming under our classification.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. “The international lodge has full jurisdiction over all subor
dinate lodges and is the highest tribunal of the brotherhood.
“The executive and judicial powers only of the international lodge when not
in session shall be vested in an international executive council of the brother
hood, which shall consist of the international president, assistant president, and
all of the international vice presidents (10).”
Legislative powers reserved to convention and initiative and referendum.
2. Local unions: “Subordinate lodges shall be competent to make, alter, or
amend their bylaws, rules, and regulations, subject to approval of the inter
national.” Constitution dictated by international.
3. Convention: Meets every third year; legislates and elects general officers.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“An applicant for membership must be a
free-born male citizen of some civilized country, 16 years of age, working at
some branch of the trade at the time of making application.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“There shall be only 1 apprentice to every 15
boilermakers or shipbuilders. * * * and all firms employing such appren
tices shall draw up an agreement satisfactory to this organization.
“Any person engaging himself as an apprentice must be between the ages
of 16 and 40 [years] and must be given an opportunity to learn all branches of
the combined trade of this brotherhood.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions through
wage-scale committees. International officers act with other organizations in
agreements covering railroad workers and shipbuilders.
B e n e f it s .—Strike, death, and disability.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Official Journal of the Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders.
H eadquarters .—Brotherhood Block, Kansas City, Kans.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions in railroad work are organized into district
lodges, one district for each railroad system .so organized. Systems repre
sented in district lodges are: Erie; New York Central; Southern; Chicago &
Northwestern; Big Four; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul; Canadian Pacific
and Canadian National; Baltimore & Ohio; Seaboard Air Line; Chesapeake &
Ohio; Western Pacific; Union Pacific System; Missouri Pacific Railway;
Southern Pacific System; Northern Pacific System; Rock Island System; Illi
nois Central Railway Co.; Denver & Rio Grande & Western Railway System;
Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad; Lackawanna Railroad. Other district
lodges: Navy yards; Pacific coast; port of New York.
Local lodges: United States—Alabama, 7; Arizona, 1; Arkansas, 5; Cali
fornia, 19; Colorado, 4; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 5; Georgia, 5;
Illinois, 28; Indiana, 16; Iowa, 16; Kansas, 8; Kentucky, 6; Louisiana, 6;
Maryland, 6; Massachusetts, 8; Michigan, 12; Minnesota, 7; Mississippi, 1;
Missouri, 9; Montana, 8; Nebraska, 6; Nevada, 4; New Hampshire, 1; New
Jersey, 8; New Mexico, 1; New York, 25; North Carolina, 4; Oklahoma, 3;
Ohio, 26; Oregon, 3; Pennsylvania, 22; South Carolina, 2; South Dakota, 2;
Tennessee, 7; Texas, 16; Utah, 3; Vermont, 1; Virginia, 9; Washington, 8;
West Virginia, 9; Wisconsin, 9; Wyoming, 4; Canal Zone, 2; Hawaiian Islands,
METALS AND MACHINERY
179
1. Canada—Alberta, 2; British Columbia, 2; Manitoba, 2; New Brunswick, 2;
Nova Scotia, 1; Ontario, 13; Quebec, 4; Saskatchewan, 4. Total, 384.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—19,000.
Carmen of America, Brotherhood of Railway
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Pueblo, Colo., in August 1891 as the result of a
consolidation of various other organizations in the same field, among
them the Brotherhood of Railway Car Repairers, which had been
in existence since 1888, the Carmen’s Mutual Aid Association, and the
Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, organized in Toronto, Canada, in
1890. The organization functioned independently until 1909, when
it affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Following its affiliation with the Federation, it became involved
in many jurisdictional difficulties with the craft unions, which
claimed many of the occupations in car building, such as the car
penters, painters, sheet-metal workers, etc. Adjustment has in most
cases been reached by agreement with the various craft organizations,
however, and the brotherhood continues to function essentially as an
industrial union.
O b je c t s .—“We declare the intent and purpose of this brotherhood is to ad
vance the moral, material, and industrial well-being of its members. First, to
bring within the fold of our brotherhood every carman eligible to join our
ranks. Second, to secure for our members a just remuneration in exchange for
their labor. Third, to shorten the hours of labor as economic development and
progress will warrant. Eight hours per day is the workday desired, and 44
hours per week, in order that our members may have more opportunities for
intellectual development, social enjoyment, and industrial education. Fourth,
to combat wherever it exists piece work, the bonus system, and all other
degrading systems of labor, and to endeavor to establish through joint confer
ences of employers and employees such rates and working conditions as befit
the ideal of honorable labor. Fifth, to federate with all other railway labor
organizations for the common good and protection of all. Sixth, to cooperate
with all trade, labor, and farmer organizations to secure the passage of such
laws as are beneficial to the working class. Seventh, to encourage and stimu
late our members to take a lively interest in the civil affairs of their country
in order that they can, as a class, vote intelligently and effectively for the
interests of the working class. Eighth, to encourage the establishment of sick,
accident, and death benefits, and old-age pensions in all lodges where it is
possible.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States, Canada, and Canal Zone.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—Car building, covering specifically: “Railroad, electric,
or motorcar builders or repairers on any class of cars, wood or steel; car
inspectors, car oilers; coach, gas, and steam-pipe work, steel cabs, steel pilots,
pilot beams and steel running boards; millwrights, drill-press men; air-brake
and triple-valve work; cabinet work, upholsterers, pattern makers in car de
partment; planing-mill work; bench, coach, locomotive and all other carpenters
in car departments; tender and tank work; locomotive, coach, and car painting
and all finishing work pertaining thereto; tinners; all axle lathes; wheel borers,
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
wheel press, bolt cutters and threaders, nut tappers, pipe fitters employed in
car department; material handlers; boiler-lagger and axle light work on wood
or steel cars; foremen and assistants; wrecking engineers and crews; punch
and shear operators in car department, and employees assigned to handle acety
lene, thermite, or electric process on work that was generally recognized as car
men’s work prior to the introduction of such process; coach cleaners and all
helpers employed in any of these classifications.”
G o vernm en t .—1. General officers: President, assistant president, 12 vice presi
dents, secretary-treasurer, editor, and general executive board of 5 elected
members.
The general president “shall perform the executive duties of the brotherhood,
with power to settle all differences and grievances.” His powers are compre
hensive. The general executive board is a trial and audit board.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution fixed by grand lodge, but with
“power of making rules and regulations for their own welfare, provided always
that such rules and regulations are in accordance with the constitution.”
3. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by initiative or convention and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“Any white person between the ages of
16 and 65 years”, employed in any capacity covered by the jurisdiction, “who
believes in the existence of a Supreme Being, who is free from hereditary or
contracted diseases, of good moral character and habits” is eligible to mem
bership ; “provided, that any person making application for membership who is
not a citizen of the United States or Canada must present first naturalization
papers or make affidavit” that such papers have been applied for. Male and
female membership.
Carmen over 65 years of age may become honorary (nonbeneficiary) members.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“An apprentice is a person who while between
the ages of 16 and 21 years is engaged to an employer to serve an apprenticeship
learning the carmen’s trade. Any person engaging himself to learn the carmen’s
trade shall serve an apprenticehip of 4 years of 290 days each.
“The ratio of apprentices shall be one apprentice for every five journeymen
carmen employed * * *. Apprentices upon completion of their apprentice
ship shall receive not less than the minimum rate of pay for carmen.”
M eth o d of n eg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by railroad systems federa
tions, composed of joint protective boards representing the various locals on a
system. Indefinite duration, with 30-day-notice clause.
B e n e f it s .—Strike; death and total disability; injury and sick (by locals).
O f f ic ia l organ .—Railway Carmen’s Journal.
H eadquarters .—Carmen’s Building, Kansas City, Mo.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 10; Arizona, 3;
Arkansas, 9; California, 26; Colorado, 8; Connecticut, 1; Delaware, 1; District
of Columbia, 1; Florida, 16; Georgia, 14; Idaho, 6; Illinois, 82; Indiana, 35;
Iowa, 30; Kansas, 22; Kentucky, 19; Louisiana, 15; Maine, 3; Maryland, 5;
Massachusetts, 8; Michigan, 25; Minnesota, 22; Mississippi, 8; Missouri, 27;
Montana, 12; Nebraska, 13; Nevada, 5; New Hampshire, 2; New Jersey, 8; New
Mexico, 1; New York, 33; North Carolina, 5; North Dakota, 3; Ohio, 53;
Oklahoma, 5; Oregon, 7; Pennsylvania, 33; South Carolina, 9; South Da
kota, 5; Tennessee, 18; Texas, 25; Utah, 8; Vermont, 4; Virginia, 22; Washing
ton, 15; West Virginia, 25; Wisconsin, 25; Wyoming, 7; Canal Zone, 1. Canada—Alberta, 13; British Columbia, 12; Manitoba, 7; New Brunswick, 5; Nova
Scotia, 5; Ontario, 42; Quebec, 17; Saskatchewan, 11. Total, 852.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—60,000.
METALS AND MACHINERY
181
Engravers and Sketchmakers, Friendly Society of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized January 10, 1874; incorporated 1883. For ® years—
1933 to 1935—this organization was affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, but except for that interval it has been an
independent group of skilled journeymen in a specialized craft.
O b je c t s .—“To unite together for the mutual protection of * * * interests
in all things that are held to be honorable, humane, and just among men.”
T erbitobjal ju r is d ic t io n .—United States. (“This society has no jurisdiction
to admit to membership any applicant who may at the time of application work
outside of the United States of America.”)
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Engravers and sketchmakers employed in connection
with the printing of textiles, oilcloth, wallpaper, etc., and with embossing on
steel, copper, brass, or any other metal—specifically, “die, plate, and roller
cutters, machine engravers on copper, steel and brass rolls and plates, clampers,
etchers, and pantograph overseers.”
G o v er n m en t .—1. Board of directors, composed of president, vice president,
corresponding secretary, recording secretary, and treasurer, is the governing
body. Members elected by popular vote which is counted at the anual meeting.
(No full-time officers.)
2. Convention: Held annually; general legislative body. Bylaws amended by
two-thirds vote of the convention.
3. Shop stewards: Represent the general officers and conduct local business
for each shop.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Engravers to be eligible for membership
must be journeymen or have served at least 3 of the 7 years' apprenticeship
required for journeymen status.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—Applicant for apprenticeship must not be over
20 years of age and must serve 7 years in the branch of the trade to which he
is indentured. During his apprenticeship he may not leave one shop to work
in another except with the consent of the board of directors.
The ratio of apprentices to journeymen is : In shops employing 5 journeymen
9 months in the year, 1 apprentice; 12 journeymen, 2 apprentices; 20 or more
journeymen, 3 apprentices.
M ethod of nego tiating a g r ee m e n ts .—Board yt directors meets with employ
ers’ representatives.
B e n e f it s .—Strike and victimization; death, superannuation after age of 65.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Friendly Society o f Engravers and Sketchmakers. (Monthly
report.)
H ea dq ua rters .—555 Washington Avenue, Nutley, N. J. (secretary).
O r g a n iza tio n .—General membership organization. Shop is the unit, and
shops are grouped in districts—New York district, New Jersey district, Con
necticut district, Pennsylvania district, Providence (R. I.) district, Lawrence
(Mass.) district, North Adams (Mass.) district, southern district (North and
South Carolina).
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—800.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Engravers’ Union, International Metal
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Buffalo, N. Y., September 7, 1920, by a number of
independent local groups known as “Gravers and Chisel Clubs”, the
most important of which were in Chicago, Buffalo, and Boston. The
clubs had been more or less secret, but when they came together into
one organization they adopted the policy of trade-unionism and 2
years later affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The
chief strength of the organization at present is in the manufacture of
marking devices.
O b je c t s .—“Believing it to be the natural rights of those who toil to enjoy to
the fullest extent wealth created by their labor and realizing that, under the
changing industrial conditions of our time, it is impossible for us to obtain the
full award of our labor except by united action*, we pledge ourselves to labor
unitedly in behalf of the principles herein set forth.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—All metal engravers except those in stationery, photo,
and jewelry engraving: Specifically, engravers of steel and brass stamps and
rolls, hubs, steel and brass embossing dies and rolls, bookbinders’ stamps and
rolls, picture-frame dies and rolls, lace and wallpaper dies and rolls, steel and
brass type, brass signs, notary and lodge seals, and all other branches of steel
and brass engraving routers of all steel and brass stamps, dies, hubs, rolls,
and brass signs; metal stencil cutters; and photography and etching having
direct bearing on the work described.
G o v e r n m en t .—1. Executive board, composed of president, vice president, gen
eral secretary-treasurer, and one representative from each local union “shall
have general supervision of the business of the international union and of local
unions.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate; “to local unions is conceded the right to make
all necessary laws for local self-government which do not conflict with the
laws of the international.”
3. Convention: Meets annually, elects general officers, enacts legislation.
Constitutional amendments by convention.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any craftsman (in the sense used and
considered by this international union) who can command the prevailing rate
of wages at any one or more of the various branches of the industry as outlined
in the jurisdiction is eligible to membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“We favor the adoption of legal apprenticeship.
No employer shall have more than one apprentice for every five men in his
employ and not more than two apprentices will be allowed in any shop.”
Method of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated independently by local unions
through committees.
B e n e f it s .—Strike.
Of f ic ia l organ .—Bulletin.
H ea dquarters .—5552 Coopei Avenue, Detroit, Mich.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions : Illinois, 1; Massachusetts, 1; Michigan, 1; New
York, 2; Wisconsin, 1; Pennsylvania, 1; Ohio, 1. Total, 8.
Because of the fact that the occupation of metal engraving is carried on
chiefly in small shops which do not employ engravers in sufficient numbers to
M ETALS AND M A C H IN ER Y
183
maintain local unions, membership at large constitutes a considerable factor in
the organization.
M em bership reported.—No report. Voting strength in the American Federa
tion of Labor, 300.
F irem en and Oilers, International Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Kansas City, Mo., in December 1898, from a number
of American Federation of Labor locals and some independent unions
of firemen. As at first organized, it was called the International
Brotherhood of Stationary Firemen and included only men engaged
in that work. Later it became necessary to extend jurisdiction and
control to the oilers and helpers in the boiler rooms, and in 1902 the
name was changed to International Brotherhood of Stationary Fire
men and Oilers. Some years later the word “stationary” was dropped
from the title of the organization.
By a ruling of the Railroad Labor Board the Brotherhood of
Firemen and Oilers was granted to right to represent the roundhouse
and railroad-shop laborers in hearings before that body. Prior to
the World War workers of that class, when organized at all, were in
American Federation of Labor local unions. These locals were trans
ferred to the Brotherhood of Firemen and Oilers as a result of the
Labor Board decision.
Objects.—“The objects of this brotherhood shall be to organize local unions;
to place our occupation upon a higher plane of intelligence, efficiency, and skill;
to encourage the settlement of disputes between employers and employees by
arbitration; to secure employment and a fair wage for the same; to provide
for a respectable burial for our dead; to establish schools of instruction for
imparting practical knowledge of modern operation of steam plants; to reduce
the hours of day labor; and by all legal, proper means to elevate our moral,
social, and intellectual condition.
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—Boiler firemen, retort firemen, water tenders, boiler
washers, boiler-washers’ helpers, oilers, ash handlers, coal passers, stoker fire
men, stoker helpers, roundhouse and railroad-shop helpers, and laborers.
Government.—1. Executive board, composed of president, secretary-treasurer,
and seven vice presidents. “All powers of the international * * * when not
in session in convention, shall be vested in the international president, with
the approval of the international executive board.”
2. State districts: When organized by three or more locals all locals must
affiliate. “State districts shall have the right to make their own constitutions
and bylaws and make such rules and laws” as may be necessary, in conformity
with international constitution.
3. Local unions: “All local unions shall have the right to compile constitu
tions and bylaws for their government, subject to the approval of the inter
national president.”
4. Convention: Held triennially; elects general officers and enacts legislation.
Amendments to constitution by convention vote only.
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HANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
Qualifications fob membership.—Any “trustworthy” person employed within
the jurisdiction is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by local unions with indi
vidual employers on terms approved by the executive board before negotiations
are begun. Railroad agreements negotiated in conjunction with federated shop
crafts.
B enefits.—Death; strike donations.
Official organ.—Firemen and Oilers’ Journal.
H eadquarters,—330 South Wells Street, Room 1304, Chicago, 111.
Organization.—State district unions: Massachusetts, Illinois, Iowa, and Ne
braska.
Local unions: United States —Alabama, 4; Arizona, 2; Arkansas, 7; Califor
nia, 17; Colorado, 2; Connecticut, 3 ; Delaware, 1 ; District of Columbia, 2;
Florida, 8; Georgia, 2; Idaho, 2; Illinois, 27; Indiana, 8; Iowa, 19; Kansas, 18;
Kentucky, 9; Louisiana, 4; Maine, 8; Maryland, 6; Massachusetts, 12; Michi
gan, 20; Minnesota, 18; Mississippi, 6; Missouri, 12; Montana, 5; Nebraska, 10;
Nevada, 3; New Hampshire, 1 ; New Jersey, 6; New York, 31; North Dakota, 2;
Ohio, 40; Oklahoma, 4 ; Oregon, 5; Pennsylvania, 20; Rhode Island 1 ; South
Carolina, 2; South Dakota, 3; Tennessee, 8; Texas, 6; Utah, 3, Virginia, 5;
Vermont, 4; Washington, 3; Wisconsin, 12; West Virginia, 17; Wyoming, 4.
Canada—Alberta, 4; British Columbia, 2; Manitoba, 4; New Brunswick, 3;
Nova Scotia, 2 ; Ontario, 30; Quebec, 14; Saskatchewan, 10. Total, 481.
Membership
reported.— 28,000.
F oundry E m ployees, International Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. .
Organized in St. Louis, Mo., March 26, 1904, from a number of
local unions directly affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor.
Objects.—Not declared.
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and possessions and Canada.
Trade jurisdiction.—“All molders’ helpers, cupola tenders, melters, furnacemen, chippers, steel workers, casting cleaners, gangway men, yardmen, crane
men, flask makers, blackeners, craters, sand cutters, shaker-outs, flask sorters,
pattern carriers, shippers and shipper helpers, cast-iron and steel-enamel work
ers, packers, operators of vertical drills, pattern sorters, grinders, millmen,
welders, and all others employed in or around foundries and not covered by
other legitimate jurisdiction.”
Government.—1. International executive board, composed of president, one
vice president, three executive board members, and secretary-treasurer.
2. Local unions: “Each local union may have local autonomy In the making
of necessary laws for the governing of their local union, which must not conflict
with the laws of the international brotherhood.”
3. Convention: Meets triennially; legislates for body and elects general
officers.
Qualifications for membership.—Any person employed within the jurisdic
tion as defined above is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
METALS AND MACHINERY
185
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated locally by agreement com
mittees of local unions but subject to approval by the international brotherhood.
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; death.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—2908 Chippewa Street, St. Louis, Mo.
Organization.—Local unions only: Alabama, 1 ; Georgia, 1 ; Hawaii, 1 ; Illi
nois, 6; Indiana, 2; Iowa, 2; Massachusetts, 3; Michigan, 2; Missouri 3;
Nebraska, 1 ; New York, 1 ; Ohio, 3; Pennsylvania, 5; Tennessee, 1 ; Washing
ton, 1 ; Wisconsin, 4. Total, 37.
Membership
reported.— 4,500.
H orseshoers of the U nited States and Canada, International
U nion of Journeym en
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized April 27, 1874, as the Journeymen Horseshoers’ Na
tional Union of the United States of America. With extension of
jurisdiction to Canada, this name was changed in 1893 to the present
title. The union was incorporated in the State of Ohio, August
14, 1912.
Objects.—“The object for which our international union is formed and main
tained is for the purpose of organizing local unions and to faciUtate a thorough
organization of the trade throughout the United States and Canada for mutual
benefit and protection.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—Horseshoeing.
Government.—1. General officers: President (who is also general organizer),
three vice presidents, and secretary-treasurer, who comprise the executive
council.
2. Local unions: “Each local union shall adopt a constitution and bylaws
not in conflict with the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the international
union.”
3. Convention: Meets annually; elects general officers.
Qualifications for membership.—Any competent horseshoer who is capable
of earning the minimum scale of wages established by the local union having
jurisdiction over the locality where he is employed may make application for
membership in that local, and if he is temperate and of good character, and
complies with all the requirements prescribed in these bylaws, he may be
elected to membership, provided there are no members of the local out of
employment.
A pprenticeship regulations.—The term of apprenticeship shall be 4 years,
or less, providing apprentice becomes a proficient mechanic.
“Only one apprentice shall be allowed to work in any shop within the juris
diction of any local union, and any shop employing more than one apprentice
shall be declared ‘unfair.’ ”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Uniform agreement negotiated by local
unions but sanctioned by executive board. Union label; union shop card.
B enefits.— Strike and lock-out (local).
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—4854 West Polk Street, Chicago, 111.
186
HANDBOOK OP AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Organization.—Local unions only: California, 1 ; Illinois, 1 ; Long Island, 1 ;
Maryland, 1 ; Minnesota, 1 ; New Jersey, 1 ; New York, 1; Ohio, 2; Pennsylvania,
1. TotaJ, 10.
Membership reported.—No report. On basis of voting strength in American
Federation of Labor, 100.
Iron, Steel, and Tin W orkers of North A m erica, A m algam ated
A ssociation of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized August 4, 1876, in Pittsburgh, Pa. It was an amal
gamation of various independent unions in the industry, the most
important of which at the time were the United Sons of Yulcan, the
Associated Brotherhood of Iron and Steel Heaters, Rollers, and
Roughers, the Iron and Steel Roll Hands’ Union, and the Nailers’
Union.
Objects.—“The object of this association shall be the elevation of the posi
tion of its members; maintenance of the best interests of the association, and
to obtain by conciliation or by other means, just and legal, a fair remunera
tion to members for their labor; and to afford mutual protection to members
against broken contracts, obnoxious rules, unlawful discharge, or other system
of injustice or oppression.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction .—Rolling mills, tin mills, steel works, chain works; nail,
tack, spike, bolt, and nut factories; pipe mills, and all works run in connection
therewith.
G overnment .—1. International executive board, composed of president, secre
tary-treasurer, assistant secretary, managing editor, two divisional vice presi
dents, and resident trustee “shall have jurisdiction over all matters and sub
jects not clearly defined by law.” The president “shall superintend the work
of the association throughout the jurisdiction.”
2. Subordinate lodges “shall have power to make such bylaws for their
government as they may deem necessary, providing they do not conflict with
any of the laws, rules, or regulations” of the international organization.
3. Convention: Held annually; enacts legislation.
4. Initiative, referendum, and recall. International officers elected by refer
endum. Constitutional amendments by convention and referendum or initiative
and referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—“Any person employed at any job” in and
around the works covered by jurisdiction is eligible to membership.
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Wage scales are drawn
up by the
wage-scale committees of the separate craft divisions of the industry at the
annual convention. These scales are then submitted to a conference between
local employers and committees representing local unions, assisted by repre
sentatives of the international office. All agreements terminate annually on
the same date.
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; death (member and wife).
Official organ.—Amalgamated Journal.
H eadquarters.—500 South Main Street, Pittsburgh, Pa.
M ETALS AND M A C H IN ER Y
187
Organization.—Districts: First, Pittsburgh and vicinity; second, West Vir
ginia and part of Ohio; third, Kentucky, parts of Ohio and Indiana; fourth,
Illinois and Indiana adjacent to Chicago; fifth, Indiana; sixth, Ohio, Detroit,
Mich., and Hamburg, N. Y . ; seventh, Alabama; eighth, Erie, P a.; ninth, Mis
souri and western Illinois; tenth, Pennsylvania (Scranton, Steelton, Reading,
etc) ; Canadian district.
Local unions: Alabama, 6; California, 4; Illinois, 17; Indiana, 13; Delaware,
1 ; Kentucky, 4; Maryland, 4; Massachusetts, 1 ; Michigan, 2; Missouri, 6; New
York, 7; Ohio, 39; Pennsylvania, 29; Rhode Island, 1 ; Texas, 1 ; Washington, 2;
West Virginia, 9. Total, 146.
Membership reported.—No report. On basis of voting strength in the Amer
ican Federation of Labor, 8,600.
M achinists, International A ssociation of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
The International Association of Machinists grew out of an organ
ization of 19 machinists of Atlanta, Ga., formed on May 5, 1888,
which called itself the United Machinists and Mechanical Engineers
of America. A year later, May 6, 1889, a convention was held in
Atlanta, which was attended by 22 delegates, representing 34 locals
in 14 States. This convention elected national officers and changed
the name of the organization to National Association of Machinists.
Headquarters were established in Atlanta, and a journal was pub
lished. In 1890 the general office was moved to Kichmond, Va., and
in 1891 the name was changed to International Association of Ma
chinists, because of the expansion of the organization into Canada.
In 1899 headquarters were moved to Washington, where they have
remained. They are now housed in an office building owned by the
organization.
The first general movement for improved working conditions began
on May 20, 1901, in a strike for a 9-hour day. By 1903 many agree
ments were in force covering increased wages and shorter hours.
The International Union of Bicycle Workers amalgamated with
the International Association of Machinists in 1904. More recently
the International Association of Machinists absorbed the American
branch of the English organization, the Amalgamated Society of
Engineers, which had been, in the period 1898-1902, affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor.
Objects.—“The Grand Lodge of the International Association of Machinists
aims to bring within the organization all employees, male and female, who are
actively engaged in, or connected with, the machinist’s trade; to adopt and put
into active operation an effective plan to stabilize employment for all the mem
bers of our association; to secure the establishment of a legal apprenticeship
system of 4 years; to impress upon all employers the necessity of paying the
full current wages weekly, giving preference in employment to members of
organized labor and abolishing personal record, physical examination, and old-
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H ANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
age limits imposed by employers; to settle all disputes not defined in the
constitution of this organization, and arising between employees and employers,
by arbitration; to shorten the hours of labor to 40 hours per week, namely,
5 days of 8 hours per day; Saturday to be a holiday, thus allowing our members
more time for self-improvement and social activities; to adopt and advocate a
plan of cooperation with other kindred crafts, with the ultimate object of
amalgamating all closely related metal trades, thereby eliminating strikes of
one organization at a time and by concerted action making it possible for all
to reap the full benefit of their labor. This shall not be construed to favor the
theory of industrial unionism; to stimulate the political education of the mem
bers to understand their political rights and use the ballot intelligently, to the
end that the Government may be a government for, of, and by the people and
not to be used as a tool to further the ends of combinations of capital for its
own aggrandizement; to urge the membership to vote only for and support
candidates who are in favor of this platform * * *; abolition of contract
system on all public work—city, county, State, or national—such work to be
done on the day-labor plan at union wages; that no inferior Federal judge
shall set aside a law of Congress on the ground that it is unconstitutional.
That if the Supreme Court assumes to decide any law of Congress unconsti
tutional or by interpretation undertakes to assert a public policy at variance
with the statutory declaration of Congress, which alone under our system is
authorized to determine the public policies of government, the Congress may by
repassing the law nullify the action of the court; thereafter the law to remain
in full force and effect precisely the same as though the court had never held
it to be unconstitutional. The labor of a human being not being property, we
demand the abolition of the use of injunctions in labor disputes on the grounds
that it is a judicial usurpation of the constitutional rights of our citizens.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and possessions, Canada, and
Mexico.
T rade jurisdiction.—“The jurisdiction of the International Association of
Machinists includes any person who has served an apprenticeship of 4 years
at the machinist trade, or who has acquired a fundamental knowledge of shap
ing, sizing, turning, boring, fitting, riveting, the operating of electric, thermit,
and oxyacetylene welding apparatus and the adjusting of metal parts of ma
chinery of any character, whether such metal be steel, iron, brass, lead, copper,
aluminum, duralumin, bronze, or any other substitute used therefor; as well as
any person who may have worked at the trade 4 years either as a vise hand,
lathe hand, planer hand, slotting-machine hand, milling-machine hand, hori
zontal or vertical boring-mill hand, screw-machine hand, operators of Gisholt,
Jones & Lamson, and all other turret lathes, and gear cutters. Floor hands,
machine adjusters, millwrights, or general erectors of machinery; jig workers,
die, tool, and mold makers, metal-pattern makers, Diesel oil and electric ma
chinists. The operating of electric, gas, and other mechanical cranes and con
veyors used in connection with machinists’ work. Mechanical chauffeurs who
are required to make repairs to their equipment. Sewing- and knitting-machine
adjusters and adjusters of all kinds of automatic, semiautomatic, and selfcontained machinery. Fitting together and installing valves of all kinds and
flange work on high-pressure piping. Automobile, aircraft, and moving-picture
machinery builders, and repairmen.
"Classification of work included .—The making, erecting, assembling, install
ing, mantaining, repairing, or dismantling of all or any parts thereof of all
machinery, engines, motors, pumps, and all other metal power devices, either
transmission, excavating, elevating, shooting, or conveying, whether driven by
M ETALS AND M A C H IN ER Y
189
hand, foot, steam, electricity, gas, gasoline, naphtha, benzol, oil, air, water, or
other power, including all metal appurtenances thereto, composed of steel or
iron whether structural, angle, T, boiler, galvanized, ornamental, cast malleable,
bar, tube, pipe, rod, shafting, sheet, or plate; or of nickel, bronze, tin, lead,
copper, brass, aluminum, babbitt, or other metal substitute therefor.
“The manufacture and installation of all machine tools. The operation of
all machines used in the manufacture of machine-finished metal parts and de
vices and all bench and vise work pertaining thereto, and all machinists* work
on steam, gas, gasoline, naphtha, benzol, oil, air, and watertight work.
“All riveting, calking, cutting, chipping, patching, grinding, turning, sizing,
boring, fitting, laying out, shaping, and drilling pertaining to machinists’ work.
All drilling, cutting, and tapping in boilers, tanks, drums, frames, or other
structures required for engine and machinery attachments, mountings, or other
metal construction and installation.
“All oxyacetylene, electric, oil, or thermit welding when used to substitute
the former method of performing new or repair work, including dismantling.
All lubricating devices, injectors, and inspirators and parts thereof, and at
tachments thereto. All devices used in the transmission of power, except
electric wiring, this to include all line and countershafting, shaft hangers,
shelves, and pulleys.
“All instrument, gauge-tool and die making, metal mold, novelty, model, and
pattern making and die sinking; the making of jigs, templets, spiral and coil
springs, and all molds for the shaping of glassware.
“The manufacture and installation of all printing, paper, and pulp-making
machinery. The manufacture and installation of all brewery machinery, in
cluding all soakers, pasteurizers, bottle washers, crowning machines, bottle
filling devices and conveyors. The manufacture and installation of all factory,
mill, and laundry machinery.
“The manufacture and repair of all counting, recording, and correspondence
devices, such as cash registers, typewriters, adding machines, and other office
machinery, such as sealing and addressing devices.
“The manufacture, repairing, and maintaining of all automobiles, firearms,
fire engines, locomotives, hydroplanes and airplanes, agricultural machinery and
mining machinery, rock drills and pneumatic devices used as hand tools or for
the transmission of power. The manufacture and installation of all ice-making
and refrigerating machinery. The manufacture and installation of all abbatoir, bakery, and confectionery machinery; textile, carding, and gin machinery;
refining machinery and machinery used in reducing plants; rock-crushing and
quarry machinery; concrete mixers and cement-mill machinery; rolling-mill
and steel-converting machinery; loading and unloading machinery and traveling
roadways.
“The manufacture, installation, and repairing and maintaining of all ma
chines used in making malt, cans, nails, pottery, horseshoes, brick, shoes, hats,
clothing, pianos, organs, musical and surgical instruments, tobacco, cigarettes
and cigars, flour, cereals, and all other products where mechanical devices are
necessary for the making.
“The manufacture and installation of all automatic stokers, all mechanical
devices used in amusement parks, all dredging machinery, aDd all hoists, eleva
tors, loweratoms, escalators, derricks, and other lifting or hoisting devices.
“The inspection of all machinery, ordnance, and engines, including locomo
tives, and the operating of all power machinery during the period of control or
until accepted by the purchaser.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
“The operation and repairing of towing and coaling machinery in the Panama
Canal Zone.
“Marine 'work.—All marine work as follows: The installing, assembling, dis
mantling, and repairing of all engines, pumps, dynamos, refrigerating machin
ery, steering gear, winches, windlasses, capstans, or other devices used in han
dling the ship.
“The removing and replacing of the rudder, propeller shaft, and propeller
wheel and the placing of all deck fittings and mast fittings, including mast head
lights.
“The installing and repairing of all condensers, evaporators, feed-water
heaters, overhauling and repairing of all valves, either steam, water, air, gas,
oil, or other liquids and strainers attached to hull.
“The installation of all pipes, pipe hangers, valves, and fittings for engines,
boilers, ice machines, evaporator plants, telemotors, air compressors, and power
pumps.
“The installation of deck operating gear for all valves.
“The boring, facing, chasing or tapping, and drilling holes for bolts of all pipe
flanges.
“The bending, threading, and installing of tubes in boilers in which threaded
tubes are used.
“The bending, welding, and installation of heater coils used for fuel-oil tanks
or heating purposes.
“The installation of all condenser and feed-water heater tubes, whether rolled,
screwed, or ferruled.
“The installation of all tubes in oil heaters and coolers, except those under
jurisdiction of the coppersmiths.
“The installation of all gratings, ladders, and handrails, port lights, venti
lator operating gear, and watertight doors.
“Electric and internal combustion engines and cars .—The building, installa
tion, inspection, adjusting, maintaining, removal, and overhauling of panto
graphs and trolley poles shall be machinists’ work, including the building of
pantograph shoes and replacement of same whether the pantograph is on or off
locomotive and the changing of insulated support brackets, lathe, and other
machine work.
“The assembling, installing, inspecting, maintaining, removing, and overhaul
ing of all parts of the main and braking controllers with the exception of
insulating materials, leads, and wires.
“The removing, dismantling, overhauling, assembling, installing, inspecting,
and maintaining of all air cylinders, magnet valves, cam shafts, bearing, rollers,
castings, adjustment springs, and metal housings used in the construction and
operation of reverser switches, series, parallel switches, transfer switches,
group switches, and contactors.
“The assembling, installing, inspecting, and maintaining of all mechanical
parts of main and auxiliary switches and ground switches.
“The assembling, installing, maintaining, inspecting, and overhauling of
clutch and gear assembly on motor-operated rheostats.
“The assembling, installing, inspecting, maintaining, dismantling, and over
hauling of traction motors, blower motors, heater motors, rheostat motors, aircompressor motors, motor generator sets, axle generators, control generators, and
slip rings (excluding field coils, insulators, and electrical connections) ; the as
sembling, finishing (either by hand or bench work), drilling, tapping, and bolt
ing of pole pieces; the dismantling, repairing, and assembling of brush holders;
the drilling, tapping, and repairing of brush-holder studs; the fitting of all
M ETALS AND M ACH INERY
191
metal parts of commutators, including segments; tlie turning and machine
slotting of all commutators, whether done in lathe or in armature housing; the
pressing in and out of armature shafts; the machining, repairing, and fitting of
armature cores; the repairing and fitting of all covers for motors, housing, and
compartments.
“The installing, inspecting, adjusting, removing, and repairing of air-com
pressor governors.
“The grinding, filing, and repairing of grids and the installing and removal
of grid banks, with the exception of making and breaking electrical connections.
“The removing and installing of electric cab heaters and the removal and
application of covers to same where they are retained by cap screws or tap
bolts; the removing and installing of headlight cages; the removing, repairing,
installing, and maintaining of electropneumatic pantograph valves, sander
valves, regenerative interlock valves, and automatic-control switches, with the
exception of electric contacts and wiring, shall be machinists’ work.
“Removing and applying headlight, lamp, and flagstaff brackets and supports,
eave-guards, and handrails.
“Side rods, main rod, knuckle, and driving-pin work. Driving-brake and
spring-rigging work. Fitting up and repairs to driving and truck boxes, in
cluding replacing of brasses.
“Examination, repairing, and alining jackshafts. Refitting jackshaft collars
and jackshaft castings. Repairing and maintaining air-brake equipment and air
compressors.
“Drilling, driving, and truck wheels by use of rachets or portable motors for
hub liners. Applying driving and truck wheel hub liners. Driving and truck
wheel tire work. Drilling, reaming, and topping holes in cabs and frames for
bolts and parts.
“Turning and dressing journals, and all frame and truck work, including
stripping and rebuilding.
“Removing and replacing main motors, including gears and bearings, and
shifting gears.
“Machinists’ work in connection with raising cab, running out and replacing
trucks, and lowering cab.
“Mallet coupler device between units.
“Removing and replacing circulating pump and motor, except pipe fitters’ and
electrical work.
“Removing, repairing, and replacing work in connection with water rheostats,
hand pumps, and lubricators.
“Examining, removing, repairing, and replacing bearings.
“Installing and relocating braces, stay rods, oil guards, hand brakes, air
ducts, sand boxes, and bellows under cab.
“Whistle and bell work.
“Installing and maintaining machinists’ work in connection with turbine
engines, motors, pumps, and auxiliaries in power-house.
“Repairs to air hammers, air motors, vise, floor, and drop-pit work, as well as
the handling of work generally recognized as machinists’ work.
“Removing and replacing phase converters.
“Machinists’ work in connection with dismantling of phase converters, such
as removal of bolts, parts, bearing caps, bearings, and clamps.
“Machinists’ work in connection with assembling phase converters, including
detail parts.
“Lathe and other machinists’ work in connection with construction of panto
graphs.
192
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
“And all other work on these engines, ears, and machines now covered in the
general classification in our constitution.
“All the foregoing, and in addition thereto any other work which does now
or in the future may, as industries develop, fall naturally within the scope of
the jurisdiction of the International Association of Machinists, shall continue
work coming under its jurisdiction, and shall be performed by members of the
aforesaid organization.”
G o v e r n m en t .—1. “The government and superintendence of all district and local
lodges shall be vested in this grand lodge as the supreme head of all such lodges
under its jurisdiction. To it shall belong the authority to determine the customs
and usages in regard to all matters relating to the craft.
“Between conventions all executive and judicial powers of the grand lodge
shall be vested in the executive council, which shall be composed of the inter
national president, the general secretary-treasurer, and seven general vice
presidents.”
2. District lodges: “District lodges shall be established upon railroads, in
industries where mutual shop interests require it, and in localities where two
or more local lodges exist. * * * District lodges shall have authority over
and control of all local lodges within their jurisdiction, subject to the approval
of the grand lodge.”
3. Local lodges: “The grand lodge shall provide a constitution for the govern
ment and control of local lodges, and all local lodges organized and affiliated in
the grand lodge shall be governed and controlled thereby.” Locals may adopt
their own bylaws, subject to the approval of the executive council.
4. Initiative, referendum, and recall. Convention held quadrennially if called
by referendum vote. All general officers nominated and elected by referendum.
Constitutional amendments by referendum or by convention and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“Any machinist, automobile or aircraft ma
chinist or mechanic, specialist, machinist helper, helper apprentice, woman
worker, or any apprentice working in the machine or metal industry may be
admitted to membership in a local lodge of the International Association of
Machinists upon assuming the obligation and paying the required fee.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“Any person engaging himself to learn the
machinist trade shall serve an apprenticeship of 4 years. Any person engaging
himself to learn the automobile or aircraft machinists’ or mechanics’ trade
shall also serve an apprenticeship of 4 years. An apprentice shall not leave the
employer to whom he has engaged himself without just cause and then only
after securing the consent of the lodge of which he is a member. Any apprentice
failing to comply with this provision shall stand suspended from any and all
benefits of the grand lodge and local lodge until he returns to his employer.
Failure to return to his employer within 3 months shall be sufficient cause for his
expulsion.
“The ratio of apprentices shall be not more than 1 apprentice for every 10
journeymen machinists employed. No person shall engage himself as an appren
tice until he has reached the age of 16 years, and no person shall engage himself
as an apprentice after he has reached the age of 21 years; except that any
person who has been a member of 1 year’s continuous good standing in a local
lodge and has worked as a machinist helper for 1 year in the shop where he
desires to become an apprentice, may if he is not at that time past the age of
35 years, engage himself to his employer as an apprentice. Such a person shall
be known as a helper-apprentice and shall serve 4 years in learning the ma
chinist trade, during which time he shall be governed by the rules and laws
METALS AND MACHINERY
193
applicable to apprentices. The number of belper-apprentices shall at no time
exceed the number of regular indentured apprentices in any shop.”
M eth o d op neg o tiatin g a g e ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by district or local lodges,
subject to approval of the executive council.
B e n e f it s .—Strike, lock-out, and victimization; death; sick (local only).
O f f ic ia l organ .—Machinists’ Monthly Journal.
H eadquarters .—Machinists’ Building, Washington, D. O.
O rg a n iza tio n .—District lodges (59) : Composed of railroad districts (32) ;
territorial districts (27).
Railroad districts: No. 2, Canadian railroads; no. 4, Southern and affiliated
lines; no. 5, Missouri Pacific; no. 7, Chicago & North Western; no. 11, Union
Pacific; no. 16, Seaboard Air Line; no. 18, Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh;
no. 20, Denver & Rio Grande Western; no. 21, Illinois Central; no. 23, Big
Four; no. 27, Southern Illinois; no. 28, Louisiana & Arkansas; no. 29, Baltimore
& Ohio and Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern; no. 30, Norfolk & Western; no. 32,
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha; Minneapolis & St. Louis; Duluth,
South Shore & Atlantic; Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific; Lake Superior & Ishpeming; no. 35, Atlantic Coast Line; no. 36, Rock Island; no. 39, Missouri,
Kansas & Texas; no. 45, St. Louis Southwestern; no. 51, Texas & Pacific; no. 56,
South Atlantic Coast; no. 66, Chesapeake & Ohio; no. 67, International Great
Northern and Gulf Coast Lines; no. 73, Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific;
Des Moines Union & Chicago; Terre Haute & Eastern Indiana; no. 74, Nickel
Plate; no. 80, Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; no. 84, New York Central;
no. 85, Erie; no. 89, Southern Pacific, Pacific Lines; no. 91, Western Pacific;
no. 106, Canadian National Lines in United States; no. 109, Chicago & Alton;
no. 110, Northern Pacific.
Territorial districts: No. 1, Philadelphia and vicinity; no. 8, Chicago and
vicinity; no. 9, St. Louis and vicinity; no. 10, Milwaukee and vicinity; no. 12,
Baltimore; no. 15, New York City and vicinity; no. 26, Washington and Oregon;
no. 33, central New York; no. 34, Cincinnati, Ohio, and vicinity; no. 37, South
Texas district; no. 38, Boston, Mass.; no. 44, Federal Government service, navy
yards, arsenals, etc.; no. 46, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; no. 47, New Jersey, part
of Hudson County, except northern New Jersey; no. 52, Columbus, Ohio; no. 54,
Cleveland, Ohio; no. 57, Toledo, Ohio, and vicinity; no. 60, Detroit, Mich.; no. 64,
Fall River, Mass.; no. 68, Canton, Ohio; no. 72, Indiana; no. 77, St. Paul, Minn.;
no. 78, Vancouver, British Columbia; no. 82, Montreal and vicinity; no. 86,
Denver, Colo.; no. 88, Akron, Ohio, and vicinity.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 13; Arizona, 5; Arkansas, 5; Cali
fornia, 28; Colorado, 7; Connecticut, 13; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia, 5;
Florida, 7; Georgia, 12; Illinois, 62; Idaho, 2; Indiana, 29; Iowa, 27; Kansas,
17; Kentucky, 12; Louisiana, 10; Maine, 8; Maryland, 10; Massachusetts, 23;
Michigan, 25; Minnesota, 16; Mississippi, 7; Missouri, 17; Montana, 10; Nevada,
6; Nebraska, 7; New Hampshire, 3; New Jersey, 21; New York, 58; North Caro
lina, 15; North Dakota, 2; Oklahoma, 5; Ohio, 74; Oregon, 7; Pennsylvania, 49;
Rhode Island, 5; South Carolina, 5; South Dakota, 4; Tennessee, 14; Texas, 28;
Utah, 6; Vermont, 3; Virginia, 16; Washington, 16; West Virginia, 23; Wis
consin, 33; Wyoming, 7; Canal Zone, 2; Hawaii, 1; Puerto Rico, 1. Canada—
Alberta, 5; British Columbia, 9; Manitoba, 4; New Brunswick, 4; Nova Scotia,
1; Ontario, 36; Quebec, 11; Saskatchewan, 4. Total, 856.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—110,000.
T9315*— 86------ 14
194
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Industrial
Union of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Quincy, Mass., in September 1934. The nucleus of
this organization was a group of employees of one of the shipyards
in Camden, N. J., who organized on a plant basis in September 1933.
The union grew rapidly and within a short time displaced the com
pany union which had existed in the shipyard. Similar organiza
tions were started in various shipyards in Chester, Pa., and Wilming
ton, Del., which affiliated with the Camden group through a joint
council. In March 1934 the Camden men struck and under the lead
ership of the new union secured an agreement calling for union
recognition, a 15-percent increase in wages, and improved working
conditions. Shortly thereafter, two paid organizers were put into
the field to organize shipyards on an industrial basis. Two new
locals were established, in addition to one in Bath, Maine, which had
organized at the time of the Camden strike. In September 1934
these six locals met in Quincy and established the Industrial Union
of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America.
O b je c t s .—“To improve the standard and general living conditions of all
workers in the industries under its jurisdiction, through organization, educa
tion, and collective actions. It shall cooperate to the fullest extent with other
labor organizations in this country and abroad in promoting the welfare of all
workers.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—Not limited.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The shipbuilding and ship repairing and alUed industries.
G o vernm en t .
General executive board, consisting of the general president,
vice president, executive secretary, treasurer, and seven other members have
executive and judicial power “when the convention is not in session.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution imposed by general executive
board, and local bylaws must be approved by the board. Fifty members
required before charter is issued.
3. Convention: Annual convention is sole legislative body.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—All workers employed in the industries
specified are eligible to membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of nego tiating a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated locally by officers or special
committees.
B e n e f it s .—N one.
O ff ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea dquarters .— 572 Fairview Street, Camden, N. J.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only, organized into departments when size of
organization justifies: California, 2; Connecticut, 1; Delaware, 1; Maine, 1;
Massachusetts, 1; New Jersey, 1; Pennsylvania, 1; Virginia, 1; Washington, 1.
Total, 10.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .— 10,800.
—
1
.
METALS AND MACHINERY
195
Metal Polishers’ International Union
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Syracuse, N. Y., July 2, 1896. Metal polishers and
brass workers were fairly well organized under the Knights of Labor,
and in October 1888 they formed National Trades Assembly No. 252,
Knights of Labor, with jurisdiction over all branches of the brass
industry. At the convention of the National Trades Assembly held
in New Haven, Conn., in 1890, 80 local organizations were repre
sented. A movement toward trade autonomy and identification with
the American Federation of Labor movement split the convention.
All the representatives from cities from Pennsylvania westward with
drew and organized the International Brotherhood of Brass Workers.
This organization joined the American Federation of Labor. The
unions on the seaboard and the Canadian locals remained with the
Knights of Labor. Both organizations functioned successfully for
several years.
In the meantime the metal polishers, buffers, and electroplaters in
several western cities, members of the International Brotherhood of
Brass Workers, determined to subdivide into closer craft unions, and
meeting in Toledo, Ohio, in 1892, they organized the Metal Polishers,
Buffers, and Platers’ International Union of North America, thus
forming a third international union in the industry.
In 1895 the Knights of Labor Trades Assembly No. 252, amalga
mated with the International Brotherhood of Brass Workers, and
the combined organization was chartered by the American Federation
of Labor as the United Brotherhood of Brass and Composition
Metal Workers, Polishers, and Buffers.
The following year this organization and the Metal Polishers,
Buffers, and Platers’ International Union, meeting in Syracuse,
N. Y., on July 2, merged and became the Metal Polishers, Buffers,
Platers, and Brass Workers International Union of North America
and were chartered as such by the American Federation of Labor.
With the inclusion of brass molders in the jurisdiction, those work
ers demanded and received recognition in the title of the organiza
tion. Their example was followed by the silver workers, so that, by
1902, the name of the organization was Metal Polishers, Buffers,
Platers, Brass Molders, Brass and Silver Workers’ Union of North
America.
Through jurisdictional readjustments, however, brass molders were
transferred to the International Molders’ Union in 1911. In 1917 the
organization decided to limit its field to metal polishing, buffing, and
electroplating, and by a new American Federation of Labor charter
issued in 1917 the organization became the Metal Polishers’ Interna-
196
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
tional Union. Later it absorbed a considerable portion of the mem
bership of the Pocket Knife Blade Grinders and Finishers’ National
Union which disbanded in 1917.
O b je c t s .—“Believing it to be the natural right of those who toil to enjoy to
the fullest possible extent the wealth created by their labor, our membership is
requested to study the economic questions of the day, particularly those relating
to the class struggle now going on. Therefore we, the Metal Polishers* Union,
pledge ourselves to labor unitedly in behalf of the following principles:
1. Reduction in hours of the workday. 2. Increase of wages. 3. Municipal
ownership of all public utilities. 4. Government ownership of all national
monopolies. 5. Abolition of government by injunction in controversies between
capital and labor.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—Metal polishing, buffing, and plating.
G o v er n m en t .—“The government of all local unions and members shall be
vested in this general union as the supreme head to which all matters of
general importance shall be referred.**
Executive board, composed of president, secretary-treasurer, three interna
tional vice presidents, and assistant secretary-treasurer, “shall have general
supervision of the business of the international union, its officers, and local
unions.*’
2. Local unions: Wholly subordinate; constitutions fixed by international.
3. Initiative and referendum: General officers nominated and elected by
referendum. Convention on call only. Officers subject to recall.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person not a foreman (with power to
hire and discharge), superintendent, or manager, working at “any of the crafts”,
is eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—“All persons desiring to become apprentices to
any branch or branches of our trade shall serve an apprenticeship of 3 years
before being granted a journeyman’s card.
“Wages shall be adjusted by the local union in which jurisdiction the appren
tice is employed.
“No apprentice shall be allowed to work in any shop under our jurisdiction
unless at least one journeyman is permanently employed.”
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by local unions with in
dividual employers, upon terms suggested by the general organization. Dura
tion of contract, 1 year, long-term contracts being contrary to the policy of the
general office.
B e n e f it s .—Strike; death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Our Journal of the Metal Polishers’ International Union.
H ea dquarters .—Second National Bank Building, Cincinnati, Ohio.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: United States—California, 2; Connecticut,
9; District of Columbia, 1; Illinois, 9; Indiana, 11; Iowa, 1; Kentucky, 1;
Massachusetts, 8; Michigan, 6; Maryland, 1; Minnesota, 1; Missouri, 4; Ne
braska, 1; New Jersey, 3; New York, 12; Ohio, 10; Pennsylvania, 6; Tennessee,
2; Washington, 1; Wisconsin, 3. Canada—Ontario, 3. Total, 95.
M em bership
reported — 9,500.
METALS AND M ACHINERY
197
Molders* Union of North Am erica, International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Philadelphia, Pa., July 1859. In its earliest stages
organization among molders took the form of cooperative foundries.
A beneficial society of molders was formed in 1849 in New York City,
which in 1854 incorporated under the name “The Journeymen Iron
Molders’ Society.” Many local organizations of molders which placed
the emphasis on association for economic rather than beneficial pur
poses sprang up and died during the fifties. Many of these were in
communication and contact with each other and formed the nucleus
of the National Union of Iron Molders, a trade organization
launched from Philadelphia in July 1859, by 32 delegates represent
ing 12 local unions.
Canadian unions were represented at the third convention of this
organization in 1861, and in 1863 the name of the body was changed
to Iron Molders’ International Union, and jurisdiction was specifi
cally extended to Canada. This is the first instance of the extension
of the territorial jurisdiction of a labor organization from one coun
try to another. A movement among Canadian molders in 1884 to
ward secession and national organization failed for lack of popular
approval. The present name of the union was adopted in 1907.
In 1883 the machinery molders seceded and organized the Brother
hood of Machinery Molders. This union was maintained separately
until 1892, when it returned to the parent body.
Brass molders, by secession from a Knights of Labor Assembly,
formed the International Brotherhood of Brass Molders in 1890, and
in 1896 amalgamated with the metal polishers to form the Metal
Polishers, Buffers, Platers, and Brass Workers’ Union of North
America. Both this latter organization and the International
Molders’ Union were affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor, and the molders protested against the encroachment of the
new organization on their jurisdiction over brass. Disagreements
and difficulties lasted until 1911, when they terminated in the transfer
of the brass workers to the molders’ organization.
As at first organized, coremakers were not eligible to membership
in the International Molders’ Union. They organized independently
in 1896 as the Core Makers’ International Union, and were chartered
by the American Federation of Labor. Two autonomous organiza
tions in the same craft proved incompatible, however, because of the
interchangeability of the two occupations and chaotic conditions pro
duced by independent action in the matter of strikes. By agreement
between the two organizations in 1903 the coremakers became part
of the International Molders’ Union, but women coremakers were
198
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
at that time excluded from membership, the policy of the organiza
tion in that respect having been changed as recently as 1934.
O b j e c t s .— “B elieving th at under the present social system there is a general
tendency to deny the producer the fu ll reward for h is industry and s k ill; and
th at the w elfare of the com m unity depends upon the purchasing pow er of its
m em bers; and that the only m eans of successfully resistin g th e pow er th at the
centralization of capital has placed in the hands of the few is by organized
effort; therefore we, the m olders of N orth Am erica, in order to prom ote our
craft in terests and enable us to m aintain our rightful position as citizens, have
organized th is International M olders’ Union of N orth A m erica.”
T e r r i t o r i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n .— U nited States and Canada.
T r a d e j u r i s d i c t i o n .— A ll w orkers engaged in the production of castings.
G o v e r n m e n t .— 1. “The governm ent and superintendence of subordinate unions
shall be vested In th is union, a s the suprem e head of all unions under its ju ris
diction. It shall be the ultim ate tribunal to which all m atters of general im
portance to the w elfare of the several unions and any member thereof shall be
referred for adjustm ent, and its decisions thereon shall be final and conclusive.
To it shall belong the power to determ ine the custom s and usages affecting all
m atter pertaining to the craft.
“A ll executive powers of the union when not in session shall be vested in its
executive board, which shall consist of the president and seven trustees. * * *
T he judicial powers when not in session shall be vested in the president and the
executive board.
“All legislative powers shall be reserved to this union duly convened in session
(except by referendum ) and shall extend to every case of legislation not dele
gated or reserved to subordinate unions.”
2. Conference boards: D elegate bodies composed of local unions w ithin a
given jurisdiction assigned by the executive board. Affiliation w ith conference
boards where formed compulsory on part of locals.
D istrict councils: D elegate bodies composed of five or more locals in sections
where conference boards cannot be m aintained.
3. Local unions: Subordinate; m ay adopt their own bylaw s and local rules,
subject to the approval of the executive board.
4. C onvention: H eld every third year, if ordered by referendum v o te ; enacts
legislation, nom inates and elects general officers. C onstitutional am endm ents
by convention or referendum.
Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r m e m b e r s h i p .— Any molder w ho has served an apprentice
ship of 4 years and is competent to command a general average of w ages paid in
the branch of subdivision w ith which he is identified m ay be adm itted as a
journeym an member. Any foundry worker who com es under the classification
of a non journeym an m ay be adm itted as a nonjoum eym an member. M ale and
fem ale membership.
A p p r e n t i c e s h i p r e g u l a t i o n s .— “Any boy engaging h im self to learn the trade
of m olding shall be required to serve 4 years. H e shall in no case leave his
employer w ithout just cause, and any apprentice so leaving shall not be per
m itted to work under the jurisdiction of any subordinate union, but shall be
required to return to his employer.
“The follow ing ratio of apprentices shall be a llo w ed : One to each shop, irre
spective of the number of journeym en employed, and one to every eight m em
bers thereafter. No boy shall begin to learn the trade previous to arriving a t
the age of 16.”
METALS AND MACHINERY
199
M e t h o d o f n e g o t i a t i n g a g r e e m e n t s .— The stove, heater, and hot-water casting
molders have an annual agreem ent negotiated by representatives of the interna
tional union and the M anufacturers’ Protective and D evelopm ent A ssociation.
In other branches agreem ents are negotiated by local unions.
B
.— Strike, lock-out, and victimization; sick, disability, and death;
life insurance.
e n e f it s
O f f ic ia l
H
organ.
— International M olders’ Journal.
e a d q u a r t e r s .—
530 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio.
— Conference boards (14) : N ew York and vicinity, B uffalo and
central N ew York, eastern Pennsylvania, Connecticut V alley, Chicago and
vicinity, central Ohio, St. Louis and vicinity, Indiana, Pittsburgh and vicinity,
Ontario, Cleveland and vicinity, Boston and eastern N ew England, D etroit and
vicinity, northern California, Illinois and Iow a D istrict Council.
Local unions classified into m achinery and jobbing, stove plate, bench, heater
work, brass molding, agriculture, hollow ware, radiator m olding, m alleable m old
ing, soil pipe, steel, m achine operator and coremaker, bran ch es: United States —
Alabama, 9 ; Arizona, 1; California, 3; Colorado, 1; Connecticut, 12; D istrict of
Columbia, 1; Florida, 1; Georgia, 5; Illinois, 29; Indiana, 13; Iowa, 6; K ansas,
3; K entucky, 2; L ouisiana, 1; Maine, 4; M aryland, 3; M assachusetts, 11; M ichi
gan, 18; M innesota, 4; M issouri, 5; M ontana, 3 ; Nebraska, 1; N ew H am pshire,
6; N ew Jersey, 11; N ew York, 28; North Carolina, 1; Ohio, 37; Oklahoma, 2 ;
Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 41; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 1; Tennessee, 5 ;
Texas, 3; Utah, 1; Vermont, 1; Virginia, 4; W ashington, 5; W est V irginia, 3;
W isconsin, 10; Canal Zone, 1; H aw aii, 1. Canada— Alberta, 1; B ritish Co
lumbia, 2; M anitoba, 1; N ew Brunswick, 1; Nova Scotia, 1; Ontario, 20; Quebec,
2. Total, 327.
M e m b e r s h i p r e p o r t e d .— A ctive membership, 21,330.
O r g a n iz a t io n .
Pattern Makers’ League of America
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor*
Organized May 18,1887, in Philadelphia, Pa.
O b j e c t s .— “The objects of this league shall be to elevate the condition and
m aintain and protect the interests of the craft in general; to establish and
uphold a fair, equitable rate of wages, regulate the hours of labor, and all trade
m atters appertaining to the w elfare of its m em bers; to create and m aintain a
more uniform condition as to hours and w ages throughout the jurisdiction of
the league, thereby protecting the em ployer and the em ployee from unjust com
petition ; to influence the apprenticeship system in a direction of intelligence,
competency, and skill in the interest of em ployer and em ployed; to endeavor to
avoid all conflicts and their attendant bitterness and pecuniary loss by m eans of
arbitration and conciliation in the settlem ent of all disputes concerning w ages
and conditions of em ploym ent; to provide sick, total-disability, and death bene
fits ; also tool benefits for loss of tools by fire, flood, or th eft.”
T e r r i t o r i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n .— U nited States and possessions and Canada.
T r a d e j u r i s d i c t i o n .— P attern m aking in wood, m etal, plaster, and w ax.
G o v e r n m e n t .— 1. The general executive board, composed of president and
five other elected members, “shall have general supervision of the league.”
2. Local unions— “associations” : Subordinate; constitution and rules dictated
by league.
3. C onvention: H eld every fourth y e a r ; legislates for body and elects general
officers. C onstitutional am endm ents by referendum .
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o b m e m b e r s h i p .— Any com petent pattern m aker of good char
acter is eligible to membership. A ll apprentices w ho have been such for 1 year
shall, after exam ination by the executive com m ittee, be eligible to m embership.
A p p r e n t i c e s h i p r e g u l a t i o n s .— “T his league recognizes 5 years as the length
o f tim e an apprentice should serve at the trade, and w e sh all use our influence
to establish th is as a universal rule.
“T he follow ing ratio of apprentices shall be a llo w ed : One to each shop, irre
spective of the number of journeym en employed, and one to every eight journey
men em ployed thereafter, such regulation to be governed by the average number
o f journeym en em ployed in the shop.
“N o boy sh all begin to learn the trade previous to arriving at the age o f
16 years.
“E ach association m ust in sist on all apprentices serving the recognized tim e
o f apprenticeship and on a strict com pliance w ith the term s of any indentures
ex istin g betw een apprentices and em ployers.”
M e t h o d o f n e g o t i a t i n g a g r e e m e n t s .— W age rates established by local unions.
H ourly rates, w ith prohibition of bonus, prem ium s, or piece-work rates.
B e n e f i t s .— Strike, lock-out, and victim ization; sick, death, and d isab ility;
tool insurance.
O f f i c i a l o r g a n .— P attern M akers’ M onthly Journal.
H e a d q u a r t e r s .— 311 M achinists B uilding, W ashington, D. O.
O r g a n i z a t i o n .— L ocal associations m ay have branches w ith in th eir terri
torial jurisdiction. Frequently th is jurisdiction includes neighboring tow ns
and cities in different States.
L ocal unions: United States —Alabam a, 1 (1 b ra n ch ); C alifornia, 2 (2
branches) ; Colorado, 1 (1 branch) ; Connecticut, 3 (4 branches) ; D istrict o f
Columbia, 1; Georgia, 2 ; Illinois, 1 (4 branches) ; Indiana, 2 (1 branch) ; K en
tucky (1 branch of Indianapolis) ; M aine (1 branch of B oston) ; M aryland,
1; M assachusetts, 3 (6 branches) ; M ichigan, 2 (11 branches) ; M innesota, 1 ;
M issouri, 1 (1 b ra n ch ); M ontana, 1; N ew H am pshire, 1; N ew Jersey (5
branches of N ew York City) ; N ew York, 6 (5 branches) ; Ohio, 6 (8 branches) ;
Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 8 (5 branches) ; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 1;
T ennessee, 2 ; T exas, 2; Virginia, 3; W ashington, 1 (4 branches) ; W est V irginia
(1 branch of P ittsburgh) ; W isconsin, 1 (5 branches). Canal Zone (1 branch
of N ew York C ity) ; H aw aii, 1. Canada—6 (7 branches). T otal, 62 (74
branches).
M e m b e r s h i p r e p o r t e d .— 6,299.
Stove M ounters’ International U nion of N orth A m erica
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Quincy, 111., December 29, 1892, as the Interna
tional Stove Mounters’ Union. Various changes in the name of the
organization were made from time to time to include the steel-range
workers, but these titles were dropped, and the union is now known
and chartered as the Stove Mounters’ International Union of North
America.
O b j e c t s .— “B elieving that the w elfare of a com m unity depends upon the
purchasing power of its members, and in order to prom ote our craft interests
and to enable u s to have a voice in determ ining the hours, w ages, and condi-
METALS AND MACHINEBY
201
tions under w hich w e work and live, and that w e may m aintain our rightful
position as citizens, w e have organized th is union.”
T e r r i t o r i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n .— United States and Canada.
T r a d e j u r i s d i c t i o n .— “T he follow ing crafts and their b ranches: Stove m ount
ers, steel- and m alleable-range m ounters, furnace m ounters, gas-range m ounters,
drillers, steel-, gas-, and electric-range riveters, m achine and bench hands,
w hite-m etal workers and repair men, cutters, punchers, and breakers, pattern
fitters, pattern filers, m anifold fitters and testers, gaters, and w elders.”
G o v e r n m e n t .— 1. “T he governm ent and superintendence o f subordinate unions
shall be vested in the hands of the executive board of the international union.
It shall be the tribunal to* w hich all m atters of general im portance to the w el
fare of the several unions or any member thereof shall be referred for adjust
m ent.”
“The executive and judicial powers of the union when not in session shall
be vested in the executive board”, which is composed of president, four vice
presidents, and secretary-treasurer.
“A ll legislative powers shall be vested in the entire m embership, by initiative
and referendum or in convention duly assem bled.”
2. Local u n ion s: Autonom y lim ited.
3. C onvention: H eld trien n ia lly ; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
C onstitutional am endm ents by convention and referendum .
Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r m e m b e r s h i p .— Any competent workm an who has served
an apprenticeship of 3 years is eligible to journeym an membership. Appren
tice membership after 4 w eeks at the trade.
A p p r e n t i c e s h i p r e g u l a t i o n s .— “No local, w here apprentices are employed,
shall allow more than one apprentice to every eight journeym en or m ajority frac
tion thereof.
“Apprentices shall be confined to regular apprentice work only after the first
6 months of their apprenticeship; they shall serve 3 years a t the trade before
being eligible to mem bership in th is organization.”
M e t h o d o f n e g o t i a t i n g a g r e e m e n t s .— N egotiated by m em bership of local
unions and individual em ployer, on term s proposed by the international execu
tive board. If agreem ent is not reached, disputed m atters are taken up by
officers of the international, w ith the em ployer or w ith the officials of m anu
facturers’ association to w hich the em ployer m ay belong.
B e n e f i t s .— Strike and lock-out; death.
O f f i c i a l o r g a n .— Stove M ounters and R ange W orkers’ Journal.
H e a d q u a r t e r s .— 1513 H ogan Street, St. Louis, Mo.
O r g a n i z a t i o n .— Local unions only: Alabama, 3; California, 3 ; Georgia, 2;
Illinois, 6; Indiana, 4; K entucky, 1; M assachusetts, 3; M ichigan, 3 ; M issouri,
5; New Jersey, 3; N ew York, 5; Ohio, 10; Pennsylvania, 4; Tennessee, 4.
Total, 56.
M e m b e r s h i p r e p o r t e d .— No report. On basis of voting strength in Am erican
Federation of Labor, 2,000.
W ire W eavers’ Protective A ssociation, A m erican
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1882 as the American Wire Weavers’ Protective and
Benevolent Association. A former union of the craft was organized
in 1876, but it died out. The present organization was founded by
the three divisions then in existence. The word “benevolent” was
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
dropped from the title some years after the inauguration of the asso
ciation. It is solely an economic, price-fixing body.
O b j e c t s .— “To have supervision in all m atters relating to Fourdrinier w ire
weaving, and to bind the divisions closer together for the m utual advantage
and protection of all.”
T e r r i t o r i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n .— U nited States.
T r a d e j u r i s d i c t i o n .— Fourdrinier w ire weaving.
G o v e r n m e n t .— 1. N ational executive board, composed of president, vice presi
dent, secretary-treasurer, and one delegate from each division, has supervision
and control of all m atters pertaining to the association.
2. Local d iv isio n s: Subordinate; autonom y not defined.
3. National executive board m eets once a year and transacts general business.
General officers selected by general membership.
Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r m e m b e r s h i p .— Applicants for m em bership m ust be “Chris
tian, white, m ale of the full age of 21, and have served an apprenticeship of
4 years on a hand or power loom at the Fourdrinier w ire-w eaving trade in a
union shop.”
Foreigners applying for adm ission m ust declare citizenship intentions and
pay an initiation fee of $1,000.
A p p r e n t i c e s h i p r e g u l a t i o n s .— “A ll apprentices shall be C hristian w h ite m ales
and shall serve 4 years at the Fourdrinier wire-w eaving trade.
“No person shall be entitled to start his apprenticeship who has attained the
age of 21 years unless he has been employed in the shop and is w aiting his turn
to start on a loom.
“The ratio of apprentices to journeym en shall be 1 to 10 on power looms and
1 to 5 on hand looms.
“No journeym an shall be included in the count of the ratio of apprentices
unless he has been employed at least 6 months.
“All apprentices shall serve 3 of their 4 years on a loom if not contrary to
the law s of the State.”
M e t h o d o f n e g o t i a t i n g a g r e e m e n t s .— N egotiated annually by the national
executive board, acting under instructions from the divisions, in conference
w ith the m anufacturers. A greem ents cover entire industry, and include price
lists, which are uniform throughout the industry. U nion label.
B e n e f i t s .— None.
O f f i c i a l o r g a n .— None.
H e a d q u a r t e r s .— 9122 E ighty-ninth Street, W oodhaven, Long Island, N. Y.
O r g a n i z a t i o n .— Local divisions only: M assachusetts, 1; New Jersey, 1; N ew
York, 1; Ohio, 2 ; W isconsin, 1. Total, 6.
M e m b e r s h i p r e p o r t e d .— 350.
PAPER AND PRINTING
No structural or organizational changes have occurred since 1929 in
the unions in the paper industry and the printing trades.
Affiliated w ith the Am erican F ederation of Labor:
a. Paper:
Paper M akers, International Brotherhood of.
Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper M ill W orkers, International Brotherhood of.
W all Paper Crafts of North Am erica, United.
PAPER AND PRINTING
203
Affiliated w ith the Am erican Federation of Labor— Continued,
b. P rinting:
Bookbinders, International Brotherhood of.
Engravers’ Union of North America, International Photo.
Lithographers of America, Am algam ated.
Pressm en and A ssistan ts’ Union of North Am erica, International
Printing.
Printers, D ie Stam pers, and Engravers’ Union of North Am erica,
International Plate.
Siderographers, International Association of.
Stereotypers and Electrotypers’ Union of North America, Inter
national.
Typographical Union of North America, International.
Paper M akers, International Brotherhood of
Affiliated with American Federation of Labor.
Organized in May 1893, at Holyoke, Mass. This organization had
its start in a social club of paper-machine tenders formed in Holyoke,
Mass., in 1884. This developed into a national union and in 1893
was chartered by the American Federation of Labor as the United
Brotherhood of Paper Makers and granted trade jurisdiction over
machine tenders and beater engineers. This same year (1893) the
Federation granted a charter to the United Brotherhood of Paper
Mill Backtenders, which was later absorbed into the United Brother
hood of Paper Makers. However, this organization developed into
“an aristrocracy of machine tenders”, and another organization was
formed known as the International Paper Machine Tenders Union.
This was never chartered by the American Federation of Labor,
but drew from the membership of the older organization until by
1897 only three local unions were left in existence under the United
Brotherhood. In 1898 the United Brotherhood of Paper Makers re
established its lead and extended trade jurisdiction to include all
classes of workers in the paper industry. It was rechartered by the
American Federation of Labor in December 1902 as the International
Brotherhood of Paper Makers. Considerable progress was made in
building up the membership in mills making newsprint, bag, and
hanging papers, but very little membership came from mills making
other grades of paper. A secession movement by the pulp and sul
phite workers started in 1906 and resulted in the formation of a
separate union which drew so strongly from the parent body as prac
tically to demoralize it. Because of the protest of the International
Brotherhood against the dual organization it was refused affiliation
with the American Federation of Labor for several years. An agree
ment was arrived at, however, in 1909, by which the dual organiza
tion was chartered and the International Brotherhood was rechar
tered with a limited jurisdiction, which in a general way covers only
204
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
the skilled workers in the machine and beater rooms and subsequent
processes.
O b j e c t s .— “The objects of th is organization are to raise our trade from the
low level to which it has faUen and by m utual effort to place ourselves upon
a foundation strong enough to resist further encroachm ents * * * to assist
each other to secure em ploym ent; to reduce the hours of labor and to secure
adequate pay for our work and by every m eans to elevate the moral, m ental,
and social conditions of our workers.”
T e r r i t o r i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n .— U nited States, Canada, and N ewfoundland.
T r a d e j u r i s d i c t i o n .— “ A U machine-room help and beater engineers except
sw ipers and sweepers, in paper m ills m aking new s, bag, and hanging papers.
In all other paper m ills except those m aking new s, bag, and hanging paper, its
jurisdiction shall include all machine-room help (except sw ipers and sw eepers)
and beater engineers, helpers on beaters, cutters and finishers, calendar m en
and rotary men, and their helpers.”
G o v e r n m e n t .— 1. E xecutive board, composed of the president, secretarytreasurer, and six vice presidents (tw o shall be stationed in Canada or N ew
foundland) shall have general supervision over the international and subordi
nate locals.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution and general law s determ ined by
international.
3. In itiative and referendum : Election of general officers (every 2 years in
odd year) by referendum ; constitutional am endm ents and initiated legislation
by referendum.
4. Convention: H eld quadrennially beginning 1935.
Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r m e m b e r s h i p .— Any m ale or fem ale person actually em
ployed w ithin the jurisdiction of the union is eligible to m embership.
A p p r e n t i c e s h i p r e g u l a t i o n s .— None.
M e t h o d o f n e g o t i a t i n g a g r e e m e n t s .— N egotiated by international officers
to cover the industry, but signed by individual em ployers.
B e n e f i t s .— Strike; death.
O f f i c i a l o r g a n .— T he Paper M akers’ Journal.
H e a d q u a r t e r s .— B roadw ay Arcade Building, Albany, N. Y.
O r g a n i z a t i o n .— Loeal unions only: United States — Alabam a, 3; A rkansas, 1;
California, 3; Connecticut, 3 ; Florida, 1; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 3; L ouisiana, 2;
Maine, 11 ; M assachusetts, 7 ; M ichigan, 16; M innesota, 5; M ississippi, 1; N ew
H am pshire, 1; N ew Jersey, 1; N ew York, 15; Ohio, 8; Oregon, 3; P ennsylvania,
3; Tennessee, 2 ; Vermont, 1; Virginia, 1; W ashington, 11; W est V irginia, 1;
W isconsin, 9. Canada— M anitoba, 1; N ew Brunsw ick, 1 ; Nova Scotia 1 ;
Ontario, 13; Quebec, 9. Newfoundland—2. T otal, 141.
M e m b e r s h i p r e p o r t e d .— 20,077.
Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill W orkers, International
Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Burlington, Vt., January 6, 1906, by secession from
the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers. It remained an
independent organization until 1909, when an agreement on jurisdic
tion was reached with the paper makers, and the pulp and sulphite
men joined the American Federation of Labor.
PAPER AND PRINTING
205
Objects .—“The object of this union shall be to secure and maintain a living
wage and lessen the hours of labor for its members; to assist each other in
obtaining employment in preference to persons not connected with the union;
and to use every honorable method to elevate its membership in the economic,
moral, and social scale of life.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States, Canada, and Newfoundland.
T rade jurisdiction .—“The International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite, and
Paper Mill Workers has jurisdiction over all workers employed in and around
ground-wood mills, sulphite-pulp mills, soda-pulp mills, and sulphate-pulp mills.
“In paper mills making newsprint, bag, and hanging paper the International
Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers has jurisdiction over
the following: In the paper-machine room, over the swipers and the sweepers
only; in the beater room, over all employees except the beater engineers. In
all other departments in the mills making grades of paper listed above the
jurisdiction of this organization is paramount and inclusive, except where
mechanical craftsmen are members of their respective unions.
“In mills making grades of paper other than newsprint, bag, and hanging,
the jurisdiction of this organization is in accordance with an agreement signed
with the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers on the 10th day of June
1909, as follows: In the paper-machine room this organization has jurisdiction
over swipers and sweepers only. All other machine-room help and beatermen
and their helpers, finishers, calender and rotary men and their helpers, and
cuttermen are to be members of the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers.
All other workers in these mills are to be members of the International Broth
erhood of Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers except where mechanical
craftsmen are members of their respective unions.
“The International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers
has jurisdiction over all employees in mills and factories making paper bags,
paper boxes, pie plates, drinking cups, paper napkins and tablecloths, paper
novelties of all kinds, paper specialties, cellophane, linoleum, glazed and fancy
paper, paper containers, waxed paper, paper stationery and envelopes, milkbottle caps, waterproof paper, and gummed tape and labels. The jurisdiction
of this organization also extends to mills making insulite, celetox, fibrite,
celucotton, and insulation boards of all kinds, and over all plants and factories
that convert paper or pulp products into finished articles.”
Government.—1. “In the international union alone is vested power to estab
lish subordinate unions, and members must obey its mandates at all times and
under all circumstances. The international union reserves the right to fix,
regulate, and determine all matters pertaining to membership in all the
branches of the pulp- and paper-making trade, while to subordinate unions is
conceded the right to make all necessary laws for local government, provided
such laws do not conflict with the laws of the international union.
“There shall be an executive board composed of the president, secretary,
the seven vice presidents, and the treasurer. This board shall have the entire
management of this organization and shall be held responsible for the efficient
management of the same. At least one member of the executive board shall
be a resident of Canada, and shall be employed by the international union to
work in Canada.”
2. Local unions: “Every local shall have the right to make bylaws to govern
the actions of its own members, provided they do not conflict with interna
tional constitution and bylaws, and they must be approved by the international.”
3. Convention: Biennial.
HANDBOOK ON AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Qualifications for membership.—Anyone employed within the jurisdiction
is eligible. Male and female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—After wage scale is adopted, the inter
national officers and committees from local unions enter into negotiations with
employers, either individually or in associations. Some agreements are signed
with individual companies and some with employers’ associations.
B enefits.—Strike.
Official organ.—Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers’ Journal.
H eadquarters.—Fort Edward, N. Y.
Organization.—Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 1; Indiana, 2 ;
Louisiana, 1; Maine, 12; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 4; Michigan, 3; Minne
sota, 4; Missouri, 1; North Carolina, 1; New York, 13; Ohio, 11; Oregon, 4;
Pennsylvania, 3; Rhode Island, 1; Vermont, 2; Virginia, 1; Washington, 11;
West Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 20. Canada—Manitoba, 1; New Brunswick, 3;
Ontario, 11; Quebec, 7. Newfoundland—2. Total, 121.
Membership reported.— 15,000.
206
W all Paper Crafts of N orth A m erica, U nited
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1923 by the amalgamation of the National Association
of Machine Printers and Color Mixers and the National Print
Cutters’ Association of America.
The first organization in the wallpaper trade was formed on July
23, 1883, in New York City, as the Wall Paper Machine Printers’
Union. It was chartered as a local assembly of the Knights of Labor.
This local is still in existence as Printers’ Local No. 1, of the United
Wall Paper Crafts. Machine printers and color mixers proceeded
to organize either separately or jointly in various localities in which
the industry was established, finally coming together in 1902 as the
National Association of Machine Printers and Color Mixers and
joining the American Federation of Labor as an affiliated national
body.
The print cutters had a separate organization which in 1903 affil
iated with the American Federation of Labor as the National Print
Cutters’ Association.
The two organizations remained distinct until 1923, when, as a
result of a lock-out through the entire wallpaper industry they
merged into one, and the resulting amalgamation was chartered by
the Americation Federation of Labor in June 1923, as the United
Wall Paper Crafts of North America.
Objects.—‘‘The object of this organization shall be to unite all the workers
under its jurisdiction, to cherish and protect their interests as workingmen,
to promote the general welfare of its members and their families, to become an
active and integral factor in the labor movement of America, to educate its
members in the history of the trade-union movement and its benefits to the
economic, moral, and social life of the people.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—North America.
PAPER AND PRINTING
207
T rade jurisdiction.—“All crafts engaged in the manufacture of wallpaper and
all kindred crafts and workers who do not come under the direct jurisdiction
of any other international union affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor.”
Government.—1. “All executive and judicial powers of this organization shall
be vested in the general executive board” composed of the president, three vice
presidents, general secretary, financial secretary-treasurer, and three trustees.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution and bylaws dictated by general
organization.
3. Convention: Held annually. “The government of the subordinate local
unions shall be vested in the annual convention of this organization as the
supreme head of all local unions under its jurisdiction. It shall be the ultimate
tribunal to which all matters of general importance to the welfare of the several
locals or any member thereof shall be referred for adjustment, and its decision
shall be final and conclusive. To it shall belong the power to determine the
customs and wages affecting all matters relating to the welfare of the trades.”
Convention elects general officers.
Qualifications for membership.—“Any man who can prove that he has run a
wallpaper printing machine or has mixed colors for 4 years in one shop within
the jurisdiction of this organization, and who at time of making application is
running a wallpaper machine or mixing colors and receiving the prevailing union
scale of wages, is eligible to membership.”
A pprenticeship regulations.—“All apprentices shall be satisfactory to the
organization and to their employers previous to their apprenticeship, and shall
serve for 4 years in one shop. No one shall be taken on as an apprentice who
is over the age of 20 years.
“There shall be but one apprentice allowed for every six machine printers
employed in any one factory, and in all cases there must be a machine for such
an apprentice to go on. They shall serve their full time on the smallest machines
in the respective shops.
“There shall be but one apprentice allowed for every four color mixers em
ployed in any one factory, but in no case must a journeyman be discharged to
make room for an apprentice, and no apprentice shall mix for more than one
printing machine or two grounding machines.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated for the entire industry be
tween the executive board of the union, and the labor committee of the manu
facturers, but enforced and signed locally.
B enefits.—Strike; death.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—935 West King Street, York, Pa. (Variable.)
Organization.—Local unions only: Illinois, 1; New York, 5; Pennsylvania, 4.
Total, 10.
Membership reported.— 540.
Bookbinders, International Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized May 5, 1892, at Philadelphia, Pa. Bookbinders were
organized in Knights of Labor assemblies early in the development
of the Knights of Labor movement. An independent union of book
binders was formed in Washington, D. C., in 1850. When the Inter
national Typographical Union was formed in 1852, however, some
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
bookbinders became a part of that organization, which at the begin
ning embraced the entire printing industry. The bookbinders were
the second of the craft divisions within the International Typograph
ical Union to secede and organize a separate craft union. They fol
lowed the lead of the pressmen in this regard and organized the
International Brotherhood of Bookbinders in 1892. Two years later
this brotherhood was formally recognized by the Typographical
Union when it released its bookbinding members to the craft
brotherhood.
The International Brotherhood of Bookbinders joined the Ameri
can Federation of Labor as an affiliated international union in 1898.
In 1919 it absorbed the International Brotherhood of Tip Printers,
a small organization which had been affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor since 1902.
Objects.—“To attain a uniform scale of wages, hours of labor, apprenticeship
laws for the government of the trade; the abolition of unjust, inhuman, and
degrading contract systems, the insidious task and bonus systems; to secure to
the men and women of our craft the full enjoyment and compensation of the
wealth they create; to agree to arbitrate all differences existing between em
ployer and employee and * * * to promote such laws as will have a tendency
to create harmony between employer and employee and the advancement of
the bookbinding industry.”
Territorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—Bookbinding; specifically, “bookbinders (printed or
blank), paper rulers, paper cutters, stockmen, waxed-paper workers, tablet
workers, sheet joggers and sheet straighteners, edge gilders, marblers, foldingmachine operators, Kast-machine operators, and aU other automatic bindery
feeding-machine operators, bindery women, and all other branches of the book
binding industry, hand or machine.”
Government.—1. Executive council, composed of president, five vice presi
dents, and secretary-treasurer, “shall have general supervision of the affairs
of the international between conventions, and shall have authority to enact such
regulations for the pursuance thereof and in consonance with existing constitu
tion and laws.” The third and fifth vice presidents shall be women. Officers
are nominated by local unions and elected by referendum.
2. Local unions: Autonomous within limits of international constitution.
3. Convention: Held quadrennially; enacts general legislation. Constitutional
amendments adopted by convention must be submitted to referendum. Legisla
tion also by initiative and referendum.
Qualifications fob membership.—All persons working at the bookbinding
trade are eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
“Indenture” membership for first year; benefit membership thereafter. Em
ployers may retain membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—“The indenturing of apprentices is considered
the best means calculated to give that efficiency which it is desired bookbinders
should possess, and also to give the necessary guaranty to employers that some
return will be made them for a proper effort to turn out competent workers.
Local unions must insist upon proper indenturing of apprentices and a uniform
ratio of apportionment thereof, and that proper methods of supervision be
PAPER AND PR IN T IN G
209
observed. The terms of service shall not be less than 4 continuous years for
men and not less than 1 year for women.
“All apprentices shall be guaranteed thorough instruction and be subjected
to a rigid examination once every 6 months from the beginning of the in
denture.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by local unions, generally
with employers’ associations. A standard form of contract is recommended by
international office. Union label in union shops.
B enefits .—Strike; funeral.
Official organ.—The International Bookbinder.
H eadquarters,—American Federation of Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization .—Joint boards: Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, New
York City, Buffalo.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 2; Arizona, 1; California, 5; Colo
rado, 4; Connecticut, 2; District of Columbia, 3; Florida, 4; Georgia, 2; Idaho,
1; Illinois, 13; Indiana, 14; Iowa, 4; Kansas, 3; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 3;
Maryland, 2; Massachusetts, 6; Michigan, 4; Minnesota, 1; Mississippi, 2; Mis
souri, 8; Montana, 3; Nebraska, 2; New Hampshire, 2; New Jersey, 3; New
Mexico, 1; New York, 11; North Carolina, 3; North Dakota, 3; Ohio, 9; Okla
homa, 2; Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 12; South Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 5; Texas,
8; Washington, 6; West Virginia, 2; Wisconsin, 3. Canada—Alberta, 1; Brit
ish Columbia, 2; Manitoba, 1; Ontario, 2; Quebec, 2; Saskatchewan, 2. Total,
173.
M em bership reported.—11,600.
E ngravers5 U nion of North Am erica, International Photo
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City, October 22, 1900. The photo-en
gravers were the last of the printing-craft divisions to secede from
the International Typographical Union. Separate organization was
determined upon at a conference held in New York City in October
1900, which prepared for and called a convention of photoengravers
in Philadelphia in November of the same year. This convention, at
tended by 15 delegates, representing 7 local unions, founded the
International Photo Engravers’ Union. It was not until 3 years
later that the International Typographical Union recognized the new
organization and released to it its members engaged in that craft.
The American Federation of Labor chartered the new union on May
20, 1904, as the International Photo Engravers’ Union, with complete
jurisdiction over the photoengraving branch of the printing industry.
Objects.—Not declared.
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction .—“All methods and processes and parts thereof of pro
ducing likenesses of whatever character or description reproduced by means of
photography or otherwise and used for printing purposes. Included among the
branches of photoengraving, lithography, photogravure, offset, etc., shall be
artists, soft-metal, label, and wood engravers, and all other branches that may
develop from time to time.”
79315
°— 86------15
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Government.—1. Executive council, composed of a president, three vice presi
dents, and secretary-treasurer, “shall have general supervision of the business
of the international union.”
2. Local union: Subordinate; controlled chiefly by international laws, but
“conceded the right to make all necessary laws for local government” which
do not conflict with international constitution, laws, and regulations.
3. Convention: Held annually; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention, except that in specified instances
amendments must be referred to general vote of membership for ratification.
Qualifications for membership.—“To be eligible to membership an applicant
must have served at least 5 years at the photoengraving trade and have attained
the age of 21 years. * * * No one having learned the photoengraving
trade at a penal institution or having been an instructor at a school of photo
engraving not approved by the International Photo Engravers’ Union shall be
admitted to membership except by approval of the executive council.”
A pprenticeship regulations.—Applicants must pass a physical examination.
Term of apprenticeship, “5 years at a classified branch under the jurisdiction
of the International Photo Engravers* Union.”
“It is enjoined upon each subordinate union to make regulations limiting
the number of apprentices to be employed in each office to 1 for such number
of journeymen as to the union may seem just: Provided, That the ratio of 1
apprentice to 7 journeymen and 2 apprentices to 14 journeymen shall be the
maximum number and must not be exceeded. The number of apprentices
allowed shall be based on the total number of journeymen employed in the
shop on day shifts, and apportioned among the various branches as follows:
One apprentice in a department, and additional apprentices to be added only
upon the basis of seven additional journeymen in a department. There shall
be a journeyman employed in each department where an apprentice is allowed.
“No apprentice shall be allowed to serve an apprenticeship on night shifts.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Terms of proposed agreements are sub
mitted by local unions to the executive council of the international union before
negotiations with employers are begun. Then a committee of the local union
meets with the employers (in most cases the employers’ association) in confer
ence on terms approved by the main office. International officers may be called
into conference in case of difficulty or deadlock in the negotiations. Tendency
is toward long-term contracts.
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; tuberculosis; funeral; insurance.
Official organ.—The American Photo-Engraver.
H eadquarters.—Tower Grove Bank Building, St. Louis, Mo.
Organization.—Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 1; California, 3;
Colorado, 1; Connecticut, 2; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 1; Georgia, 1;
Illinois, 4; Indiana, 3; Iowa, 2; Kansas, 2; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 1; Mary
land, 1; Massachusetts, 4; Michigan, 2; Minnesota, 2; Missouri, 2; Nebraska, 1;
New Jersey, 1; New York, 6; Ohio, 8; Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 3;
Rhode Island, 1; Tennessee, 3; Texas, 3; Utah, 1; Virginia, 1; Washington, 2;
Wisconsin, 2. Canada—British Columbia, 1; Manitoba, 1; Ontaria, 2; Quebec,
1. Total, 73.
Membership reported.—8,700,
PAPER AND PRINTING
211
Lithographers of Am erica, A m algam ated
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City in 1882, as the Lithographers’ Pro
tective and Insurance Association, largely benevolent and fraternal in
character. The name was changed in 1896 to the Lithographers’
International Protective and Beneficial Association, by which name
it is still recognized by the American Federation of Labor, under
charter granted in 1906.
Prior to 1896 it was the only organization in the lithographic
field. Several others organized within the next few years, among
them the Lithographic Workmen of America, the Stone and Plate
Preparers’ Union, the Lithographic Press Feeders and Apprentices’
Association, and the Poster Artists’ Association. The Lithographic
Press Feeders and Apprentices’ Association was chartered by the
American Federation of Labor as an affiliated international in 1909.
In 1915 the Lithographers’ Protective and Beneficial Association,
the Lithographic Workmen of America, and the Stone and Plate
Preparers’ Union amalgamated into one organization under the title
“Amalgamated Lithographers of America.”
The request of the new organization for an American Federation
of Labor charter under the new name brought to a head a jurisdic
tional dispute which had been growing since 1913, involving the
lithographers with the International Printing Pressmen and Assist
ants’ Union and the International Photo Engravers’ Union. The
controversy centered upon the offset press, a new development in the
lithographic industry. It was contended by the International Print
ing Pressmen that as their jurisdiction covered all presswork, press
men in the lithographers’ union running offset presses should be
transferred to the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants’
Union. Similarly, the International Photo Engravers’ Union de
clared that lithographers making offset plates were doing work
conceded to that organization.
Such a division would have meant the disbanding of the Amalga
mated Lithographers’ Association and its absorption by the other
two international unions. The lithographers refused to consider
that policy, taking the position that they would be entirely willing
to become a part of an amalgamation uniting all printing unions in
one organization covering the industry, but that so long as organiza
tion continued along craft lines, the lithographic craft must be
recognized.
Finally, in 1918, a committee appointed by the executive council of
the American Federation of Labor, after an investigation, brought
in a report giving the International Printing Pressmen and Assist-
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
ants’ Union full jurisdiction over the offset press and the lithographic
pressmen and giving the International Photo Engravers’ Union juris
diction over other workers in lithographic processes. By action of
the 1918 convention of the American Federation of Labor the Amal
gamated Lithographers were given until September 1,1918, to comply
with that decision and merge with the other two organizations along
the lines laid down. Expulsion was to follow a refusal to disband.
However, at the request of the International Printing Pressmen
and the International Photo Engravers, the expulsion order was held
in abeyance pending further efforts to come to an agreement, and
it has never been carried out. The lithographers are still an affiliated
union, although recognized only under their former title instead of
the one used by the organization itself.
In 1918 the Amalgamated Lithographers absorbed the Litho
graphic Press Feeders and Apprentices’ Association, which had been
suspended from the American Federation of Labor in 1914, but had
continued independently.
This organization is not a part of the Allied Printing Trades
Council.
Objects.—‘‘The objects of this association are to protect the individual and
collective trade interests of its members; to regulate and advance the interests
of lithography; to impart and confine to its members, or to such as signify
their intention to become members, the most advanced and improved methods
in all its branches, whereby the members in general may become the most
proficient workmen; to be a bureau for the practical distribution of situations
and help to its members; to establish a mortuary fund; to establish and main
tain a registered union label to distinguish the product of the labor of its
members; to conduct the systematic education of its members through the
publication of a monthly trade journal; to establish and regulate a fair and
just system of apprenticeship to the end that a high standard of workmanship
be maintained, and so that the earnings of labor be not unduly injured nor the
vocation of lithography demoralized by evil internal competition; to endeavor
by aU fair and just means to induce nonmembers to join its ranks, and to try
at all times to limit the employment of workmen in the various branches of
lithography under this organization’s jurisdiction to those exclusively who are
members in good standing.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—“The lithographic industry * * * composed of com
mercial artists, poster artists, engravers, photo and process lithographers,
lithophotographers, designers, music engravers, pen and brush letterers, lithosign writers, transferrers, provers, hand-press printers, flat-bed rotary and offset
press pressmen on single or multicolor presses, printing from etched stones or
metal plates peculiarly adapted for lithographic presses and prepared by litho
graphic stone and plate preparers and transferrers, upon paper, iron, tin, silk,
cloth, rubber, celluloid, or any other printable material; press feeders on flat-bed,
rotary, and offset presses, hand-fed and automatic; stone and plate preparers,
all transferring and photocomposing machines which are used for the purpose
of making lithographic plates and used on lithographic printing presses, all
engraving machines used for lithographic work and operated in the lithographic
PAPER. AND PRINTING
213
department, and such other kindred branches as are properly linked with
lithography.”
Government.—1. International council, composed of president, four vice
presidents, secretary-treasurer, and one elected member for each branch of the
trade; i. e., one artist (“artists” includes poster artists), one engraver, one
prover, one transferrer, one pressman, one press feeder, and one stone and plate
preparer “shall exercise care of the interests and have entire supervision of
the welfare of the association.”
The president “shall at all times exercise a general supervision over the
interests and welfare of the association”, and is the chief executive officer.
The council is the legislative and judicial power between conventions, and
controls all strike matters.
2. Local unions: “Local unions are self-governing in all their local affairs
except with regard to those laws which must necessarily be uniform through
out the organization.” Constitution dictated by general organization; bylaws
optional with local, but must be approved by international council.
3. Initiative, referendum, and recall.
4. Convention: Held triennially; nominates general officers, who are then
elected by referendum. Constitutional amendments either by referendum or by
convention and referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—For journeyman membership, 4 years’
apprenticeship “under the rules of the association”, in the branch for which
application is made. Applicant must be 21 years old and earning the estab
lished minimum rate of pay.
Apprenticeship regulations.—Term of apprenticeship, 4 years.
“For the first 3, 4, or 5 journeymen in a department 1 apprentice shall be
allowed, for 10 journeymen, 2 apprentices, for 15 journeymen, 3 apprentices, and
1 additional apprentice for each 5 additional journeymen in the department.
One apprentice shall be allowed to each shop where process work is being done.
“The term ‘number of journeymen employed’ shall in every instance be com
puted by the average number of journeymen employed for the year preceding.
“Locals are requested to use all means to secure the privilege of governing
apprentices.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—“The international council has the
authority to draw up agreements with an employers’ association, but such agree
ments shall be subject to referendum. * * * Locals may enter into local
agreements or contracts with individual firms by consent of the international
council”, but “all agreements and contracts entered into must be uniform in
character.”
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; life insurance (contributory, compulsory
membership).
Official organ.—The Lithographers’ Journal.
H eadquarters.—205 West Fourteenth Street, New York, N. Y.
Organization.—Local unions only: United States—California, 2; Colorado, 1;
Connecticut, 1; District of Columbia, 1; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 1;
Iowa, 1; Kentucky, 1; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, 2; Minne
sota, 1; Missouri, 2; Nebraska, 1; New York, 4; Ohio, 6; Oregon, 1; Pennsyl
vania, 3; Rhode Island, 1; Tennessee, 2; Texas, 2; Virginia, 1; Washington, 1;
West Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 1. Canada—British Columbia, 1; Manitoba, 1;
Ontario, 4; Quebec, 1. Total, 49.
Membership reported.—6,764.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Pressm en and Assistants* U nion of N orth Am erica,
International Printing
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized October 8,1889, in New York City. From the inception
of the International Typographical Union in 1852 printing pressmen
were members of that organization without any distinction as to
kind of work performed until 1873, when the International Typo
graphical Union convention authorized the chartering of pressmen
in craft groups. By 1888 there was a strong sentiment among the
craft groups favoring separation and the establishment of a printing
pressmen’s union independent of the printers.
This sentiment crystallized into a call for a convention sent out
by the New York pressmen’s local of the International Typograph
ical Union. The convention was held in New York City on October
8, 1889, with 13 local unions of pressmen represented, and the Inter
national Printing Pressmen’s Union of North America was formed.
It grew chiefly by secession from the International Typographical
Union, which by 1894 had become so serious that the typographical
union entered into an agreement with the young organization to
surrender its jurisdiction over the pressroom and to transfer its press
men membership to the new union.
Jurisdiction was expanded to include press feeders, and in 1897 the
name of the organization was changed to International Printing
Pressmen and Assistants’ Union of North America.
The first journal appeared in November 1890. Twenty years later
extensive property in Hawkins County, Tenn., was secured on which
the union now maintains a home for the superannuated, a tubercu
losis sanatorium, a trade school, and its international headquarters.
Objects.—To bring about and maintain the highest quality of workmanship,
to encourage and sustain good workmen, to assist members in securing employ
ment and retaining same, to influence the apprentice system for the benefit of
both employer and employee, and to establish and uphold a fair and equitable
wage scale.
T erritorial jurisdiction.—North America.
T rade jurisdiction.—“Printing pressmen, assistants, paper handlers, roller
makers, newsboys, and carriers.” Also jurisdiction over all types of presses
covering relief, planograph, and intaglio methods of printing, including news
paper, magazine, and commercial printing by the letterpress process, all work on
offset presses and gravure presses.
Government.—1. Board of directors, composed of president, four vice presi
dents, and secretary-treasurer, “during the interim between conventions * * ♦
shall have general supervision over all matters relating to the international
union, and during such interim shall have power and authority to decide aU
questions, disputes, and jurisdictional rights that may arise. Its decisions shall
be final unless set aside by the convention.”
PAPER AND PR IN T IN G
215
2. Local unions: Autonomous within limits of international constitution and
laws. Exact autonomy not defined. Constitution and bylaws must be approved
by board of directors.
8. Convention, initiative, referendum, and recall: Convention meets quadren
nially. Nomination and election of general officers by referendum. Legislation
and constitutional amendments either by convention or by initiative and
referendum.
Qualifications fob membership.—Any person of “good moral character”
working at the trades covered by the jurisdiction is eligible to membership.
Male and female membership.
Employers actually working at the trade may hold membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—“No apprentice in a newspaper web press
room shall become a journeyman member of a newspaper web pressmen’s union
unless he has served an apprenticeship of at least 5 years in a newspaper
pressroom.”
Registered apprentices “shall be required to take a correspondence course
through the trade school of the international union.”
“Apprenticeship shall be calculated by the physical demands based upon the
requirements of the business through expansion, by death, by retirement, or
incapacitation, and all apprenticeship regulations shall be approved by the board
of directors.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Proposed agreements must be submitted
to the board of directors for approval before negotiations are begun. Agree
ments are negotiated by locals but they “shall not become effective or operative
for any purpose whatsoever until underwritten” by the board of directors.
An international arbitration agreement calling for arbitration of all difficulties
in shops covered by the agreement is in effect between the International Print
ing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union and the American Newspaper Publishers
Association. This agreement was negotiated by the board of directors and
ratified by referendum.
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; death; old-age pension; home for the super
annuated; tuberculosis sanatorium; trade school.
Official organ.—The American Pressman.
H eadquarters.—Pressmen’s Home, Hawkins County, Tenn.
Organization.—Local unions are organized and maintained on basis of
occupational classification; i. e., commercial printing pressmen, newspaper
pressmen, assistants, roller makers, paper handlers, carriers, ink workers, etc.,
unless there are not enough of each classification to form a local union, in
which case they are chartered as mixed locals until such time as unified
groups can be chartered. A charter may be granted “for a union of not less
than 5 qualified flat-bed or web pressmen, or 10 assistants, or 10 offset printing
pressmen, 10 paper handlers, 5 roller makers, 10 newsboys, 10 carriers, or 10
of such other workers as may come under the jurisdiction of the international
union.” Local unions, classified as commercial and mixed (m) ; newspaper (n) ;
assistants (a) ; paper handlers (ph) ; ink workers (i) : United States—Alabama,
6 m; Arkansas, 4 m; Arizona, 3 m; California, 17 m, 2 n, 1 ph; Colorado,
4 m, 1 n, 1 a; Connecticut, 6 m; Delaware, 1 m; District of Columbia,
1 m, 1 n, 2 a; Florida, 13 m; Georgia, 7 m, 1 n; Idaho, 8 m; Illinois,
20 m, 1 n, 1 a, 1 ph; Indiana, 14 m, 1 n, 1 a; Iowa, 10 m, 1 n, 1 a, 1 ph;
Kansas, 5 m; Kentucky, 3 m, 1 n; Louisiana, 4 m; Maine, 2 m; Maryland,
3 m, 1 n, 1 ph; Massachusetts, 13 m, 3 n, 1 a; Michigan, 13 m, 1 n, 1 ph;
Minnesota, 4 m; Mississippi, 4 m; Missouri, 8 m, 3 n, 2 a; Montana, 6 m;
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HANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
Nebraska, 2 m ; Nevada, 1 m ; New Hampshire, 3 m ; New Jersey, 13 m, 2 n, 1 a ;
New Mexico, 2 m; New York, 18 m, 3 n, 2 a, 1 ph, 1 i; North Carolina, 8 m;
North Dakota, 3 m ; Ohio, 22 m, 4 n, 2 a, 1 ph, 1 i ; Oklahoma, 7 m ; Oregon,
7 m, 1 n ; Pennsylvania, 18 m, 2 n, 2 a, 1 ph; Rhode Island, 2 m, 1 n ; South
Carolina, 3 m; South Dakota, 3 m; Tennessee, 8 m, 1 n; Texas, 14 m, 1 n;
Utah, 2 m, 1 n ; Virginia, 6 m, 1 n ; Washington, 11 m, 1 n ; West Virginia, 7 m ;
Wisconsin, 12 m, 1 n, 1 a; Wyoming, 3 m. Canada—Alberta, 2 m; British
Columbia, 2 m; Manitoba, 1 m, 1 n; New Brunswick, 1 m; Nova Scotia, 1 m;
Ontario, ,6 m, 1 n, 1 ph; Quebec, 2 m, 1 n ; Saskatchewan, 2 m. Newfoundland—
1 m. Total—367 m, 39 n, 17 a, 9 ph, 2 i.
Membership reported.—50,000.
Printers, D ie Stam pers, and Engravers* U nion of North
A m erica, International Plate
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Boston in 1892. Unions of plate printers existed
in Philadelphia and Washington at the time of the rise of the Knights
of Labor. They became identified with the Knights of Labor move
ment but later followed the craft movement into the American Fed
eration of Labor. The Knights of Labor locals and independent
unions held a convention in Boston in 1892 and organized the Na
tional Steel and Copper Plate Printers’ Union. In 1901 this name
was changed to “International”, to include the Canadian plate print
ers. In 1920 jurisdiction was extended to include die stampers and
the name was changed accordingly. In 1925 the engravers organized
in the International Steel and Copper Plate Engravers’ League, an
organization chartered by the American Federation of Labor in 1918,
amalgamated with the plate printers. Since the amalgamation the
name of the organization has been changed to International Plate
Printers, Die Stampers, and Engravers’ Union of North America.
Objects.—“To concentrate our efforts for the attainment of the rights of labor
and the preservation thereof to those who work at the art of plate printing and
die stamping, believing that organization based on sound principles and directed
by conservative intelligence furnishes the best move by which we may secure a
more equitable share of the wealth which we create; to promote the general
welfare of our members by improving our trade and social conditions, and to
assist each other in all matters relating to our industry.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—The United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—Plate printing, die stamping, and engraving.
Government.—1. Executive council, consisting of president, two vice presi
dents, secretary-treasurer, and one representative from each local union, “shall
have general supervision of the business of the international union and of local
unions.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate, but “conceded the right of making all necessary
laws for local government which do not conflict with the laws of the international
union.”
3. Convention: Held annually; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention only.
PAPER AND PRINTING
Q u a l if ic a t io n s
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip
217
for m e m b e r s h ip .—Four years’ apprenticeship.
r e g u l a tio n s .—Apprentices must be not less than 16 nor more
than 18 years of age and serve an apprenticeship of 4 years for printers and
die stampers and 5 years for engravers. Conditional membership during the
fourth year is optional with local unions. Ratio of apprentices to journeymen
regulated by local unions.
M eth o d of nego tiating a g r eem ents .—No definite method.
B enefits .—Strike and death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Plate Printer.
H ea dq ua rters .—2965 East One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Street, New York
City.
O rg a n iza tio n .—Local unions only: United States —District of Columbia, 2;
Illinois, 1 ; Massachusetts, 1 ; New York, 5; Pennsylvania, 3. Canada—Ontario,
1. Total, 13.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—1,253.
Siderographers, International Association o f 1
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Washington, D. C., January 11, 1899, as the Steel
Plate Transferrers’ Association. In 1905 the name was changed to
International Steel Plate Transferrers’ Association, and in 1921 it
became the International Association of Siderographers.
O b je c t s .—“First, to unite more closely the siderographers, no matter where
they may apply their talent; second, to encourage and sustain its members in
the preservation of their rights; third, to assist any member seeking employ
ment ; fourth, to bring about and maintain the highest quality of workmanship;
and fifth, to advance the standard of the profession and industry.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Siderography.2
G o v e r n m en t .—1. “The supreme government of the International Association
of Siderographers is lodged in the international association, and the constitu
tion and laws enacted thereunder shall be the supreme law of the organiaztion.
“All legislative powers shall be vested in the international association. Dur
ing the interim between sessions of the international association the executive
and judicial powers of the international shall be vested in the executive board”,
composed of president, two vice presidents, secretary, and treasurer, which
“shall have full and discretionary power.”
2. Local unions: “Any local association can enact bylaws or rules of order
for their government not in conflict with international constitution, laws, or
rules.”
3. Convention: Held biennially; legislates and elects general officers. Con
stitutional amendments by convention only.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“Any siderographer of good moral standing
who has worked at the trade 5 full years or more at actual siderography may
be admitted to recognized (journeyman) membership.” Apprentice members
become junior members after 2 years’ apprenticeship.
1 Report n ot received. R eprinted from 1929 edition of Handbook of Am erican Trade
U nions (B ui. No. 5 0 6 ).
2 Siderography is a specialized process in plate printing, used alm ost exclusively in the
p rinting of paper m oney, bonds, etc.
218
HANDBOOK OE AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
M ethod of negotiating agreements .—None.
B enefits .—Unemployment.
Official obgan.—None.
H eadquarters.—513 Crittenden Street NW., Washington, D. 0.
Organization .—The Washington, D. C., association has jurisdiction over all
siderographers in the city of Washington and in the cities of all countries out
side the United States except Great Britain.
The New York association has jurisdiction over all siderographers in the
United States except Washington.
The Ottawa association has jurisdiction over all siderographers in Canada
and Great Britain.
M em bership reported.—80 (100 percent organization).
Stereotypers and Electrotypers* Union of North America,
International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Cincinnati, Ohio, in August 1902. Originally stereo
typers and electrotypers were part of the International Typographi
cal Union. With the development of their craft and increase in
numbers they became somewhat autonomous units within the Inter
national Typographical Union. A movement toward independence
began in 1898 and ended in 1902, when the Typographical Union
relinquished jurisdiction, and at a convention held in Cincinnati
the craft organization was established.
Objects —Not declared.
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction .—“All work necessary for the preparation of forms, cuts,
and other originals for molding; the molding in wax, clay, lead, celluloid,
paper matrix or flong or other papers, vegetable, mineral, or other composition,
and the necessary preparation of such molding material and all work by any
process for the perfecting of such molds, wax ruling, or engraving; the casting
of plates for printing or other purposes in lead, tin, aluminum, and other metals
and the composition of such metals or other material; the care and preparation
of such casting material, the finishing and every process for the completing of
such plates for printing and other purposes; all work done by electrolytic or
other process in the production of molds or plates to be used for printing
or other purposes, such as the deposition of copper, cobalt, brass, nickel, steel, or
other base metals or other alloys, and the preparation and completion of such
work.”
G overnment .—1. Executive board, composed of president, vice president, sec
retary-treasurer, and two elected members, one of whom shall be an electrotype
finisher and the other an electrotyper, “shall have general supervision of the
business of the international union and subordinate unions.”
2. Local unions: “To subordinate unions is conceded the right to make all
necessary laws for local government which do not conflict with the laws of the
international union.”
3. Initiative, referendum, and recall, and convention: All general officers
elected by referendum and subject to recall. Convention meets annually. Con
stitutional amendments and new legislation enacted by convention submitted to
referendum. Legislation may be initiated without reference to convention.
PAPER AND PRINTING
219
Qualifications for m em bership .—Citizenship or citizenship intention and 5
years’ experience at the trade.
A pprenticeship regulations .—Five-year term. Quotas established by local
unions.
Local unions are also directed to “devise and adopt some practical method
or system best suited to meet existing conditions, that will provide for the
thorough instruction of the trade apprentice in all the intricacies of the craft
during his 5-year apprentice term. * * * Subordinate unions shall so regu
late the registration of apprentices and the acceptance of such apprentices into
journeyman membership that as nearly as possible but one-fifth of the members
that are registered shall be taken in as journeymen in any 1 year.”
M ethod of negotiating agreements .—Negotiated by local unions, generally
with employers’ associations, but must be approved and signed by the interna
tional president.
B enefits .—Strike and lock-out; funeral; group life insurance ($500).
Official organ .—International Stereotypers and Electrotypers’ Union Journal.
H eadquarters.—2645 East Twenty-eighth Street, Kansas City, Mo.
Organization .—Local unions only; stereotypers and electrotypers are or
ganized into separate locals in large centers or plants; in small cities one local
includes both crafts: United States —Alabama, 2 ; Arkansas, 1 ; California, 8;
Colorado, 2; Connecticut, 3; District of Columbia, 2; Florida, 3; Georgia, 1 ;
Illinois, 7; Indiana, 6; Iowa, 4; Kansas, 2; Kentucky, 1 ; Louisiana, 2; Maine, 1 ;
Maryland, 2; Massachusetts, 7; Michigan, 7; Minnesota, 5; Missouri, 4; Mon
tana, 3 ; Nebraska, 2; New Jersey, 1 ; New York, 11 ; North Dakota, 1 ; Ohio, 12;
Oklahoma, 2; Oregon, 1 ; Pennsylvania, 12; Rhode Island, 1 ; South Dakota, 1 ;
Tennessee, 4; Texas, 10; Utah, 1 ; Virginia, 1 ; Washington, 3; Wisconsin, 3.
Canada—Alberta, 2; British Columbia, 1 ; Manitoba, 1 ; Ontario, 4; Quebec, 1 ;
Saskatchewan, 1. Total, 149.
M em bership reported.—8,190.
Typographical Union of North America, International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized May 3,1852. Organization in the printing industry dates
from the beginning of the nineteenth century. The first attempt
at a national organization was in November 1836, when representa
tives of local societies met in Washington and formed the National
Typographical Society. At its convention in 1837 eight American
cities were represented, and a fraternal delegate from Nova Scotia
was seated. While this organization collapsed as a national body in
1840, local societies continued to increase in number and strength.
In 1850 these local societies again came together in a national con
vention held in New York City. The establishment of trade stand
ards, discipline of members, and apprentice regulations were under
taken, and a national executive committee was elected. When the
same group met again in 1851 at Baltimore it inaugurated the Na
tional Typographical Union and adopted a constitution. This con
stitution was submitted to all the existing local societies of printers
for acceptance and was followed by a call to all who ratified it to
220
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
meet in convention at Cincinnati in 1852. At that meeting the or
ganization which later became the International Typographical
Union was formally begun, with 14 locals of printers and pressmen.
With its spread into Canada, the national union became an interna
tional and the name was changed to the present one in 1869.
Originally the International Typographical Union covered the
entire industry, although compositors formed the bulk of the mem
bership. But a movement toward independent craft organization
began in 1888 with the pressmen. An independent union of printing
pressmen was a going concern when the International Typographical
Union convention of 1891 refused to recognize it or to accept its
working card. The bookbinders followed the example of the press
men, and in 1894 the International Typographical Union, by agree
ment with the International Printing Pressmen’s Union and the
newly organized International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, released
its pressmen and bookbinder members to the newer unions and re
linquished jurisdiction over those two branches. Secession of the
stereotypers and electrotypers began in 1898 and ended in 1902 with
the recognition by the International Typographical Union of the
independent union and the surrender of its members engaged in that
craft. Similarly in 1903 the photoengravers transferred from the
International Typographical Union to the International Photo-En
gravers’ Union, and the Typographical Union became purely a craftunion.
Jurisdictional difficulties with the International Association of Ma
chinists followed the introduction of typesetting machines in print
ing offices, but the International Typographical Union successfully
maintained its position that typesetting-machine operators must
belong to the printers’ union.
The German-American Typographia was inaugurated as a national
organization at a convention held in Philadelphia in April 1873 by
delegates from local organizations of German printers employed by
German-language papers in New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati,
and St. Louis. Similar organizations in Buffalo, Cleveland, and
Detroit, while not represented at the meeting, joined the national
body. On July 1, 1873, it first issued its official journal, Journal
fur Buchdruckerkunst, which has remained in continuous publica
tion ever since.
The organization was formally recognized by the International
Typographical Union in 1884, and 10 years later it became a part of
the larger organization, under an agreement by which it preserved
its beneficiary features and practical autonomy, the benefit features
being administered by a secretary and advisory board of five mem
bers elected by the German branch of the International Union.
PAPER AND PRINTING
221
The employment of women in the printing trade began about
1832. Their inclusion in the industry and in the organizations was
fought for a generation. In 1870 a “union of women printers” was
formed in New York City, which applied to the International Typo
graphical Union for admission and was chartered as a local union.
Organization of women into separate unions was not a success, how
ever, and the convention of 1872 admitted them to membership on
equal terms with the men.
Indianapolis was made the official headquarters of the union at
the 1888 convention, and the first official journal was published in
that city on July 15, 1889. Two generous bequests, one of $10,000
and the other of an 80-acre tract of land in Colorado Springs, Colo.,
made possible the establishment of a home for aged and indigent
members. This institution, known as the Union Printers’ Home,
opened in May 1892. Later it grew into a hospital and tuberculosis
sanitarium as well as a home.
Since 1900 the structure and machinery of government of the
International Typographical Union have been altered to make the
local unit subordinate to a powerful central organization.
Objects .—“To establish and maintain an equitable scale of wages, and protect
ourselves from sudden and unreasonable fluctuations in the rate of compensa
tion for our labor; * * * to encourage the principle and practice of con
ciliation and arbitration in the settlement of differences between labor and
capital; incite all honorable efforts for the attainment of better conditions of
labor—shorter hours, increased privileges, and greater enjoyment of the
ennobling amenities of life * *
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States and possessions, Canada, and New
foundland.
T rade jurisdiction .—Printers, proofreaders who are practical printers, ma
chine tenders, mailers, and kindred trades.2
G overnment .— 1. Executive council, consisting of the president, first, second,
and third vice presidents, and secretary-treasurer, “shall have general super
vision of the business of the international union and of subordinate unions.”
2. Trade district unions: A trade district union may “charter, establish, and
form unions of its c ra ft; charters to be procured from the International Typo
graphical Union”, and has power “to make all laws for the sole government of
its craft.”
3. Local unions: “To subordinate unions is conceded the right to make all
necessary laws for local government which do not conflict with the laws of the
international.”
4. Convention: Meets annually. “The convention of the International Typo
graphical Union shall have power to enact bylaws and general laws for the
government of the craft, but all laws involving an increased taxation shall be
submitted to a referendum vote.” Constitutional amendments passed by con
vention must be submitted to referendum.
a N ew spaper w riters w ere for som e tim e under th e ju risd iction o f th e In ternation al Typo
graphical U nion. L ater th is jurisdiction w as relinquished, although several such unions
elected to rem ain w ith th eir original affiliation and tw o unions o f new spaper w riters
rem ain as locals o f th e In ternation al T ypographical U nion.
222
HANDBOOK OF AMEKICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Nomination and election of general officers by referendum.
5.
“Typographia” : German-American unions. Autonomous within limits of
amalgamation agreement.
Q ualifications for m em bership .—“No person shall be admitted to membership
in a subordinate union who has not served an apprenticeship of at least 5 years,
except with the consent of the president of the international or of the president
of the trade district union of his craft.” Male and female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations .—Apprentices shall be not less than 16 years of
age when beginning their apprenticeship and shall serve an apprenticeship of 6
years.
“Beginning with the third year, apprentices shall be enrolled in and complete
the International Typographical Union course of lessons in printing before being
admitted as journeymen members of the union.
“No office shall be entitled to employ an apprentice unless it has the equipment
necessary to enable instruction to be given the apprentice in the several classes
of work agreed upon in the contract with the employer to be taught yearly.
“Local unions are required to fix the ratio of apprentices to the number of
journeymen regularly employed in any and all offices, but it must be provided
that at least one member of the Typographical, aside from the proprietor, shall
be regularly employed in the composing room before an office is entitled to an
apprentice.
“Local unions shall arrange for scales of wages for apprentices in the third,
four, fifth, and sixth years of their apprenticeship.”
M ethod of negotiating agreements .—Negotiated by local unions and local
employers through committees. If agreement is not arrived at, international
officers intercede. All agreements must be submitted to international president
for approval.
B enefits.—Strike and lock-out; funeral; old-age pension; home for super
annuated and sanitarium; trade school.
Official organ.—The Typographical Journal.
H eadquarters.—Typographical Terrace, Indianapolis, Ind.
Organization .—State and districts: Arkansas Typographical Conference;
California Conference of Typographical Unions; Eastern Pennsylvania District
Typographical Union; Empire Typographical Conference; Florida Typographi
cal Conference; Illinois Typographical Conference; Indiana State Conference
of Typographical Unions; Intermountain Typographical Conference; Iowa State
Allied Printing Council; Michigan Federation of Typographical Unions; Min
nesota Federation of Typographical Unions; Missouri Valley Typographical
Conference; Montana Conference of Typographical Unions; New England Typo
graphical Union; North Dakota Typographical Conference; Northwest Typo
graphical Conference; Ohio State Typographical Conference; Oklahoma State
Typographical Conference; Ontario and Quebec Conference of Typographical
Unions; Southeastern Typographical Conference; Southern California Typo
graphical Conference; Southwestern Typographical Conference; TeimesseeKentucky Typographical Conference; Texas Typographical Conference; Texas
State Allied Printing Trades Council; Tri-State Typographical Conference;
Union Printers’ League of New Jersey; Virginia-Carolinas Typographical Con
ference; Virginia State Typographical Association; Westchester Typographical
Conference; Wisconsin Typographical Conference.
Local unions, classified as printers (p) ; mailers (m) ; German-American
(G-A) ; newswriters (n) : United States —Alabama, 8 p, 1 m; Arizona, 6 p;
Arkansas, 6 p ; California, 45 p, 5 m ; Colorado, 10 p, 1 m ; Connecticut, 13 p ;
Delaware, 1 p; District of Columbia, 1 p, 1 m; Florida, 14 p; Georgia, 8 p,
RUBBER MANUFACTURE
223
1 m; Idaho, 7 p; Illinois, 53 p, 1 m, 1 G-A; Indiana, 30 p, 3 m; Iowa, 19 p,
1 m; Kansas, 16 p, 1 m; Kentucky, 9 p, 1 G-A; Louisiana, 5 p, 1 m; Maine,
5 p ; Maryland, 4 p, 1 G -A ; Massachusetts, 20 p ; Michigan, 19 p, 1 m, 1 G -A ;
Minnesota, 10 p, 1 m, 1 G-A; Mississippi, 4 p; Missouri, 11 p, 2 m, 1 G-A;
Montana, 12 p, 1 m ; Nebraska, 2 p, 1 m ; Nevada, 5 p ; New Hampshire, 3 p ;
New Jersey, 21 p, 1 m, 1 G -A ; New Mexico, 3 p ; New York, 48 p, 2 m, 3 G -A ;
North Carolina, 10 p ; North Dakota, 5 p ; Ohio, 52 p, 3 m, 2 G -A ; Oklahoma,
21 p, 1 m; Oregon, 12 p, 1 m; Pennsylvania, 44 p, 2 m, 2 G-A, 1 n; Rhode
Island, 5 p; South Carolina, 5 p; South Dakota, 4 p; Tennessee, 9 p, 1 m;
Texas 28 p, 2 m ; Utah, 2 p, 1 m ; Vermont, 3 p ; Virginia, 7 p ; Washington,
15 p, 2 m ; West Virginia, 14 p ; Wisconsin, 16 p, 1 m, 1 G-A, 1 n ; Wyoming, 5 p ;
Hawaii, 1 p. Canada —Alberta, 4 p; British Columbia, 6 p, 1 m; Manitoba,
2 p ; New Brunswick, 3 p ; Nova Scotia, 2 p ; Ontario, 18 p, 2 m ; Quebec, 4 p ;
Saskatchewan, 5 p. Panama 1 p. Total, 720 p, 42 m, 15 G-A, 2 n.
M em bership reported.—77,150.
RUBBER MANUFACTURE
The rubber industry is among those in which organization of any
kind is a recent development. So far only tire factories are respond
ing to any extent, a movement which has been accelerated by organiz
ing activity among automobile workers. The one union in this indus
try is the United Rubber Workers of America, affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor.
Rubber Workers of America, United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Akron, Ohio, in September 1935. Efforts to organize
rubber workers, chiefly those in plants making rubber tires, were
vigorously carried on throughout 1933 and 1934. During that time
69 local groups were formed and chartered directly by the American
Federation of Labor. These groups established a National Council
of Rubber Workers to prepare through joint action for organization
on a self-sustaining national basis. The convention of the American
Federation of Labor held in October 1934 directed that an interna
tional charter be granted to the rubber workers under the same terms
and conditions as those fixed for the automobile workers (see p. 173).
The organizing convention, at which the charter was granted, was
held in Akron, Ohio, on September 12, 1935. In this instance, how
ever, officers were elected by the convention.
The chartered jurisdiction recognized by the American Federation
of Labor covers all workers in the rubber industry “who are en
gaged in the mass production of rubber products”, and excludes
workers attached to the industry who are employed in building con
struction, manufacture, and installation of machinery, maintenance
work, and work outside the plants.
224
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Because of what may be fairly regarded as the embryonic charac
ter of this newly formed international union, this edition of the
handbook has not attempted a detailed analysis of the constitution
or of the extent of organization. Headquarters are located in the
Akron Savings & Loan Building, Akron, Ohio.
TEXTILE INDUSTRIES
Revival and expansion of unionism, particularly in the cotton
mills, is the outstanding development of the recent past in the tex
tile industries. The United Textile Workers took immediate advan
tage of the right secured under section 7a of the National Industrial
Recovery Act to organize and to bargain collectively. It not only
launched an extensive organizing campaign but declared a general
strike in support of its right and its determination to unionize the
cotton textile industry. In consequence unionism for a time took on
almost a revivalist aspect and the membership of the United Textile
Workers increased greatly, although not all the progress made was
retained.
In addition to the gains made among the unorganized, the United
Textile Workers has been materially strengthened by the reaffiliation,
in 1931, of the Associated Silk Workers (Bui. No. 506, p. 151) who
had seceded from the parent body in 1919 and had been functioning
independently in the silk and rayon branches of the industry, in open
antagonism to the United Textile Workers. Now silk and rayon
manufacture is covered by a separate autonomous department within
the United Textile Workers, known as the American Federation of
Silk Workers, analogous to and on an equal footing with the Ameri
can Federation of Hosiery Workers. Thus one element of dualism
and opposition to the jurisdiction of the United Textile Workers has
been eliminated.
On the other hand, the dual general organization, the American
Federation of Textile Operatives, continues to function in the New
England textile areas, and a local secession movement in Salem,
Mass., resulted in the loss to the United Textile Workers of one of
its important New England strongholds, and the creation of a local
dual union in the sheet mills and bleacheries of Salem and vicinity,
known as the Independent Sheeting Workers of America.
The 1929 edition of the Handbook of Trade-Unions (p. 151) re
printed from the 1926 edition a report of the International Mule
Spinners. This organization did not furnish data for the 1929 revi
sion, hence the earlier report was reproduced without comment. It
also failed to furnish information for this edition, and because there
is considerable doubt of the national character of this group, it is
TEXTILE INDUSTRIES
225
omitted. It is one of the oldest organizations in the country, dating
back to 1858, and it was active in the organization of the Federated
Trades and Labor Unions of 1881, out of which the American
Federation of Labor grew. It was suspended from the American
Federation of Labor in 1919 for refusing to merge with the United
Textile Workers, as directed by convention decision. At that time
its voting strength indicated membership, in good standing, of 2,200.
The Internatonal Mule Spinners continued as an independent body,
and is still listed in the official directory of labor organizations in
Massachusetts published by the Massachusetts Department of Labor
and Industries, with locals in two of the textile centers of that State.
However, the Bureau has no information of its present status outside
Massachusetts, and in the absence of a report from the organization
itself, it has been dropped from the Bureau’s list of national unions.
Another independent organization in the textile field that, like the
International Mule Spinners, refused to affiliate with the United
Textile Workers in 1919 and was in consequence expelled from the
American Federation of Labor, is the Amalgamated Lace Operatives
of America. It claims jurisdiction over the entire lace-making trade,
and insofar as the trade is organized, represents that branch of the
textile industry.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Textile Workers of America, United.
Independent organizations:
Lace Operatives of America, Amalgamated.
Textile Operatives, American Federation of.
Lace Operatives of America, Amalgamated
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1892. It was first known as the
Chartered Society of Amalgamated Lace Curtain Operatives of
America. With the extension of jurisdiction to the entire lace in
dustry the word “curtain” was dropped from the title. The society
was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor from its estab
lishment until 1919, when its charter was revoked on account of its
refusal to merge with the United Textile Workers.
Objects .—“The object of this organization shall be to maintain by its united
influence a fair remuneration for its labor; to regulate the relations between
employer and employee; to improve the moral, intellectual, social, and economic
conditions of its members; and to endeavor to avoid all labor conflicts and their
attendant bitterness and pecuniary loss, by resort to conciliation in the settle
ment of all disputes concerning wages and conditions of employment.”
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States.
T rade jurisdiction .—The entire lace-making trade.
79315°— 36------16
226
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
G overnment .—1. The organization is composed of three separate and autono
mous sections—the curtain section, the Lever section, and the auxiliary section—
each of which elects its own officers and controls its own affairs.* The curtain
section is “composed of twist hands, readers, and correctors working in the
curtain and plain-net branches of the trade.” The Lever section is “composed
of twist hands, draftsmen, and machine fitters working in the Lever and
Mechlin branches of the trade.” The auxiliary section is composed of all others
working at the trade, including “all help necessary in the manufacture and
finishing of the products of the above-stated branches and their relative trade.”
The amalgamation of the three sections is governed by three vice presidents,
one from each section, and a secretary-treasurer elected by referendum vote
of the entire membership.
2. Branches: Shop organizations governed by an advisory board composed
of one member from each of the sections represented in the shop.
3. Convention: Biennial; enacts legislation governing the amalgamation.
Constitutional amendments by convention and referendum.
Q ualifications for m em bership .—Determined by each section.
A pprenticeship regulations .—“Any person between the ages of 18 and 25
years, operating a lace machine for less than 3 years, shall be known as an
apprentice.” Apprentice regulations made by each section separately.
M ethod of negotiating agreements .—Officials of each section negotiate with
the manufacturers in the establishment of piece-work rates and hours of labor
prevailing in their respective branch of the trade. Other conditions of em
ployment are established locally by the shop committees.
B enefits .—Death (small lump-sum payment, member or wife).
Official organ.—The American Lace Worker.
H eadquarters .—545 West Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa.
Organization .—Branches: Connecticut, 3; Illinois, 1 ; New Jersey, 3, New
York, 6; Ohio, 1 ; Pennsylvania, 8; Rhode Island, 4. Total, 26.
M embership reported.— 1,695.
Textile Operatives, American Federation of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Fall River, Mass., January 14, 1916, by the workers
in the textile mills of Fall River and New Bedford who withdrew
from the United Textile Workers. The first name of the organiza
tion was National Amalgamation of Textile Workers. This was
changed in 1922 to the American Federation of Textile Operatives to
distinguish it from the Amalgamated Textile Workers5Union which
sprang up in Lawrence during the strike of 1922. This latter organi
zation disbanded in 1925 and its membership has been largely ab
sorbed by the American Federation of Textile Operatives. Like the
United Textile Workers, the American Federation of Textile Opera
tives is a federation of autonomous craft bodies. The largest and
most important of these is the National Loom Fixers5 Association.
In 1928 the loom fixers of New Bedford, Mass., withdrew from the
National Loom Fixers5 Association and the American Federation
of Textile Operatives, and affiliated with the United Textile Workers,
TEXTILE INDUSTRIES
227
thus materially lessening the strength of the National Loom Fixers’
Association.
Objects .—“The objects of this federation are: (1) To establish and maintain
as far as possible a uniform rate of wages upon as high a standard as possible
consistent with the true interests of trade as affecting the textile operative;
(2) to protect wage earners from illegal or unjust reductions in their wages,
unjust treatment of whatever nature that the unfair employer will endeavor
to subject them to; (8) to secure to all workers the full enjoyment of the
wealth they create, and sufficient leisure in which to develop their intellectual,
moral, and social faculties; (4) to secure all the benefits of recreation and
pleasure of organization—in a word, to enable workers to share in the gains
and honors of civilization.”
T erritorial jurisdiction .—The New England States.
T rade jurisdiction .—All branches of the textile industry.
G overnment .—1. “The government of this organization shall consist of a
president, 3 vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, and 10 members who shall
constitute an executive council, who shall exercise a general control over its
affairs and property.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate.
3. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers and enacts general legis
lation. Constitutional amendments by convention or by initiative and refer
endum.
Qualifications for m em bership .—Any person engaged in the industry is eligi
ble for membership. Male and female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations .—Controlled by craft divisions.
M ethod o f negotiating agreements .—Handled locally.
B enefits .—Strike (by assessment).
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—142 Second Street, Fall River, Mass.
Organization .—Organized into autonomous branches of the various crafts in
the industry—i. e., weavers, spinners, carders, etc.
Local unions: Sixteen in the New England States; distribution not reported.
M e m b e r s h ip
reported .— 6,000.
Textile Workers of America, United
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Washington, D. C., in November 1901. The first
national organization in the industry was the National Union of
Textile Workers, which was formed from directly affiliated American
Federation of Labor local unions and chartered as a national in
June 1896. Its national existence was short lived, however, and the
component locals soon reverted to their original status as directly
affiliated groups. An independent body called the American Federa
tion of Textile Operatives was formed at about the same time, and in
November 1901 an amalgamation of that organization and the scat
tered American Federation of Labor locals was effected which pro
duced the United Textile Workers of America.
This organization was granted jurisdiction over the entire industry
by the terms of its original charter. Organization did not take the
228
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
usual form of industrial unionism, however, but followed rather a
plan of federating craft groups which were largely self-governing.
In the early days, the organization had difficulty in holding these
autonomous craft entities in affiliation, and several secession move
ments occurred. Outstanding among these was the movement of the
hosiery workers, who withdrew from the United Textile Workers in
1915 and functioned independently as the American Federation of
Full Fashioned Hosiery Workers until 1922. It then reaffiliated with
the central agency as an autonomous unit, now known as the Ameri
can Federation of Hosiery Workers.
Another important secession movement occurring in 1919 resulted
in the formation of the Associated Silk Workers as an independent
organization. This group had originally been organized as an indus
trial department of the Industrial Workers of the World, but joined
the United Textile Workers in 1916. After its withdrawal from the
United Textile Workers it expanded its scope to control practically
the entire silk industry, contesting the field with the United Textile
Workers, which still held jurisdiction. In 1931 the Associated Silk
Workers reaffiliated with the parent body, which then formed the
American Federation of Silk Workers, to cover silk manufacturing,
including rayon weaving. A separate department covers the manu
facture of rayon and other synthetic yarns, while cotton and wool
manufacture have separate departments.
Each department is in turn, like the United Textile Workers itself,
a federation of subdivided craft groups, such, for example, as loom
fixers, warpers, weavers, etc. Departments are self-governing,
through elected officers who form the joint executive board of their
respective departments, and departmental conventions which legis
late for their respective branches of the textile industry.
Objects.—“The objects of this organization are, first, to establish and main
tain as far as possible a fair rate of wages upon as high a standard as pos
sible, consistent with the true interest of trade as affecting aU textile workers;
to protect its members from illegal or unjust treatment; to protect, educate,
and elevate, by the use of all honorable means, all textile operatives; to secure
for the workers the full enjoyment of the wealth they create; sufficient leisure
in which to develop their intellectual, moral, and social faculties; all of the
benefits, recreations, and pleasures of association; in a word, to enable them
to share in the gains and honors of advancing civilization; to persuade employ
ers to agree to arbitrate differences which may arise between them and their
employees; to use all efforts to secure, by all fair and honorable means, humane
labor legislation for textile workers, particularly women and children, and
furthermore, to use our utmost endeavors to organize all textile workers to
secure unity of action, individually and collectively.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—North America.
T rade jurisdiction.—The textile industry.
Government.—1. “The government of this organization shall consist of a presi
dent, 5 vice presidents, a secretary-treasurer, and 10 members who shall consti-
MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURES
229
tute an executive council. They shall exercise a general control over its affairs
and property.”
2. Textile councils: Delegate bodies formed in vicinities where two or more
local unions exist. Affiliation compulsory. “Textile councils may adopt such
trade rules as the members thereof may deem expedient or judicious, but they
shall not adopt any rule which conflicts with the constitution or bylaws of the
United Textile Workers.”
3. Local unions: “All local unions shall be allowed such local autonomy as does
not conflict with international laws.”
4. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention.
Qualifications foe membership.—Any person actually working in a textile
mill is eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—Such apprenticeship systems as exist are regu
lated locally by the various crafts within the industry.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated locally by crafts, each divi
sion controlling its own wage scale and working conditions.
B enefits.—Strike donations and funeral.
Official organ.—The Textile Worker.
H eadquarters.—605 Bible House, New York, N. Y.
Organization.—Local unions only, organized in some cases on basis of craft,
as loom fixers, weavers, bleachers, dyers, etc.; in other cases on basis of mate
rial, as linen, carpet, worsted, knit goods, etc.; or in general organizations
covering all workers: United States—Alabama, 47; California, 1; Connecticut,
41; Georgia, 60; Illinois, 4; Indiana, 2; Iowa, 1; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 2;
Maine, 22; Maryland, 7; Massachusetts, 98; Michigan, 1; Mississippi, 7; New
Hampshire, 22; New Jersey, 29; New York, 40; North Carolina, 102; Ohio, 9;
Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 4; Pennsylvania, 81; Rhode Island, 54; South Carolina,
95; Tennessee, 14; Texas, 3; Vermont, 6; Virginia, 8; Washington, 1; West
Virginia, 4; Wisconsin, 2. Canada—2. Total, 771.
American Federation of Silk Workers, 50; American Federation of Hosiery
Workers, 103. Total, 153.
Membership reported.—No report. On basis of voting strength in the
American Federation of Labor, 79,200.
MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURES
Broom and W hisk Manufacture
A small organization of long standing holds jurisdiction over the
specialized and unclassified occupation of broommaking. It has
been in existence and in affiliation with the American Federation of
Labor since 1893. Although never large, its history has been inter
esting because of its long fight against competition from prison labor
and from blind workers in charitable institutions and blind workshops.
Its chief defensive weapon is the union label, and its membership
is confined almost wholly to union shops having a union-label
agreement.
A similar group, the brushmakers, were organized nationally from
the early days of the American Federation of Labor until 1918,
230
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
when the union disbanded. A few scattered directly affiliated Ameri
can Federation of Labor locals now cover such of the workers in this
occupation as are organized.
Broom and W hisk Makers’ Union, International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized 1893.
O b je c t s .—“The objects of the international union shall be the promotion of the
material and intellectual welfare of all the workers in the broom trade: (1) By
organization; (2) by education and enlightenment; (3) by reduction of the
hours of labor; (4) by gradually abolishing such evils as exist in the trade;
(5) by aiding the members to secure employment; (6) by agitation to abolish
the competition of convict labor; (7) by agitation to regulate the competition of
State, county, and city charitable institutions; (8) by making propaganda for
the union label; (9) to establish a uniform scale of wages in various competitive
districts.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—“The international union shall have jurisdiction over
all broom or whisk tiers and sewers (hand or power) ; broomcorn sorters, sizers,
bunchers, scrapers; operators on patent broom machines; nailers on metal-case
brooms; feather-duster makers; all workers engaged in the preparation of mate
rial for brooms or whisks; all workers on articles made for sweeping, whether
made of broomcorn or other material.”
Government.—1. General executive board, consisting of general president,
general vice president, general secretary-treasurer, and eight district representa
tives. The general secretary is the active full-time administrative officer.
The general executive board represents “the international organization in
every respect” ; makes and adopts “such provisions and rules as may become
necessary for the best interests of the organization”, and has full power over
strikes. Decisions of the general executive board may be appealed to the
convention or to referendum.
General officers are selected for a 2-year term, alternately by referendum and
by the convention.
2. Local unions: “Local unions shall have power to adopt their own scale of
wages” and “shall have jurisdiction over apprentices, who shall be subject to
the trade rules of the local.”
3. Convention: Meets every 4 years; legislates for organization and elects
general officers.
Legislation and amendments to constitution and bylaws by convention and
initiative and referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—“No workers shall be barred from member
ship in any local union on account of creed, color, or nationality, except Asiatic
labor. * * * A candidate for membership as a journeyman tier, sewer
(hand or power), or sorter must have served 2 years at the branch of the trade
for which he claims membership. A candidate for membership as an auxiliary
member must have been employed in a broom factory for 6 months.”
Broommakers and other workers at the trade who are blind and employed in
State, county, city, or privately controlled institutions or workshops for the blind
will be admitted to membership in local unions.
Membership at large may be held by individuals working in localities where
no locals exist.
MISCELLANEOUS MANUFACTURES
231
A pprenticeship regulations.—“Local unions shall have jurisdiction over
apprentices, who shall be subject to the trade rules of the local. In no case
shall there be more than the following apprentices employed: Less than 12
journeymen tiers or sewers, 1 apprentice; 12 or more journeymen tiers or
sewers, but less than 22, 2 apprentices; 22 or more journeymen tiers or sewers,
3 apprentices. In no case shall there be more than three apprentices in any
one factory, or more than one apprentice to be an apprentice sewer. No appren
tices shall be put on during a dull season or when journeymen broommakers
are being laid off.
“The wages to be paid the apprentices shall be the same as received by
journeymen.” Apprentice term is 2 years.
Method of negotiating agreements (Union-label shops).—Negotiated by
local unions, subject to approval of the general executive board. Union label
under the direction and control of the general executive board, and its use is
limited and defined by the constitution and general trade laws.
B enefits.—Death.
Official organ .—The Broom Maker.
H eadquarters.—853 King Place, Chicago, 111.
Organization.—Local unions only: Alabama, 1; California, 3; Illinois, 2;
Indiana, 2; Maryland, 1; Minnesota, 2; Missouri, 2; Nebraska, 1; New York, 1;
Ohio, 1; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 2; Texas, 4; Washington, 2; Wisconsin, 1.
Total, 20.
Membership reported.—200.
E lectric Light and Pow er and M anufactured Gas
An organizing movement among public-utility employees in oppo
sition to the craft-unionism of the established organizations culmi
nated in the Brotherhood of Utility Employees, founded in 1932, to
include “all classes of utility workers—professional, clerical, and
mechanical.” Its chief strength at present is in the power-houses of
distributing companies. The International Brotherhood of Electri
cal Workers, which is affiliated with the American Federation of
labor, includes electricians working in power-houses in its chartered
jurisdiction.
The New England Council of Utility Workers, formed recently, is
a delegate body composed of representatives of directly affiliated
American Federation of Labor local unions of gas-plant workers and
certain locals of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Work
ers. Gas workers have been organized into directly affiliated locals
in about 30 localities, largely in New England.
U tility E m ployees of A m erica, Brotherhood of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1932. The Brotherhood of
Edison Employees, out of which the Brotherhood of Utility Em
ployees grew, was organized in 1931 as the result of the laying-off
of a large number of employees by the Brooklyn-Edison Co. After
232
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
a year of local organization the new group decided to expand, and
after securing the affiliation of a number of similarly formed local
groups it undertook a Nation-wide organizing campaign among the
power and light workers. A national organizer was put in the field,
and a national convention was held in New York City in August
1934, at which the constitution was adopted. Its plan of organiza
tion is industrial, designed to include “all classes of utility workers—
professional, clerical, and mechanical, both men and women.” The
unit of organization is the power company or system. An official
organ called Powermen was undertaken, but was discontinued after
the publication of several numbers.
Objects.—“To obtain and preserve for all utility employees just and reason
able conditions of employment with respect to wages, working hours, and other
terms of employment and to cultivate friendly relations among them and gen
erally to improve their material and intellectual standards. Such objects shall
be accomplished through concerted efforts to organize the unorganized workers
in all branches of the industry; through negotiations and collective agreements
with employers, through the dissemination of knowledge, by all means or
methods usually employed by organized workers to maintain or better their
standards of life.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
T rade jurisdiction.—The light and power industry.
Government.—1. National executive council, composed of president, secretarytreasurer, and nine vice presidents, is the administrative body and appeal board.
President exercises “general executive supervision over all the affairs of the
brotherhood.” Vice presidents are administrative officers for the districts to
which they are assigned and “act as agents, advisors, or mediators for the
local unions in their respective districts.”
2. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers and enacts general legis
lation, which may be referred to general membership for ratification. Consti
tutional amendments by referendum.
3. Initiative and referendum.
4. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution imposed by national organiza
tion, but local bylaws may be adopted with the approval of the national
president.
Qualifications for membership.—Any person 18 years of age and over
employed within the jurisdiction is eligible.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by local representatives with
individual power companies, but must be approved by the national executive
committee.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—120 West Forty-fifth Street, New York City.
Organization.—Local unions only (covering power plant, company, or sys
tem) : California, 1; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 3; Kentucky, 2; Massachusetts, 6;
Missouri, 1; Rhode Island, 1; Texas, 2. Total, 17.
Membership reported.—No report.
Section C. Transportation and Communication1
Little change in structure, function, or jurisdiction has taken place
since the 1929 report among the many unions in transportation and
related fields. The expansion of air travel is reflected in the estab
lishment of two new organizations, one covering commercial air-line
pilots and the other including in its jurisdiction the radio operators
connected with airways.
Independent unions continue to predominate in the transportation
industry, only 13 of the 31 organizations being affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor. One has left the Federation since
1929. This is the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen which has
maintained an independent status since its suspension from the Fed
eration on a jurisdictional issue. One new organization—the Air
Line Pilots’ Association—joined the American Federation of Labor
immediately after it was organized. A new organization in the com
munication field—the American Radio Telegraphists’ Association—
organized independently, but is now voting on a measure calling for
amalgamation with the Commercial Telegraphers’ Union. If the
referendum sustains the proposal, this group will be brought into the
American Federation of Labor.
The transportation and communication group is further classified
into (1) water transportation; (2) air transportation; (3) street and
road transportation; (4) steam-railroad transportation; and ( 5 )
communication. In order to keep intact the organizations of all
workers in public employment, except school teachers, the classifica
tion here used for the communication group departs from that of the
census by excluding the Postal Service. Employees of municipally
owned street railways, although they are public employees, are not
divisible from street transportation as a whole.
WATER TRANSPORTATION
Two independent organizations in water transportation—the
Ocean Association of Marine Engineers and the Neptune Associa
tion—have merged into one and become the United Licensed Officers
of the United States of America, thus, for the first time, bringing into
one organization the licensed personnel in both the deck and the en1 Exclusive of the United States Post Office, which is classified under Government
service.
233
234
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
gine departments. When this merger was effected, a complete unifica
tion of the many organized groups of ship’s officers was contemplated
by the sponsors of the movement, but that objective was not reached.
Neither the independent National Marine Engineers’ Beneficial As
sociation of the United States of America nor the affiliated National
Organization Masters, Mates, and Pilots of America accepted the
merger proposal; and while the American Radio Telegraphists’ Asso
ciation was represented at the conference as the spokesman for ship
wireless operators, it did not join.
Beyond increased membership and activity, reflected in strikes and
the successful negotiation of a number of collective agreements, no
material changes have occurred since 1929 affecting the organizations
in this group. The practical elimination of dualism among long
shoremen in San Francisco was effected as a result of the arbitration
award following the water-front strike of 1934, which granted rec
ognition to the International Longshoremen’s Association as the
agency representing the longshore workers of the San Francisco
Bay district.
A resolution was introduced into the 1935 convention of the Amer
ican Federation of Labor by a delegate from the International Sea
men’s Union of America calling for favorable action upon the appli
cation of the National Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association for
reaffiliation with the federation. The resolution was later withdrawn
without discussion, and the marine engineers continue as an inde
pendent union.
Organizations in water transportation are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Longshoremen’s Association, International.
Masters, Mates, and Pilots of America, National Organization.
Seamen’s Union of America, International.
Independent :
Engineers’ Beneficial Association of the United States of America,
National Marine.
Licensed Officers of the United States of America, United.
E ngineers’ B eneficial A ssociation o f the United States of
Am erica, N ational M arine
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
In 1864 marine engineers from Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit met
in Cleveland and organized the International Association of Engi
neers. Representatives of this organization met again in Cleveland
in 1875 with representatives of the engineers of Baltimore, Chicago,
and St. Louis. On February 23, 1875, they formed the National
Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association of the United States of
America.
WATER TRANSPORTATION
235
In 1886 the engineers on the Great Lakes withdrew and formed
the Brotherhood of Lake Engineers, but 4 years later they reaffili
ated with the parent body.
The organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
in 1918, but withdrew in 1923 because of the stand of the American
Federation of Labor on ship subsidy. At the 1924 convention of the
American Federation of Labor, jurisdiction over marine engineers
was granted to the International Union of Operating Engineers, an
affiliated organization.
Objects.—“The objects and purposes of this association shall be to elevate
and maintain the rights of the craft, advance and safeguard the economic and
working conditions of marine engineers under its jurisdiction, and otherwise
labor for their better protection and advancement.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States; territory divided into jurisdictional
districts as follows: “Gulf coast district, all associations on the Gulf of Mex
ico; Atlantic coast district, all associations on the Atlantic coast and rivers,
bays, and sounds of the same; Great Lakes district, all associations on the
Great Lakes and bays, rivers, and harbors of same; all associations on the
western and southern rivers; Pacific coast district, all associations located in
the United States territory on the Pacific coast, rivers, sounds, and bays thereof,
and west of same.”
Trade jurisdiction.—United States licensed or commissioned marine engineers
on vessels, boats, barges, scows, or any other craft flying the American flag,
propelled by steam, gas, oil, electricity, or machinery of any kind.
Government.—1. General officers are president, three vice presidents, secre
tary-treasurer, and an executive board of five elected members, one from each
territorial district.
Executive board is the administrative body, with the president as the chief
executive officer and organizer. Executive board is also a trial board.
Each district is under the control of a deputy appointed by the president.
2. Local associations: Subordinate; constitution dictated by national associa
tion, but “each subordinate association has the inherent right to make bylaws
and regulations for its own government and concerns not inconsistent with or
prohibited by the constitution, laws, and regulations of the national association.”
3. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers. Constitutional amen iments and general legislation by referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—“Membership is limited to those licensed
as engineers of vessels of over 10 tons by the United States Steamboat Inspeo
tion Service, those commissioned by the United States in the Navy or United
States Coast Guard Service for engineering duty, and those holding United
States engineers* license of motorboats of 100 tons or over.” Members must be
or become American citizens.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated locally with approval of the
general executive board.
B enefits.—At option of local associations.
Official organ.—American Marine Engineer.
H eadquarters.—Machinsits’ Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—Districts: Gulf coast, Atlantic coast, Great Lakes, western
and southern rivers, Pacific coast.
236
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Local associations: Alabama, 1; California, 2; Connecticut, 1; District of
Columbia, 1; Illinois, 2; Indiana, 2; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 1; Maryland, 1;
Massachusetts, 1; Michigan, 8; Minnesota, 1; Mississippi, 2; Missouri, 1; New
York, 4; Ohio, 3; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 3; South Carolina, 1; Tennessee, 1;
Texas, 1; Virginia, 1; Washington, 1; West Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 4; Canal
Zone, 1. Total, 48.
Membership
reported.—5,000.
Licensed Officers of the U nited States of Am erica, U nited
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City on June 1, 1933, as an amalgamation
of the Neptune Association and the Ocean Association of Marine En
gineers. The Neptune Association was incorporated in New York
City on March 21, 1912, as a national organization, and the Ocean
Association was incorporated in New York City on February 18,1918,
as an organization of United States licensed steam and Diesel engi
neers on the Atlantic seaboard sailing on ocean-going vessels. The
purpose of the amalgamation was to secure for American licensed ship
officers increased prestige and power.
Objects.—The purpose of this association is to unite into one great body
the licensed officers of American merchant marine; to work for their better
ment and welfare; to obtain legislation, better working conditions, and salaries;
to promote safety of life at sea; to work in the interest of the American
merchant marine; and to render any other service that the association may
determine, subject to such rules and regulations, terms, and conditions as the
association may in its bylaws provide.
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
T rade jurisdiction.—United States licensed deck and engine-room officers
on vessels.
Government.—The officers are president, first vice president, second vice
president, third vice president, general secretary, and treasurer. Executive
committee is composed of the president, general secretary, and treasurer,
together with 10 governors elected by the members.
Branches: Subordinate; subject to the jurisdiction of the general organi
zation.
Qualifications for membership.—Regular members shall be citizens who hold
a license from the Federal or State Government to serve as officers on Ameri
can vessels.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by the executive committee.
Strike action subject to the vote of the members.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—The Neptune Log.
H eadquarters.—15 Whitehall Street, New York, N. Y.
Organization.—General membership organization, with branches in New
York, Mobile, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.
Membership reported.—2,000.
W ATER TRANSPORTATION
237
L ongshorem en’s A ssociation, In tern ation al2
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Detroit, Mich., August 27, 1892, as the Lumber
Handlers of the Great Lakes. With the object in view of organizing
all men engaged in longshore work, the name was changed in 1893
to National Longshoremen’s Association of the United States. The
next year jurisdiction was extended to Canada and it became the
International Longshoremen’s Association. In 1902 the organization
attempted another extension of jurisdiction to include all marine
workers and added marine and transport workers to the name of the
organization. This move, however, resulted in a long-fought contest
with the International Seamen’s Union. The extended jurisdiction
was never recognized by the American Federation of Labor, and
several years later the longshoremen relinquished jurisdictional claims
over the marine and transport workers and reverted to their original
recognized title.
O
.—“To associate ourselves together for an association of effort and
more extended action in behalf of our own rights and interests.”
T
.—United States and possessions, Canada, Central
America, and South America.
T
.—Longshore work, which is defined as “all work in the
direct operation of loading and unloading all floating structures covering all
commodities in transit; the loading and unloading of all railroad cars on
docks, piers, or in marine warehouses, ^whether direct to shop or car or whether
for assembling of cargoes; all work done in or about all grain elevators, boats,
stationary and floating; all work done in cotton compresses and cotton ware
houses located in the several ports. Longshore labor includes all men who
truck cargo direct from the pile or car to or from the ship’s side or to the
ship’s hatches, including men who do such trucking direct from the car to the
ship’s side or to the hatch; the important distinction being as to whether or
not the freight is handled once; that is to say, is laid down or piled.”
G
.—1. Executive council, consisting of president, 14 vice presidents,
and secretary-treasurer, is the “final executive power.” President “shall have
full control of all matters of interest to the organization.” Representation on
the executive council is provided by electing six vice presidents from the Atlantic
coast district, one of whom must represent the Canadian Provinces, four from
the South Atlantic and Gulf coast district, two from the Pacific coast district, and
two from the Great Lakes district.
2. Local district councils: “Wherever there are two or more locals in any one
part or locality adjacent thereto, said locals shall form a district council.” All
locals in the district must affiliate. “Any ruling made or decision rendered by
a district council affecting the rights of any local or member thereof shall be
subject to the * * * final approval of executive council of the International
Longshoremen’s Association.”
b jects
e r r it o r ia l
rade
ju r is d ic t io n
ju r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
* Organization did not report. Data are reprinted from 1929 edition of the Handbook
of Trade Unions, with later authentic information.
238
HANDBO O K OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
3. Local unions : Subordinate; may make bylaws and “shall have full power to
regulate their own wages, whether by the hour, by the thousand, by the ton, or
otherwise.”
4. Convention: Meets quadrennially; enacts all legislation and elects general
officers.
Q
.—Any person actually employed within the
jurisdiction is eligible, except one holding membership in a dual organization,
or who is in any way connected with a detective agency or with any firm or
corporation employing labor.
A
.—None.
M
.—Negotiated by local unions and inter
national officers to cover the different territorial jurisdictions, as Atlantic ports,
Gulf ports, etc. When possible, single agreement includes all ports in a given
district.
B
.—Strike; funeral, by some locals.
O
.—The Longshoremen’s Journal (semiannual).
H
.—265 West Fourteenth Street, New York City (office of presi
dent), and 17 Court Street, Buffalo, N. Y. (office of secretary).
O
.—Jurisdiction divided into four geographical districts: Atlantic
coast, Pacific coast, South Atlantic and Gulf coast, Great Lakes. Local unions
divided into general longshore workers and on basis of commodity as grain
handlers, cotton handlers, coal handlers, etc., or of occupation as tugmen,
cranemen, clerks, checkers, etc.
Atlantic coast district: United States—Delaware, 1; Maine, 6; Maryland, 7;
Massachusetts, 7; New Jersey, 10; New York, 45; Pennsylvania, 4; Rhode Is
land, 1; Virginia, 12. Canada—New Brunswick, 5; Nova Scotia, 2. Total, 100.
Great Lakes district: Illinois, 8; Michigan, 14; Minnesota, 9; New York, 18;
Ohio, 30; Pennsylvania, 6; Wisconsin, 16; Ontario, 4. Total, 105.
Pacific coast district: Alaska, 2; California, 17; Oregon, 10; Washington, 16.
Total, 45.
South Atlantic and Gulf coast district: Alabama, 1; Florida, 4; Louisiana,
10; Mississippi, 2; Puerto Rico, 3; South Carolina, 1; Texas, 53; Virgin Islands,
2. Total, 76.
Total locals, all districts, 326.
District councils: Baltimore, Md.; Beaumont, Orange, Port Arthur, Sabine
and vicinity, Tex.; Boston, Mass.; Corpus Christi, Tex.; Texas City, Tex.; St
John, New Brunswick, Canada.
M
.—No report. On basis of voting strength in American
Federation of Labor, 40,000.
u a l if ic a t io n s
foe
m e m b e r s h ip
p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a t io n s
ethod
of
n e g o t ia t in g
agreem ents
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l
organ
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip reported
Masters, Mates, and Pilots of Am erica, N ational O rganization
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City in 1887, incorporated under the laws
of the State of New York as the American Brotherhood of Steam
boat Pilots. In 1891 the scope was widened to include captains and
the organization reincorporated on April 3, 1891, as the American
Association of Masters and Pilots of Steam Vessels. In 1905 it be
came the American Association of Masters, Mates, and Pilots, with
jurisdiction covering all three grades, and in 1916 the present title,
“National Organization Masters, Mates, and Pilots of America”, was
adopted.
W ATER TRANSPORTATION
239
Objects.—“The regulation of matters pertaining to our crafts, the elevation
of their standing as such, and their character as men.”
—United States and Canal Zone.
—Officially licensed masters, mates and pilots of lake,
bay, river, and ocean steamers and sailing vessels, and operators of motorboats.
G
.—1. Executive committee, composed of president, six vice presi
dents—one of whom must be a member of the apprentice organization and
known as the apprentice vice president—secretary, treasurer, and three trustees,
“shall, between the sessions of the national organization, have and be clothed
with all powers.” The president is the chief administrative officer.
2. Subordinate associations: Controlled by constitution and regulations of
national.
3. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers, enacts legislation; con
stitutional amendments by convention only.
Q
.—Any white person of good moral character,
“in sound health, and a firm believer in God, the Creator of the Universe”,
holding a United States license and with 2 years’ experience “on water craft”
is eligible to membership.
A
.—Any male white person 16 years of age and
over, having had 3 years’ experience in the deck department on any inland water
vessel, is eligible to membership in the apprentice organization. Apprentices
transferred to membership in parent body upon acquiring Government licenses.
M
.—Handled locally.
B
.—None nationally; local, sick and death; some locals maintain an
emergency fund for widows of members.
O
.—None.
H
.—15 Moore Street, New York City.
O
.—Locals only: Alabama, 1; California, 4; Georgia, 1; Illinois,
1; Indiana, 1; Louisiana, 1; Maryland, 1; *Michigan, 1; New Jersey, 2 ; New
York, 5; Ohio, 1; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 2; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina,
1; Texas, 1; Virginia, 1; West Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 1; Canal Zone, 2.
Apprentice locals, separate organizations chartered by the parent organiza^
tion, which must be composed of men working on boats navigating inland
waters: New York 1. Total, 29.
M
.—No report. On basis of voting strength in American
Federation of Labor, 2,200.
T e r r it o r ia l
T rade
ju r is d ic t io n .
ju r is d ic t io n .
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip
p p r e n t ic e s h ip
ethod
of
r e g u l a t io n s
n e g o t ia t in g
agreem ents
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l
organ
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip reported
Seam en’s U nion of Am erica, International
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., April 22, 1892. Seamen of the Great
Lakes had a union in 1863; marine organization on the Pacific coast
began in 1883 and on the Atlantic coast in 1888. The unions thus
formed functioned as independent, unrelated locals until 1892, when,
at the call of the Sailors5 Union of the Pacific, a convention was held
in Chicago. It was attended by seven seamen, representing the Pa
cific coast, the Gulf coast, and the Great Lakes. The Atlantic coast
unions, while sympathetic to the movement, had not sufficient funds
to send delegates to the conference. This meeting resulted in the
establishment of the National Seamen’s Union. In 1893 this organi-
240
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
zation affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and in 1895
changed its name to the International Seamen’s Union of America.
O
.—“Recognizing that organization is the only means by which the
seamen may hope for the amelioration and final emancipation from the many
evils attending their calling, and for the purpose of furthering organization,
strengthening it where it already exists, and bringing into close fraternal rela
tions the component parts of our calling, we have organized the International
Seamen’s Union of America.”
T
.—United States and Canada.
T
.—“Bona fide seamen” of the three departments on ship
board (deck, engine room, and steward’s) and fishermen.
G
.—1. Executive board, composed of president, seven vice presi
dents, secretary-treasurer, and editor.
2. District and local unions, which may adopt constitutions and laws not
inconsistent with those of the international union.
8. Convention: Held annually; legislates and elects general officers. Consti
tutional amendments by convention or by convention and referendum.
Q
.—“Bona fide seamen other than licensed
officers working as such, and fishermen, all of whom must be eligible to become
citizens of these United States.”
A
, —None.
M
.—Negotiated by the international union,
the territorial districts, or the local unions.
B
.—Strike and lock-out; death and shipwreck benefits by district and
local unions.
O
.—Seamen’s Journal.
H
.—666 Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, 111.
O
.—Districts: Pacific district consists of all locals on the Pacific
coast; Atlantic district consists of all locals on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts;
Great Lakes district consists of all locals on the Great Lakes.
Local branches: Sailors, 21; marine firemen, oilers, watertenders, etc., 21;
cooks and stewards, 21; fishermen, 9; ferry and harbor boatmen, etc., 9.
United States.—Alabama, 3 ; California, 10; Florida, 1; Illinois, 3 ; Louisiana,
3 ; Maryland, 3; Massachusetts, 4; Michigan, 3; New York, 8; Ohio, 6; Oregon,
7; Pennsylvania, 4; Rhode Island, 3; Texas, 9; Virginia, 3; Washington, 6;
Wisconsin, 3; Alaska, 1. Canada— 1. Total, 81.
M
.—35,000.
bjects
e r r it o r ia l
rade
ju r is d ic t io n
ju r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s
for
m e m b e r s h ip
p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a t io n s
ethod
o f n e g o t ia t in g
agreem ents
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l o r g a n
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip reported
AIR TRANSPORTATION
So far the commercial pilots are the only group engaged in avia
tion which has adopted the trade-union form of organization.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Air Line Pilots’ Association.
Air Line Pilots’ Association
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., July 27, 1931; chartered by the Ameri
can Federation of Labor August 10, 1931. The movement toward
AIR TRANSPORTATION
241
economic organization on the part of the men in the commercial air
transport service resulted from decreases in base pay and increases
in flying time announced by the employers early in 1931. Tentative
organizations were set up by groups of pilots on various lines, mostly
in the West. The movement proceeded more or less secretly, and
was financed by contributions of $50 from each of the founders of
the three initial groups. These groups held a preliminary meeting in
Chicago and drew up plans for selecting keymen on each of the com
mercial air lines to promote the movement on their respective lines.
A second meeting in Chicago established the association on an inter
national basis. The rules of the organization require the adherence
of a majority of the pilots employed on a given line before inaugu
rating a local council on that line.
O
.—“To operate as a nonprofit employee association, not for pecuniary
gain; promote the interests of the air-line-piloting profession and to safeguard
the rights of individual members; establish and exercise the right of collective
bargaining as a means of settling disputes and grievances which may arise be
tween members and their employers; determine fair rates of compensation,
maximum hours of work, and uniform principles of seniority for the air-linepiloting profession, and to seek the adoption of them.”
T
,
.—Not limited.
T
ju r is d ic t io n .—Licensed pilots in commercial air transportation.
G
.—1. The officers—president, nine vice presidents representing
geographic divisions, secretary, treasurer—and board of directors composed of
the chairmen of the local executive councils “shall have the control and general
management of the affairs and business of this association.”
2. Central executive council, composed of local executive council chairmen
residing in Chicago, 111., and those whose regular schedules bring them to
Chicago, is an advisory committee to the president.
8. Convention: Meets annually; officers elected every other year.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any male of the white race, of lawful
age and of good moral character, who is legally qualified to serve as pilot or
copilot on aircraft in interstate or foreign commerce, and who has actually
served in that capacity for at least 90 days, is eligible to membership. Three
grades of membership—professional (those in active service), inactive (quali
fied pilots not regularly employed), honorary. Those serving in an executive
capacity are not eligible.
A
.—None.
(Controlled b y training, examination,
and license requirements of the United States Department of Commerce.)
M
.—Wage movements and controversial mat
ters affecting entire membership are handled by the international officers; local
matters are dealt with by the local executive councils.
B
.—None.
O
.—The Air Line Pilot.
H
.—3145 West Sixty-third Street, Chicago, 111.
O
.—The basic unit of organization is the local council, composed
of the pilots and copilots on each air line or subdivision thereof. There are 30
of these councils, one of which is in Brazil and one in Chile.
M
.—600.
bjects
e r r it o r ia l
ju r is d ic t io n
rade
overnm ent
p p r e n t ic e s h ip
r e g u l a t io n s
e t h o d o f n e g o t ia t in g a g r e e m e n t s
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l o r g a n
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip reported
79315°— 36----- 17
242
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
STREET AN D ROAD TRANSPORTATION
Changed transportation methods have divided jurisdiction over
workers in urban street transportation systems. When streetcars
and elevated railways were the prevailing mediums, the Amalga
mated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees held
the field and had organized it quite extensively. When busses began
replacing streetcars, the claim of the Amalgamated Association to
jurisdiction over bus drivers was contested by the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers.
Agreement was reached which granted to the Amalgamated Associa
tion jurisdiction over motorbus employees on busses operated by a
street-railway company as part of its service and equipment. Thus
the Amalgamated Association retains its position as the negotiating
agency dealing with street-railway companies irrespective of the kind
of service. The teamsters’ union was granted jurisdiction over bus
drivers employed by motorbus lines run independently. Road
transportation of goods comes solely within the jurisdiction of the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters except in certain cities where
independent dual unions are locally dominant.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Street and Electric Railway and Motor Coach Employees, Amalgamated
Association of.
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers, International Brother
hood of.
Street and E lectric R ailw ay and M otor Coach E m ployees of
A m erica, A m algam ated A ssociation of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Indianapolis, Ind., September 15, 1892, as the Amal
gamated Association of Street Railway Employees. With the spread
of electric power for street railways, the name was changed in 1903
to Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Em
ployees of America. Later the name was again changed to cover
expanded jurisdiction and the introduction of the motorbus.
O
.—“The objects of this association shall be * * * to place our
occupation upon a higher plane of intelligence, efficiency, and skill; to encour
age the formation in division associations of sick- and death-benefit funds in
order that we may properly care for our sick and bury our dead; to establish
schools of instruction for imparting practical knowledge of modern and im
proved methods and systems of transportation and trade matters generally; to
encourage the settlement of all disputes between employers and employees by
arbitration; to secure employment and adequate pay for our work; to reduce the
hours of labor; and by aU legal means to elevate our moral, intellectual, and
social condition.,,
T erritorial j u r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
bjects
STREET AND ROAD TRANSPORTATION
243
T
.—Street and electric railway service, “comprising motormen, conductors, guards, brakemen, trolleymen, street-railway transportation
bus operators employed in connection with the operation of street railways, and
all men operating cars and trains, all gatemen, watchmen, and wardens, all
employees of the car houses and pit department, all employees of the track
department, all collectors, janitors, watchmen, yard crews, elevator men, porters,
clerks, and laborers.”
G
.—1. General officers are: President, 14 vice presidents, treasurer,
and a general executive board of 9 elected members.
The president “shall have supervision over the association as its chief execu
tive officer and organizer.”
The general executive board “shall review all audits of books by expert
accountants * * * decide all points of law, grievances, and appeals * * *
and shall have power to authorize strikes * * * and levy assessments.”
2. Local divisions: Autonomous within limits of international constitution.
3. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention. Referendum under certain stipu
lated conditions.
Q
.—“A candidate to be admitted must be of
good moral character, in good and sound health, and a competent workman in
his line of work. He must be working at the occupation in some ca
pacity * * * at the time he applies.” Male and female membership. Ap
plicants over 65 years of age may hold honorary membership only.
“No manager, superintendent, foreman, or other officer of a street and electric
railway having the rules and regulations of the company to enforce over the
employees can become a member.” Members promoted to minor supervisory
positions (starters, inspectors, etc.) may be retained at discretion of local
divisions.
A
.—None.
M
.—Negotiated by local divisions through
the executive board or a specially appointed wage committee, with individual
streetcar companies. The constitution prohibits agreements of more than 3
years’ duration, and instructs local divisions “to make short-term contracts.”
If more than one division is employed by one company a joint agreement is
negotiated by joint committees of all divisions concerned. Agreements are sub
mitted to international president for approval.
B
.—Strike and lock-out; death, total disability, and old-age (all lump
sums; disability and old-age benefit payable only to those in actual service) ;
sick (by some locals).
O
.—The Motorman, Conductor, and Motor Coach Operator
(monthly) ; the Union Leader (weekly).
H eadquarters .—260 Vernor Highway East, Detroit, Mich.
O
.—Locals only. United States—Alabama, 4; Arizona, 1; Arkan
sas, 3; California, 10; Colorado, 3; Connecticut, 12; District of Columbia, 1;
Delaware, 1; Georgia, 5; Idaho, 1; Illinois, 17; Indiana, 7; Iowa, 10; Kansas, 4 ;
Louisiana, 8; Maine, 2; Maryland, 3; Massachusetts, 25; Michigan, 9; Missis
sippi, 1; Minnesota, 1; Missouri, 3; Montana, 1; New Hampshire, 3; Kentucky,
3; Nebraska, 1; New Jersey, 11; New York, 33; North Carolina, 3; Ohio, 23;
Oklahoma, 4; Oregon, 3; Pennsylvania, 22; Rhode Island, 2; South Carolina, 1;
Tennessee, 3; Texas, 4; Utah, 3; Washington, 5; West Virginia, 7; Wisconsin, 5.
Canada—Alberta, 3; British Columbia, 3; Manitoba, 1; New Brunswick, 1; Nova
Scotia, 1; Ontario, 10; Quebec, 2; Saskatchewan, 2. Total, 286.
M
.—100,000.
ra d e ju r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s
for
m e m b e r s h ip
p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a t io n s
ethod
of
n e g o t ia t in g
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l
organs
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip reported
agreem ents
244
HANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
Team sters, Chauffeurs, Stablem en, and H elpers of Am erica,
International Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1899 as the Team Drivers’ International Union. A
secession movement in 1901 resulted in the formation in Chicago of
the Teamsters National Union. These organizations functioned sep
arately until 1903, when they came together in a convention at Niagara
Falls, N. Y., and formed the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
With the displacing of horses by automobiles, jurisdiction was ex
tended to include chauffeurs and truck drivers, and in 1909 the name
of the organization was changed to International Brotherhood of
Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers.
O b je c t s .—“To organize under one banner all workmen engaged in the craft
and to educate them to cooperate in every movement which tends to benefit the
organization; to impress upon the teamsters and the public that a profitable
teamster, chauffeur, or stableman must be honest, sober, intelligent, and natu
rally adapted to the business; to teach them to take advantage of their industrial
position and to build up and perfect an impregnable labor organization; to
improve the industry by increasing the efficiency of the service and creating a
feeling of confidence and goodwill between employer and employee, which will
prevent a recurrence of the unnecessary conflicts which have arisen in the past,
and to cooperate and deal fairly and honestly will all employers who are willing
to investigate and adjust difficulties which may arise; and to secure for the
teamsters, chauffeurs, stablemen, and helpers reasonable hours, fair wages, and
proper working conditions.”
T erritorial j u r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—“This organization has jurisdiction over all teamsters
and helpers, chauffeurs and helpers, stablemen, and all who are employed on
horses, harness, carriages, or automobiles, in and around stables or garages.”
G
.—1. General executive board composed of president, general
secretary-treasurer, and seven vice presidents, is the controlling body. The
president is the executive and administrative officer, with wide powers. The
vice presidents comprise a trial board.
2. Joint councils: Joint councils are delegate bodies formed in cities having
three or more locals, or in territories with three or more locals in small cities
and towns. The local officers are the delegate members of the joint councils.
“All local unions within the jurisdiction must affiliate, comply with its laws,
and obey its orders.”
3. Local unions: “Only one local of any craft chartered in any city.” Each
local union “shall have the right to make such bylaws as it may deem ad
visable, provided they do not conflict with the laws of the international union.”
4. Convention: Held every 5 years; enacts legislation, elects general officers,
revises constitution.
Q
.—All team drivers, chauffeurs, stablemen,
and helpers who load and unload wagons and automobiles are eligible to mem
bership. “No person shall be entitled to membership in this organization who
owns or operates more than one team or vehicle.”
A
.—None.
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s
for
p p r e n t ic e s h ip
r e g u l a t io n s
m e m b e r s h ip
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
245
M
.—Negotiated by local unions with the
approval of the general president. In large centers agreements are generally
made with organized employers.
B
.—Strike.
O
.—Official Journal of the International Brotherhood of Team
sters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers.
H
.—222 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, Ind.
O
.—Local unions; in large centers locals are divided according
to the kind of service, as laundry drivers, bakery-wagon drivers, taxicab
drivers, etc.: United States—Alabama, 10; Arizona, 3; Arkansas, 1; Cali
fornia, 44; Colorado, 5; Connecticut, 3; District of Columbia, 6; Florida, 5;
Georgia, 1; Idaho, 3; Illinois, 102; Indiana, 22; Iowa, 15; Kansas, 3; Ken
tucky, 3; Louisiana, 3; Maryland, 2; Massachusetts, 24; Michigan, 23; Minne
sota, 13; Missouri, 29; Nebraska, 1; New Hampshire, 1; New Jersey, 13; New
York, 37; Nevada, 1; North Carolina, 5; Ohio, 66; Oklahoma, 3; Oregon, 10;
Pennsylvania, 28; Rhode Island, 1; South Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 3; Texas, 8;
Utah, 1; Virginia, 1; Washington, 19; West Virginia, 4; Wyoming, 2; Canal
Zone, 1. Canada—Alberta, 2; British Columbia, 3; Manitoba, 1; Ontario, 6;
Saskatchewan, 2. Total, 475.
M
.—140,000.
ethod
of
n e g o t ia t in g
agreem ents
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l o rg an
eadquarters
r g a n iz a t io n
e m b e r s h ip reported
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
Negotiations looking toward amalgamations and mergers among
the many organizations in steam railroads have so far been unpro
ductive of results. Since 1929 amalgamation has been discussed by
the two brotherhoods in engine service—the Brotherhood of Locomo
tive Engineers and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen—and by the train movement group—the Brotherhood of
Railroad Trainmen, the Order of Railway Conductors, and the
Switchmen’s Union. Discussions and negotiations seem at the mo
ment to be at a standstill, and the organizations continue as
heretofore.
Dualism is an outstanding characteristic of unions in the trans
portation industry, not only in regard to those within and without
the American Federation of Labor but among the independents
themselves. This is particularly true of the organizations of colored
railroad men. Negroes are ineligible to membership in most of the
standard railroad unions and have therefore formed their own,
somewhat sporadically and for the most part locally. Because of
that fact a movement was launched in 1934 to bring these many, scat
tered groups of Negro railroad workers together into one compre
hensive organization. After a preliminary “get together” gathering
in Chicago in September 1934, a constitutional convention was held
in Washington in December. Among the organizations of fairly na
tional scope represented were the Progressive Order of Colored Lo
comotive Firemen, the National Federation of Railway Workers, the
Afro-American Federation of Railway Employees, and the largest
246
HANDBOOK
OF
AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
organization of Negro railroad men, the Association of Colored Rail
way Trainmen. Two organized groups affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor also cooperated—the Pullman porters, organized
as directly affiliated trade-unions, and the Dining Car Service Branch
of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees International Alliance. A
constitution was adopted and several months later, in May 1935, a
national convention was held in Louisville, Ky.
In view of the tentative and formative nature of this undertaking,
the Bureau, in this edition of the handbook, has not treated this as
an established organization. At present it is more accurately an
attempt to federate and correlate the diverse organizational activities
of colored railroad men, with a view to their eventual amalgamation
and absorption. The various organizations that the International
Association of Railway Employees seeks to assimilate are still func
tioning as individual groups, and those which reported data to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics are presented herewith.
In addition to these national organizations, most of which are
general in character and include workers in various occupations and
classifications, Negro railroad workers are organized into craft unions
affiliated directly with the American Federation of Labor. The most
important of these are the locals of sleeping-car porters in most of
the large railroad centers. This group applied for a charter as
a national organization on several occasions, and at the close of the
1935 convention the announcement was made that a charter would be
issued. Negro station employees, freight and baggage handlers, and
in some places switchmen also come under the direct jurisdiction of
the American Federation of Labor.
Organizations in steam-railroad transportation are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Railway Employees’ Department, American Federation of Labor.
Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees, Brotherhood
of Railway and Steamship.
Conductors, Order of Sleeping Car.
Maintenance of Way Employees, Brotherhood of.
Switchmen’s Union of North America.
Railroad shop crafts (Classified under “Building trades” and “Metals and
machinery”) :
Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers.
Boilermakers and Iron Ship Builders.
Carmen of America, Brotherhood of Railway.
Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of.
Firemen and Oilers, International Brotherhood of.
Machinists, International Association of.
Sheet Metal Workers International Association.
Independent organizations:
Brakemen-Porters, National Association of.
Conductors of America, Order of Railway.
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
247
Independent organizations—Continued.
Conductors, Brotherhood of Dining Car.
Dining Car Employees, Brotherhood of.
Dining Car Employees, National Brotherhood of.
Engineers, Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive.
Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Locomotive.
Porters, Brakemen, and Switchmen, Association of Train.
Railroad Workers, American Federation of.
Signalmen of America, Brotherhood of Railroad.
Station Employees, Brotherhood of Railroad.
Train Dispatchers’ Association, American.
Trainmen and Locomotive Firemen, Association of Colored Railway.
Trainmen, Brotherhood of Railroad.
Yardmasters of America, Railroad.
Yardmasters of North America, Railroad.
R ailw ay E m ployees’ D epartm ent, A m erican Federation of
Labor
The Railway Employees’ Department of the American Federation
of Labor was organized in November 1908 by action taken at the
twenty-eighth annual convention of the American Federation of
Labor held in Denver, Colo. It grew out of a movement begun
several years earlier, toward amalgamation into system federations of
the various mechanical trades organizations. The department at first
functioned principally as a legislative and organizing medium.
After the strike on the Harriman lines, in 1912, a conference of the
mechanical trades organizations on 40 railroad systems was held in
Kansas City, looking toward unity and a more militant program.
The outcome of this conference was the formation of a Federation of
Federations. At the convention of the Railway Employees’ Depart
ment held in Rochester, N. Y., later in 1912, the constitution, policies,
and officers of the Federation of Federations were endorsed and
accepted by the Railway Employees’ Department. Division no. 4 of
the Railway Employees’ Department, which was organized on Feb
ruary 27, 1918, and is chartered by the Railway Employees’ Depart
ment, has jurisdiction over all of the mechanical trades employees in
the Dominion of Canada.
The platform of the department aims to bring within the depart
ment all organizations of railway employees; organize and maintain
system federations on each road; protect and improve the conditions
of railway employees; maintain peaceful relations and cooperation
between the organizations of railway employees; prevent strikes and
lock-outs whenever possible; establish a minimum-wage scale for all
employees in all branches of railway service; bring about uniformity
of rules in agreements; establish a 5-day week and 6-hour day; and
establish vacations with pay.
248
H ANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
The department is composed of nine “national, international, and
brotherhood organizations of railway employees recognized as such,
duly and regularly chartered by the American Federation of Labor”,
which are divided into three autonomous sections as follows: Section
no. 1 includes the switchmen; section no. 2, known as the mechanical
section, consists of the railway mechanical trades; section no. 3
includes the firemen and oilers and the maintenance-of-way
employees.
The department meets in convention in April of every fourth year
to which each national, international, or brotherhood organization
sends one delegate from each railway system where a system federa
tion is chartered.
The Railway Employees5Department is governed by the president
and secretary-treasurer, elected at the quadrennial convention, and
an executive council composed of the international presidents of the
component organizations. The president is “the executive officer of
the department, subject to the directions of the executive council in
all matters wherein authority is not specifically conferred upon other
officers of the department.55
The unit of organization is the system federation, composed of not
less than three system craft unions, members of organizations holding
membership in the department, on any railroad system.
The system federations are chartered by the department, hold their
own conventions, adopt bylaws for local government subject to the
approval of the president, and elect their own officers, composed of
president, vice president, secretary-treasurer, and executive board
consisting of the general chairmen of the respective system craft
organizations.
Agreements presented by system federations for negotiation with
railroad managements must be approved by the president of the
department before negotiations are begun. The negotiation of agree
ments or the handling of grievances under agreements is the function
of the system-federation officers up to and including the highest offi
cial of the railroad. Failing to reach a satisfactory settlement the
system federation may request the assistance of the president of the
department, who may handle the controversy further with the offi
cials of the railroad and/or proceed in accordance with the provisions
of the Railway Labor Act which he alone is authorized to do.
The Railway Employees5 Department acts as a national clearing
house for all the affiliated organizations and represents them in all
matters affecting the entire membership, such as concerted-wage
movements.
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249
ORGANIZATION
The nine organizations comprising the Kailway Employees’ De
partment are:
Blacksmiths, Drop Forgers, and Helpers of America, International
Brotherhood of.
Boilermakers, Iron Ship Builders and Helpers of America, International
Brotherhood of.
Carmen of America, Brotherhood of Railway.
Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of.
Firemen and Oilers, International Brotherhood of.
Machinists, International Association of.
Maintenance of Way Employees, Brotherhood of.
Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association.
Switchmen’s Union of North America.
There are active system federations, working under federated
agreements with the management, on 135 railroads in the United
States and on the 8 railroads in Canada.
Headquarters of the Railway Employees’ Department are in the
America Fore Building, 844 Rush Street, Chicago, 111.
Brakem en-Porters, N ational A ssociation of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at St. Louis, Mo., June 1934, incorporated August 30,
1934.
O
.—“To unite into one brotherhood all persons engaged as brakemenporters, commonly known as train porters, and all other persons engaged in the
various classifications of railway service for their mutual protection and ad
vancement ; to seek the elimination of abuses, discriminations, and unfair prac
tices in employment, classification of service, and working conditions, and to
secure and enjoy the proper compensation warranted by the classification and
the services performed.”
T
.—United States.
T
.—Negro train porters, brakemen, and flagmen in railway
service.
G
.—1. Grand lodge officers, consisting o f president, vice president,
secretary, treasurer, and national representative and general chairman, are
the governing body.
2. Convention: Annual; elects general officers and legislates for body.
3. Local unions: Autonomy and government not reported.
Q
.—Any colored worker employed in occupa
tions covered by the jurisdiction is eligible.
A
.—None.
M
.—As provided in Railway Labor Act
B
.—None.
O
.—None.
H
.—3410 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, Mo.
bjects
e r r it o r ia l
ju r is d ic t io n
ra d e ju r is d ic t io n
overnm ent
u a l if ic a t io n s
p p r e n t ic e s h ip
for
m e m b e r s h ip
r e g u l a t io n s
e t h o d of n e g o t ia t in g a g r e e m e n t s
e n e f it s
f f ic ia l
organ
eadquarters
250
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Organization .— Local u n io n s: Arkansas, 1; M issouri, 2. Individual m em bers
in Colorado, K ansas, T ennessee, and T exas.
Membership reported.— 125.
Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express and Station Employees,
Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Sedalia, Mo., in 1898 as the Order of Railway Clerks
of America. The order affiliated with the American Federation of
Labor but dropped out within a few years. After a reorganization
the name was changed to Brotherhood of Railway Clerks. This
organization functioned independently until 1909, when it was char
tered by the American Federation of Labor. Following a substan
tial and steady growth as an organization of clerks, the scope was
widened to include various other branches of railroad work, the extent
of jurisdiction being reflected in the name adopted in 1919, Brother
hood of Railway and Steamship Clerks, Freight Handlers, Express
and Station Employees.
This extended jurisdiction was contested by the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters, who claimed jurisdiction over the expresswagon drivers. The American Federation of Labor sustained the
claim of the teamsters and ordered the release of all members of the
clerk’s brotherhood who were employed as drivers in the railwayexpress service. The Brotherhood of Railway Clerks refused to ac
cept the decision, and in January 1926 their charter was revoked by
the American Federation of Labor. The dispute was satisfactorily
adjusted and the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks was restored to its
former status in the American Federation of Labor.
Objects .— “For the purpose of prom oting unity of action, for our m utual pro
tection, and to prom ote the general w elfare of our crafts.”
T erritorial jurisdiction .— U nited States, Canada, N ew foundland, and M exico.
T rade jurisdiction .— Clerks and other office em ployees; freight handlers,
ticket sellers, baggagemen, or other station em ployees; train and engine crew
dispatchers and callers; storehouse or storeroom em ployees; and express em
ployees in the service of railroad, steam ship, express, or other transportation
companies (except em ployees at ocean and Great Lakes ports handling freight
between m arine warehouses and deep-water vessels and betw een railroad cars
and deep-water vessels; i. e., longshore w orkers).
G overnment .— 1. “The grand lodge * * * is the legislative and judicial
head of the brotherhood and is vested w ith fu ll power and authority to enforce
upon its mem bership a strict adherence to its law s and regulations.”
Grand-lodge officers a r e : President, secretary-treasurer, seven vice presidents,
editor, and a board of trustees consisting of five members.
Grand executive council: B etw een conventions all executive and judicial
power of the grand lodge— except as the law provides in defining duties of
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
251
the grand-lodge officers, the finance com m ittee, board of trustees, and boards
of advocates, the handling of referendum and recall and special conventions—
is vested in the grand executive council. The council m eets in regular sessions
sem iannually and its decisions stand unless and until reversed by the grandlodge convention.
F inance com m ittee: General supervision over the finances and funds o f the
organization is vested in a finance com m ittee, composed of the grand president,
grand secretary-treasurer, and the board of trustees. M eetings are held sem i
annually and concurrently w ith those of the board of trustees, w hose duty is
to exam ine, w ith expert assistance, the accounts of the grand secretarytreasurer and of the Brotherhood of R ailw ay Clerks B uilding Co.
General executive supervision of the brotherhood is vested in the grand
president.
2. Local u n io n s: ‘‘There shall be one form of constitution for the governm ent
of all local lodges (em anating from grand lodge), w hich shall be considered the
law by w hich each lodge shall be governed, provided that lodges m ay, w ith the
approval of the grand president, adopt such bylaw s for their local governm ent
as m ay be necessary.”
3. Convention: H eld quadrennially; legislates for organization and elects
grand lodge officers.
4. Initiative, referendum , and recall: Constitutional am endm ents either by
convention or by referendum.
Qualifications fob membership.— “A ll w h ite persons, m ale or fem ale, of
good m oral character, w ho have had actual experience ‘w ithin the field covered
by the jurisdiction’, and w ho at the tim e of m aking application are in the
em ploy” of railroad, steam ship, express, or other transportation companies, are
eligible to membership.
Apprenticeship regulations.— None.
Method of negotiating agreements.— N egotiated by general w age com m ittee
composed of representatives of locals of each road. Contracts are o f indefinite
duration w ith 80-day renew al clause.
B enefits.— Strike and death.
Official
. — The R ailw ay Clerk.
H eadquarters.— Brotherhood of R ailw ay Clerks Building, C incinnati, Ohio.
Organization.— Local lo d g es: United States — Alabam a, 17; Arizona, 3 ; Ar
kansas, 6; California, 35; Colorado, 14; Connecticut, 14; D elaw are, 2 ; D istrict
of Columbia, 4; Florida, 10; Georgia, 23; Idaho, 3 ; Illinois, 120; Indiana, 43;
Iowa, 36; K ansas, 28; K entucky, 85; L ouisiana, 15; M aine, 8; M aryland, 10;
M assachusetts, 57; M ichigan, 57; M innesota, 45; M ississippi, 15; M issouri, 53;
M ontana, 14; Nebraska, 22; Nevada, 3; N ew H am pshire, 6; N ew Jersey, 17;
New M exico, 6 ; N ew York, 87; North Carolina, 20; North Dakota, 8; Ohio, 85:
Oklahoma, 13; Oregon, 7; Pennsylvania, 51; Rhode Island, 2 ; South Carolina,
17; South Dakota, 5; Tennessee, 29; T exas, 43; Utah, 5; Vermont, 10; Vir
ginia, 25; W ashington, 23; W est Virginia, 18; W isconsin, 32; W yom ing, 7;
Alaska, 1. Canada— Alberta, 10; B ritish Columbia, 6; M anitoba, 8; N ew B runs
wick, 8; N ova Scotia, 3 ; Ontario, 19; Prince Edw ard Island, 1; Quebec, 17;
Saskatchewan, 7. Newfoundland— 1. Total, 1,289. System s boards of adjust
ment, 147.
Membership reported.— 135,000.
o rg an
252
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Conductors, Brotherhood of D ining Car*
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized and incorporated in New York City, December 1918.
Objects.— “It shall be the object of th is brotherhood to prom ote the general
w elfare of its m em bers; advance their interests— social, m oral, and in tellectu a l;
to protect their fam ilies and them selves by the exercise of such benevolences
as are established by the grand division. It shall be the aim of the brotherhood
to m aintain harm onious relations w ith those w hose interests they serve and.
to act as a representative body to adjust such differences as m ay from tim e to
tim e arise betw een em ployer and em ployee to the end th at m utual confidence
would function to raise the standard of dining-car service.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.— United States.
T rade jurisdiction.— D ining-car conductors, assistan t dining-car conductors,
dining-car stew ards, assistan t dining-car stew ards, railroad-restaurant stew
ards or m anagers, railroad ferry steam er stew ards or m anagers.
Government.— 1. General officers a r e : President, tw o national vice presidents
and 4 regional vice presidents, general secretary-treasurer, and an executive
board of 12 elected members in addition to the president and secretary-treasurer.
“T he executive power of the brotherhood shall be vested in the president.”
“The judicial pow er of the brotherhood sh all be vested in the executive
board.”
R egional vice presidents are an adjustm ent board.
2. Local d ivision s: Organized and allocated by grand division, subordinate
to and governed by its constitution and rules.
3. Convention: H eld trien n ially; elects general officers. “A ll legislative
pow ers are vested in the grand division” in regular session assem bled. Con
stitu tion al am endm ent by convention only.
Qualifications for membership.— “An applicant for m em bership m ust be of
th e Caucasian race and have had at lea st 3 consecutive m onths’ experience in
the capacity” covered by jurisdiction.
Method of negotiating agreements.— N egotiated by com m ittees on indi
vidual roads w ith railroad m anagem ent subject to approval by the brotherhood.
B enefits.— L ife insurance (through an insurance com pany).
Official organ.— T he Dining-Car Steward.
H eadquarters.— 101 W est Forty-second Street, N ew York, N. Y.
Organization.— L ocal divisions only: California, 1; Colorado, 1; D istrict of
Columbia, 1; Illinois, 1; M assachusetts, 1; M innesota, 1; Nebraska, 1; N ew
York, 1. Total, 8.
Membership reported.— 1,000.
Conductors, Order of Sleeping Car
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Kansas City, Mo., February 20,1918, as the Order of
Sleeping Car Employees. At the first triennial convention, held in
1919, the name was changed to Order of Sleeping Car Conductors.
Objects.— C ollective bargaining for w ages and w orking conditions.
Territorial jurisdiction.— U nited States and Canada. ( “W herever the P u ll
m an Co. operates.” )
•Report not received. Reprinted from 1929 edition (B u i. No. 506).
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
253
Trade
jurisdiction.— Sleeping and parlor-car conductors.
Government.— 1. General officers: President, six vice presidents com prising the
executive board, and secretary-treasurer.
“The president is the official head o f th e order”, w ith com prehensive executive
and adm inistrative powers.
T he executive board acts “as advisory counsel to the president” and as a trial
and audit board.
2. Local divisions: Subordinate; constitution and bylaw s dictated by general
division. D ues paid to headquarters office and rebated to local by general
secretary-treasurer (75 percent to headquarters office, 25 percent to local
treasury).
3. C onvention: H eld trien n ially; elects general officers. C onstitutional am end
m ents by convention vote only.
Qualifications for membership.— “Applicant for m em bership m ust be a
w h ite m ale, sober and industrious, and m ust join of h is own free w ill. H e
m ust be sound in body and m ind. H e m ust be actually em ployed as a sleepingor parlor-car conductor and have served at least 10 days as such prior to and
a t the tim e he m akes application.”
Apprenticeship regulations.— None.
Method of negotiating agreements.— T he executive officers of the order con
fer w ith representatives of the Pullm an Co. to establish w age rates and rules
governing w orking conditions, based on demands form ulated by the membership.
Indefinite duration, w ith a 30-day-notice clause.
B enefits.— Optional group insurance on premium basis.
Official organ.— The Sleeping Car Conductor.
H eadquarters.— Carmen’s B uilding, 107 W est Linwood Boulevard, K an sas
City, Mo.
Organization.— Local divisions only: United States — Alabam a, 1; C alifornia,
2; Colorado, 1; D istrict of Columbia, 1; Florida, 2 ; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 1;
K entucky, 1; L ouisiana, 1; M aryland, 1; M assachusetts, 1; M ichigan, 1; M inne
sota, 2 ; M issouri, 2 ; Nebraska, 1; New York, 3; North Carolina, 2; Ohio, 2 ;
Oregon, 1 ; Pennsylvania, 2; Texas, 4; Tennessee, 2 ; U tah, 1; Virginia, 2;
W ashington, 1. Canada— 1. T otal, 40.
Membership reported.— 2,200.
Conductors of Am erica, Order of R ailw ay
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Mendota, 111., July 6,1868. Organization of railroad
conductors began early in 1868, when a group of conductors on the
Illinois Central formed the Conductors’ Union at Amboy, 111.
Shortly thereafter a group of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy men
met at Galesburg and organized Galesburg Division, No. 2, of the
Conductors’ Union. In July of the same year these two groups met
jointly at Mendota, 111., and established an organization “to be known
as the Conductors’ Union”, which should proceed with the organi
zation of railroad conductors over the entire country. This group
held another meeting at Columbus, Ohio, on December 15,1868, reor
ganized, elected a “grand division”, and adopted a constitution and
bylaws.
254
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
At the first annual convention, held in 1869, the name “Conductors*
Brotherhood” was adopted. This was changed to Order of Railway
Conductors of America in 1878.
Originally this organization was not a labor union. It was a fra
ternal benefit and temperance society which definitely opposed eco
nomic action. From 1877 to 1890 participation in strikes was pun
ished by expulsion from the order. Out of that attitude on the part
of the conductors grew the charge of the other railroad organizations
that the conductors were strikebreakers, active opposition on the part
of the labor unions to the conductors, and efforts to disrupt their
organization, and the establishment, in 1885, of the Brotherhood of
Railway Conductors, based on a labor-union philosophy and program.
Pressure from without and disaffection within produced a radical
change in policy by 1890, when the old leaders were displaced and a
more aggressive program of trade regulation was adopted. The
cooperation of the other railroad unions was secured, insurgency was
checked, and the dual organization was absorbed.
Fraternal and beneficial features are still strong but the paramount
doctrine and activity of the Order of Railway Conductors at present
is the regulation of working conditions and the adjustment of diffi
culties through trade agreements.
The order was incorporated under the laws of Iowa in 1887, and
Cedar Rapids became its permanent headquarters. Publication of
the official organ of the order, The Railway Conductor, began in 1884.
Objects.— “The particular business and objects for w hich th is association is
form ed are as fo llo w s: To unite its m em bers; to combine their interests as rail
w ay conductors; to elevate their standing as such and their character as m en
for their m utual im provem ent and advantage, socially and o th erw ise; to secure
to members the proper support, cooperation, and assistance of each other;
* * * and to organize subordinate divisions, bodies, or associations under the
jurisdiction and control of and in subordination to this association; * * *
to furnish m aterial aid and benefit, from a fund obtained upon the assessm ent
plan, to disabled members * * * and their w idow s, children, and heirs.”
(From the articles of incorporation, 1887.)
T erritorial jurisdiction.— United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.— R ailw ay conductors. “The term ‘conductor* applies to
a person who is in charge of a com plete train of any kind w hatsoever and who
supervises the m ovem ents of a com plete train w ithout regard to the territory
in w hich it operates. Also to those who act as assistants in the perform ance of
conductors’ duties or acceptance and execution of train orders.”
Government.— “T he grand division shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all
divisions, * * * and to its constitution, statutes, edicts, and resolutions
all divisions and m embers of the order shall render true obedience.”
“T he powers of the grand division are legislative, judicial, and executive.”
“T he president is the official head of the order”, w ith com prehensive pow ers.
T he board of trustees, composed of three elected m em bers, is a trial and audit
board.
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
255
T he board of directors, composed of the president, nine vice presidents, secre
tary, treasurer, and trustees, is an appeal board.
Com m ittee on jurisdiction, composed of the president, th e senior vice presi
dent, and eight association chairm en, is a com m ittee authorized to determ ine
the organization’s rights in m atters of contract w ith the railroads and relations
w ith other labor organizations.
General legislative com m ittee: In the U nited States, com posed of the board
of d irecto rs; in Canada, composed of the Canadian vice president, the C anadian
legislative representatives, and another member appointed by the president.
2. D iv isio n s: Subord in ate; governed by constitution, law s, and regulations of
grand division, except that they “shall have power to enact such bylaw s for
their governm ent as they m ay deem necessary”, subject to the approval o f the
president.
D ivision s m ust m aintain legislative com m ittees, w hich com bine into a leg is
lative com m ittee for the State or P rovince; and adjustm ent com m ittees, w hich
combine into general adjustm ent com m ittees for w age negotiations.
3. C onventions: H eld trien n ially; enact legislation and elect general officers.
C onstitutional am endm ents by convention, but under certain conditions m ust be
ratified by referendum .
Qualifications for membership.— Any w h ite m an sh all be eligible to m em
bership who is em ployed in any of the follow ing classes of serv ic e:
Road conductors, assistan t conductors, and ticket collectors; road brakem en
and flagm en and train baggagem en; yard conductors and yard forem en; yard
brakemen and yard helpers; car-retarder operators and sw itch tenders; yardm asters and assistan t yardm asters.
A pprenticeship regulations.— None.
Method of negotiating agreements.— “On each system of railw ay w here
there are divisions of the order there shall be a general com m ittee of adjust
m ent. * * * On system s of railw ay under m anagem ent of more than one
general m anager where separate general com m ittees are form ed, the several
chairm en w ill constitute a system advisory board.”
G eneral com m ittees in turn form associations, one association for each of
th e follow ing d istr ic ts:
D istrict no. 1, composed of all territory in the U nited States lyin g w est of,
and including, the southern lines of the Illinois Central R ailroad and lyin g on
the w est side of Lake M ichigan and south of Lake Superior and w est of a lin e
laid through D uluth and F ort W illiam , and bounded on the south by the
M exican border.
D istrict no. 2, composed of the territory in the U nited States east o f the
aforem entioned line and north of the lin es of the Chesapeake & Ohio R ailw ay.
D istrict no. 3, com prising the territory south of, and including, the Chesa
peake & Ohio R ailw ay, and as far w est as the Illinois Central line m entioned
as the boundary of district no. 1.
D istrict no. 4, com prising all the territory in the Dom inion of Canada.
T hese associations are established “for the purpose of carrying on con
certed m ovem ents relating to wages, hours of service, and other im portant
general working conditions of conductors.”
B enefits.— Strike ( “striking members and other striking conductors” ) ; life
insurance and total-disability insurance; accident insurance (voluntary m em
bership) ; home for aged and disabled members, w ives, and widow s.
Official organ.— The R ailw ay Conductor.
H eadquarters.— Cedar Rapids, Iow a.
256
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Organization.— Local divisions o n ly : United States — Alabam a, 7; Arizona, 4 ;
Arkansas, 8; California, 22; Colorado, 10; Connecticut, 4 ; D elaw are, 2; D is
trict of Columbia, 1; Florida, 8; Georgia, 9; Idaho, 2 ; Illinois, 37 ; Indiana, 23;
Iow a, 24; K ansas, 18; K entucky, 9; L ouisiana, 8 ; M aine, 3 ; M aryland, 5;
M assachusetts, 8; M ichigan, 14; M innesota, 16; M ississippi, 8 ; M issouri, 23;
M ontana, 12; Nebraska, 11; Nevada, 3; New H am pshire, 2 ; N ew Jersey, 9 ;
N ew M exico, 6; N ew York, 29; North Carolina, 8; North D akota, 5 ; Ohio, 31;
Oklahoma, 9; Oregon, 6 ; Pennsylvania, 42; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 5;
South Dakota, 4; Tennessee, 9; T exas, 34; U tah, 3 ; Verm ont, 3 ; V irginia, 9;
W ashington, 11; W est Virginia, 13; W isconsin, 13; W yom ing, 5. Canada—
Alberta, 7; B ritish Columbia, 8; M anitoba, 5; N ew Brunsw ick, 2 ; Nova Scotia,
3; Ontario, 27; Quebec, 7; Saskatchew an, 8. T otal, 623.
Membership reported.— N o report.
Dining Car Employees, Brotherhood of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City in May 1920. During the period of
Federal administration of the railroads the Negro employees in din
ing-car service began organizing locally. In 1917 the waiters on the
New York, New Haven & Hartford undertook an organizing move
ment. They were joined shortly by the cooks on the same line, and
the New Haven cooks-waiters’ union was the result. Within a short
time the dining-car employees on other New England roads—the
Boston & Maine and the Boston & Albany—organized and affiliated
with the New Haven group. This organization became the Brother
hood of Dining Car Employees in 1919, and incorporated under the
laws of Massachusetts.
Organizing activities had begun in 1917 in the Pennsylvania Rail
road dining-car service, when the cooks and waiters formed the Din
ing Car Cooks and Waiters’ Association. This movement spread
to the Baltimore & Ohio, Lackawanna, and other eastern lines, and
in 1918 the Dining Car Cooks and Waiters’ Association was chartered
in New York. Both the association and the brotherhood met in con
ference in New York in May 1920 with a view to joining forces. A
merger was effected with both organizations relinquishing their cor
porate entity and organizing as a railroad labor union under the
title of the New England group—that is, Brotherhood of Dining
Car Employees. Organization has since been extended to the Sea
board Air Line and the Atlantic Coast Line railroads, so that in
effect the brotherhood functions to some extent on practically all roads
on the Atlantic seaboard.
By virtue of the occupation covered, this is a Negro organization,
although the constitution does not limit membership to Negroes.
One of the recent activities of the organization, however, is opposi
tion to the move to replace colored cooks and waiters on dining cars
with white and Filipino workers.
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
257
Object.— ‘‘To conserve the health of the Am erican people com m itted to the
care of railw ay em ployees in dining-car service by conserving the health o f the
servants.”
T erritorial jurisdiction .— U nited States.
T rade jurisdiction.— The dining-car service of common carriers subject to
the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Government.— 1. Grand council has exclusive jurisdiction over the affairs of
the brotherhood, and “its enactm ents and decisions are the suprem e law ” of the
organization. Grand council consists o f president, six vice presidents, secre
tary-treasurer, three members from each subordinate council, board of directors,
board of superiors, and board of trustees. T he president is the adm inistrative
officer and chief organizer, w ith w ide powers, subject to approval, veto, and dis
ciplinary power of the board of directors.
2. Convention is legislative body.
3. Subordinate co u n cils: E ntirely subordinate. C onstitution im posed by broth
erhood. M embership is in brotherhood, not in “the subordinate council through
which the person becomes a member.”
Q u a lificatio ns for m e m b e r s h ip .— Any cook, w aiter, or porter em ployed in
railw ay dining cars, buffet cars, and club cars (not Pullm ans) w ithin the
defined jurisdiction is eligible to membership.
Apprenticeship regulations.— None.
Method of negotiating agreements.— N egotiated by brotherhood officials
w ith stew ard departm ents of railroads or system s, in accordance w ith provi
sions of railw ay labor legislation.
B enefits.— Sick (by locals).
Official organ.— None.
H eadquarters.— 204 W est One Hundred and T hirty-sixth Street, N ew York,
N. Y.
Organization.— Subordinate councils represent the organized workers on
railroads or railroad sy stem s: L ocal No. 1, Pennsylvania R a ilro a d ; No. 2, N ew
York, N ew H aven & H artford, Boston & Albany, B oston & M aine, M aine Cen
tral; No. 3, N ew York Central Lines (east) ; No. 6, Southern R ailw ay, Seaboard
Air Line, N orfolk & W estern, A tlantic Coast Line (m em bers in 10 southern
S tates) ; No. 10, N ew York Central Lines (w est).
Membership
reported.— 2,700.
D ining Car E m ployees, N ational Brotherhood of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City in February 1920, by the amalgama
tion of a number of independent organizations of dining-car em
ployees on various railroads. Its membership at present is employed
chiefly on roads operating west of Chicago.
Objects.— “To prom ote the interests of the mem bers thereof; to assist the
m em bers of its locals in becom ing 100 percent efficient on the job; to prom ote
the financial and industrial interest of the members thereof.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.— U nited States.
T rade jurisdiction.— The dining-car service of railroads.
Government.— 1. Board of directors consisting of president, three vice presi
dents, treasurer, financial secretary, corresponding secretary, general organizer,
79315 ° - - 3 6 ------ 18
258
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
and five other elected m em bers has m anagem ent and supervision over the
affairs of the organization.
2. Local u n io n s; largely self-governing.
3. Convention: H eld annually; elects general officers, enacts general legis
lation.
Qualifications fob membership.— An applicant m ust be actually em ployed
in the dining-car service of a railw ay company, m ust be betw een 18 and 55
years of age and in sound health. P hysical condition m ust be proved by accept
able doctor’s certificate. A pplicants over 55 years of age are eligible only as
associate members.
A pprenticeship regulations.— None.
Method of negotiating agreements.— Agreem ents are negotiated w ith stew
ard departm ents of roads or system s by com m ittee of local unions on each road
or through a general com m ittee representing the system .
B enefits.— N one.
Official organ.— None.
H eadquarters.— 4934 South M ichigan Avenue, Chicago, I1L
Organization.— R ailroad is unit of organization. Those on w hich locals are
at present m aintained are Chicago, M ilwaukee & St. P au l; Chicago & N orth
w estern ; Soo L ine; Chicago, Rock Island & P acific; N ew York Central and
M ichigan Central L ines (w est) ; Chicago & A lton; and P ennsylvania R ailroad
(w est).
Membership reported.— 1,100.
Engineers, Grand International Brotherhood of L ocom otive
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized March 17, 1863. The earliest organization of railroad
engineers was formed at a convention in Baltimore, Md., on Novem
ber 6, 1855, attended by 70 delegates representing 14 States and 55
railroads. This association, known as the National Protective As
sociation of the United States, lasted only a year. Subordinate
branches which it had organized at the height of its activity lived
somewhat longer, but were never active.
Working conditions resulting from the rapid development of rail
roads and their consolidation into trunk lines produced discontent
on the part of the engineers, which led to a concerted movement of
those on the roads running through Michigan. At a meeting held
in Detroit in March 1863, 12 engineers established Division No. 1,
Brotherhood of the Footboard, and adopted a constitution and
bylaws.
Local organization followed so rapidly that there were 54 di
visions at the time of the second annual meeting, in August 1864.
At this convention, held in Indianapolis, the name was changed to
Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
During 1864-65 the brotherhood gained a firm hold in the East
as well as what was then the West. The official journal was estab
lished in 1866 and the Mutual Life Insurance Association, a sub-
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sidiary, in 1867. In 1870 Cleveland was made the permanent head
quarters of the brotherhood.
Never a militant organization, it has developed gradually from a
fraternal benefit society to a powerful economic body in practical
control of the field it covers.
Objects.— “The purpose of th is organization sh all be to combine the inter
ests of locom otive engineers, elevate their social, m oral, and intellectual stand
ing, to guard their financial interests, and prom ote their general w elfare; its
cardinal principles, sobriety, truth, justice, and m orality.
“The interests of the em ployer and the em ployee being coordinate, the aim
of the organization w ill be cooperation and the cultivation o f am icable rela
tions w ith the em ployer, and to guarantee the fulfillm ent of every contract
made in its nam e by the use of every power vested in it.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.— U nited States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.— Locom otive engineers. (M en operating pow er on ele
vated roads or subw ays, w holly or in part w ithin incorporated lim its o f the
city, or men upon roads of not less than 25 m iles in length, 20 m iles of w hich
shall be outside of the incorporated lim its of the city, or upon roads that are
or have been operated by steam power, shall be known as engineers.)
Government.— 1. “The grand international division shall have exclusive ju ris
diction over all subjects pertaining to the brotherhood, and its enactm ents and
decisions upon all questions are the suprem e law of the brotherhood, and all
divisions and members of the order shall render true obedience thereto.”
Grand division officers are grand chief engineer, first assistan t grand chief
engineer, six other assistan t grand chief engineers, general secretary-treasurer,
financial director, national legislation representative, and editor and m anager
of the Journal.
“The grand chief engineer sh all be the official head of the order, and shall
have the general direction of the assistan t grand chiefs in their work, and shall
exercise fu ll control over the grand office and the order in general.”
2. D iv ision s: Subordinate; constitution, rules, and regulations dictated by
grand division.
3. C onvention: H eld trien n ially at Cleveland, O hio; legislates for order and
elects general officers.
Qualifications for membership.— “No person shall becom e a member of the
Brotherhood of Locom otive Engineers unless he is a w h ite man, 21 years of
age, can read and w rite the language used in operating the road w here he is
employed, is a man of good m oral character, of tem perate habits, and in
active engine service.”
A pprenticeship regulations.— None.
Method of negotiating agreements.— N egotiated by general com m ittees o f
adjustm ent. “On any system of railroad w here tw o or more divisions are
organized, there shall be a standing general com m ittee of adjustm ent. * * *
Each division on a road or system shall be entitled to one representative and
one vote in said com m ittee.” On a road or system w here there is only one
division, the local com m ittee of that division w ill be the general com m ittee of
adjustm ent. Com m ittee members are elected triennially.
B enefits.— Strike and victim ization (from general fu n d s ); hom e for aged
and disabled.
Locom otive E ngineers’ M utual L ife and Accident Insurance A ssociation, a
subsidiary established on Decem ber 3, 1867, and incorporated on M arch 3,
1894, carries life and accident insurance, and provides accident indem nity.
T his association w as form erly operated on the m utual assessm ent basis, but
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
since the 1983 convention it is on the level adequate rate basis. It is
officered by a president and general treasurer. There is also a board of insur
ance trustees composed of five members of the association; four of whom reside
in the United States of America and the fifth member resides in the Dominion
of Canada.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Locomotive Engineers’ Journal.
H ea dquarters .—Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers’ Building, Cleveland,
Ohio.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local divisions only: United States—Alabama, 14 ; Arizona, 5 ;
Arkansas, 10; California, 22; Colorado, 13; Connecticut, 4; Delaware, 3;
District of Columbia, 1 ; Florida, 8; Georgia, 20 ; Idaho, 4 ; Illinois, 56; Indiana,
31 ; Iowa, 34 ; Kansas, 25 ; Kentucky, 17 ; Louisiana, 13 ; Maine, 6 ; Maryland, 6 ;
Massachusetts, 10 ; Michigan, 23 ; Minnesota, 27 ; Mississippi, 10 ; Missouri, 31 ;
Montana, 11; Nebraska, 11; Nevada, 3 ; New Hampshire, 3; New Jersey, 15;
New Mexico, 6; New York, 49; North Carolina, 8; North Dakota, 5; Ohio, 55;
Oklahoma, 11 ; Oregon, 7 ; Pennsylvania, 72 ; Rhode Island, 1 ; South Carolina,
5 ; South Dakota, 3; Tennessee, 16 ; Texas, 47 ; Utah, 7; Vermont, 5 ; Virginia,
19; Washington, 15; West Virginia, 12; Wisconsin, 24; Wyoming, 6. Canada—
Alberta, 10 ; British Columbia, 9 ; Manitoba, 7 ; New Brunswick, 6; Nova
Scotia, 6; Ontario, 38; Quebec, 13; Saskatchewan, 10. Total, 923.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—59,000.
Firemen and Enginemen, Brotherhood of Locomotive
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Port Jervis, N. Y., December 1, 1873. The Brother
hood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen grew out of a meet
ing of 11 firemen in an old shed in Port Jervis, N. Y.
This meeting followed shortly after the accidental death of a
Port Jervis fireman employed on the Erie Railroad, in consequence
of which a fund was raised among the railroad men of the com
munity for the assistance of the widow and children of the victim.
Contributions of this kind were customary among the men in the
train service because of the lack of other protection in case of acci
dent. Using the specific instance of the death of one of their own
colleagues to impress upon the Port Jervis men the need for mutual
protection, Joshua A. Leach, the founder of the brotherhood, organ
ized the friends and associates of the dead man into a fraternal body
that became Deer Park Lodge (now Joshua A. Leach Lodge) No.
1 of the Brotherhood of Railroad Firemen.
The first grand lodge convention was held a year later, December
15, 1874, by delegates representing 12 lodges in 5 States—New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. This convention
established the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen’s Life Insur
ance Association of America. The convention of the following year
took the first step toward developing from an insurance into an eco
nomic organization, with the appointment of a grievance committee
“to adjust any trouble that may take place between railroad com-
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261
panies and employees.” The third annual gathering, attended by
44 delegates representing 53 lodges, established the official journal of
the brotherhood.
The general railroad strike of 1877 crippled the organization se
riously. Although the brotherhood as such was not involved in the
strike, many of its members participated. Later, the blacklisting
methods employed by the railroad companies against union sympa
thizers resulted in severe loss in membership. To prevent complete
dissolution the convention of 1877 decided to revert to the original
purpose of the brotherhood as a purely fraternal insurance organi
zation.
However, growing out of the upheaval and bitterness of the general
strike, a second organization of firemen appeared, under the name of
International Firemen’s Union. It was avowedly an economic group,
and appealed to the more militant of the brotherhood membership.
A merger of the two organizations was effected in 1878 and in the
same year the employment of a full-time organizer was authorized
by the convention.
Thereafter the brotherhood made notable progress in membership
and in 1881, with 3,000 members, found itself for the first time on a
safe financial footing. Four years later it had nearly 15,000 mem
bers, and at the convention of 1885 it definitely rescinded its former
action against strikes and economic activity and declared that “it
shall be made a law of this brotherhood that the lodges shall be
allowed to protect themselves and their interests as their best judg
ment may dictate.” At the same time an assessment was levied to
start a defense fund.
In common with the other railroad brotherhoods, the firemen’s
organization is now primarily a trade-union, engaged in protecting
its members through collective agreements and legislative activities;
and its beneficiary aspect, although still of great importance, is
secondary. That phase of the work of the brotherhood is carried on
through the mutual-insurance and accident-indemnity departments.
In 1906 the words “and Enginemen” were added to the name of
the brotherhood, in recognition of the many members who retained
their membership in the firemen’s organization after becoming en
gineers. The jurisdictional friction created by the fact that some
engineers retained their original affiliation with the firemen’s or
ganization instead of joining the Brotherhood of Locomotive En
gineers upon promotion was amicably adjusted by an agreement
between the two organizations, ratified in 1913.
O b je c t s .—“For the purpose of uniting locomotive enginemen and hostlers,
elevating their social, moral, and intellectual standing, for the protection of
their interests and the promotion of their general welfare, the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen has been instituted as an international
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
262
organization, having as one of its aims the desire to cultivate a spirit of
harmony between employer and employee. Realizing that our vocation in
volves ceaseless peril, the necessity of making suitable provisions for ourselves,
our families, and those we feel obliged to aid, against those disasters which
almost daily overtake us, and of extending to each other the hand of charity,
becomes self-evident, and hence the brotherhood has adopted as its motto:
Protection, charity, sobriety, and industry.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States, Canada, and Newfoundland.
T rade j u r is d it io n .—Locomotive enginemen; engine hostlers; hostler helpers;
engine dispatchers employed handling engines in or about roundhouse or ash
pit, in shop yards, locomotive works, industrial plants; motormen or helpers
on electric engines, motor or gas cars on roads where electric energy is used
or has been substituted for steam. (Engine hostlers or engine dispatchers are
persons who actually handle and are responsible for the care of locomotives.
Hostler helpers are persons who are assigned and required to assist outside or
main-line hostlers.)
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General officers of the grand lodge are president, assistant
president, nine vice presidents, national legislative representative for the
United States, general secretary-treasurer, editor, and a board of directors
consisting of seven members.
The president is the administrative and executive head of the organization,
with comprehensive powers.
The board of directors is an advisory board to the president, general secre
tary-treasurer, and editor and manager of the magazine. It is also a trial
hoard. The vice presidents are field representatives dealing directly with
railroad managers in the interest of the membership.
The national legislative representative is a full-time salaried officer who is
head of the organized legislative and political activities of the grand lodge and
subordinate lodges, with headquarters in Washington.
2. Subordinate lodges: Autonomy almost wholly restricted by constitution;
rules and regulations imposed: by grand lodge.
3. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Amendments to either grand-lodge or subordinate-lodge constitution by con
vention vote only.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any worker within the jurisdiction who
has served for at least 30 days, white, of good moral character, sober and
industrious, not less than 18 years of age, and able to read and write the
English language, is eligible to membership. Mexicans, American Indians, or
those of Spanish-Mexican extraction, are ineligible. (International president
authorized to grant special dispensation in individual cases with regard to
Indian applicants.)
Failure to pass the required physical examination makes applicant eligible
only to nonbeneficiary membership, carrying with it only a funeral benefit.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip R e g u l a t io n s .—None.
M eth o d of n e g o tia tin g a g r e e m e n t s .—“Protective department”, organized
into the local grievance committees, general grievance committees, associations
of general committees; general committees are composed of the chairman of
the local grievance committees on each railway. (On railway systems having
but one lodge the local grievance committee shall be the general grievance
committee.)
“General grievance committees shall have authority to make and interpret
agreements with representatives of railway companies concerning rates of
wages, rules respecting seniority rights, adjustment of grievances, and other
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263
matters necessary in the interest of the members they represent. When the
general committee is not in session the general chairman has authority to
interpret the schedule.”
Associations of general committees are composed of the general committees
in each of the following districts:
District no. 1. All territory lying west of and including the southern lines of
the Illinois Central Railroad and lying on the west side of Lake Michigan and
south of Lake Superior, and west of the line drawn through Duluth, and shall
be bounded on the south by the Mexican border and on the north by the
Canadian border.
District no. 2. The territory east of the aforementioned line of district no. 1
north of the lines of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and south of the Canadian
border.
District no. 3. Territory south of and including the Chesapeake & Ohio Rail
way as far west as the Illinois Central lines mentioned as boundary of district
no. 1.
District no. 4. All territory within the Dominion of Canada, provided the
firemen on the western lines of the Grand Trunk Railway, which are located
entirely within the United States, with no overlapping seniority be allowed to
withdraw from the Canadian lines of the Grand Trunk and join the district
having jurisdiction over the territory through which they operate.
The associations of general committees are “for the purpose of carrying on
concerted movements relating to wages and other important general working
conditions.”
B e n e f it s .—Strike; legal aid in manslaughter trials growing out of accidents;
tuberculosis treatment; insurance department; life and disability insurance
(compulsory membership) ; accident insurance (voluntary) ; home for aged and
disabled; funeral benefit for nonbeneficiary members; sick benefits (local only).
O f f ic ia l organ .—Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen’s Mag
azine.
H ea dq ua rters .—Keith Building, Cleveland, Ohio.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Locals only: United States—Alabama, 10; Arizona, 5; Arkan
sas, 11; California, 19; Colorado-, 17; Connecticut, 5; Delaware, 3; District of
Columbia, 1; Florida, 7; Georgia, 10; Idaho, 3; Illinois, 60; Indiana, 31; Iowa,
33; Kansas, 25; Kentucky, 19; Louisiana, 13; Maine, 4; Maryland, 6; Massa
chusetts, 10; Michigan, 25; Minnesota, 26; Mississippi, 8; Missouri, 33; Mon
tana, 13; Nebraska, 14; Nevada, 4; New Hampshire, 3; New Jersey, 14; New
Mexico, 5; New York, 56; North Carolina, 6; North Dakota, 5; Ohio, 55; Okla
homa, 9; Oregon, 4; Pennsylvania, 81; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 4;
South Dakota, 6; Tennessee, 13; Texas, 52; Utah, 7; Vermont, 7; Virginia, 15;
Washington, 16; West Virginia, 12; Wisconsin, 22; Wyoming, 6; Alaska, 1.
Canada—Alberta, 8; British Columbia, 9; Manitoba, 8; New Brunswick, 6;
Nova Scotia, 8; Ontario, 35; Prince Edward Island, 1; Quebec, 12; Saskatche
wan, 9. 'Newfoundland—2. Total, 913.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—60,886.
Maintenance of W ay Employees, Brotherhood of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at La Porte City, Iowa, in 1886. A southern organiza
tion in the same field was organized at Demopolis, Ala., in 1887. In
1891 both came together at St. Louis, Mo., and formed the Interna-
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
tional Brotherhood of Railway Track Foremen of America. This
organization was purely social and benevolent in character until
1896, when it extended jurisdiction to track laborers, changed its
name to Brotherhood of Railway Trackmen, and became a labor
union. A Canadian organization of trackmen, founded in 1892,
became a part of this organization in 1899, and to emphasize its
breadth of interest the name was changed in 1902 to International
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees. A secession move
ment in 1914 resulted in the formation of a rival organization in
the southeastern States which continued to function until 1918,
when it reaffiliated with the parent body under the combined name
of United Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees and
Railroad Shop Laborers, carrying with it an extension of juris
diction over roundhouse and shop laborers. The convention of 1925
shortened the name of the union to Brotherhood of Maintenance of
Way Employees.
O b je c t s .—“The objects of this organization are: To exalt the character and
increase the ability of its members; to insure greater safety to the traveling
public and effect economy in the department in which our members are em
ployed by interchanging ideas and adopting the best methods of performing
our duties; to benefit the general public by raising the standards of efficiency of
our membership; to alleviate distress and suffering caused by sickness or dis
ability among our members; to assist the widows and orphans of deceased
members; to allow no person to remain a member of the brotherhood unless he
fives a sober, moral, and honest fife; to require all members to faithfully and
honestly perform their duties to the best of their ability for the brotherhood
and for their employers; to use all honorable means to secure the passage of
laws beneficial to our membership, and to improve labor conditions generally;
to stimulate the civic education of the members in their political rights and to
use the ballot intelligently to the end that the Government may not be perverted
to the interest of the favored few, but that it may be a government of the
people, by the people, for the people in the fullest sense.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States, Canada, and Panama.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Maintenance-of-way employees, including, specifically,
all maintenance men below the rank of supervisor, pumpers, crossing and
bridge flagmen, bridge operators, and helpers.
G o vernm en t .—1. General officers: President; five vice presidents, one of whom
shall reside in and be a citizen of Canada; secretary-treasurer and five elected
members of the executive board, one of whom shall reside in and be a citizen of
Canada.
“The president shall exercise general supervision over all the affairs of the
brotherhood.” The executive board is advisory to the president.
For the purpose of carrying on concerted negotiations relative to wages, terms
of agreement, strikes, and other important general conditions, there are regional
associations composed of the general chairmen, vice chairmen, assistant chair
men, and secretary-treasurers of the railroad system divisions and federations
in each region and the following grand lodge officers: President, secretarytreasurer, statistician, and the vice president in charge of the region.
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There are five such regional associations covering, respectively, the north
eastern, the northwestern, the southeastern, and the southwestern sections of
the United States, and the Dominion of Canada.
An international association, composed of the grand lodge officers and all
members of the regional associations meets annually in an advisory capacity on
matters of general policy, field work, general movements on wages and working
conditions, etc.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution and bylaws determined by grand
lodge.
3. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments either by convention or by initiative and referendum.
Elected officers subject to recall.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any worker within the jurisdiction “who is
sober, moral, and otherwise of good character”, is eligible to membership.
Negro workers “shall be entitled to all the benefits and protection guaranteed
by the constitution to members and shall be represented in the grand lodge by
delegates of their own choosing selected from any white lodge on the system
division where they are employed. Nothing in this section operates to prevent
colored employees from maintaining a separate lodge for social purposes.”
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r ee m e n ts .—Negotiated by railroad system divisions
or federations, on terms approved by the regional association. System joint
protective boards are composed of elected representatives from each subordinate
lodge on roads or systems which are 51 percent or more organized.
B e n e f it s .—Strike and lock-out; funeral.
O ff ic ia l organ .—The Railway Maintenance of Way Employees’ Journal.
H ea dq ua rters .—61 Putnam Avenue, Detroit, Mich.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Subordinate lodges only: United States—Alabama, 23; Ari
zona, 2; Arkansas, 25; California, 9; Colorado, 10; Connecticut, 2; Florida, 18;
Georgia, 23; Idaho, 2; Illinois, 68; Indiana, 32; Iowa, 53; Kansas, 19; Ken
tucky, 34; Louisiana, 11; Maine, 9; Maryland, 7; Massachusetts, 11; Michigan,
40; Minnesota, 32; Mississippi, 22; Missouri, 43; Montana, 13; Nebraska, 3;
New Hampshire, 4; New Jersey, 10; New Mexico, 2; New York, 45; North Caro
lina, 18; North Dakota, 16; Ohio, 48; Oklahoma, 18; Oregon, 6; Pennsylvania,
35; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina, 12; South Dakota, 9; Tennessee, 23;
Texas, 33; Utah, 4; Vermont, 4; Virginia, 19; Washington, 14; West Virginia,
17; Wisconsin, 38; Wyoming, 3 ; Canal Zone, 1. Canada—Alberta, 23; British
Columbia, 17; Manitoba, 20; New Brunswick, 18; Nova Scotia, 6; Ontario, 62;
Prince Edward Island, 2; Quebec, 31; Saskatchewan, 22. Total, 1,104.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—100,000.
Porters, Brakemen, and Switchmen, Association of Train
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Florence, S. C., in July 1918, by 18 porters. It was
then called the Colored Organization of Railway Trainmen. On
December 2, 1919, it incorporated under the laws of Virginia as
The Association of Train Porters, Brakemen, and Switchmen, with
“rights to organize and establish locals or branches generally
throughout the United States.”
O b je c t s .—“To organize, develop, and improve the condition of the colored
trainmen of America, to secure fair and just compensation for services ren-
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
266
dered, and maintenance of proper wages, together with fair working conditions
for its members.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Colored railroad workers employed as train porters,
brakemen, switchmen, and switch tenders.
G o vernm en t .—1. President is chief executive officer, to whom other grand
lodge officers are subordinate. General officers are: President, two or more
vice presidents, general secretary, general treasurer, counselor, general chair
men (one or more) ; general grievance committee of not less than three mem
bers.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; dues, general laws,' etc., fixed by grand lodge.
3. Convention: Annual; legislates for body and elects general officers. Con
stitutional amendments by convention.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Train porters, brakemen, switchmen, and
switch tenders (colored) only are eligible to membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M ethod of neg o tiatin g a g r e e m e n t s .—Through grievance committees.
B e n e f it s .—None.
O f f ic ia l organ .—None.
H ea dq ua rters .—703 North Twenty-eighth Street, Richmond, Ya.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Local lodges only: Alabama, 2; District of Columbia, 1;
Florida, 1; Georgia, 2; Louisiana, 1; Mississippi, 1; North Carolina, 2; South
Carolina, 2; Tennessee, 2; Virginia, 1. Total, 15.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—700.
Railroad Workers, American Federation of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Buffalo, N. Y., May 22, 1901, from a group of
directly affiliated American Federation of Labor local unions, as
the International Association of Car Workers. It remained in
affiliation to the American Federation of Labor until 1911, but its
chartered jurisdiction conflicted with that of several other American
Federation of Labor unions, involving it in a number of conflicts.
In 1911 it withdrew from the Federation and reorganized as an
industrial union, under the slogan “One railroad, one organization.”
O b je c t s .—“The object of this organization is to advance the material,
financial, social, and moral conditions of the railroad workers of America.
“Believing a concentration of effort is the best medium through which the
men engaged in the railroad industry can promote their general welfare and
elevate their moral, social, and material standards, we therefore decided to
unite and solidify men engaged in all branches of this industry under the
constitution of the American Federation of Railroad Workers, an industrial
organization, based upon the principle of democratic cooperation.”
T erritorial J u r isd ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade j u r is d ic t io n .—The railroad industry.
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General officers: President, vice president, secretarytreasurer, a board of managers of three members, and a judiciary board of
three members.
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267
The president is the executive and administrative head of the organization.
The board of managers is the financial agency and “shall act as a law depart
ment.” The judiciary board is a trial board.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution, bylaws, dues, regulation, etc.,
fixed by general organization.
Systems councils formed on railroads have two or more local lodges.
3. Initiative, referendum, and recall. General officers elected by refer
endum. Convention on call only.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—“Any person of good moral character
under 65 years of age who is not afflicted with any chronic disease and who
is not of otherwise unsound health, and who is employed as a wage worker
on a railroad, except higher officials who have general supervision over rail
road workers, shall be eligible to membership.” Applicants over 65 years of
age or disqualified physically may become nonbeneficiary members.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a t io n s .—None.
M et h o d of neg o tia tin g a g r e e m e n t s .—Negotiated by general advisory boards
composed of the chairmen of the local advisory boards on each system.
B e n e f it s .—Strike; death.
O f f ic ia l organ .—The Railroad Worker.
H ea d q u a r te r s .—315 South Ashland Boulevard, Chicago, 111.
O r g a n iz a t io n .—Systems councils: Philadelphia & Reading; Pittsburgh &
Lake Erie; New York Central Lines (west) ; Toledo & Ohio Central. District
councils: Toledo, Ohio; New York; and New Jersey.
Local lodges: Indiana, 2; Iowa, 1; New Jersey, 4; New York, 4; Ohio, 14;
Pennsylvania, 13. Total, 38.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—20,000.
Signalmen of America, Brotherhood of Railroad
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1901. Incorporated in 1908. The organization began
as a local .union of railroad signalmen on the Pennsylvania Railroad
at Altoona, Pa., but soon established locals at other points on that
and other railroads and formed a grand lodge. As early as 1907 the
organization was successful in negotiating a written agreement cover
ing wages and working conditions of railroad signalmen on the New
Haven Railroad. In 1908 a merger was effected with all other exist
ing organizations of railroad signalmen—namely, the Railway Inter
lockers of North America, the Independent Order of Signalmen, and
the Interlockers, Switch and Signalmen’s Union, Nos. 11786 and
11867, of the American Federation of Labor. The first grand lodge
convention was held in 1908 and regular conventions have been held
since that year.
The organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
in 1914 and maintained such affiliation until 1928, when it permitted
suspension of such affiliation because of jurisdictional claims of an
other organization. It has been affiliated with the Trades and Labor
Congress of Canada since 1924. It is one of the group of 21 standard
national railroad labor organizations, is affiliated with the Railway
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Labor Executives Association, and is also one of the organizers and
owners of the Labor Cooperative Educational & Publishing Society
which publishes the railway men’s weekly newspaper called “Labor”
in Washington, D. C.
O b je c t s .—To promote the interests and general welfare of its members, to
provide methods for relief of sickness and distress, to inculcate the principles
of trade-unionism and unity that members may secure the recognition of rights
to which they are justly entitled, to advance and elevate the profession of rail
road signaling, to educate its members that their happiness, prosperity, and
general well-being may be enhanced, and to promote the principles of truth,
justice, and brotherly love.
T errito rial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Employees engaged in the construction, repair and main
tenance of electric, electropneumatic, pneumatic, electromechanical, or mechani
cal interlocking systems; cab, semaphore, color light, position light, or color
position light signals; electric, electropneumatic, pneumatic, mechanically oper
ated signals; car-retarder systems; centralized traffic-control systems; automatic
train-controlling or stopping devices; highway-crossing protective devices; high
tension and other lines overhead or underground; poles and fixtures; wood,
fibre, iron, or clay conduit systems; transformers, arresters, and distributing
blocks; wires or cables pertaining to such railroad signaling and interlocking
systems; signal poles and other lighting, as required for the operation of such
railroad signaling and interlocking systems; storage-battery plants with charg
ing outfits, with switchboard equipment; substations and current-generating
plants; compressed-air plants, as used for the operation of such signaling and
interlocking systems; compressed-air pipe mains and distributing systems, as
used for the operation of such railroad signaling and interlocking systems;
pipe-line connections for mechanically operated switch and signal apparatus,
with cranks, compensators, foundations, and supports; carpenter, concrete, and
form work of all classes in connection with installing any signal or interlocking
systems, apparatus, or devices.
G o v e r n m en t .—1. Grand lodge: General officers are grand president, grand
secretary-treasurer, four grand vice presidents, one assistant to grand president,
and three grand trustees. Grand executive council composed of the grand offi
cers (except trustees) constitutes the highest executive and judicial power of
the organization except when conventions are in session, when all power and
authority is vested in the convention. The grand trustees have authority over
financial affairs of the grand lodge. The grand president is the executive head
of the organization and the grand vice presidents assist him and are in gen
eral charge of field work.
2. Subordinate lodges: Limited autonomy with authority and activities gov
erned by the grand lodge constitution; local bylaws subject to approval of the
grand president.
3. General grievance committees: Composed of representatives from each
division or seniority district on a railroad system and having authority, subject
to the grand lodge constitution, to make agreements with employers covering
wages and working conditions and to handle all grievances and disputes with
the employers.
4. Conventions: Held biennially; each subordinate lodge has right of repre
sentation at convention by delegates; convention has supreme authority, adopts
all policies, laws, and changes in the constitution (except where made by initia
tion and referendum between conventions) and elects grand lodge officers.
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269
Qualifications for membership.—Any person of good moral character and
sound bodily health who is 18 years of age or over and who is engaged in the
installation, construction, repair, or maintenance of railway signaling devices,
apparatus, or systems is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Systems committees, composed of dele
gates from each local on a given road, negotiate agreements with that road.
B enefits .—Strike and lock-out; death and disability insurance (by grand
lodge) ; sick and accident (by locals).
Official organ.—The Signalmen’s Journal.
H eadquarters.—3455 Lawrence Avenue, Chicago, 111.
Organization.—Distribution is by railroad lines and terminals, not by States;
155 subordinate lodges in the United States, 10 in Canada, and 1 in the Canal
Zone. Total, 166.
Membership reported.— 12,000.
Station E m ployees, Brotherhood of R ailroad
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Boston, Mass., in 1908.
Objects.—“The objects of this organization are: First, to exalt the character,
protect the interest, and promote the social, moral, and intellectual conditions
of its members, thereby insuring greater safety to the traveling public; second,
to benefit our employers by raising the standard of efficiency of all railroadstation employees; third, to use all honorable means to secure the passage of
laws beneficial to railroad employees; fourth, to allow or admit no member
to the brotherhood unless he lives a moral, sober life; fifth, to require all
members to faithfully and honestly perform their duties to the best of their
ability for the companies employing them.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
Trade j u r is d ic t io n .—Railroad passenger and freight stations.
Government.—1. The president is the chief executive officer, assisted by the
grand division board of directors, composed of the first vice president and four
other elected members.
2. Local unions: “All local divisions shall have the power to enact such
local bylaws as they may deem necessary”, subject to the approval of the
general president.
3. Convention: Held biennially; elects general officers, enacts legislation.
Constitutional amendment by initiative and convention.
Qualifications for membership.—Any railroad-station employee who is
sober, moral, and otherwise of good character, and over the age of 18, is
eligible to membership, except persons on the pay roll of the police depart
ments of the railroads. (Includes “freight and passenger station employees,
foremen, checkers, receiving and delivery clerks, clerks, freight handlers, bag
gage-room employees, station force, janitors, callers, crossing tenders, fuelstation foremen, engineers, shovelers, and roundhouse employees.”) Male and
female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—No apprenticeship.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by general boards of ad
justment, composed of the chairmen of local adjustment boards of all locals
on a railroad system.
B enefits.—Strike.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Official organ.—The Station Employee.
H eadquarters.—60 Scollay Square, Boston, Mass.
Organization.—Local divisions in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
New York, and Vermont. Number not reported.
Membership reported.—1,100.
Sw itchm en’s U nion of North A m erica
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Kansas City, Mo., October 23, 1894; incorporated at
Buffalo, N. Y., January 9, 1902.
Objects.—“The objects of the Switchmen’s Union are: First, benevolence;
to unite and promote the general welfare and advance the interests—social,
moral, and intellectual—of its members; benevolence, very needful in a calling
as hazardous as ours, has lead to the organization of this union. Second,
hope; believing that it is for the best interests both of our members and their
employers that a good understanding should exist at all times between them,
it will be the constant endeavor of this union to establish mutual confidence
and create and maintain harmonious relations between employer and em
ployee. Third, protection; by kindly bearing with each other’s weaknesses,
aiding with our counsel distressed or erring brothers, and to exercise at all
times its beneficial influence in the interests of right and justice; such are the
aims and purposes of the Switchmen’s Union of North America.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—Railroad yards; yardmasters, switchmen, switch
tenders, towermen, and interlocking men.
Government.—1. Grand lodge officers are president, six vice presidents, sec
retary-treasurer, editor, and a board of directors composed of five elected mem
bers. “The international president shall have general supervision” and the
board of directors “shall have authority to define the policy of the union dur
ing the interim between conventions.” The vice presidents are organizers.
2. Subordinate lodges: Limited autonomy; constitution dictated by grand
lodge. Bylaws for local government must be approved by general president.
3. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Qualifications for membership.—Any white male person of good moral
character who is actually engaged in railroad yards as covered by the juris
diction is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—General adjustment committees com
posed of the chairmen of the several local adjustment committees on a system
“shall negotiate with the officers of the company represented for the purpose
of creating a closer relationship * * * to establish a uniform wage scale
and mutual working rules for the benefit of the switchmen employed thereon.”
General wage committee composed of the president and the chairman of the
general adjustment committees controls general wage movements.
B enefits.—Life and disability insurance (membership compulsory for the
physically qualified) ; funeral (for noninsured members).
Official organ.—Journal of the Switchmen’s Union.
H eadquarters.—3 Linwood Avenue, Buffalo, N. Y.
Organization.—Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 2; Arizona, 3;
Arkansas, 4; California, 7; Colorado, 2; Connecticut, 1; Florida, 2; Georgia,
1; Idaho, 2; Illinois, 24; Indiana, 9; Iowa, 16; Kansas, 12; Kentucky, 2;
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
271
Louisiana, 7; Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, 19; Minnesota, 11; Mississippi, 8;
Missouri, 10; Montana, 11; Nebraska, 3; Nevada, 1; New Hampshire, 1; New
Jersey, 4; New York, 16; North Dakota, 5; Ohio, 16; Oklahoma, 8; Oregon, 3;
Pennsylvania, 15; South Dakota, 2; Tennessee, 4; Texas, 20; Utah, 3; Wash
ington, 10; Wisconsin, 5; Wyoming, 1. Canada—British Columbia, 1; Mani
toba, 1; Ontario, 5; Saskatchewan, 2. Total, 276.
Membership reported.—9,600.
Trains Dispatchers’ Association, American
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized November 1, 1917, at Spokane, Wash. Incorporated.
The association began as a local organization of train dispatchers
at Spokane, Wash., and developed into the Western Train Dis
patchers’ Association. At a convention held in 1918, the name was
changed to American Train Dispatchers’ Association. Two years
later headquarters were moved from Spokane to Chicago, where the
organization now occupies its own building.
Objects.—“The purpose of this association shall be to unite train dispatchers
in one fraternal organization to the end that there may be coordination in
the protection of their mutual interests; to promote their social, moral, and
intellectual standing and general welfare; to secure just compensation for
their services and promote the establishment of just and reasonable working
conditions.”
T erritorial jurisdiction—United States.
T rade jurisdiction.—Train dispatching on steam and electric railroads.
Government.—1. Executive board, composed of president, secretary-treasurer,
three vice presidents, and a board of trustees of three elected members “shall
in a general way perform the executive and administrative functions of the
association.” The president is the administrative head, with supervisory
powers over its work and policies.
2. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention vote. Convention (called general
assembly) open to entire membership, but only delegates may vote.
3. Local assembly: “Local assemblies for the purpose of promoting the wel
fare of the association and its members may be formed with the consent of the
president, provided that such local assemblies shall exercise no authority or
powers which by this constitution are delegated to other agencies.”
Qualifications for membership.— Any train dispatcher, white, of good moral
character, and over 21 years of age, is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by the systems committee,
which is composed of the chairmen of the committees selected by the unit of
organization; i. ei? all members working under one general manager or “similar
officer in charge of operation.”
B enefits.—Fund for widows and orphans (beneficiaries of members).
Official organ.—The Train Dispatcher.
H eadquarters.—10 East Huron Street, Chicago, 111.
Organization.—General membership organization. Local assemblies main
tained at Birmingham, Chicago, Cleveland, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Minne
apolis, New York, Pittsburgh, Omaha, Seattle, Spokane, and St. Paul.
Membership reported.— 2,415.
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H ANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
T rainm en and L ocom otive Firem en, A ssociation of Colored
R ailw ay
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized February 17, 1912, at Knoxville, Tenn. Reorganized
and incorporated under the laws of Tennessee on February 27, 1918,
as the Association of Colored Railway Trainmen; present name
adopted in February 1936.
Objects.—“To unite the colored railway employees, to extend their interests
and promote their general welfare, to provide aid and assistance to their fam
ilies, to use legitimate and lawful means of harmonizing and rectifying differences between members of the association and employers.’,
T erritorial jurisdiction.— United States.
Trade jurisdiction.—Railway brakemen, switchmen, locomotive firemen,
and train porters.
Government.—1. Grand lodge officers: President, two vice presidents, secre
tary-treasurer, organizer, board of trustees of three members, and an executive
board of three members. The president is the executive head of the organiza
tion, under the general direction of the board of trustees. The executive board
is a trial board.
2. Subordinate lodges: Controlled by grand lodge; constitution-and bylaws
uniform and imposed by general organization.
3. Convention: Held annually; enacts legislation, elects general officers.
Amendments to general constitution and subordinate constitution by convention
vote only.
Qualifications for membership.—Any colored railway employee serving as
switchman, brakeman, fireman, or train porter, who is “a sober industrious
male”, is eligible to membership.
“This organization will accept for membership men minus one arm or one
leg as long as they are railway employees in such capacity as switch tender,
baggage-room porter, crossing flagman, or callboy; and they must be ex-railway
brakemen, firemen, switchmen, or train porters.”
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Methods negotiating agreements.—No definite machinery provided.
B enefits.—Funeral.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—1021 Reddy Street, Baton Rouge, La.
Organization.—Locals only: Alabama, 6; Arkansas, 2; Colorado, 2; Florida,
2; Georgia, 8; Illinois, 1; Kentucky, 3; Louisiana, 6; Mississippi, 6; Missouri,
1; New Mexico, 1; North Carolina, 4; South Carolina, 4; Tennessee, 7; Texas,
6; Virginia, 4; West Virginia, 2. Total, 60.
Membership reported.— 3,000.
of
T rainm en, Brotherhood of R ailroad
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Oneonta, N. Y., September 23, 1883, as Brotherhood
of Railroad Brakemen of the Western Hemisphere. This name was
changed in 1886 to Brotherhood of Railroad Brakemen, which in
turn became, in 1899, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen. The
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
273
nucleus of this organization, the youngest of the “big four” rail
road brotherhoods, was a group of train and yard employees of the
Delaware & Hudson Railroad at Albany, N. Y., who formed a sickbenefit society. This society undertook to pay a benefit of $7.50 a
week to sick or injured members. A similar benefit society was
formed at Oneonta in the summer of 1883 by fellow workers of the
Albany men. The Oneonta group, however, desired to go beyond
the mutual-help phase and to organize a brotherhood like those in
other branches of the train service. To this end the Oneonta and the
Albany societies met in September and launched the fourth brother
hood. In 1884 an organizer was sent into the Middle West and
Southwest and later into the East. When the first convention of
the newly formed brotherhood met in October 1884, 29 delegates
represented a membership of 901. That convention elected a full
time organizer, and moved the grand lodge headquarters from
Oneonta, N. Y., to Chicago. The activities of the brotherhood were
centered in Illinois until 1899 when Cleveland, Ohio, became its
headquarters. In 1921 the organization erected its own building
in Cleveland.
When the trainmen launched their organization, railroad men
were debarred from carrying insurance with commercial companies
because of their hazardous occupations. The Brotherhood of Rail
road Trainmen created an insurance department almost at once, and
provided for a cash payment of $300 for death or disability. Two
claims had been paid under this provision by January 1,1885. Since
then the brotherhood has developed a legal-reserve-plan insurance
business, covering total and permanent disability, straight life, and
endowment policies. More recently a contributory old-age-pension
system was adopted, which provides for extension of the pension to
the widow of a pensioner so long as she remains unmarried, or to
the mother of a pensioner. A legal-aid department has been insti
tuted to give counsel and help to injured members or the dependents
of members killed in the service.
The Brotherhood issues emblems to members of long and continu
ous standing. Up to April 1, 1935, 30,500 had received emblems
denoting 25 years continuous membership, and 2,373 members had
been presented with emblems denoting 40 years membership.
Objects.—“To unite the railroad trainmen; to promote their general welfare
and advance their interests—social, moral, and intellectual; to protect their
families by the exercise of a systematic benevolence, very needful in a calling
so hazardous as ours, this fraternity has been organized.
“Persuaded that it is for the interests both of our members and their em
ployers that a good understanding should at all times exist between the two,
it will be the constant endeavor of this organization to establish mutual con793150— 36-------19
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
fidence, and create and maintain harmonious relations.” (Preamble to the
constitution.)
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States, Canada, and Newfoundland.
T rade jurisdiction.—“The term ‘railroad trainmen* shall be held to cover
the following occupations:
“In road service: Conductor, assistant conductor, ticket collector, train bag
gageman (or persons performing the duties of train baggageman on the train
if such service is classified under any other name), brakeman, and train flag
man.
“In yard service: Yardmaster, assistant yardmaster, yard conductor, fore
man, flagman, brakeman, switchman, ground switchman (switch tender) or per
sons performing the duties of such positions and paid the compensation there
for, if occupation is given under any other name.
“Train or yard men working on surface electrical railways who come in con
tact and work with the men employed on steam railways and are subject to
and governed by the rules and regulations of the operating department which
govern the steam-railway employees.’*
Government.—1. Grand lodge: President, assistant to the president, 10 vice
presidents, general secretary-treasurer, national legislative representative, board
of directors, board of trustees, individual reserve board, insurance board, execu
tive board, and board of appeals.
“The president shall * * * perform its (grand lodge) executive duties
when the same is not in session and shall exercise a general supervision over
the affairs of the brotherhood.** The board of directors is the advisory and
coordinate administrative body. The executive board is a trial board.
2. Subordinate lodges: Autonomy closely limited; constitution dictated by
grand lodge. May make own bylaws subject to approval of the president.
8. Convention: Meets quadrennially; elects general officers; legislates for
brotherhood. Referendum only in specified instances. Constitutional amend
ments by convention only.
Qualifications for membership.—Any white male between the ages of 18
and 65 who is “sober and industrious** and who has been employed for at least
1 month as a railroad trainman within the expressed meaning of the term,
and who passes the required physical examination, is eligible to membership.
Applicants who are unable to pass the required physical examination but who
are otherwise qualified may be admitted as honorary members if over 18 years
of age.
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—General grievance committees composed
of the chairmen of the local grievance committees, where three or more such
locals exist on any line or system; boards of adjustment composed of the chair
men of the general committees where there are two or more on any line or
system of railroad having two or more general managers; associations of gen
eral committees within given districts, established “for the purpose of carrying
on concerted movements as to wages and other important general working con
ditions of the brotherhood.** Districts are: No. 1, composed of all territory
lying west of and including the southern lines of the Illinois Central Railroad,
and lying on the west side of Lake Michigan, and south of Lake Superior, and
northwest of a line laid through Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., and bounded on the
south side by the Mexican border; no. 2, composed of the territory east of the
aforementioned line, and north of the lines of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway;
no. 3, the territory south of and including the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and
as far west as the Illinois Central line mentioned as the boundary of district
STEAM RAILROAD TRANSPORTATION
275
no. 1; no. 4, the yards of all roads in the Chicago switching district and the
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad.
B enefits .—Life insurance (contributory) ; total disability (contributory) ;
funeral (for nonbeneficiary members) ; hospital and home treatment for tuber
cular members (contributory) ; pension (optional) ; strike; sick (local); home
for aged and disabled.
Official organ.—The Railroad Trainman.
H eadquarters.—Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Building, Cleveland,
Ohio.
Organization.—Local lodges: United States—Alabama, 7; Arizona, 5; Ar
kansas, 10; California, 25; Colorado, 11; Connecticut, 9; Delaware, 3; District
of Columbia, 3; Florida, 8; Georgia, 11; Idaho, 3; Illinois, 56; Indiana, 29;
Iowa, 32; Kansas, 25; Kentucky, 13; Louisiana, 10; Maine 7; Maryland, 9;
Massachusetts, 20; Michigan, 22; Minnesota, 24; Mississippi, 9; Missouri, 29;
Montana, 14; Nebraska, 14; Nevada, 3; New Hampshire, 4; New Jersey, 23;
New Mexico, 5; New York, 51; North Carolina, 9; North Dakota, 6; Ohio, 56;
Oklahoma, 11; Oregon, 4; Pennsylvania, 97; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina,
5; South Dakota, 5; Tennessee, 13; Texas, 40; Utah, 3; Vermont, 5; Vir
ginia, 14; Washington, 13; West Virginia, 18; Wisconsin, 20; Wyoming, 5.
Canada—Alberta, 7; British Columbia, 8; Manitoba, 6; New Brunswick, 7;
Nova Scotia, 7; Ontario, 33; Quebec, 14; Saskatchewan, 8. Newfoundland—1.
Total, 900.
Membership reported.—116,274.
Yardmasters of America, Railroad
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized December 2, 1918, when several groups of yardmasters
which existed as local associations at various terminals throughout
the United States met at Cincinnati, Ohio, and formed the Railroad
Yardmasters of America as the national organization to represent
them. Rapidly, after its organization, other local associations which
had been functioning throughout the United States, vainly striving
locally to obtain results for yardmasters as a class, joined the
national body.
Objects.—The purpose of this organization is to unite the railroad yardmasters of all grades who come under the subordinate official classification
set out in Ew parte 72 of the Interstate Commerce Commission; to promote
their general welfare, and advance their interests socially, morally, and in
tellectually; to promote the establishment of a universal 8-hour day, 2 rest
days per month, and 2 weeks’ vacation per year; just and reasonable rules
and working conditions; with rate of pay that is just compensation for their
services.
Territorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—General yardmasters, assistant general yardmasters,
yardmasters, assistant yardmasters, and station masters.
Government.—1. President, secretary-treasurer, five vice presidents, and an
executive board composed of three members.
2. Local divisions for the purpose of promoting the welfare of the organiza
tion and its members may be formed with the consent of the executive board.
276
H ANDBOOK OF AM ERICAN TR A D E-U N IO N S
May make own bylaws and other regulations, not in conflict with general
constitution, when approved by executive board.
3. Convention: Meets annually; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Amendments to constitution by convention vote only.
Qualifications fob membership.—Any white person, 21 years of age or over,
of good moral character, who is actually employed on a railroad in the capacity
covered by the jurisdiction is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Through system committees who are
elected by members of each railroad, one of whom is elected as general chairman.
B enefits.—Death, disability (lump sum of $200).
Official organ.—The Railroad Yardmaster.
H eadquarters.—First National Building, 33 North High Street, Columbus,
Ohio.
Organization.—Local divisions, some of which comprise the members of a
railroad system, while other local divisions may be composed of members from
two or more systems.
Membership reported.—1,440.
Y ardm asters of N orth Am erica, R ailroad
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized and incorporated in Buffalo, N. Y., January 10,1925, by
the yardmasters on the New York Central lines who seceded from
the Railroad Yardmasters of America.
Objects.—“To unite the yardmasters and station masters employed on the
Tarious railroads of the United States and Canada for the purpose of protecting
their interests and promoting their general welfare; to maintain and improve
the living and working conditions of said yardmasters and station masters; to
encourage a spirit of cooperation between said yardmasters and station mas
ters; to encourage thrift and the safe investment of the earnings of its mem
bers, and disseminate information regarding the same among its members; to
provide through duly organized insurance companies, or by other legal method,
protection for its members and their families; to organize subordinate branches
in accordance with the constitution and bylaws of this corporation; to acquire,
hold, lease, mortgage, and sell real property, to carry out the purposes of this
corporation; to do all and everything necessary and not inconsistent with any
law to promote the welfare and best interests of its members.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—North America.
T rade jurisdiction.—Railroad yards.
Government.—1. Board of directors of 15 members has general supervisory
control. “It shall be the duty of the board of directors to provide suitable bylaws,
rules, and regulations for the organization and for conducting the affairs in
subordinate branches in such localities as the board of directors may determine.”
General officers: President, two vice presidents, secretary, and treasurer
elected by the board of directors.
2. Branches: Subordinate; constitution and bylaws imposed by general
organization.
3. Convention: Held annually on call of board of directors; elects members
of the board of directors. Constitutional amendments by convention only.
COMMUNICATION
277
Qualifications fob membership.—Any male white person “of good moral
character’* actually employed as general yardmaster, assistant general yardmaster, yardmaster, or station master, is eligible to membership.
A pprentice regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by systems committees with
the advice of the board of directors.
B enefits.—Group insurance covering death and total disability.
Official organ.—Railroad Employees Budget and Year Book.
H eadquarters.—Lafayette Building, Buffalo, N. Y.
Organization.—Branches only: Illinois, 5; Indiana, 4; Michigan, 2 ; N ew
Jersey, 3; New York, 6; Ohio, 7; Pennsylvania, 3; total, 30.
Membership reported.—No report.
COMMUNICATION
The group of unions in the communication field presented here are
only those that function in private industry. The census puts the
United States Post Office in the communication group, but in a study
of trade-union organizations a peculiar interest attaches to the extent
of unionism in the public service and for that reason the handbook
has made a different classification.
The two organizations of telegraphers affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor have mutually exclusive jurisdictions—one deals
solely with railroads; the other, with commercial telegraph systems.
The latter field embraces wireless telegraphy, into which a new inde
pendent organization entered in 1931 as the American Radio Teleg
raphists’ Associations in competition with the affiliated Commercial
Telegraphers’ Union. The greatest strength of the new organization
has been in marine work, in which it has negotiated some significant
agreements. The commercial telegraphers’ jurisdictional claims in
clude marine work but it has not in fact entered that field to any
degree. At other points the jurisdictions of the two organizations
conflict either actually or potentially, a condition which made the
radio telegraphists ineligible to affiliation with the American Feder
ation of Labor. Because a substantial portion of its membership
desired identification with the labor movement as represented by the
American Federation of Labor, however, the question of amalgamat
ing with the affiliated Commercial Telegraphers’ Union was put to
referendum vote in 1935. While the merger proposal carried, nego
tiations were still in progress at the time the handbook went to press.
In the telephone field, which is not extensively organized, juris
diction is disputed in one geographic area. The International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers has a telephone operators’ de
partment (p. 87) which has been granted jurisdiction in that field
by the American Federation of Labor. Telephone operators em
ployed by the New England Bell Telephone Co. seceded from the
Electrical Workers’ Brotherhood several years ago and organized
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
the International Brotherhood of Telephone Workers. It confines
its activities very largely to New England.
Unions in the communication industry exclusive of the postal
service are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Telegraphers, Order of Railroad.
Telegraphers’ Union of North America, Commercial.
Telephone Operators’ Department, International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers. (Classified under Building trades.)
Independent organizations:
Radio Telegraphists’ Association, American.
Telephone Workers, International Brotherhood of.
R adio T elegraphists’ A ssociation, A m erican
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City, August 17, 1931. The first organi
zation of radio operators was the United Radio Telegraphers’ Asso
ciation, founded in 1917. This group maintained an organization
for several years, and was particularly successful during the World
War. It died out later, however, and disbanded in 1922. No rela
tion exists between that organization and the present one, except
that the example of the pioneer radiomen showed that unioniza
tion was feasible.
The nucleus of the present organization was the Commercial Radio
men’s Protective Association, a group of operators on the Pacific
coast who organized early in 1931. Sponsored by that group, and
encouraged by a professional journal, the CQ Magazine, a group of
14 marine radio operators met in New York and founded the Ameri
can Radio Telegraphists’ Association. Later the movement spread
to all classes of radio operators, and while the marine branch is
still the largest unit, the organization covers operators in broadcast
ing, airways, coastal, point-to-point, and police radio services.
Objects.—“To unite all radio operators, regardless of sex, creed, color, or
political opinions and affiliations; to secure or assist in securing legislation
and the more effective administration of existing laws which affect the general
and material welfare of all workers; to combat unfair methods, discrimination,
or inequitable methods used by any employer or group of employers against
any or all radio operators. To combat unfair methods and misleading adver
tising sponsored or used by radio schools or institutes. * * * To recognize
the common interests of all workers regardless of occupation and the greater
strength in realizing our aims and objects, the American Radio Telegraphers’
Association at all times shall stand ready to cooperate with other workers
and their organizations for the purpose of realizing mutual and common
aims. * * * To assist in all movements which tend for the betterment of
all working conditions of all radio operators and workers.
T erritorial jurisdiction.—Not defined.
Trade jurisdiction.—Radio operators wherever and however employed.
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279
Government.—1. Executive committee is the administrative agency. Presi
dent is ex-officio member and chairman of the committee and the chief executive
officer, responsible to the committee. Secretary-treasurer is ex-officio member
of the committee. Vice president is the national organizer. General officers
elected by popular vote of entire membership. Executive committee is com
posed of one member from each of four geographical sections of the four di
visions—marine, broadcast, point-to-point, and airways. Committee members
elected by popular vote of their constituents.
2. Referendum and recall.
Qualifications for membership.—Any person who legally holds a valid
official license as a radio operator of any class or grade, and who earns his
living as a radio operator is eligible to active membership. Associate member
ship granted those not qualified as active members “who desire to assist this
organization in accomplishing the objects for which it has been established.”
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated with employing companies
by a representative of the association, an elected committee, and where prac
ticable, one employee or more of the company involved.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—Arta.
H eadquarters.—10 Bridge Street, New York City.
Organization.—Four main divisions: Marine, broadcast, point-to-point, and
airways. Each subdivided into four geographic sections—northern, eastern,
southern, and western.
(a) The northern section shall comprise the States of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South
Dakota, Wisconsin, and the waters adjacent thereto, their rivers, lakes, bays,
and sounds.
(&) The eastern section shall comprise the States of Connecticut, Delaware,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and the water
adjacent thereto, their rivers, lakes, bays, and sounds.
(c) The southern section shall comprise the States of Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the possessions of Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands, and the waters adjacent thereto, their rivers, lakes, bays, and
sounds.
(d) The western section shall comprise the States of Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington,
Wyoming, and the possessions of Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and the Philippine
Islands, and the waters adjacent thereto, their rivers, lakes, bays, and sounds.
Local unions may be created in each geographical section “at such places as
the executive committee in their discretion may deem necessary.” Present
locals: California, 2; Florida, 1; Louisiana, 1; Maine, 1; Maryland, 1; Massa
chusetts, 1; New York, 3; Ohio, 2; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 1; Washington, 1.
Total, 15.
Membership reported.—2,609.
Telegraphers, Order of Railroad
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1886. The Brotherhood
of Telegraphers of the United States, also known as District 45
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
of the Knights of Labor, was organized in 1882. It expanded
rapidly and by August 1883 included 150 lodges in principal cities
of the country with a membership of 18,000. An ill-advised
and unsuccessful strike in July 1883 disrupted this first organiza
tion and proved that the inclusion of both commercial and railway
operators in the same union was impractical. In June 1886 a secret
organization, the Order of Railway Telegraphers of North America,
was formed at a convention at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, by delegates
from a number of roads, mainly west of the Mississippi River. This
organization was purely fraternal, and adopted a nonprotective,
antistrike policy. Due to paid organizers, its growth was extensive.
By 1891, general dissatisfaction with its fraternal features and the
establishment of a rival organization that was militantly a labor
union, brought about a change in policy, and at the convention of
1891 constitutional changes were adopted which made the organiza
tion a full-fledged protective labor union. The name was changed
at the same time to its present one.
The repeal of the antistrike clause in the constitution was followed
by another rapid growth in membership and a series of strikes for
wage increases and improved working conditions generally. In
some instances strikes were called specifically on the issue of discrim
inations against union men which railroads were practicing. Several
of these strikes proved so disruptive that in the convention of 1901 an
entire new slate of officers was elected. A less aggressive program
was put into effect by the new leaders, which involved cooperating
with the four railroad brotherhoods in their plans for the negotia
tion of collective agreements covering a railroad system through fed
erations of the organizations on that system. The convention of
1909, however, voted to withdraw from all other forms of federa
tion in favor of affiliation with the newly organized Railroad Em
ployees Department of the American Federation of Labor. Since
the founding of the Railway Labor Executives’ Association in 1926,
the order has taken an active part in the joint action promoted by
that agency.
The craft character of the Order of Railroad Telegraphers has
been materially affected by mechanical and operating changes in the
nature of the work itself. Originally it was a craft union, and
membership was confined to men actually engaged in the transmis
sion of railroad communications, chiefly train orders governing the
movement of trains. Technological changes and expansion of juris
diction have so changed that limitation that now the order embraces
men whose work does not involve the use of either the telegraph or
the telephone.
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281
Objects.—“For the protection of their (telegraphers’) interests, to elevate
their social, moral, and intellectual condition; to promote the general welfare
of its membership; to establish a protective fund; and to promote and en
courage a mutual-benefit department for the aid and comfort of the bene
ficiaries of deceased members.”
T erritorial jubisdiction.—United States and possessions, Canada, Mexico,
“and other countries of the world.”
T rade jubisdiction.—Railroad telegraphers, train dispatchers, agents located
at railroad stations, line repairers, towermen, lever men, interlockers, tower
and train directors, telephone operators, block operators, and staffmen.
Government.—1. General oflicers are president, secretary-treasurer, six vice
presidents, and a iboard of directors of five elected members.
The board of directors exercises administrative and appellate jurisdiction
over the order. The president is the chief executive officer, subject to the
board of directors.
2. Local divisions: Subordinate; constitution and bylaws fixed by general
division.
3. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention only.
Qualifications fob membership.—Any white person of good moral character
who is actually employed on a railroad in a capacity covered by the jurisdic
tion is eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by general committee, com
posed of chairmen of boards of adjustment of local divisions on each system,
with individual railroads. Contracts subject to approval of general president.
Adjustment committee on the various roads act independently in negotiations,
but policies are frequently determined by the national organization.
B enefits .—Life insurance.
Official organ.—The Railroad Telegrapher.
H eadquarters.—3673 West Pine Boulevard, St. Louis, Mo.
Organization.—The unit of organization is a railroad system. Telegraphers
on any given road hold membership in the division controlling that road, no
matter where located. Members not regularly attached to any road or any
given locality hold membership at large in grand division.
There are 108 systems divisions, of which 10 cover Canadian railroads, 1
covers the Panama Railroad, and 1 (division no. 89) the Boston Elevated.
Membership reported.—50,000.
Telegraphers’ Union of North America, Commercial
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Washington, D. C., in March 1903, as the result of
an amalgamation of two organizations, the International Union of
Commercial Telegraphers with headquarters at Chicago, and the
Order of Commercial Telegraphers with headquarters at St. Louis.
The International Union of Commercial Telegraphers had its in
ception at Chicago in June 1902 and held its first convention in
Chicago in September of the same year.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
The Order of Commercial Telegraphers was the outgrowth of the
Brotherhood of Commercial Telegraphers fostered by the Order of
Eailroad Telegraphers from 1897 to 1902.
Both organizations applied for a charter from the American Fed
eration of Labor in 1902. The American Federation of Labor con
vention ordered a joint conference of the two organizations, which
took place in Washington in March 1903, and an amalgamation
resulted. The Commercial Telegraphers’ Union of America was
agreed upon as the title of the amalgamated organization, and the
first convention was held in New York in July 1903. The name of
the organization was changed to the Commercial Telegraphers’
Union of North America at the fourteenth regular and first tri
ennial convention held in Chicago, in September 1928.
Objects.—‘‘To protect, maintain, and advance trade interests and to secure
better conditions of employment; to establish and uphold a fair and equitable
rate of wages; to give all moral and material aid in our power to members
and those dependent upon them; to distinguish the work performed by mem
bers of the union and make it preferred; to discourage the indiscriminate
teaching of telegraphy.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
Trade jurisdiction.—All branches of the telegraph service except railroad.
Government.—1. General officers are: President, secretary-treasurer, and five
elected members comprising the general executive board.
The president is the chief executive officer, subject to instructions and ad
vice of the general executive board. The general executive board has appellate
power.
2, Subordinate units: Territory defined and allocated by general assembly to
subordinate units “known as systems divisions, brokers divisions, such other
private-wire divisions as may be found necessary to conform to this union’s
principle of complete autonomy for the various branches of the commercial
telegraph.”
“District councils may be formed upon approval by the international presi
dent, by seven or more members in good standing of two or more subordinate
units. * * * The purpose of the district council shall be to carry on social,
fraternal, and legislative activities of the union * * * and for these
purposes the council may act concurrently with the subordinate units. Persons
employed in branches of the service over which no subordinate unit has juris
diction shall carry their membership in the district council.”
3. Convention: Held triennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers..
Constitutional amendments by convention or by referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—Any white person of good moral character
who is over 16 years of age and is actually employed as a commercial teleg
rapher or as an operative connected with an automatic telegraph machine and
maintenance of lines, bookkeeper, clerk, or messenger in the commercial tele
graph service, or in the operation of a telephone shall be eligible to member
ship. Any commercial telegrapher, although not actually so employed, is eligible
to membership. Male and female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Agreements negotiated by division com
mittees. “A district, division, or general committee shall not be authorized to
COMMUNICATION
283
establish or regulate a scale of wages affecting members other than those it
represents*’, and “no committee shall present a schedule, contract, or agreement
to their employers nor attempt to secure its adoption, until it has first been
approved by the international president.”
B enefits.—Funeral.
Official organ.—The Commercial Telegraphers* Journal.
H eadquarters.—113 South Ashland Boulevard, Chicago, 111.
Organization.—Four separate and autonomous divisions:
Commercial, divided into 11 systems divisions: Canadian Pacific; Govern
ment Telegraphers of British Columbia and the Yukon; Canadian Government
Telegraphers (central); Western Union; Postal Telegraph; American Tele
phone and Telegraph; Pipe Line; Packers*; United States Government; Buffalo;
Canadian National.
Press, divided into five systems divisions: International News Service; United
Press; Canadian Press; Associated Press; National Press.
These in turn are subdivided into circuits, under a general chairman.
Broker, divided into 15 systems divisions : Eastern; Maryland; New England;
Western; Eastern Canada; Southwest; Michigan; Ohio; Middle Western
Atlantic (Pennsylvania); Philadelphia; Pacific Coast; Southern; Ontario;
Western Canada; Southeast.
Wireless, divided into three systems divisions: Canadian Marconi, MacKay
Radio, R. C. A.
District Councils: United States—Baltimore; Buffalo; Chicago; Des Moines;
Fire Telegraphers* Council (New York); Memphis; Milwaukee; New York
City; Pittsburgh. Canada—Montreal; Toronto; Vancouver; Winnipeg.
General assembly: Headquarters, 113 South Ashland Boulevard, Chicago,
for members not permanently located.
Membership reported.—7,500.
T elephone W orkers, International Brotherhood of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Boston, Mass., May 15-16, 1920, by employees of the
New England Bell Telephone Co. who withdrew from the Interna
tional Brotherhood of Electrical Workers because of a jurisdictional
dispute over telephone work.
Objects.—“The objects of the International Brotherhood of Telephone Work
ers are: To organize all telephone workers into local unions; to maintain a
higher standard of skiU; to encourage the formation of schools of instruction
in local unions for teaching the practical application of electricity and for
trade education generally; to cultivate feelings of friendship among the men
of our craft; to settle all disputes between employers and employees by arbitra
tion (if possible) ; to assist each other in sickness and distress; to secure
employment; to reduce the hours of labor; to secure adequate pay for our
work; and by legal and proper means elevate the moral, intellectual, and social
conditions of our members.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—The New England States.
T rade jurisdiction.—Telephone manufacture, installation, maintenance,
assembling, and operation.
Government.—1. General officers are president, three vice presidents, secre
tary-treasurer, and an executive council of nine elected members. The executive
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
council, “shall have general direction, control, and management of all property
and business” of the organization, between conventions.
2. Local unions: Autonomy limited and defined by international constitu
tion. Local unions have power to make their own bylaws and working rules
subject to approval of international president.
3. Convention: Biennial; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Qualifications for membership.—“Any telephone worker of good moral
character not over 55 years of age nor less than 18, and of good sound health
and not afflicted with any disease or subject to any complaint liable to en
danger life, is eligible to membership in this brotherhood.” Members promoted
to supervisory positions “above the grade of foreman, senior testman, etc.”,
become members of the general office instead of the local. Male and female
membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—“Each local union shall adopt its own ap
prenticeship system, as the peculiar conditions of each district may require.”
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated locally, but must be ap
proved by general officers. “All agreements between local unions and employers
must contain a condition that the local union is a part of the international
brotherhood and that a violation or annulment of an agreement with any local
union annuls all agreements entered into by the same party with any other
local union of the International Brotherhood of Telephone Workers.” Griev
ances handled by conference boards.
B enefits.—Death.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—Kimball Building, 18 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass.
Organization.—Local unions only: Maine, 2; Massachusetts, 19; New Hamp
shire, 1; Rhode Island, 1; Vermont, 1. Total, 24.
Membership reported.—5,400.
Section D. Trade
Probably no other field of wage-earner activity has responded so
little to unionism as has that classed as trade. In the classification
used here only two unions fall definitely and exclusively in that field.
One of them is of fairly broad coverage, designed to serve all persons
engaged in the retailing of merchandise. Actually its activities are
limited to certain types of mercantile establishments. The other
union referred to operates in one phase of advertising, billposting,
and billing, and has a related rather than a direct connection with
trade.
However, more organization is actually found in the trade group
than is apparent here. The Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher
Workmen, classed with food industries (p. 146), contains persons
employed in retail butcher shops as well as those directly engaged in
manufacturing processes. The large membership of the Interna
tional Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Help
ers (p. 244) includes a very substantial number of persons who hold
membership in that organization because they are drivers and de
liverymen, but they are in fact primarily allied to the retail trade
as bakery and dairy salesmen.
The census lists gasoline filling stations under its trade group. In
that field unionism has made some headway, although such prog
ress as has been made is regarded by trade-union officials as only a
substantial start toward organizing an occupation embracing over
700,000 workers. During 1933-34, 56 local unions affiliated directly
with the American Federation of Labor were formed among workers
engaged in gasoline and oil distribution and selling. In some com
munities practically all filling-station attendants were organized.
Company unionism is a strong factor in this field, however, and
recent lists of directly affiliated unions suggest a considerable reduc
tion from the 56 reported in 1934.
Organizations which in whole or in part can be allocated to this
group are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Bill Posters and Billers of America, International Alliance of.
Clerks* International Protective Association, Retail.
Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America, Amalgamated.
(Classified under Food, etc.)
teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers, International Brother
hood of. (Classified under Street and road transportation.)
285
286
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Bill Posters and B illers o f A m erica, International A lliance of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1903 from various directly affiliated American Fed
eration of Labor local unions, the first of which was formed in
Chicago, in 1902.
Objects.—“We hereby pledge ourselves to assist each other in securing rea
sonable compensation for services rendered, and to use our influence with other
organized bodies to assist us in accomplishing our objects; to endeavor, to
the best of our ability, to disseminate useful information by means of lectures,
pamphlets, and industrial literature among our coworkers, and to develop
the intelligence which exists among our people. While we are opposed to
entering any political party as a body, we declare it to be our duty to use
our influence with the lawmaking power to secure the enactment of laws
beneficial to our interests and those of wage earners in general, and to secure
and retain employment for our members, to protect them from oppression,
and to place ourselves on a foundation sufficiently strong to resist any further
encroachments on our rights/’
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and Canada.
T rade jurisdiction.—Billposting, billing, and advertising sign work.
Government.—1. General executive board, composed of president, secretary,
and seven vice presidents, “shall have the power to make laws not provided
for in the constitution”, and decide upon all grievances and appeals, subject
to review by the convention. The president “shall exercise general supervision
of the alliance’s jurisdiction.”
2. Local unions: “It shall be the cardinal principle of the alliance to preserve
home rule in every local where such rule does not conflict with the laws of
the international alliance”, but “no local shall engage in a strike without the
consent of the executive board.”
3. Convention: Biennial; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Qualifications for Membership.—“Any man of the age of 18 years who has
been vouched for by two members in good standing of either the alliance or a
local, shall be entitled to membership.” Every applicant must take an examina
tion in practical work before he is admitted to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—“Circus agreement” negotiated and
controlled by international alliance; other agreements negotiated locally with
individual employers are substantially personal contacts.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—None.
H ea dq ua rters .—Longacre Building, Forty-second and Broadway, New York
City.
Organization.—Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 1; California,
4; Colorado, 1; Connecticut, 3; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 2; Georgia,
1; Illinois, 5; Indiana, 3; Iowa, 3; Kansas, 1; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 1;
Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 6; Michigan, 3; Minnesota, 4; Missouri, 3;
Nebraska, 2; New Hampshire, 1; New Jersey, 5; New York, 10; Ohio, 9;
Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 10; Tennessee, 1; Texas, 5; Utah, 1;
Virginia, 1; Washington, 1; West Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 2. Canada—Ontario,
3; Quebec, 1. Total, 99. Membership at large provided for workers where
there is no local.
M
).—6,000.
e m b e r s h ip r e po r te r
MISCELLANEOUS TRADE
287
Clerks* International Protective A ssociation, R etail
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Detroit, Mich., December 1890, as a national union.
With extension of jurisdiction to Canada the name was changed
in 1899 to the present one.
Objects.—“For the purpose of promoting unity and sentiment of action among
the retaU clerks and joining them closer together for mutual protection.”
T eebitobial jueisdiction .—United States and Canada.
T bade jubisdiction.—The selling force of mercantile and mail-order estab
lishments (other than the liquor trade).
Govebnment.—1. Executive board consists of president, seven vice presidents,
and a secretary-treasurer. President is the chief administrative officer with
wide powers.
2. District organizations composed of the local unions within an assigned
territory and “subject to the jurisdiction, laws, rules, and usages of the
international association.”
8. Local unions: “All local unions shall be under the jurisdiction of the
international and district associations and may make such laws for their
government as they may deem necessary, provided they do not conflict with
the international and district constitution or agreements entered into.”
4. Convention: Every fifth year. Nomination and election of officers by
referendum. Constitutional amendments by convention or by initiative or
referendum.
Qualifications fob membebship.— AU persons employed in mercantile or
mail-order establishments who are actively engaged in handling or selling mer
chandise and who have reached the age of 16 years are eligible to membership.
Male and female membership.
All applicants between the ages of 16 and 50 years who are not afflicted
with a chronic or incurable disease become beneficiary members. Applicants
over 50 years of age and those afflicted with a chronic or incurable disease
are classed as nonbeneficiary.
Appbenticeship eegulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agbeements.—Union store-card agreement drawn up
by the international officers, but negotiated locally. Agreements deal chiefly
with working hours and must be uniform throughout the jurisdiction of the
district association.
B enefits.—Funeral.
Official obgan.—The Retail Clerks* International Advocate.
H eadquabters.—La Fayette, Ind.
Obganization.—Not reported.
Membebship bepobted.—No report. On basis of voting strength in American
Federation of Labor, 7,200.
Section E. Professional, Semiprofessional, and
Recreational Groups
The trade-union philosophy of organization has been accepted by
an increasing number of professional groups in the past few years.
The latest to enter trade-union ranks on an extensive scale are the
editorial and news writers and reporters, who in 1933 organized the
American Newspaper Guild as a national body. The editorial and
writing staffs of monthly magazines have followed the example of
the newspaper journalists and are organizing locally, but this move
ment has not yet become national.
Some scientific men joined with a group of architects to organize,
in 1933, the Federation of Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and
Technicians. .This is an independent union, affiliation with the
American Federation of Labor being blocked by the fact that an
affiliated organization, the International Federation of Technical
Engineers, Architects, and Draftsmen’s Unions, covers practically
the same field.
The Screen Actors’ Guild, which had functioned for some years
largely as a professional organization, became definitely identified
with the labor movement in 1933 by affiliating with the Associated
Actors and Artistes of America. This action was determined largely
by the interchangeability of performers in the legitimate and mov
ing-picture fields. “Personal appearances” of screen actors on one
hand, and the reproduction in pictures of current legitimate dramas
with the original leads, on the other, made contracts difficult to inter
pret and enforce and the result was the identification of the movingpicture actors with the general organization on terms which grants
autonomy to the screen group, as to the other craft groups in the
federation.
About the same time the actor’s union extended its jurisdiction to
the radio field. Organization of radio performers has been coinci
dent with the revival of unionism among vaudeville actors, who began
an intensive organizing campaign in 1934, covering both vaudeville
and radio. The American Federation of Actors was established and
chartered by the parent Associated Actors and Artistes as a branch
in lieu of the practically defunct White Eats Actors’ Union. It
reposed substantial success by 1935 and continued its organizing
efforts, founding an official organ, the A. F. A. Eeporter, as a medium
for keeping in contact with its scattered membership.
288
PROFESSIONAL, SEMIPROFESSIONAL, AND RECREATIONAL
289
Organization has begun among social workers (see p. 13) who are
working toward national entity and possible affiliation with the
American Federation of Labor. Other organized professional and
semiprofessional workers hold membership in directly affiliated local
unions covering, chiefly, institution nurses, laboratory research work
ers, and opticians.
Another related field into which organization is spreading is the
technical work complementary to certain professional services, as,
for example, optical and dental technicians, X-ray laboratory work
ers, and hospital attendants. Organizations of this type are local and
are chartered directly by the American Federation of Labor.
In addition to the theatrical stage employees’ union, which may
also be regarded as an occupation ancillary to the professional group,
theatrical wardrobe attendants and dressers in large cities are organ
ized into directly affiliated local unions, as are theater ushers, cash
iers, and doormen in some instances. National and international
unions among the professions and related groups are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Actors and Artistes of America, Associated.
Draftsmen’s Unions, International Federation of Technical Engineers,
Architects, and.
Musicians, American Federation of.
Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United
States and Canada, International Alliance of Theatrical.
Teachers, American Federation of.
Independent:
Architects, Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians, Federation of.
Newspaper Guild, American.
Actors and Artistes of America, Associated
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City, July 18, 1919. The first group of
public entertainers to form a union were vaudeville performers and
the union was chartered by the American Federation of Labor as a
directly affiliated local known as Actors’ Protective Union, No. 6453.
The organization grew into a national union chartered in 1896 as the
Actors’ National Protective Union, a name which in 1909 was
changed to the Actors’ International Union. In 1900 the American
Federation of Labor chartered a second organization of vaudeville
actors known as the White Rats Union. In 1910 these two organiza
tions amalgamated under the name of the larger and more powerful,
and received a charter as the White Rats Actors’ Union of America.
In the legitimate field the first efforts toward economic organiza
tion were made by the Actors’ Society of America, but this organ
ization was short-lived and by 1916 had ceased to function.
79315°—36------ 20
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
On December 22, 1912, a gathering of 80 actors met in New York
City and took steps toward forming a union. Five months later
the Actors’ Equity Association was launched with 112 members.
With a view to strengthening its position in the effort to secure
advantageous contracts from producers, the association, in 1916, ap
plied to the American Federation of Labor for a charter of affilia
tion. Because the White Eats Actors’ Union of America held the
jurisdiction covering the theatrical field the application was refused,
but the suggestion was made that the legitimate actors form a branch
of the union already chartered. No agreement to that end was
reached and the Actors’ Equity remained outside the American
Federation of Labor until 1919.
Meanwhile the White Eats Actors’ Union had been practically
annihilated as the result of disastrous defeat in their strike of 1917.
When the Actors’ Equity Association made a second application to
the American Federation of Labor for affiliation, in 1919, the White
Eats surrendered their charter and the federation chartered both
groups under the title “Associated Actors and Artistes of America.”
The vaudeville performers began a movement in 1934 to rebuild
their organization, by pointing out the example and the successful
methods of the Actors’ Equity Association. Extending their field
to include the radio performers, they organized the American Fed
eration of Actors, which was chartered as a branch of the Asso
ciated Actors and Artistes.
This organization is a federation of autonomous groups divided
by crafts and nationalities. The component organizations are: In
the legitimate field—Actors’ Equity Association (which comprises
more than 70 percent of the total membership), Hebrew Actors’
Union, and Hungarian Actors and Artistes’ Association; in the
vaudeville field—American Federation of Actors (formerly White
Eats Actors’ Union) and the German White Eats Actors’ Union;
Burlesque Actors’ Association; in the motion-picture field—the
Screen Actors’ Guild; in chorus work—Chorus Equity Association,
Grand Opera Choral Alliance, Singers’ Guild of Los Angeles, and
Hebrew Chorus Union.
03JECTS.—“The policy of this union shall be the ‘union shop’; an equitable
contract; and to prevent and abolish all abuses from which its members
suffer or may suffer.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States, Canada, Mexico, South America,
and Cuba.
T rade jurisdiction.—“AH actors and actresses, whether legitimate, lyceum,
circus, cabaret, vaudeville, Chautauqua, burlesque, motion picture, stage man
ager, director, assistant stage manager or director, or any other entertainers
of the public.”
PROFESSIONAL, SEMIPROFESSIONAL, AND RECREATIONAL
291
Government.—Governed by an executive committee composed of president,
vice president, secretary-treasurer, and five other elected members.
General meeting held annually in New York City.
Qualifications fob membership.—Actors’ Equity Association: “Persons wbo
have been actors for at least 2 years are eligible to election as regular mem
bers. Persons who have been actors for less than 2 years and who have played
at least one speaking part are eligible to election as junior members.”
Hebrew Actors’ Union: Applicants must qualify by acting a part acceptably
before the membership.
Other groups: All persons actually engaged within the jurisdiction covered
are eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Actors’ Equity Association negotiates
as an organization with producers. A series of contracts covers standard
minimum working conditions.
Chorus Equity Association negotiates an agreement with producers, covering
working conditions and a minimum-wage scale.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—None. (Actors Equity Association—Equity; American Fed
eration of Actors—A. F. A. Reporter.)
H eadquarters.— 45 West Forty-seventh Street, New York City.
Organization.—General membership organization; no locals.
Branches: Actors’ Equity Association, Chorus Equity Association, American
Federation of Actors, Grand Opera Choral Alliance, Burlesque Actors’ Associa
tion, the Screen Actors’ Guild, and the Singers’ Guild of Los Angeles, which
are craft divisions; German White Rats Actors’ Union, Hebrew Chorus Union,
Hebrew Actors’ Union, Hungarian Actors’ and Artistes’ Association, which are
language and craft divisions.
Membership reported.—14,000.
A rchitects, Engineers, Chem ists, and T echnicians, Federation of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City, August 23, 1933, largely as the
result of widespread unemployment in the various fields covered
and of continued lay-offs of technical and professional employees in
the municipal civil service of New York and other cities. Organ
izing activities have extended to the unemployed as a protective
measure, as well as to those in employment. As at present consti
tuted, the organization covers architects and engineers employed in
municipal and Federal civil service and on work-relief and hous
ing projects, chiefly; but its jurisdiction extends also to private
industry. A national convention of the various component groups
was held in Chicago in December 1934, at which a national pro
gram and constitution were adopted.
Objects.—The object of the federation shall be to unite all employee and
student technicians for the purpose of obtaining and preserving employment
with adequate wages and proper hours and working conditions.
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States, Territories, and possessions.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
T rade ju r isd ic t io n .—“All professional activity in architecture, engineering,
science, and technology.’*
G overnm ent .—1. National executive council, composed of national officers
and one member from each chapter, “shall direct, supervise, and coordinate
the work of the chapter.” National officers elected annually by convention
vote, are president, two vice presidents, a secretary, and a treasurer (the last
two to be from same chapter).
2. Convention: Held annually; is the legislative body and determines the
“general policies and laws of the organization.” Initiative and referendum.
Constitutional amendments by convention vote or referendum.
3. Chapters: Largely autonomous, adopt their own bylaws and rules but
dues are fixed by national constitution.
4. Local executive committees composed of representatives of different sec
tions in chapters organized on sectional basis.
Q u a lific a tio n s for m e m b e r sh ip .—Membership shall be open to all men
and women who are qualified by training or experience in any professional
capacity, in architecture, engineering, or any other scientific or technical
work, except employers of any such persons, or executives with authority to
employ or discharge, to decide on advancement, or demotion, or to fix com
pensation, in either private or public employment.
A ppr e n tic e sh ip regulations .—None.
M ethod of negotiating agreem ents .—Negotiated locally with individual
employers, subject to acceptance by majority vote of membership covered
by the agreement.
B e n e fit s .—None.
O ffic ia l organ .—The Bulletin. (Local chapters also publish official organs).
H eadquarters .—26 East Seventeenth Street, New York City.
O rganization .—The basic unit of organization is the chapter, and there
may be only one chapter in any one city or other geographic area. Where
chapter membership exceeds 200, professional sections may be created (archi
tects’ section, chemists’ section, etc.). Local groups cover offices and plants.
Chapters: California, 1; District of Columbia, 1; Illinois, 1; Maine, 1;
Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 1; Michigan, 1; New Jersey, 2; New York, 3;
Ohio, 2; Pennsylvania 2. Total, 16.
M e m ber sh ip reported .—6,000.
Draftsmen’s Unions, International Federation of Technical
Engineers’, Architects’, and
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1918, at Washington, D. C.
O bjects .—To provide an organization for technical engineers, architects,
draftsmen, and other engineering employees with the object of advancing
their economic status.
T erritorial ju r isd ic tio n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r isd ic tio n .—Technical engineers (all classes), architects, draftsmen,
and related engineering positions.
G overnm ent .—1. The management of the affairs of this federation shall come
under the following authorities in the order shown: First, annual convention;
second, executive council; third, the president.
2. Local unions: Subordinate to and governed by rules of the international.
PROFESSIONAL, SEMIPROFESSIONAL, AND RECREATIONAL
293
3. Convention: Meets annually, for executive, legislative, and judicial pur
poses; elects officers.
Q u alificatio ns for m e m b e r sh ip .—Technical engineers, architects, draftsmen,
etc., in an “employee” capacity.
A ppr en tic esh ip regulations .—None.
M ethod of negotiating agreem ents .— No definite method.
B e n e fit s .—None.
O fficial organ .—None.
H eadquarters .—American Federation of Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization .—Local unions: California, 6; District of Columbia, 1;
Georgia, 1; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 2; Nebraska, 1; New Hampshire, 1;
New York, 1; North Dakota, 1; Ohio, 2; Pennsylvania, 1; Rhode Island, 1;
South Carolina, 1; Virginia, 1; Washington, 2; Wisconsin, 1. Total, 24.
M em ber sh ip reported .— 3,800.
Musicians, American Federation of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Indianapolis, Ind., October 19, 1896. The present
organization of musicians was founded at a convention held in
Indianapolis on October 19, 1896, at which 27 local organizations
were represented. A musician’s organization, the National League
of Musicians of America, existed at the time, but it was a profes
sional society wholly. Many branches of the league sent representa
tives to take part in the organization of the trade-union, and were
expelled from the league in consequence. In the resulting struggle
between the two organizations for the control of professional musi
cians, the old league was gradually absorbed by the new federation.
O bjects .—“The object of the American Federation of Musicians shall be to
unite all local unions of musicians, the individual musicians who form such
local unions, and conditional members of the American Federation of Musi
cians into one grand organization for the purpose of the general protection and
advancement of their interests, and for the purpose of enforcing good faith
and fair dealing, as well as consistency with union principles, in all cases in
volving or of interest to members and local unions of the federation.”
T erritorial ju r isd ic tio n .—United States and possessions and Canada.
T rade ju risdictio n .—Professional players of musical instruments.
G overnment .—1. Executive council, composed of president, vice president,
secretary, treasurer, and five elected members, one of whom shall be a Canadian,
“shall have general supervision of all matters pertaining to the federation.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate; autonomy limited.
3. Convention: Held annually; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Q ualificatio ns for m em ber sh ip .— “Performers on musical instruments of
any kind who render musical services for pay are classed as professional musi
cians and are eligible to membership.” Male and female membership.
A ppr en tic esh ip regulations .—None.
M ethods of negotiating agreem ents .—All agreements and contracts, whether
for individuals or for organizations, must be made on official blanks of the
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
American Federation of Musicians. Detailed price scales, hours, working con
ditions, etc., are fixed by the general laws of the organization.
B e n e f it s .—Strike.
O fficial organ .—The International Musician.
H eadquarters .—39 Division Street, Newark, N. J.
O rganization .—Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 4; Arizona, 4;
Arkansas, 3; California, 30; Colorado, 7; Connecticut, 19; Delaware, 1; Dis
trict of Columbia, 2; Florida, 9; Georgia, 1; Idaho, 6; Illinois, 70; Indiana, 24;
Iowa, 23; Kansas, 13; Kentucky, 5; Louisiana, 3; Maine, 4; Maryland, 4; Mas
sachusetts, 31; Michigan, 21; Minnesota, 10; Mississippi, 3; Missouri, 12; Mon
tana, 12; Nebraska, 8; Nevada, 4; New Hampshire, 4; New Jersey, 15; New
Mexico, 1; New York, 58; North Carolina, 4; North Dakota, 4; Ohio, 49; Okla
homa, 4; Oregon, 5; Pennsylvania, 67; Rhode Island, 4; South Carolina, 2;
South Dakota, 4; Tennessee, 4; Texas, 14; Utah, 3; Vermont, 3; Virginia, 4;
Washington, 20; West Virginia, 9; Wisconsin, 25; Wyoming, 6; Hawaii, 1.
Canada—Alberta, 3; British Columbia, 2; Manitoba, 1; New Brunswick, 1;
Ontario, 19; Quebec, 2; Saskatchewan, 4. Total, 674 (of which 30 are negro
organizations).
M e m ber sh ip reported .—110,000.
Newspaper Guild, American
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Washington, D. C., December 15, 1933. The or
ganization of newswriters and other workers in the editorial depart
ments of newspapers on an economic basis grew out of the adoption
of the N. E. A. code for the publishing industry. Under this code
the editorial staff was classed as professional and excluded from the
application of wages and hours provisions. A conference of newswriters and editorial staff employees was held in Washington shortly
after the code was signed, attended by 27 men representing organized
groups from 4 cities and holding proxies from newspaper men and
women in 30 other cities. This group decided to adopt the tradeunion method and policy of organization.
During its first 2 years the guild secured signed agreements with
several daily papers covering hours, salaries, and working conditions
in the editorial department and conducted a successful strike against
the discriminatory discharge of union members on a large city daily.
During the strike, the strikers, assisted by the national organization,
issued a daily news-sheet in competition with the paper against
which they were striking.
O bjects .—“To advance the economic well-being of its members; to guarantee
greater economic security for its employed and unemployed; to guarantee, as
far as it is able, constant honesty in the dissemination of public intelligence;
to raise the standard of journalism and ethics of the industry; to foster
friendly cooperation with all other workers; and to promote industrial union
ism in the newspaper industry.”
T erritorial ju r isd ic tio n .—United States.
PROFESSIONAL, SEMIPROFESSIONAL, AND RECREATIONAL 295
T rade ju r isd ic tio n .—The editorial department of news publications (includ
ing press associations, editorial syndicates, wire services, and news photograph
agencies, and bureau offices of such publications).
G overnm ent .—1. National executive board has general supervision over all
the affairs of the organization. It consists of president, executive secretary,
treasurer, and five vice presidents, one of whom represents wire-service
employees. (Geographical representation on national executive board provided
by requiring that one member be elected from each of six Federal Reserve
districts). Executive secretary is a salaried officer, but has no vote on the
executive board.
2. National council: Composed of the presidents of all guilds.
3. Local guilds: Subordinate; autonomy limited by national constitution but
they “have power to enact and enforce local bylaws and a constitution” not
in conflict with the national constitution and policies. A local guild is com
posed of shop units (one or more): A shop unit, or branch, is the organization
in each local newspaper or press-association office. “All members of units,
guilds, and districts shall be considered to be and shall be members of the
American Newspaper Guild.”
4. Convention (annual) and referendum. Election of officers and constitu
tional amendments by convention vote.
Q ualificatio ns for m e m b e r sh ip .—Any man or woman actually employed
within the defined jurisdiction is eligible to membership. (Those unemployed
at time of application are eligible under terms set by the constitution.)
A ppr en tic esh ip regulations .—None.
M ethod of negotiating agreem ents .—Wire-service committee, consisting of
the vice president for wire service as chairman and two other members of the
national executive board, is medium for negotiating national agreement with
press associations.
Agreements for editorial staffs to be negotiated locally, on the basis of a
standard form furnished by the national organization, by executive officer of
local guild, subject to ratification by local membership. National executive
board may disapprove agreements negotiated locally if they do not conform to
national standards. (Personal contracts not prohibited, but will not be given
support of the national body, and no member may negotiate an individual
contract “for a wage or other standard of employment inferior to that secured
by the guild in any collective action for his unit”)
B e n e fit s .—Strike.
O ffic ia l organ .—The Guild Reporter (semimonthly).
H eadquarters .—49 West Forty-fifth Street, New York City.
O rganization .— (Organization of district councils composed of two or more
guilds in a geographic district or community authorized by 1935 convention.)
Local guilds: California, 1; Connecticut, 2; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia,
1; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 1; Iowa, 1; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts,
4; Michigan, 4; Minnesota, 3; Missouri, 2; Nebraska, 1; New Jersey, 3; New
York, 5; North Carolina, 3; Ohio, 8; Oklahoma, 2; Pennsylvania, 9; South
Carolina, 1; Texas, 2; Utah, 1; Virginia, 3; Washington, 1; Wisconsin, 2.
Total, 64.
M em b e r sh ip reported .—6,000.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Stage Employees and Moving-Picture Machine Operators of
the United States and Canada, International Alliance of
Theatrical
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized July 17, 1893. The first organization among stage em
ployees began in New York City in the early seventies, with the
formation of fraternal and relief societies. Later, with the rise of
the Knights of Labor, the stage hands in several of the large cities
became identified with that movement.
The locals of stage hands, however, followed the swing of the
craft-unionists from the Knights of Labor to the American Federa
tion of Labor, and affiliated with the latter organization as local
trade-unions.
In 1893 the 11 local unions then existing met in conference in New
York City and formed the National Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees. Five years later, with the chartering of a local in
Montreal, Canada, the alliance became international in character
and changed its name to International Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees.
Changes in the theatrical business have determined the changes
in scope of the organization. The alliance was founded at a time
when the field was largely limited to legitimate dramatic produc
tions in the very large cities. Stock-company production in smaller
centers followed, then vaudeville and road shows. Still later, with
the extension of jurisdiction to motion-picture-machine operators,
the field became practically universal.
Jurisdiction over the motion-picture-machine operators was claimed
by both the stage employees and electrical workers, and both these
organizations took projectionists into membership. The theatrical
stage employees’ organization was the more active and more successful
in the new field, but for years the International Brotherhood of Elec
trical Workers contested their right to the motion-picture men. A
decision of the 1914 convention of the American Federation of Labor
granted the jurisdiction unequivocally to the stage employees. Fol
lowing this decision the title of the alliance was expanded to Inter
national Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Pic
ture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada.
Objects .—“To improve our condition, to insure the maintenance of a fair
rate of wages for services competently rendered, to assure the employment
of our members in these industries, and that equity may be maintained.”
T erritorial ju r isd ic tio n .—United States and Canada.
T rade J urisdictio n .—The mechanical department of the theatrical stage
(covering stage carpenters, property men, stage electricians, and all other stage
employees) and the projection of moving pictures.
PROFESSIONAL, SEMIPROFESSIONAL, AND RECREATIONAL
297
G overnment .—1. General executive board, composed of president, seven vice
presidents (one of whom shall be a resident and citizen of Canada), and general
secretary-treasurer, “shall have entire supervision and authority over the
alliance except during such time as the alliance is in convention assembled.”
2. Local unions: “Home rule is granted to all affiliated locals of this alliance,
and this shall be construed as authority conferred upon each local to exercise
full control over its own affairs: Provided, however, That in the conduct of such
business no action shall be taken that will conflict with any portion of the
constitution and bylaws of the alliance.”
3. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention. Referendum only as to calling
special or district conventions.
Q u alificatio ns for m em ber sh ip .—Eighteen months’ residence in the juris
diction; passing a satisfactory examination. Application must be passed upon
by general secretary-treasurer. An applicant for membership “must have been
a member in good standing of the union of whatever other craft he has followed
previous to the date of his application, provided there has been a local of his
craft in his city.”
A ppr en tic esh ip regulations .—Controlled locally.
M ethod of negotiating agreem ents .—“All affiliated locals shall enter into
written contracts with local managers and other employers covering conditions
of employment of their members.” (Constitutional mandate.)
Agreements are negotiated by local unions, generally with individual theaters.
Terms vary widely with varying conditions in different localities. Traveling
members have individual contracts which are uniform throughout the
membership.
B e n e f it s .—Strike; and prosecution of claims against employers for mem
bers by claim department of the alliance.
O fficial organ .—General Bulletin (not a journal).
H eadquarters .—Earle Building, Thirteenth and E Streets NW., Washing
ton, D. C.
O rganization .—District divisions:
No. 1. Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
No. 2. California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah.
No. 3. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Con
necticut.
No. 4. Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Dis
trict of Columbia.
No. 5. Wyoming and Colorado.
No. 6. Texas.
No. 7. Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Mis
sissippi, and Louisiana.
No. 8. Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.
No. 9. Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, North and South Da
kota, Nebraska, and Kansas.
No. 10. New York.
No. 11. Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward’s Island, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick.
No. 12. Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
No. 14. New Jersey.
Local unions (stage hands and moving-picture-machine operators are or
ganized into separate locals except in small towns). United States—Alabama,
298
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
10; Arizona, 3; Arkansas, 4; California, 39; Colorado, 9; Connecticut, 18;
Delaware, 2; District of Columbia, 2; Florida, 13; Georgia, 6; Idaho, 4;
Illinois, 33; Indiana, 28; Iowa, 20; Kansas, 16; Kentucky, 4; Louisiana, 8;
Maine, 4; Maryland, 5; Massachusetts, 31; Michigan, 18; Minnesota, 11; Mis
sissippi, 6; Missouri, 16; Montana, 6; Nebraska, 6; Nevada, 1; New Hampshire,
2; New Jersey, 22; New Mexico, 1; New York, 54; North Carolina, 9; North
Dakota, 4; Ohio, 46; Oklahoma, 15; Oregon, 6; Pennsylvania, 54; Rhode
Island, 6; South Carolina, 4; South Dakota, 4; Tennessee, 11; Texas, 37;
Utah, 5; Virginia, 10; Washington, 16; West Virginia, 8; Wisconsin, 19;
Wyoming, 2. Canada—Alberta, 4; British Columbia, 3; Manitoba, 2; New
Brunswick, 1; Ontario, 18; Quebec, 4; Saskatchewan, 4; Nova Scotia, 1.
Total, 696.
M em ber sh ip reported .—24,000.
Teachers, American Federation of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., April 15,1916. The national organiza
tion when founded was composed of eight groups of teachers in
various cities who had been previously organized as directly affili
ated American Federation of Labor local unions. At the instigation
of the Chicago locals a conference was held and federation effected.
Later the new organization was chartered by the American Federa
tion of Labor as an affiliated national union.
O bjec ts .—“The objects of this organization shall be: To bring associations
of teachers into relations of mutual assistance and cooperation; to obtain
for them all the rights to which they are entitled; to raise the standard of
the teaching profession by securing the conditions necessary to the best pro
fessional services; to promote such a democratization of the schools as will
enable them better to equip their pupils to take their places in the industrial,
social, and political life of the community.”
T erritorial ju r isd ic tio n .—United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central
America.
T rade ju r isd ic tio n .—The teaching staffs of public schools and private schools
not conducted primarily for religious purposes or for private gain.
G overnm ent .—1. Executive council, composed of president, secretary-treas
urer, and 15 vice presidents, shall carry out the instructions of the national
conventions and “shall have the power to deal with all the affairs of the
federation between conventions.”
2. Local unions: Autonomy not defined.
3. Convention: Meets annually; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments either by convention or referendum vote.
Q u a lific a tio n s for m e m b e r sh ip .—Any school teacher who has classroom work
and who has no disciplinary or rating power over other teachers is eligible to
membership. Principals and supervisors may be admitted to membership by
vote of local organization. Male and female membership.
A ppr en tic esh ip regulations .—None.
M ethod of negotiating agreem ents .—None. Salaries, regulations, working
conditions, etc., controlled by municipal government through the boards of
education.
B e n e f it s .—None.
PROFESSIONAL, SEMIPROFESSIONAL, AND RECREATIONAL 299
O fficial organ .—The
American Teacher.
—506 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago, 111.
O rganization .—Locals may include all members in a city or may be divided
on basis of high-school and grade-school teachers, or male teachers and female
teachers: Alabama, 1; Arkansas, 37; California, 9; Colorado, 1; Connecticut, 2;
District of Columbia, 2; Florida, 2; Georgia, 5; Idaho, 2; Illinois, 17; Indiana,
2; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 5; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 4; Michigan, 5;
Minnesota, 6; Montana, 1; New York, 9; North Carolina, 3; North Dakota, 10;
Ohio, 14; Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 7; South Dakota, 2; Tennes
see, 3; Texas, 1; Utah, 9; Washington, 2; West Virginia, 14; Wisconsin, 20;
Wyoming, 4; Canal Zone, 2. Total, 206.
M e m ber sh ip reported .—20,000.
H
eadquar ters.
Section F. Government Service
As employment in the public service expands in volume, the num
ber of organizations of public servants increases. Dual unionism,
however, is an outstanding characteristic of organizations in this
field, particularly in Federal employment, so that among the 18
unions in this group are a number of rival unions and overlapping
jurisdictions.
FEDERAL, STATE, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES
Employees of the executive departments and independent offices of
the Federal Government, and of the District of Columbia Govern
ment, have two rival organizations, the younger of which, the
American Federation of Government Employees, seceded from the
National Federation of Federal Employees because of the withdrawal
of that organization from the American Federation of Labor.
Architects and draftsmen employed by the Federal Government,
particularly on Public Works Administration projects, hold member
ship in the Washington chapter of the Federation of Architects,
Engineers, Chemists, and Technicians (p. 291), an independent or
ganization the membership of which is not confined to public-service
employees.
State administrative employees have organized directly affiliated
American Federation of Labor local unions in Colorado, Ohio, and
Wisconsin. State hospital employees, public-health nurses, and
sanitary inspectors are organized into directly affiliated local unions
in some places, notably Colorado, Idaho, and Illinois. Other directlj affiliated local unions cover State highway employees in North
Carolina, and municipal employees and librarians in several cities.
Organization is increasing among public servants in local govern
ments to a point where a national movement is under way. An inde
pendent organization known as the Federation of State, City, and
Town Employees covers public-service employees in Massachusetts.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Fire Fighters, International Association of.
Government Employees, American Federation of.
Master Mechanics and Foremen of Navy Yards and Naval Stations,
National Association of.
Teachers, American Federation of. (Classified under Professional, etc.)
Independent organizations:
Federal Employees, National Federation of.
300
FEDERAL, STATE, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES
301
Federal Employees, National Federation of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized September 24, 1917. An organization of departmental
civil-service employees was formed in Washington, D. C., in March
1916 at a mass meeting held to protest against the “Borland rider”,
an amendment to a pending appropriation bill which would have
increased working hours in the Government service. The organiza
tion established at this meeting was chartered by the American Fed
eration of Labor as a directly affiliated local union. Organization
of Government clerks spread rapidly, and in 1917 a national organi
zation composed of about 50 directly affiliated local unions was char
tered as the National Federation of Federal Employees.
Disagreement with American Federation of Labor policies in a
matter involving Government workers resulted in the withdrawal
of the National Federation of Federal Employees from the Federa
tion in 1932, following a referendum vote on the issue. Thereafter
the American Federation of Labor began organizing Government
clerks in order to retain jurisdiction, and later formed and chartered
as an affiliated national organization the American Federation of
Government Employees.
Objects.—“The objects of this federation shall be to advance the social and
economic welfare and education of the employees of the United States and to
aid in the perfection of systems that will make for greater efficiency in the
various services of the United States.
“The methods for attaining these objects shall be by petition to Congress, by
creating and fostering public sentiment favorable to proposed reforms, by co
operation with Government officials and employees, by legislation, and other
lawful means: Provided, That under no circumstances shall this federation
engage in or support strikes against the United States Government.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and insular possessions, and wher
ever employees of the Federal Government may be stationed.
T rade jurisdiction.—The civil branch of the United States Government, ex
clusive of the Postal Service; Territorial and insular governments; and the
District of Columbia government.
Government.—1. Executive council: Composed of president, secretary-treas
urer, and nine vice presidents. “Subject to the convention, the executive council
shall be the governing body of, and direct the policies of this federation.”
2. Local unions: “Each local union may adopt a constitution and bylaws,
which shall become effective only upon approval of the executive council of the
federation.”
3. Convention: Meets biennially; elects general officers, enacts legislation,
and determines policies. (Convened annually from 1917 to 1923, when change
was made to biennial.) Initiative, referendum, and recall. Constitutional
amendments by convention or initiative and referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—“Any person employed in the civil branch
of the United States Government, the District of Columbia, or the insular
possessions, except those in the Postal Service (not including those in the execu
tive department), is eligible to membership in this federation: Provided, That
302
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
local unions shall have the right to allow members of their organizations who
have separated themselves from the service to retain membership: Provided
further, That employees who are members of unaffiliated service organizations
shall be eligible to membership in this federation only if a requisite of member
ship in such service organization is membership in this federation.’’ Membership
of both sexes.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Salaries, hours, working conditions,
etc., determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits.—None nationally. Local unions have group insurance, sick and
death benefits, hospital guilds, credit unions, and cooperative buying services.
Official organ.—The Federal Employee.
H eadquarters.—Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—State associations (affiliation optional on part of locals) :
District of Columbia, Maryland, Montana, Oklahoma, Washington, Arizona,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico,
California, and Minnesota.
Local unions: United States.—Alabama, 8; Arizona, 27; Arkansas, 2;
California, 19; Colorado, 12; Connecticut, 4; Delaware, 1; District of Columbia,
15; Florida, 7; Georgia, 9; Idaho, 5; Illinois, 17; Indiana, 7; Iowa, 11; Kansas,
5; Kentucky, 7; Louisiana, 4; Maine, 5; Maryland, 20; Massachusetts, 15;
Michigan, 9; Minnesota, 11; Mississippi, 7; Missouri, 9; Montana, 16; Nebraska,
8; Nevada, 5; New Hampshire, 2; New Jersey, 13; New Mexico, 17; New York,
25; North Carolina, 8; North Dakota, 6; Ohio, 14; Oklahoma, 22; Oregon, 10;
Pennsylvania, 14; Rhode Island, 2; South Carolina, 3; South Dakota, 14;
Tennessee, 8; Texas, 19; Utah, 4; Vermont, 2; Virginia, 21; Washington, 17;
West Virginia, 9; Wisconsin, 7; Wyoming, 9; Alaska, 4; Canal Zone, 1; Guam,
1; Hawaii, 1; Puerto Rico, 1; Virgin Islands, 1. Canada, 2. Cuba, 1. France
(Paris), 1. Philippine Islands, 3. Total, 527.
M
.—64,000.
e m b e r s h ip
reported
Fire Fighters, International Association of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized February 28, 1918. The first organization of fire fight
ers was formed in Washington, D. C., in 1901, and chartered as a
directly affiliated union of the American Federation of Labor. Fire
men of other cities organized from time to time in the same manner,
and in 1918 delegates from the various unrelated American Federa
tion of Labor unions met in Washington and established the Inter
national Association of Fire Fighters.
Objects.—“The objects of this association shall be to organize all fire fighters;
to place its members on a higher plane of skill and efficiency; to encourage the
formation of local unions; to encourage the formation of sick and death benefit
funds in order that we may properly care for our sick and bury our dead; to
encourage the establishment of schools of instruction for imparting knowledge
of modern and improved methods of fire fighting and prevention; the cultivation
of friendship and fellowship among its members.”
T erritorial jurisdiction .—North American Continent.
T rade jurisdiction.—“All persons engaged in fire fighting, prevention, oper
ators of fire-fighting auxiliary apparatus who are permanent and paid em-
FEDERAL, STATE, AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES
303
ployees, including the following: Chief engineer, fire marshal (not including
shipyards), deputy chiefs, assistant chiefs, district chiefs, battalion chiefs,
captains, lieutenants, privates, hose men, plugmen, ladder men, water-tower
men, engineers and assistant engineers, stokers of fire engines, steam, electric,
or gas and oil motive power; chauffeurs, drivers, and assistants of fire engines,
hose wagons, hose carriages, chief’s automobile or carriage, fuel wagons, repair
and supply wagons, horse or motor driven; fire-alarm operators and assistants,
and linemen who operate fire-alarm apparatus, both telegraph and telephone;
fire inspection and prevention force; all repairmen of fire apparatus and auxili
aries who are subject to fire duty; salvage corps, squadmen, pilots, marine
engineers, and marine firemen who are subject to fire fighting and prevention.”
Government.—1. Executive committee, composed of president, secretarytreasurer, and 13 vice presidents, “shall, in the interval between conventions,
have full and complete charge of all business of the association not otherwise
provided for.”
2. Local unions: Subordinate unions “shall have the right to make their own
constitution and bylaws, provided that such constitution and bylaws do not
conflict with those of the parent body.”
3. Convention: Biennial; elects general officers and enacts legislation. Initia
tive, referendum, and recall.
Qualifications for membership.—Any regular paid worker in the municipal
fire service is eligible to membership.
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Regulated by municipal law.
B enefits.—Death (local only).
Official organ.—The International Fire Fighter.
H eadquarters.—American Federation of Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—State associations: Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, British Columbia Provincial
Association, Alberta and Saskatchewan Provincial Association.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 5; Arkansas, 5; California, 5; Colo
rado, 1; Georgia, 2; Idaho, 2; Illinois, 15; Indiana, 15; Iowa, 8; Kansas, 5;
Kentucky, 5; Massachusetts, 5; Michigan, 18; Minnesota, 7; Mississippi, 4;
Missouri, 6; Montana, 3; Nebraska, 1; New Jersey, 9; New York, 14; North
Dakota, 1; Ohio, 38; Oklahoma, 6; Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 12; South Caro
lina, 2; Tennessee, 1; Texas, 5; Virginia, 1; Washington, 7; West Virginia, 7;
Wisconsin, 19; Wyoming, 4; Canal Zone, 1. Canada—Alberta, 4; British Colum
bia, 5; Nova Scotia, 1; Ontario, 8; Saskatchewan, 2. Total, 261.
Membership reported.—35,000.
G overnm ent Em ployees, A m erican Federation of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Washington, D. C., in August 1932. A substantial
number of Government employees who were members of the National
Federation of Federal Employees were opposed to withdrawal from
the American Federation of Labor when, in 1932, that question was
submitted to a referendum vote of the membership. The proposal to
withdraw carried by popular vote, and the National Federation of
Federal Employees returned its charter. The opposition faction,
centering chiefly in the Washington area, maintained its policy of
adherence to the American Federation of Labor, however, by leaving
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
the Federal employees5organization and organizing into local groups
chartered directly by the American Federation of Labor. With the
help of the federation an organizing campaign was undertaken
which resulted within a few months in bringing enough locals to
gether to form a national union. In 1935 the organization extended
its jurisdiction to cover employees of State, county, and municipal
governments.
O b je c t s .—“The object of this Federation shall be to promote the general
welfare of the civil employees of the Federal Government and District of
Columbia.
“The Federation shall strive to promote efficiency in the Government service,
and shall advance plans of improvement to be secured by legislative enactment
through cooperation with Government officials and by other lawful means.
“We oppose and will not support strikes against the United States Govern
ment, picketing, or other measures having the effect of embarrassing it.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—Wherever the executive branch of the United
States Government functions.
T rade jurisdiction.—The executive branch of the United States Government
and of State, county, and municipal governments, including the District of
Columbia.
Government.—1. Executive council consisting of president, 15 vice presidents
representing civil-service districts, secretary, and treasurer, is the governing
body. President is chief administrative officer. Vice presidents are organizers
and serve as advisors to the president in matters of policy and administrative
procedure.
2. Local unions, called “lodges” : Autonomy not stated in constitution.
Lodges function under local constitutions subject to approval of national
officers.
3. Convention: Held annually; legislates for the organization. Officers
elected biennially by convention. Initiative, referendum, and recall.
Qualifications for membership.—All civil employees in the actual service of
any department, bureau, or independent administrative establishment in the
departmental or field service of the United States or District of Columbia
Government is eligible to membership. Membership may be retained after
retirement from service.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—None. Salaries, hours, and working
conditions determined by Federal legislation.
B e n e f it s .—None. (Some lodges in the District of Columbia have formed a
sick-benefit association.)
Official organ.—The Government Standard.
H eadquarters.—702 Ouray Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—Local lodges only: United States —Alabama, 4; Arkansas, 1;
California, 5; Connecticut, 1; District of Columbia, 60; Florida, 2; Georgia, 1;
Illinois, 3; Indiana, 1; Kansas, 4; Maryland, 8; Massachusetts, 3; Michigan, 4;
Minnesota, 1; Missouri, 5; New Hampshire, 1; New Jersey, 1; New York, 7;
Ohio, 3; Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 1; Pennsylvania, 10; Rhode Island, 1; South
Carolina, 3; South Dakota, 1; Texas, 3; Tennessee, 5; Utah, 1; Vermont, 1;
Virginia, 7; Wisconsin, 2; Washington, 5; Alaska, 1; Canal Zone, 3. British
Columbia —1. Cuba—1. Total, 162.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—18,024.
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
305
M aster M echanics and Forem en of N avy Yards and N aval
Stations, N ational A ssociation of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Boston, Mass., in 1905; affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor in 1933.
Objects.—“The object of this association is to unite the master mechanics
and foremen of the United States navy yards and naval stations to promote
their general welfare, professionally, intellectually, and socially, and to cul
tivate the highest standard of professional ethics among them.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.— United States, Territories, and insular possessions.
T rade jurisdiction.—The supervisory force of Government navy yards and
naval stations.
Government.—1. Executive committee, consisting of president, two vice
presidents, secretary, treasurer, and master at arms.
2. Convention: Held annually; legislates for general and local organizations
and elects general officers.
3. Local unions: Subordinate; constitution imposed by national association.
Qualifications for membership.—Any person who has been appointed by
the Secretary of the Navy to a supervisory position in a navy yard or naval
station after passing an examination, or by promotion authorized by the
Secretary of the Navy, is eligible to membership.
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Negotiated by national officers through
Navy Wage Board.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—5336 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. (Variable.)
Organization.—One local association in each of the following navy yards:
Portsmouth, N. H .; Boston, Mass.; Newport, R. I.; New York, N. Y.; Phila
delphia, Pa.; Washington, D. C.; Norfolk, Va.; Charleston, S. C.; Mare Island,
Calif.; Bremerton, Wash.; Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii; and Cavite,
P. I.
Membership reported.—250.
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
Employees of the United States Postal Service are organized into
14 national organizations. Three are confined to the carrier service.
Regular city letter carriers have only one organization—the National
Association of Letter Carriers, affiliated with the American Federa
tion of Labor. Rural-delivery men are divided between two rival
organizations, the larger of which, the National Rural Letter Car
riers’ Association, is independent, while the smaller, the National
Federation of Rural Letter Carriers, is affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor. In addition, some substitute carriers hold
membership in the new, independent group, the National Associa
tion of Substitute Post Office Employees, which includes substitute
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306
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
clerks as well as carriers, while at the same time substitute carriers
are eligible to membership in the organizations of the regular
carriers.
Two of the three organizations in the Railway Mail Service are
divided by race, as Negroes, who are ineligible to membership in
the affiliated Railway Mail Association, are organized in the inde
pendent National Alliance of Postal Employees. The third or
ganization covers supervisory officials of the Railway Mail Service
and is independent.
In the clerical branch of the Postal Service (exclusive of the de
partmental service), supervisors are in a separate, independent or
ganization and postal clerks are divided between two rival organi
zations—the National Federation of Post Office Clerks, which is affili
ated with the American Federation of Labor, and the United Na
tional Association of Post Office Clerks, which is unaffiliated. Negro
postal clerks, both regular and substitute, are eligible to the National
Alliance, while substitute clerks, regardless of race, are eligible to
the newly formed organization, which deals with substitutes as a
class.
Two unrelated groups, both unaffiliated with the American Fed
eration of Labor, cover, respectively, the operation and maintenance
of post-office trucks, motorcycles, and other motor vehicles, and the
watchmen-messenger classification.
Employees of the Post Office Department as such—that is, the
executive branch of the Postal Service as distinguished from the
operating branch—are eligible to either or both of the departmental
organizations, the National Federation of Federal Employees and
the American Federation of Government Employees. Postmasters
have two organizations, the National Association of Postmasters,
representing Presidential appointees in the first- and second-class
post offices; and the National League of District Postmasters, cover
ing the third- and fourth-class offices.
The various unions in the Postal Service are:
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Letter Carriers, National Association of.
Letter Carriers, National Federation of RuraJL
Mail Association, Railway.
Post Office Clerks, National Federation of.
Independent organizations:
Letter Carriers* Association. National Rural
Mail Service, National Council of Officials of the Railway.
Postal Employees, National Alliance of.
Postal Supervisors, National Association of.
Postmasters of the United States, National Association of.
Postmasters of the United States, National League of District.
Post Office Clerks of the United States, United National Association of.
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
307
Post Office Employees, National Association of Substitute.
Post Office Laborers of the United States, National Association of.
Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees, National Federation of.
Letter Carriers, National Association of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Boston, Mass., in 1889; incorporated February 26,
1892. The first 3 years were characterized largely by dissensions
between groups inside and outside the Knights of Labor. Two pub
lications were maintained: The Postal Record, of the independents;
and the Postman, of the Knights of Labor. Gradual absorption and
the decline of the Knights resulted in a more unified organization,
and by 1900 the ranks of the National Association of Letter Carriers
included practically all those eligible to membership.
It remained an independent organization until 1917. In that year
the American Federation of Labor chartered the National Federa
tion of Postal Employees with jurisdiction over the entire Postal
Service. This union began to organize letter carriers, a move which
resulted in the affiliation of the letter carriers with the American
Federation of Labor. After the Letter Carriers’ Association had
been chartered as an affiliated union, the new organization sur
rendered to it the letter carriers who held membership in the Na
tional Federation of Postal Employees, and that organization re
verted to its original title of National Federation of Post Office
Clerks.
Objects.—“The object of this association shall be: First, to unite fraternally
aU letter carriers in the United States for their mutual benefit; second, to
obtain and secure our rights as Government employees, and to strive at all
times to promote the welfare of every member; third, to create and establish
the United States Letter Carriers’ Mutual Benefit Association; fourth, in con
junction with the Post Office Department to strive for the constant improvement
of the Postal Service; fifth, to create and establish the United States Letter
Carriers’ National Sick Benefit Association.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and possessions.
T rade jurisdiction.—The letter-carrier service of the United States Post
Office.
Government.—1. General officers: President, vice president, secretary, assist
ant secretary, treasurer, executive board of five members, one State vice presi
dent from each State. “The executive board, in conjunction with the presi
dent, shall have general supervision and control over the association during
recess.”
2. State associations: “The State association shall be composed of the
subordinate branches in any one State.”
3. District associations: “The district association shall be composed of the
subordinate branches in a given district.”
4. Subordinate branches-: “The subordinate branches shall be composed of
the members of the National Association of Letter Carriers working under the
supervision of one postmaster.”
308
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Constitution and bylaws for State associations, district associations, and
subordinate branches, respectively, are uniform and dictated by the national
association. Autonomy limited chiefly to size of standing committees, initia
tion fees, and dues (within specified limits).
5. Convention: Meets biennially; elects general officers and legislates for
organization, subject to referendum.
Qualifications fob membership.—Letter carriers and substitute letter car
riers in the United States Postal Service are eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Murh od of negotiating agreements.—None. Salaries and working condi
tions determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits .—Life, accident, and health insurance through mutual benefit so
cieties within the organization.
Official organ .—The Postal Record.
H eadquarters.—American Federation of Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—State associations: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Ver
mont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
Subordinate branches: Alabama, 35; Arizona, 10; Arkansas, 30; California,
133; Colorado, 27; Connecticut, 52; Delaware, 4; District of Columbia, 1;
Florida, 39; Georgia, 48; Idaho, 21; Illinois, 181; Indiana, 112; Iowa, 85; Kan
sas, 71; Kentucky, 39; Louisiana, 20; Maine, 36; Maryland, 24; Massa
chusetts, 89; Michigan, 92 ; Minnesota, 64; Mississippi, 23; Missouri, 72; Mon
tana, 13; Nebraska, 40; Nevada, 3; New Hampshire, 24; New Jersey, 109;
New Mexico, 11; New York, 215; North Carolina, 40; North Dakota, 11; Ohio,
145; Oklahoma, 55; Oregon, 28; Pennsylvania, 263; Rhode Island, 10; South
Carolina, 27; South Dakota, 18; Tennessee, 46; Texas, 98; Utah, 16; Vermont,
19; Virginia, 30; Washington, 38; West Virginia, 30; Wisconsin, 83; Wyoming,
7; Hawaii, 1; Puerto Rico, 4. Total, 2,691.
Membership reported.—54,145.
Letter Carriers, N ational Federation of Rural
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1920 after a secession movement from the National
Rural Letter Carriers’ Association.
Objects.—“To unite all rural letter carriers in the United States for their
fraternal, social, and economic advancement; second, in conjunction with the
Post Office Department, to strive for the constant improvement of the Postal
Service.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
T rade jurisdiction —The rural mail service of the United States post office.
Government.—1. Executive board, composed of president, vice president,
secretary-treasurer, and an executive committee of five elected members, has
executive management of the organization.
2. State branches: Autonomy not defined in constitution.
& Convention: Held annually; elects general officers and enacts legislation.
Constitutional amendments by convention or by referendum.
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
309
Qualifications fob membership.—Anyone employed as a regular or substi
tute rural letter carrier is eligible to membership. (Only white members are
eligible as delegates to conventions or to hold office.)
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
M ethod of negotiating agreements.—None. Wage and working conditions
controlled by Federal legislation.
B enefits .—Death (by assessm ent).
Official organ.—The Rural Delivery Journal.
H eadquarters.—Clayton, Ohio (variable).
Organization.—State branches only : Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colo
rado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mis
souri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington,
Wisconsin.
M embership
reported .— 1,200.
Letter Carriers’ A ssociation, N ational Rural
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago in 1903. The national body was chiefly a
federation of State organizations, which, in turn, were composed of
county units. Its rallying and organizing medium was the R. F. D.
News, a publication owned, edited, and controlled by an individual
who had no connection with the rural mail service; but this publica
tion became, nevertheless, the official organ of the National Rural
Letter Carriers’ Association. At its peak of organization the as
sociation contained 60 percent of the rural mail carriers. Following
the sale of the R. F. D. News, disaffection set in and grew to the
point of revolt in 1920, when the National Federation of Rural
Letter Carriers was formed and affiliated with the American Fed
eration of Labor. Both organizations continue to exist.
Objects .—“The purpose of this association shall be fraternal and for the
study and adoption of the best method of performing the duties of the rural
letter service; to seek improvement in the condition of aU its members; and
to cooperate at all times with the Department for the advancement of the
service.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
T rade jurisdiction.—Rural mail service of the United States post office.
G6vernment.—1. Executive committee of three members, in conjunction with
the president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer, has “general supervision
and control of the association.”
2. State associations, largely autonomous.
3. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers. Constitutional amend
ments by convention only.
Qualifications for membership.—All regular, substitute, or retired rural
letter carriers are eligible to membership, but each State association determines
qualifications for membership in its own State. (Only white members are
eligible to serve as delegates to conventions or to hold office.)
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
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HANDBOOK OP AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Method of negotiating agreements.—None. Wages and working conditions
determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits.—Group insurance.
Official organ.—National Rural Letter Carrier, 1516 H Street NW., Wash
ington, D. C.
H eadquarters.—Franklin, Tenn. (secretary). (Variable.)
Organization.—Unit of organization is, variously, the county, a group of
counties, a congressional district, or one general State association. All States
except Utah and Nevada are represented in the organization.
Membership reported.—35,519.
Mail Association, Railway
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized and incorporated December 12, 1898. The organization
of railway mail clerks began in 1897 as a mutual insurance concern,
prompted by the hazards of the work and the prohibitive insurance
rates charged by private insurance companies. In 1904 the scope was
widened to include other railway mail workers, and the organization
became the Railway Mail Association, an independent organization.
Division chiefs and the general superintendent of railway mails were
included in the membership. Taking advantage of an insurgent
movement within the body, central labor unions in 12 cities or
ganized the railway mail clerks into directly affiliated American Fed
eration of Labor locals, which, brought together in 1914, were char
tered by the American Federation of Labor as a national under the
name of the Brotherhood of Railway Mail Clerks. It was, however,
largely a dual membership organization composed of the militants
in the Railway Mail Association, who, nevertheless, retained their
Railway Mail Association membership because of its beneficial and
insurance features.
In 1917 the Brotherhood of Railway Mail Clerks and the National
Federation of Post Office Clerks merged into one organization, with
the declared purpose of organizing all postal employees into a unified
whole, in full cooperation with the organized labor movement under
the American Federation of Labor. This organization was chartered
by the American Federation of Labor as the National Federation of
Postal Employees.
This move threatened the dismemberment of the Railway Mail
Association. To avert that, the older organization applied for affilia
tion with the American Federation of Labor and was chartered in
1917. Thereafter the Brotherhood members merged with the Rail
way Mail Association, which has remained since 1917 the only organi
zation for white workers in the jurisdiction.
Objects.—“The object of this association is to conduct the business of a
fraternal beneficiary association for the sole benefit of its members and bene-
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
311
ficiaries and not for profit; to provide closer social relations among railway
postal clerks, to enable them to perfect any movement that may be for their
benefit as a class or for the benefit of the Railway Mail Service, and make pro
vision for the payment of benefits to its members and their beneficiaries in case
of death, temporary or permanent physical disability as a result of accidental
means.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and possessions.
T rade jurisdiction.—The United States Railway Mail Service.
Government.—1. Executive committee, composed of the president, vice presi
dent, industrial secretary, secretary of the association, and the division presi
dents, shall “direct the policies of the association as determined by the conven
tion”, and “shall have exclusive control of all matters not otherwise provided
for in the interim of national conventions.”
2. Division associations: “There may be a division association for each divi
sion of the Railway Mail Service.1 Division associations shall adopt a consti
tution, bylaws, rules, and regulations not inconsistent with the national con
stitution”, subject to approval by the executive committee.
3. Branch associations: “There shall be such branch associations in each
division as shall organize in accordance with the rules and regulations of
the national convention.” Constitution and bylaws subject to approval of
executive committee.
4. Convention: Held biennially; “shall be the supreme executive, legislative,
and judicial body of the order.” Enacts legislation and determines policies.
Constitutional amendments by convention vote.
5. Initiative and referendum. General officers elected by referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—Any regular male railway postal clerk
or certified male substitute railway postal clerk of the United States Railway
Mail Service, who is of the Caucasian race, is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating argeements.—None. Salaries, hours, and working
conditions determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits .—Fraternal organization within the union provides life and acci
dent insurance through assessment plan. Membership voluntary.
Official organ.—The Railway Post Office.
H eadquarters.—American Federation of Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—Divided into 15 districts to correspond with the 15 divisions
of the Railway Mail Service.
L ocal unions .—Alabama, 1; Arkansas, 2; California, 3; Colorado, 4; Con
necticut, 1; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 1; Georgia, 2; Idaho, 1; Illinois,
11; Iowa, 8; Indiana, 5; Kansas, 2; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 1; Maine, 2;
Maryland, 2; Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, 7; Minnesota, 5; Mississippi, 2;
Missouri, 4; Montana, 2; Nebraska, 3; New Jersey, 1; New Hampshire, 1;
New Mexico, 1; New York, 10; North Carolina, 3; North Dakota, 3; Ohio,
7; Oklahoma, 1; Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 4; Rhode Island, 1; South Carolina,
1; South Dakota, 2; Tennessee, 4; Texas, 9; Utah, 3; Vermont, 1; Virginia,
3; Washington, 2; West Virginia, 3; Wisconsin, 4; Wyoming, 2. Total, 141.
Membership reported.—19,494.
1 For these divisions see National Council of Officials of the Railway Mail Service,
p. 312.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-ONIONS
Mail Service, N ational Council of Officials of the R ailw ay
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City, January 18, 1922.
Objects.—“The object of this association is to provide an authoritative
body for the crystallization of ideas on service problems; the interchange of
opinions and experiences among ourselves; to increase our fitness in ad
ministrative acts; the furtherance of the welfare of the members of this
association; and the selection of duly accredited representatives to present
our views in our contacts with the department, with the public, and with
other postal organizations.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
T rade jurisdiction.—Supervisory grades of the Railway Mail Service.
Government.—1. Executive committee, composed of president, vice presi
dent, secretary-treasurer, and four additional elected members, “shall * * *
promote the welfare and progress of the council; carry out the orders and pur
poses of the council; authorize and supervise the expenditures of the council.”
2. Local divisions: Government not provided for in national constitution.
3. Convention: “Annual meeting” ; elects general officers. Constitutional
amendments by referendum.
Qualifications fob membership.—Superintendents, assistant superintend
ents, chief clerks, assistant chief clerks, and clerks in charge of sections in
superintendents’ offices of the United States Railway Mail Service are eligible
to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—None. Salary, hours, and working
conditions determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits .—N one.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—City Post Office, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—One chapter for each of the 15 divisions of the Railway Mail
Service: First division—New England States; headquarters, Boston. Second
division—N ew York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, the Eastern Shore
of Maryland, Accomac and Northampton Counties, Va., and Puerto Rico;
headquarters, New York City. Third division—Maryland (except Eastern
Shore), Virginia (except Accomac and Northampton Counties), West Virginia,
North Carolina, and the District of Columbia; headquarters, Washington.
Fourth division—South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee;
headquarters, Atlanta. Fifth division—Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky; head
quarters, Cincinnati. Sixth division—Illinois and Iowa; headquarters, Chi
cago. Seventh division—Kansas and Missouri; headquarters, S t Louis.
Eighth division—California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Hawaii; headquar
ters, San Francisco. Ninth division—the main line of the New York Central
Railroad between New York City and Chicago and the lower peninsula of
Michigan; headquarters, Cleveland. Tenth division—Wisconsin, northern penin
sula of Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota; headquarters,
St. Paul. Eleventh division—Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico;
headquarters, Fort Worth. Twelfth division—Louisiana and Mississippi;
headquarters, New Orleans. Thirteenth division—Oregon, Washington, Idaho,
Montana, and Alaska; headquarters, Seattle. Fourteenth division—Nebraska,
Colorado, and Wyoming; headquarters, Omaha. Fifteenth division—the main
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
313
lines of the Pennsylvania Railroad system from New York, via Pittsburgh, to
Chicago and St. Louis, Mo., and collateral lines.
Membership reported.—330.
Postal Employees, National Alliance of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized at Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1913, by Negro employees
of the Railway Mail Service who, because of their race, were not
eligible to membership in the Railway Mail Association. As first
organized, membership was confined to workers in the Railway Mail
Service, but in 1923 the scope was extended to include all colored
workers in the United States Postal Service.
Objects.—The object of this alliance is “to provide close relationship among
postal employees to enable them to perfect any movement that will be for
their benefit as a class and for the benefit of the Postal Service; also, to con
duct business for a fraternal beneficiary organization for the sole benefit of
its members and not for profit; and to provide relief for its members and their
beneficiaries and make provision for the payment of benefits to them in case
of death, temporary and permanent disability as a result of accident.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
T rade jurisdiction.—United States Post Office Department.
Government.—1. The executive committee is composed of the nine district
presidents and the general officers of the organization, namely, president, vice
president, secretary-treasurer, editor, and auditor. The president is the execu
tive head.
2. District alliances formed in geographical districts outlined in the con
stitution. Constitution, rules and bylaws subject to approval of the executive
committee.
3. Branch alliances formed in cities where there are a sufficient numbers of
workers to maintain a local organization. Constitution and bylaws subject to
approval of the executive committee.
4. Convention: Held biennially. Constitutional amendments by convention
only. General officers elected by referendum for 2-year terms.
Qualifications for membership.—“Any regular employee or certified substi
tute in the Post Office Department under civil-service rules” is eligible to mem
bership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—None. Wages, hours, and working
conditions determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits.—Death; disability and accident insurance (contributory).
Official organ.—The Postal Alliance.
H eadquarters.—1216 U Street NW., Washington, D. C.
Organization.—Local branches: Alabama, 2; Arkansas, 2; California, 3;
District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 2; Georgia, 10; Illinois, 3; Indiana, 1; Kansas,
1; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 2; Maryland, 2; Michigan, 1; Minnesota, 1; Missis
sippi, 4; Missouri, 3; Nebraska, 1; New York, 6; North Carolina, 1; Ohio,
5; Pennsylvania, 2; South Carolina, 3; Tennessee, 5; Texas, 9; Virginia, 6.
Total, 77.
Membership
reported.— 4,800.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Postal Supervisors, National Association of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized September 8, 1908, in Louisville, Ky.
Objects.—“The objects of this association shall be to cooperate with the de
partment to improve the Postal Service and the welfare of its employees; to
raise the standard of efficiency; to establish uniform and equitable compensa
tion ; uniform, modern, economical business methods; and to widen the field of
opportunity for worthy employees who make the business of the Postal Service
their life work.”
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States and possessions.
T rade jurisdiction.—The supervisory grades of the United States Postal
Service.
Government.—1. Executive committee, composed of president, vice president,
and five members appointed by the president “shall carry out the orders of the
association and conduct all business during the interim of the conventions.”
2. State and local branches: “May enact bylaws not in conflict with this
constitution, subject to the approval of the national president.”
3. Convention: Held biennially; elects general officers and enacts legislation.
Constitutional amendments by convention.
Qualifications for membership.—“All classified postal employees above the
clerk-carrier grade and postmasters promoted to that position from the classi
fied service, shall be eligible for active membership.”
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—None. Salary, hours, and working con
ditions determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—The Postal Supervisor.
H eadquarters.—Louisville, Ky.
Organization.—Local associations organized on basis of city or State unit:
Alabama, 2; Arkansas, 1; California, 9; Colorado, 3; Connecticut, 3; District
of Columbia, 1; Florida, 5; Georgia, 2; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 3; Iowa, 1; Kan
sas, 1; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 2; Maine, 1; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 12;
Michigan, 5; Minnesota, 3; Missouri, 4; Nebraska, 2; New Hampshire, 1; New
Jersey, 4; New York, 14; North Carolina, 6; Ohio, 9; Oklahoma, 2; Oregon, 1;
Pennsylvania, 14; South Dakota, 1; Tennessee, 3; Texas, 9; Utah, 1; Virginia,
4 ; Washington, 3; Wisconsin, 2. Total, 138.
Membership reported.— 6,415.
Postmasters of the United States, National Association of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Object.—“The object of this association is to aid in the improvement of the
Postal Service of the United States, and for the mutual interchange of ideas
of members.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and possessions.
T rade jurisdiction.—All United States postmasters.
Government.—1. Executive committee, composed of president, 3 vice presi
dents, secretary, treasurer, and 10 additional members appointed by the presi
dent “shall have sole control of the affairs of the association and may make
its own rules for the proper conduct of the association.” The president is the
executive bead “fully empowered to direct the affairs of the association,”
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
315
2. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers. Constitutional amend
ments by convention.
Qualifications fob membership.—“All presidential postmasters shall be eli
gible to membership.”
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—None; salaries and conditions deter
mined by Federal legislation.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—The Postmaster’s Gazette.
H eadquarters.—Cleveland, Ohio. (Variable.)
Organization .— 13 regional divisions.
Membership reported.—5,000.
Postmasters of the United States, National League of District
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1894 as the National League of Postmasters of Fourth
Class Offices. This was expanded in 1912 to include the third-class
postmasters, and the name National League of Postmasters of the
United States was adopted. In 1921 that name was changed to Na
tional League of District Postmasters of the United States.
Objects.—“The objects of the league shall be to promote fraternal relation
ship among all postal workers; to improve the efficiency of the postmasters of
the third and fourth classes and their assistants; to cooperate with the Post
Office Department in maintaining the highest possible standards of postal serv
ice ; to create and maintain county service councils in conformity with the plan
indorsed by the Post Office Department; and to better the conditions of its
individual members and improve the conditions under which they work.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and insular possessions.
T rade jurisdiction.—Third- and fourth-class post offices.
G overnment .—1. Executive committee, composed of president, first vice presi
dent, and three elected executive committeemen, “shall have charge of and
transact business for the league during the time intervening between league
meetings.”
2. State leagues: “Each State branch shall adopt a constitution and bylaws
in conformity to the constitution of the national league”, and shall be governed
by an executive committee elected by the membership.
3. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers, enacts legislation.
Constitutional amendments by convention only.
Qualifications for membership.—Postmasters, ex-postmasters, assistant post
masters, and acting postmasters of third- and fourth-class post offices are eligible
to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
A greements.—None. Salaries, hours, working conditions, etc., determined by
Federal legislation.
B enefits.—None.
Official organ.—The Postmasters’ Advocate.
H eadquarters.—1110 F Street NW., Washington, D. C.
Organization.—State membership, subdivided into county units or congres
sional-district units in some States. There is a State branch in each of the
48 States, in Hawaii, and in Puerto Rico.
M em ber sh ip reported .—17,000.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Post Office Clerks, National Federation of
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago, 111., August 27,1906. In 1900 the organized
clerks at the Chicago post office were chartered as a local union in
direct affiliation with the American Federation of Labor. As a result
of a bolt from the United National Association of Post Office Clerks5
convention of 1905, involving the conservative policies of the officials,
and with the Chicago union as a nucleus, the National Federation of
Post Office Clerks was formed in 1906 and chartered by the Ameri
can Federation of Labor. This was the first step toward identifica
tion of the postal employees with the organized labor movement.
Objects.—“The objects of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks shall
be to unite the postal employees in one brotherhood for their social and economic
advancement, and to aid in the perfection of the Postal Service. * * * It
shall be the purpose of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks to advance
the interests of the postal employees and the Postal Service and to aid all
workers in distress. * * *
“We recognize the fact that legislation and not strike is the last resort in
the adjustment of our grievances, and therefore we oppose strikes in the Postal
Service.”
Territorial, jurisdiction.—United States and insular possessions.
T rade jurisdiction.—Clerks and special clerks in first- and second-class post
offices.
Government.—1. Executive committee, consisting of president, secretarytreasurer, and nine vice presidents, “shall supervise all of the federation’s
business not otherwise provided for.”
2. Local unions: “Local unions organized under and subordinate to the na
tional federation shall * * * have the right to make their own constitution
and bylaws, provided that such constitution and bylaws do not conflict with
those of the parent body.”
3. Convention: Meets biennially; elects officers and enacts legislation.
Amendments to constitution either by convention or by referendum vote. Ini
tiative, referendum, and recall.
Qualifications for membership.—“Any person in the classified service who
Is designated as a post-office clerk, and other postal employees not exercising
supervisorial authority or eligible to membership in any other organization
affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, shall be eligible to member
ship.” Male and female membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—None. Salaries, hours, working condi
tions, etc., determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits.—Sick and death. (Contributory insurance organizations within
the union.)
Official organ.—The Union Postal Clerk.
H eadquarters.—American Federation of Labor Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—State associations: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New
UNITED STATES POST OEEIOE
317
York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,
Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
(Affiliation of locals with State associations not mandatory.)
Local unions: Alabama, 4 5 ; Alaska, 1 ; Arizona, 1 8 ; Arkansas, 4 0 ; California,
179; Colorado, 36; Connecticut, 28; Delaware, 7; District of Columbia, 2;
Florida, 3 9 ; Georgia, 4 1 ; Hawaii, 2 ; Idaho, 2 6 ; Illinois, 10 0 ; Indiana, 56 ; Iowa,
48; Kansas, 50; Kentucky, 34; Louisiana, 33; Maine, 6; Maryland, 9; Massa
chusetts, 3 7 ; Michigan, 59 ; Minnesota, 5 5 ; Mississippi, 2 5 ; Missouri, 70 ; Mon
tana, 19; Nebraska, 30; Nevada, 5; New Hampshire, 14; New Jersey, 74; New
Mexico, 16; New York, 135; North Carolina, 70; North Dakota, 16; Ohio, 77;
Oklahoma, 49; Oregon, 35; Pennsylvania, 171; Puerto Rico, 8; Rhode Island, 8;
South Carolina, 35; South Dakota, 29; Tennessee, 47; Texas, 118; Utah, 11;
Vermont, 5; Virginia, 72; Washington, 31; West Virginia, 11 ; Wisconsin, 67;
Wyoming, 15. Total, 2,214.
Membership reported.— 40,000.
Post Office Clerks of the United States, United National
Association of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1899 in New York City; incorporated under the laws
of Maryland on January 25, 1900; reincorporated in the District
of Columbia in 1909. A clerk at the post office in Louisville, Ky.,
organized the clerks in that office in 1883, and by correspondence
brought representatives of several offices together in Washington in
1884. This group remained for several years merely a loosely
organized legislative committee.
The New York post-office clerks organized in 1888, and called
a delegate conference in Washington in 1889. This meeting issued
a call to clerks in all first-class post offices in 1890. This call was
almost generally responded to, and in February 1890 the National
Association of Post Office Clerks was organized.
Dissension over the admission of supervisors and the activities
of New York Branch 187, composed of chiefs and supervisors, led
to a schism and the formation of the United Association of Post
Office Clerks. After 2 years of fighting with the new organization
encroaching on the rank and file of the old, a merger was effected
in 1899 under the name of the United National Association of Post
Office Clerks (the Unapoc).
Objects.—“To improve the efficiency of the Postal Service; to unite fra
ternally all post-office clerks in the United States who are eligible to member
ship, for the protection of themselves and their dependents in the event
of death or disability; to secure through cooperation with the Post Office
Department the classification of post-office clerks, with a view to securing more
equitable salary rates; regulation of hours of labor; the upholding at all times
of civil-service rules and regulations; and for the establishment of branch
associations and a mutual-benefit auxiliary; and such other objects as may
from time to time arise.”
318
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States and possessions.
Trade jurisdiction.—The classified clerical service of the United States
Post Office (exclusive of the executive departmental office).
Government.—1. Executive committee, composed of president, first vice presi
dent, secretary, treasurer, and the chairman of the advisory board and the
finance committee (elected) “shall have complete control of the affairs of the
national association not otherwise provided for.”
Advisory board (elected) is policy-forming body.
Civil-service committee, composed of president, secretary, and chairman of
the advisory board, acts on “all matters pertaining” to civil service.
2. State branches: Composed of five or more locals in any State, and
chartered by the national association. “State branches shall be governed by
such rules and regulations as they may prescribe”, provided they do not con
flict with national constitution and bylaws.
3. Local branches: Autonomy not defined in constitution.
4. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Laws enacted by convention may be submitted to referendum. Constitutional
amendments by convention, or by convention and referedum.
Qualifications for membership.—Any employee in the classified civil service
who is designated by the Post Office Department as a post-office clerk is
eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—None. Working conditions and salary
determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits.—Group insurance.
Official organ.—The Post Office Clerk.
H eadquarters.—Colorado Building, Washington, D. C.
Organization.—State branches: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Penn
sylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia,
Wisconsin.
Local branches: Alabama, 41; Arizona, 15; Arkansas, 45; California, 91;
Colorado, 48; Connecticut, 55; Delaware, 14; District of Columbia, 1; Florida,
40; Georgia, 52; Idaho, 20; Illinois, 209; Indiana, 84; Iowa, 68; Kansas, 70;
Kentucky, 46; Louisiana, 25; Maine, 42; Maryland, 24; Massachusetts, 90;
Michigan, 82; Minnesota, 64; Mississippi, 28; Missouri, 58; Montana, 20;
Nebraska, 33; Nevada, 12; New Hampshire, 32; New Jersey, 84; New Mexico,
15; New York, 315; North Carolina, 34; North Dakota, 16; Ohio, 170; Okla
homa, 76; Oregon, 30; Pennsylvania, 290; Rhode Island, 14; South Carolina,
32; South Dakota, 12; Tennessee, 27; Texas, 188; Utah, 6; Vermont, 25;
Virginia, 38; Washington, 35; West Virginia, 42; Wisconsin, 98; Wyoming, 1 4 ;
Alaska, 4; Hawaii, 2; Puerto Rico, 12. Total, 2,988.
Membership reported.—45,000.
Post Office Employees, National Association of Substitute
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in New York City in April 1933. This organization
represents in part a secession movement from the organizations of
postal clerks and letter carriers, the jurisdiction of which covers
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
319
substitute employees in their respective classes. Curtailed employ
ment opportunities and salary reductions made it increasingly diffi
cult for the substitute employees to hold their memberhip in the or
ganizations of the regular employees, and many of them dropped out.
Later independent organizations of substitute employees were formed
in consequence of a growing belief that the interests of the substi
tute workers as a class outweighed their divided interests as carriers,
clerks, and railway mail clerks. On that basis local groups in 33
cities held a convention which launched the National Association of
Substitute Post Office Employees as an independent movement.
Objects.—<6To promote and protect the interests of substitute post-office
employees.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
Trade jurisdiction.—Substitute grades of the United States Postal Service.
Government.—1. National executive committee, consisting of president, three
vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, assistant treasurer, and four directors,
constitutes the directory head of the organization.
2. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers and legislates for or
ganization. Constitutional amendments by convention or referendum.
3. Local unions: Autonomy not defined. (Each local must designate one of
its members as representative of the official organ for that city.)
Qualifications for membership.—Any regularly appointed civil-service postoffice substitute is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—None. Salaries, hours, and working
conditions determined by Federal legislation.
B enefit s.—N one.
Official organ.—The Postal Sub.
H eadquarters.—34 South Seventh Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Organization.—Local unions only. California, 1; Illinois, 1; Indiana, 2;
Iowa, 3; Kentucky, 1; Louisiana, 1; Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, 1; Missouri,
2; New Jersey, 1; New York, 3; Ohio, 8; Pennsylvania, 1; Texas, 2; Wis
consin, 4. Total, 28.
Membership reported.—3,000.
Post Office Laborers of the United States, National
Association of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized August 7, 1912; incorporated in New Jersey, February
26, 1913.
Objects.—“To unite fraternally all post-office watchmen, messengers, and
laborers in the United States who are eligible to membership; to secure through
cooperation with the Post Office Department the classification of post-office
watchmen, messengers, and laborers with a view to securing more acceptable
salary rates; regulation of hours of labor; the upholding at all times of civilservice rates and regulations; and for such other objects as may from time
to time arise.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—United States.
320
HANDBOOK OP AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
T rade jurisdiction .—The watchman, messenger, and laborer classification in
the United States Post Office Department.
G overnment .—1. General officers: President, two vice presidents, recording
secretary, financial secretary, and treasurer. The president is the administra
tive head.
2. Branch associations: “Branches which reserve the right of self-government
and to make their own constitution and bylaws so long as they do not conflict
with the constitution and bylaws of the national association.”
3. Convention: Held annually; elects general officers. Constitutional amend
ments by convention vote only.
Q ualifications for m em bership .—Any person who is in the employ of the
Post Office Department as a watchman, messenger, or laborer, is eligible to
membership.
A pprenticeship regulations .—None.
M ethod of negotiating agreements .—None. Wages and working conditions
determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits .—N one.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters .—1951 Fifty-third Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. (secretary).
(Variable.)
Organization .— Local branches: Arkansas, 1 ; California, 2 ; Colorado, 1;
Connecticut, 2; District of Columbia, 1; Florida, 1; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 1;
Indiana, 2; Kentucky, 1; Maryland, 1; Massachusetts, 1; Michigan, 1; Minne
sota, 1; Missouri, 1; Nebraska, 1; New Jersey, 2; New York, 5; Ohio, 4;
Oklahoma, 1; Pennsylvania, 3; Tennessee, 2; Texas, 3; Utah, 1; Washington,
1; Wisconsin, 1. Total, 42.
M embership reported.—2,500.
Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees, National Federation of
Not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Chicago in September 1925 as the National Federa
tion of Post Office Chauffeurs and Mechanics, by representatives of
22 local organizations; incorporated in 1934 as the National Federa
tion of Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees. The first step to
ward national organization was taken in Washington in May 1924,
by a group of men representing postal employees of this class in the
larger cities, who undertook an active organizing campaign. The
name was changed at the first convention to the present one.
Objects .—“The object of the National Federation of Post Office Motor Ve
hicle Employees shall be to unite the postal employees in one brotherhood for
their social and economic advancement, and to aid in the perfection of the
Postal Service. * * * It shall be the purpose of the National Federation
of Post Office Motor Vehicle Employees to advance the interests of the postal
employees and the Postal Service, and to aid all workers in distress.”
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States, Territories, and insular posses
sions.
T rade jurisdiction .—The motor-vehicle branch of the United States Post
Office.
UNITED STATES POST OFFICE
321
G overnment .—1. Executive committee consisting of the president, two vice
presidents, secretary, treasurer, financial secretary, and a national representa
tive stationed in Washington, D. C., comprise the governing body.
2. Local unions: Subordinate; constitutions must be submitted to executive
committee for approval.
3. Convention: Biennial; legislates for organization and elects national offi
cers. Initiative and referendum.
Qualifications FOR m em bership .—Any person in the classified service who is
designated as a post-office motor-vehicle employee, except those in supervisory
positions, is eligible to membership.
A pprenticeship regulations .—None.
M ethod of negotiating agreements .—None. Wages, hours, and working con
ditions determined by Federal legislation.
B enefits .—Group insurance (optional).
Official organ.—Rotor.
H eadquarters .—3022 Euclid Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio (secretary).
Organization .—Not reported.
M em bership reported.—No report.
79315°— 36------- 22
Section G. Personal-Service Trades
The personal-service trades and occupations are represented
by four unrelated organizations, all affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor. Only one, the Journeymen Barbers’ Inter
national Union of America, is a craft union. The jurisdiction of
the Laundry Workers’ International Union is limited to a consid
erable extent, since the teamsters’ union claims the laundry-wagon
drivers who are in many cases also salesmen. The laundry workers
also share jurisdiction over cleaning and dyeing with local unions
affiliated directly with the American Federation of Labor, of which
there are over 90. The basis of the divided jurisdiction's the nature
of the cleaning establishments. Where these are operated as a part
of a laundry, the laundry workers may organize them. The Ameri
can Federation of Labor assumes direct jurisdiction over the large
wholesale cleaning establishments which are not connected with
laundries in any way. The cleaning and dyeing trade is one toward
which organizing activities were directed in 1933, in the effort to
take full advantage of the collective-bargaining provision of the
N. R. A. code, because of dissatisfaction with working conditions
and the price war waged in the trade. The executive council of
the American Federation of Labor reported to the 1934 convention
that in July 1933, only 5 locals existed in the trade, while by Octo
ber 1934, 91 were chartered, claiming a membership of 40,000. The
Laundry Workers’ International Union introduced a resolution into
the convention of 1934 to give that organization jurisdiction over
cleaning and dyeing regardless of the type of establishment. This
was countered by the wholesale cleaners and dyers local unions with
a move toward international organization.
The Hotel and Restaurant Employees’ International Alliance and
Bartenders’ International League of America covers the jurisdiction
suggested in its title, which includes a number of crafts, not only
cooks and other culinary workers connected with the preparation of
food, but waiters and waitresses, chambermaids, and housekeepers.
It has recently established a special branch comprising cooks and
waiters on railroad dining cars. In this field it has three rival organ
izations—the Brotherhood of Dining Car Conductors (p. 252), com
posed of dining-car stewards; and two negro organizations, the
Brotherhood of Dining Car Employees (p. 256) and the National
322
PERSONAL-SERVICE TRADES
323
Brotherhood of Dining Car Employees (p. 257), which includes both
cooks and waiters in railroad dining service.
The Building Service Employees’ International Union has a
varied jurisdiction, but its membership consists largely of the cus
todial force of office and apartment buildings and schoolhouses. It
claims elevator operators and starters—a jurisdiction specifically
granted to the International Union of Elevator Constructors by
decision of the American Federation of Labor, and theater ushers,
cashiers, and attendants, who are in some localities organized into
directly affiliated American Federation of Labor locals (p. 289).
The organizations classified under this heading are:
AffiUated with the American Federation of Labor:
Barbers’ International Union of America, Journeymen.
Building Service Employees’ International Union.
Hotel and Bestaurant Employees’ International Alliance and Bar*
tenders’ International League of America.
Laundry Workers’ International Union.
Independent organizations:
Dining Car Conductors, Brotherhood of. (Classified under Trans
portation. )
Dining Car Employees, Brotherhood of. (Classified under Trans
portation. )
Dining Car Employees, National Brotherhood of. (Classified under
Transportation.)
Porters, Sleeping Car. (Classified under Transportation.)
Barbers* International Union of America, Journeymen
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized December 5, 1887, in Buffalo, N. Y., and affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor April 10, 1888. A union of
barbers was formed in 1878, known as the Barbers’ Protective Union,
with headquarters in Philadelphia. It was short-lived, but was suc
ceeded by a number of local unions, some of which were under the
Knights of Labor. These local unions came together in 1887 and
formed the present organization. In 1924 the international amended
its constitution so as to include woman barbers and hairdressers, and
a later amendment provided for their organization into separate
local branches. The educational school of the international was
established in 1933. A correspondence course in barber science is
also furnished for members of the organization and union-shop pro
prietors who desire to better their economic conditions through
education.
Objects .—To ‘‘promote unity of sentiment and action among tbe journey
men barbers of America, and join them closer together for mutual protection.0
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States and possessions and Canada.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
T rade jurisdiction .—The barber and hairdressing trade.
G overnment .—1. General executive board, composed of president, secretary-
treasurer, and nine vice presidents, “shall have full power to transact the
business of the organization during their term of office/’
2. Local unions: “Each local union may make its own bylaws, which must,
however, be in accordance with this constitution and subject to the approval
of the general president.” They may “regulate the hours of labor, prices, and
wages in their respective localities”, and “shall have control over all local
affairs if not in conflict with the constitution.”
3. Convention: Held every 5 years; enacts legislation and elects general
officers. Constitutional amendments by initiative and referendum.
Q ualifications for m em bership .—“Any competent journeyman barber, hair
dresser, waver, marceller, or cosmetician other than a member of the oriental
race, not over 55 years of age, having served an apprenticeship of 2 years at
the trade”, is eligible to membership. Applicants over 55 years of age may
become nonbeneficiary members. Male and female membership. Proprietors
who are not employers may be members. Beneficiary members of the union
who become proprietors may continue on a nonactive basis.
A pprenticeship regulations .—“All apprentices must be registered with the
local union. * * ♦ No shop displaying the union shop card shall accept
as an apprentice any person under the age of 16 years. * * ♦ No shop
displaying the union shop card shall be allowed more than one apprentice at
any one time.” Term of apprenticeship is 2 years, except where State law
regulates the apprenticeship period.
M ethod of negotiating agreements .—Negotiated by local union, upon terms
approved by international officers before being submitted to employers. Unionshop-card agreements regulated by international office.
B enefits .— Sick and death.
Official organ.—The Journeyman Barber.
H ea dq ua rters .—222
East Michigan Street, Indianapolis, Ind.
O rganization .—State associations: Alabama, California, Colorado, Con
necticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington,
West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Province of Ontario.
Local unions only: United States—Alabama, 12; Arizona, 7; Arkansas, 7;
California, 41; Colorado, 11; Connecticut, 17; District of Columbia, 2; Florida,
8; Georgia, 8; Idaho, 5; Illinois, 70; Indiana, 60; Iowa, 22; Kansas, 15; Ken
tucky, 14; Louisiana, 8; Maine, 5; Maryland, 2; Massachusetts, 34; Michigan,
18; Minnesota, 12; Mississippi, 11; Missouri, 17; Montana, 12; Nebraska, 6; Ne
vada, 4; New Hampshire, 6; New Jersey, 16; New Mexico, 7; New York, 56;
North Carolina, 5; North Dakota, 4; Ohio, 60; Oklahoma, 17; Oregon, 11; Penn
sylvania, 55; Rhode Island, 5; South Dakota, 3; Tennessee, 8; Texas, 48;
Utah, 3; Vermont, 3; Virginia, 2; Washington, 20; West Virginia, 15; Wiscon
sin, 20; Wyoming, 5; Hawaii, 1; Puerto Rico, 2. Comada—Alberta, 4; British
Columbia, 3; Manitoba, 1; Ontario, 11; Quebec, 3; Saskatchewan, 2. Total, 824.
M em bership reported.—40,000.
PERSONAL-SERVICE TRADES
325
Building Service Employees’ International Union
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1917 from directly affiliated American Federation
of Labor local unions.
O b je c t s .—“The object of this international union shall be to develop a closer
union and more complete organization of all wage earners in the field under
its jurisdiction, and to assist its members in obtaining adequate compensation
for their labor and general improvement of the conditions under which they
work”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The maintenance and upkeep of all private and public
buddings, institutions, schools, and grounds, such as apartment houses, apart
ment hotels, flat buildings, office buildings, theaters, schools, hospitals, public
auditoriums, amusement halls, parks, stores, factories, card and billiard rooms,
which include such workers as janitors and janitresses, elevator operators,
starters, window cleaners, scrub women, maids, housekeepers, watchmen in
buildings and industrial plants (including those used for fire prevention),
door tenders, ushers, cashiers, and any other employees not herein specified
who are engaged in the maintenance and upkeep of such places.
G o v er n m en t .—1. General executive board, composed of president, secretarytreasurer, five vice presidents, and one trustee, “shall transact all business of
the international union between conventions.” President is the administrative
officer and has “supervisory power over local unions and the membership
thereof.”
2. Local unions: “The constitution and bylaws of all local unions must be
submitted to the international union for approval.”
3. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation and elects general officers.
Constitutional amendments by convention only.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Any person engaged in work under the
jurisdiction is eligible to membership. Male and female membership.
A p p r e n t ic e s h ip r e g u l a tio n s .—None.
M eth o d of n e g o tia tin g a g r e e m e n t s .—Handled locally.
B enefits .—None.
O f f ic ia l organ .—Public Safety magazine.
H eadquarters .—130 North Wells Street, Chicago, 111.
O r g a n iza tio n .—California, 6; Illinois, 23; Iowa, 1; Massachusetts, 1; Michi
gan, 2; Minnesota, 2; Missouri, 4; North Carolina, 1; New Jersey, 2; New York,
12; Ohio, 11; Oregon, 2; Pennsylvania, 1; Rhode Island, 1; Tennessee, 1; Wash
ington, 4; West Virginia, 1; Wisconsin, 8. Total, 83.
M em bership reported.—35,000.
Hotel and Restaurant Employees’ International Alliance and
Bartenders’ International League of America
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Detroit, Mich., in December 1890, as the Waiters and
Bartenders’ National Union of the United States. It was formed from
several organizations of cooks and waiters chartered by the American
Federation of Labor as directly affiliated local unions, In 1898 the
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
name of the organization became Hotel and Restaurant Employees’
International Alliance and Bartenders’ International League of
America. An attempt in 1915 to separate the two branches of work
into separate organizations proved unsuccessful.
Objects .—Not declared.
T erritorial jurisdiction .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—The catering industry, and serving of beverages and
food, and personal-service employees in hotels and clubs.
G overnment .—1. General executive board, composed of president, secretarytreasurer, and eight vice presidents, one of whom shall be a woman. The presi
dent is the executive head of the organization, with comprehensive powers.
2. Local joint executive board, which must be formed wherever more than
one local exists in any one city or vicinity, have “full power to adjust all differ
ences between locals and members” or between locals and employers. They
“may make such laws and rules as do not conflict with the international consti
tution to govern themselves and to enforce the scale of wages and hours adopted
by the locals”, but “bylaws for the government of local joint executive boards
shall be uniform, issued from the headquarters of the international.”
3. Local unions: “The use of the international constitution is mandatory;
local unions have the power to enact their own bylaws, provided they do not
conflict with the international constitution.”
4. Convention: Meets biennially; elects general officers, enacts legislation.
Constitutional amendments by convention vote or by initiative and referendum.
Q u a l if ic a t io n s for m e m b e r s h ip .—Citizenship or citizenship intention. Ap
plicants “are accepted on probation; if after 6 months no objection is filed
with the local, the applicant becomes a full-fledged member.” Male and female
membership.
A pprenticeship regulations .—Controlled by local unions.
M eth o d of neg o tiatin g a g r e e m e n t s .—Negotiated locally, generally with
individual employers, except in case of dining-car employees, when committees
representing those workers negotiate with steward departments of individual
roads or systems.
B e n e f it s .—Strike; death.
O fficial organ .—The Catering Industry Employee.
H ea dq ua rters .—528-530 Walnut Street, Cincinnati, Ohio.
O r g a n iza tio n .—Joint executive boards: United States—Alabama—Birming
ham; Arizona—Tucson and Phoenix; California—Bakersfield, Eureka, Los
Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco; Connecticut—
Bridgeport, New Britain, and New Haven; District of Columbia; Idaho—
Pocatello; Illinois—Chicago, Aurora, Granite City, Peoria, South Chicago, and
Springfield; Indiana—Fort Wayne, Gary, South Bend, and Terre Haute; Ken
tucky—Louisville; Louisiana—New Orleans; Maryland—Baltimore; Massa
chusetts—Boston and Springfield; Michigan—Detroit; Minnesota—Interna
tional Falls and Minneapolis; Missouri—Kansas City, Springfield, St. Joseph,
and St. Louis; Montana—Anaconda, Butte, Great Falls, Helena, and Billings;
Nebraska—Omaha; New Jersey—Hoboken, Newark, Trenton, and Atlantic City;
New York—Brooklyn, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, and Syracuse; Ohio—
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo; Oregon—Portland; Pennsylvania—
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; Rhode Island—Providence; Texas—El Paso,
Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston; Utah—Ogden and Salt Lake City; Wash
ington—Seattle and Spokane; Wisconsin—Milwaukee. Ccmada—Vancouver,
B. C.; Montreal, Quebec; and Toronto, Ontario,
PERSONAL-SERVICE TRADES
327
Dining car employees’ division represents local unions of cooks, waiters, and
stewards in the railroad-dining-car service.
Local unions: United States—Alabama, 7; Arizona, 6; California, 40;
Colorado, 5; Connecticut, 10; District of Columbia, 2; Florida, 5; Idaho, 7;
Illinois, 33; Indiana, 13; Iowa, 2; Kansas, 1; Kentucky, 4; Louisiana, 4;
Maryland, 2; Maine, 1; Massachusetts, 25; Michigan, 4; Minnesota, 9; Missouri,
17; Montana, 20; Nebraska, 2; Nevada, 3; New Hampshire, 3; New Jersey, 16;
New Mexico, 1; New York, 28; North Dakota, 1; Ohio, 27; Oklahoma, 3;
Oregon, 9; Pennsylvania, 23; Rhode Island, 3; South Dakota, 1; Texas, 20;
Utah, 7; Washington, 21; West Virginia, 8; Wisconsin, 5; Wyoming, 8.
Canada—Alberta, 1; British Columbia, 8; Ontario, 4; Quebec, 2. Total, 411.
M e m b e r s h ip reported .—84,000.
Laundry Workers* International Union
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in Troy, N. Y., in November 1900. This union started
in 1898 as a directly affiliated American Federation of Labor local
composed of shirt and collar workers in the factories at Troy, N. Y.
It expanded in 1900 into the Shirt, Waist, and Laundry Workers’
International Union. It continued to control both the making and
the laundering of shirts and collars until 1909, when jurisdiction
over the manufacturing end was taken over by the United Garment
Workers, the original charter being surrendered and a new one
granted which gave jurisdiction over laundries only. With the
adoption of cleaning and dyeing processes by laundries, the Laundry
Workers’ International Union assumed and now exercises control
of workers in that line who are employed in laundries connected
with the cleaning and dyeing industry, by agreement with the Jour
neymen Tailors’ Union, whose charter covers cleaning, dyeing, and
pressing.
O b je c t s .—“First, to organize and cooperate with all laundry workers;
second, to abolish competition in each respective branch of the trade by se
curing a universally equal and just rate of wages without resorting to strikes;
third, to discourage Asiatic, sweatshop, child, and convict labor by creating a
demand for the union label at all times.”
T erritorial ju r is d ic t io n .—United States and Canada.
T rade ju r is d ic t io n .—Laundries and cleaning and dyeing establishments run
in connection with laundries.
G o v e r n m en t .—1. General president, general secretary, and five vice presi
dents have general power and supervision over the organization, all decisions
subject to a referendum vote.
2. Local unions: “To subordinate unions is granted the right of making
all necessary laws for self-government which do not conflict with the general
laws of the international and which have been approved by the general
president.”
3. Convention: Held biennially; enacts legislation. Constitutional amend
ments adopted by conventions must be ratified by referendum. Amendments
and other legislation by initiative and referendum, as well as by convention.
Nomination and election of general officers by referendum.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Qualifications for m e m b e r s h ip .—All persons actually employed in laundries
and cleaning and dyeing establishments are eligible to membership. Foremen
and forewomen and supervisors with power to hire and discharge are retained
at option of local union.
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Formulated by local unions and sub
mitted to international officers for approval before beginning negotiations, which
are carried on with individual employers.
B enefits .—Strike, lock-out, and victimization.
Official o r g a n .—None.
H eadquarters.—2329 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, Calif.
Organization.—Local unions only: Alabama, 7; Arizona, 1; California, 16;
Colorado, 1; District of Columbia, 1; Georgia, 1; Illinois, 7; Indiana, 1; Iowa,
4; Kansas, 2; Louisiana, 2; Massachusetts, 2; Michigan, 1; Minnesota, 4;
Mississippi, 1; Missouri, 1; Montana, 6; Nevada, 1; New York, 2; North Caro
lina, 1; Ohio, 5; Oklahoma, 3; Oregon, 3; Pennsylvania, 4; Texas, 1; Vermont,
1; Virginia, 1; Washington, 10; West Virginia, 9; Wisconsin, 4; Wyoming, 5.
Total, 108.
Membership reported.—8,000.
Section H. Agriculture
Economic organization of agricultural workers into unions affili
ated with the American Federation of Labor is a recent development.
These workers are traditionally difficult to organize and have until
recently had little organizational history except in connection with
radical movements such as the Industrial Workers of the World,
the agricultural unions of which were usually shortlived. The Trade
Union Unity League undertook to organize agricultural workers with
cannery workers in one industrial union, but there is no record of the
degree of success this effort met.
Other scattered groups have been formed locally from time to
time, usually as organized protests against conditions in specific
instances. Illustrations of this may be found in the onion fields of
Ohio and in the union formed to prosecute the strike against the
Seabrook Farms of Bridgeton, N. J., and vicinity. Both of these
movements were regarded as Communist, or at least radical in
inception.
A movement of a different nature is that of the sheep shearers.
This began locally as long ago as 1903, but it took more definite shape
as a labor movement about 10 years later, when the Sheep Shearers’
Union of North America was organized and incorporated in Mon
tana. This craft organization affiliated with the American Federa
tion of Labor in 1932. The Federation also reports one directly affil
iated union of sheep herders in Oregon.
In its report to the 1934 convention, the executive council states
that without making any special organizing drive to that end, the
American Federation of Labor had, during the year, chartered many
workers in various branches of agriculture. Most of these are in
occupations on the borderline between industry and agriculture, such,
for example, as grading, picking, and packing fruits and vegetables;
landscape gardening; and employment in greenhouses. Figures pub
lished since the 1934 convention, however, indicate considerable fall
ing-off in the number of locals in this field.
The Colorado State Federation of Labor in its annual report for
the year ended June 30, 1935, mentioned its efforts to organize and
charter the laborers employed in the sugar-beet fields of that State.
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor:
Sheep Shearers* Union of North America.
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HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
Sheep Shearers’ Union of North America, No. 1, Incorporated
Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor.
Organized in 1913. Affiliated with the Federation in 1932. The
first organization of sheep shearers was formed in 1903 but was re
organized later and incorporated in 1913 under the laws of Montana.
Objects — “The object of this organization is protection.”
T erritorial jurisdiction.—North America.
T rade jurisdiction.—Sheep shearing by hand or machine.
Government.—1. Executive board consists of president, secretary-treasurer,
vice president, and five additional members. The offices of president and secre
tary-treasurer are combined in one person who is the executive head and official
organizer. The executive board has “power to administer the affairs of the union
between sessions of the convention.”
2. Business agents, appointed by the executive board, are the representatives
of the union at the corrals and shearing plants.
3. Convention: No fixed period. Initiative and referendum.
Qualifications for membership.—Applicants for membership must be able
to shear 100 head of sheep per day to qualify as members of the union.
Apprenticeship regulations.—None.
Method of negotiating agreements.—Business committee of three union
shearers elected at each corral before starting work fixes the shearing price
in negotiations with the employer and serves as an adjustment committee during
the shearing.
B enefits.—Funeral; total disability; old-age pension.
Official organ.—None.
H eadquarters.—Butte, Mont.
Organization.—General membership organization; no locals. “Members of
this union reside in every State, in Mexico, and in Canada.”
Membership reported.—1,500.
Section I. General Organizations
The “one big union” ideal continues to manifest itself, and organ
izations designed to include all workers have become more numerous
than usual during the past few years. At present there are three
of these all-inclusive groups which extend organization to all bona
fide wage earners regardless of the nature of the employment. All
but one, the Industrial Workers of the World, are of fairly recent
origin.
Stable membership is not, as a rule, a characteristic of this type
of organization, largely perhaps because bargaining power is too
diffused. General organizations in the past have been of radical
inception, and their principal functions were propaganda and organ
ized protest against industrial and economic conditions. This is
far less true of these newer movements toward working-class soli
darity, as they favor collective agreements and conciliation and
arbitration of grievances and disputes rather than the “direct ac
tion” policies of the older groups such as the Industrial Workers
of the World. The newly created general organizations are, in fact,
like the new industrial unions, largely countermoves of factory
and mass-production workers to the craft limitations of the old-line
unions.
The three general organizations under discussion are the Indus
trial Workers of the World, the American Labor Alliance, and the
Master Workmen of America.
A fourth group which has some of the characteristics of a general
organization or “one big union” is the Workers5Alliance of America.
This organization has grown out of the numerous “unemployed
leagues” established during the depression, and is to some extent
a federation of them. It describes itself as “a Nation-wide non
partisan organization of unemployed and relief workers, consisting
of local and State-wide groups covering 33 States.55
American Labor Alliance
The American Labor Alliance was founded in 1934 with the dec
laration that it is “necessary to discard the obsolete restrictions of
reactionary labor organizations in favor of the progressive principle
that the policies of the union shall be determined by the majority
of its members, with due regard for the interests of the employer
331
332
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
and the public.” It is “dedicated to the principles of collective bar
gaining, arbitration of controversies between employers and em
ployees, and the elimination of industrial strife with its needless
economic losses.”
The alliance is organized on the basis of city, State, and district
councils which it charters, and with which are affiliated local unions
“of the same, or associated, trades, professions, or callings.” At
present only the eastern district council is organized and function
ing. It has a membership of about 8,000 in six local unions in
various trades. Two of these are in New Jersey and cover building
tradesmen irrespective of craft; the rest are in New York City and
cover respectively bridgemen, ironworkers, and riggers; restaurant
and cafeteria workers; taxicab drivers; and automobile repair me
chanics, washers, and polishers. The headquarters address is 111
East Twenty-eighth Street, New York City.
Industrial Workers of the W orld
The Industrial Workers of the World was organized at Chicago,
111., July 7, 1905, at a conference instigated chiefly by the Western
Federation of Miners and the American Labor Union. Represented
in the conference were the two organizations mentioned, the Socialist
Trades and Labor Alliances, the United Brotherhood of Railway
Employees, and numerous other organizations among which were 16
American Federation of Labor unions who were in sympathy with
the movement to organize all wage workers into one organization.
Numerically, the Western Federation of Miners was the strongest or
ganization in the group, but the Socialist Trades and Labor Alliances
proved influential enough to inject partisan politics into the first con
ference. Discord over the question of political action resulted in 1906
in the withdrawal of the Western Federation of Miners from the
Industrial Workers of the World, and in 1908 in a division of the
organization into two factions. Each side continued to function as
the Industrial Workers of the World, the seceding element, which
was the exponent of socialistic party activities, establishing head
quarters in Detroit, Mich. This state of affairs continued until 1915,
when the Detroit faction gave up the title “I. W . W .” and became the
Workers International Industrial Union. This group, by formal
resolution, went out of existence in 1924 and turned its records and
properties over to the Socialist Labor Party. The Chicago faction
continues as the Industrial Workers of the World.
The philosophy of the Industrial Workers of the World is found in
its official declaration that “the working class and the employing class
have nothing in common. There can be no peace so long as hunger
GENERAL ORGANIZATIONS
333
and want are found among millions of the working people and the
few who make up the employing class have all the good things of life.
“Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers
of the world organize as a class, take possession of the earth and the
machinery of production, and abolish the wage system.
“* * * it is the historic mission of the working class to do
away with capitalism. The army of production must be organized
not only for the everyday struggle with capitalists, but also to carry
on production when capitalism shall have been overthrown. By or
ganizing industrially we are forming the structure of the new society
within the shell of the old.”
Only actual wage earners may become members, but within that
group all persons regardless of “creed or color” are eligible to mem
bership with the single exception of “editors of papers not controlled
by the Industrial Workers of the World.”
The organizational plan of the Industrial Workers of the World
makes the industrial union the basic unit, “composed of actual wage
workers in a given industry welded together as the particular re
quirements of said industry may render necessary.” Industrial de
partments, made up of industrial unions of closely allied industries,
“have general supervision over the affairs” of component units.
The organization as a whole is governed by a general executive
board consisting of the secretary-treasurer and seven elected mem
bers, assisted by the officers and members of all organizations subor
dinate to the Industrial Workers of the World. An annual gathering
is held which nominates officers and initiates legislation, but final
action is by referendum vote of the entire membership.
A weekly journal called the Industrial Worker is the official organ
of the Industrial Workers of the World, and other papers are
published by local units, some of which are in foreign languages.
The industrial unions functioning at present are: Agricultural
workers, lumber workers, coal and metal miners, oil workers, general
construction (railroad, road, bridge, etc.), house and building con
struction, metal and machinery workers, foodstuff workers, marinetransport workers, railroad workers, and a group classed as small
unions containing textile workers.
A total membership of 34,000 is reported. The headquarters of the
organization is 2422 North Halsted Street, Chicago, 111.
M aster W orkm en of A m erica
The aim of the Master Workmen of America, which was organized
and incorporated in West Virginia in 1925, is “to organize and
amalgamate all working men and women into one organization;
334
HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN TRADE-UNIONS
* * * to secure and sign wage agreements for its members” ; and
“to conduct an educational campaign in order to establish a better
method of settling labor disputes than that of strikes and lock-outs.”
The organization scheme suggested by its constitution is a local
territorial division, with all members of whatever trade or calling
living within the territorial division holding membership in the
local of their community, somewhat after the manner of the “mixed
assembly” of the old Knights of Labor.
Membership is open to “all working men and women regardless of
occupation, creed, color, or nationality”, but an applicant must be
between the ages of 16 and 70 and working at some useful occupation.
A person holding membership in a union affiliated with the Ameri
can Federation of Labor “or any other union”, is, however, ineligible
to hold office.
This organization did not report the number or extent of its mem
bership. A national office is maintained at 14^ Virginia Street
East, Charleston, W. Va.
List o f Bulletins o f the Bureau o f Labor Statistics
The following is a list of all bulletins of the Bureau of Labor Statistics published since
July 1912 except that in the case of bulletins giving the results of periodic surveys of the
Bureau only the latest bulletin on any one subject is here listed.
A complete list of the reports and bulletins issued prior to July 1912, as well as the bulle
tins published since that date will be furnished on application. Publications which are not
available for free distribution, indicated in this list by an asterisk, can in some cases be
obtained by purchase from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office,
Washington D. C.; all can be consulted at libraries which are Government repositories.
Collective agreements
,
,
,
♦ No. 191.
♦ No. 198.
No. 341.
♦ No. 402.
♦ No. 468.
C ollective bargaining in the anth racite coal industry. [1916.]
C ollective agreem ents in the m en’s clothing industry. [1916.]
T rade agreem ent in th e silk-ribbon industry of N ew York C ity. [1923.]
C ollective bargaining by actors. [1926.]
Trade agreem ents, 1927.
Conciliation and arbitration (including strikes and lock-outs)
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
No. 124. C onciliation and arbitration in th e building trades of *G reater N ew York.
[1913.]
No. 133. R eports of th e in du strial council of th e B ritish B oard of Trade on its in
quiry in to industrial agreem ents. [1913.]
No. 139. M ichigan copper d istrict strike. [1914.]
No. 144. Industrial court of the cloak, su it, and skirt industry of N ew York C ity.
[1914.]
No. 145. C onciliation, arbitration, and sanitation in the dress and w aist industry of
N ew York C ity. [1914.]
No. 233. O peration of th e In du strial D isputes In vestigation A ct of Canada. [1918.]
♦ No. 255. Join t in du strial councils in G reat B ritain. [1919.]
♦ No. 283. H istory o f the Shipbuilding Labor A djustm ent Board, 1917 to 1919.
♦ No. 287. N ational W ar Labor B o a rd : H istory of its form ation and activities, etc.
[1921.]
♦ No. 303. U se o f Federal power in settlem ent of railw ay labor disputes. [1922.]
♦ No. 481. Join t in du strial control in the book and job printing industry. [1928.]
Cooperation
♦ No. 313. Consum ers’ cooperative societies in th e U nited States in 1920.
♦ No. 314. Cooperative credit societies (credit u nions) in A m erica and in foreign
countries. [1922.]
♦ No. 437. C ooperative m ovem ent in th e U nited S tates in 1925 (other than agricult
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