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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, Secretary

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
ETHELBERT STEWART, Com missioner

BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES)
BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T IS T IC S / • • • •
CONCILIATION

AND

ARBITRATION

SERIES

JOINT INDUSTRIAL CON
TROL IN THE BOOK AND
JOB PRINTING INDUSTRY

EMILY CLARK BROWN, Ph. D.

DECEMBER, 1928

UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON
1928

401

HtOl

ADDITIONAL COPIES
OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM
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U.S.G OVERNM ENT PRINTING OFFICE
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AT

35 C E N T S PE R COPY

PREFACE
The Social Science Kesearch Council by the grant of a research
fellowship for the year 1927-28 made this study possible. I wish
to express my great appreciation to the council and also to the many
leaders in the printing industry, in both the United States and
England, among employers and employees and the representatives of
employers’ associations, joint open-shop organizations, and tradeunions, whose interest and full cooperation, often at the expense of
much time and effort, made it possible for me to secure this material.
I wish to thank in particular Prof. H. A. Millis of the University of
Chicago, who first urged me to undertake this study and has given
much helpful advice, and my friends under whose direction I had
my introduction to labor problems in the printing industry in the
department of industrial relations of the United Typothetse of
America: Mr. F. A. Silcox, now director of industrial relations of
the New York Employing Printers’ Association; Prof. Francis H.
Bird of the University of Cincinnati; and Leona M. Powell of the
research bureau of the New York Employing Printers’ Association.
Without their advice, assistance, and encouragement the study could'
not have been carried through. Mr. C. A. Hokinson of the research
bureau of the New York Employing Printers’ Association also has
given very valuable assistance.
The various sections of the study have been read in each case by
persons concerned, by representatives of the open-shop organiza
tions, of employers’ associations and trade-unions in the catse of union
chapters, and by employers in the case of important plants reported
upon. In some cases revisions have been made, based on their sugges
tions, while in others footnotes give dissenting or supplementary
opinions. While every effort has been made to check the facts and
their interpretation in this manner, I assume the full responsibility
for the conclusions.
E m il y C lark B ro w n .
N e w Y o r k , September, 1928.

Co n t e n t s
Page

C hapter 1.— The Problem and Its Industrial Background______________ 1-10
The industry______________________________________________________ 3-1 0
C hapter 2.— American Guild of the Printing Industry: An Open-shop
Experiment in Constitutional Governm ent___________________________ 11-42
Birth of the American G uild_______________________________________ 14, 15
C onstitution______________________________________________________ 15-21
The guild a t w ork_________________________________________________ 21, 22
Insurance_________________________________________________________ 22, 23
W ages____________________________________________________________ 23-27
Em ploym ent and discharge________________________________________ 27, 28
Other chapter board decisions_____________________________________ 28, 29
Chapels and conference com m ittees________________________________ 30, 31
What has the guild accomplished__________________________________ 31-39
W eaknesses of th e guild___________________________________________ 39-42
Chapter 3.— Graphic Arts Industrial Federation of Greater B oston____43-73
~The 1921 break___________________________________________________ 46-48
Union relations since 1921_________________________________________ 48, 49
The typothetse p lan _______________________________________________ 49-51
Objects and form of organization__________________________________ 51, 52
The federation at w ork____________________________________________
52
Insurance_________________________________________________________ 52, 53
W ages____________________________________________________________ 53-56
Shop practices_____________________________________________________56, 57
Other federation activities_________________________________________ 57, 58
Shop organizations and their w ork_________________________________ 58-62
Relation of federation to trade-unions______________________________62, 63
Federation membership____________________________________________
63
W hat has the federation accomplished_____________________________ 63-71
Weaknesses of the federation______________________________________ 71-73
C hapter 4.— Open-shop Bookbinders of New Y ork____________________ 74-78
C hapter 5.— The Printers’ League and C ollective Bargaining in New
York_______________________________________________________________ 79-127
The industry______________________________________________________ 79-83
C ollective bargaining before 1924__________________________________ 83-86
Contract making, 1924 to 1928___________________________________ 86-100
The agreements of 1928_________________________________________ 100-103
Administration of agreements___________________________________ 103-118
Apprenticeship__________________________________________________ 118-124
Conclusions_____________________________________________________ 124-127
Chapter 6.— Industrial Relations in the British Printing Industry: A
Study in N ational Organization____________________________________ 128-171
The joint industrial council______________________________________ 134-136
Negotiation of w ages____________________________________________ 137-139
Joint industrial council conciliation com m ittee___________________ 139-143
General strike settlem en t________________________________________ 143-145
Unemploym ent com m ittee_______________________________________ 145, 146
H ealth com m ittee_______________________________________________ 146-148
Apprenticeship__________________________________________________ 148-152
D istrict com m ittees_____________________________________________ 152-155
Works advisory com m ittees_____________________________________ 155-159
Manchester Guardian House Society____________________________ 159-164
B etterm ent com m ittee__________________________________________ 164-167
Quarterly m eetings______________________________________________ 167, 168
Achievements of joint industrial council_________________________ 168-171
C hapter 7.— Company Experiments in Cooperative Organization____ 172-182

CONTENTS
Page

8.— Results of Organization for Joint C ontrol______________183-195
Establishing standards of wages, hours, and working conditions__ 184-186
Protection of individual w orkers_______________________________ 186-188
Cooperation for efficiency, waste elimination, and production____ 188-190
Promotion of craftsm anship by apprentice training______________ 190, 191
Education of both groups in the indu stry _______________________ 191-193
Sum m ary____________________________________________________ 193-195
A p p e n d i x A.— Sources U sed______________________________________ 196-198
A p p e n d i x B.— C onstitution of American Guild of the Printing In d u stry . 198-208
A p p e n d i x C.— C onstitution and By-laws of Graphic Arts Industrial
F ederation_____________________________________________________ 208-213
A p p e n d i x D.— Shop Rules and Wage Scales C ontract Between P rinters’
League Section, New York Employing P rinters’ Association (Inc.), and
Typographical Union No. 6, 1927________________________________ 213-223
A p p e n d i x E.— A rbitration Agreement Between P rinters’ League Section,
New York Employing P rinters’ Association (Inc.), and New York
Printing Pressmen’s Union, No. 51_______________________________ 224-226
A p p e n d i x F.— Constitution and Rules of Joint Industrial Council of
Printing and Allied Trades of United Kingdom_________ __________ 226-230

C h a p ter

BULLETIN OF THE

U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
WASHINGTON

NO. 481

December, 1928

JOINT INDUSTRIAL CONTROL IN THE BOOK AND
JOB PRINTING INDUSTRY

Chapter 1.—The Problem and Its Industrial
Background
Industrial relations in the book and job printing industry in the
United States are of three distinct and conflicting types, which are
defined according to the philosophy and practice of the employing
printers. There is, first, an open-shop or nonunion1 group of em
ploying printers, who are individualistic in their attitudes and make
no attempt to establish uniform labor conditions throughout the
industry. There are, secondly, three groups of plants which are
making the unusual experiment of attempting to establish standards
for the industry by means of open-shop employee representation
organizations, representative of a group of plants. Finally, there
are the sections of the industry in which both employers and em
ployees are organized, in employers’ associations and trade-unions,
and standards are established by the joint efforts of these two organ
ized groups.
The subject of this study is the work of the two latter types of
organization, in which there is attempt to establish joint industrial
control in the book and job printing industry; that is, to establish
standards of wages, hours, and working conditions and to influence
the character of industrial relations in the industry by the joint
efforts of the organized employers and employees. The purpose of
the study is to discover to what extent this common purpose is accom
plished by the different methods of organization and to what degree
an effective control is established over the industry.
The individualistic open-shop or nonunion employing printers
who do not attempt to establish and enforce standards in industrial
relations for the industry are in many cities organized locally in
such associations as the Open Shop Employing Printers’ Association
of Chicago, or in a nonunion local branch of the United Typothetee
of America, the national trade association of the book and job
printing industry.2 Through such organizations they operate em
ployment bureaus, encourage apprentice training, and in some cases
recommend wage scales and hours, or group insurance or other plans.
Each plant is free to decide upon its own action, however. Many
1 As these terms are loosely used as interchangeable in the industry, it will not be
possible always to distinguish between them in this study.
2 The constitution of the United Typothetse of America prohibits any attempt to control
the entire membership in the matter of labor, and its membership includes both union and
nonunion plants. Nevertheless, certain local typothetse have restricted their membership
to nonunion plants,

PROBLEM OF JO IN T IN DUSTRIAL CONTROL

of these plants are also organized in the Employing Printers’ Asso
ciation of America, a national nonunion association. While these
plants cooperate to protect their own interests, they are not funda
mentally interested in the establishment of standards, either by
cooperation of the employers or with the employees. Their efforts
are therefore outside the scope of this study in industrial control.
In contrast with this group is a second smaller group who since
a nation-wide strike in 1921 have operated open-shop or nonunion
plants and have experimented with a new type of organization in
which employers and employees may cooperate on the problems of
the industry. In other industries many companies have made experi
ments with employee representation plans. The printing industry
with its numerous small units needs industrial relations organization
on a broader basis.
Accordingly these plants have organized joint representation of
the workers and employers of a group of plants. Such organiza
tion representing men and management from a number of companies
has been in existence in the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumber
men in the West, but no other example of open-shop joint organiza
tion covering more than one company has been found. In the prin t
ing and allied industries, however, there are three such organizations.
The employing printers of Baltimore organized the American Guild
of the Printing Industry, the employers in Boston the Graphic Arts
Industrial Federation, and the open-shop edition bookbinders in
New York City a general council and series of shop councils for
their group.
The third group represents the relations between the organized
employers and the trade-unions in the traditional form of organi
zation in the industry. In this large section of the industry wages,
hours, and working conditions are established by agreement between
the unions and the organized employers. In numerous cities these
organized relationships have been under way for many years, and
definite machinery of varying complexity has evolved to meet the
particular needs of the local industry. In New York, in a substantial
section of the Chicago industry, in Washington, Indianapolis, San
Francisco, and other cities well-organized examples of this type of
relationship are to be seen.
The second and third groups of employing printers have certain
points of agreement. They dissent in theory and practice from, the
first nonunion group with its individualistic approach to labor prob
lems. They believe that the book and job printing industry with
its numerous plants needs standards of practice on labor matters in
order to establish an equal basis for competition. They believe th at
such standards can best be established by the joint action of employers
and employees.
The open-shop groups, however, organized on the theory that
standards can be established and relationships between workers and
employers can be improved by bringing the two groups into one
organization for cooperation. They believe that the promotion of
the good of the industry and the protection of the interests of both
groups can best be achieved by an organization for cooperation in
place of the older system of conflicting organizations. The union
group, on the other hand, has developed its organization of industrial

BOOK AND JOB PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

relations with less conscious philosophy. Trade-union organization
developed out of the conditions of the industry and was followed by
organization of the employers. The two strongly organized groups
then in many places have found it to their mutual advantage to act
jointly on problems of the industry. Their conflicting interests have
led to this type of joint organization.
This study attempts to show the concrete results of these two
types of organization for joint control in the book and job printing
industry. A detailed study has been made of the records of the two
joint cooperative organizations in the printing industry, the Ameri
can Guild of the Printing Industry, in Baltimore, and the Graphic
Arts Industrial Federation of Greater Boston. A brief analysis of
the plan of the open-shop group of the Employing Bookbinders’
Association of New York also throws some light on these questions.
As an example of union relationships, the New York industry has
been studied, since New York is the largest center in the book and
job printing industry, and the joint agreements, which have de
veloped through, 20 years of joint effort, determine conditions for
nearly one-fifth of the industry in America. The experience of a
few individual companies in cooperative organization of industrial
relations on a small scale also is summarized. Finally, for contrast
with the attempts to establish standards locally in America, is a
study of the national organization of industrial relations in the
British printing industry.
The Industry
The book and job or commercial printing industry is one of a series
of branches of the printing and allied industries. Newspaper print
ing and publishing, music printing and publishing, lithographing,
photo-engraving, bookbinding and blankbook making, electrotyping
and stereotyping, and steel and copperplate engraving are the other
main branches. Since for the most part industrial relations in the
latter groups of industries are managed independently by each in
dustry, only the book and job industry is included in this study.
The book and job industry in the United States in 1925 included
10,322 plants having an annual product each of $5,000 and over,
employing a total of 133,316 wage earners, to whom annual wages
of $219,830,000 were paid, and producing a total value of products
of $806,887,000.3
Commercial printing is an industry in which the product is made
to order and largely for the local market.4 The industry as a result
is decentralized and characterized by a high degree of local autonomy.
The two outstanding centers are New York and Chicago, which in
1925 produced 19.8 per cent and 17.7 per cent, respectively, of the
total product of the United States in the book and job printing
industry. No other city produced as much as 5 per cent of the total,
while a considerable volume comes from the small print shops which
are to be found in nearly every town.5
3 U. S. Census of Manufactures, 1925. Printing and publishing, p. 8.
#
4 In a survey of printing sales of members of the United Typothetse of America ror
1923 reports of total annual sales of $91,000,000 by 953 employing printers showed sales
for the local market amounting to 75 per cent of the total.—Typothetse Bulletin, Aug. 4,
1924, p. 180.
5U. S. Census of Manufactures, 1925. Statistics for industries, States, and cities,
pp. 113, 143,

PROBLEM OF JO IN T IN DUSTRIAL GONTROL

The typical printing plant is small. In 1919 it was found that
91 per cent of all book and job plants had 20 or less employees, while
25 per cent were “ one-man shops.’5 Plants with over 100 employees
were only 12 per cent of the total, and employed only 31 per cent of
the total number of wage earners.6 Nevertheless a striking trend
toward the concentration of production in the largest establishments
is taking place. As is shown in the accompanying table, from 1919
to 1925 the proportion of the total number of wage earners and of the
total value of products decreased for each class of plants of under
$1,000,000 in product each, while for those with a million dollars or
more it increased. The number in the group of largest plants in
creased from 53 in 1919 to 100 in 1925, when they employed 22.2 per
cent of all wage earners and were responsible for 24.1 per cent of
the total product.
T a b l e 1 .— P E R C E N T A G E

D IS T R IB U T IO N OF E ST A B L ISH M E N T S, W AGE E A R N E R S ,
A N D VALUE OF PR O D U C T S OF TH E BOOK A N D JOB P R IN T IN G IN D U S T R Y A C C O R D
ING TO SIZE OF E ST A B L ISH M E N T S, 1919 A N D 1925
[U. S. Census of Manufactures, 1923, p. 601; 1925, Size of establishments, pp. 14-15]
Establishments

Wage earners

Value of products

Value of products
1919
______
$5,000 to $20,000
$20,000 to $100,000- _____________________
$100,000 to $500,000_________ _____ ______
$500,000 to $1,000,000____________________
$1,000,000 and over________ ______ ____

51.2
35.2
11.4
1.6
.6

1925
45.5
38.9
13.0
1.6
1.0

1919
9.8
26.9
34.5
14.1
14.6

1925
7.4
24.1
33.5
12.8
22.2

1919
8.1
23.6
34.7
15.2
18.4

1925
6.4
22.2
33.7
13.5
24.1

A very large proportion of the wage earners in the printing in
dustry are skilled craftsmen. They are an English-speaking group
with a high proportion of native born and are characterized by
intelligence and skill. The chief trades are the compositors, who
set type by hand or by linotype or monotype machine or make it
up in forms to go to the printing press; the pressmen, who operate
the presses with the assistance of the press feeders; the bookbinders,
who were once highly skilled handicraftsmen, but now are very
largely machine operators ; and the allied trades, including the photo
engravers, the stereotypers and electrotypers, and the lithographers,
who are found in small numbers in the printing plants. The relative
proportions in each group are indicated by a survey of 2,096 printing
plants, employing 100,704 wage earners, in all parts of the United
States and Canada in 1923:7
Hand compositors
Machine compositors
Makers-up and stone hands
Proof readers
Pressmen

Per cent
11.6
9 .4
3 .2
. 3 .2
11.1

Press feeders and assistants
Bookbinders
_
__ .
Allied trades
Apprentices
_
_ .
Miscellaneous
__

Per cent
9 .7
7 .7
8 .3
5 .3
3 0.5

Approximately one-fifth of the wage earners are women. The
women are found in greatest numbers in the binderies, where they
do both hand and machine work of varying degrees of skill. There
6 U. S. Census of Manufactures, 1919, Reports for selected industries, p. 571.
7 U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui. No. 427 : Health survey of the printing trades,
1922 to 1925, by Frederick L. Hoffman. Washington, 1927, p. 6.

BOOK AND JOB PTvIISTTIjSTG IN DUSTRY

are also a considerable number of women in the composing rooms,
chiefly as machine operators and proof readers, while women are
found in smaller numbers in the pressrooms as press feeders or doing
other semiskilled work.
Because of the character of the employee group and of the fact
that a print shop can be opened with small capital the movement
from the ranks of the journeymen over to the proprietor group has
been very marked and still proceeds. The employing printers are,
therefore, drawn in very large measure from men who have had prac
tical experience in the industry, many of them having been members
of the unions. W ithout this basis of common experience and under
standing industrial relations in this industry would be of a very
different character.
Because the industry is one with a large mlmber of small units,
with a made-to-order, unstandardized product, and to a considerable
extent under the control of men with technical but not business expe
rience, it is very highly competitive. In such an industry it is very
difficult to secure unity of action among the employers to establish
orderly and reasonable competition based upon standards of any
sort. Early efforts of the employing printers to control the industry
by agreeing on prices gave way later to campaigns of education in
cost accounting to establish a basis for competition. On the side of
the employees at the same time continuous efforts of the trade-unions
to maintain union scales of wages and hours gave an incentive to
organization by the employers and exerted a considerable influence
toward the standardization which the employing printers found so
difficult to establish over the industry.
The geographical decentralization of the industry and the fact
that the product is so largely for the local market have resulted in a
large degree of local autonomy. Labor relations in particular are
locally handled. Although the growth of large plants is widening
the market and increasing competition on a national basis for all
large-scale work, the process has not gone far enough to bring the
employing printers into an organization for effective national action
on labor matters. While the employees are organized in national
unions, collective bargaining is a matter for local action, under gen
eral control of the national unions. Striking variations are found
from one city to another in the labor policy^ of the employing printers
and the extent to which the employees are organized in trade-unions.
The printing industry has a long tradition of organization both of
employers and of employees. The chapel, the organization of the
members of a union in a printing plant, has its roots far back in the
earliest period of the industry in England, and in the eighteenth
century in England it had become an organ for regulating working
conditions. In America the printers were among the first craftsmen
to organize. Temporary association to raise wages was known in
New York in 1776 and in Philadelphia in 1786. From 1795 on
societies to increase wages appeared in many of the larger cities,
and since the forties and fifties many local typographical unions have
been in continuous existence.8 Among the employing printers also
there were early attempts to organize to protect themselves from
8 Barnett, George E .: The printers, pp. 3-15, 292.

PROBLEM OF JO IN T INDUSTRIAL CONTROL

competition. The first known was in Philadelphia in 1794, while
in a number of cities during the nineteenth century organizations of
employing printers tried to establish price lists for their work. The
Typothetee of New York, organized in 1862, was the first such organ
ization to become permanent and continue to the present, though
with certain lapses.9
These organizations were local. On the part of the unions, how
ever, the need for cooperation of the different locals to maintain their
wage scales led to three national conventions of journeyman printers,
the last of which, in 1852, adopted a constitution and became the
National Typographical Union. As the International Typographical
Union, with jurisdiction in the United States and Canada, it has
continued to the present.10 The typographical union at first included
all crafts in the printing industry. Since 1890, however, various
crafts have broken off and established their own international unions.
The International Typographical Union now includes the composi
tors, proof readers, and mailers. The list of printing and allied
trades-unions, with their membership in 1927, is shown below: 11
Membership

International Typographical Union____________________________________ 75,000
International Printing Pressmen and A ssistants’ Union________________ 40, 000
International Brotherhood of Bookbinders_____________________________ 13, 800
International Photo-Engravers’ Union_________________________________ 7, 900
7, 300
International Stereotypers’ and Electro typer s’ Union—______ ___________
Amalgamated Lithographers of America_______________________________ 5, 700

While the employing book and job printers for many years ex
perimented with local organizations to regulate competition or to
deal with labor problems, it was not until they felt the menace of
national action on the part of the union that they organized nationally.
A demand of the typographical union for the 9-hour day in 1887
led to the organization of the United Typothetse of America, with
branches in many cities. While this association on many occasions
was involved in labor matters, the trend of its evolution has been
away from action as an employers’ association to that of a trade
association dealing only with business and production problems of
the master printers. A sharp division on labor policy among the
employing printers after 1906 and accentuated again by events in
1921 made national action on labor matters impossible without
jeopardizing the other activities of the association. The constitution
was therefore revised in 1920 to eliminate control of labor matters
from the work of the association. The constitution in 1928 provides
that members who* so desire may form autonomous affiliated associa
tions to act on labor matters, on either a union or open-shop basis.
Efforts to establish affiliated associations within the United Typothetae of* America for national action to protect the interests of the
employing printers in labor matters have not been successful. There
is now a national independent organization of the nonunion employ
ing printers, in the Employing Printers’ Association of America, a
militant nonunion group with headquarters in Chicago. The P rin t
ers5League of America, which was for a time the closed-shop division
9 Powell, Leona M .: The history of the United Tvpothetse of America, pp. 6-8.
10 Barnett, op. cit., pp. 23-28.
11 American Labor Year Book, 1928, p. 105 ; Internationail Bookbinder, November, 1926,
p. 5 7 ; Typographical Journal, August, 1927, Supplement, p., 93.

BOOK AND JOB PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

of the United Typothetse of America, withdrew from the United
Typothetse of America in 1924. I t has not been able to secure the
support of closed-shop employing printers for a national organiza
tion, and . is now inactive, having had as members only the New
York Printers’ League, the small printers’ leagues of Cincinnati and
Cleveland, and a scattering individual membership from Chicago
and other cities.
While labor matters have been generally a matter for local action,
a number of occasions brought national action, usually connected
with efforts of the international unions to reduce the hours of labor.
The United Typothet-se of America was organized in 1887 to op
pose the demand of the International Typographical Union for the
9-hour day. In 1898, however, the reduction of hours was made by
agreement between the typothetse and the international unions. In
1905 and 1906 the demand of the typographical union for the 8-hour
day was strenuously opposed by the typothetse, and a nation-wide
strike left the industry divided on labor policy into union and non
union groups. In 1907, however, an arbitration agreement which had
been in force since 1903 between the United Typothetse and the In
ternational Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union was renewed
by the officers of the two organizations with a provision for the
8-hour day in 1909. This agreement failed of ratification by the union.
The International Typographical Union had won its 8-hour strike,
however, and by 1908 the 8-hour day was fairly well established in
all departments. During the next 10 years the unions made much
progress in regaining plants which they had lost through the 8-hour
strikes.
In 1919 under the stress of post-war conditions an experiment was
begun in a national organization for cooperation of the unions and
the organized closed-shop employing printers, to consult on mutual
problems and to attempt to stabilize conditions in the industry. On
March 10, 1919, the International Joint Conference Council of the
commercial and periodical branches of the printing industry was
organized. I t included eight members, four representing the em
ployers’ organizations, the closed-shop branch of the United Typotheteo of America, the Printers’ League of America, and the
International Association of Employing Electrotypers; and four
representing the unions, the International Typographical Union, the
International Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union, the Inter
national Brotherhood of Bookbinders, and the International Stereotypers’ and Electrotypers’ Union. The International Joint Con
ference Council was to devote itself primarily to matters of
policy, promoting cooperation on problems of the trade. I t had no
authority, but was to submit its recommendations to the constituent
organizations for ratification. Its resolutions when ratified by all the
groups would be binding upon all parties under the council, and
become the law of the trade.12
The most vital action taken by the council was on a question of
hours. The unions in several large cities in 1919 were agitating for
an immediate reduction of hours to 44. This was a time of great
activity in the industry, marked by a shortage of labor and unrest
12 International Joint Conference Council of the commercial and periodical branches of
the printing industry. Constitution and activities.

PROBLEM OF JO IN T INDUSTRIAL CONTROL

on the part of the unions. Through the council a compromise was
made to postpone the reduction in hours until May 1, 1921, when
the 44-hour week would go into effect nationally in the union branch
of the industry. This recommendation was adopted by the interna
tional unions, although the vote against it was heavy in New York
and Chicago, by the Printers’ League, arid by the International Asso
ciation of Electrotypers and the Closed Shop Branch of the United
Typothetse of America in convention.
The United Typothetse of America at first refused the closed-shop
branch permission to take a referendum vote, on the ground that such
action would involve the entire organization. The executive com
mittee later, however, ruled that the. closed-shop branch had a right
to take this action. The officers of the closed-shop branch then, to
avoid further delay, took the vote of the branch at its meeting held
in connection with the typothetse convention in September, 1919. As
the convention w^as held in New York, the representation present
was chiefly from that city. The agreement wTas unanimously adopted
for the introduction of the 44-hour week in the closed-shop branch
on May 1, 1921. The parent body, the United Typothetae of Amer
ica, however, adopted a resolution strongly opposing any reduction in
hours.
When the date for the reduction of hours approached, a seriously
depressed condition which had developed in the industry inspired
additional opposition from employing printers in all parts of the
country. While in spite of considerable pressure the closed-shop
division had reaffirmed its 44-hour agreement in 1920, it had no .list
of members bound by its action.13
The organized union employers in New York, Chicago, Cincinnati,
Washington, and Indianapolis had definitely promised the 44-hour
week to the local unions in those cities. Elsewhere, however, many
members of the typothetse and other employing printers declared
that even if they were running union shops they were not bound by
the agreement made through the International Joint Conference
Council when they had taken no part in making the agreement and
had not voted for its adoption through the closed-shop branch or
the Printers’ League. Efforts through the council to secure a post
ponement of the reduction of hours until conditions should be more
propitious failed. On May 1, 1921, the reduction went into effect in
the union plants of the large cities which had been definitely com
mitted to the agreement, and in many smaller places and among
parts of the industry elsewhere. But a very large part of the indus
try engaged in a bitter strike, during which large and influential
groups of the employing printers established their plants on a non
union basis. The division on labor policy which had followed the
1906 strike was reestablished.14
The International Joint Conference Council continued to hold
occasional meetings until 1925. During its earlier period, in addi
13 Its members consisted of firms which had affiliated in 1919 following rcceipt of a letter
of invitation which ended as follows : “ Remember it costs you nothing beyond your regu
lar United Typothetse of America dues to be a member of the closed-shop branch, nor does
it bind you in any way— it is simply a notification to headquarters that, running a union
shop, you wish to avail yourself of receiving all advices and assistance that particularly
pertain to union matters, and that you appreciate the wisdom of acting in concert, so far
as possible, with other members running union shops.”
14 Powell, op. cit., pp. 145-160 ; United Typothetse of America, department of industrial
relations, Statement of facts, 44-hour week situation, Mar. 1, 1921.

BOOK AND JOB PRIN TING INDUSTRY

tion to the 44-hour week agreement, it had adopted a set of “ car
dinal points of a labor policy 55 to guide wage negotiations, had rec
ommended a standard cost-of-living clause for wage readjustments,
for local contracts, and had made recommendations for the construc
tive handling of the apprenticeship problem. The prestige of the
council suffered severely when it transpired through the events con
nected with the 44-hour week that the employers were not organized
in a way to make it possible for their representatives to speak
authoritatively for the industry, except for New York. Nevertheless,
the council was held together for a time. Xti sent out a standard
contract form which has considerably affected practice in the indus
try, as have its apprenticeship recommendations.15 The largest proj
ect after 1922 was the promotion of a survey of health conditions in
the printing industry. This investigation was financed by the unions
and the employers, and carried out by Frederick L. Hoffman, with
the cooperation of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Two bulletins, the result of this study, were published in 1925 and
1927.16 Attempts to organize district councils, by cooperation of the
national officers of the unions and the Printers’ League, proved that
it was impossible to arouse interest in such a project or to secure a
strong national organization of the union employing printers at this
time. Since the International Joint Conference Council then repre
sented practically only the New York employers, it has become inac
tive. No meetings have been called since that of February, 1925.
The council could be revived should conditions change and demon
strate to the employers a need for such national action on labor
questions. The forces of local autonomy are too strong in the com
mercial printing industry at present to secure the advantages of
cooperation nationally by the leaders of the unions and the closedshop employing printers.
The events of 1921 brought an increase in the number of nonunion
or open-shop plants in the country, and a distinct change in the
character of labor policy of employing printers in many centers.
An estimate of the extent of organization in the printing and allied
trades in 1920, based upon the membership of the unions and the
total numbers employed in these industries, gave 50.1 per cent as
the degree of organization for the entire industry, 55.4 per cent
for the men and 25 per cent for the women.17 A more extensive
organization in the book and job industry was shown by a survey by
the United Typothetse of America of its membership in 1920. Re
ports from 2,729 plants from all parts of the country, a good sample
of the industry except fo r its lack of representation of the smaller
plants, showed 57 per cent of the plants, employing 66 per cent of
the wage earners, as union throughout or in one or more important
departments. Of the employees, union members were 72 per cent
of the total in the composing room, 71 per cent in the pressroom, 47
per cent in the bindery, and 64 per cent of the total. A survey in
September, 1921, based upon estimates of local typothetse secretaries,
15 The apprenticeship recommendations of the International Joint Conference Council
are incorporated in the constitution and by-laws of the International Printing Pressmen
and Assistants Union as adopted August, 1926, in article 34.
16 U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Bui. No. 392 : Survey of hygienic conditions in the
printing trades, by S. Kjaer, Washington, 1925; Bui. No. 427: Health survey of the
printing trades, 19221 to 1925, by Frederick L. Hoffman, Washington, 1927.
17 Wolman, L eo: Growth of American Trade-Unions, 1880-1923, p. 141.

PROBLEM OF JO IN T INDUSTRIAL CONTROL

of the proportions of production under open-shop and union condi
tions, showed a great change over the country. New York was ap
proximately two-thirds union, and Chicago was estimated as one-half
union. In 67 other cities, however, 3,186 open shops were said to
control 72 per cent of the production, while 1,542 union shops were
said to control 28 per cent of the total.18
No accurate data are available as to the degree of organization in
1928. The unions have made progress in reorganizing. The In ter
national Typographical Union, which lost 6,000 members, now has
a larger membership than before the strike. The International P rin t
ing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union also has increased its member
ship. The International Brotherhood of Bookbinders, however, lack
ing the strength which the other crafts gain from the inclusion of
newspaper workers, in 1927 was still 7,000 below its 1920 membership.
Nevertheless, many plants which became nonunion in 1921 have
maintained that policy in regard to all crafts.19
The present division on labor policy in the book and job printing
industry is derived directly from the struggle of 1921. While the
industry since the 8-hour strike of 1906 has had a group of important
nonunion plants, their number was very much increased by the strike
of 1921. Although the unions have regained many plants, the funda
mental division of the industry remains. A new development of
this period, however, has been the efforts of groups of the open-shop
and nonunion plants to develop a constructive organization for co
operation of employers' and employees in establishing joint control
of the industry, although on an open-shop basis. These new types of
organization compete with the older forms of relationship between
the organized employers and employees on a trade-union basis for the
support of the two groups. To show the concrete results of these
types of organizations in the control which they establish over the
industry is the purpose of this study.
18 Typothetse Bulletin, November, 1921, p. 63.
19 American Labor Year Book, 1928, p. 105; Typographical Journal, August, 1927, Sup
plement, p. 93.

Chapter 2.—American Guild of the Printing Industry:
An Open-Shop Experiment in Constitutional Gov
ernment
Constitutional law as a “ vehicle to organize the area of mutual
interest and to provide machinery for adjustment in the area of pos
sible collision ” 1 is the keynote of the American Guild of the P rin t
ing Industry. This experiment in industrial government, which was
organized in Baltimore in 1921 with a written constitution, has main
tained its position for seven years. The attempt will be made here
to show how this government has functioned and the extent and
results of the joint control which is provided for in the constitution.
First, a brief sketch of the industrial background and of how the
guild came about is necessary.
The graphic arts industries have a very important place in the
industrial life of Baltimore, for they rank next to the clothing indus
tries and to slaughtering and meat packing in the total value of
their products. Book and job printing, publishing, and bookbinding
in 1925 were exceeded only by the clothing industries in number of
plants and wage earners. The book and job industry included ap
proximately 180 plants and 2,500 employees and had a product
valued at over $13,000,000. The industry in Baltimore is less highly
specialized than is the case in some cities. Two leading plants spe
cialize in book and periodical publication, and there are several
label houses. There are also trade composition plants, and groups
of allied trades, such as the lithographers, photo-engravers, and
electrotypers, which have no close relation to the commercial indus
try in regard to labor matters. But the mass of the industry is
unspecialized and engaged in general commercial printing. The
printing plants in Baltimore are small. Plants employing over 100
people are rare, while the largest commercial plant has only 250
employees.
The history of industrial relations in the book and job industry is
a story of gradual development of control by the unions, culminating
in the postwar years in a condition under which the printing of the
city was 90 per cent or more unionized. The newspaper industry is
practically union throughout. Agreements between the unions and
the employers, however, have been made only by individual plants
and not by an employers’ association. While the Typothetee of Bal
timore was first organized in 1894, it was not until it was reorganized
in 1919 with a broader program that it appointed an industrial-relations committee and undertook to negotiate with the various unions.
Previously the typographical union established its scale and made
agreements with individual plants as it was able, and the printing
pressmen and assistants’ union and the bookbinders’ and bindery
1 Gill, Robert S., in Folding Box Manufacturers’ National Association Membership
Bulletin 143.

17616°—28----- 2

AMERICAN GUILD OF THE PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

women’s unions as they organized and gained strength followed suit.
The typographical union had in force a 7-year agreement which ex
pired in December, 1916, and was followed by another agreement,
effective through 1919 and providing for the closed shop, regulation
of wages, hours, and conditions, and arbitration of any disputes.
During 1919 the typothetse industrial relations committee, represent
ing the union employers, began to negotiate with the unions. For
the first time agreements for definite periods were made with the
pressroom and bindery unions. The pressmen’s agreement, effective
from September, 1919, to April 30,1921, provided for the closed shop,
a wage increase, shop conditions, and that the question of wages
might be opened for adjustment at six months’ intervals, based upon
changes in the cost of living and the “ economic or physical condition
of the industry,” arbitration to be called upon if necessary to secure
an adjustment. This agreement and the others negotiated during the
period were not signed by the typothetse but were left to the indi
vidual firms to accept or reject. In practice the conditions decided
upon by the unions and the typothetee governed the industry. A
new typographical union contract, effective from January 1, 1920,
to April 30, 1921, was agreed upon following the first use of arbitra
tion in the Baltimore industry. I t provided for a wage increase and
for readjustments at six months’ intervals upon a 10 per cent change
in the cost of living. By negotiation or arbitration further increases
were secured by all the unions during 1920, although in the case of the
bindery women and of the pressmen and press feeders strikes pre
ceded one of their settlements. Early in 1921, because of the changes
in conditions, an arbitration resulted in a wage decrease for the
pressmen, effective until May 1, 1921.2
On the whole, harmony prevailed between the employing printers
and the unions during these years. A large part of the industry was
union in fact, although only the union-label plants signed contracts
with the unions. In the plants which called themselves open shop
many union members were employed and for the most part union
conditions were observed. There is no evidence of dissatisfaction on
the part of either group with existing conditions. Then came May 1,
1921.
The 44-hour-week issue had first appeared in Baltimore in 1919.
The typographical union included a reduction of hours in its demands
for the contract to be effective in January, 1920, but after discussion
the demand was withdrawn. The understanding upon w^hich this
issue was withdrawn was unfortunately not committed to writing,
and a year later difference of opinion as to its terms developed. The
union understood that the 44-hour wTeek would go into effect in Bal
timore on May 1, 1921, the date set in the agreement made through
the International Joint Conference Council by the closed-shop divi
sion of the United Typothetse of America and the international
unions. The Typothetse of Baltimore, which did not belong to the
closed-shop division and had no part in making this national agree
ment, maintained that it had agreed only to establish the shorter
work week whenever it became universal throughout the industry in
the country, defining universal as 50 per cent or more of the printing
2 Typothetse of Baltimore.
1910—1921.

Agreements and arbitration decisions with various unions,

INDUSTRIAL, BACKGROUND

plants of the country. All the agreements made in the Baltimore
industry following this 1919 discussion terminated on April 30, 1921,
however.3
When the spring of 1921 arrived the Baltimore printing industry
was in a serious condition of depression. The Baltimore employers
were naturally sympathetic to the general movement of opposition
to the introduction of the shorter work week which had developed
over the country because of the condition of the industry. The
opposition of the employers was increased by what appears in the
light of later events as a tactical blunder on the part of the unions,
for the typographical, pressmen’s, and electrotypers’ unions all in
cluded a demand for an increase of approximately $10 with their
demand for the reduction of hours on May 1. The typothetse notified
the unions that it would be glad to meet the union committees to
discuss wages, in order to continue the pleasant relations which had
existed for so long, but that it considered the 48-hour week essential,
and that it could meet only upon prior acceptance of this condition.
The typothetae refused to discuss the 44-hour week, while the unions
refused to accept the continuance of the existing work week, saying
this was a national matter. As a result no conferences were held and
both groups prepared for battle.
On Monday, May 2, in the composing rooms some 375 members
of the typographical union struck. Two days later over 800 men
and women walked out of the pressrooms and binderies. Ninety
per cent or more of the commercial printing trades workers were
said to be involved. The typographical union made some progress
in securing agreements for the 44-hour week and the old rate of
wages among small plants, but the larger plants and a considerable
proportion of the small ones stood firm for the 48-hour week and the
open shop. The pressroom and bindery unions after a few weeks
found themselves in the same position as those unions in many other
cities. The union funds were exhausted and strike benefits came
to an end. There w^as nothing left but to return to work, and as time
went on many gave up their union cards and returned under openshop conditions at the old scales of wages and hours. Even in the
few shops which continued to recognize these unions and to use the
union label the 48-hour week continued. The bookbinders’, press
men’s, and bindery women’s unions lost heavily in membership until
only the shells of their former organizations remained.
The International Typographical Union, through the support of
its newspaper members and the book and job men who were at work
on the 44-hour week, continued for several years to pay strike benefits.
Baltimore Typographical Union two years after the strike still had
over 100 members on the strike roll. During the six }^ears following
the inauguration of the strike the union membership decreased by
about 200, of whom some left Baltimore for other jurisdictions and
others gave up their union cards and returned to plants in which the
strike was still on. In 1927 the Baltimore Typographical Union
had 700 members, of whom 300 were book and job men. The union
estimates that it controls one-half of the book and job compositors
in the city. In addition to 20 or more union-label houses the typo
3 Printinsr, Feb. 26, 1921, p. 65 : “ Important to Printers ” ; Bulletins issued by Typo
graphical Union No. 12.

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G IN D U STR Y

graphical union claims 10 or more other union composing rooms,
and in addition has a considerable number of members in the openshop plants. The union plants, however, are all small. While the
union has not secured recognition from any of the large plants which
became open shop in 1921, it is strong enough to be able to secure
its scale, $40 for 44 hours and overtime for all additional time, in
the open-shop 48-hour plants in which it has members at work. As
is usually the case, the union has its chief strength, outside the news
paper and union-label houses, in the trade composition plants.4
B irth of the A m erican Guild
In the weeks before the strike of May 1, 1921, when it became
apparent that the unions would force the issue of the 44-hour week,
the employing printers made their plans to meet the emergency. To
one of the leaders of the Baltimore Typothetse it seemed important
that the employing printers should not merely direct their efforts
to defeating the introduction of the 44-hour week and to establishing
the open shop, but have a constructive substitute for the old method
of dealing with their employees through the unions. This employer,
Mr. Edward B. Passano, of Williams & Wilkins Co., studied the
industrial-relations plans in effect in many industries and decided
upon the general plan of the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumber
men of the Northwest as suited to the needs of the commercial
printing industry.
On April 15, 1921, at a meeting of the Fourth District Typothetse
Federation, Mr. Passano presented the outlines of the plan. He
stated first his belief that very valuable function,s had been per
formed by the trade-unions, but that they had necessarily developed
as fighting organizations, with autocratic leadership, and that the
development of power in the hands of a few had led to its abuse.
A competing organization which would embody the good features of
unionism would compel the unions to change their policy and operate
more for the good of both their members and the public. Mr.
Passano also pointed out weaknesses in the usual forms of employee
representation plans, in that the organizations were confined to single
plants or companies, with a resulting loss of freedom of movement
to the employee member, and that no provision was made for joint
conference in the consideration and solution of problems of shop
management.
The plan which Mr. Pas,sano presented as a substitute for either of
these forms of organizations was for a guild, to be composed of both
employers and employees in as many plants as could be brought into
the organization. As soon as possible the guilds in different cities
would be joined into districts and eventually into a national guild,
which would follow the form of organization of the local. The organi
zation was to include three types of committees, the shop committee in
each plant, a chapter board composed of an equal number of employers
and of employees representing the entire local organization, and the
chapter board of appeal which was to include representatives of both
groups in the industry and of the public, and was to perform the func
4 Printing, May 14, 1921, p. 89; May 28, 1921; July 2, 1921, p. 70; Typographical
Journal, July, 1921, p. 34, Supplement, p. 81; International Bookbinder,* July, 1926,
p. 291.

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAW S SUMMARIZED

tion of an arbitration board if necessary. The guild provided for
the open shop, without discrimination against union members, for
joint conference and collective bargaining, and that the men through
the local board should have “ an equal voice in the big problems of
shop management in which they are interested.” Essential parts of
the plan also were to be the establishment of a normal wage and a
standard work week, the classification of workers according to pro
duction records, group insurance, and apprentice training.5
A fter much discussion the Baltimore Typothetse decided to go
ahead with this plan, and on May 18, some two weeks after the
beginning of the 44-hour strike, they reported that they were bring
ing to Baltimore to organize the guild, Mr. Robert S. Gill, executive
secretary of the Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen in the
Pacific Northwest. A ma,ss meeting was called on September 13 to
discuss the question “ Shall we organize the American Guild of the
Printing Industry? ” A circular distributed previously offered as
the benefits of the proposed organization to the men and women in
the industry the following:
Equal say-so between employer and employee in the determination of all
questions in which both employers and employees are interested.
The highest wages the industry is at any tim e capable of paying.
Recognition of the worker as a partner in industrial enterprise.
The right of conference on any and every m atter pertaining to relations be
tween the employer and employee.

The circular also gave a plan for group insurance and the proposed
organization of conference committees and the two local boards.
The mass meeting, which was attended by about 400 people, includ
ing a considerable number of the strikers, heard Mr. Gill present the
plan, asked questions, and authorized him to send out tentative appli
cation cards and attempt to organize the guild. At a second meeting,
on November 2, representatives for a constitution committee were
elected by the employer and employee groups. Over 300 application
cards had been received. On November 29 a third meeting was held,
at which the guild was organized, the constitution which had been
distributed in proof to all applicants was ratified, and representatives
for the chapter board were elected by the two groups. To this con
stitution, later characterized as a “ permanent collective bargain be
tween the employer members and the employee members,” we now
turn.
Constitution
The constitution and by-laws, the basic law of this industrial gov
ernment, is a long, detailed, and somewhat involved document which
establishes the machinery of government, details the procedure, and
makes definite the rights of all groups under this agreement. The
high points of this law are summarized here.
The theory upon which the guild is built is seen in brief in one
paragraph of the preamble, following the statement that three neces
sary elements in successful industrial enterprise are cooperation, jus
tice, and service. It is as follows:
5 Passano, Edward B .: The Typothetre of Baltimore plan of industrial relationship.
Paper read at the Fourth District Typothetse Federation, Apr. 15, 1921. For constitution
of the American Guild see Appendix B, p. 198.

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G IN D U STR Y

We believe, further, that those actually engaged in an industry are best
suited to solve its problem s; that prosperity and security can be assured in
greater measure to both employers and employees when mutual distrust is
replaced by mutual understanding; that there is a wide field in which the in
terests of employer and employee are closely iden tified ; and that by association
and joint conference on industrial problems, greater material w elfare can and
w ill accrue to every party to the association.

Membership is of two main classes. Individual members are
white citizens engaged in any capacity from chief executive to
apprentice in the printing and allied industries. Membership in
other organizations is no bar. Company members are employing
concerns of which at least 51 per cent of the employees have become
individual members. Both individual and company members pledge
themselves to conform to the rules and regulations of the guild, to
accept any penalties levied for violations of regulations, and to ex
haust every means provided by the guild for the adjustment of dif
ferences before employing any other means. The company members
further agree that their membership is effective for three calendar
years following application, and is automatically renewable unless
notice of withdrawal is given at least 90 days prior to the expiration
of any 3-year period. An individual member who withdraws from
the industry or accepts employment in a nonguild plant may continue
his membership and his insurance coverage by paying the regular
dues plus the amount normalty paid by the employer. A member
who is unemployed is protected by the guild in his insurance and
membership right for a period of 90 days, by the payment of pre
mium and waiver of dues for that period, while he has opportunity
to seek employment.
The rights of members are set forth in an important section, as
follows:
Ri ght s of members.—Among the rights of every member, the follow ing are
included :
(а) The right of participating in the deliberations of the chapter of w hich
he may be a member.
(б) The right of participating in collective bargaining between employer and
employee according to the methods provided by the guild.
(c) The right of individual bargaining.
(d) The right of making complaint or suggestion through the conference
committee.
( 0 ) The right of initiating matters of concern to the guild or to the industry
through his representatives on comm ittees and boards.
(f) The right of appeal in case of disagreement between employer and
employee.
Among the rights of the individual member, the follow ing are in clu d ed :
O ) The right of developing his own skill and earning capacity to the highest
degree.
(&) The right of freedom from discrimination and danger o f discharge in
making use of the machinery of the guild.
(c) The right of at least one week’s notice of discharge, except in case of
transient or emergency employees.
Among the rights of the company member, the follow ing are included:
(a) The right of freedom in directing the work of the plant and in developing
plant organization to the highest degree of efficiency.
(b) The right of engaging new employees, and of discharging employees
for cause.
( c ) The right of at least one week's notice of the resignation o f an employee,
except in case of transient or emergency employees.

I t is the policy of the guild, although not absolutely required by
the language of the constitution, that company members should not

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAW S SUMMARIZED

discriminate against any applicant for employment because of mem
bership in any organization. I t is required, however, that they
should give preference to guild members in hiring new employees, in
retentions, and in promotions. Individual members also must give
preference to company members in seeking employment.
The members in the plant of any company member constitute a
chapel, using that historic term which has come down from the
earliest organizations of journeyman printers. Each chapel is to
elect by secret ballot at 6-month periods a representative from each
department or group of workers for a conference committee, to con
sist wholly of employees, not executives or office staff, who have
been in the emplo}^ of the company at least three months.. The chair
man, elected by the chapel, presides at all meetings of the chapel or
the conference committee, while the secretary collects dues and keeps
all records. The duty of the conference committee is to review all
complaints or suggestions made by the workers, and if 50 per cent
of the committee consider it necessary, to lay the matter before the
management. “ Management and conference committee in session
together constitute a consultation board for matters pertaining to the
chapel or to the plant.” The conference committee may take a com
plaint to a foreman or other supervising employee designated by
the management, and may appeal from the decision of such super
visor to the chief official of the company. The management is bound
by the acts of its designated representatives. The rights of the
members to make complaints and the procedure for handling such
matters are definitely set forth in Article X, which is here quoted as
a very important part of the constitution:
1. Just cause for com plaint.—When any member shall judge that he has
just cause for complaint he shall make use of the method herein provided for
redress of the same. Just cause for complaint shall specifically in clu d e: Feeling
on the part of the member th a t he is not being paid according to established
levels or according to his s k ill; that he has worked overtime w ithout receiving
overtime p a y ; that he has been unfairly discriminated against or unjustly
discharged; that conditions under which he works are unsanitary or unsafe.
2. jR eview of com plaint.— The member shall make h is complaint known to
the conference committee. I f the committee shall decide that the complaint is
not a proper one, it shall so advise the complaining member. I f the cause for
complaint is deemed just, the m atter shall be referred to the management
for adjustment.
3. A dju stm en t.— Conference committee and management shall exhaust every
honorable means to adjust the complaint. I f unable to do* so, the executive
manager shall be appealed to for a decision. Appeal may be taken from the
decision either by management or conference committee to the chapter board.

I t is provided also that “ no conference committeeman shall be sub
ject to discrimination by the management by reason of any activity
on behalf of the guild.”
All members living and working in a city and its environs con
stitute a chapter. The chapter meets periodically on its own resolu
tion, and at least once annually to elect representatives to the chapter
boards. Its function is to initiate and pass on matters of local con
cern. Im portant action is not final unless it is agreed to by a
majority of the employer members present and voting and a .majority
of the employee members present and voting, but a majority of
either group may make formal recommendation to the chapter board.
In the chapter meeting, on demand of any three of either group, the

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

vote may be taken by groups, and on demand of either group separate
caucus may be arranged.
The governing body of the chapter is the chapter board, consisting
of six employers and six employees elected by secret ballot by the
two groups at the annual meeting of the chapter. Nominations are
made previously by the company members for employer representa
tives on the chapter board and the chapter board of appeal and by
each chapel for two of its members as employee representatives on
the two boards. Members of the board,s hold office for one year.
Chapter officers elected by the chapter board are a chairman, who
presides at all meetings of the chapter and of the chapter board, and
“ shall be neither employer nor employee in the printing and allied
industries,” and an executive manager, who is the chief executive
officer of the guild, is responsible to the chapter board, devotes his
entire time to the work of his office, and “ shall not in any way be
interested in the industry either as employer or employee.”
The duties of the chapter board are to pass finally on all matters
arising within and pertaining to the chapter, to review and decide
appeals from conference committees, to draw up by-laws, to decide
all questions of wages, hours, and working conditions, to fix wage
and hour levels, to give attention to matters of safety, health, and
education, and to promote the interests of the guild and the objects
for which it is established. The chapter board is to hold regular
meetings on its own resolution, while special meetings may be called
on request of 50 per cent of both groups or 100 per cent of either
group. Each member has one vote, and there is no voting by proxy.
A quorum consists of four employers and four employees. I t is
provided that any committees, whether of the chapter or the chapter
board, named by the chairman of the board, shall always include
an equal number of employers and employees. In considering any
matter the chapter board is to “ exhaust every means to arrive at
a just decision.” In case of a tie vote the board “ shall go into com
mittee of the whole and endeavor to frame a form of motion which
can secure majority assent. In case this and all other means of
breaking the tie shall fail the matter shall be referred to the chapter
board of appeal.”
The members of the chapter board of appeal are elected in the
same manner and at the same time as are the members of the chapter
board, five being elected by each of the two groups. The ten so
elected then agree upon five other members, to be neither employers
nor employees in the industry, but to represent the general public.
When any matter is referred to the board, three of each of the three
groups are selected by lot to constitute the board of appeals for
that case. The board then proceeds to a review of the case, hearing
the evidence already presented to the chapter board, and if it deems
desirable, seeking new evidence. W ritten briefs may be demanded
and witnesses summoned. A decision in writing, signed by a ma
jority of the board, is final and binding on all members. Any ex
penses of the board are borne by the chapter. All important actions
of the chapter board or the chapter board of appeal are to be pro
mulgated by bulletins to all chapels and to all company members.

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAW S SUMMARIZED

District and national organizations corresponding to the local
may be set up when two or more chapters are organized and
functioning.
In regard to wages, hours, and conditions the constitution provides
that the chapter board shall fix a normal wage and a standard work
week. A normal wage is defined as “ one which can be earned by
the average skill in the number of hours set as the work week.” The
article continues th u s:
Classification and ra tin g.— More than the normal wage may be paid to more
skilled and efficient employees and less may be paid to those not capable of
earning the normal wage. The question of skill and efficiency may become
one of adjustment between management and conference committee, w ith appeal
to the chapter board or to a committee appointed by it on classification. The
chapter board shall set forth a classification and rating system for the rating
of employees; such system shall have the force of constitutional law of the
guild; and no journeyman employee shall be paid less than the rate fixed for
the low est rating.
W age levels shall be fixed w ith reference to the economic state of the industry,
the object being to provide at all times the maximum wage which the industry
is capable of paying.

This article provides for overtime for all work over the standard
-number of hours and for double time on the regularly established
holidays, for a differential for night work, and that safety and health
shall be a matter of concern to the chapter board, which may set
standards and publish a safety and health code.
The powers of initiative on luiv matters pertaining to the guild
are vested in every member, to be exercised through his repre
sentative on boards and committees. Referendum to the member
ship at large may be ordered by a two-thirds majority of the chapter
board.
Any member, either company or individual, who shall violate the
constitution or any regulation of the guild is subject to penalty.
Charges are reviewed by the chapter board, which may assess fines
or order suspension or expulsion. Appeal may be taken to the chapter
board of appeals. Should a company member acknowledge violation
and so far as possible make restitution, the charges are quashed, and
no charge is laid before the board until the member has been given
opportunity to conform to the practice of the guild and make restitu
tion. I f a company member should refuse to pay a fine properly
assessed, the chapter board may proceed to legal collection, adding
the costs of collection to the fine, “ and this provision is specifically
agreed to by every signatory of an application for company
membership.”
The dues paid by individual members are in all cases matched by
the company members. The initiation fee is $1 for each individual
member, and for company members a sum equal to $1 for each
individual member in the employ of the concern. The regular dues
amount to 2 per cent of the weekly wage rate for each member, the
total not to exceed 50 cents per week. Each company member
matches the dues of all members in its employ. The chapel secre
tary may arrange with the management, on a signed order from
each member of the chapel, for the dues to be subtracted from the
pay envelope and turned over to the guild. Forms are provided for

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

the secretary’s use in keeping the records, and each member has a
membership card on which a record of payment of his dues is
made. An individual member delinquent in payment of dues for
four weeks is automatically suspended, and all the privileges of
membership are in abeyance. After three months such member is
dropped from membership. I f a company member is delinquent,
the chapter board, after 60 days, may proceed to collection legally,
the costs to be added to the dues.
Careful provision is made in the constitution and by-laws for
the safeguarding of the funds of the guild. Forms are provided on
which all financial and other records are to be kept; vouchers must
be passed by the chapter board before checks are drawn; an annual
audit by certified public accountants is required; a surety bond is
to be furnished by officers responsible for funds; and the general
fund is to be used for administration, organization, and promotion,
while the insurance fund is to be used only for the payment of in
surance premiums to an insurance company underwriting the risk,
and for special benefits to members.
The insurance features of the guild are provided for in detail
in the constitution and in the insurance code which is attached.
The purpose of these provisions is to insure the individual members,
“ in so far as practicable, expedient, and legally possible, against
every contingency that may put a stop temporarily or permanently
to the earning power.” For that purpose an insurance fund is
established by apportioning to it a definite proportion of the regular
dues, to be entirely separate from the general fund and never used
for any purpose other than for the insurance of the members.
Benefits of three sorts for each active member were provided in
the insurance code as originally adopted. F irst is the death benefit,
varying according to the wage rate, from $500 f o p those whose weekly
rate is up to $17 only, to $750 for all with a rate of $23.51 and
over. In case of total and permanent disability this benefit is paid
in 60 equal monthly installments at the rate of $1.80 for each $100
of insurance in the capital sum; such payments begin six months
after disablement, and are regarded as liquidation of this firstbenefit. This is not effective, however, if a member is disabled
when more than 60 years of age, as the State law does not permit
it. The second benefit is accident and health indemnity. In case
of nonoccupational accident or illness the member receives a weekly
indemnity amounting to two-thirds of his weekly wage, the in
demnity to begin after three weeks, to continue for 26 weeks, and
not to exceed $16.67 per week. In case of total and permanent
disability, and upon the exhaustion of the second benefit, the member
is to receive a weekly indemnity of one-half of his weekly wage,
the sum not to exceed $12.50 per week and the indemnity to con
tinue so long as the disability lasts. A further provision is that
when the membership reaches 1,000 there may be established a
benefit to be known as the pension endowment. I t is prbvided also
that when any member is on disability benefit his dues shall be
waived.
Alterations to the constitution can be proposed to the chapter by
a two-thirds majority vote of the chapter board or by petition of
20 members of the chapter. They must be distributed to the mem

TH E GUILD AT WORK

bership in printed form and be voted upon at a meeting of the entire
chapter. The assent of two-thirds of the employers and two-thirds
of the employees present at the meeting is required to adopt any
amendment.
The Guild at W o r k 6
The preliminary work of organization of the American Guild was
handled through the office of the Typothetse of Baltimore, but as
soon as a constitution was adopted and a membership assured, the
guild set itself up in separate offices on “ neutral territory,” where
it would no longer be the employers’ organization. Thirteen plants
and one supply house were organized, and by May, 1922, the indi
vidual membership amounted to 393. The chapter board early in
December, 1921, began to hold weekly meetings. Mr. Gill, the or
ganizer of the guild, was elected executive manager, and when the
payment of dues began on January 1, 1922, the organization was
finally under way. A monthly paper, Team Work, was established
to keep the membership informed of the purposes, plans, and activi
ties of the guild and to provide a means of expression. A guild
emblem was adopted from a number submitted competitively by the
members. The employer members in the meantime agreed to con
tribute to a fund to float the guild for one year, until it should get
on its feet financially.
A question rises as to the employee representatives. Several fore
men and superintendents were elected as representatives of the em
ployees on the two chapter boards in spite of suggestions th at this
might not be advisable. The constitution did not limit the term
66employee” to working or mechanical employees except for mem
bers. of conference committees. The question was not seriously raised
by any of the employees, however, until some years later. Finally
a 4fgentleman’s agreement” was made to the effect that only work
ing employees should be elected to the boards. There is no hard and
fast rule, however, and foremen are in some cases still nominated
by the employees of their shops and elected to the boards.
While it was the plan that most of the legislation for the guild
was to- come through the chapter board, the chapter meetings in
which employers and employees were to come together for discus
sion of the problems of the guild and for social contact were con
sidered very important. At the first meeting of the chapter, on
February 1, 1922, it was voted to meet regularly on the first Wednes
day evening of each month. Mr. James J. Fulton, superintendent of
one of the plants^ who had been elected as an employee representa
tive on the chapter board, was temporarily elected as chairman. He
has been reelected to this position each year, in spite of the consti
tutional provision for a chairman from outside the industry, and
appears to have served to the satisfaction of both groups. In 1928,
however, the chapter board elected two chairmen, one from the em
ployers and one from the employees. There is no restriction on the
matters which may be discussed at the chapter meeting, but in prac
tice discussion has been devoted more to the general condition of
6 American Guild of the Printing Industry, Minutes of chapter and chapter board;
Team Work, 1922 to 1927; and interviews with guild employers and employees, nonguild
employers, and union officers.

AMERICAN GUILD OF THE PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

the organization and to plans for such activities as a baseball league,
theater parties, and the summer outing or other important function
than to specific problems of the industry.
In a few cases, which will be discussed later, matters of wages
and conditions have been argued and voted upon by the chapter.
The general meeting served the function of keeping the membership
informed of what was being done and giving a chance for discussion
if it was wanted. A large part of the function of the- chapter meet
ing, however, was social. For a time the different chapels alternated
in entertaining the chapter. Late in 1924, because it was felt that
the cost of entertainment had become too large, it was voted to
eliminate the entertainment feature except for occasional meetings.
Immediately it became impossible to secure a quorum, and the con
stitution was changed to make 10 members in good standing a quorum
in place of one-tenth of the employer members and one-tenth of the
employee members as formerly. A year later the monthly meetings
and entertainments were resumed and Team Work, which had been
dropped for some months, was reestablished, in an effort to restore
interest in the guild. Again it was found that many who came had
interest only in the social aspects of the meetings and that the cost
was too much for the value received. Finally early in 1927 the chap
ter voted for three or four large social meetings during the year,
business sessions to be held only as called. No business sessions have
been held since.
The chapter board is the governing body of the guild and it is
in its sessions that the larger part of the serious work of the organi
zation has been done. The board ruled early that its resolutions
had the force of law. The standing resolutions of the chapter board
are now printed in a. section in the booklet containing the constitution
and by-laws, ready for quick reference by either group.
Insurance
The provisions for insurance are among the most important fea
tures of the guild. To many employee members insurance is without
question the most important. The provisions for the death benefit,
health and accident insurance, and total and permanent disability
indemnity, as stated in the constitution and insurance code, have
already been given. The- insurance was written by the Metropolitan
Life Insurance Co., somewhat as an experiment, for there was no
experience with such a group policy covering total and permanent
disability with no age limit, and in effect therefore a pension. The
contract was written for only one year, with renewal and cancellation
privileges. There was some dissatisfaction with the three weeks’
waiting period for the health and accident indemnity. But when
a resolution was submitted by one chapel to reduce the waiting period
from three to two weeks, with a corresponding reduction of the
indemnity from two-thirds to- one-half of the wage, it was discussed
by the chapter and voted down. In 1926 the insurance company
announced that after four years’ trial it had found the total and
permanent disability clause too costly and could not go on with it
unless with an increase in rate. The company offered, however, in ex
change for the waiving of this clause by the guild, to reduce the wait

TH E QUESTION OF WAGES

ing period for the health and accident indemnity to one week, with
no change in the benefit. The chapter board felt that dissatisfaction
with the long waiting period was something of a deterrent to obtain
ing new members, and agreed to accept the change, waiving entirely
the permanent and total disability benefit, effective April 1, 1926.
The membership in this case was not given opportunity to discuss
and vote upon the decision, and some dissatisfaction resulted. In
the fall a representative of the insurance carrier spoke to the chapter
explaining why the change had been necessary, but feeling has per
sisted among some of the older members that they were badly treated
and should have had a voice in this decision.
During the five years and a half of the guild’s life, up to June 25,
1927, insurance benefits had been paid amounting to over $33,500, a
substantial amount for an organization of 400 members.
Wages
Wages, in all the various aspects of that question, have been the
subject of more discussion in the guild than any other matter, and
at various times have aroused active controversies among the mem
bership. One of the guild employers had long been interested in
determining wage rates according to efficiency and production rec
ords. I t was his hope that the guild might work out classifications
and ratings of employees and determine wages more scientifically
than under the old minimum-wage system, which he believed tended
to a leveling of wages and destroyed the incentive for efficiency.
Accordingly, the principle of a “ normal wage ” with payment above
and below according to skill and efficiency was written into the con
stitution. Early in 1922 the chapter board voted that the old union
scales which were still in effect in the industry should be considered
the normal scales. In October, 1922, the board, after considerable dis
cussion, adopted a normal weekly wage scale of $40 for compositors,
cylinder pressmen, and bookbinders, $29 for cylinder-press feeders,
and $17.50 for bindery girls. The typographical union scale was
then $40 for 44 hours, or $45.50 for 48 hours. The scales for the
other unions, all on a 48-hour basis, were: Pressmen, $37.84; press
feeders, $29.11; bookbinders, $38; and bindery women, $20. The
board ruled, however, that no reduction should be made in the wages
paid to any member at the time this scale was adopted. In a bulletin
to the membership the board pointed out that these were not mini
mum scales but were intended to provide for payment according to
skill and capacity and that each should be permitted to develop his
own skill and earning capacity to the highest degree. This system
of basing wages on production should give both high wages and low
wage costs. As to a classification and rating system, more study
was needed, and for the present, ratings above and below the normal
were left to individual agreement, although every member had a
right to appeal to the board if he thought himself underpaid. The
board declared also that in case an employee should have opportunity
to increase his earning capacity by changing shops no company mem
ber should in any way prevent but should “ exemplify the spirit of
the organization by assisting their employees in locating better posi
tions than the present employer has open, provided the individual
member shall have demonstrated his greater skill and usefulness.”

AMERICAN GUILD OF THE PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

A year later the manager brought up the need of a classification
and rating system to insure the satisfactory operation of the normal
scale. The chapter board appointed a committee to consider the
matter, with the understanding that any system, before adoption,
should be circulated to the entire membership. The committee con
sisted of an employer, a foreman, and the manager and assistant
manager of the guild. The preliminary report on November 8, 1923,
recommended that the work of an employee be evaluated according
to six factors—general ability, teamwork, versatility, attendance and
punctuality, spoilage, and length of service. As the first two could
not be accurately measured, the committee recommended the use of
a rating card for each of these qualities. Each worker was to be
rated by three of his fellow workers, by his immediate superior, and
by the management, the final rating to be a composite. Ratings
would be made at 6-month periods and determine the wage for the
ensuing six months. Versatility, or “ the quality wherein an em
ployee is both able and willing to do several jobs, and is called upon
to do them, with a good degree of skill,” was to be declared by the
foreman. The other factors were determined mathematically and
given certain plus and minus ratings. All the ratings were in the
form of percentages, which wTere applied to the normal scale to
determine the wage.
After discussion the board referred this report to an entirely new
committee consisting of two employers, a foreman, and a journeyman.
This committee approved the general plan of the earlier committee.
I t omitted length of service from the factors to be considered, how
ever, provided that each individual .should be rated by all the fellow
workers of his department as well as by the foreman and manage
ment, and provided that the employer might, if he wished, disregard
minus ratings when there were extenuating circumstances. A ra t
ing of 70 points was to be the normal for which the normal scale
should be paid, one-half of 1 per cent to be added or deducted for
each point above or below 70. The chapter board adopted the report
and ordered it printed and distributed to the membership for con
sideration, and recommended that if adopted by the chapter it
should go into effect for a 4-month trial period on May 1, 1924. The
board urged that the plan should not be considered a system of re
wards or penalties, but rather as payment for value received, an
attempt at a system “ that supplies an accurate and satisfactory
measure to determine the amount of wages each guild member .shall
be paid * * * for value in service received.” The board urged
also that since length of service was not included in the factors
determining the wage rate, it should be recognized by vacation
privileges with pay.7
The chapter, at a meeting at which over 100 members were present
and in the current issues of Team Work, entered upon a lively dis
cussion and criticism of the plan proposed, criticism to some extent
stimulated by opposition of the typographical union. Criticism was
directed chiefly to the rating of workers by fellow employees, in the
belief that men could not rate each other correctly and fairly, and
that the plan would create endless dissension in the plants. The
7 Printing, Mar. 2Sl 1924, p. 49 ; Apr. 19, 1924, p. 64,

THE QUESTION OF WAGES

plan would also take away from the skilled man the right to bargain
with his employer for his own wage. I t wa,s argued also that the
normal scale upon which the classification system was to rest was
too low. The upshot of it all was a decision to put the plan into
effect for a 4-month trial, during which ratings should be made and
record^ kept, but there should be no effect upon wages. A motion
of an employee that no classification and rating system should at any
time be put into effect without a referendum being first held was
objected to as unconstitutional, the objection was overruled by the
manager who
in the chair, and the motion carried. In only one
of the guild plants was the 4-month trial carried on. In this plant,
which was already using production records in determining wage
rates, the ratings were made, and were found to follow in general the
results shown by the records, but on the whole the rating system was
considered less sound than the records. A(s no other plant had been
interested enough to try the system, it was given up and the Septem
ber meeting of the chapter returned the whole matter to the board.
The next step toward an attempted solution of the wage question
was the consideration of an employee motion that the normal scale
be revised upward because of the increasing cost of living and be
cause of higher wages being paid union members in guild shops. A
new committee of six was appointed to consider further the classi
fication and rating system. This committee consisted of 3 employers,
1 journeyman, 1 foreman, and 1 cost man. On February 19, 1925,
when the motion for a 5 per cent increase in the normal wage scale
came to a vote on the chapter board, the motion was .lost, 7 to 5, one
employee representative voting with the employers.
As a substitute for the flat increase, and to assure to the more
skilled employees the opportunity to secure increases in accordance
with their skill, the board then discussed a new plan presented by
the classification committee. This plan provided th at for each de
partment classifications should be worked out, with minimum rates
of pay in each class, and that a group known as “ guild craftsmen ”
should be established, for whom the lowTest rate should be approxi
mately 5 per cent above the present normal wage. The plan was
indorsed and a classification board was appointed by the chairman,
with two representatives each from the employers and the employees
for each department. A fter the department committees worked out
their classifications, a coordinated report was submitted to the entire
classification board. A minority of the classification board, includ
ing both employers and employees, then reported to the chapter
board its conclusion that “ the absence of readily recognized or recog
nizable standards of performance in composition, presswork, and
other major operations makes a standard wage schedule, applicable to
all plants, an impossibility from the point of view of actual practice.”
I t recommended instead that there be established a board of wage
awards, to be constituted whenever occasion arose, by selecting by lot
three employers and three employees of the craft group in question
from a panel of six employees of each craft. To this board any
employee might appeal upon failure to secure a satisfactory wage
adjustment in his plant. I t recommended also that each employer
should arrange a classification of the employees in his own plant,

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

The chapter board on November 12, 1925, finally adopted this
report as the rules of procedure for handling the craftsman classifica
tion, and adopted the scales submitted by the various department
committees as a guide to the board of wage awards. These recom
mendations were then printed and put in the hands of the member
ship for action. Since January, 1925, while these wage questions
were being discussed, there had been no meetings of the chapter
except for the summer outing, and no issues of Team Work. When
the plan finally adopted by the chapter board was put in the hands
of the members and a meeting called to act upon it, little interest was
evidenced. A small meeting voted to adopt the report and authorized
the manager to select six employees of each craft for the panels
for the board of wage awards. A motion that either employer or
employee might peremptorily challenge a member of the board
selected to act in any case wTas defeated 8 to 16.
A booklet was issued to the members telling them how to use the
board of wage awards by submitting samples of work, attested to by
the foreman, to the executive manager of the guild, who would call
together the board of wage awards. The board would not know the
individual whose case it was considering, and in no case would the
employer of an applicant sit on the board considering his case. The
award of the board would be binding. The tentative graded wage
scale which was included was to be used only as a rough guide to
the board of wage awards. This graded scale provided for most of
the crafts three or more classes, each 5 per cent, 10 per cent, or 15
per cent above the normal scale, with varying degrees of definition of
the classes. For some of the crafts the classifications were very
rough. For instance, for job composition the provisions were as
follows:
Class A, 5 per cent above the normal scale, or $42; class B, 10 per cent above
the normal scale, or $44; class C, 15 per cent above the normal scale, or $46.
The difference in grades A, B, and C are gauged in the compositor’s ability
to properly interpret the spirit of the copy, to visualize, to lay out his work,
and the proper combining of type faces, ornaments, rules, and borders.

For linotype work the classification was more specific, based upon
number of ems per hour produced of straight, tabular, or intricate
work. The cylinder-press classifications were based upon the kind of
forms, sheet size, make-ready allowance, and impressions per hour.
Class A, to illustrate, was as follows:
Forms made up of type matter only—
Sheet size 26 by 40 or sm aller: Make-ready allowance, 2
per hour, 5,000 sheets or less, 1,350; over 5,000 sheets, 1,450.
$40 per week.
Sheet size larger than 26 by 40: Make-ready allowance, 4
per hour, 5,000 sheets or less, 1,200; over 5,000 sheets, 1,300.
$41 per week.

hours; im pressions
R ate for pressman,
h o u r s; impressions
R ate for pressman,

For bindery work the elements which should be considered were
stated, but because of the peculiarities of the work at each plant it
was thought best that each should work out its own classification.
This tentative scale was an attempt to set up standards of production
in an industry in which most of the work is made to order and
unstandardized, with great variations between jobs and between work
of different plants. The resulting classifications were so general

EM PLO YM ENT A FD DISCHARGE

that for most of the craft classes they were of little use. I t has been
impossible to find evidence of the use of these classifications in deter
mining wages in any of the plants.8 The experience of the printing
industry thus far has shown a successful use of standards of pro
duction only in those plants which have made a thorough study of
their particular problems and have developed their own standards
based upon their own production records.
Only one appeal had been made to the board of wage awards by
the spring of 1928. In this case a man hired as a job-press feeder
had taken on additional duties until he thought he was entitled to a
higher rating. Being unable to convince his employer, he appealed
to the board, presenting samples of his work and affidavits from his
foreman and employer. The board of wage awards ruled that he
was entitled to a rating as an ordinary mechanical-feed job pressman,
with the normal scale for that rating. This gave him an increase, and
was satisfactory both to him and to his employer. In four other cases
employees expressed their intention of appealing, but none had car
ried out the plan. Why no further use of the board has been made
is not entirely clear. The plan was, of course, that wage increases
should be negotiated through the individual plants when possible,
with reference to the board only in case of disagreement. I t is the
general testimony that many individuals have secured increases dur
ing the past two years; that in most plants people of ordinary skill
are getting over the normal scale; and that the most skilled receive
the union scale or more. The classification system may have had a
considerable indirect influence in securing to individuals the increases
of this period without requiring resort to the appeal board. A ppar
ently the workers lacked confidence in their ability to get from a board
what they were not able to get from their own employer, or hesitate
to appeal to outsiders. Since the board has been so little used a con
siderable amount of initiative would be needed on the part of the
worker to collect samples of his work and present his case, although
the manager has announced his readiness to assist any employee who
wishes to do so.
Em ploym ent and D ischarge
Two basic guild policies which are written into the constitution
and have been strengthened by resolutions of the chapter board are
preference in employment to guild members and a week’s notice of
discharge. While the guild is opposed to discrimination against
trade-unionists it stands for preference to guild members. This pref
erence is not enforced absolutely, however, and whenever the better
man is a nonguild man, he may be given the preference. The policy
of preference to guild members, however, is responsible for the feel
ing among some of the members that membership is necessary in order
to hold their jobs.
8 American Guild of the Printing Industry. Guild Craftsmen Classification System,
1925.
Leonard F. MeGreevy, executive manager of the American Guild, wrote on Apr. 19,
1928, as follow s: “Although every employer member was presented with two copies when
it was issued, as well as every employee with one, on several occasions I as manager
have given out information to employers on these classifications and have sent out several
additional copies, as the ones asking for it wished to use it and had no copy. It is there
fore evident that it has had some influence,’*

17610°—28---3

AMERICAN GUILD OE TH E PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

The purpose of the provision for a week’s notice of discharge or
resignation was to increase the stability of employment. I t took some
time before this principle was thoroughly established in the industry,
but through appeal to conference committees or to the chapter board
and the efforts of the manager the habit of giving the week’s notice
or a week’s pay became general. The chapter board ruled that for
lay off as well as discharge the regular notice was required. I t was
decided that in case of exceptional and extraordinary circumstances,
as of a deed obviously criminal, or for deliberate and malicious viola
tion of rules, a worker might be immediately suspended without pay
and his case referred to the conference committee, which had the final
word as to whether he was entitled to the constitutional notice or
week’s pay. There was more difficulty in securing from the workers
general acceptance of their obligation under this plan to give a week’s
notice of resignation, or to work out their week’s notice after being
discharged, although some of the plants make it a policy upon
discharge to allow a man time to look for another position.
Question has been raised whether the guild policy allows to the
individual desirable freedom of movement. Among employing prin t
ers there is a traditional policy against “ stealing help,” which at
times has been carried so far as to prevent movement of employees
from plant to plant. The guild early established an employment
service and endeavored to place all members who were laid off. Then
came the question whether a member who was employed but dissatis
fied with his job might have the aid of the guild office in securing a new
opening. Some employers immediately protested against this as con
trary to typothetae policy. The chapter board, however, saying that
this was not a question for the typothetee but for the guild, ruled
that while it was opposed to 46raiding,” it wanted no dead-end jobs,
and believed that there should be no limitation on freedom of move
ment. Any employee, therefore, could have the service of the office
in finding a new position, provided only he should agree to give the
constitutional notice of resignation. As the board in first promul
gating the normal scale had declared for the right of every employee
to better his position by moving as he had opportunity, the policy of
the guild is clear.
The office endeavors to place members in nonguild plants when
there are no openings in guild plants. In such cases, under a ruling
adopted in 1922, members can continue their membership by paying
the regular dues, while the amount which ordinarily is paid by the
employer is carried by the guild. Unemployed members who report
weekly to the employment bureau are protected by the guild for
three months without the payment of dues.
O ther C hapter B oard Decisions
The payment for overtime was provided in the constitution in gen
eral terms, but in 1924 one of the plants asked for a more specific rule.
The chapter board voted then that overtime until midnight should be
paid at the rate of time and a half, and after midnight at double
time. When a man was discharged for refusal to work overtime
after having recently put in considerable overtime and appealed to
the chapter board for a ruling as to his rights under the circum

OTHER CHAPTER BOARD DECISIONS

stances, the board felt that it could not make a definite rule either
as to the right to refuse overtime or to discharge for such refusal.
In general terms, however, it declared its opposition to overtime as
unprofitable to both groups, and urged that each should give con
sideration to the needs of the other.
“ Working conditions and the environment of the job ” are a mat
ter of concern to the chapter board according to the constitution.
Therefore, when the pressroom employees of one plant complained
of insanitary conditions the board appointed a standing committee
on health and safety, to which all complaints and recommendations on
questions of health and safety could be referred for review before
placing them before the board for action. The committee investi
gated this first complaint, found it in part well founded, and secured
the cooperation of the employer in establishing a suitable exhaust
fan to remove the fumes of a* gas heater. No other complaints have
been made to this committee.
The question of apprenticeship was not brought before the chapter
board for action until 1926. A fter the strike the employers had
filled their plants with whatever help was available and endeavored
to train workers to take the places of those strikers who had not
returned to the plants. Some criticism was made by members that
there were too many apprentices in the shops and that the industry
would be flooded with poorly trained workers. In 1923, in order
to put apprentice training on a better basis, the typothetae cooperated
with the board of education in establishing and maintaining a school
of printing, which accepts boys 14 years old who had completed the
eighth grade. The school, in November, 192^ had 66 boys on a full
time basis, 20 working half time in the school and half time in the
plants on a week-about basis, and 140 in night classes—boys who were
employed in printing plants during the day. The school offers a
3-year course and gives training in all the principal branches of the
printing trades. The school tries to place all its boys in plants, but
does not as vet maintain supervision over them after they leave the
school. In 1926 employee members of the guild chapter board urged
that the guild should establish some supervision over apprentices,
with a graduated scale of wages and a definite period of training.
In January, 1927, an apprentice committee was appointed, and in
May its recommendation was adopted for an apprentice scale begin
ning at $6 at the age of 16, increasing each six months to the full
journeyman’s scale after five years of service and reaching the age of
21. Both age and experience were to enter into the determination of
the scale. This scale was for composing-room apprentices only. I t
was thought impossible because of the nature of the work to at
tempt to set a scale for the other departments. Later, however,
another committee was appointed to work out a scale for pressroom
and bindery employees.
Recognition of length of service by granting vacations with pay
was urged by the chapter board at the time of its discussion of the
classification and rating system. Policies of vacations with pay,
adjusted to length of service, are in force in 3 of the 13 plants
included in the guild. One other plant gives all employees a 2-weeks’
vacation with pay while it closes down the plant entirely.

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

Chapels and Conference Committees
The activity of the shop organizations, the chapel, and the confer
ence committee gives an indication of the degree of life of the guild
organization. The guild officers, through meetings and the columns
of Team Work, have constantly urged the members to use the ma
chinery for redress and prove the falsehood of reports that question
the value of the committees, as the constitution guarantees the right
of free speech and freedom from discrimination for any guild
activity. In only seven of the guild plants, however, has any use
been made of the conference committees, and in most of these the
cases have been few. The smallness of the plants furnishes a large
part of the explanation of failure to use the machinery for adjustment.
In small shops where a friendly relationship exists between the em
ployer and the men, matters are adjusted as they come up without
recourse to any machinery. In some of the plants in question the
chapel is organized and there is active interest in the guild, although
no use has been made of the committee. In other cases a feeling of
suspicion and a belief that it would not be safe or advantageous to
appeal to the conference committee prevent the trying out of its
possibilities. In some of the larger plants, where the chapel is not
organized with a regularly elected committee, it is very probable
that the absence of any appeals is not so much evidence of freedom
from all sources of dissatisfaction as it is of lack of belief of the
employees in the efficacy of any such appeal. In at least one plant
there has been no election of a conference committee, and the chapel
secretary is a department head appointed by the employer.
In several plants, however, the conference committees have been
used enough to indicate their value. The most frequent cause of
appeal to the committees has been discharge, and in many of these
cases the management has been upheld. In one case a guild man
was laid off, while a nonguild man was kept. As the guild man
was less efficient than the other, the management was sustained.
Other cases where the committees upheld the management were one
of an immediate lay off without notice for drunkenness, a discharge
for refusal to work overtime, a discharge for laying off a week w ith
out notice to the firm, and a discharge for slander of other employees.
In one case a man was discharged for taking too much time off. The
committee held that his absence on personal business had been neces
sary and justifiable and he was reinstated. One committee secured
a wage increase for an employee. Another asked a shift in the work
ing hours, to begin work earlier and stop earlier, and the change was
made. Another committee appealed to the committee on safety and
health because of insanitary conditions and secured relief. I t will
be remembered that part of the purpose of the shop organizations
was to give opportunity for the management to consult with the work
ers on questions of shop policy. In only one case, so far as has been
found, has this been done. In this case the plant found that because
of slack work it needed to resort to either lay offs or short time. The
conference committee was called upon to decide which was preferable
from their standpoint. The committee recommended that the staff be
cut to a minimum, taking into consideration efficiency, morale, and
length of service, and that thereafter any slackness be distributed by

ACHIEVEM ENTS OF TH E GUILD

sharing equally through short time. I t is believed by the manage
ment that serious dissatisfaction was prevented on this occasion by
consulting the employees through their elected representatives.
I t is not possible to give a complete report of the activities of
the various chapels and conference committees, for no records are
kept and their work is quite informal. But the cases which have
been discussed as they were recounted by members of the committees
which handled them show how the •committees have functioned.
The constitution provides that each chapel shall elect at least once
in six months a conference committee of no less than three, one to be
the chairman and one the secretary, all to be employees and not
plant executives or office staff. Although these provisions are of
considerable importance for preserving the reality of the shop organi
zation there is no provision for central supervision, and practices in
different plants have varied. In one plant, already referred to, there
was even at first no election of shop officers, but a secretary was
appointed by the employer. In most of the othei^ elections have
been held, but with greater or less regularity. In many cases fore
men have been elected to the committees, in spite of the provision
against election of executives and sometimes against the advice cf the
foreman himself. That this has often worked out entirely satis
factorily does not remove the fact that it is contrary to the constitutiofi and a practice which has possibilities of danger.9
Because of the clerical work required of the chapel secretaries there
is some difficulty in securing candidates for this position in the plants.
This accounts in part for the election of foremen to the position. To
overcome the reluctance to take the position the chapter board pro
vided for compensation of secretaries by remission of their dues
and for compensation of 50 cents for each new member which they
secure in their chapels. The financial incentive has appeared neces
sary to insure that the necessary activity is carried on.
W hat Has the Guild Accomplished?
We may best get an appraisal of the accomplishments of the guild
by taking first the testimony of the two groups, with all the wide
differences of opinion found among their representatives. The
opinions of the employers range from the belief that the guild has
done everything it set out to do, to the statement, “ I t hasn’t accom
plished a thing.” There is, however, a consensus of opinion in certain
results, which are indicated in what follows:
1. The guild has been a stabilizing influence. The seven years of
its existence have been a time of peace, with absence of strikes and
their attendant loss to both groups. All difficulties have been settled
by negotiation. Some of the employers, however, recognize that this
condition can not be attributed entirely to the guild, for business
has not been sufficiently active in the Baltimore printing industry to
be favorable to demands from labor under whatever circumstances.
9 On this point the executive manager wrote : “ In the case of shops where there was
no election, this came about in spite of the manager, by the feeling on the part of the
men that they did not wish a conference committee nor to elect their secretary. With
reference to the election of the foremen to the committees, this has been as far as
possible prevented by the manager’s urging the men to refrain from electing executives
to committees, and this is almost entirely eliminated now.”

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

2. TLe guild has been a check to trade-unionism. Because of the
benefits of guild membership the unions have not been able to appeal
so strongly to the employees as they did formerly. I t has been
possible, therefore, to maintain the open shop, 48 hours, and freedom
from union restrictions.
3. The insurance features of the guild perform a considerable
service to the employees and are important in preserving interest in
the guild and good will among its. members.
4. A better relationship has been developed in the industry, with
understanding and cooperation in the plants and good feeling and
mutual confidence on the joint boards and committees. The ma
chinery for handling differences through conference committees and
appeal to the chapter board and chapter board of appeals, even
though little used, contributes to the morale of the organization.
While there is still suspicion of the employers’ motives on the part
of some of the employees, this will be overcome in time as the fair
ness and justice-of the organization are proved by experience. This
opinion is expressed by many of the employers.
5. In regard to the general chapter meetings, opinions differ
widely. Some employers consider that the social affairs in which em
ployers and employees join are of real value in promoting a friendly
spirit and mutual confidence. To others the “ happy family 55 idea
seems entirely artificial and impossible in p>rac‘tice, although the
social features of the guild have value in holding the interest of the
employee members. As to the general business meetings which were
more used in the earlier history of the guild, some employers see in
them only fruitless discussion and waste of time, while to others
the airing of opinion and the frank discussion from the floor appear
an important safety valve, although most of the real work of the
organization is done by the chapter board.
6. A weakness of the guild, which is pointed out both by employers
who think little has been accomplished and by those who are more
optimistic, is that it covers so little territory. Including as it does
only 13 plants, the advantages it offers to employees in preference in
employment are very limited. Lack of interest among employers is
the great failing of the organization. Unfortunately also, no funds
are available for an active organizing campaign, and employers and
employee members who might personally conduct such a campaign
in other plants do not find time for this work.
7. The indifference of most of the employees and their failure to
use the machinery of the guild as they might are referred to as a
matter of both surprise and regret by some of the employers. These
men believe that the guild organization would make possible the use
of a very considerable degree of power by the employee group if they
had initiative to use it.
Among employee members of the guild, as among the employers,
are found wide differences of attitude, differences explainable in part
by temperament, in part by previous experience, and in part by con
ditions in the particular plants. The opinions summarized here are
typical of those which appeared most frequently in conversation with
employee members of the guild.
1. There is a friendly relationship and a spirit of harmony and
cooperation between the employers and the employees, according to

ACHIEVEM ENTS OE TH E GUILD

guild members in some of the plants. At least a few of the employee
leaders have an interest in the theory of employee organization and
the question whether it is more to the interest of the workers to
organize separately through the trade-union or to organize with the
employers as in the guild. Some of these leaders believe th at in the
guild organization both groups can work for the good of the indus
try, with benefit to both, and avoid the wastes of the antagonisms of
two separate organizations. Such men report that differences are
settled more easily under the guild plan than by the unions and that
to some degree the theory of cooperation is working.
2. The protection of the employees through the shop committees
and the right of appeal are very important in the minds of some. The
right of free speech and freedom from arbitrary discharge are guaran
teed by the constitution. Equal rights of both groups to have a voice
in the industry are recognized. The organization is fair, there is no
danger of discrimination for guild activity, and no man need be
afraid to speak. This is the opinion of the employees who have been
most active in the guild.
3. The insurance provisions are spoken of with enthusiasm by most
of the employee members. In fact, some leaders who consider other
features of the organization more important, admit that the insur
ance is responsible for the interest of a very large part of the mem
bership.
4. Many, comparing the present situation with that before 1921,
speak favorably of the guild. The fiasco of 1921 has left many
former union members skeptical of the value of the unions. They say
they are glad to be free from heavy union dues, and are willing to
try another sort of organization. The pressroom and bindery unions
have very little influence in the city at present. On the other hand,
some of the pressroom and bindery workers after their experience
are skeptical of any organization whatever, and refuse to ally them
selves with the guild. The typographical union, however, is an active
force. I t has members in many of the guild composing rooms, even
some members in the guild itself. I t is frequently said by guild ad
herents, “ I f it were not for the guild we would be in the union.” It
is significant also that occasionally even such adherents of the guild
say, “ The guild can’t compete with the typographical union.”
5. The social features appeal to many employees and have an im
portant part in keeping up their interest in the guild. To some of the
members also, the general business meetings appear to have contrib
uted much to the value of the organization by keeping the member
ship informed of what was going on, Such members consider that the
less frequent meetings and the irregular issuance of the paper, Team
Work, have considerable responsibility for lack of interest at present.
6. The preference in employment is of some value to the employees,
although it is pointed out that if the guild were extended to other
plants and to other cities this would mean much more. The provi
sion for a week’s notice of lay off or discharge is a protection
recognized and appreciated by many.
7. The wage plan of the guild, based on a “ normal scale,” not a
minimum, seems on the whole to be popular with the employees.
Theoretically, each worker gets above or below the normal or aver
age scale, according to his ability, and he bargains individually

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

with his employer for his wage rate, always with the right of appeal.
In practice, testimony is that a large proportion of the workers get
above the normal scale, although some get below. The level of earn
ings in the industry has risen during the last three years. Men who
now earn more than they did in 1920, although the normal scale is
practically at the level of the minimum scale of that year, tend to
attribute that satisfactory result to the system of wages according
to efficiency sponsored by the guild. The generalization tends to be
true that those who are unfavorable to the guild wage plan are those
who are less competent and therefore unable to profit from it.
8. Not all employee comment, however, is favorable to the guild.
Some employees, in contrast with the attitude of those who are satis
fied because their wages individually have been raised, point out th at
“ the guild hasn’t improved our financial condition any.55 They are
dissatisfied because the increase in the normal scale discussed in 1925
failed of adoption and have felt little interest since. They feel that
except for the insurance the guild has failed to bring them any
definite benefits.
9. There is a widespread feeling that workers need to join the
guild in order to hold their jobs. Guild dues are even characterized
as “ trib u te55 for that purpose. The system of preference to guild
members in employment, retention, and promotion does, of course,
make it of some advantage to be a member. The fact, however, that
very considerable numbers of men and women are at work in guild
plants without joining the organization indicates that the competent
employee, in most plants at least, can hold his job without the aid
of the guild.
10. Finally, there is in some plants, in certain departments of
others, and scattered through the entire organization, a feeling of
skepticism and suspicion of the whole guild program. There is a
feeling that the guild is a “ bosses’ affair,” that men can not speak
freely and independently in such an organization in spite of the
guaranties of the constitution, and that employer and employee are
too far apart in interest to work together in an organization of this
sort. Those who express this feeling do not cite instances of the
failure of the guild to work according to its promises. In most
cases they do not try the guild machinery, even when they are mem
bers. The guild has not been used in enough cases to test out
thoroughly what it could do in an emergency and to prove either its
worth or its futility in protecting the interests of employees. In
the words of one employee, “ We need a fight, a real issue on which
both sides feel strongly, to find out what this organization amounts
to.” This emotional handicap which prevents a trial of the fair
words of the guild constitution is an important element in the
situation.
The opinions of people outside the guild throw some light on its
record and results. Strangely enough, opinions range from the
belief that the guild is dangerous to the interests of the employers to
the opposite belief that it is useless from the standpoint of the em
ployees. Some nonunion employers who are not in the guild believe
that the employers, by setting up such machinery for collective

ACHIEVEM ENTS 0E TH E GUILD

bargaining, invite the organization of their men around any leader
with any sort of 64harebrained idea ” and are storing up trouble for
themselves. The more common attitude of the employing printers
who have not joined the guild, however,, is that it is a useful organi
zation which, by giving the employees many of the advantages of
union organization, prevents the return of the closed-shop condition
which existed in Baltimore in 1920. Many such employers would
come into the organization should their employees decide to join.
Most of the unfavorable comment on the guild, of course, comes
from the unions. The unions point out that while the guild speaks
favorably of collective bargaining, it refuses to recognize the tradeunions which were organized for that purpose and which represent a
large part of the printing-trade workers of the country. A compari
son of the membership of the American Guild and of the Interna
tional Typographical Union is in point, they say. They doubt
whether the employees have any real power through the guild, because
of their small membership, lack of any financial support, and fear of
discrimination for activity on behalf of fellow workers by a guild
member. In some cases they admit that the guild has improved the
relationship in certain plants and brought a harmonious condition
which is to the advantage of both groups, but in other plants the guild
does hot function. They point out that the unions are much more
important than the guild can be in maintaining wage standards, and
declare that the guild will never take any action until forced to it by
the unions. They criticize the guild also on the ground that its mem
bers are tied to their jobs by the insurance provisions and preference,
and the requirement of a week’s notice of resignation. Finally, they
object to the inclusion in one organization of all mechanical and office
employees, whose interests are so different. They feel that this ad
mixture is a hindrance to free speech and activity on the part of
mechanical workers, and that mixed committees can not have the
confidence of the workers as means for the protection of their
interests.
A detailed analysis of the present membership of the guild will give
an indication of the amount of employee interest in the organization,
although a statistical analysis of the motives behind the membership
figures is impossible.
The total membership of the guild in November, 1927, was 403,
of whom 71 were women. Of the total, 9 were from a supply house,
2 were in the typothetse office, and 23 in the guild chapel composed of
unemployed members, members employed in nonguild offices, and 2
employees of the guild. The remaining members were employed in
the 13 guild printing plants. This membership in relation to all
employed in these plants is analyzed in the accompanying table, from
data reported by the chapel secretary in each plant.10
10 The executive manager reported later a discrepancy, due probably to transfers between
chapels, between the total membership reported by chapel secretaries and the actual
membership in November, 1927, which was 403. The secretaries reported 356 guild mem
bers in the 13 printing plants, while according to the manager’s records 369 was the
correct number for these plants. A detailed distribution of this revised figure would
have slightly raised the percentages in this analysis.

30
T

AMERICAN GUILD OP T E E PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY
N U M B E R A N D PE R C E N T OF GUILD M E M B E R S IN T H E 13 GUILD PL A N T S
IN N O V E M B E R , 1927, BY D E P A R T M E N T A N D SEX

able

Male employees
Guild members

Department
N um
ber

Office. ........................................
Composing room______ _
Pressroom...... .................. .........
Bindery. _________________
Other ___________________
Total

_____________

Female employees

78
141
145
50
74
488

N um
ber
•

Per
cent

Total employees

Guild members
N um
ber

N um
ber

Per
cent

53
94
92
22
29

68
67
63
44
39

66
31
2
67
15

9
24

14
77

32
1

290

181

Guild members
N um
ber

N um
ber

Per
cent

48
7

144
172
147
117
89

62
118
92
54
30

43
69
63
46
34

669

356

These 13 guild printing plants employed a total of 669 people, of
whom 356, or only 53 per cent, were guild members. As might be
expected, the proportion of guild members is larger among the men
than the women, being 59 per cent for the men and 36 per cent for the
women. Among the men 68 per cent of office employees, 67 per cent
of compositors, and 63 per cent of the pressroom workers are in the
guild.
In the bindery, where the men are in general less skilled and
receive a lower rate of wages, only 44 per cent are in the guild.
Among the women the largest proportionate membership is in the
composing room, where 77 per cent are members, while 48 per cent
of the bindery women are in the guild, and only 14 per cent of the
office force. Because of the prominence of the insurance feature
of guild membership it is not surprising that the smaller propor
tionate membership is in groups where many of the workers are
young and rather impermanent in their relation to the industry.
The difference in the amount of interest in the guild among the
different plants is strikingly shown by the reports. The percentage
which guild members formed of all employees in the plant varied
from 17 in one case to 78 in another. In only 6 of the 13 plants
were more than 50 per cent of the employees in the guild, although
wThen a plant joins the guild 51 per cent of its employees must have
individual membership.
Why has the guild remained practically stationary for seven
years? For two reasons, the first and probably the most impor
tant of which is the lack of interest of the employers. The em
ploying printers of Baltimore on the whole prefer to run open .shops
and to be free from union rules. But since 1921 the unions have
been weak and have not been able to make demands. There has
been no labor emergency, and most of the employers have drifted and
have taken no active interest in the proposal for a plan to preserve
an open-shop condition by a constructive substitute for closed-shop
unionism. Many employers who hope and believe that Baltimore
will not again become a closed-shop union town are running plants
in which slowly and quietly the unions are regaining their strength.
The guild meantime holds its own, but does not gain any new
plants.

ACHIEVEM ENTS OF TH E GUILD

The second big obstacle to the growth of the guild has been in
the skepticism of the workers of the industry. They may grant
the liberality of the plan of organization with its protection of the
rights of the individual through the conference committee and appeal
to a joint board and on to a board including neutrals chosen by
the two groups, and its freedom from any restriction on the subjects
which may be brought up for discussion by either group. But the
fact remains that the American Guild was proposed by the em
ployers during the strike of 1921, a life and death battle which
ended in the practical extinction of the pressroom and bindery unions
and the crippling of the local typographical union. The printingtrade workers, who had been strongly organized and working under'
closed-shop conditions, were then asked to give up collective bar
gaining through their unions, and to join with the victorious em
ployers in a new kind of organization which it was said would give
them the advantages of collective bargaining with additional benefits
to be had through cooperation and friendship with the employers.
And an attractive insurance plan was included. I t is not to be
wondered at that the workers were suspicious, looked for the a nigger
in the woodpile,” and were disinclined to take the guild plan at its
face value. While many of them joined the guild, some for the
insurance and some with a willingness to try out the new scheme,
much skepticism has remained;, both within the guild and outside.
Open-shop employers who are interested in the guild but whose
employees have never joined say that the men object to it as pater
nalistic, or are suspicious of its purposes. And within the guild
skepticism of the sincerity of the employers prevents the members
from making the use that they might of the organization.
The American Guild has followed a cycle like that of many jointcouncil plans. Started with considerable interest and enthusiasm,
it was active for a time and then slumped. For months in 1925 there
were no meetings and no issues of the paper, Team Work. Then
some revival occurred. Team Work is now issued quarterly or so,
and the chapter meets three or four times a year for social
functions. But meetings of the chapter board have occurred
very irregularly, for there is much difficulty in securing a quorum.
Because of this difficulty, at the first meeting of the chapter
board in 1928 it was decided to meet thereafter at noon rather
than in the afternoon, in an effort to secure a regular attendance.
The employers who were active in the early years of the organi
zation have, under the pressure of other interests, left the organi
zation to run of itself, and the results are obvious. Since the first
year, during which the guild was subsidized by the employers, it
has carried itself financially on the funds supplied by dues, half
from the employers and half from the employees. This has not left
available,, however, funds for an active and continuous organizing
campaign. Unfortunately for the guild, also, it did not make possible
the continuance of the full-time services of Mr. Gill, who was the
organizer and executive manager for the first two years of the guild’s
history. While Mr. Gill is still at the service of the guild as counsel,
his organizing abilities are no longer directed chiefly to guild activi
ties. The present manager carries on the routine of the organiza

AMERICAN GUILD OE TH E PR IN T IN G IN DUSTRY

tion and conducts organizing activities as he has opportunity. But
more active interest on the part of the employers, with the use of both
time and money, would appear requisite for any substantial extension
of the sphere of influence of the guild.
The American Guild in its plan of organization is liberal and
gives to the employees the opportunity for a very considerable voice
in the affairs of the industry. There are no restrictions on the types
of matters which may be brought before the guild by either group,
and as all boards and committees are supposed to consist of equal
numbers of employers and employees, and there is the opportunity
for final appeal to a board including neutrals, whose decision would
be final and binding, the organization makes possible the exercise
of a considerable control by the employee group. The plan, more
over, according to its constitution, is open shop and opposed to dis
crimination against union members. While one of the plants, in spite
of this provision, is frankly nonunion, and in others the employers
admit that they prefer to hire nonunion people so far as they are
able, in many plants union members are openly at work. There is
nothing in the plan which would prevent the employees from organ
izing in an association of their own outside the guild, as the employ
ers are organized outside in the typothetse. The fact that the guild
is operated from its own office, by a manager who is neutral, paid by
and responsible to the entire association, gives further evidence of
the fact that the organization is, as it claims to be, a cooperative
enterprise. The most fundamental question as to the liberality of
the guild and whether there is possible to the employees through
its channels an “ equal voice 55 in the industry is whether the indi
vidual members are free to speak without fear of discrimination.
Absolutely no evidence has been found of discrimination against any
employee for his activities in the guild, and members of the various
boards and committees are unanimous in their belief that there is
no such discrimination. Nevertheless a widespread feeling persists
among the rank and file that a man can not with safety speak freely.
This feeling tends to prevent participation in guild discussions and
active use of the guild machinery except by employees who are natu
rally independent or aggressive.
W ithout doubt the guild has promoted good will between some of
the employees and their employers. Many employees, particularly
those who have had an active part in the organization, are con
vinced that the organization is good and offers to the employees a
real opportunity to make themselves heard as a force in the industry.
Whether this opinion or that of the skeptics wTill gain ground in the
future is dependent upon what positive results the guild shows to
its employee members as time goes on.
When the guild was organized there was much discussion of the
plan as one which was to recognize the worker as a partner in indus
trial enterprise and give him an equal voice with the employers in
the determination of all questions in which both employers and em
ployees were interested. To what extent has this become an actual
ity? Very little, the impartial observer must answer. And why?
For lack of interest and effort on the part of employers and lack of
initiative and leadership on the part of employee members. On the
wage question there has been more cooperative consideration than on

W EAKNESSES OF TH E GUILD

any other matter. The system of wage payment was discussed by
a series of cofnmittees each of which officially represented the two
groups in equal proportions, but on which actually the representation
of the journeymen was a minority, for foremen were included as
employees. That these committees did not succeed in reaching a
result which was satisf actory to the mass of the employees who> were
to be affected by the wage system adopted is evident when we see
that the classification and rating system worked out first was turned
down by the chapter, and that the craftsman system, which was
adopted with little sign of interest, has had practically no use made
of it. The voice of the employees was made effective, it is true, by
turning down a system they did not like and by failing to use* another
system in which they are not interested. I t would seem, however,
that a more adequate representation of the working employees on
these wage committees would have saved fruitless discussion by
bringing to bear at an earlier stage of the inquiry the opinions and
attitudes of this group.
The constructive joint attack on big problems of the industry which
was planned in 1921 has not materialized in any large degree. There
has been no joint consideration of such problems as unemployment,
the improvement of craftsmanship, or the removal of inefficiency.
In only one case, so far as is known, has an employer referred to his
conference committee any question of shop policy, although it was
said in 1921 that this would be one of the main purposes of the
guild. So far has the guild gone from feeling the importance of
joint discussion and consideration of the problems of the industry
that it is exceedingly difficult to get a quorum for a chapter board
meeting, and since 1925 again and again meetings have been post
poned. So long as employer members do not feel enough interest
in the guild to come themselves and send their employee representa
tives to the chapter board meeting once a month, it can not be expected
that employees should have great interest in the guild as a coopera
tive enterprise.11 On the other hand, should the employee group
develop leadership and take the initiative in making proposals, it
could force a more active interest on the part of employers.
W eaknesses of the Guild
A number of weaknesses of the American Guild as it is now oper
ating may be summarized as follows:
1.
The small number of plants included, due to lack of interest of
the employing printers, is a serious handicap to the organization in
competing with the unions for the good will of the employees of the
industry. Preference in employment, when it applies in only 13
plants, does not mean a great deal. The guild has as yet made slight
progress toward the comprehensive organization pictured in its early
literature.
11 The executive manager on Apr. 19, 1928, wrote as follows : “ The employer members
have never hesitated to send their employee members to the meetings and have never
done anything to block them, except in a very few cases of emergency, when they felt that
they could not spare them on that particular day. This year the board has adopted a
meeting at noon, and there has been a full quorum each month of the three since it was
inaugurated in February. It looks now as if the employers and employees will always
have a full representation at each meeting and that there will be no further postpone
ments.”

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

2. Because of the narrow territory covered by the guild, its in
fluence on wage standards is very limited. I t is prdbable that in
Baltimore the union wage scales have more effect on earnings in the
industry than do the normal scales established by the guild. I t is
difficult to visualize the guild as ever being such an extensive organi
zation as to be able to exert such a standardizing influence on wages
paid by the numerous small plants of the industry as that exerted by
the unions when they are at all strong. The printing industry with
its numerous small units is one in which the pressure from below' by
the trade-unions has served an important function in standardizing
costs, stimulating efficiency, and putting limits to price cutting. Cer
tainly the guild does not now perform this function, for its scales
are all lower than the wages actually paid to the majority of skilled
workers.
3. Meetings of the chapter board or the chapter and issues of the
paper which is designed to keep the membership informed of the ac
tivities of the organization have been too irregular to keep up inter
est. The guild is not at present functioning as an effective means of
expression and communication between the two groups. A recent
suggestion of some of the men that the employee representatives
should meet by themselves before meeting the employers has value.
A general meeting of representatives from all the plants would make
the employee members on the chapter board better informed of what
the employees in general were saying, and put them in better posi
tion to meet the employers. Such meetings of men from all plants
would permit also of an exchange of experience among the plants,
and might arou.se interest in the possibilities of the guild. I f such
meetings could help to develop leadership on the part of the em
ployees they would contribute to the value of chapter board meetings
and to the success of the guild as a whole.
4. The lack of definite organization and regular elections of con
ference committees in some of the plants means inevitably a loss of
interest among the rank and file, and a failure to accept the organiza
tion as having a vital contribution to make to the welfare of the
employees. The insurance features continue and serve their purpose
regardless of the plant organization, but it could not be expected that
there wTould be interest in the machinery for appeal and constructive
use of the organization unless the workers have themselves set up
the machinery/ in the plant. I t is not surprising that in those plants
where there have been no elections of the chapel officers, there has
been little or no use of the conference committee.
The success of the guild in promoting a good relationship in the
industry varies widely from plant to plant. Where there is a trad i
tion of a pleasant relationship and the guild organization is set up
and active, the guild contributes to the good morale in existence.
There is no magic in the guild, however, sufficient to overcome suspi
cion and create an atmosphere of cooperation when there is no active
plant organization and little interest of the employer.
5. The fact that foremen and superintendents have been allowed
to represent the employees is a weakness. In many cases fore
men are nominated by the men in their own plants, the men saying
that they choose their best man to represent them. There is, how
ever, always a possibility that when foremen are eligible to election

W EAKNESSES OE TH E GUILD

men may vote for them for the sake of policy, rather than in the
belief that they will best represent the interests of the workers. It
would seem wiser that foremen should be separately represented in
some way, but should not represent the journeymen. On all com
mittees, moreover, a more adequate representation of the working
employees would do away with failure to get at what is in the minds
of the people, and would also, by putting more of the men in posi
tion to meet and discuss problems of the organization, arouse more
interest and possibly develop needed leadership. I t is, of course,
true that the employees could at any time put through a provision
of this sort should they wish to take the initiative.
6. A serious weakness of the guild lies in the failure of its em
ployee members to develop leaders and to make use of the possibilities
of the organization. The employees who have shown initiative and
leadership are few. Some employers admit a distinct tendency for
many of the more skilled employees to gravitate toward the unions.
I t seems probable also that among those who have leadership ability
there is a tendency for interest to lie in the direction of the union,
the traditional form of organization in this industry.
As an industrial government, the American Guild has succeeded in
establishing certain laws. A week’s notice of discharge, preference
to guild members, regular payment for overtime, and the right of
appeal from unjust discharge, unfair discrimination, or other cause
of complaint, are established as customary in the guild plants. In
trying to legislate on wages the guild has had less success. The
classification system on which it worked for so long has had no
definite effect, and the normal scale, the only legislation on wage
levels, is so low that it has little relation to the wages paid skilled
people. Of other legislation there has been little. The machinery
for appeal, meanwhile, has been little used, and the conference com
mittees which were to act as advisory boards for management have
not been called upon to perform that function. Interest in the guild
on the part of the majority of the employee members has been more
in the insurance and the social features than in the possibility of
having a share in the control of the industry. Interest of the em
ployers has been chiefly to give their employees something which
would take the place of unionism. Having established the guild,
they have continued to pay their share of the costs, but to a large
degree have left the organization to run of itself, and have given
little thought to its possibilities for joint action on problems of the
industry.
In another aspect the American Guild of the Printing Industry
is a form of employee organization, or a union, The years; of its life
in Baltimore have seen the competition of this sort of organization
with old-line unionism. In the guild, the cooperative organization
which includes employers as well as. employees, the initiative comes
from the employers. I f the guild gives more to the people of the
printing trades than unionism could, it is only because of the interest
of the employers. The guild is of value to the workers in the indus
try only so long as the employers maintain an active interest and
consent, paying their share of the costs and dealing collectively
through the machinery set up. The employees in the guild are
without the power which comes through the backing of a strong

AMERICAN GUILD OF THE PRIN TING INDUSTRY

national organization with a treasury. From thei'r standpoint the
guild is good if it procures for them through cooperation and with
out force what they could get through the unions with perhaps the
threat of force. But if the employers are not interested and the
guild fails to show tangible results, the organization will be without
appeal and a turn toward the unions, which have more vitality
because the employees have there more power, will inevitably result.
The American Guild of the Printing Industry has lasted seven
years. I t has accomplished certain things in financial protection to
the employee members and in promoting good will. To be the perma
nent force which some of its proponents hope for it, it would need
to accomplish much more, and would require for that purpose a
much wider and more active interest on the part of the employing
printers.

Chapter 3.—Graphic Arts Industrial Federation of
Greater Boston
The early months of 1922 in Boston saw the birth of an industrial
organization based upon a theory of cooperation, a belief that groups
whose interests conflict to a considerable degree can find a basis for
confidence, mutual good will, and cooperation, and that by provid
ing for regular meeting and joint consideration of problems by those
immediately concerned, they can find satisfactory solutions without
resort to force or threat of force. This organization is the Graphic
Arts Industrial Federation. I t is still functioning in 1928. To learn
to what extent the theory of the organization has proved workable
in the first six years of the experiment is the purpose of this study.
Since the roots of the organization go back into the economic con
dition and the earlier industrial relations history of the Boston in
dustry, we must first consider these factors.
The printing, publishing, and bookbinding industry is one of the
leading industries of Boston. In greater Boston, including Cam
bridge and Norwood and other towns within 15 miles of Boston,
in 1925 printing and publishing was the largest industry in number
of establishments, and second only to the boot and shoe industry in
the value of its products. I t included approximately 600 plants and
employed 11,000 workers.1 The daily newspaper branch of the indus
try, which is quite separate and distinct from the rest of the industry,
employs some 2,500 workers. A second very important group is that
of the book publishers, printers, and binders. Here in some half
dozen large plants, some of them employing up to a thousand people,
are found over 3,500 printing-trade workers. Finally there are the
commercial printers and binders, a large number of very small plants
with only a handful of employees or none, and a few, probably not
over 40 plants, which employ from 25 people up to 200 or more each.
The newspaper branch of the industry works on a union basis.
The book houses in the past for the most part found it advisable to
work in harmony with the unions and to be known for a “ fair atti
tude ” toward organized labor, although since 1921 this position has
not been so general. The commercial industry, on the other hand,
has in large part a record of open-shop operation, although always
there has been a group of plants entitled to the use of the allied
printing trades label. Estimates of the proportion of commercial
printing dqne under open-shop conditions at the present time vary
from 70 per cent to 80 per cent. The open-shop section is in part
strictly nonunion, at least in the intention of the employers, and in
part is actually open shop with union members working openly with
nonunion people, A brief sketch of the labor history of the com1 Massachusetts Department of Labor and Industries.
Advance sheets.

17616°—28------4

Census of Manufactures, 1925.

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

merclal industry before 1921 will give the background of the present
situation.2
The record of joint conferences and agreements between the organ
ized commercial printers and the printing trade-unions of Boston
dates back at least to 1889, when in an effort to enforce a uniform
scale of wages the Master Printers’ Club, forerunner of the Boston
Typothetse, and the typographical union signed a “ uniform price
list.” Ten years later a 1-year agreement between the typothetse and
this union began a period lasting until 1921 during which the
typothetse was continuously in agreement with at least some of the
unions in the industry. These agreements, however, differed from
many trade agreements in the industry in that they did not call for
the closed shop. They included, typically, only provisions as to
wages, hours, and overtime payment. In 1904, after ,a six weeks’
strike of the typographical union a 2-year agreement was made
which included provision for arbitration of disputes during the life
of the agreement. Lest there should be misunderstandings, however,
most of the typothetse offices posted a notice declaring in unmistakable
terms that they were open shops, in which there w,as to be no dis
crimination between union and nonunion employees.
In 1906, after an unsuccessful strike of the typographical union
for the 8-hour day, the typothetse voted to hold no further confer
ences and to make no further agreements with this union. I t was ten
years before the union succeeded in making another agreement with
the typothet-se. In the meantime a series of agreements was signed
with the pressmen and the press feeders. Wage increases were
granted to the composing-room employees at the same time as to the
other crafts, although there were no typographical-union agreements,
and the 8-hour day went into effect generally in all departments in
1909.
In 1913 certain book houses reported pressure from the publishers
to put their plants in such condition that the publishers would no
longer be embarrassed by reports that they were unfair to organized
labor. A suggestion to give preference in employment to members
of the typographical union was refused by the typothetee. Several
book plants, nevertheless, entered into preferential agreements with
the Allied Printing Trades Council, which covered all the unions,
including the bookbinders and the bindery women.
The typographical union in the meantime conducted an active
organizing campaign, and early in 1916 secured a contract, scale of
wages, and arbitration agreement signed by the Boston Typothetse
and union-shop employers, and effective until March 31, 1921. The
typothetse agreed to make the scale, hours, and working conditions
of the agreement effective in every typothetse composing room. The
agreement went further for union offices, moreover, and provided for
the closed shop and regulation of apprenticeship, while prohibiting
work for “ struck shops.” There were to be no strikes or lockouts in
those shops which signed the agreement, and all disputes, including
disagreements over a new scale or a contract, that could not be settled
2 TEis material was secured chiefly from the minutes of the Boston Master Printers’
Club, Boston Typothetai, and Boston Typothetse Board of Trade from 1887 to 1927 ; from
Leaves of History from the Archives of Boston Typographical Union No. 13, compiled
and printed for Boston Typographical Union, December, 1923 ; and from interviews with
employers and union officers.

BIRTH AND ORGANIZATION

by conciliation were to be referred to arbitration. Two book houses,
as well as many of the union commercial plants, were party to this
agreement. The typothetse open shops, however, again posted the
open-shop notice which they had first used in 1904.
In 1917 the typothetse for the first time made agreements with the
bookbinders’ unions, to expire late in 1921. Several book houses
renewed their preferential agreements with all the trades except the
typographical union, which because of its closed-shop agreements
with a part of the industry was unwilling to sign a preferential agree
ment. These contracts provided for the conditions established in
the agreements between the typothetse and the unions, and for adjust
ment of all disputes by conciliation or arbitration.
The years 1917 to 1920 in the Boston printing industry, as else
where, were years of unrest. The cost of living rose rapidly, and
shortage of labor put the unions in position to force their demands,
although, on account of uncertain business conditions, the employers
urged that the contracts should be maintained. During 1917 and 1918
increases were negotiated with all the unions. When further de
mands were made early in 1919, the typothetse discussed the cardinal
points of a labor policy recently adopted by the International Joint
Conference Council, and voted to adopt those points providing for
recognition of the cost of living compared with 1914 as the basic
factor in wage adjustments, annual readjustments of wages based
upon the cost of living and the economic condition of the industry,
and the settlement of disputes through conciliation and arbitration.
The typothetse did not care to bind itself, however, to one of the
cardinal points—to “ pay at least a living wage; scales below this
to be adjusted in frank recognition of the basic principle involved.”
The employers were willing to adjust wages on a cost-of-living basis,
but because of lower scales in competitive cities wanted the adjust
ment made over a period of time. Accordingly, agreements were
made with all the unions for a series of increases, the agreements to
expire on March 31, 1921, except for the bindery unions, whose con
tracts lasted until the fall of 1921.
The year following June, 1919, however, was a time of extremely
rapid rise in the cost of living, and in many cities wage increases
based on these increased costs were being secured by the printing-trade
unions. The Boston Typothetse, nevertheless, voted that its agree
ments had been made with an understanding for no further requests,
and refused to meet the typographical union committee to discuss
a request for additional increases. Following the second increase
under the terms of the agreements, the unions asked for further
negotiations. Conferences were refused during an unauthorized
strike of the bookbinders against a typothetse plant on a jurisdictional
question. When the joint committee of all the unions finally met the
employers, the typothetee offered to increase wages according to the
increase in the cost of living. This was unsatisfactory to the press
feeders, the lowest paid group of men, and they ceased work in an
unauthorized “ vacation.” When the president of the International
Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union ordered the feeders to
return to work, they did so with the understanding that an accept
able wage adjustment would be arrived at. The typothetse then
offered to increase wages substantially on a cost-of-living basis, say

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

ing that this was a voluntary offer which would not impair in any
way the,existing contracts. The unions and the employers agreed
to make a flat wage increase in order to give the lower paid crafts
more than they would get on a percentage basis. A $3 increase was
agreed upon tentatively by the typothetae and the bindery women’s
union. Before the increase for the men wTas agreed upon, however,
disagreement arose among the unions, some demanding a straight
30 per cent increase for all, while the electrotypers and bindery
women’s unions wished to continue the terms previously discussed.
The typothete therefore refused further conference with the joint
union committee. On September 22 the typothetse notified the unions
that it wrould grant a “ voluntary increase5’ of $4 to all journeymen
and of $3 to all journey women, retroactive to. September 10. An
agreement for this increase was signed by the typothete and the
electrotypers’ union. The bindery women’s union voted to accept the
$3 increase and so notified the typothetse. The other unions, however,
declared that the adjustment was unsatisfactory.
The typothetse nevertheless said that it had done everything
that conditions warranted and that the public was in no frame of
mind to stand higher prices and put the increase into effect.3
The 1921 Break
The contracts between the typothetse and the typographical, press
men’s, press feeders’, and electrotypers’ unions were to expire on
March 31, 1921, while those of the bindery women’s and bookbinders’
unions extended until October and December, 1921. By January,
1921, it was apparent that business conditions had changed and that
the volume of printing was decreasing, while buyers of printing were
demanding lower prices. The employers accordingly wished to
reduce labor costs on A pril 1. The situation was complicated by
the demand of the unions for the 44-hour week on May 1, 1921. The
agreement by which the shorter work week was to go into effect
nationally in the printing industry had been entered into by the
International Joint Conference Council, representing the interna
tional unions, the Printers’ League of America, the closed-shop
branch of the United Typothetae of America, and the International
Association of Employing Electrotypers. While the Boston Typothetse was not affiliated with the closed-shop branch of the United
Typothetse of America and had no part in making this agreement, the
Boston unions assumed that the reduction of hours was to go into
effect in Boston as well as in other cities. A very strong movement
of the employing printers in all sections of the country against any
reduction in hours in this time of depression received the active sup
port of the Boston Typothetse.
When, therefore, the the typographical and pressmen’s unions asked
to negotiate new contracts to be effective on A pril 1, 1921, the
typothetse declared that it would negotiate only on the basis of 48
hours, a wage reduction in line with general conditions, the open shop,
3 The unions had agreed with the statistician for the employers that the cost of living
had increased 110 per cent since 1914. These increases brought the weekly scale for
hand compositors to $41, from $21 in 1914 ; cylinder pressmen $43.50, from $23 in 1914 ;
cylinder feeders $36.50, from $16 ; bookbinders (forwarders and finishers) $41.50, from
$21; and bindery women $22.20, from $11 in 1914.

TH E 1 9 2 1 BREAK

and no arbitration agreements. The unions insisted that they could
negotiate only on the basis of a 44-hour week after May 1, 1921, as
hours were a national matter. The electrotypers’ union met the
typothetae on March 26 and declared that it expected those employ
ing electrotypers, typothetae members, who were also members of
the International Association of Employing Electrotypers, to live
up to the 44-hour agreement. I t did not yet know, howTever, whether
its international union would insist upon strict enforcement of the
44-hour week. The typothetae nevertheless refused to discuss any
contract until it received assurance of the continuance of the 48-hour
week.4
Two days later the typothetae voted to post notices that, effective
April 4, 1921, the “ voluntary increases” of September, 1920, would
be discontinued and that the resulting scale would be effective for six
months. Although the agreements with the bindery unions extended
until the fall of 1921 and no discussion of wages or hours had taken
place with those unions, the typothetae announced that the reduction
applied to the bindery department also, since the increases of Septem
ber, 1920, had been voluntary on the part of the employers and not
part of the signed agreements.5
No arbitration agreements wTere in effect between any of the
unions and the typothetae. The agreement under which the typo
graphical union had worked from 1916 to March 31, 1921, and which
included a provision for arbitration, and that unless either party
gave notice a year before expiration the arbitration clause should be
renewed for another five years, had been terminated by a narrow
vote of the union. The union accordingly lacked whatever strength
that agreement might have given it in this juncture. The unions
then had the choice of accepting the reduction announced by the em
ployers and continuing work at 48 hours with no contract or fight
ing. They decided to fight, and on April 4 about 2,000 men and
women struck, a large majority of the employees in typothetae shops
walking out, although many of them were not affiliated with the
unions.
Whether the entire industry would follow the typothetae In reduc
ing wages and refusing the reduction in hours was an important
question. The unions found that the union-label houses and some of
the typothetae houses which were engaged in publishing weekly
papers or other periodicals and could not afford any interruption
were willing to continue relations with the unions. No wage reduc
tions Avere put into effect in this minority of plants.6 Of the book
printers and binders, many of whom wrere members of the typothetae,
only one, Ginn & Co., did not make the wage reduction effective.
Several of these houses, including Ginn & Co., had agreements with
the pressroom and bindery unions and the Allied Printing Trades
Council extending from 1918, 1919, or 1920 to 1922 or 1923, and pro
viding that- the scales agreed upon between the typothetae and the
4 Minutes of conference between industrial relations committee of Boston Typothetse and
the Boston Electrotypers’ Union No. 11, Mar. 26, 192:1.
5 The bindery women’s union had, however, in September, 1920, accepted the $3 increase
which had been tentatively agreed upon in committee with the typothetse industrial rela
tions committee, and had so notified the employers, thus making the increase an agreedupon one.
6 Except in special cases, the typothetae plants which made agreements with the unions
were asked to resign.

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

unions should be paid, that preference should be given to union mem
bers in employment, and that all disputes should be adjusted by con
ciliation or arbitration. Two houses, the Plimpton Press and Ber
wick & Smith, arbitrated under the terms of their agreements and
took the pressroom, bindery, and electrotype workers back at the
scales in effect before April 4, 1921.7 The pressroom and bindery
unions waived their demand for the 44-hour week and returned to
work in these plants at 48 hours. The Plimpton Press urged the
typothetse to attempt a settlement with the typographical union, but
as the union continued in its stand for 44 hours the employers refused
to enter negotiations. Other book houses, including the Riverside
Press, declared themselves on a nonunion basis.
The typothetse advertised widely for help and began to fill the
places of the strikers, while the unions paid strike benefits to all who
came out with them. A fter some weeks, however, the pressroom and
bindery unions found their funds exhausted, and no further help
forthcoming from their international unions, and were forced to sus
pend benefits. The typothetse announced on May 26, 1921, th at it
would have no further dealings with the union leaders, that no con
ferences had been or would be held, and that former employees who
wished to regain their positions should make application in person.
By early June all of the unions except the typographical union had
given up the 44-hour demand. The typothetse insisted that employees
could return to work only by giving up their union cards, and grad
ually many employees returned to typothetse shops on a nonunion
basis, and at the wage scale which had been announced on A pril 4.
The pressroom and bindery unions lost heavily in membership, and
the typographical and electrotypers’ unions in a less degree. Since
that time the typothetse has continued to refuse any conference with
the unions, and has been on a nonunion basis.
Union B elations Since 1921
Since 1$21 the typographical union has negotiated with a group of
some 30 plants which organized as the Employing Printers’ Associa
tion of Greater Boston. When the 44-hour week went into effect in
union plants in May, 1921, the union set its hourly rate at 87 cents,
making its weekly rate for 44 hours slightly above the typothetse
scale for 48. In November, 1921, an agreement was made with the
Employing Printers’ Association for this scale, all overtime to be
paid at the rate of time and a half. On April 1, 1924, an increase to
92 cents an hour was agreed upon, and on January 3, 1927, a 3-year
contract went into effect making the scale 96 cents an hour. The
typographical union also has many members in the open-shop
machine-composition houses, most of the linotype and monotype
operators therein being union men. Many of these open-shop firms
are typothetse members. The policy of the union is that its members
in 48-hour plants should receive the 44-hour scale plus time and a
7 The decision in the Berwick & Smith case declared that in those cases in which the
union had voted to accept the increase offered by the typothetse and had so notified the
typothetse the increase became a part of the contract. According to the decision in the
Plimpton Press case, the increase had been established within the terms of the Plimpton
agreement and the scale could not therefore be changed except by establishing another
scale by agreement with the employees.

TH E TYPOTHETiE PLAN

half for the last four hours. The union now has no written agree
ments with any book plants. W ith two of these plants, however,
a friendly relationship exists, with informal understandings for a
basic 44-hour week and overtime for all time over 44 hours.
The pressroom, bindery, and electrotype unions have had no agree
ments since 1921 with any organization of employing printers. The
pressmen, press feeders, and bookbinders, having small membership
except in the book houses, have not been able to make demands, and
have continued in union plants on the 48-hour week at the wage
scales which prevailed before the typothetse reduction of April, 1921,
during reconstruction after their disastrous battle. W ith several
book houses these unions have continued friendly relations, either
through signed preferential agreements as before 1921, or with in
formal understandings. Ginn & Co., a private plant, in all its agree
ments makes a scale higher than the general union scale for each
craft. Some of the other book plants, however, have been nonunion
since 1921. The electrotypers’ union in 1923 secured a renewal of its
agreement with two book houses, with an increase of $4, making the
scale $47.50, $5 above the typothetse scale.
Summing up the position of the unions in the Boston printing
industry, we find the typographical union with its greatest .strength,
as always, on the newspapers. Through the Employing Printers5
Association its closed-shop agreement in the commercial industry
covers 30 plants, of which many are small. In the open-shop
machine-composition plants, however, it has a considerable propor
tion of the skilled man operators. The other unions, while having
members in the union commercial houses, and to some extent in the
open shops, have the majority of their membership and their greatest
strength in the book houses with which they have preferential
agreements.
T he Typothetae P lan
The break between the Boston Typothetse and the unions may
fairly be described as the result of a number of motives, important
among which was the desire of the employers to escape the changed
conditions which had been brought about in their plants by the
war and postwar conditions. Had all the unions been willing to con
tinue on 48 hours, possibly agreements could have been reached on
March 31. The refusal of the unions to commit themselves to 48
hours at that time brought the posting of the reduction in wages by
the typothetae employers a month previous to the date upon which
the 44-hour issue would have been determined. And the defensive
strike of the unions gave the typothetae the not unwelcome oppor
tunity to change to nonunion conditions of operation.
The reasons for this attitude and the counts in the typothetae
indictment of the unions were several. I t must be remembered, in
the fir,st place, that most of this group of employers had always run
open shops, and had agreed with the unions, if at all, only upon
wages and hours. The growth of power of the unions during this
period appeared of ominous import. Moreover, the Boston industry
had experienced undeniable abuse of power by the unions in certain
cases, of which illegal striker of the bookbinders and press feeders
were instances.

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

The typothetae felt that trouble was artificially fomented by union
officials for the sake of their political purposes. They believed that
the position of the employers was in some cases misrepresented to the
rank and file of the unions, and that many disturbances could have
been avoided if the employers had been able to get more directly to
the employees with their problems. They considered that the affilia
tion of their employees with the international unions prevented the
proper consideration of local problems, as when the attitude of the
International Typographical Union on the 44-hour week question
made an agreement based on local conditions impossible. And
finally, the typothetse believed that the union form of organization was
detrimental to the interests of the industry, for it was based upon
antagonism of interest, ignoring the existence of a common interest
in the welfare of the industry and specifically in production. In the
words of one of the typothetse leaders, it was hoped that in a different
sort of organization “ by organizing to deal with matters of common
interest, it would be possible to mitigate the role of force in industrial
relations.”
By the fall of 1921 the labor situation had settled down to a long
seige on the part of the typographical and electrotypers’ unions,
while the pressroom and bindery unions had been forced to give up
strike benefits, and large numbers of these crafts had returned to
typothetee shops at 48 hours and the reduced scale of wages, under
nonunion conditions. The typothetse realized that if it was to main
tain its nonunion position it must give its employees some substitute
for the unions and satisfactory working conditions which would
remove any need of the workers for trade-union organization. Ac
cordingly, a committee was appointed by the typothetae in November,
1921, to formulate a plan.8
On December 5, 1921, upon report of this committee the typothetse
voted to accept in principle a plan for a “ form of organization which
would give the employees representation upon all questions of mutual
interest.” On January 10, 1922, the typothetae adopted a detailed
plan, providing for group insurance and a Graphic Arts Industrial
Federation. The federation was to consist of all typothetse shops
whose employees should vote to adopt the plan. A joint industrial
board was to be established, with representation of both employers and
employees of these shops, its members to receive instructions from and
to be responsible to their own groups, and the decision of the board
to be final. All matters of mutual interest would be open to consid
eration. The plan was to be based upon an organization of employees
in each shop. According to the prospectus, “ By means of these
representative committees, both employers and employees will have an
equal voice in such questions of mutual interest as may arise, and each
will have an opportunity to suggest methods for improving the
industry and the conditions of those engaged in the industry.” 9
The next step was to present the plan to the employees. This was
done by shops. In some cases a dinner was held, after which the
executives withdrew and the employees were asked to vote upon the
plan, and if they accepted it to elect their representatives. In other
8 This committee consisted of Henry P. Porter, of the Oxford P rint; C. Howard Roberts,
of the Riverside P ress; and Walter J. Phillips, of the Southgate Press.
0 Graphic Arts Industrial Federation of Greater Boston. An outline of organization
for the graphic arts industries of Greater Boston,

OBJECTS AND FORM OF ORGANIZATION

cases meetings were held in the shops. The intention was that in
every case the employees should decide if they would enter the plan.
A typothetae representative visited all the shops to encourage organi
zation. Many employees were skeptical, but there was the record of
a defeated strike with financial loss to both sides, and in many cases
loss of faith in the unions, many had given up their union cards to
secure employment, some of the unions were almost out of business-,
and the employees felt their lack of any protection. Accordingly
the employees decided, whether by active decision or by force of
circumstances, to give the plan a trial. By March the employees5
group had organized and was ready to meet the employers. The
first meeting of the joint industrial board was held on A pril 20, 1922.
A joint committee on bjr-laws was appointed, and upon report of this
committee on May 2 the constitution and by-laws were adopted. To
the detailed form of organization we now turn.10
Objects and Form of Organization
According to its constitution the Graphic Arts Industrial Federa
tion consists of “ open-shop employers and employees engaged in the
arts of printing, photo-engraving, electrotyping, bookbinding, and
other allied trades connected with the Boston Typothetse Board of
Trade.” The objects will be quoted from article 3:
S e c tio n 1. The aim of the organization shall be to promote by mutual counsel,
endeavor, and service, the interests of those engaged and employed in the graphic
arts industries of Greater Boston. A ll matters of mutual interest shall be open
for consideration.
Sec. 2. This organization is designed to promote a spirit of confidence and
good will, and thereby elim inate unfortunate and costly misunderstandings
which arise chiefly from the lack of a trustworthy means of communication.
S ec. 3. The organization is designed as a constructive influence in the graphic
arts industries ; so to improve existing conditions as to reflect them selves in
greater stability of business, employment, and wrages, by the joint endeavors of
management and employees working"”together to this end.

The federation is composed of two groups—employers and em
ployees. The employees’ group consists of one representative from
each shop that is a member of the Boston Typothetae Board of Trade
and the employees of which desire representation in the group. The
only requirement for eligibility to the employees’ group is that the
representative shall be a “ bona fide working employee as distin
guished from an executive in any form, or those having a financial
interest.” The group, however, reserves the right to govern its mem
bers and to refuse to seat any applicant at any time “ for sufficient
cause,” such cause being defined as “ anything that may in a measure
impair the objects of the association.” The employees’ group holds
regular monthly meetings, at which 20 members constitute a quorum.
Its officers and executive committee of nine are elected by secret
ballot for terms of one year.
Each shop may form a shop organization, with officers who con
stitute the shop committee. Larger shops may elect representatives
from each department, these representatives to elect the shop com
mittee, while small shops may, if they prefer, elect only a shop chair
man. In practice the form of shop organization is left entirety to the
i° For constitution see Appendix C, p. 208.

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

individual shop. In each case, however, the elections are to be entirely
free from any influence of the management. The shop chairman rep
resents his shop in the employees’ group. I t is provided that the
organization in each shop may hold monthly meetings as their shop
committee may direct.
The employers’ group consists of one representative of the manage
ment of each shop the employees of which have organized and be
come members of the federation. Its officers and executive committee
of nine are elected annually, and monthly meetings are provided for.
The governing body of the federation is the joint industrial board,
which consists of the two executive committees of nine each from
the employers’ and employees’ groups. The joint industrial board
has full power in all matters referred to it, except that “ vital actions
affecting either or both groups ” do not become final and binding until
confirmed by the group affected.
The chairmen of the two groups alternate in presiding and the sec
retaries in keeping records of the meetings. Abrogation or amend
ment of the constitution can take place only at regular meetings of the
joint industrial board by two-thirds vote of those present, after hav
ing been proposed by one or more members filing a proposal with the
secretaries at least one month prior to the date of the meeting.
The constitution and by-laws end with the following summary:
It is the intention of those interested to conduct the organization on a 50-50
basis for the mutual w elfare of all engaged therein. The honest cooperation in
spirit of both employers and employees w ill assure the successful outcome of the
undertaking.

The Federation at Work 11
The first meeting of the joint industrial board was held on A pril
5, 1922. The employers’ group was represented by five from the
printing houses, and one each representing the employing photo
engravers, edition binders, pamphlet binders, and electrotypers. The
representatives of the employees’ group, although not elected by de
partments, included men from all departments. The chairmen of the
two groups, who were to preside at alternate meetings, were A. W.
Finlay, of George H. Ellis Co., for the employers, and H. F. Mc
Kenna, of the University Press, for the employees. In 1928 these
two men were still the leaders of the two groups.
Insurance
The first and fundamental activity of the federation was the provi
sion of group insurance. A few plants in Boston had carried group
life insurance for their employees before, but this had not been at all
general. A fter the 1921 strike many employees had given up their
union affiliations and with them their insurance and pension rights.
The typothetse realized the importance of giving their employees
something to counteract the financial advantage of union member
ship. Accordingly a plan for life insurance presented by the Aetna
Life Insurance Co. was adopted by the typothetse at the same time
11 The following material was secured chiefly from the minutes of the joint industrial
board, of the two^ groups, and of the typothetse, and from interviews with typothetse mem
bers, shop chairmen, and other employees in typothetse plants, employers in union plants,
and union officers.

TH E QUESTION OP WAGES

that the federation plan was approved, and the insurance was a part
of the plan as presented to the employees for their acceptance.
Under the plan all employees in federation plants were members
of the federation, but only those who so elected were to come under
the insurance plan. Life insurance policies beginning at $500 for
those who had been in the employ of a firm for six months, and in
creasing by $100 for each additional year of service, were made avail
able. The cost to the employee was at the rate of one cent per $100
of insurance. The remainder of the cost, a somewhat greater amount,
was paid by the employers, the rate per employee varying according
to the average age of the employees each year. In case of total and
permanent disability occurring before the age of 60, the face of the
policy was paid then instead of at death. I f an employee should
leave his employment and be reemployed within 15 days by another
federation plant, the new employer would continue the insurance
policy. I f he should not be reemployed within this period by a fed
eration plant, the employee could without medical examination con
tinue his policy by paying the regular rate for his age. Employees
temporarily laid off, or off because of sickness or disability were to be
considered as still in the employ of the firm and their policies con
tinued.
A few months after the organization of the federation a plan for
accident and health insurance presented by the Aetna Life Insurance
Co. was adopted by the two groups. Any firm that wished might
offer its employees health and nonoecupational accident policies, with
disability benefits of $10 per week for males and $8 per week for
females, commencing with the eighth day of disability and extending
for 13 weeks, and retroactive to the first day whenever disability
should extend for 30 days. The cost would vary with the age of the
employee and be divided between the employer and the employee.
When the life insurance went into effect, in 1922, there were 68
firms included and 2,015 employees were insured. In 1927 the num
ber had decreased to 49 firms and 1,290 employees. Up to November,
1927, death and disability claims amounting to $63,400 had been paid.
Health and accident insurance was carried in 1927 on 491 employees
by 24 firms.
Wages
Since a all matters of mutual interest ” are open for consideration
by the joint industrial board, the subject of wages has been fre
quently discussed. When the federation was organized the typothetse
wage scales were those which had been posted in April, 1921, at the
time of the $4 reduction that brought on the strike. The typothetse
in September, 1921, and again in March, 1922, reaffirmed these scales
for 6-month periods. Meanwhile, that smaller part of the com
mercial printing industry which had continued operation under
union conditions paid the old union scales for 48 hours, except in the
composing rooms, where a small reduction in the weekly rate was
effective for the 44-hour week.
I t is over the question of wages that the majority of industrial
battles are fought, for on this fundamental question appears the
most serious clash of interest between employers and employees.
The determination of wages under a nonunion joint council plan

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

which is based upon a philosophy of cooperation of the two groups
in industry is therefore significant in showing how the plan works
and how effective it is, if at all, in modifying or directing the power
of the twTo groups into channels which are of benefit to both. The
process of wage determination under the Graphic Arts Industrial
Federation will therefore be described in detail.
On June 23, 1922, at the first meeting of the joint industrial board
after the organization was completed, upon the suggestion of the
employers, a joint committee was appointed to investigate wage con
ditions and to report recommendations for the action of the organi
zation. This committee reported at the next quarterly meeting in
September its unanimous recommendation that the existing scales be
continued until April 1, 1923. The recommendation was unani
mously adopted by the joint board and by the employer and em
ployee groups. W ithout doubt business conditions were bad, and the
employees were satisfied to continue without change for the time.
A t the meeting of the joint board on March 14, 1923, the em
ployees’ group presented a request for a $4 increase, to restore the
decrease of 1921. A week later a second meeting was held. The
employers’ group, which in practice was the entire Typothetse Board
of Trade, had met in the meantime to consider the request, and had
voted that no change should be made for another period of six
months, and that the employers’ representatives should endeavor to
convince the employees of the soundness of this action. The chair
man of the employers accordingly reported the belief of the em
ployers’ group that “ it would be for the best interests of the indus
try and all concerned to make no change in the wage scale at this
time.” After lengthy discussion, during which the employees were
not entirely convinced, the chairman for the employees agreed to
report these conclusions to his group. The employees’ group, on
March 29, voted not to accept the decision, but that the m atter of
wages should be held open. I t favored a flat, general increase
of 10 per cent, to be effective on April 1, but voted that if this in
crease were not granted they would not ask for arbitration. I t was
known that some of the employers were in favor of raising wages
at this time. On A pril 6 a third meeting of the joint industrial
board was held on request of the employees’ group. After discussion
across the table, the employers reported the vote of their group,
regretting that they were “ unable to give any increase in wages
at this time, due to business conditions, but they [were] willing to
take the matter up for consideration when there [was] an improve
ment in business conditions in the printing industry.” A fter th at
the matter dropped for the time.
On this occasion the decision was made by the employers at their
own meetings and reported by their representatives to the joint
board. The function of the joint industrial board in this case was
to give the employers opportunity to state their case to the employees
and endeavor to convince them. Although the employees were not
entirely convinced and, so far as the records show, did not positively
acquiesce in the decision, the matter dropped.
On July 25, 1923, the employees’ group again presented to the
joint board their request for a wage increase. They reported that
certain plants had already increased wages to some of their people.

TH E QUESTION OF WAGES

Wage increases had been granted in New York and Chicago, where
scales were higher than in Boston, and, according to reports, cost of
living was lower. The secretary was accordingly instructed to secure
cost-of-living information from the Federal Government. During
the next month the typothetae discussed the matter. Finally the
typothetae industrial relations committee recommended to the em
ployers an increase of $3 per week to journeymen, except to cylinder
feeders, and $1.50 to bindery women. On September 11 the typoth
etae voted to accept this recommendation, to become effective on Octo
ber 1, 1923. The following day this action was reported to the joint
industrial board, and shortly after the new scales were accepted by
the employees’ group. A joint notice of the increase, signed by both
groups, included the following statement:
The joint board made a careful study of the factors affecting a wage adjust
ment and are agreed that employers w ill be considerably oppressed in meeting
this wage increase at a time when the volume of business is at a very low
ebb and economic conditions; are not encouraging. The employers, however,
w ishing to do their level best by those in their employ, have taken the chance
of being able in some w ay to m eet th is additional expense. They believe the
employees w ill realize the seriousness of employers assum ing th is additional
expense at this tim e and w ill give hearty and loyal -support and cooperation
and endeavor to increase the output of the plants.12

This time, as before, the decision on wages was made by the em
ployers and communicated to the employees represented on the joint
industrial board. I t was a time of a small but distinct upward trend
in wages, and general conditions were forcing the raising of wages
in individual cases. The requests of the employees’ group and the
discussions of the joint board in all probability, however, brought the
general raising of the wage level in the typothetae plants more quickly
than would have been the case without any organization on the part
of the employees. The typothetae scales after this increase were still
slightly below the union scales.
Opposition of the group of employing photo-engravers at this
time to any increase and to the maintenance of any standard wage
scale led to the resignation of this group from the federation. This
action was taken by the employers, not the employees, although
according to the plan of the federation the employees in every
typothetae plant were to decide upon membership in the federation.
Since 1923 the question of wages has been discussed at many meet
ings of the joint industrial board. The electrotypers’ union raised
its scale in 1923 and the typographical union in 1924 and again in
January, 1927. Therefore the federation members have felt that
their wages should be raised. But as the question has been discussed
over the table of the joint board, the employee representatives have
recognized; the poor conditions shown by the slackness in their own
plants, and in many cases it has been the employees who have moved
to lay the matter on the table for the time. In April, 1926, at the
request of the joint industrial board the chairman of the employers’
group spoke to the employees’ group on the financial condition of the
industry, and the men were apparently satisfied.
At each meeting of the board during 1927 the question of wages
was discussed, but action was postponed because of the general
slackness. The employers, however, promised to make every effort
12 Printing, Oct. 20, 1923, p. 57.

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

to keep men at work full time, and in many plants in spite of the
scarcity of work there were no lay offs of the regular force. The
wage question was quiescent only because of general conditions, and
when business should become more active, more active demands on
the part of the employees were to be expected. For the most part
during the years 1924 to 1927 wages were discussed without the
question coming to the point of a vote, or a request being made and
rejected. The discussions between the two groups apparently led
to agreement as to what was possible under existing conditions. To
the extent that this occurred, the federation fulfilled its purpose.
Shop Practices
The Graphic Arts Industrial Federation is not a closely organized
or rigidly controlled association, and for the most part such questions
as shop practices are left to the determination of the individual plant.
A number of matters which may be classed as shop practices, how
ever, have been discussed by the joint industrial board, and several
important decisions were made. Among these matters were the ques
tions of membership cards, overtime regulations, apprenticeship, and
vacations with pay.
One of the first matters considered by the joint industrial board
was that of membership cards. A joint committee recommended that
cards be issued to all employees in federation plants, cards of one
color being used for journeymen and of another for all other em
ployees. The recommendation was adopted by the board and re
ferred to the two groups, the representatives agreeing to urge its
adoption. The employees’ group, however, voted that no distinc
tion should be made between journeymen and others, and the em
ployers’ group accepted the decision of the employees. An employ
ment bureau was established at the typothetse headquarters, and
holders of federation cards were to be given preference in employ
ment.
One of the most important decisions of the federation was the
adoption of a set of overtime regulations. While in large p art the
typothetse plants had continued to pay for overtime according to the
system that had been in vogue under the old union contracts, in
some cases differences of opinion arose. The employees’ group, there
fore, in February, 1925, asked that a set of rules be adopted to stand
ardize overtime rates in all typothetse shops. The rules presented
by the employees were adopted after slight revision, signed, and
copies sent to all plants. While these rules were substantially the
union rules, the employees felt that they had secured a real benefit
in having them regularly adopted. In many cases they were the
means of quickly settling disputes and establishing good will where
there had been a possibility of serious dissatisfaction.
The important matter of apprenticeship has not been a subject of
action by the federation. The typothetse cooperates with the W ent
worth Institute School of Printing, helping to select the 50 or so
boys who enter the school each year, and placing them in typothetse
plants after a year’s course. The apprenticeship period is officially
four years, including the school year. There is, however, no detailed
supervision or regulation of apprentice training or apprentice wage

OTHER FEDERATION ACTIVITIES

scales, either by the typothetee or by the federation. The only action
by the joint industrial board of the federation came when the elec
trotypers asked that their employers should agree upon the appren
ticeship period, in order that the apprentices might know when they
should become journeymen. When the employing electrotypers voted
that the period should be four years, except in unusual cases where
an extension of time might be needed, the joint board voted to accept
this recommendation.
The question of vacations with pay was brought up early in 1924
and has been frequently discussed since then. One prominent
typothetse plant which follows a policy of paying wages higher than
the typothetse scale and giving more favorable working conditions,
and is therefore not in the federation, has a plan whereby its em
ployees receive a vacation with pay, amounting to one day for each
month of service during the year. W ith this in mind, an employee
suggested to the joint industrial board that vacations with pay be
granted to the extent of one day off for each month in which an
employee was not tardy or absent. The matter was discussed and
referred to both groups for consideration as a matter of much impor
tance. I t appeared next in the records in November, when vacations
were discussed particularly with reference to paying wages for
Christmas Day, but no action was taken. In February, 1925, the
employees’ group presented a modified plan for vacations, that em
ployees after continuous service of three years should be given one
week’s vacation with pay, provided the employee should take a full
two weeks’ vacation. Two months later, when the men asked for an
answer to their request, the employers’ group voted unanimously
“ That the vacation proposal submitted to this body by the employees’
group can not be granted at this time, and that the employees’ group
be asked to withdraw the request.” The following year, in June, the
question of vacations was again brought up, and after discussion
was laid on the table until September. At the September meeting
the board finally voted to recommend that all firms pay regular
wages for Christmas Day, and notices to that effect were sent out.
As this action was in the form of a recommendation only, and was
not voted upon by the typothetse, it was not binding upon the em
ployers, but in most cases the recommendation was followed. The
employees, after more than two years, it is true, had secured a con
cession which was a substantial one, although less than the original
request. And they do not consider the matter dead. “ I t takes
time,” said one employee representative, “ but we are working on
them.”
O ther F ederation Activities
During the spring of 1923, when wages were discussed but no
increase granted because of the poor condition of the printing indus
try, it was suggested that the financial problems of the employees
might be relieved by a cooperative buying system. A considerable
number of stores agreed to give discounts of 5 per cent or more on
all purchases by holders of federation membership cards. Later a
purchasing department was established, with a purchasing agent,
who secures discounts of from 15 per cent up on a great variety
of commodities, ranging from clothing and household equipment to

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

radios and automobiles. As the savings made are considerable, the
service is largely used and popular and it is a very important part of
the federation in the minds of many employees.
In the fall of 1924 the employees’ group decided that an activity
which would bring employees from different plants together would
be of considerable value to them by promoting acquaintance and
good fellowship and increasing interest in the federation. A bowling
league was organized, with teams from different plants. The em
ployers have each year given cups to the winning team and its indi
vidual members, at a banquet at the close of the season. In 1926 and
1927 the women also had their teams and a league of their own. The
weekly bowling night brings together a large and enthusiastic group
of graphic arts bowlers.
The meetings of the joint industrial board and of the employees’
group were at first held in the evening. By 1924 the attendance at
the monthly meetings of shop representatives had decreased. To
remedy this, the employees asked that the meetings should be held
during business hours and the employees be paid for their time.
The employers accordingly voted that the employee representatives
could discontinue work at 3.30 to attend meetings of the employees’
group or of the joint industrial board, without reduction of pay. The
constitution had not specifically provided for regular meetings of
the joint industrial board. Meetings could always be called by
request of either group, but in some cases four months or more had
passed between meetings. In the fall of 1925 the employees’ group
asked for a regular arrangement of meetings, and it was voted to
meet on the second Thursday of March, June, September, and
December.
Shop Organizations and Their Work
The foundation of the Graphic Arts Industrial Federation is the
shop organization, for the groups which elect the members of the
governing boards are composed of representatives from the various
shops. The constitution and by-laws, however, are not specific as
to the purposes, duties, and powers of the shop organizations. In
the outline of organization which was originally presented to the
employees for their approval appears the following statement about
these organizations:
The plan provides that each employer shall arrange for a complete organiza
tion of his employees w ithin the shop. H e should establish close contact
w ith them and encourage a free expression of opinion from all employees.
He should lay stress upon the fact that cooperation is one of the ch ief features
of this plan.

In the minds of the employers who sponsored the plan the shop
organization had a very important function. I t was to promote a
friendly relationship between the employer and his employees by
providing a means of free expression and securing the prompt bring
ing to light of any dissatisfaction and the elimination of its causes.
The shop chairman, elected by the employees, was to be their spokes
man, and whenever necessary present their case to the management.
While this was nowhere definitely stated, it was assumed that if a
cause of difficulty was not straightened out in any shop the employees

SHOP ORGANIZATIONS AND TH EIR WORK

could appeal to the joint industrial board, and the decision of the
board would be final and binding.
The form of organization within the shop might vary with the con
ditions. In practice a great variety of types of organization is
found. In many cases the organization is very informal, there being
only a shop chairman. In others a complete shop council is found,
with representatives from each department. In one case the entire
group of employees is organized into a society which meets monthly
and has officers who form the shop council. Much difference is found
in the degree of interest and in the amount of activity of the shop
organization. The difference,s depend chiefly upon three factors—
the interest and activity of the employer in promoting the organiza
tion, the quality of leadership in the employee group, and the need
for a formal organization, depending upon the size of the plant.
The fact that so many commercial printing plants are small makes
th 3 need for an organization within the shop much less than in the
large-scale industries. Of the 42 plants which were members of
the Graphic Arts Industrial Federation in January, 1927, 24 had
25 employees or less, and 32 had 50 or less, leaving only 10 with
over 50 employees in their printing and binding departments. In
such small plants, and plants, too, in which the employees are in
large part a skilled and intelligent group, the traditional barriers
between employer and employee are less than in many industries, and
the chance that grievances will arise and grow through lack of ex
pression is not great. In such plants, also, questions which -arise
can in many cases be handled very simply by a single shop chairman
with the employer, and any other organization would be unneces
sarily cumbersome. From the standpoint of the federation, how
ever, there is always the danger of a lack of knowledge of and inter
est in the federation in shops which are not regularly organized and
functioning as shop units of the larger organization. As a result
there have been constant appeals to the employers and employees to
keep the shop organizations active. In a bulletin issued by the joint
industrial board in December, 1925, and signed by the joint chairmen,
such an appeal is m ade:
The federation may be made more serviceable if the individual shop com
m ittee and proprietor w ill make their own internal organization more active.
Monthly meetings of the committee and quarterly meetings of the whole shop
group would help to stim ulate interest in the federation. I t is also quite pos
sible that by contact outside business hours the atmosphere in the shop and
between the shop and the management would constantly reach a happier
condition.

Unfortunately for the purposes of this study, the informality of
organization in the shops is shown by the lack of any records as to
the activities of the shop councils or shop chairmen in serving their
constituents. By conversations with shop chairmen, other employees,
and employers the endeavor was made to learn how the federation
functioned in typical plants.
In the three largest typothetse printing plants, each of which
employs 100 or more, shop councils are in existence, with repre
sentatives elected by each department and a chairman elected by the
council. The procedure in handling any question depends upon the
seriousness of the case. Some difficulties are straightened out by the
17616°—28------5

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

department representatives with the foreman or superintendent, while
in other ca^es the chairman goes to the employer directly. In each
of these plants the question of payment for overtime was a source of
serious difficulty, which was settled by the adoption of rules for
overtime by the joint industrial board or later by referring to these
rules. In one of the plants the shop committee has been used on
questions of discipline. On one occasion the employer referred to
the committee a question of this sort, agreeing to follow its recom
mendation, and on the decision of the committee one man was dis
charged and another let go later when it was convenient. Griev
ances in regard to promotion and wage increases have also been han
dled by these committees. At the time of the wage increase in Sep
tember, 1923, the agreement was for the new scale, rather than for
flat increases to all employees. This brought much dissatisfaction
and called for discussion and adjustment in individual plants. In
one of these large plants discussion between the shop chairman and
the employer brought an agreement that every employee should re
ceive some increase, regardless of whether he was already receiving
a wage over the new scale.
One group among whom there is dissatisfaction in some cases is
that of the press feeders. The feeders received larger increases, pro
portionately, during the war period than did the other more skilled
crafts, and the differential between the wages of the feeders and the
pressmen had been reduced. When the wage increase of 1923 was
given*, therefore, the employers refused to give any increase to the
press feeders, and the employees’ group accepted the decision. A
dissatisfied member of the press-feeders’ group in a large plant was
taken to a meeting of the employees’ group by his shop chairman to
show him that the group was functioning and would do all it could
for him, and he was convinced. In each of these large plants it is
clear that the plan has worked to eliminate sources of dissatisfaction.
The shop chairman in each of these plants has held the position since
the plan was introduced in 1922.
Among the medium-sized plants one bindery has an active shop
committee of three members. This plant employs people of a variety
of nationalities, and its work is somewhat less skilled than th at of the
printing plants. Testimony from the employer, the shop chairman,
and people in the shop is that the organization is useful in straighten
ing out difficulties. Many bindery girls and men would not go to
the “ boss,” but do bring their- troubles to the shop chairman, who is
successful in eliminating grievances which would hinder the work
and create discontent. In this plant such social events as an annual
outing and a Christmas party given by the employer contribute to
the good will which is evident.
Another medium-sized plant, a printing plant, has an organization
of all its employees which meets once a month. A committee repre
senting the different departments functions to straighten out the
few grievances that are presented. I t has had no^ occasion to take
any question to the general meeting.
These plants are typical of those in which the federation idea is
working at its best. In others the reports are less favorable. In
some of the small plants the shop chairman acts to represent his plant
in the employees’ group, but has not functioned within his own plant.

SH O P ORGANIZATION'S AND TH EIR WORK

whether from absence of any need or from lack of knowledge of and
interest in the objects of the federation depending upon the indi
vidual case. In one of the larger plants, the employer, although a
strong proponent of the federation in general, has not pushed the
organization within his own plant, considering it unnecessary. There
is, however, a shop chairman who has on occasion taken up various
questions with the employer. I t is very evident that in this plant
there is dissatisfaction under the surface which has not been brought
out and eliminated by removing its causes. Dissatisfaction still ex
ists because the wage increase of 1923 was given only to those who
were getting below the new scale, and there is considerable question
as to whether the full typothetse scale is paid in all cases where the
people are entitled to be ranked as competent journeymen or journeywomen. In one large edition bindery' the employer expressed consid
erable skepticism as to the federation being of any value in his plant,
except as it helped in 1922 to maintain the nonunion status established
after the 1921 strike. The shop chairman has had no occasion to
take up many questions with the office. The chairman, however, feels
that the system has been helpful in quickly taking care of complaints
in the shop. For example, an apprentice who had “ served his time,”
but whose wages had not been raised to the scale, was quickly estab
lished as a journeyman with the full scale when this oversight was
called to the attention of the employer. This plant for several years
had held no election. In another large bindery little interest was
shown by either the employer or the employees, although there is a
shop chairman, elected several years ago, who attends the meetings
of the employees’ group.
No complete census has been possible either of the plants or of the
employees in them. However, the sample which has been reported
upon is sufficient to indicate the possibilities of the federation and
some of its weaknesses.
There can be no doubt that the shop organization, the local unit
under the Graphic Arts Industrial Federation, is functioning in
many plants. There can be no doubt, also, that in others, through
lack of interest of the employers or of aggressive leadership on the
part of the employees, there is little interest and little success in
achieving that fundamental purpose of the federation, the promoting
of confidence and a spirit of cooperation between employer and em
ployee by securing a means of contact and the prompt removal of
sources of misunderstanding and friction.
The right of any shop organization to appeal to the joint industrial
board in case of failure to reach a satisfactory agreement upon any
question of dispute with its employer is understood as a part of the
federation plan, although nowhere specifically stated. No formal
appeal of this sort has at any time been made in such a way as to be
a matter of r’ecord. The informal discussions across the table, how
ever, may be of more importance than formal action. The subjects
which have been brought up for discussion by the employees have
been of a wide variety, and have included conditions in individual
plants. In some cases explanation has been all that was needed, while
in others employers have taken the part of employees in straighten
ing out difficulties. The joint industrial board in practice is a source
of strength to the employees in their relations within the shops, at

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

the same time that the board depends for its effectiveness upon sup
port from active shop organizations.
Relation of Federation to Trade-unions
The Graphic Arts Industrial Federation, according to its constitu
tion, consists of “ open-shop employers and employees.” Further
than this there is no statement of its relations to and attitude toward
the trade-unions. A fter the 1921 strike most of the typothetse em
ployers decided to run on an absolutely nonunion basis, and in many
cases individual nonunion contracts were required for employment.
One large plant secured a perpetual injunction against any effort of
the unions to organize the establishment. By the time the federation
was organized, however, such rigid war-time measures had been given
up in most plants. The policy of the federation is that union people
may be employed, although employers who wish to insist upon non
union conditions may do so. The understanding is that while union
members may be employed and be members of the federation with
the benefits of membership, they may not be elected as shop represent
atives or as representatives on the joint industrial board. Many
employers knowingly hire union members when necessary, although
preferring not to. They often do so, however, with the advice,
“ Don’t talk about it,” In many plants union activity on the part of
an employee would be dangerous.
The unions have, of course, endeavored to organize the workers in
the federation plants, and when possible to place their people in
positions in these plants. The pressroom and bindery unions, which
lost most heavily in membership through the 1921 strike, have had
some success in their organizing campaigns and have union mem
bers in many typothetse plants, including some of those which are
supposedly strictly nonunion. The typographical union has prob
ably fewer people in the federation plants, partly because it is the
strongest union locally and the one most feared by the employers and
partly because the union insists upon the 44-hour week and allows
its members to work in 48-hour shops only with a scale which
amounts to the union 44-hour scale plus four hours at overtime rates.
Another important reason is the tendency for an increasing amount
of composition to be done in the trade composition houses, and while
most of these plants in Boston are open shop, much of the skilled
work is done by union men. The constant draining off of skilled
compositors by the newspapers leaves a scarcity of such labor, which
is a source of strength to the typographical union. I t is significant
that the typothetse trade composition plants are not members of the
Graphic Arts Industrial Federation.13
The policy of the employers in combating the organizing efforts
of the unions has been to give advantages to employees in federation
plants to equal or exceed advantages which might come through
union affiliation, and through publicity to keep employees informed
of the federation and its activities. In the fall of 1923 several unions
13 The pressroom unions claimed a membership in 1927 of about 70 per cent of their
numbers in 1921. The electrotypers’ union reports only a very slight decrease in its
membership. The typographical union lost less than 200 out of a total membership of
about 2,000' book and job and newspaper. The bindery unions lost much more heavily
than the others, and now have only a scattering membership except in book houses and
a few union-label houses.

ACHIEVEM ENTS OF TH E FEDERATION

were beginning active organizing campaigns. A t the November
meeting of the joint industrial board the employers presented a draft
for a notice to be adopted and posted on the bulletin boards of all
the federation shops. This was adopted by the board and by the
employees’ group, was signed by the joint chairmen and by the in
dividual employer in each shop, and posted. I t read as follows:
We are advised that a number of union organizers have been sent here to
inaugurate an active campaign in Greater Boston to revive the local unions.
We are advising you of th is m atter because you may be approached and
urged to join the union.
Both you and this company are members of the Graphic Arts Federation.
Since its inception the federation has been the means of increased friendliness
and cooperation between employer and employee. As the federation becomes
better known and is extended to more cities its usefulness w ill increase and
its permanent benefits w ill be more apparent.
It is our determination to negotiate all industrial m atters between ourselves
and our employees through the federation and through no other channels.
We are speaking thus frankly w ith you so th at there may be no possible
m istake in your mind as to where we stand.

While this is clearly an employer notice, the employees’ group was
willing to accept it.
In January, 1924, the New England Printer was established by the
Boston Typothetse Board of Trade and other organizations of New
England. A section of this periodical was given over to the federa
tion for publicity, under the charge of an editorial committee. A
bulletin committee also was appointed to prepare notices for the
plant bulletin boards. A t the end of each year a bulletin similar
to that of November, 1923, has been adopted, signed, and posted.
That of December, 1926, declared, “ This statement is made unani
mously and whole-heartedly, and your committee believes it is con
curred in by every member, both employer and employee, in the
federation.”
Federation Membership
When the federation began activities in 1922 it included 68 firms.
By March, 1923, the number had grown to 71 firms, which employed
2,200 people. By January, 1927, however, the membership had de
creased to 42 plants and 1,430' employees. The loss of membership
is to be accounted for in several w ays: First, by the withdrawal of the
photo-engravers’ group following the wage, increase of 1923; then by
failures, consolidations, and withdrawals from business for other
reasons of a number of plants; and by a few minor resignations.
Since all employees in federation plants, however, are automatically
members of the federation and are issued membership cards, the
number of employee members does not indicate the number of
employees who have an active interest in the federation. There is
considerable evidence that in -some of the plants the employees know
very little about the organization and think of the federation chiefly
as an insurance plan.
W hat Has the Federation Accomplished?
To estimate the accomplishments of the federation, we turn first to
the direct testimony of the people concerned, the employers and em
ployees in federation plants. All the points to be given hereafter

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

were brought out by representatives of these two groups in con
versation. First, the reports of the employers :
1. Since the federation was established, the industry has seen six
years of peace and uninterrupted operation. The 48-hour week has
been maintained, and the typothetse plants, the largest part of the
commercial industry, are for the most part on a nonunion basis. No
dealings with the unions have been necessary, and the employers are
able to “ run their own shops.”
2. A more friendly relationship has resulted between the employers
and their employees. The joint industrial board has been highly suc
cessful in promoting good feeling and mutual confidence between the
two groups. In the shops where the federation organization is active
the employers know their employees better than they did before,
and there is a better spirit. The employers believe that most of the
employees are satisfied.
3. In promoting a “ channel of communication ” the federation has
worked. Through the joint industrial board the employers learn
what the people in their shops are thinking and wanting, and the
employee representatives get a new appreciation of the business
problems of the employers. “ We have learned,” said one employee
representative, “ that if the business doesn’t go on, nobody gets a
living. We are not for anything that takes away the bread and butter
from anybody, much less from everybody.” The employers believe
also that the individual people in the shops get a straighter story of
what goes on in the joint conference than they did under the old union
system.
4. W ithin the shop the plan assures that any questions and sources
of discontent will be brought to the attention of the management.
There is no artificial fomenting of trouble by u outsiders,” but dif
ficulties are quickly settled within the shop. Here also the “ channel
of communication ” is open and is effective. This is true wherever
the shop organization is functioning, but is not true in every plant
within the federation.
Among the employees as among the employers there i(s no unanim
ity as to the results of the federation or as to the importance of the
various results. But several points were mentioned by enough
employees to seem representative of the opinion of considerable sec
tions of the employees in federation shops:
1. The fact that since 1922 there has been peace in the industry is
important in the minds of many. They look back upon the dis
astrous .strike of 1921 as a costly experience for both groups and as
evidence of the futility of strikes. They consider that with better
understanding on the part of employees of business conditions and
problems it i(s possible to settle differences in some other way than
by strikes, and they are for the plan which has proved this.
2. To many employees (how large a proportion can not be ac
curately estimated) there is a positive advantage in having no connec
tion with the unions. They speak of poor leadership in some of the
unions before 1921, and say that in many instances employees joined
the unions because they had to, and not from choice. They are dis
illusioned with unionism and glad to try out a different system.
Freedom from the necessity of paying dues to the union was men
tioned frequently as an advantage of the federation type of organiza

ACHIEVEM ENTS OF TH E FEDERATION

tion. According to many shop chairmen, a large majority of the
people prefer thi,s arrangement.
3. The federation has brought better relations with the employers.
The employee representatives on the joint industrial board testify, as
do the employer members, to the friendly relations and the spirit of
mutual confidence and trust existing among the members of the
board.
4. Results have been obtained for the employees through the action
of the joint industrial board. Many spoke of the wage increase of
1923, the payment of wages for Christmas Day since 1926, and the
adoption of the rules for overtime payment as evidence that the
discussions in the joint board were effective in securing concessions
asked by the employees. The representatives believe th at when busi
ness improves they will be able to secure wage increases and eventu
ally shorter hours through the federation.
5. Difficulties within the shops are settled more quickly by the
shop organization than under the old system when a union officer
came in and all too often stirred up the trouble rather than settled
it. The employees are more ready to settle difficulties with people in
their own shops. Moreover, the protection of the rights of the em
ployees through the shop organization and the right of appeal to the
joint industrial board appears to many as a very real thing. To a
question whether the interests of the employees were as well pro
tected now as under the union system, one of the employee leaders
said, “ Yes and no. We have no funds and can’t strike. But we be
lieve things can be ironed out without strikes. We have confidence
in the integrity and fairness of the employers.”
6. The insurance feature of the federation is very popular. Some
plants pay the entire co,st themselves, while the general rule is that
employees pay a small part, amounting to 10 cents per week for $1,000
of life insurance. This is, of course, very cheap insurance. Many
employees compare this with the amount of insurance which they
would get for union dues, and consider th at they are better off. They
realize, however, that the insurance tend^s to tie them to their jobs.
They can continue insurance while they go from one federation plant
to another, but if they go outside they can then continue it only
by paying the regular rate for their age.
7. The purchasing service also is popular. In fact, in some plants
the employees appear to know little of the federation except the in
surance and purchasing features. But the purchasing agent is able
to make a .substantial saving and his services are largely used.
I t is clear that large numbers of the employees in federation plants
are quite satisfied and willing to continue with the present arrange
ment, feeling that their interests are protected and that the em
ploy erg can be trusted to be fair. But in the background of the
situation in the minds of the employees are the unions. “ The
federation is our only safeguard now,” said one employee representa
tive who on the whole was strongly in favor of the federation.
Another declared his belief in the unions in general and their bene
fits, but distrust in some of the leadership among the Boston unions
in the past. Another said, “ I don’t expect to carry a card again,
but you never can tell.” Such men are actively cooperating in the
work of the federation and are glad to try out the federation plan.

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

But if at any time any number of employees should feel that their
confidence in the employers was not justified, and that their interests
were not as well safeguarded by the federation as they would be by
the unions, a movement back toward the unions might be expected.
The Boston printing trade-unions are, of course, opposed to the
Graphic Arts Industrial Federation. While they recognize the seri
ousness to the union movement of the “ open-shop ” condition in the
Boston commercial printing industry, for the most part they do
not admit that the federation makes a sufficient contribution to the
welfare of the employees to be a serious competitor. The union
criticisms should be considered:
1. According to the unions, the federation is not an “ open-shop ”
plan. I t is not open to the unions. Union members in federation
shops for the most part dare not let their union membership be
known, nor talk unionism. As a broad generalization it is undeniable
that this is true. In the competition between two types of indus
trial organization a weapon of the employer is the exclusion from
employment of those who oppose his type of organization. Inevit
ably the typothetao employers prefer not to hire union members, and
do so knowingly only when it is necessary in order to secure com
petent people.
2. The federation employees do not have as much protection in
the form of insurance and pension rights, and the right to be taken
care of in sickness and old age, as in the union homes, as do union
members. This is true, but it is also true that federation members
are not paying for such things, but only a very moderate amount
for insurance.
3. Wage scales are lower than are the union scales. Moreover, it
is claimed that the typothetae scales “ don’t mean anything” and
that there is undercutting of the scales by typothetae employers.
This is a very important criticism and will be discussed a little later.
4. I t is claimed that the federation gives no real protection to its
employees, for “ naturally” the shop chairmen and representatives
on the joint board can not be free to act, and must not jeopardize
their own positions by opposing the employers too strongly. No
specific evidence of the truth of this general statement was given by
any union officer. Careful inquiry among shop chairmen failed
to bring any corroboration of the criticism. All the chairmen talked
with believed that they were entirely free to support the cause of
the employees, either with -their own employer or in the joint in
dustrial board. They have been convinced by the leaders of the
employers’ group that the employers mean what they say and will
support the employees on any such issue. The representatives be
lieve that the right of appeal to the joint board prevents the possi
bility of discrimination against any employee who might be too
active to please his employer. I t can not be denied, however, that
in a shop where the organization is not in active operation with the
strong support of the employer, there might be discrimination of
this sort. And during periods of slack business, when jobs are
scarce, a shop chairman in such a shop might hesitate, for example,
to support the claim of a man to receive the full journeyman’s scale.
While no direct evidence of this sort has been found, it is
a possibility.

ACHIEVEM ENTS OF TH E FEDERATION

5. According to the unions, the employees in the federation have no
power to force an issue, and therefore have no real power. The em
ployers can “ sta ll55 and so prevent action, while the employees are
helpless. This criticism ignores what power there may be in discus
sion over the table by honest and well-intentioned groups. I t is
quite true, however, that the employees lack economic power through
this organization. Under the theory of the organization, neverthe
less, differences can be settled by agreement without force. How this
works out is dependent upon the caliber of the two groups, the fair
ness of their approach to problems, and the readiness of the em
ployers to make needed concessions without being forced.
6. The unions declare that there is dissatisfaction in federation
shops. In evidence they cite applications for membership in the
unions from people in federation plants, and refer to other plants
where the employees know nothing about the federation and would
join the unions if they dared. There are without doubt shops where
the federation organization is not functioning, where the employees
are not informed as to any protection possible to them through the
federation, and where the unions are therefore able to make a suc
cessful appeal for membership. In plants where wages are distinctly
lower than the union scales, or where other causes of dissatisfaction
are not eradicated by the shop organization, it is not surprising if
the employees look toward the unions again. I t has not been possible
to secure evidence as to the degree to which the unions are able to
appeal successfully to employees in plants where federation condi
tions are favorable. But there are some employees who are not ready
to put all their trust in the promises of the federation, and who
therefore maintain membership in the unions.
The interested testimony of employers and employees in federa
tion plants and of the Boston printing trade-unions as to the results
of the Graphic Arts Industrial Federation has been reported. But
to make an objective estimate of the results and value of the federa
tion is very difficult. In the first place, it is impossible to separate
the effects of this organization from the results which would have
come from the general conditions of this period. Business has not
been good at any time since 1921.
New England industry in general is said to “ have its back to the
wall,” and the printing industry, with its dependence upon other
industries for its customers, is affected by the general condition. The
Boston printing industry, moreover, in common with the industry in
other centers, since 1920 has had a serious condition of overequipment
in which the capacity of the plants is greater than the amount of
orders which can be secured at profitable prices. The volume of cata
logue printing, formerly a very important part of the production in
Boston, has greatly decreased. The fight for business both in Boston
and over a wider geographical territory results in much price
cutting. Im portant orders have gone to other cities at reduced
prices. Some typothetae plants have been busy, particularly those
which specialize in a certain service or type of printing, but many
have not been busy, on the whole, for several years, and some are
said to be in financial difficulties. Several failures have occurred
among typothetae plants. Among the union plants the great majority
are very small, “ cheap printers ” whose competition is not of great

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL, FEDERATION

moment. But the largest union plant ranks with the largest typoth
etse plants, and several others do substantial volumes of work. Testi
mony is that these plants, on the whole, have been busy since 1921,
and in some cases have expanded. W hat is the reason? The unionlabel work, in the first place, is confined to these union plants, and
for several years an active campaign has been carried on by the
Allied Printing Trades Council to further the patronage of union
plants. Then the typothetse plants during the disorganization of the
1921 strike lost work which has not come back to them, some going
out of town and some to union plants in Boston. Difficulty of typoth
etse plants in getting and keeping skilled men is cited by the unions
as a cause of this condition, although many skilled workers are kept
in typothetse plants by paying the union scale or more. For the most
part, however, the union houses have not been known for high-class
work, as certain of the typothetse houses have, and the low-price
printer has an advantage in a time of severe price competition such
as this.
To answer satisfactorily these questions on the fundamental eco
nomic condition of the Boston printing industry, in both its union
and nonunion branches, would require a far-reaching survey which
is not possible as part of this study. But the available information
raises a question whether the object of the Graphic Arts Industrial
Federation, a so to improve existing conditions as to reflect them
selves in greater stability of business, employment, and wages, by
the joint endeavors of management and employees working together
to this end,” has been obtained. This has been a period in which
stability of conditions was much to be desired and very difficult to
obtain. To the extent that the federation has maintained a standard
wage scale and thus set some limits to competition it has contributed
to stability. On the other hand, as it was fathered by a trade asso
ciation composed only of the nonunion printers, there is under the
federation plan none of the attack upon poor business conditions, by
trying to educate the whole group of employing printers in good
business methods, which is so important if the entire level of the
industry is to be raised. That the union plants are outside the
Typothetse Board of Trade and no effort is made to secure the coop
eration of all groups of employing printers, may be a more important
element in the situation of the Boston printing industry than is
recognized by the typothetse.
Whatever the causes, it is clear that business has been poor, jobs
have not been plentiful, and labor has not been in position to make
demands. The federation will not have proved itself until it has
passed through a period of active business and maintained the
interest and loyalty of the employees by securing for them as much
as they believe they might get through the unions.
The question of wages is very important in estimating the results
of the federation. A comparison of the wage scales of the typothetse
and the unions since their relations were broken off in 1921 will be
helpful;

ACHIEVEM ENTS OF TH E FEDERATION
T

able

3 .— W AGE SCALE® OF BOSTON TYPOTHETSE A N D U N IO N W AGE SC ALES
SIN C E 1921

Craft, and date of adoption of scale

Hand compositors:
Before April, 1921__________ _____ ___ _______ ____________ ___ ________
Apr. 4, 1921______________________ _____ ______________________________
M ay 1,1921_________ ______ _______ ____ _______________ ___ _____ ______
Oct. 1, 1923_______________ ____ _________________ ____ ____________ ____
Apr. 1, 1924__________________________ ______ __ _____ _____ ____________
Jan. 1, 1927_______ ____ _____ ____ _____ _____ __________________________
Cylinder pressmen:
Before April, 1921 __ ___________________________ _____________________
Apr. 4,1921__ _ _______ __________________________________
______
Oct. 1, 1923______________ ______ ______________________________________
Cylinder feeders:
Before April, 1921__ ____ ______ ________ _______________________________
Apr. 4, 1921__________________________________________________________
Bookbinders (forwarders and finishers):
Before April, 1921__ ___ ___________________________________________
Apr. 4, 1921 __
___
__
Oct. 1, 1923 __________________________________ _______ ____ ___________
Bindery women:
Before April, 1921_____________________________________________________
Apr. 4,1921___________ _______ ___________________________________ _
Oct. 1, 1923 _____________________________________ ___________________
Electrotypers:
Before April, 1921 __ - _________________________________________ _____
Apr. 4,1921 __
__
____________ ___________________________
Oct. 1, 1923______ i ____________________ _____ _________________________

Typothetse Union scale
scale (48
(48 hours)
hours)

$41. 00
$37.00
J
\

i 38. 28
43.50

/
\
/
\

i 40. 48
46.00
i 42. 24
48.00

40.00

43. 50
39. 50
42.50
36. 50
30.00
41.50
37. 50
40. 50
22.20
19.20
20. 70
43. 50
39. 50
42.50

47.50

i For 44 hours.

Since April, 1921, the typothetse wage scales have been regularly
somewhat lower than those of the unions. The typographical union
scale for 44 hours is slightly above that of the typothetse for 48 hours.
The scales of the other unions are on a 48-hour basis, and run above
the 48-hour typothetse scales by amounts of from $1 for pressmen to
$5 for electro typers and $6.50 for cylinder feeders. This does not
mean, however, that all employees in typothetse shops receive a lower
scale than do workers in union shops. Testimony is general that the
highly skilled workers, whose numbers are never sufficient to meet
the demand, receive at least the union scale.
For the general run of average workers, however, the situation is
different. The union scales are minimum scales, from which the
only deviation is in the case of the regularly recognized apprentices.
In the case of the typothetse the scales are less rigid. The scales are
for journeymen and journeywomen, and questions arise as to the
definition of these terms. There has been no attempt to work out a
jointly controlled system of apprenticeship, with regulation of ap
prentice periods, standards of performance, or wage scales, although
a 4-year period is supposed to rule. There is. accordingly no definite
standard for a journeyman. A man who, according to an employer,
is not a competent journeyman may be hired at less than the scale,
and at a time when jobs are scarce many a worker is willing to
take a job under such conditions. There is a real possibility of abuse,
however, by employers pushing wages down regardless of the official
scale in a time of dull business, and thus getting an unfair advan
tage over their competitors by lower costs. I t is this sort of criticism
which is the most frequently made of the federation system by the

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

union officers. They cite many cases of federation plants employing
workers at less than the scale and of such people joining the union
and going to union plants at the union scale. The typothetse, in
answer to such criticisms, says that it trains many people and that
workers who are getting less than the scale are learners. But again
the lack of definite control permits abuses. Cases of this sort have
come to the attention of the employers through the shop organiza
tions or have, been discussed and straightened out by the joint board.
Under the federation plan such grievances should always come up
for settlement, but workers in many cases turn to the unions rather
than to the shop organization for redress. So long as there are
rumors that “ the typothetse scale doesn’t mean anything,” and so
long as such rumors are upheld by instances of adult workers in
typothetae shops receiving less than the official scale, there is opening
for the unions regardless of the facts in any particular case.
The question of control which is brought up by this problem
of undercutting of wages is a fundamental one. The typothetae and
the federation have no power to control their membership. except by
“ moral suasion.” Is that sufficient to hold in line a considerable
number of employers with widely differing interests and points
of view ? The amount of price cutting current even among typothete
members gives a negative answer to that question.
Another fundamental question is as to the distribution of authority
under the federation plan. The constitution provides that “ the
joint industrial board shall have full power in all matters referred
to it for adjudication. Vital actions affecting either or both groups
shall not become final and binding until confirmed by the group
affected.” The plan originally presented to the employees for their
approval provided that the decisions of the board should be final,
the representatives on the board having received their instructions
from and being responsible to their groups. I t was said that through
this organization “ both employers and employees will have an equal
voice in such questions of mutual interest as may arise.” The plan
was thus somewhat ambiguous as to the authority which was to reside
in the joint board.
From discussions with the employers who worked out the provisions
of the original plan there is evident some difference of opinion as
to what power the employee group should have. In the plan finally
adopted, however, the employers gave up none of their power to
make the final decision on any requests from the employees. The
vote of the board is by individuals rather than by groups, with the
purpose of securing a better discussion and a more effective bringing
together of the two groups. In theory, then, a single employer voting
with the employee group could override his colleagues. In practice,
however, the employer representatives meet and discuss any important
issue before they meet the employee representatives. In some cases
they go into conference with instructions. Clearly their decisions
are not arrived at through the discussion with the employees. The
course of the discussions of the wage question illustrates the method
used. In each case when there was definite action the decision was
made by the employers and communicated to the employees. The
constitution provides that vital actions of the board must be confirmed
by the group affected. The course of events has actually been, how

W EAKNESSES OP TH E FEDERATION

ever, in a number of cases, first, decision by the typothetae, then ac
ceptance by the joint industrial board, and finally acceptance by the
employees’ group.
The matters which have come before the board for definite action
thus far have been in the form of requests of the employees for
certain concessions. The employers have, therefore, had the right
to the veto power, even if the joint board had adopted a measure.
Apparently, if the employers were in the position of making a request,
as for a reduction in wages, the reduction could not be put into
effect until it had been confirmed by the employees’ group. To this
extent the employees’ group has authority.
The plan makes no provision for action in case of a deadlock.
I t is the intention of the employers that no deadlock should be
allowed to occur, but that agreement should be reached on all vital
matters. In the spring of 1923, when the employers refused to grant
a wage increase, the employee group voted not to accept the action
and to hold the matter open for further discussion. Six months
later the increase was secured. But in this case the employees had
declared against arbitration, even though the increase were not
granted. An agreement of the two groups was ultimately reached.
Clearly the employees have no power to bring economic pressure
on the employers to force a concession. But in meeting and discuss
ing questions of mutual concern it has been possible to secure results
by agreement when both sides make effort to see the interests and
problems of the other group and to reach an agreement acceptable
to both.
W eaknesses of the Federation
A number of weaknesses of this organization, which have already
been referred to, may be briefly summed u p :
1. The problem of control of wages is only partially solved. While
the federation wage scales exert influence, in a time of slack busi
ness there is some tendency on the part of employers to cut wages.
When the minimum scales are not rigidly enforced there is lacking
the stimulus to efficiency which is exerted by rigid enforcement of
wage standards and there is danger of price cutting based on differ
ences in wage costs. The industry would be better off, in all proba
bility, if inefficient plants which could not afford to pay the scale
were crowded out by enforcing the scale. But the typothetae can
not force its members, and through the federation there is none of
the pressure from below which is characteristically exerted by the
unions.
2. Labor policy is the basis of organization of the Boston Typothetae Board of Trade. The Graphic Arts Industrial Federation there
fore partakes of a weakness of the organization which supports it,
in that the campaign of education in business methods is limited to
the employing printers in the open-shop branch of the industry, and
that there is no effort to secure the cooperation and good will of the
union plants in any program for the good of the whole industry.
3. The federation is only as strong as its shop organizations, and
while in many shops it is strong, in others it is weak, the employees
know little about it, and there are no regular elections of representa
tives. In such plants there is no assurance that dissatisfactions are

GRAPHIC ARTS IN DUSTRIAL FEDERATION

being eliminated as they arise, and at any time they may prove a
fertile field for union efforts.
4. Whatever protection exists to the individual employee through
his right of appeal to his shop committee and, if necessary, to the
joint industrial board, is implied in the fact that these structures
have been set up. The rights of the employees are nowhere specifi
cally stated, nor do the employers bind themselves specifically to
certain things. This is a decided weakness—in the first place from
the standpoint of publicity. I f each employee had in his hands a
book which declared plainly his rights under the federation there
would be fewer who could claim to know little about the organiza
tion, and more use might be made of the machinery to handle dif
ferences. In the second place, such statements would go far as
evidence of the sincerity of the employers.
5. The lack of unanimity among the employers is a difficulty. The
leaders on the joint board can act only so far as they are able to get
the consent of their group. At a time when some leaders think that
wage increases would be good policy, for instance, others in the
typothetse oppose. The success of a plan such as this depends upon
keeping ahead of the unions, keeping conditions sufficiently favorable
so that there is no incentive to the employees to join the unions. I t is
not always easy to convince a group of employers of this. I t would
seem easier, on the whole, for individual large plants to succeed
in running satisfactorily on a nonunion basis over a period of
time than for a group of comparatively small plants to be held
in line and standards maintained so that the organization might
have a permanent success. Unquestionably the success of this or any
similar organization depends upon the employers. If they are suffi
ciently awake to the conditions, ready to make concessions when war
ranted, and quick to protect the interest of employees against em
ployers who may not be living up to the spirit of the organization,
they may succeed in making the organization last. I f they are not,
when business improves a swing back to the unions may be expected.
6. The fact that on all requests of the employees the; final decision
is in the hands of the employers, and that there is neither provision
for further appeal nor the possibility of pressure on the employers
except through the process of discussion, indicates that the employees
under the federation lack the power which under other circumstances
the trade-unions have. The employers have not gone so far in their
effort to compete with the unions as to give over to the federation
any appreciable share of the control traditionally exerted by the
employer. While many employees, in spite of this, believe th at the
employers will be fair and are willing to give the plan a chance to
prove itself, there are some who are more skeptical and therefore are
members of the unions. This fundamental weakness of the em
ployees’ group is a weakness of the federation in its competition with
the unions.
7. Although the commercial printing industry of Boston is un
questionably in bad condition, and the federation was “ designed as
a constructive influence in the graphic arts industries,” no effort has
been made to use the organization for any constructive work on such
questions as efficiency, production, apprentice training, or wages in
relation to production.

W EAKNESSES OF TH E FEDERATION

The Graphic Arts Industrial Federation has lived for over six
years. That fact alone is sufficient to call it successful to a consid
erable degree. I t has made possible the maintenance of nonunion or
open-shop conditions in the greater part of the commercial-printing
industry of Boston during the years of depression which have lasted
since 1921. I t has not grown, however, but rather has lost member
ship, first, through the loss of the photo-engravers’ group, then by
several failures, and by the dropping out of small plants which have
not been replaced. Nevertheless in the group of larger typothetae
plants in many cases the federation is functioning actively and giving
a considerable degree of protection to the employees.
The joint industrial board has resulted in a very real feeling of
respect and confidence between members of the two groups, while
the discussions of the board have secured for the employees a num
ber of concessions. W ithout doubt both employers and employees
have been better off under this organization than under a nonunion
condition with no organized means of communication between the
two groups. The chief weaknesses of the federation are its lack
of specific assurance to the employees of certain rights and protec
tions, the absence of any far-reaching degree of authority in the
joint industrial board of which employees are a part and of any
appeal of the employees over the veto of the employers, and the
lack of any means of control over the entire group of employers.
The chief strength of the organization comes through the belief
of the employees that the employers will be fair, that they will do
whatever conditions warrant, and that therefore the role of force in
securing for labor what it should have will prove unnecessary.
Strength of the organization then depends to a very large degree
upon the attitudes of the employers and the extent to which they
justify this confidence of their employees. The personalities of some
of the employer leaders, who have won the confidence of the em
ployees, play a very large part in this situation. There is ground
for question as to what degree of permanence can be expected from
an organization whose strength is so largely a matter of personalities.

Chapter 4.—Open-Shop Bookbinders of New York
New York has long been the strongest center of trade-union or
ganization in the printing industry. To establish in one branch of
the industry in such a center a well-organized industrial relations
plan of a different sort was the difficult undertaking of the employ
ing edition bookbinders of New York. Following a widespread
strike in 1921 a system of shop councils and a general joint council
was adopted, which has remained in effect until 1928, and has indi
cated by its existence and activity that it is to some degree achieving
its purpose.
New York is the largest center in the country for edition book
binding, that is, the binding of printed books. Edition binderies
typically are plants of substantial size, employing over 100 people.
In New York some 20 plants are responsible for a very large pro
portion of the product of the industry. The problem of organizing
and securing joint action from the employers is accordingly very
much more simple than in the printing industry with its numerous
small plants. The plants are organized in the Employing Book
binders’ Association of New York.
Until 1921 the edition binderies recognized and dealt with the
bindery unions, although on the part of the employers there was
considerable dissatisfaction with the situation. Instead of one
strong union, there was a series of unions, the printed-book binders,
stampers, gilders, paper cutters, and bindery women.
This division among the unions led to confusion and jurisdictional
problems. There were, moreover, many complaints of irresponsi
bility and of restriction of production. In April, 1921, this dissatis
faction came to a head. I t was a time of great business uncertainty,
while the approach of the date for the establishment of the 44-hour
week was anticipated with apprehension. On April 5 four unions
called a strike in one of the plants on a local question. This action
was met by a notice of 22 employers on April 11 that as the unions
had taken this action in violation of agreements and in breach of
good faith, the employers could no longer deal with them, but would
operate open shops, with a wage reduction and the 48-hour week.
Union employees were invited to remain under these conditions. The
strike at once became general and tied up a large proportion of the
industry. As this was a slack time the plants were able to hold out
and to train new help. The unions on the contrary lacked the neces
sary finances to wage a successful fight. The International Brother
hood of Bookbinders, with which the local unions were affiliated, on
May 1 found itself engaged in a nation-wide strike for the reduction
of hours, and quickly became bankrupt. The New York unions were
decisively defeated, and many of their members gave up their union
membership and drifted back to work. Except for a very few
plants, the industry was established on an open-shop basis.1
i Printing, Apr. 16, 1921, p. 55 ; Apr. 23, 1921, p. 44 ; July 2, 1921, p. 47.

OPEN-SH OP BOOKBINDERS OF N EW YORK

This victory achieved, the employing bookbinders turned to a plan
to make their position permanent. They decided to establish for the
open-shop group of the Employing Bookbinders’ Association of New
York a series of shop councils, with a general council representative
of employers and employees of all the plants. According to one of
the leaders of the employers, it woujd be seen from this experiment
whether the employers as a group were capable of conducting labor
questions in such a manner that the men would be better satisfied than
when under union control, or whether it would become necessary
for the men again to affiliate with the union because of the inability
of the employers to maintain for them fair and equitable treat
ment in the establishments.2 Seventeen plants, employing 2,500
people, joined in this experiment.
The plan of this organization may be seen from the by-jaws of the
general council and of the shop councils of the open-shop group.
Employing Bookbinders’ Association of New York, and from the
shop rules and wage scales for men and for women. These docu
ments, first adopted in 1922, are now (1928) in effect with revisions.
The analysis which follows is based upon these documents. The
open-shop group prefers not to permit at the present time a detailed
study of the operation of the plan in the various establishments.
In the following therefore is presented the form of organization
which is functioning through regular meetings, but no record of how
much of its purpose it has accomplished is possible.
The council plan of the open-shop bookbinders of New York differs
from those of the open-shop printers in Boston and Baltimore in the
emphasis it puts on shop organization. This is the result of the
difference in the size of plants. While in Boston and Baltimore most
plants are small, so that there is an advantage in leaving the question
of shop organization to be determined according to the needs of the
plant, the members of the open-shop group of the Employing Book
binders’ Association of New York all employ from one hundred to
severaj hundred people. A regularly established council in each
establishment was therefore a necessary part of this industrial rela
tions plan. A series of joint shop councils, meeting regularly in
the various plants, with a general council representing all the plants
to legislate for the industry, was the substance of the plan adopted.
The general councij is made up of one employer and one employee
representative from each shop. Each employee representative is
elected by the employees of his shop, after being elected to the shop
council, and serves on the general council until his term expires
on the shop council. Decisions of the general council are made by a
three-fourths vote. No procedure is established in case of failure
of the council to reach a decision. The powers of the general council
are comprehensive. I t formulates wage scales and shop rules, acts
upon matters referred by any shop council, may review any shop
council decision when it formally votes that such a review is for the
good of the industry, may call employers and employees as witnesses,
and may amend the by-laws.
2 Brassil, Daniel S .: Address to convention of Employing Bookbinders of America, Cleve
land, Oct. 16-18, 1922.

17616°—28----- 6

O PEN -SH O P BOOKBINDERS OF N E W YORK

A standing committee of five employees elected by the employee
representatives on the general council and an executive committee of
five employers act jointly as a committee to consider any questions
referred to them by the general council.
The by-laws provide specifically for the establishment in each
plant of a joint shop council to meet at regular intervals to discuss
matters of mutual interest. The council consists of 3 representatives
of management, 2 female employees, and 4 male employees. Time
and piece workers elect their representatives separately, according
to the distribution of time and piece work in the shop. Employee
representatives are elected by secret ballot and majority vote of the
employees. Nomination^ are made by secret ballot on the first pay
day in January and July. On the second pay day of those months
the employees vote on 12 names having the highest number of votes,
keeping the proper proportion of time and piece workers, and the
4 men and 2 women with the largest number of votes are elected to
the shop council. On the third pay day of January and July, from
the shop council representatives, the representative to the general
council is elected. All employees over 16 who have been employed
for 6 months by the open-shop group are entitled to vote, while those
over 21 who are classified in the wage scale and have been employed
in the open-shop group for 2 years may hold office.
Each shop council holds regular monthly meetings. Its decisions
are by a majority vote of each group. Its chief duty is to see that
the shop rules and scales are observed and to report any infraction to
the general council. The shop council has no power to change the
wage scale. Any piecework price not covered by the wage scale,
however, is to be settled in the shop. In case of a disagreement over
a piece price the shop council makes an adjustment, which is reported
to the industrial relations manager and to the general council, and
extends until otherwise ordered by the general council. Whenever a
shop council fails to agree upon any subject the matter is made the
first order of business at the next meeting, unless by a majority
vote of those present it is referred immediately to the general council
for final decision. Employees are urged to take up all grievances
and suggestions with their foremen, either alone or with their repre
sentative, and if the matter is not satisfactorily adjusted to bring it
before the shop council. The shop rules specifically mention com
plaints over wages or conditions of employment as matters which
should be brought to the attention of foremen for adjustment. All
questions from a shop must be discussed by the shop council before
they are brought to the general council for action. Both groups on
a shop council have the right to withdraw temporarily for private
consideration of any question.
Employee representatives are paid by their employers for all time
spent at monthly meetings of both their shop council and the general
council. All meetings of shop councils and the general council are
presided over by the industrial relations manager, who has no vote.
This industrial relations manager, who in practice is the secretary of
the open-shop group of the Employing Bookbinders’ Association of
New York, is therefore in the strategic position of being in constant
touch with all points of the organization and with the developments
in every plant.

O PEN -SH O P BOOKBINDERS OF N EW YORK

The basic activity of the general council is the formulation and
promulgation of the shop rules and wage scales. These rules and
scales have been revised several times during the life of the organiza
tion, and wages have been increased as they have in the general p rint
ing industry in New York. The shop rules establish the 48-hour
week, overtime rates, the list of holidays customary in the industry,
and other rules. Lost time is to be deducted from the weekly wage,
while in case of lay off for lack of work the employer pays up to
the time of lay off and notifies of the approximate length of the lay
off. There is no provision for the payment of a full day’s wages as is
customary in the printing industry in New York. Rules for disci
pline are given, infraction of which make an employee subject to
immediate discharge. A set of apprentice regulations is included,
providing for indenture of apprentices, a 4-year apprenticeship, a
ratio of 1 apprentice to 5 experienced men, and examination of
apprentices at 6-month intervals to insure that they receive instruc
tion and make progress, A 2-vear apprenticeship for women is
provided. An employment bureau operated by the open-shop group
keeps a careful record of all workers in the plants and provides a
place for workers to register and to apply for employment.
Wage scales are established for all the classified skilled positions
and for apprentices. A careful classification, with definitions of
each position, is followed by the scales for both time and piece work.
For men time rates vary from $30 up to $54, but $44 and $46 are
the rates for the larger proportion of positions listed. For women
time rates range from $20 to $30, with $28 the scale for 15 out of 24
positions.3
Life and health insurance, paid for partly by the employers and
partly by the employees, is an important feature of the activities of
this organization.
An introductory note to employees in the shop rules and wage
scales booklet, with statements in the text and in the by-laws of the
councils, makes clear the hope of the open-shop group through this
organization to secure cooperation and industrial peace under a
system which would give every employee an opportunity to advance
according to his ability and to receive wages above the minimum if he
becomes a better worker than the average. Much emphasis is given
to the statement that no restriction of output is to be recognized.
The familiar slogan “A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work ” is the
promise of the employers.
Without a study of the records and of the results in the shops it
can not be said to what extent the open-shop group has achieved its
purpose. From the outline of organization given in the by-laws and
the rules certain points of strength and weakness appear which may
be indicated.
The following points of weakness appear from a study of the
structure of this organization:
1. Under the by-laws there is no power to enforce the standards
agreed upon. Maintenance of the standards of wages, hours, and
conditions depends entirely upon the good faith of all the plants,
3 For comparison, the minimum scale of New York Paper Cutters’ Union No. 119 on
Mar. 1, 1928, was $48 for paper cutters and bindery machine operators. The basic scale
for Bindery Women’s Union No. 43 was $29.50.

O PEN -SH O P BOOKBINDERS OF N E W YORK

for there is no way to bring pressure upon them as is done by a wellorganized union.
2. There is a lack of specific assurance of protection to the em
ployees in the rules. There is no guaranty of freedom of speech
or specific statement that employees will not be discriminated against
for activities in protecting the interests of employees. There is no
definite provision for appeal from discharge, although the right is
implicit under the general right to bring complaints for adjustment.
3. Because of the lack of these guaranties, there is danger that
grievances may not be brought up and eliminated by adjustment.
While the monthly meetings may be an effective means of promoting
confidence of the men in the management, grievances do not come to
the surface unless the employees are sure that to make complaints is
both a safe and a useful practice.
4. No provision is made for arbitration in case the general council
is unable to reach a decision by a three-fourths vote. Even if the in
tention of the employers is never to allow a need for arbitration to
arise, still a provision for arbitration would be a valuable assurance
to the employees of the good faith of the employers.
On the other hand, the plan of this organization shows certain ele
ments of decided strength:
1. The fact that the edition binding industry in New York is made
up of a small number of plants, and that the greater part of produc
tion is represented in the organization, makes more easy the usually
difficult problem of control and maintenance of standards under such
a plan as this.
2. The existence of shop organization in every plant, with regular
meetings and regular elections under the supervision of the central
office, should help to keep alive the interest of both employers and
emp\avees.
3. The frequent and regular meetings, both of the shop councils
and of the general council, give a very valuable opportunity for
acquaintance of the two groups, and for the promotion of mutual
interest and cooperation on the problems of the industry.
4. The presence of an industrial relations manager who, through
acting as chairman of all councils, is in touch with the situation in
every plant, and puts his full time on the job of maintaining a
satisfactory relationship between the employers and employees is a
source of strength to the organization.
Before a final appraisal of this plan could be made, however, it
would be necessary to know whether the plan of control established
by this organization is effective enough in maintaining the standards
of wages, hours, and conditions to eliminate competition based upon
differences in labor conditions; whether the joint machinery is effec
tive in bringing into the open and eliminating all sources of dis
satisfaction among the employees; and whether the employees feel
that this organization protects their interests as to wages, hours, and
working conditions as effectively as would union organization.

Chapter 5.—The Printers’ League and Collective
Bargaining in New York
New York City is unique among centers of the book and job
printing industry in the United States, for it produces nearly 20
per cent of the book and job product of the country. Its nearest
rival, Chicago, is responsible for under 18 per cent, and no other
city produces as much as 5 per cent of the total.1 The Chicago industry, however, includes a strong nonunion group and its association
of union employing printers speaks for only a minority of the plants.
In New York, on the other hand, there exist strong organizations
on the part of both employers and labor, and a very large proportion
of book and job printing is produced under union conditions. Col
lective bargaining under these circumstances takes the form of highly
developed wage-scale and working-conditions contracts and arbitra
tion agreements, with machinery for administering the agreements
and handling problems as they arise. These agreements represent
a large scale and far-reaching experiment in organization for joint
control and for joint attack on problems of the industry. W hat kinds
of problems arise, and how are they handled ? To what extent do the
organized employers and employees cooperate in an effort to solve
these problems, and to what degree is an effective control of the
industry established by these means? These are the questions to
which answers are to be attempted in the following pages.
The Industry
Printing is one of the major industries of New York City. The
book and job branch includes approximately 1,500 to 2,000 plants,
and from 30,000 to 35,000 wage earners.2
As is typical in this industry, the New York book and job industry
includes a very large number of small plants and a small number of
large establishments, the large plants doing a large part of the busi
ness. This is shown in the following table based on reports of the
factory inspector.3
1U. S. Census of Manufacturers, 1925. Statistics for industries, States, and cities,
Tables II, IV.
2 The U. S. Census of Manufactures for 1925, which omits plants with an annual value
of products of under $5,000, reports for the book and job Industry of New York 1,359
plants and 20,622 wage earners. Plants which both publish and print periodicals are
classed with newspapers. In 1922, according to reports of the New York factory in
spector, in Manhattan below Fifty-ninth Street, a section of the city which included over
80 per cent of the entire industry, the book and job industry, including periodical print
ing, had a total of 1,357 plants and 30,324 employees.— U. S. Census of Manufactures,
1925, Summary for States and cities, pp. 141^144; Hinrichs, A. F . : The Printing Indus
try in New York and Its Environs, Regional plan of New York and its environs, Economic
series, Monograph No. 6, pp. 17, 48-53.
3 Hinrichs, op, cit., pp, 48-53,

80
T

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

a b l e 4.— NUMBER OF PLANTS AND EMPLOYEES IN BOOK AND JOB PRINTING
.INDUSTRY IN MANHATTAN SOUTH OF FIFTY-NINTH STREET* 1922, BY SIZE
OF PLANT

Number of employees per plant Plants
1 to 2________________________
3 to 4___...........................................
5 to 9 _____ _________________
10 to 19...........................................
20 to 29
30 to 49______________________
50 to 99____________ ____ _____

313
222
286
245
105
78
60

Em
ployees
480
768
1,917
3, 334
2, 509
2,929
4, 070

Number of employees per plant
100 to 249
250 to 499
500 to 999
1,000 and over. ................
Total

_________

Plants
26
16
1

3,472
5, 729
3,695
1,421

1,357

30,324

Em
ployees

Of the 1,357 book and job plants in the section of Manhattan south
of Fifty-ninth Street in 1922, over 800 had less than 10 employees
each, but these 800 plants employed only 10 per cent of the total
number of workers. The 108 plants which employed 50 or more each
had on their payrolls 60 per cent of all the workers in the industry.
New York is a highly specialized center, in contrast to many
smaller cities where most plants do general commercial printing.
There are a large number of unspecialized plants, particularly among
the smaller shops, but specialization is typical of the larger plants.
The chief specialty, and the one in which the absolute necessity for
uninterrupted operation has largely determined the development of
labor relations, is periodical printing. Other important specialties
are book printing, advertising typography, machine composition, law
and financial printing, poster printing, color printing, and engraved
effects. These specialized groups are for the most part strongly
unionized.
Three other factors have had a considerable effect upon recent
developments in the industry and upon the relations between the
employers and the unions. In the first place, since 1921 the New York
industry has worked upon a 44-hour week basis, although in com
peting cities very large volumes of work are still produced under the
48-hour week. This lower wage scale, longer hour competition from
cities which did not establish the 44-hour week in 1921, is a serious
problem to New York. A second factor is a tendency for periodical
printing to leave New York, due to a combination of causes, includ
ing labor costs, rents, transportation facilities, and postal zone rates.
In 1927, of 40 magazines of national distribution published in New
York, 21, with 175,000,000 copies annually, were printed outside
New York, while 19, with 144,000,000 copies were printed in the city.
New York Pressmen’s Union No. 51, which is well qualified to speak
on this point, is building on the theory that in time New York will
have no large volume work but will be a center for commercial work
instead of a periodical center.4
This loss of large work reduced New York’s share of the total
book and job printing product of the United States from 22.2 per
cent in 1914 to 19.8 per cent in 1925. Chicago during the same period
increased its share from 16.5 per cent to 17.7 per cent.
The third factor is a technological change. Large-cylinder presses,
which in the past have produced the great bulk of presswork, are
4 Arbitration proceedings1, Printers’ League and Printing Pressmen’s Union No. 51, Dec.
19, 1927 : Brief of league and statement of President Philip Umstadter of union.
5 U. S. Census of Manufactures, 1914, vol, 1, pp, 359, 1074 ; 1925, Statistics for indus
tries, States and cities, Tables II, IV,

PRIN TING IN DUSTRY IN N EW YORK CITY

being displaced in a large measure by small-cylinder presses with
automatic press feeders, and by the still smaller automatics, or auto
matically fed job cylinder presses. These presses are fast, efficient,
economical to operate, and capable of doing much of the work for
merly produced on the large presses. They have come into use very
rapidly during the last five or six years, large numbers of them going
into the small shops. Such a change in the technique of the industry
has called for many adjustments. Skilled pressmen displaced from
the large presses have needed to be trained in the operation of the new
presses. Assistants who formerly fed the sheets of paper by hand
into the large-cylinder presses, or operated automatic feeders on such
presses, now, in many cases, operate feeders on two smaller presses,
or assist the pressman on two automatics, while in some cases the
pressman operates one press without any assistant. The number of
assistants needed has been greatly reduced, with consequent unem
ployment and displacement from the industry. The determination
of the complement of men on machines is a difficult problem for the
collective bargaining machinery of the industry, as will be seen later.
Moreover, these small presses have been rapidly adopted in the small
shops, which are difficult to organize and control. The result has
been the development of open-shop competition on commercial work
to an extent th a t makes a serious problem for the union plants.
The book and job industry is only one branch of the printing in
dustry of New York. The newspaper industry is entirely separate
and distinct. I t is strongly organized on both sides, and is entirely
union. More or less closely allied to the book and job printing in
dustry are several other industries. While much bookbinding is
done in printing establishments there are also two distinct branches.
Edition binding, or the binding of printed books, is an important
industry, for the most part on an open-shop basis, and organized
in the Employing Bookbinders’ Association of New York City, with
a general council representative of employers and employees in the
open-shop group. Binding for the trade, including commercial, pam
phlet, and blank-book binding, is organized in the Bookbinders5
Trade Association. Labor in the trade binderies has been seriously
disorganized, but at present (1928) the association is negotiating with
the unions to organize the entire industry in an effort to stabilize labor
conditions. The photo-engraving and electrotyping and stereotyping
industries also have their organizations on both sides, and negotiate
labor contracts, while in lithographing union conditions rule for
part of the industry.
In the book and job industry the association of employers
is the New York Employing Printers’ Association. This is a trade
association, a local branch of the United Typothetae of America. Its
activities include cost finding and accounting, credits and collections,
educational courses, the operation of an employment bureau, infor
mation service, and special activities of various groups. The associ
ation includes 500 printing plants, with a total annual mechanical
pay roll of $22,000,000. Those members who wish may join labor
sections to cooperate on labor problems. The open-shop section is an
inactive skeleton organization. The closed-shop section is the
Printers5 League, with a membership of 150 plants, including most
of the important union plants. The entire association, moreover, is

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

predominantly union, for 78 per cent of the dues are paid by union
plants.6
The Printers’ League, although a section of the New York Employ
ing Printers’ Association, is entirely autonomous. As its member
ship includes a very large proportion of the important union plants,
it speaks for the entire union part of the industry on all matters af
fecting the relations of the employers and the printing-trade unions.
The object of the league, according to its constitution, is “ to promote
sound labor relations, policies, and dealings through collective labor
contracts.” The league negotiates all union contracts and adjusts with
the unions any differences which arise between an employer member
and a union during the life of the agreements. Under the contracts
machinery is set up for the orderly settling of any disputes, and there
can be no interruption of operation by strike or lockout during the
life of the agreement. The contracts are made in the name of the
league. To secure the protection of the contracts, each league shop
must sign a contract with the league, indicating the union or unions
which the shop recognizes, and agreeing to abide by all the terms of
the contracts between the league and the unions in question. A plant
may be released from its contract only by agreement with the unions
through the offices of the league, or by the termination of the p ar
ticular wage-scale contract. The unions enforce the terms of the
league contracts in all union shops, but nonleague plants do not have
the opportunity of joint settlement of disputes through the
machinery set up in these contracts. Finances for the usual activities
of the league are supplied from the funds of the New York Employ
ing Printers’ Association. Special assessments may, however, be
levied by the league upon its own members.7
The employees in the book and job printing industry in New York
are organized in a series of powerful, independent, craft unions.
These unions, with the international unions with which they are affili
ated and their membership in 1928, are listed in the following tab le:
Table 5.— MEMBERSHIP OF NEW YORK PRINTING-TRADE UNIONS HAVING
CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS WITH THE PRINTERS’ LEAGUE <*

Union

International Typographical Union:
Typographical Union No. 6. _ ................... ................................. .........
Mailers’ Union No. 6____________ _________________ ______ ____
International Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union:
N ew York Printing Pressmen’s Union No. 5 1 ..................................
Cylinder pressmen_________ _
. . . . . . . . ___________
Job pressmen___ _________________ . . . ........ .................. .......
N ew York Printing Press Assistants’ Union No. 23.. .....................
Cylinder press feeders.
.......................................
Job Dress feeders _ __ ____________________ _____ _______
Paper Handlers and Sheet Straighteners Union No. 1__________
International Brotherhood of Bookbinders:
N ew York Paper Cutters’ Union No. 119 . ................... .... __
Bindery W omen’s Union N o. 43..................... .............................. .......
T o ta l.

___________ ____________________________________

Book and Newspaper
member
job mem
ship
bership

6,800
315

3,400
495

Total

10, 200
810
3, 500

2,775
725
2,800
2,100
700
550

300

15, 965

850
1, 000
1, 000

1,000
1,000
4,195

20,160

° D ata furnished by union leaders. The Bindery W omen’s Union has not been in contractual rela
tions w ith the league since the expiration of its contract on Sept. 30, 1927.

6 Report of special committee of the New York Employing Printers’ Association, May
23, 1927.
7 Constitution and by-laws of Printers’ League Section, New York Employing Printers’
Association (Inc.), adopted June 16, 1924; also descriptive pamphlet of Printers’ League.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BEFORE 1 9 2 4

No data are available as to the exact degree of their organization,
but it is estimated that the highly skilled groups, the typographical
and pressmen’s unions, control well over 85 per cent of the competent
members of those crafts. Cylinder press assistants also are strongly
organized. Organization in the rapidly growing field of job cylinder
presses, however, is considerably less extensive among both pressmen
and assistants than in the field of the larger presses. Organization
in the commercial binderies has been unfavorably affected by the
general disorganization in the bindery industries of New York and
of the international union since 1921. The bindery unions are there
fore less strong than the unions in other departments. Bindery
Women’s Union No. 43 in 1924, when its membership was slightly
greater than in 1928, stated that its organization in the commercial
printing plants, disregarding the edition and trade binderies, was 26
per cent strong.9
The unions all act independently in conducting negotiations and
making contracts with the Printers’ League. Except in very rare
cases matters are handled by the league with one union at a time.
The unions, however, cooperate in an Allied Printing Trades Council
of Greater New York with the other unions in the allied trades, the
newspaper pressmen’s union, various bindery unions, foreign lan
guage typographical unions, and the photo-engravers, stereotypers,
and electrotypers. The council promotes the use of the Allied P rin t
ing Trades label, encourages organization by a publicity campaign
against the use of nonunion printing, and provides a place for con
sultation and possible joint action on any matters affecting the
welfare of the trades.
The relations of the book and job unions with the Printers’ League
are the interest of this study. The plan is to show how the agree
ments have developed, the nature of the agreements, with their
machinery for administration, and finally, through a somewhat
detailed study of the day-to-day administration since the adoption of
the long-term contracts in 1924 and 1925, to see in what ways and to
what extent joint control of the industry is carried on through these
agreements. First, a brief sketch of the developments prior to the
adoption of the 1924 and 1925 agreements is necessary.10
Collective B argaining Before 1924
The earliest “ scales of prices” or wage scales in the New York
printing industry were not the result of collective bargaining, but
were scales voted and put into effect by the unions. Sometimes the
employers were consulted, and sometimes strikes followed serious
resistance to new scales adopted by the unions, but although joint con
ferences were held, the present-day method of agreeing upon a scale
and signing a contract for a stated period was unknown. I t was not
until the late nineties that definite agreements between the organization
of employers and the unions began to appear. Late in 1897 an agree
ment was signed between the New York Typothetae, the local associa
9Arbitration proceedings, Bindery Women’s Union v. League, Oct. 30, 1924.
10 As the secretary of the Printers’ League acts as secretary for all joint conferences,
the chief source of material for this study has been the minutes and other material in
the files of the Printers’ League. This has been checked and supplemented, by data from
trade journals, union periodicals, and conversations with Printers’ League representatives
and union leaders.

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

tion of employing printers, and Typographical Union No. 6 for a
reduction of hours. Two years later the typothetae signed an agree
ment to govern overtime rates for machine offices. Not until 1902,
however, was there a general agreement covering all types of work in
the composing rooms. In this year, a time of prosperity, in order to
assure stability of wages and a period of peace, an agreement was
made between the typothetae and Typographical Union No. 6, estab
lishing a scale for all composing-room work for three years and pro
viding for arbitration of any disputes during the period.11 This
agreement was renewed for a year, with an increase in wages, but
then on January 1, 1906, the friendly relationship was broken by a
strike for the 8-hour day, part of a national movement for a reduc
tion of hours, which left a considerable section of the New York
industry temporarily on a nonunion basis.
Among the employers who early granted the 8-hour day was Mr.
Charles Francis. While the strike was still on and feeling running
high in the industry, Mr. Francis issued a call for a meeting of all
union employers who felt that it would be for the good of the in
dustry to organize an association which would recognize the unions,
make agreements with them, and establish the method of settling
differences by joint conference, conciliation, and arbitration rather
than by strikes. Four employers answered the call. A second call
was more successful, however, and resulted finally in the organiza
tion of the Printers’ League. By 1909 the league had 55 members,
employing 10,000 workers, and its experiment in a new method of
industrial relations by constitutional process was well begun. The
efforts of the league resulted in a series of agreements, first with
the press feeders, or Franklin Union No. 23, early in 1907, then
with Pressmen’s Union No. 51, and early in 1908 with Typographical
Union No. 6. These agreements recognized the 48-hour week and
established stable wage conditions and the principle of settlement of
all disputes during the life of the agreements by the method of
conciliation through joint conference committees and arbitration.
Arbitration agreements and wage scale contracts of this character
were continued into the war period.12
The war and postwar years of shortage of labor and rapidly rising
prices put a severe strain upon friendly relationships and the habit
of constitutional action between the unions and the league. Sharp
changes in conditions called for quick adjustments in wages. Ma
chinery was inflexible, however, and the league attempted to insist
upon the maintenance of the contract terms. Direct action in the
form of strikes and strike threats was the inevitable result and was
successful in increasing wages. In 1917 and twice in 1918 wage
increases followed use of these tactics. On the second occasion, in
1918, the W ar Labor Board had been appealed to and had awarded
increases to all the unions. When all the agreements expired on
October 1, 1919, the industry found itself in the most serious conflict
since 1906. The arbitration agreements of the composing room and
pressroom unions had been terminated by union notices. The press
room unions were in conflict with their international union over
internal union affairs and had seceded. These unions, with Typo
11 Stevens, George A.: New York Typographical Union No. 6, pp. 342, 374.
12 Stevens, op. cit., pp. 364-367; Francis, Charles: Printing for Profit, pp. 315-324.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BEFORE 1 9 2 4

graphical Union No. 6, were disposed to use direct action to force
their demands, including an immediate reduction of hours locally,
although the Printers’ League through the International Joint Con
ference Council had agreed with the international unions that the
44-hour week should be established on May 1, 1921, as part of a
national movement. The league decided to fight the issue of direct
action versus constitutional methods and in an effort to force reestab
lishment of the authority of the international union locked out the
secessionist pressroom unions. The compositors, supporting the
pressmen, took an unofficial and illegal “ vacation.” The league,
however, had the support of the international unions and of the
local allied trades-unions. A fter a stoppage of eight weeks the men
accepted defeat and returned to work, the pressroom unions reaffiliated with their international, and constitutional methods were
reestablished in the industry.13
Arbitration agreements and wage contracts providing for imme
diate wage increases and for the introduction of the 44-hour week on
May 1, 1921, were then made between the league and all the unions,
to expire in the fall of 1921 or 1922. A vital clause to insure flexi
bility with changing conditions and prevent any need for direct action,
provided for the readjustment of wages at stated intervals, based
upon the cost of living and the economic conditions of the industry.
Under these agreements uninterrupted operation was secured during
the remaining period of rapidly changing conditions. Arbitrations
were held at each adjustment date to determine the scale of one or
more of the unions. Such adjustments in the fall of 1920 increased
all scales, and twice in 1921 decreased the scales of all except Typo
graphical Union No. 6, whose contract had expired, leaving the union
no longer bound by the provision for change according to the cost
of living and the economic conditions of the industry. In two suc
cessive arbitrations in 1921 and 1922 the scale of “ Big Six ” was
unchanged, in spite of unfavorable business conditions. When the
contracts and arbitration agreements of the other unions expired in
1922, Pressmen’s Union No. 51 threatened to strike unless its scale
were restored to an equality with that of the typographical union,
and the pressmen and the other unions then succeeded in negotiating
substantial increases.
A step toward a more stable condition was marked by the series of
contracts negotiated at this time. Contracts, so far as possible in
uniform terms, were signed between the league and the four press
room unions and the paper cutters, effective from January 1, 1923,
to September 1, 1924, with an arbitration agreement extending for
four months beyond the expiration of the contracts. The bindery
women’s contract was to expire at the same time as the others. No. 6,
in making a new contract in the fall of 1923, again arbitrated and re
ceived a wage increase, which was then given also to the pressmen.
The new typographical union contract, like those of the other unions,
expired in September, 1924. The typographical union, however,
made no arbitration agreement other than the provision in the con
tract for the settlement of disputes during the life of the agreement.
13 Silcox, F. A .: New York situation, book and job branch of printing industry, industrial
conflict of 19191 (manuscript) ; Printers’ League: History of wage scalesi and arbitration
agreements with various unions (manuscript).

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

From 1917 to 1923 the industry had undergone a period of stress.
Under rapidly changing conditions constitutional methods had
broken clown in favor of direct action. A fter the conflict of 1919
constitutional methods were reestablished. The provisions for read
justment according to changes in the cost of living and economic
conditions proved very useful for this unusual time. As conditions
became more normal, however, less frequent adjustments were-needed,
and gradually the industry approached stability. The contracts
which were to expire in the fall of 1924 prepared the way for a
new period.
Contract Making, 1924 to 1928
The determination of wages, hours, and working conditions is the
acid test- which proves the essential character of any industrial rela
tions organization. A study of this process should make clear whether
the situation is one in which the balance of power is so strongly on
one side or the other that collective bargaining is a form without
substance, or whether on the other hand there is the reality of
strength on both sides of the table and a collective bargaining process
which results in a coordination of the interests of both groups. A
study of the making of the collective contracts in the book and job
industry of New York of recent years should accordingly be illumi
nating.
All the contracts between the Printers’ League and the unions were
to expire in September, 1924. An arbitration agreement extending
to the end of the year had been made by the league with the press
room unions and the paper cutters, but no such agreement was in
effect with Typographical Union No. 6. The employers looked for
ward with considerable anxiety to the expiration of the No. 6 contract.
A strike would be-a very serious thing, particularly for the periodical
houses. W ith regard to the other unions there was less anxiety.
Should the new contracts not be agreed upon before the expiration
of the arbitration agreements, the employers knew that the In ter
national Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union, in the words of its
president, George L. Berry, was u committed to the process of con
ciliation and arbitration in the settlement of industrial disputes,” and
not to “ precipitate or engage in strikes or other industrial discords so
long as the employing printer or publisher is willing to arbitrate.” 14
The position of the International Typographical Union was not so
clear. The previous summer President Howard in conference with
a committee of closed-shop employers from New York and Chicago
had refused to commit himself to always indorsing arbitration upon
the expiration of a contract when there was no overlapping arbitra
tion agreement,15 I t was possible therefore that “ Big S ix ” would
be permitted to force its demands to the point of a strike. Such a
strike, in which the book and job compositors would be supported by
the newspaper members who would continue at work, could not be
faced with equanimity by the employers.
The Printers’ League considered that business conditions called for
wage decreases and planned to ask a 10 per cent reduction from each
14 American Pressman, January, 1924, p. 26.
15 Bird, F. H. : Report to chairman of Closed Shop Association on conferences with the
executive council of the International Typographical Union, Aug. 23, 1923.

CONTRACT M AK ING , 1 9 2 4 TO 1 9 2 8

union. Before entering negotiations, however, the league wished to
safeguard the industry against any interruption of operation by
securing an arbitration agreement from the typographical union. In
April, accordingly, a league letter asking No. 6 for such an agreement
began a long correspondence between the league, No. 6, and Presi
dent Howard of the International Typographical Union. The union
position was that while it favored arbitration in general, it was un
willing to commit itself in advance to an arbitration in which a union
demand for a wage increase could be offset by a league demand for
a decrease. The league considered this one-sided, and refused to
enter negotiations until an arbitration agreement had been made to
protect the interests of both parties during the negotiations and
assure unbroken production. In May the union voted an assessment
for a defense fund, and in June the Printers’ League authorized an
assessment upon each member, varying from $50 to $5,000, for an
emergency fund. Finally in August the union officers retreated from
their previous position and agreed to proceed to negotiate a contract,
and to submit points of difference to arbitration, union laws not
being subject to .arbitration. When the agreement was ratified by the
union and the league it was possible to go to work on the contract.
Four months had elapsed before the union conceded the league’s posi
tion and renounced for this occasion the use of its powerful strike
weapon. Faced by the determination of the league as shown in its
collection of an emergency fund, the union did not force the issue
to a test of strength.
Negotiations then proceeded on the request of the union for a $5
wage increase and of the league for a decrease of a similar amount,
with changes in shop practices asked by both groups. Twenty-seven
meetings of the conference committee were necessary to thresh out
all the details of the contract and reach agreement, but late in October
agreement was accomplished, and the proposed contract was ac
cepted by both the union and the league. The contract was for a
3-year period, with no increase the first year, and a $1 increase on
October 1 of 1925 and 1926, making the scale $53 at the beginning and
$55 at the end of the contract. The employers were willing to pay
by these increases for the security of a long-term contract, while the
union also believed that the stabilization of wages in these terms
for three years would be of advantage to the industry. Several
minor changes were made in shop practices. A joint discharge com
mittee, which had been omitted from the previous contract, was
reestablished to review appeals on discharge.
A new provision was to the effect that the overtime law as enforced
in the newspaper offices should be in full force and effect in the book
and job offices of New York. This overtime law, based upon a socalled “ six-day law ” of the International Typographical Union,
is an attempt to reduce unemployment by preventing the working of
excessive overtime and securing a more equitable distribution of work.
It requires that any members, except foremen, who accumulate eight
hours of overtime, must cancel this overtime by taking a day off
and putting on a substitute. This law had long been in force on the
newspapers, where substitutes are always available, but it had not
been considered feasible for book and job offices with their greater
variety of work. Discontent among unemployed members never

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

theless forced the demand, and the league conceded the point although
with some misgiving. Difficulties in the enforcement of this law
have required many adjustments, as will be seen later in connection
with the administration of the agreement. The new contract was, on
the whole, considered a satisfactory bargain by both groups. The
employers were assured peace and certainty of wage conditions for
three years, while the union, in addition to other concessions, had
secured a total wage increase of $2.
Since Typographical Union No. 6 is the strongest and most aggres
sive of the local unions, the results of its negotiations are always
awaited with interest by the other unions, for the settlement with
No. 6 has in the past usually determined in general the terms made
between the other unions and the league. On this occasion as No. 6
had agreed to no increase for the first year of its contract, and the
same “ nothing-one-one ” arrangement would probably be accepted by
the others, there was no need of haste although the contracts had
expired on September 1.
Settlement- of the pressmen’s contract was delayed because of the
amalgamation of the job pressmen, formerly organized in Job Press
men and Job Feeders’ Union No. 1, with Pressmen’s Union No. 51,
while the job feeders joined Press Assistants’ Union No. 23. The
joint committee of the league and the union undertook a thorough
consideration of the relation of job presses to cylinder presses, and a
reasonable reclassification of presses upon which to base scales. I t
was agreed that all automatic job cylinders, the rapidly increasing
group of small, fast, automatically fed cylinder presses, should be
classified with cylinder presses, and receive the minimum cylinderpress scale. This reclassification meant an increase of $5 in the
minimum scale for these presses, although in practice the cylinder
scale was already being paid by most of the league plants. The job
pressmen not affected by this reclassification refused to accept their
old scale without change, and it was necessary to take this point to
arbitration. Aside from this question, Pressmen’s Union No. 51
agreed to accept the settlement made with No. 6, a 3-year contract
with no increase the first year, and $1 additional on the 1st of October
of 1925 and 1926.
The job pressmen’s scale was arbitrated in March, 1925, before
Mr. John A. Fitch, the mutually agreed upon arbitrator. Two ses
sions were held, in which the union and the league presented briefs
and rebuttals and discussed the issues over the table with the arbi
trator. Formality was strikingly absent, and a friendly relationship
very evident. The union asked a $3 increase in the basic scale, while
the league asked no change. Whatever the scale decided upon, the
$1 increases of October, 1925 and 1926, were to go into effect. The
union based its claim chiefly upon the fact that the differential be
tween the scales of job and cylinder pressmen had been increased
since 1920, and was much greater than in other cities. I t claimed also
that the skill of job pressmen warranted an increase in wages, and
that the industry could pajr the scale asked because it was busy, the
volume of work was increasing, and work was sold at a profit.
The league argued that the major crafts had agreed to no imme
diate increase in wages; moreover, since 1914 the scale of job press
men had increased out of proportion to the other crafts; the scale

CONTRACT M AKING, 1 9 2 4 TO 1 9 2 8

was now considerably higher than that in surrounding territo ry ; and,
most important of all, the job-press branch of the industry in New
York was overwhelmingly open shop and working 48 hours a week.
Until the union should organize these nonunion shops and reduce
their lower cost competition there was no justification for a demand
for an increase. The union admitted the existence of a large number
of open shops, but claimed that most of them were very small shops
which it was impossible for either the union or the league to organize,
that their output was small compared with that of the union shops,
and that this competition was chiefly on a cheap grade of work.
The arbitrator in his decision held that the change to a higher dif
ferential since 1920 appeared a break with precedent, and that the
smaller differential in other cities was probably a fairer measure
of difference in skill; the question of relative skill was, however,
impossible of proof, and differentials therefore should be settled by
collective bargaining rather than by reference to an arbitrator; on
the ability of the industry to pay an increase neither side had proved
its point, although the existence of open-shop competition was clear.
The arbitrator was in doubt as to how much weight should be given
to the union argument, although he believed some recognition was
required. H e therefore increased the minimum scale from $43
to $44.16
Once the job pressmen’s scale was settled the contract of Press
men’s Union No. 51 was signed. Press Assistants’ Union No. 23 was
the next in order. From the standpoint of both the employers and
the union, the question of the complement of men on presses was
of as great importance at every negotiation as the question of scale.
The coming of the automatic press feeders and the automatic job
cylinder presses was reducing the number of jobs for press feeders.
Inevitably the union endeavored to hold onto jobs by insisting upon
the old complement of men required by contract, in spite of technical
changes.
The contract of 1923 recommended th at no pressman should oper
ate more than one job cylinder press without the aid of an assistant.
The union now asked that this should be made mandatory, in accord
ance with the law of the international union. The employers, how
ever, during the previous fall had consulted President Berry of the
international, and had assurances from him th at he would recognize
the changes taking place and meet the problem. The league insisted
that several classes of work could be handled without an assistant and
were so handled in open shops. Agreement was finally reached per
mitting pressmen to operate two small job cylinders not over 17 by 22
inches in size on black work without an assistant, while for color or
half-tone work an assistant should be employed. The union had
asked a wage increase, but finally accepted a contract the same as the
other unions, with no immediate increase and $1 more on October 1 of
1925 and 1926.
The contract between Paper Cutters’ Union No. 119 and the league
was quickly settled. The previous summer the union had approached
the league with a request for a 5-year arbitration agreement, in order
that it might have a signed agreement in case an impending difficulty
13 Arbitration proceedings, job pressmen, Pressmen’s Union Np; 51 and Printers’ League
Mar. 13-25, 1925.

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

with its international should develop. The league was willing to
give this assistance to a union with which it had most friendly rela
tionships and signed such an agreement both with Paper Cutters’
Union No. 119 and with Bindery Women’s Union No. 43. Two-year
contracts, providing for opening of the wage scales in October of
1924 and 1925 were also signed. A fter the other unions had com
pleted their contracts Paper Cutters’ Union No. 119 made another
contract with the league, with the same period and the same terms as
those of the others, to take the place of that signed the previous
summer. When Mailers’ Union No. 6 and Paper Handlers’ and
Sheet Straighteners’ Union No. 1 had signed contracts also in the
same terms, the negotiation of contracts was complete. The industry
then had in effect contracts lasting until September 30, 1927, with all
the unions except the bindery women, whose contract was to expire
in 1926.
In the fall of 1924 the bindery women had asked for a wage increase,
but had been refused, and had dropped the matter until the other
contracts had been completed. In the fall of 1925, however, the
union requested an adjustment, under the terms of its contract, be
cause of the increases to be received by the other crafts. Since 1921
the bindery unions, including Bindery Women’s Union No. 43, had
in large measure lost control of the various sections of the bindery
industry in New York. The edition plants, with very few excep
tions, had been nonunion since 1921, when they established shop
councils and a joint council representative of a group of plants on a
nonunion basis. In the trade binderies, doing pamphlet, blank book,
and commercial binding for the trade, there wrere no contracts and
union standards were no longer maintained. The membership of the
bindery women’s union had decreased from 2,100 in 1920 to 1,100 in
1925. I t was therefore impossible for the union to enforce through
out the city the standards of wages and hours which were estab
lished in its contract with the league for the commercial binderies.
Only 32 league plants formally recognized the bindery women’s
union. When the league therefore declared that it could not con
sider a wage increase, the union demanded arbitration under the
terms of its arbitration agreement.
Arbitration hearings were held in October, 1925, before Mr. Charles
Stelzle. The union, in its case prepared by the Labor Bureau (Inc.),
laid great stress upon a charge that the bindery women’s union was
discriminated against by the league, in that it was refused the in
creases of October, 1925 and 1926, which had been agreed upon with
the other unions, and that its scale was. below the peak scale of 1920,
while the scales of most of the crafts were above those of 1920. The
union claimed a wage increase also on the ground that its scale of
$27.50 was not a living wage, for its members averaged only 41
weeks’ employment in the year, less than the other crafts, and more
over 72 per cent of its members had dependents. Finally the union
claimed that the employers could afford the increase as business con
ditions were good. The league, on the other hand, pointed out that
the bindery women had received since 1914 the highest percentage
increase of all the unions, and that its scale was the highest in the
country. I t claimed, moreover, that the league attitude was not dis
criminatory but based upon economic necessity, for the union was

CONTRACT M AKING, 1 9 2 4 TO 1 9 2 8

only 13 per cent organized, and that in the face of disorganization in
the industry there was no protection to the union plants from lowwage, long-hour competition. The living-wage argument, under
these conditions, was said to be impracticable.
The union in rebuttal pointed out that 1914 was not a fair basis
for comparison as at that time there was no contract and wages were
very low. The wages of the other crafts as well as of the bindery
women were now the highest in the country. The argument of non
union competition it declared irrelevant as the loss of membership
had been entirely in the edition plants which did not compete with
the league plants, and organization among commercial plants was
as good as it had ever been, amounting to 26 per cent of the industry
organized or maintaining union conditions. The league agreed that
organization of the bindery women group was very difficult, but it
insisted that competition from the nonunion trade binderies was very
serious. The arbitrator in his decision of November 19 held that the
bindery women should not be discriminated against in regard to the
increases of October, 1925 and 1926, since if the union had received
an excessive increase from 1914 to 1920, this had been balanced by
the loss since 1920; while recognizing the difficulty of the livingwage argument, he believed that some weight should be given to this
point; with regard to the question of competition due to the lack of
organization he felt that while the situation was serious, it was no
more so than in previous years. He therefore ruled that the bindery
women should receive an immediate increase of $1 and a further
increase in October, 1926, at the time of the increases to the other
unions, piecework rates to be increased in proportion; in other
words, that the union should receive the same settlement as that
made with the other unions.17 A new contract was then entered into,
effective from November 19, 1925, to September 30, 1927.
For the first time since 1917 the industry faced a period of nearly
two years for which all wage questions were settled. Both groups
could devote their energies to other matters than the negotiation of
wages. Peace was assured by the machinery set up in the contracts
and to be described later for the settlement of differences during the
period. Moreover, arbitration agreements lasting beyond the period
of the contracts, to allow additional time for the negotiation of new
contracts under a guaranty of peace, were in effect between the league
and the pressroom and bindery unions. Only Typographical Union
No. 6 and Mailers’ Union No. 6, both members of the International
Typographical Union, did not make such arbitration agreements.
When 1927 came and the expiration of this group of contracts ap
proached the industry found the same fundamental problems as in
1924-25, with certain new aspects to add difficulties. The exodus of
large volume periodical work from New York had continued. To
what extent the place left by these losses was being filled by increases
in the field of smaller commercial work was a question on which
there was no conclusive evidence. The use of the small automatic job
cylinder presses, a development already well under way in 1924, had
progressed, but more rapidly in the small open shops than in the
17 Arbitration proceedings, Bindery Women’s Union No. 43 and Printers’ League, Oct. 5
and 30, 1925 : Decision of arbitrator, Nov. 19, 1925.

17616°—28---7

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

union plants. W ith this development the opportunity of employ
ment for press feeders decreased. Press Assistants’ Union No. 23 in
three years had taken in practically no new members and had seen
some 300 cylinder press feeders drop out of the union. The New
York union plants, moreover, were still faced by competition on a
lower cost basis from 48-hour nonunion plants in other centers. As a
result of a combination of factors, particularly the loss of large work,
the changing technique which displaced large numbers of the semi
skilled press assistants, and a volume of business smaller in 1927 than
in 1926, an unemployment problem of unusual dimensions faced this
industry as it did many others at this period. These elements all
affected the negotiations for the new contracts.
Discontent of the unemployed members of the unions led to a de
mand for a reduction of hours from 44 to 40 per week in the hope of
decreasing unemployment by sharing work. The union demands in
cluded also, as customary, proposals for wage increases and for
various changes in shop practices. The Printers’ League proposals
were dictated by certain problems: First, to insure that there should be
no reduction of hours, as New York already had to compete with a
large volume of work from 48-hour plants; second, to secure a reduc
tion in the complement of men on presses in line with changing
technical conditions; and, finally, to secure any possible concessions
which would reduce costs. In particular the league hoped that it
might be able to eliminate the priority and overtime laws from the
typographical union contract on the ground that they were not
adapted to book and job plants.18
As was usual, each union negotiated its contract separately with the
league, except for joint conferences on certain clauses affecting both
the pressmen and assistants. Separate league committees were set
up to negotiate with the typographical union and with the pressroom
unions. In making the contracts of 1924-25 the league had settled
first with the typographical union and had then, on the basis of that
settlement, reached agreement with the other unions. In 1927, how
ever, the situation was more complex. Negotiations proceeded simul
taneously on the contracts of Typographical Union No. 6, Press
men’s Union No. 51, and Press Assistants’ Union No. 23. The inter
ests of all groups were affected by developments in any of the others.
Through a long process of bargaining, jockeying for position,
and playing for time, both the league and the unions watched every
move in an effort to seize any advantage. The complex interrela
tionships of interest can only be suggested. Between Typographical
Union No. 6 and Pressmen’s Union No. 51 were the questions whether
No. 6 would as usual “ set the pace ” by making an agreement which
would then be accepted by the other unions; or whether No. 51
would enhance its prestige by making its own settlement first; and
in the latter case, what effect would this have upon No. 6 and its
settlement; and would the unions stand out together in the demand
18 The priority law, which had been introduced into the book and job contract in 1923,
after having been long enforced on the newspapers, provided that foremen might dis
charge only for four reasons— incompetency, neglect of duty, violation of office rules or
of laws of the chapel or union, and to decrease the force—and that discharge to reduce
the force must be accomplished by discharging first the person or persons last employed,
increases in the force to be accomplished by reinstating such persons in reverse order
before other help might be employed. The overtime law provided for the canceling of
accumulated overtime by taking a day off and putting on a substitute.

CONTRACT M AKING, 1 9 2 4

TO 1 9 2 8

for the reduction of hours. Between Pressmen’s Union No. 51 a,nd
Press Assistants’ Union No. 23, both locals of the same international
union, was a distinct clash of interests in regard to the complement
of men on presses. The number of jobs for press assistants and for
pressmen would be affected by the decision whether automatic job
cylinder presses should be manned by pressmen with no assistants,
or by one pressman on two presses with the aid of one or two
assistants. Any concession by No. 51 would force No. 23 in selfdefense to make concessions also. The league would be quick to
use whatever advantage it could from this rivalry. Finally internal
politics in the International Typographical Union and the Interna
tional Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union would materially
affect the support given by the international union officers to the
demands of the various groups, whether on hours, wages, or comple
ment of men. The league, in deciding how much pressure it could
safely bring to bear, would shrewdly estimate the effect of such
political influences upon each situation. I t could oppose the demand
of the typographical union for a reduction of hours with unusual
firmness, knowing that there was little likelihood of the union’s
receiving strike sanction from the international on this issue. Mean
while the minor unions would wait, knowing that their hours, wages,
and length of contract would be determined to a large degree by the
settlements made by No. 6 and No. 51.
After an exchange of proposals for the new contracts in July,
conferences began in early August between the committees of the
league and the three unions. Following the procedure of discussing
each clause in detail and agreeing upon those acceptable to both
groups, certain progress was made. When, however, the question
of hours was reached, a deadlock arose. The league declared further
negotiations useless until the demand for the reduction in hours was
withdrawn, as the 40-hour week was neither a debatable nor an
arbitrable issue. Accordingly negotiations were broken off, although
all agreed that contracts should continue in force until new agree
ments were adopted. President Howard, of the International Typo
graphical Union, called on by “ Big Six,” urged the league to modify
its position, but without result. After six weeks, on September 27,
the league proposed to No. 6 that the question of hours be referred
to arbitration, open to an award of 40, 44, or 48 hours. The union,
however, refused to consider such an arbitration, since the 44-hour
week was an International Typographical Union law. Again there
was delay. In the meantime the pressroom unions withdrew their
demand for the reduction in hours, and on October 5 they resumed
negotiations and began in earnest to thresh out with the league the
question of the complement of men and other shop practices. When
the league thereupon requested Typographical Union No. 6 to end
delays, it was promised a meeting with the executive council of the
International Typographical Union. Nevertheless it was November
15 before the executive council came to New York. Shortly after
this No. 6 requested arbitration, and on November 28 a conference
was held to begin preparations for arbitration. Again, however,
negotiations were abruptly broken off when the league insisted that
any arbitration on the issue of hours must be in terms of 40, 44,
or 48 hours.

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Pressmen’s Union No. 51 meantime made progress and reached
agreement with the league on all the terms of its contract except the
wage scale and the period of the contract, and on December 13 it
agreed to arbitrate these issues. Events moved rapidly thereafter.
The International Typographical Union council again came to confer
with the Printers’ League, and the typographical union voted to con
tinue efforts for a settlement. On December 17 and 20 the inter
national officers conferred at length with the league committee,
while on the 19th the pressmen’s arbitration hearing was held. On
the 21st, during the executive session of the pressmen’s arbitration
board, the I. T. U. officers proposed to the league committee
that Typographical Union No. 6 withdraw its demand for the 40hour week in exchange for a 5-year contract with a $1 Increase each
year, the league to withdraw for the time its opposition to the over
time and priority laws. The international officers promised, how
ever, to make an effort to modify these laws in their application to
book and job offices at the next convention of the International
Typographical Union, and that any modification should immediately
take effect in New York City. Two days later the pressmen’s arbi
tration board, made up of representatives of the union and the league
and the impartial arbitrator, having received no word from the other
committee of its impending agreement, met in executive session,
argued over the issues, and finally adjourned with a decision of the
impartial arbitrator awarding $1 increase effective until September
1, 1929. On the same afternoon the committee of the league and the
typographical union accepted the proposed 5-year contract,- with $1
increases each year, to be referred to the two organizations for
ratification.
The imminence of the pressmen’s settlement had stimulated efforts
to reach agreement on the part of the typographical union. The
union scale committee then reported the proposed contract to the
union. A fter 5 months’ effort to secure a reduction of hours, the
committee reported, it was forced to the conclusion that conditions
beyond its control made it impossible at this time to establish the
5-day week. While the members of the committee were inherently
opposed to long-term contracts, it was impossible to secure adequate
wage increases for a shorter term. The adoption of the proposal wTas
accordingly unanimous]
1 1 Among the rank and file
contract, since it meant a
strong opposition was
5-year postponement of the 5-day week. Nevertheless the wage in
creases were substantial and the advantage to the union in stabilized
conditions for five years was seen. Moreover, this contract was de
cidedly more favorable than that secured by the pressmen by arbi
tration, and in view of the pressmen’s decision it was very unlikely
that No. 6 could secure anything better. As a result the contract
was accepted, on referendum vote, by 3,965 to 3,592, a majority of
only 373. The result was swung favorably by the vote of the news
paper men, for the book and job vote showed a small majority
against the proposal.19
In the negotiations for the contract of Typographical Union No.
6 the chief issues, from the standpoint of both the union and the
19 Monthly Bulletin, New York Typographical Union No. 6, Dec. 31, 1927; Printing,
Dec. 31, 1927.

^CONTRACT M AKING, 1 9 2 4 TO 1 9 2 8

league, were hours and wages. In the pressroom contracts, on the
other hand, the chief controversies revolved around the question of
the manning of presses. When Pressmen’s Union No. 51 and Press
Assistants’ Union No. 23 withdrew their demand for the reduction
of hours and resumed negotiations, on October 5, the chief questions
to be decided were the number and size of presses which a pressman
might operate, the requirement as to the use of assistants, and the
number of men required on web presses. The pressmen took the
position that the trend of the industry toward automatics should
be recognized and encouraged by making necessary adjustments in
shop practices. They therefore agreed to permit a pressman to
operate two automatic job cylinder presses up to 29 inches in size,
the limit in the previous contract having been 22 inches. The
question of assistants they said was a matter to be negotiated by
No. 23. In regard to the next group of presses, the small cylinders
over 29 inches, with automatic feeding attachments, the pressmen
agreed to extend from 36 to 42 inches the upper limit of this class
within which a pressman might operate two presses, the question
of assistants again being left for the league and No. 23 to decide.
The union, however, was in favor of 1-man operation of this type
of press; that is, that a pressman should operate a single press with
no assistant, with a differential of $5 over the basic scale. This
agreement was made in spite of strenuous objection of Press Assist
ants’ Union No. 23 to this elimination of assistants on the ground
that it was an invasion of the jurisdiction of No. 23.
The number of men required on web presses (large presses which
print from a roll of paper rather than separate sheets and are used
chiefly on periodical work) had been an issue during the life of the
previous contract. After long controversy a clause was now agreed
upon which conceded the right of the plant to operate single-roll
web presses without a second pressman on black work when there
was none of a list of attachments in operation. These most serious
issues being settled, other shop practices were agreed upon. Then
on December 13 it was agreed to send to arbitration the question of
the wage scale and the length of the contract. While agreement might
have been possible, the league hesitated to make an agreement which
would have affected the settlement to be made with the typographical
union.
In the meantime negotiations had proceeded between the league
and Press Assistants’ Union No. 23. The union had for years in
sisted that an assistant should be employed on every cylinder press,
whether hand or mechanically fed. In 1925 it had conceded that
on the smallest automatic job cylinders, those not over 22 inches, a
pressman might operate without an assistant on black work, or with
one assistant on two presses for half-tone or color work. On all
presses over this size, however, an assistant was required for each
press. Although the league showed that the use of these presses was
progressing much more rapidly in the nonunion shops than in union
plants, the union insisted upon maintaining its position. As to the
pressmen’s decision to operate presses up to 42 inches with no
assistant, No. 23 appealed to the international union for support of
its jurisdiction. The union and the league were still in deadlock

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

over these issues when the arbitration between the league and the
pressmen took place.
Mr. John A. Fitch, who had arbitrated the scale for job pressmen
in 1925, was again chosen as arbitrator. On December 19 occurred
the hearing on the request of Pressmen’s Union No. 51 for a $5
increase and of the league for a $5 decrease. The union based its
claim for an increase largely upon the argument of skill, and an un
favorable comparison of its wages with those of many skilled crafts
in New York City; it pointed to an upward trend in wage scales
generally; and argued that the economic condition of the industry
permitted an increase, for the industry was expanding in spite of
the loss of large-volume work, union membership had increased 14
per cent since January, 1925, and there was comparatively little
unemployment among the members of No. 51.
The league argued that a decrease in wages was justified and
required by competitive conditions; wages were higher in New York
than in competing cities, while an excessive complement of men and
other shop practices favorable to labor increased labor costs until it
was impossible for New York plants to compete on large-volume
work; seven large plants had moved out of New York, while of a
large volume of periodicals of national distribution published in
New York, 55 per cent was being printed outside; in New York the
use of automatic job cylinder presses was increasing much more rapidly
in the open shops than in the union plants; a wage decrease was there
fore needed in order to reduce costs and so enable the industry to com
pete ; moreover, there would be no advantage to the industry in a long
contract unless it provided a wage decrease to relieve this competitive
condition. The union, freely admitting the loss of large-volume
work, claimed that the movement was the result of many factors
of which wage costs were only part, and that the place of large work
was being filled by smaller commercial work which was expanding
in volume. The league nevertheless held that the volume of work
had been less than in the previous year, and that the growth of
membership of the union had been due not to expansion of the in
dustry, but solely to the organizing of open shops and to the develop
ment of the new method of operation, one man to a press without an
assistant, in place of a pressman over two presses with assistants.
The arbitrator, after two executive sessions of the board, made his
decision on December 23. He held that in the exodus of largevolume work, which had been proved, labor cost was one factor;
that there was apparently some increase in business and that the ruin
claimed by the league had not been proved; and that it was impossi
ble to determine what the wage should be to* compensate sk ill; the
union, however, asked an increase at a time when the employers
might well be apprehensive, while the league asked a decrease in the
face of an opposite trend in wages; certain evidence of the expan
sion of the industry led the arbitrator finally to the conclusion that
the industry could stand a slight increase; he therefore awarded an
increase of $1, effective until September 1, 1929, the date asked
by the union.21
21 Arbitration proceedings, Pressmen’s Union No. 51 and Printers’ League, Dec. 19, 1927.
Decision of arbitrator, Dec. 23, 1927.

CONTRACT M AKING, 1 9 2 4 TO 1 9 2 8

Had the arbitration board been aware of the agreement being
entered into on the same afternoon for a 5-year typographical
union contract, with $1 increases each year, it is very possible that the
award would have been different. Nevertheless the decision was on
the whole favorably received in the industry, although some dissatis
faction existed on the part of the pressmen in view of the more fav
orable contract secured by No. 6. I t has already been seen how the
pressmen’s contract was a factor in securing the ratification by a
small majority of the typographical union of their 5-year contract.
Future adjustments with the pressmen will necessarily be affected
by the existence of this typographical union contract. In spite of
the independent paths followed by these two unions in their negoti
ations, their interrelated interests definitely affect their final
settlements.
Following the settlements of the two major unions, Press Assist
ants’ Union No. 23 asked a wage increase and suggested arbitration.
The important issue of the number of automatic feeders to be oper
ated by an assistant was still to be determined, however. Early in
January President Berry, of the International Printing Pressmen
and Assistants’ Union, announced that the agreement of the pressmen
to operate automatic presses one man to a press with no assistant was
an infringement of the jurisdiction of No. 23 and would not be per
mitted by the international union. No. 23, moreover, still continued
in its refusal to permit an assistant to work on more than one
press over 22 inches in size. For several weeks a deadlock held.
Finally, on February 3, negotiations were resumed, and in confer
ences in which Vice President McHugh of the international union
took an important part, a compromise agreement was made. The
pressmen’s arrangement for 1-man operation, with no assistant, of
presses up to 42 inches, was to hold only in case of an odd press.
Where there were two presses they should be operated by one press
man with an assistant. The assistants, on the other hand, retreated
from their old position of one assistant to each press and agreed that
on presses up to 42 inches in size one assistant should be employed on
two presses, under a pressman. This very important concession
for which the league had long worked was finally forced by the
prior concession by the pressmen of 1-man operation with no assist
ant. The concessions made by the two unions may be seen in the
table following, which gives the complement of men on automatic
presses as required by the union contracts in 1925 and in 1928.
T ablr

6 .—

NUMBER OP MEN REQUIRED ON AUTOMATIC PRESSES BY UNION
CONTRACTS, 1925 AND 1928
Presses

1925

1928

2 automatic job cylinder presses, not over 17 by 22
inches:
Black work__ _ _______ _____ _____ ______ ____

1 pressman, no assistant. 1 pressman, no assist
ant.
1 pressman, 1 junior as 1 pressman, 1 junior
assistant.
sistant.
Do.
2 automatic job cylinder presses, 22 to 29 inches______ 1 pressman, 2 assistants.
Half-tone and color work _ __ ___ ___________

2 small cylinder presses, pile fed, 29 to 42 inches______ 1 pressman, 2 senior as 1 pressman, 1 senior
sistants.
assistant.
1 small cylinder press, pile fed, to 36 inches (extended 1 pressman, no assistant. Only in case of odd
press, 1 pressman,
to 42 in 1928).
no assistant.

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

The assistant on two presses receives a differential over the mini
mum scale of $3 in the case of junior assistants on the smaller
presses, and $4 in the case of senior assistants on presses over 29
inches. In exchange for the concession on complement of men, the
press assistants secured the same contract terms as the pressmen, $1
increase and a contract expiring in September, 1929. Three points
in regard to complement of men and scales on special presses at one
of the large plants were left to a special committee to determine,
with reference to arbitration should it prove necessary. The con
tracts of Press Assistants’ Union No. 23 and of Pressmen’s Union
No. 51 were then signed and underwritten by the international
union.
The remaining contracts were quickly made, on terms similar to
those of the others. The mailers entered into a 5-year contract like
that of “ Big Six,” providing $1 increases each year, while the paper
cutters accepted a $1 increase each year in a contract lasting to
September 30, 1930. The paper handlers and sheet straighteners
made a contract like those of the other pressroom unions, with a $1
increase effective until September 1, 1929. Only the bindery women
failed to secure an increase. The league declared that the union con
trolled so small a proportion of the industry and that so few of the
union members were in league plants, that it was useless to negotiate.
The 34 league plants which had previously recognized the union
decided not to sign contracts at this time. No contract was entered
into, therefore, by the league.
In the spring of 1928, following these lengthy negotiations, the
prospect before the industry was of a long period of stability and
peace. The powerful typographical union had entered into a 5-year
contract, while following in its footsteps the mailers and paper
cutter,s had secured similar contracts extending until 1932 and 1930.
The three pressroom unions had accepted $1 increases to last only
until September 1, 1929. As in the past, however, the settlement
made by No. 6 has usually largely determined conditions for the
other unions, the terms of the No. 6 contract will without doubt
influence the conditions of all the crafts until 1932. These negotiation,s resulted in postponing until 1932 the issue of the 40-hour week.
For this postponement the league is paying No. 6 a $5 wage increase
over a 5-year period, in a bargain which appears to the employers a
satisfactory one, although only a small majority of the union voted
their approval. Progress was made also on the long-fought issue
of the manning of presse,s. W ith a more liberal provision, the union
plants now have a better opportunity to meet competition. During
a time of stable conditions and uninterrupted operation, meantime,
the unions will have an opportunity for further efforts to organize
the open shops in New York.
The negotiation of two sets of contracts, those of 1924-25 and those
of 1927-28, has been surveyed. W hat appears in regard to the rela
tions between the New York unions and the employing printers from
such a survey? On the union side the situation is to a con
siderable degree dominated by Typographical Union No. 6. This
•union, particularly powerful because of its inclusion of the news
paper men as well as of the book and job compositors, is disinclined
to relinquish any right to freedom of action in negotiating its con-

CONTRACT M AKING, 1 9 2 4 TO 1 9 2 8

tracts, and does not enter into arbitration agreements extending
beyond its contract dates. Its international union, moreover, is very
strong and follows an opportunist policy, without making any
definite commitments to a policy of arbitration when no arbitration
agreement is in effect. Yet under these circumstances, when the
league in 1924 made an issue of arbitration, refused to negotiate
until the union should agree to arbitrate any issues not settled in
conference, and backed its position by collecting an emergency fund,
the union gave in. The contract thereupon negotiated was, however,
one in which the union won many points, including a $2 wage increase
over a 3-year period and the enforcement of the overtime law. In
1927 again the league was successful, after long negotiations, in post
poning the 40-hour week, but could do so only by giving the union
a very favorable contract, with $1 increases every year for a period
of five years.
The pressroom unions, in contrast to Typographical Union No. 6,
belong to an international union which of recent years has committed
itself very definitely to a policy of conciliation and arbitration, and
to meeting changing technical conditions in the industry by adjust
ments of union policy.22 The pressmen and press assistants, more
over, unlike the compositors, do not include the newspaper workers
in the same local union and accordingly lack that source of strength.
These unions regularly enter into arbitration agreements extending
a month beyond the expiration of their contracts. Little fear is felt
by the employers of interruptions of operation during negotiations.
The wage settlements of these unions are usually strongly influenced
by the settlement made by Typographical Union No. 6. On the man
ning of presses, the most important issue between the pressmen and
assistants and the employing printers, the record shows a consider
able power in union hands. Press Assistants5 Union No. 23 was
able for more than 10 years to insist that an assistant should be
employed on every cylinder press whether or not it was equipped with
a mechanical feeder. Only in 1928, forced by changing conditions
which were inexorably eliminating its members and by the recogni
tion of these changes by the pressmen’s union, did the union agree
that an assistant might operate two mechanical feeding devices.
Pressmen’s Union No. 51 has been more ready to accept changes in
its rules with changes in technical conditions, but until 1928 it main
tained a complement of men on web presses which was strongly
opposed by the employers. The adjustment of these problems has
been long and difficult. The remaining unions in the New York
industry are comparatively weak. They profit from the strength of
the others to secure much the same terms in wage adjustments and
length of contracts. Only the bindery women, who both lack the
support of any strong union and are very poorly organized in the New
York industry, have no bargaining strength because as a union they
have little to offer the Jeague, and in 1928 were unable to secure either
wage increase or contract.
Without venturing into any doubtful field of abstract justice, an
appraisal of this situation must recognize it as one with considerable
strength on each side. The balance of forces brings a testing of
22 American Pressman : Convention proceedings, 1924, pp. 110, 131; March, 1925, p. 21;
August, 1925, p. 18; January, 1928, p. 26.

100

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

strength at intervals when the contracts are to be renewed, with the
victory seldom complete to either one or the other group. I f the
group of stronger unions appears to have somewhat more power to
protect their interests than have the employers, yet concessions are
made under the influence of economic conditions, attitudes of the
international union officers, the power of the league to secure united
action by the employing printers, and varying degrees of recognition
of common interest in the welfare of the industry. The result of
collective bargaining represents to a considerable degree a coordina
tion of the interests of these groups, with advantage to both parties.
Through their agreements these groups establish standards of work
ing conditions in the industry, and machinery is set up to maintain
these standards, with joint responsibility for their enforcement. To
these agreements, with their joint machinery and the day-to-day
administration by the unions and the league, the story must now turn.
The Agreements of 1928
The agreements in effect in 1928 represent the development of a
long series of contracts and provide standards of practice on a large
variety of subjects. Since 1923 the league has endeavored to secure
uniformity in its contracts, and all but that with Typographical
Union No. 6 now follow a standard form and so far as possible are
in the same terms. The details of the agreements may be seen in the
contracts of the typographical union and the pressmen’s union in the
appendix.23 The purpose here is to indicate the matters covered by
the agreements, certain provisions of particular interest, and the
machinery for administration. The Jist of agreements, with their
dates, is given in the following table:
T

able

7.—A G R E E M E N T S IN E F F E C T B E T W E E N P R IN T E R S ’ L EAGUE A N D P R IN T IN G T R A D E U N IO N S, 1928

Arbitration agreements

Shop rules and wage scale
contracts

Union

Typographical, No. 6 _ _________
Pressmen, No. 51__ _________ _ _
Press assistants, No. 23 _____ __
Paper cutters, No. 1 1 9 ___
Paper handlers and sheet straighteners, No. 1_ __ _ _ __ _
Mailers, No. 6 _____
Bindery women, No. 43
.__ __ _

Inception

Expiration

Oct. 1,1927
Jan. 26,1928
June 1,1925

Oct. 1.1929
Oct. 1,1929
Dec. 31,1929

Oct.
Jan.
Jan.
Mar.

1,1927
1,1928
26,1928
1,1928

July

1,1925

Dec. 31,1929

Nov. 19,1925

Dec. 31,1929

Apr.
Mar.

1,1928
1,1928

Inception *

Expiration
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.
Sept.

Basic
wage
scale,
April,
1928

30,1932
1,1929
1,1929
30,1930

$56.00
56.00
45. 50
48.00

Sept. 1,1929
Sept. 30,1932

38.00
41. 00
29. 50

i Except for Typographical Union No. 6 and Press Assistants’ Union No. 23, effective first day of first
full fiscal week after date.

The arbitration agreements which are in existence between the
league and all the unions except the typographical union and the
mailers, both members of the International Typographical Union,
provide in brief for the employment of members of the unions, at
wages and conditions established in the scale contracts, no union
members to work for lower wages or longer hours, and the league to be
protected against any form of concerted interference with the peace23 See pp. 213 and 224.

AGREEMENTS OF 19 2 8

101

ful operation of the departments concerned, while all disputes over
the provisions of the scale contracts are subject to arbitration when
they can not be adjusted by conciliation. Both parties pledge them
selves to maintain the conditions established in the contracts. The
machinery for administration is made as simple as possible. When
ever a difference of opinion arises it is referred to an officer of the
union and a representative of the league, in practice the secretary,
for conciliation, and if conciliation fails, to a joint conference com
mittee of five from each group. Decision is by majority vote of each
group. I f the decision is unsatisfactory to either party, appeal
may be made to arbitration by an arbitrator chosen by the joint
conference committee. Delay is guarded against at each stage by the
provision of time limits which could be invoked in case of any delib
erate delay, but which in practice have not been needed. Condi
tions obtaining before the initiation of the dispute must remain
in effect pending the findings of the joint conference committee
or' the arbitration board. Findings of the committee are binding
unless appeal is taken to arbitration, in which case the award is
binding upon both parties. I f either party refuses to put the award
into effect, all aid and support of the firm or the members of the
union refusing compliance are to be withdrawn and their acts
publicly disavowed. To secure the protection of this arbitration
agreement as well as of the scale contracts in the case of each union,
the employer must sign up with the league to recognize the various
unions and to observe the terms of their contracts.
Each union makes its arbitration agreement and scale contract
separately with the league, and each conference committee is made
up of representatives of that union alone and the league conference
committee for the department concerned. In case of any issue
involving more than one union, the various conference committees
can be called to meet jointly for that occasion.
The shop rules and wage-scale contracts also include brief sections
on the settlement of disputes, providing particularly that all com
plaints should be adjusted within 30 days; that the chapel chairman
is the official representative of the union and the foreman the official
representative of the employer in dealing with the chapel chairman;
that union representatives may enter the workrooms only with per
mission of the business office, such permission to be accorded when
ever possible or the employee desired sent for and every facility
given to further the business in hand. The league and the union
reserve the right jointly to investigate conditions.
Since Typographical Union No. 6 and Mailers’ Union No, 6
have no arbitration agreements, their wage-scale and shop-rules
contracts include a section on interpretation which provides for the
life of the contract the same guaranties as are provided by the arbi
tration agreements of the other unions. Any controversies over
interpretation or enforcement of the contract are settled by reference
to the union president or his representative and to the president of the
league or his representative, or, when conciliation fails, to a joint
conference committee. Should the joint conference committee fail
to agree within 10 days, either party has the right of review by an
arbitrator chosen by the committee, whose decision is final.

102

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

The body of each contract provides detailed rules on such matters
as wages, hours, holidays, overtime payments, complement of men,
foremen, character of work, payment of wages, subs and extras,
quitting work, lay offs and discharges, and apprenticeship. The
result is a complex and technical body of law, which attempts to lay
down rules to cover all combinations of circumstances in order to
avoid disagreements during the life of the contracts. I t is not sur
prising that constant appeals come to both the league and the unions
for interpretations of these laws. The field of possible serious dis
pute during the life of the contracts is narrow, however, because of
the extent of the field covered by jointly agreed-upon rules, on which
there can be questions only of interpretation.
The right of appeal from discharge is incorporated in all the con
tracts. Upon demand the foreman must give the reason for dis
charge in writing. Appeal may be made to a joint discharge com
mittee of three members of the league and three members of the
union, decision of which committee is final. I f the committee of six
can not reach a decision, it selects a seventh man, the decision of the
committee so constituted to be final. In the case of all but one of
the contracts, appeal from discharge is provided for only in case
the worker considers that he has been discriminated against because
of His union activities. There is no other restriction of the right of
the foreman to discharge. The contract of Typographical Union
No. 6, however, includes the “ priority law,” which is as follows:
Foremen of printing offices have the right to employ help, and m ay discharge
(1) for incompetency, (2) for neglect of duty, (3) for violation of office rules
(w hich shall be conspicuously posted), or of law s of the chapel or union, and
(4) to decrease the force, such decrease to be accomplished by discharging first
the person or persons last employed, either as regular employees or as extra
employees, as the exigencies of the m atter may require. Should there be an
increase in the force the persons displaced through such cause shall be rein
stated in reverse order in which they were discharged before other help majf
be employed. Upon demand, the foreman shall give the reason for discharge
in writing. Persons considered capable as substitutes by foremen shall be
deemed competent to fill regular situations, and the substitute oldest in continu
ous service shall have prior right in the filling of the first vacancy. This sec
tion shall apply to incoming as w ell as outgoing foremen. Members legally dis
charged according to the provisions of this section, except to reduce the force,
m ay be reinstated only at the option of the forem an : P rovided, That after a
period of one year any member may seek employment in an office from which
he has been discharged.

This law protects members of Typographical Union No. 6 in their
seniority, and does not permit a foreman to select his force on the
basis of competency. By restricting discharge to four reasons the
law protects the older men and prevents a foreman from turning out
old members of a force to replace them with younger and faster men or
with his friends. Unless a man can be proved to be incompetent he can
not be discharged and a more competent man kept in his place. In
taking a new position, a man goes to the foot of the priority list of
the new plant. The law therefore discourages shifting from plant to
plant. Although there had been difference of opinion in the union
as to the advantage of this law, on the request of the union it was
incorporated in the contract in 1923, after having been enforced on
the newspapers for a long time. Discharge may be appealed on the

ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS

103

ground that the discharge is not for a permissible cause, or that the
foreman has not proved his case. As will be seen later, under this
law many more cases are appealed than are brought by any other of
the unions.
The attitude of Pressmen’s Union No. 51 on this question of
priority is quite the antithesis of that of No. 6. The pressmen be
lieve that priority works against the interests of the skilled man, and
prefer that the most competent man should hold a job regardless
of priority, in order to give an incentive for the development of skill.
They hold that the competent man does not need protection from hig
union to hold his position and action is taken on discharges only when
discrimination for union activity is charged. The differences in atti
tude of the two unions are in part explainable by differences in the
crafts. Although many compositors are specialists and key men in
their plants, a greater part of the work of the composing room is of
such a character that any skilled journeyman can step into a job and
fill it satisfactorily than is true of the work of the skilled pressmen ;
while more of the presswork requires special experience of the par
ticular job and press, making it difficult to substitute one pressman
for another. This difference in the degree of inter changeability
among pressmen and among compositors makes the priority law pos
sible, although not necessarily advantageous to the men, in the com
posing room, while in the pressroom it would not be possible. A
second difference between the two crafts is that in the composing room
the advantage of increasing experience as a man grows old is offset
to greater or less degree by his tendency to slacken speed, which puts
him at a disadvantage in competing for jobs. A desire for protec
tion in seniority rights is a natural consequence. In the pressroom,
on the other hand, while slowness is a disadvantage in make-ready,
it affects only a part of the work of the pressman, and may be com
pletely compensated for by his technical knowledge, which increases
through long experience. The old pressman needs no protection in
the field in which he has experience. The resulting differences in
attitude of the two major unions will be seen to affect the administra
tion of the contracts and the whole relationship between the unions
and the league.
Administration of Agreements
The enforcement of the complex body of law that constitutes the
agreements between the Printers’ League of New York and the print
ing trade-unions is no small matter in an industry of hundreds of
plants. The responsibility for enforcement necessarily is carried
chiefly by the unions. The league has no means of checking condi
tions in the numerous plants, nor of forcing the maintenance of
standards agreed upon. The unions, on the contrary, through their
members employed in the various plants are constantly in touch with
conditions, send organizers to investigate complaints of violations
of the agreements, and through their ultimate power to withhold
their labor are able to enforce compliance with the terms of the con
tracts. The unions enforce the wages, hours, and working conditions
of the league contracts upon all plants in which union members are

104

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

employed. I t is only the league plants, however, which have the right
to the adjustment of disputes through the joint conference committees
of the unions and the league.
A considerable part of the work of administering the agreements
consists in answering requests for interpretations. Both the league
and the various unions are constantly called on by employers with such
requests. The day book of the league shows a great variety in the
subjects on which rulings are given. The most frequent are as to
the wage scales on certain machines or processes, and how to figure
overtime pay under various complicated circumstances. Other
queries, taken at random, were as to whether a firm was entitled to
another apprentice, priority rights, the jurisdiction lines between two
unions, advice on a proposed discharge, the manning of a press, what
changes would be necessary and what wTould be the additional cost
to unionize a certain plant, interpretations of the overtime law, and
the right to compensation for time lost through the failure of an
employee to keep an engagement. These are typical of the questions
constantly answered by the league office and the officers of the unions.
In the great majority of cases the matter ends when information
is received from the union or the league and put into effect. In some
cases, however, the employer is dissatisfied with the ruling given and
does not carry it out, or the union organizer finds what he considers
a violation of the contract, asks the plant to remedy it, and is re
fused. Whenever such a difference of opinion arises between a
league plant and a union, the matter becomes one for adjustment
between the league and the union concerned. An effort for informal
adjustment is the first step, under the contract. The usual procedure
is for the secretary of the league or his assistant to meet an officer
of the union at the plant to make a joint investigation. There it is
usually possible to agree upon the facts, and often to reach an imme
diate settlement by agreement. Delay is avoided and many cases
need go no further. Only when the union officer and the league
representative fail to agree upon a settlement, or the plant objects to
the interpretation made or settlement suggested, a joint conference
committee meeting may be called for by either party. The repre
sentatives of the union and the league have full authority to settle
the dispute at the plant, unless it is one in which the settlement will
establish a precedent. In such a case the question must be considered
by the full joint conference committee. The decision then estab
lishes a precedent and is published as instructions to the entire
industry, in order to maintain standard practice. Often such deci
sions are incorporated in the contracts at the next negotiations.
Earlier decisions are often referred to as precedents, in spite of the
contract provision that “ no precedents or previous conditions are
recognized in the interpretation of these contracts.” This clause
is only rarely invoked, and precedents have considerable influence,
although they do not bind the joint conference committees.
The league keeps a record of all complaints which become a matter
for joint action by the league and a union, whether settled by in
formal adjustment or by a joint conference committee. From these
records an analysis has been made of all complaint cases from Oc

105

ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS

tober 1, 1924, when a typographical union contract began the period
of long-term contracts, until July 1, 1928. Table 8 shows the subjects
of these 190 cases for each of the unions.
T

able

8 .—

COMPLAINT CASES BETWEEN PRINTERS’ LEAGUE AND UNIONS, BY
SUBJECT, OCTOBER 1, 1924, TO JULY 1, 1928
Com
Over
ple Finan Ju Over MisWage time D is ment
cel- Total
cial risdic time lanecharge of claims
scale
tion law
pay
ous
men

Union

____________
Typographical, No. 6 _ ____
Pressmen, No. 5 1 _ ____
_ ___
__
Press Assistants, No. 23__ _ ________ _
Paper Cutters, No. 119__
_ _____
___
Bindery Women, No. 43
_
Paper Handlers and Sheet Straighteners,No.l_
Mailers, No. 6 _________ ______ _______ _
Several u n io n s.,________ _______ ___ ___ _
Total____________ __________

___ __

2
11
3

4
2

31
3
3
1

2
12
5

4
14
6

4
3
1
2
2
7
1
1

22
12
7

79
55
28
3
7
8
1
9

190

2
1

The great majority of these cases were issues between the league
and the three major unions, the typographical, pressmen’s, and press
assistants’ unions. The preponderance of typographical union cases
is due to the large number of its discharge appeals. For all the
unions, discharge cases outnumber all other causes of dispute, but 31
of the 38 cases are of typographical union discharges. The second
largest group of complaints is on financial claims, including claims
of employers for compensation because of failure of men to keep
engagements, and of men for a full day’s pay under the rule requiring
a day’s pay for all employees called to work unless discharged for
incompetency or disobedience of rules. Questions of jurisdiction also
provided a large group of cases, as did interpretations of wage scales
and the rules on the complement of men.

Table 9 shows the disposition of all complaint cases. Of the 190
cases, 97, or over half, were settled on the whole in favor of the union
contention, while 63, or one-third, were settled in favor of the league.
The remaining 30 were compromised or no decision was reached. Of
the informal adjustments, 57 per cent favored the unions, while of the
much smaller number of settlements by joint conference committees,
72 per cent were favorable to the unions. Of all cases, the typo
graphical union won 45 cases against the league’s 29; the pressmen
25 and the league 17; and the press assistants 15 against the league’s
9. I t is interesting also, although the cases here become too few to
permit of much generalization, that the typographical union won
nearly 60 per cent of the cases informally adjusted and two-thirds of
its joint conference committee cases; the pressmen won 46 per cent
of their informal adjustments and 78 per cent of their conference
committee cases; and the press assistants 60 per cent of the informal
adjustments and 75 per cent of the committee cases.

106
T

PRINTER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
9 —DISPOSITION OF ALL COMPLAINT CASES BETWEEN THE PRINTERS’
LEAGUE AND UNIONS, OCTOBER 1, 1924, TO JULY 1, 1928

able

Union

All cases
Joint confer
Informal
ence committee
adjustments
adjustments
favorable to— favorable to— Favorable to— Com
pro
mise To
or no tal
Union League Union League Union League deci
sion
24
13
8

Typographical, No. 6______ _____ __________
Pressmen, No. 51__________________________
Press Assistants, No. 23___ ______ __________
Paper Cutters, No. 119
Bindery Women, No. 43................
Paper Handlers and Sheet Straighteners, No. 1.
____
Mailers, No. 6 ___ .
Several unions __
__
_____ __

35
11
12
1
3
4
2

3
1
3

Total___ _______ ____________________

10
14
3

5
4

45
25
15
1
4
5

11
1

29
17
9

1
3
1
3

79
55
28
3
7
8
1
9

190

5
13
4
2
2

1Determined by arbitration.

Table 10 gives a more detailed analysis, by subjects, of the disposi
tion of all the cases which were referred to joint conference com
mittees for settlement. The preponderance of decisions favorable to
union contentions is again very striking. Discharge cases accounted
for the larger proportion of the typographical union cases, while the
pressroom conference committees were devoted chiefly to questions
of w'age scales, financial claims, and complement of men.
T

10.—DISPOSITION OF ALL COMPLAINT CASES REFERRED TO JOINT
CONFERENCE COMMITTEES, BY SUBJECT, OCTOBER 1, 1924, TO JULY 1, 1928

able

Union and subject

Decision
favorable to— Com No
pro deci Total
Union League mise sion

Typographical, No. 6:
Discharge. _ _ _ ___ ________ ______ ______________________
Overtime pay_______ ___________ _______ _______
. __
Overtime law __ _ _ ___ ___ ___________ _______ ___ __
Priority__ _______ ____ ______ _
_______________ _______
Discrimination. _ ________ _ .... ................

7
1
1

All subjects___________ _________________________________ _

7
3
1
2
1

2
2

Pressmen, No. 51:
Wage scale___ _________ _________________ _ _ _ _ _
Financial c la im s .___ ______________ ____ ___________ _____
Complement of men ___________________ _ . . . _
Jurisdiction._____ _____________________ __________ ___ _
Overtime_____________ ___________________________________
All subjects________ _____________________ ______ _____ _
Press assistants, No. 23:
Wage scale___ ______ _________________________ _______ ____ _
Financial claims. ______________________________ _
Complement of men________________________________ _____
Overtime._____ ___________________________________________ _
Discharge___ _______ ____________________________________
All subjects___________________ ________ _________
Bindery women, No. 43:
Wage scale___ _______ ______ _____ _____ ______ ___ _____
Liability of plant for theft............ ......................................................... _

1
2

2
1

1
2
1
2
2

1
1

i1
1
1

Total............................................................................................................

10
6
5
2
1

All subjects_______ _______________ _____ ______ ___ . . .

1
2

Paper handlers and sheet straighteners, No. 1: Jurisdiction_______ .
Paper cutters, No. 119, and paper handlers and sheet straighteners,
No. 1: Jurisdiction___ ___________________ ____ _________________

i Determined by arbitration.

1
1

12
1
1
1
2

1
7

1
6

107

ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS

As discharge appeals make up the largest group of cases, they have
been made the subject of a special analysis. Table 11 shows the dis
position of all discharge appeals, whether settled informally or
referred to a joint discharge committee.
T

able

11.—DISPOSITION OF ALL DISCHARGE APPEALS, OCTOBER 1,1924, TO JULY 1,1928
Method of adjustment
Joint
Informal Union discharge
agree dropped
com
ment
case
mittee
decision

Union and disposition of appeal

Total

Typographical, No. 6:
Reinstatement______________ ................... ....................
___________
Discharge upheld
__________________

5
8

7
5

12
19

Total_________________________________ _______

Press assistants, No. 23:
Discharge u p h e ld ..................... . ............ _ ______
No decision__________ ____________________
_____

Pressmen, No. 51: Discharge upheld

____ _______

__ _

Total. _______________________________________

3
2

1
2

Paper cutters, No. 119: Discharge upheld_____ ____ _______

AH unions:
Reinstatement--___ ___________ __ ____________
Discharge upheld________ _________ ____________
No decision_____________________________ ___ _

7
5
2

12
24
2

Grand total_______

____

____________________

Of the 38 appeals during the period studied, in 24 cases the dis
charge was upheld, while 12 men were reinstated. In two cases no
decision was made, in one case because it concerned a nonleague plant
which was not entitled to the use of the machinery for joint adjust
ment, and in the other case because the union undertook to find
another place for the boy concerned.
All but seven of the cases were brought by Typographical Union
No. 6. The other unions do not contest discharges unless discrimi
nation is charged and in none of the cases of this sort brought up
during this period was the charge upheld. The priority law of the
typographical union, however, limits discharge to four reasons—in
competency, neglect of duty, violation of rules, and to decrease the
force. Since a man discharged must go to a new plant and become
the last on the priority list there, the incentive to contest discharge
is considerable in the case of men of several years’ priority standing.
Unless the discharge is to decrease the force, in which case this must
be done in priority order, the firm must be able to prove incom
petency, neglect of duty, or violation of conspicuously posted rules.
This is not always easy. Nevertheless in 19 of the 31 cases brought
by Typographical Union No. 6 the discharge was upheld, while in
each of 12 cases the man was reinstated. Of the 19 cases in which the
discharge was upheld, only five were brought to a joint discharge
committee. In the remainder the union officers either agreed with the
league representatives, upon investigation, or later dropped the cases.
17616°—28---- 8

108

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Of the reinstatements the majority were by decision of the joint dis
charge committee. The majority of all joint discharge committee
decisions, also, were for reinstatement, showing that the union officers
accept the discharge without bringing it before a committee, except
when they believe they have a strong case.
The typographical union discharge committee is elected from the
floor of the union, instead of being appointed by the president.
This gives an additional incentive to the union officers to settle dis
charge cases without bringing them to the committee. Only 12 of
the 31 cases came to the joint discharge committee for decision. The
practice is for an officer of the union to meet a representative of the
league at the plant to investigate. Evidence is taken from all con
cerned, usually the facts are agreed upon, and when the facts are
clear a decision can be agreed upon at once. Often such a joint
investigation brings out sources of trouble within the plant and is
helpful to the management in eliminating difficulties. Sometimes
the union agrees that the management has proved its case and accepts
the discharge. In other cases the league representatives agree that
incompetency, or whatever the complaint, is not proved by the facts
and advise the plant to reinstate. When the plant and the union
fail to agree, however, the case is brought to the joint discharge
committee.
A few concrete cases will show how this machinery works. A
man discharged for incompetency claimed a day’s pay for reporting
for work and not being taken on although others of lower priority
standing had been put to work, and claimed that incompetency, the
reason given for his discharge later, had not been proved. The joint
discharge committee ruled that the fact of failure to put to work in
priority order was clear. The man was therefore entitled to pay for
that day and for four and a half days’ lost time following, before
the discharge. As to the question of incompetency, however, the
committee gave much wTeight to an affidavit signed by the entire
chapel testifying to the justice of the foreman. Moreover the man’s
record in other plants was not good. The committee therefore voted
against his reinstatement.
In another case a machinist was discharged for neglect of duty, for
failure to keep the machinery in good and clean condition. The
chapel chairman upheld the foreman, while the chapel voted 20 to 12
that the discharge was fair. The union organizer, however, ordered
reinstatement based upon an opinion of an expert machinist, whom
he had brought in, that the room was in good condition. The joint
discharge committee, nevertheless, felt that the vote of the chapel was
significant, and denied the claim for reinstatement and back pay.
Another man was discharged for neglect of duty in refusing to
work overtime. The facts were clear. On Saturday noon the man
had been asked to wait a few minutes and had refused. On Monday
morning he had been discharged. The chapel voted that he should be
reinstated. The foreman told him to come in Tuesday for a de
cision, and then refused to reinstate him. The union then ordered
reinstatement but was refused. The man had offered no explanation
to the foreman of his refusal to work overtime, although as it de
veloped later the reason was that he had an appointment with his
wife. The unipn considered this a legitimate reason, and demanded

ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS

109

reinstatement with back pay. The joint discharge committee decided
that since the man had done satisfactory work in this plant for
eight years he should be reinstated, and since he had been told to
report on Monday and Tuesday, he was entitled to pay for those
days. He should not be paid for the other days lost, however, since
he should have explained to the foreman the reason for his refusal.
The committee made it a general rule that when a man was requested
to work overtime he was obligated to do so according to an Inter
national Typographical Union executive council decision, unless he
gave the foreman a reasonable excuse why it was not possible.
In another case a young man was discharged after having worked
satisfactorily for four years. He had been taken off ad work and put
on another sort of work which he did not like. After hours he told
the foreman that he would refuse to do any more of this work. The
foreman said refusal would mean discharge. The man claimed that
the night foreman could not discharge him. The next night he was
discharged for insubordination. The union claimed that there had
been no insubordination, as the conversation took place after hours.
The employers held that this was insubordination even if it had taken
place out of the office and that it was an outrage to bring such a case
before the committee. Motions to reinstate with back pay, and with
out back pay, were not seconded. Finally it was decided unanimously
that because of the youth of the man and the fact that no work had
been offered him and actually refused he should be reinstated without
back pay. I t was a compromise decision, but meant valuable
discipline for the young man.
Another man appealed when he was discharged for loafing in the
culmination of a series of aggravations. In the joint discharge com
mittee the union president held that the foreman had a reputation for
fairness. I t was decided unanimously to deny the plea for reinstate
ment. However, the committee believed that the man had learned a
lesson by this experience, and asked the secretary of the Printers’
League to intercede with the foreman in his behalf.
Hiring, firing, and discipline in these union offices are in the hands
of the foreman, who is always a member of the union, although he is
the representative of the employer in the plant. The union repre
sentatives on the joint discharge committee are inclined to take the
position that a foreman with a reputation for fairness should be
upheld in a discharge. When a foreman can make a clear case of
incompetency, neglect of duty, or violation of rules, he is sustained.
Most of the cases come under the first two reasons, as easier to prove,
and under each reason more discharges were upheld than were
reversed. In the cases where the men were reinstated the proof was
not clear, or there were extenuating circumstances which caused the
committee to feel that justice was done by giving the man another
chance. The joint handling of discharges, whether informally by the
officers of the two organizations, or by the formal committee, has a
useful effect upon discipline, since discharges for sufficient cause are
sustained, and often serves an educational purpose in pointing out to
the management difficulties within their organizations.
The advantages in the joint handling of discharges, both to the
men and the firms, in the educational effects and in preventing
injustices to the men in specific cases, do not> however, overcome the

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serious objection of the employers to the priority law in general
since it restricts their freedom to select their forces on the basis of
competency. The priority law, which is a feature only of the typo
graphical union contract, is a source of considerable friction between
the union and the employers.
Discharge cases accounted for only 14 of the 53 cases settled in
joint committees between the league and the various unions in the
period under review. Some of the other cases handled will illus
trate the method of joint dealing with problems which develop during
the life of the agreements.
Two cases brought by the typographical union involved charges
of discrimination in reducing premium wages because of union ac
tivities. In the first case the employer had violated the contract by
reading a first proof, although he was not an active member of the
union. This was reported to the union by one of the compositors,
who was receiving more than the minimum scale. He was then
reduced to the scale in the middle of the week. The league insisted
that a plant could reduce premium wages at any time for any reason
as there was no legislation on premium wages. The union contended
that a reduction in wages could not be made in the middle of a
financial Aveek. The league agreed with the union that the practice
was not on a basis of broad equities. The company was therefore
instructed to pay for the week at the old rate, and warned that the
reading of first proofs by the employer was a violation of the con
tract. In another plant two men who had testified for the union in
a discharge case were reduced. The company claimed that they
were reducing expenses, that several had been laid off, and that others
were to have their premiums reduced the following week. Again
the league declared that it would consent to no decision legislating
on premium wages, or establishing a precedent in this matter, while
the union insisted that the firm had no right to reduce a man’s wages
on account of his union activity. No decision was made on this
issue, but as the men had been reduced in the middle of the week
they were each awarded back pay.
One of the most serious issues between the league and the typo
graphical union arose over the priority law. This law had been
accepted by the employers in the 1923 contract in the belief th at it
would reduce shifting from plant to plant and so would have a
tendency to reduce premium wages. Serious opposition to the law
developed among the employers, for the variety of work in book and
job offices made it a serious handicap to the office to have to keep
their men on in order of priority rather than according to their
competence for the work in hand. Moreover, a survey of premium
wages in the fall of 1926 showed that in four years the percentage
of hand compositors receiving over the scale had increased from
37.5 to 43 per cent. Among machine operators however, the per
centage receiving over the scale had decreased from 89 to 78 per
cent although the proportion getting more than $10 above the scale
had increased.24 The priority law had not shown the clear-cut
effect hoped for.
24 Bureau of Industrial Relations, New York Employing Printers’ Association. The
premium wage situation in the Printers’ League Section, New York Employing Printers’
Association, September, 1926. Also comparison with premium wage survey of June, 1922.

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111

In the summer of 1926 one of the large plants decided that drastic
action was necessary. This was an old plant which had in its com
posing room many old men, some of whom had been there 40 years
or more. Under a new management the firm found ,its composing
room so overburdened with these old compositors that it could not
produce efficiently and economically. I t found a way out by prac
tically cjosing the department, reducing it to a handful of men and
for several months sending most of the composition to trade plants.
The firm considered that it had no further responsibility for these
old employees since for years it had been contributing to the union
pension funds by paying the union wage scale to these men. Accord
ing to union rules, a man laid off for lack of work may protect his
position by leaving his union card with the plant. If, however, he
takes his card and goes to work elsewhere he loses his priority in
the first plant. In this case, nevertheless, the union told the men
that it would protect their priority, and many of them went to work
elsewhere. A fter some months the plant began to build up a force
again. The union then insisted that the men laid off should be
replaced in priority order. This was refused by the plant. The
union tin joint conference committee sessions insisted that the com
pany had broken the contract, that its action was merely a subter
fuge to get rid of the old men, and that the union therefore was
justified in its ruling.
The league insisted th at under the contract only the men who left
their cards in the office were protected. The union refused to permit
a joint conference committee decision or to arbitrate, as priority
standing is not subject to review by the conference committee, and
threatened to strike if its interpretation were not put into effect. The
firm and the league held to their position, however, and the union
did not use force. This case is illustrative of a serious problem in
the industry. The plants must be able to produce efficiently and
economically. On the other hand, there are the human problems of
men who have worked a lifetime for a company. In this case the
firm gained its purpose, and the union did not force the issue. But
the problem remains and may arise in other plants. No constructive
solution has been worked out.
The overtime law also has been a source of friction. This law,
which was accepted by the league in the 1924 typographical union
contract, is an effort to reduce unemployment. The plants have
found many difficulties with the requirement that each man who
accumulates eight hours of overtime must cancel overtime by taking
a day off and putting on a substitute. Often the substitute is not
competent to handle the work, and at best he is unfamiliar with it.
In the case of specialists it is impossible to replace them for a day.
A fter a few months’ experience a joint conference committee agreed
upon a set of rules in interpretation of the law. The regular must
furnish a sub capable of doing his class of work. I f a sub proves
incompetent he can be discharged within a 3-hour period and paid
only for the time actually worked, while if a competent sub can not
be supplied within 30 days the overtime is canceled. Men could
cancel eight hours of overtime for any holiday on which they did
not work. When the 1927 contract was adopted no change was made
in the overtime law.

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PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

In November, 1927, however, the union ruled that holidays should
not cancel overtime and declared that since the manner of canceling
overtime was a question involving the application of the law of the
International Typographical Union the league had no right to inter
fere. When the league appealed to the executive council of the
international union the council agreed with the local union th at the
league could not interfere in the application of International Typo
graphical Union law but held that in this case that was not the issue.
Since the union had made a new contract in which the overtime law
was unchanged, it had “ morally obligated itself to continue condi
tions which had obtained under the previous contract, except where
the contract had been altered by agreement.” The council held that
“ the union can not afford to be placed in a position which permits
those with whom it enters into contracts to challenge its good faith,”
and therefore reversed the ruling of the local union.
The pressroom conference committees must often decide on highly
technical matters. The technical knowledge of the employers and
the union men on the committee makes it possible to arrive at a
satisfactory decision. I f a new machine comes into the market a
scale must be made for it, establishing a proper differential with
other machines, Sometimes a definition of a process must be made,
to establish which of two scales is applicable, as in the case of a
controversy as to whether a job was poster work or close register
work requiring a higher scale. Only technicians could make a deci
sion upon such a fine point. On one occasion Pressmen’s Union No.
51 called upon a large plant to pay a differential of $1.50 to each of
the pressmen on McKee process presses because of a certain attach
ment. In the joint conference committee, however, the foreman
testified that full responsibility for these attachments was given to a
special man and that the responsibility of the pressmen was not
increased. The union held, nevertheless, that the pressman was
responsible for the entire operation of the press and had to watch
the attachment and call the specialist when he was needed. The
committee agreed that it was better for the industry in general not to
recognize a division of responsibility, but that the pressman should
be responsible for the entire press. They ruled, therefore, th at the
plant should pay the differential provided in the contract, in spite
of its special organization.
The press assistants’ contract recommends that in the event of any
press working overtime the man employed on that press should be
given preference for the overtime, except in case of emergency, and
that repeated claims of emergency should be subject to determination
by a joint committee. In one plant two regular assistants were
ordered by the foreman to work overtime on presses on which subs
had been employed during the day, and did so. The union then
ordered them to turn the money over to the subs. The league pro
tested that the question should"*have been brought to a joint com
mittee, and that the union action was putting the men in danger of
being discharged for refusal to work overtime or of being fined for
doing it. The union claimed that this was an internal union mat
ter, that the subs wanted their overtime, and that it was a matter of
moral obligation for the other members to give it to them. Accord
ing to the company, this case had beeri an emergency when they were

ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS

113

not sure enough of the competence of the subs to trust the work to
them. The joint conference committee decided that the recommenda
tion of the contract should hold, but that in an emergency the foreman
should try to get the sanction of the chapel chairman. I f he failed
he would still have the right to do what he considered necessary pend
ing an appeal to the joint committee. In this way a difficult type of
situation was handled in a manner to protect the rights of both
groups.
Issues as ta the complement of men on presses are among the most
difficult and important of all between the league and the pressmen’s
and press assistants’ unions. I t has been seen how in the contracts
of 1928 the unions made certain concessions on the manning of auto
matic presses. The complement of men on web presses also has been
an active issue since 1925, after having been raised by the employers
some years earlier. The issue became active in 1925 because of
competition of large New York plants on periodical work with plants
in other cities in which web presses were operated by union men with
a smaller number of men than the New York unions required. Press
men’s Union No. 51 finally, after long discussion in joint conference
committees, agreed to meet competition in particular cases when
necessary to keep a job. In one case it made a concession, but in
another it allowed a large periodical job to be lost, and the press on
which this job had been printed to be moved out to a New Jersey
plant, rather than make such a reduction in the complement of men
as would have enabled the New York plant to renew its contract.
No. 51 hoped at the 1926 convention of the International Printing
Pressmen and Assistants’ Union to secure action toward equalizing
working conditions over the country, but it failed. The union then
admitted the necessity of concessions, and in its 1928 contract agreed
to remove the second pressman on single-roll web presses on black
work with no attachments except the folder. The employers had
wanted also to eliminate the utility man, a member of Press Assist
ants’ Union No. 23, from web presses. Active discussion of this
issue had been under way since 1923. President Berry of the inter
national union in January, 1928, disavowed any claim of the union
to 44an arbitrary right in the determination of the number of men
required to operate presses ” and declared that such questions should
be worked out on the basis of facts.25 Influenced by this attitude of
the international union, Press Assistants’ Union No. 23, when it
made its 1928 contract, finally agreed to submit to a special committee
for determination, with the right to submit to arbitration if neces
sary, three questions affecting the operation of one of the large
plants. Among these questions was 44the determination of cases in
which utility men are needed on webs.” The other questions, as to
the scale on a certain press and the need of a second assistant on
another press, were settled by agreement, but the question of utility
men was referred to arbitration. Early in June, 1928, Dr. William
M. Leiserson was chosen as arbitrator.
The case involved the operation of 7 presses and the jobs of
14 men, the utility men or oilers on each press on the two shifts. To
the Printers’ League the question was entirely a technical one—were
23AmericaI Pressman, January, 1928, p. 26.

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these men needed and did competitive plants use them on similar
presses ? To the union, on the other hand, it was a human question
involving the livelihood of 14 men at a time when there was much
unemployment in the industry and a lack of other such jobs in New
York. The human problem clouded the technical issue so that the
union claimed that all these men were needed. Apparently the union
leaders were unwilling to take responsibility for a decision, although
they were fighting a losing case.
Three hearings were held early in July, at which each side pre
sented briefs, testimony of experts was given, and the presence of
some of the men involved was a constant reminder of the human
side of the problem. The board also visited the plant in question and
other plants which were used in comparison, in an effort to clarify
the technical issues.
The league rested its case upon technical necessity, using as evi
dence the fact that similar presses elsewhere were operated with fewer
men than in New York. The clearest case was in the Chicago union
plant already mentioned, where identical presses were operated with
four men instead of five, although certain differences in the work
clouded the comparison to some degree. Evidence was given from
other plants near New York. The league claimed th at the work; of
the utility men could be absorbed by the other men on the presses.
Finally it claimed that due to the efforts of the unions to hold such
jobs, of 176 web presses in New York in 1920, about 80 had left
the jurisdiction of the local unions. The plant in question had been
asking relief for eight years. I t now asked that it receive equal treat
ment with its competitors.
The union case, which was prepared by the Labor Bureau, empha
sized the human side of the problem, that the discharge was asked
of 14 men who were competent and skilled, and had in some cases
worked for this firm as long as 15 years, and would not be able to
get similar jobs in New York. I t claimed also th at the firm should
prove its need of relief by showing its books. The arbitrator, how
ever, ruled out this claim on the ground that the firm was not asking
financial relief but an equalization of its conditions with that of its
competitors. On the technical issue, the union claimed that the work
of the utility men could not all be absorbed by the other men on the
press without harming the quality of the work. I t urged that if there
were too many men on these presses, the utility man was not neces
sarily the one who should be removed. And finally on the com
parisons with other plants the union emphasized differences in the
presses and the work on which they were running from that in the
plant in question.
A fter two executive sessions with the board, the arbitrator rendered
his decision. He regretted that the issue as submitted was limited to
the need for* the utility men rather than the broader question of the
whole complement of men on these presses. On the technical question
he considered the evidence somewhat inconclusive, because of varia
tions in the work of different plants, although he believed that five
men were probably not needed on these presses. He therefore ruled
that the firm “ is justified in removing the utility men from the presses,
but it is not justified in discharging them from its employment.” As
fast as other jobs could be found for these men, they should be trans-

ADM INISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS

115

ferred. Thus the change would be made gradually, and easy adjust
ments could be made if it were found that any of them were needed
on these presses. The arbitrator urged that such a decision made
possible the development of a constructive policy for dealing with all
such questions. The principle of the decision was that “ the employer
shall be free to make improvements in methods of production, but
that such changes shall not be made at the expense of the workers wTho
have been faithfully performing their duties.” Such a principle
adopted as a permanent policy would permit the making of all neces
sary improvements as fast as they ought to be made, while fully safe
guarding the interests of both employers and workers. The decision
ended with this statement:
No employee would lose his livelihood on account of any improvement unless
the firm itself were losing and in financial straits, but changes would be made
gradually, as fast &s other work could be found for him. This might involve
some expense to the employer, but it would be a temporary expense which he
may legitim ately be asked to carry. This tem porary expense of making the
changes gradually would be small compared to w hat he incurs when the workers
resist improvements for fear of loss of livelihood. I t does no worker or the
union any good to retain men on jobs th a t are unnecessary, and if employees
were protected against loss) of employment by transfer to other work, as fa r as
this is possible, then they must cooperate w ith the management in making
improvements instead of obstructing changes designed to reduce costs.
The arb itrato r feels certain th a t if this policy of trying to guarantee the men
th at their work would not be eliminated until other work was provided for them
had been adopted eight years ago when the employers say the dispute over the
utility men first arose, the question would have been settled by m utual agreement
long ago.26

The decision was on the whole satisfactory to the plant and to the
league, as it established the principle that men not technically needed
should be eliminated. A representative of the plant had informed
the arbitrator that they would be able to absorb about half of the men
immediately in other jobs in the plant. The union also received
recognition of its main argument in that although the men were to
be eliminated from the presses, their livelihood was safeguarded.
After the adjustment was made, however, there were 14 fewer jobs
for union men because of the decision, and other jobs in this plant
were filled by displaced utility men rather than by calling in unem
ployed members of the union. In so large a plant a gradual solution
of this problem of displacement was easier than it would be in the
smaller plants which are more common in the industry.
In two other cases since October 1, 1924, arbitration was resorted
to under the contracts. Both cases were brought by Bindery Women’s
Union, No. 43. One case involved a theft of clothing from two
bindery girls. The union claimed that the firm’s offer of $20 to each
girl in compensation was inadequate and that the firm had not pro
vided adequate dressing-room facilities. The question was submitted
by agreement of the union and the league to a leading employer, Mr.
Charles Francis, who ruled that, since according to legal opinion the
26 Arbitration proceedings, Printers’ League v. Press Assistants’ Union No. 23, July 2,
3, 6, 1928. Arbitration decision of William M. Leiserson, July 19, 1928. The secretary
of the Printers’ League, however, believes that the arbitrator was unduly optimistic on the
possibility of securing agreement on such issues. It is not always possible to absorb men
displaced by changes in technique, and the unions therefore in resisting unemployment
hold to jobs as long as they can. Experience with these issues has shown that com
promise offers to protect so far as possible the interests of the men were turned down
earlier, until finally the weight of conditions forced the unions to make concessions or
agree to arbitrate.

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firm was not responsible, the offer was generous and should be
accepted.
The other case resulted from a complaint of the bindery women’s
union in April, 1925, that a certain plant refused to pay the general
scale for the examination of color work for bad sheets for which
no specific scale was included in the contract. The company claimed
that the work required less skill than other operations and that the
union should not claim jurisdiction. I t was paying $25.50, the scale
for book examining. A joint conference committee decided that
the work if done in the bindery came under the jurisdiction of
the union and therefore required the scale of $27.50. The company,
however, continued to pay the old scale. The union then asked for
action by the league and the matter was referred to arbitration under
Mr. John A. Fitch. The union showed that the plant formerly paid
the general scale, but at the last wage increase in 1924 it failed to
increase the wages of these girls. A fter many delays the company
had told the union that it would pay only the scale for book examing. The company argued that the work was no more difficult than
book examining. The union asked that the scale should be retroactive
to January, 1924, when the general increase went into effect. The
league, however, pointed out that the union had not taken the matter
up with the league until April, 1925. The arbitrator visited the plant
to see the work in process, and decided that greater skill, closer atten
tion, heavier labor, and greater responsibility were required in the ex
amination of color work than in book work. The scale of $27.50 was
therefore justified. The scale should not be retroactive to January,
1924, however, since the union was in part responsible for the delay
as it had failed to act vigorously, but should be effective as of April
8, 1925, the date on which certain girls had been transferred to this
work. This decision was rendered on July 3, 1925. Three weeks
later the union informed the league that as the company had refused
to live up to the decision, the union would be compelled to withdraw
its members. The league then took up the matter with its member,
and a few days later reported that the company had accepted the
decision. This case is interesting as one in which a plant objected
to a decision of a joint conference committee and to the arbitration
decision which followed, but finally complied under the joint pres
sure of the union’s threat of a strike and the league’s influence.27
This survey of the joint administration of the agreements between the
Printers’ League and the unions from 1924 to 1928 leads to a number
of generalizations. The method of adjusting differences during the
life of the contracts by joint conference committees is advantageous
in several respects. In the first place, for the interpretation of con
tracts the method is highly successful, for the technical knowledge
of the members of the committees insures that decisions are work
able and in line with the custom of the trade. Many questions which
come to the committees are settled with an entire absence of con
troversy, and in an attitude of practical interest in the welfare of
the industry. Again the committees are a useful organ of education
and discipline for members of both groups. Compliance of a plant
with the standards jointly agreed upon may be secured by a de
27 Arbitration proceedings, Bindery Women’s Union No. 43 and Printers’ League, June
25, 1925. Decision of arbitrator, July 3, 1925.

ADMINISTRATION OF AGREEMENTS

117

cision of the joint committee, when the plant would have strongly
opposed the union’s effort to enforce the condition. Or an employer
through a discharge appeal from his plant may learn much of the
conditions in his own plant and new techniques in the handling of
men. A t the same time a discharge case may teach the man involved
needed lessons. The joint committees are used also, and legitimately,
to avoid responsibility for decisions. A union officer may refuse to
make a decision himself and send to a joint conference committee,
or even to arbitration, a question on which the decision will neces
sarily be unpopular, believing that the members will accept the
decision more easily from the committee than from the individual
officer. Political expediency enters, but also the legitimate educa
tional effect of a formal decision. Similarly the league may fail to
convince a member of a necessary concession under the contract, and
rather than oppose his opinion too strongly take the issue before a
committee. Again the joint conference committees can prevent
serious injustices to individual employees. The worker who is sup
ported by a strong union is free from danger of unjust discharge or
discrimination. Whether this protection does not go too far, and
protect individuals at the expense of the plants in some cases,
particularly under the priority law is, however, a question. Finally
the joint conference committees which meet whenever issues arise
during the life of the contracts keep a constant contact between the
employers and the union leaders, and result in a marked under
standing of each others’ points of view and problems, and in many
cases in a sincere friendship.
There are difficulties, however. The method of adjustment of
problems by conference, however good in itself, can not overcome
any tendency to unreasonable exercise of power, nor insure that each
problem will be settled constructively. Powers of both groups are
considerably modified by the agreements and directed jointly in the
enforcement of the standards agreed upon, but it is still possible for
a union to attempt to enforce its own new interpretation of a contract
clause, or to long delay a needed concession, and for both groups to
fail to find any constructive way out from such difficulties as arose
over the priority law.
The analysis of the cases handled during the period from October,
1924, to July, 1928, showed a much greater degree of success of the
unions than of the league in securing favorable decisions, whether in
formally or through joint conference committees. Are the unions so
strong that they secure favorable decisions, even from the joint com
mittees, regardless of the facts? Or is it probable that the unions
are more often right than the employers in the contentions which be
come issues between the unions and the league ? The latter appears to
be the case, and is explained by a number of reasons. In the first
place, the chief responsibility for enforcement of the contracts be
longs to the unions. The unions therefore learn of violations of the
contract more frequently than does the league. Many of the decisions
favorable to the unions are therefore not opposed by the league in
any way but are a joint effort to enforce the standards. Moreover,
the union officers are likely to be more aggressive in acting against
violations of the contracts than are employers. The unions must be
interested in maintaining uniform conditions throughout the juris

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diction. The employer, on the other hand, is chiefly interested in his
own plant, and if he learns of a violation of the contract by a union
member may neglect to take action unless his own interests are un
favorably affected.
In the second place the union officers are all men of experi
ence in the industry, who know the contracts well. Thorough
knowledge of the contracts is also the case with the official representa
tives of the league. The individual employer, however, often is less
sure in his interpretation of the contract than are the union officers,
and as a result many complaints are made the subject of action be
tween the union and the league when there is no difference of opinion
between the organizations. The percentage of union success on joint
conference committees was higher than in the informal adjustments.
The union officers, knowing the contracts well, are disinclined to
take issues before the joint conference committees except when their
case is good. The union officer usually decides whether to carry the
case on. In the case of the league, however, the league representatives
can not take as much responsibility as do the union officers. The
final decision whether to go to a conference committee is made by the
plant, and cases may be carried there against the advice of the league.
I t is not surprising therefore that the unions win a very large pro
portion of the joint conference committee cases. Finally, of discharge
cases, contrary to the situation general in regard to all complaints,
the league was sustained in the majority of cases, showing that the
union leaders support at least to the point of a joint investigation
many discharge appeals which prove to have no basis. This is
obviously necessary in order to protect the interests of the man who
has a good case. Of the discharge cases which reached a joint com
mittee, however, the union won a majority, for the officers dislike to
bring losing cases before the committee, although on some occasions
the insistence of a union man may cause the officers to push his case
further than they think wise.
Apprenticeship
One important feature of the relations between the Printers’ League
and the trade-unions remains to be described. This is the system of
joint control of apprentice training. Over a long period a method has
been evolved consisting of regulation by joint apprentice committees
and, for the two chief crafts, training divided between the shops and
part-time schools which are jointly directed and supported. In 1928
there were in, these schools 765 apprentices,, 600 in the school for
printers’ apprentices and 165 in the school for printing pressmen.
A school for machine training for fifth year composing-room ap
prentices was opened in September, 1928, with approximately 60
students.28
The contracts between the league and the various unions lay down
general apprenticeship rules, such as the ratio of apprentices to
journeymen, the apprentice period, joint registration of apprentices,
provisions for school attendance and for standards of shop training,
and the apprentice wage scales. The ratio of apprentices to journey28 Bureau of Industrial Relations, New York Employing Printers’ Association. Appren
ticeship training in the commercial printing industry of New York City. May, 1928.

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men is 1 to 7 or a major fraction, with a limit of 10 to an office for
compositors; 1 to 4 for cylinder pressmen; 1 to 4 and 2 to 15 or more
for paper cutters; 1 to 10 or fraction with a limit of 4 for mailers;
and 1 to 5 for bindery women. The term of apprenticeship is 5 years
for compositors, beginning between 16 and 21 years of age; for cylin
der pressmen it is 4 years, after 5 years’ experience as a member of one
of the other pressroom unions; paper-cutter apprentices serve 4 years,
beginning at from 16 to 18 years of age; mailers, 5 years; and bindery
women, 2 years. Apprentice wage scales, with increases at regular
intervals, are provided in the various contracts. Joint apprentice
committees are established to study apprentice questions, and enforce
the apprentice conditions established in the contracts, and have full
power to cancel the apprenticeship of an apprentice who does not
show proper qualifications for his work.
Under the typographical union contract the apprentice must be
in good health and must pass an examination at the school for print
ers’ apprentices as to his educational qualifications for the trade.
I f his employment is protested because of the lack of these qualifica
tions the matter is adjusted by the joint apprentice committee. The
union, with the firm and the boy, is party to each apprentice inden
ture. A t the end of the first year, which is one of probation, the
apprentice receives from the foreman a statement of his qualifica
tions, which he files with the union. No office is entitled to employ
an apprentice unless it has the equipment necessary to give proper
instruction. The contract lays down definite rules as to the character
of the work for each year. In the third year, for instance, the
apprentice must be employed at least 75 per cent of his time on hand
composition and distribution, and must be given an opportunity to
set ads and job work from manuscript and assist on make-up and
imposition. A t the end of each 6-month (or in the fifth year each
3-month) period, when the apprentice is scheduled for advancement
in rank and salary, the foreman and chapel chairman must agree as
to his qualification for such advancement. In case of disagreement
the matter is referred to the joint apprentice committee for a decision.
The school for printers’ apprentices began in 1912 as a class in
connection with the Hudson Guild Settlement House, As the school
grew, however, the industry took over the responsibility for its sup
port and control. In 1928 the school budget is approximately
$30,000, with $10,000 contributions each from Typographical Union
No. 6 and the league and $11,000 in apprentice fees. The school is
controlled by a board of directors from Typographical Union No. 6,
the Printers’ League, and Hudson Guild. Attendance of all appren
tices after their first year is required for one afternoon a week, time
which the employers pay for, and one evening a week on the boys’
time. Each employer of registered apprentices must send them to
school and pay a fee of $25 a year for each boy. The boy also pays
a school fee increasing from $15 for the second year to $30 for the
fifth. The course of instruction includes hand composition, stone
work, English as a tool of the trade, and the history, ethics, and eco
nomics of the trade. Each boy must prove his competency by passing
a proficiency test at the school before he applies for his probationary
card in the union at the end of the fourth year.

120

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

Training on typesetting and type-casting machines may be elected
in the fifth year, under the contract. Apprentices in offices with
four or more machines who elect to study machine work, must for the
last six months be employed the entire time on the machines. As no
machine training is provided at the school for printers’ apprentices,
an active demand developed among the boys for facilities for ma
chine training apart from the plants, in order to give opportunities to
all apprentices. Opposition of the union to the provision of machine
training in connection with the existing school delayed the project,
but finally in April, 1928, after more than two years’ discussion an
agreement was made for a school for machine training to be opened
in the fall of 1928. The school is established under the cooperative
control and support of the New York City Board of Education,
Typographical Union No. 6, the Printers’ League, and the Publishers*
Association, the newspaper publishers. The board of education pro
vides floor space, light, heat and power, and the salaries of two
instructors, while machines, materials, and supplementary salaries
are provided by the two employers’ associations. An advisory board
of representatives from the two associations and the union advises
with the board of education on curriculum, selection of instructors,
and maintenance of technical standards. This cooperative arrange
ment is similar to that made in 1925 by the league and Pressmen’s
Union No. 51 for the school for printing pressmen.
Fifth-year apprentices in plants where they can not receive machine
training, as well as the others, may now, if they so choose, attend the
school for machine training instead of the school for printers’ appren
tices during the last year. Each machine apprentice must demon
strate to the director of the school for machine training during the
first six months of the fifth year that he has the necessary qualifica
tions to become a machine operator. Appeal on this point may be
made to the joint apprentice committee, whose decision is final. In
addition to apprentice training, the school will offer training in
machine composition to journeymen compositors.
The system of apprenticeship in the pressroom is very complicated
because of divided union jurisdiction. Apprentice pressmen must
have a previous membership of at least five years in the International
Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union. They are recruited there
fore from the ranks of Press Assistants’ Union No. 23, and for the
first two years are under the jurisdiction of that union, before trans
ferring to the pressmen’s union. As there are more positions for
assistants than for pressmen, a considerable proportion of the assist
ants find themselves in blind-alley jobs with no opportunity to
become pressmen. The number of apprentices to be admitted each
year was decided by a joint survey by the league and Pressmen’s
Union No. 51 of the number of pressmen and the estimated annual
need for replacements, thus removing this issue from the field of con
troversy. Apprentice problems, however, are complicated by the fact
that the apprentices are men who have already had five years or more
in the industry, and are taken from a union which, because of its
limited opportunity for advancement, is at a disadvantage in appeal
ing to youths of intelligence and ambition.
The training of pressmen is controlled by the contract of the league
and Pressmen’s Union No. 51, A joint apprentice committee has

APPRENTICESHIP

121

similar powers to that under the typographical union contract. The
committee is trying to establish definite standards of skill and
requires each apprentice during the entire 4-year apprenticeship
period to show an average of 75 per cent proficiency for each period,
or be denied advancement. Any dispute arising from this question
is determined by the joint apprentice committee. The apprentice
may be assigned to any work which his foreman deems proper, within
certain limitations for the first three years. During these three years
he may not run more than one press, unless with the approval of the
joint apprentice committee. Each registered apprentice is required
to attend the school for printing pressmen for one afternoon and one
evening a week, during the entire apprenticeship, and the employer
must not interfere with his attendance on the stipulated days.
The school for printing pressmen was established in 1925 through
a cooperative agreement between the New York City Board of Edu
cation and the Printers’ League and New York Printing Press
men’s Union No. 51, “ to cooperate in every way to raise through
proper technical training the craftsmanship of journeymen pressmen
and apprentice pressmen now employed in the printing industry.”
The board of education furnishes floor space, light, heat and power,
and the larger part of the salaries of the instructors, while the league
and the union furnish mechanical equipment and necessary material,
supplement the instructors’ salaries, and carry insurance on the
equipment and compensation insurance for the students while in
the school. The operation of the school is supervised by a joint
advisory board elected by the joint apprentice committee. Each
registered apprentice pays to the union as a school fee $25 per year,
and a similar amount is paid by each employer to the league for
each apprentice pressman in his employ. The instruction at the
school includes lectures on the theory underlying presswork, prac
tical work on all types of job and cylinder presses, and academic work
in arithmetic and other related subjects. Advanced courses for
journeymen are an important part of the work of the school, also.
While the school is still in its early stage and is working out its
methods of instruction, it makes every effort to insist upon standards.
Copies of all the work of each apprentice are kept, during his entire
term, and he must show a proficiency of 75 per cent in order to
secure advancement at each period and finally receive his journey
man’s card. The union also sends to the school for examination
men who apply for a union card after having had their training in
open shops, and does not accept them for membership unless they
can show a 75 per cent proficiency. Open-shop apprentices are
admitted to the school if they have had the necessary preliminary
experience and their employers are willing to sign the 4-year
indentures.
As the apprentice pressmen have all spent five years or more in the
industry before beginning their apprenticeship, they are an older
group than are the composing-room apprentices. In 1928 the average
age at the school for printing pressmen was 30 years. These men are
all running presses in the plants, and often to release them for their
afternoon at the school is a hardship for the plant, although the
union requires that the journeymen pressmen must if it is physically
possible, 44cover the press ” of the apprentice during his absence.

122

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

To secure regular attendance has therefore been a considerable
problem for the joint apprentice committee. A t the beginning of
the second year of the school, the joint apprentice committee ruled
that after three successive absences, an apprentice would be suspended
until reinstated by the joint advisory board on justifiable reason
presented by the apprentice and his employer, and that should the
absences continue the apprenticeship might be canceled. The student
council of the school protested that absences were often the fault
of the foreman, and the committee agreed to hear the case of any
apprentice before taking drastic action. All absences were required
to be made up. In some cases apprentices and their employers were
called before the joint committee in regard to absences. Where
the fault was that of the apprentice he was set back a month or more
in his apprenticeship or referred to the union for discipline, while
some firms were required to send a boy to the school for an extra
session each week for the necessary number of weeks to make up
absences. Finally in the spring of 1928 the problem was attacked
by a new method. Suspensions for absence had only increased
absences, while in many cases the apprentice was not at fault.
Employers who were called in to discuss the problem pointed out
the difficulty they often found in getting work out when they were
required to let the apprentice off on the stipulated afternoon.
In the course of a very frank discussion by the employers, the
league representatives, and the union officers, a way out was sug
gested. I t was agreed that if the journeymen could not cover the
apprentice’s press so that he could attend school, the union would
send in a pressman for the afternoon, and the employer would be
required to pay him only for the time he actually worked. The
union offered to waive its general provision for a full day’s pay
for men called to work, under these circumstances. In the case of
three absences, the apprentice and his employer would be summoned
by the joint advisory board. I f it were the fault of the apprentice,
he would be set back as a penalty. I f it were the fault of the plant,
however, the board would order that the union send a man to the
plant to cover the position, for half days at half days’ pay, for
enough successive afternoons to let the apprentice make up his ab
sences. Should a plant fail to let an apprentice off when so ordered,
it would be subjected to a penalty of a full day’s pay for the man
sent to cover the apprentice position. The employers were willing
to cooperate, and it appears that the problem has been solved. It
is an excellent example of cooperation to solve an important problem
of the industry.
In 1928 the entire printing industry of New York City, as repre
sented by the New York Employing Printers’ Association, the Pub
lishers’ Association, the Employing Electrotypers’ and Stereotypers’
Association, and the Photo-Engravers’ Board of Trade, and all the
unions included in the Allied Printing Trades Council, petitioned
the New York Board of Education for the construction of a building
for a training center for the printing industry. There are approxi
mately 2,000 students in technical training in the various phases of
the industry, in addition to 2,000 boys in printing classes in con
tinuation schools. Centralization would mean adequate facilities, the
establishment of standards, and the coordination of the whole process

APPRENTICESH IP

123

pf printing education with the developing needs of the industry. I f
this plan is carried out it will permit the operation of schools for
the various sections of the industry under cooperative agreements
between the organizations and the board of education, and with ad
visory committees to keep the training closely in touch with the
needs of the industry.
The New York unions and the Printers’ League have recognized a
joint responsibility for the training of craftsmen and have under
taken a practical program which gives promise of exerting a marked
effect upon craftsmanship in the future. I t is said in the New
York industry, as elsewhere, that a trade-union card is no proof of
competency, and that many incompetent union members are in the
field. There is, however, much testimony that the 15 years’ effort
of the school for printers’ apprentices has materially raised the
standard of workmanship in the composing rooms of New York.
The pressmen’s school is too young to have proved its work by the
experience of the industry. Pressmen’s Union No. 51, however, has
a sincere interest in promoting the skill of its members and making
the union card stand for a high degree of craftmanship. Its insist
ence that applicants from open shops must pass tests at the school
before they may secure union cards is evidence of its intention. The
union officers are proud of the present reputation of their members
for skill, and believe that the cooperative school will make possible
a more general attainment of the highest standards of craftsman
ship than in the past, with benefit to all in the industry.
There are several advantages in apprentice training carried on in
part in the jointly administered schools. Few composing rooms or
pressrooms have a sufficient range to f work to be able to introduce
the apprentice to all the types of work which he may need to know
in the future. The school, however, can give the fundamentals of
all the.most im portant branches and can give the theory underlying
the practical work, a necessary basis for intelligent advancement in
the industry, but one which it is seldom possible to get adequately
in the rush of the production departments. The foremen and jour
neymen have little time, even when they have the necessary ability*
to act as teachers, and in many cases in the shop the boy must shift
for himself, picking up what he can of the vital craft knowledge.
In the (school, on the contrary, instruction is given by men who
are trained teachers as well as skilled craftsmen. Every effort is
made to keep the instruction attuned to the practical needs of the
industry through the supervision of the joint apprentice committees,
made up of practical men from both groups in the industry, with
the advice and counsel of representatives of the craftsmen’s club, the
organization of foremen and superintendents, and of the student
councils of the two schools. Through the schools, also, experiments
can be undertaken which would not be possible otherwise. For
instance, a 3-year program has been undertaken by the National
Junior Personnel Service, supported in part by the twx) schools, for a
study of aptitude tests for the apprentices in these schools. A final
advantage is in the quarterly reports of the schools to all employers
on the standing and progress of their apprentices. These reports
serve to keep the problem of apprentice training before the employers
17616° — 28——9

124

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

and promote their active interest, and in many plants lead to a
personal interest of the employer in the apprentice with benefit both
to the boy and to the industry.
Not all the problems of training in the industry have been solved,
however, and questions are still asked as to the value of the schools.
Skepticism is occasionally met as to whether the school training can
be sufficiently practical to be worth while. Particularly at first the
pressmen’s school met this type of criticism from the apprentices,
who after their years in the industry felt it a waste of time to go
to school, and disliked the academic work. Such criticism is being
overcome as the school demonstrates to the apprentices that it is able
to help them. In spite of occasional criticism of this sort from
employers, there is much enthusiastic belief in the schools and their
practical contributions to the industry. The joint responsibility for
training in the industry, assumed by the unions and the league at the
expense of money and much time and interest, is having a con
siderable effect in establishing standards of craftsmanship and in
making the attainment of these standards possible by enforcing upon
both employers and apprentices training requirements decided upon
by men of both groups who know wrell the needs of the industry.
Conclusions
The character of industrial relations in the book and job printing
industry in New York City derives essentially from the fact of strong
organization on the p art of both labor and employers, in an industry
with a long tradition of such organization. W hat are the results on
the character of the relationships between the two groups and the
control exerted over the industry ?
1. Prim arily because of the strength of labor organization, the
standards of wages, hours, and working conditions established in the
contracts between the unions and the Printers’ League to a very large
degree govern the New York industry. While the wages are the
highest in the industry and the hours—which are according to the
standard of the international unions—are shorter than in many com
peting cities, in New York these are generally effective among
responsible plants and for substantial volumes of work. Exceptions
must be noted in the case of the numerous small plants which are
difficult to control and the competition of which is considerable on
job work turned out on the small high-speed presses, and for bindery
work. The craft system of labor organization does not carry over
the strength of the highly skilled crafts to such a weak group as the
bindery women sufficiently to enable them to maintain an effective
organization and enforce union standards on the entire industry.
W ith these exceptions the trade-union standards generally govern
the industry. There is no aggressive nonunion group in the New
York industry. New York is therefore free from the disintegrating
effect of such a fundamental division in the ranks of the employers
ats is found in Chicago, where since 1921 discord over labor policies
has encouraged price cutting and made cooperation of the employing
printers on any problem very difficult.
2. The strength of the organizations and the general maintenance
of the agreed-upon standards in the New York industry result in a

CONCLUSIONS

125

friendly relationship between the unions and the employers. There
is no fundamental challenge in New York of the right of the unions
to existence and a share in the determination of the policies of the
industry. The Printers’ League is based upon a frank recognition of
the trade-unions. There is therefore less of the fighting psychology
usually found in the relations between the unions and the organized
employers, and a somewhat greater inclination to cooperate on
problems of the industry. Personal factors have had a large share
in making this possible, in the quality of leadership of employers
who have guided the destinies of the league for many years, and in
the confidence of union leaders in the present secretary of the league
and his influence over a period of nine years. In the conferences
between the unions and the league the two groups meet as equals
with mutual respect flowing not from sentiment but from the fact of
powers and responsibilities. Many of the employers have a back
ground of trade-union membership. The union leaders also know
the industry well. While both groups are primarily concerned to
protect their own interests, it is possible for them to see the prob
lems of the other group, and to a greater or less degree to coordinate
their interests. The rules adopted in the agreements narrow the field
of possible conflict, and during the life of the contracts a substan
tial part of the relations between the unions and the league is marked
by absence of controversy.
3. A serious difficulty in the relations between the unions and the
employers arises from the fact that the standards established are
only for the New York industry. Printing in the past has been
typically manufactured and sold for the local market, but with the
growth of larger plants the market has widened. Competition on
large-volume work is no longer local. Some New York plants have
more competition from Chicago and other cities than from New
York. The absence of uniformity in hours, complement of men on
machines, and other working conditions as well as wages, whether in
union or nonunion plants in other cities, results in differences in
labor cost which seriously affect competition and are a constant
source of irritation to the plants engaged in large-volume work.
This has contributed to the departure of several large plants from
New York and the loss to New York of considerable large-volume
periodical and catalogue work. There is need for a greater degree
of standardization of conditions in competing centers, whether
accomplished by union action or by agreement among the large
plants.
4. The expiration of the contracts brings periodically a crisis in
which the organized groups test their strength and finally agree
upon new bargains. Typographical Union No. 6, the strongest op
ponent of the league in these tests, in any controversy with the
book and job employers has the financial support of its newspaper'
members, and it refuses to tie its hands by any general arbitration
agreement extending beyond the expiration of its contract. “ Big
S ix ” is therefore typically able to secure a favorable wage adjust
ment, which then affects the settlements of the other unions, and
often brings them a better adjustment than they could have secured
by their own strength alone. On shop practices the unions are
sufficiently powerful to secure conditions some of which are objec

126

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

tionable to the employers. The priority and overtime laws of
Typographical Union No. 6, for instance, the employers consider
decidedly detrimental to efficiency, while for many years before
the concessions of 1928 the pressroom unions maintained a comple
ment of men on presses which was strongly opposed by the employers.
The organized employers, however, are sufficiently strong to success
fully resist the 40-hour week and to secure other concessions and
modifications of union demands. In spite of restrictive shop prac
tices, the long-term contracts, finally agreed upon, bring advantages
to the employers as well as to the unions, in the standardization
of conditions in New York for definite periods.
5. The method of joint administration of the agreements is highly
successful in protecting the interests of both groups. Enforced fun
damentally by the power of the unions, the agreements are inter
preted by the two groups as questions arise, and only in case of
difference of opinion is joint action necessary. The area of conflict
during the life of the agreements is narrow, being restricted to
interpretation of the contracts and to any new questions which come
up. Since it is believed that men who know from the inside the
practical needs of the industry are the best equipped to decide
problems of the industry, adjustment of most problems is accom
plished informally by the officers of the organizations concerned or
by joint conference committees made up of representatives who know
the technical problems involved. Only on very rare occasions is it
necessary to resort to arbitration. The joint conference committees
are often able to agree unanimously on decisions which protect the
interests of both groups and serve the needs of the industry. They
serve as an important means of discipline and education for both
groups.
6. To what extent is there constructive cooperation of the unions
and the employers ? On questions of shop practices, which so vitally
affect the efficient operation of the plants, a considerable proportion
of the rules are mutually advantageous when made the standard for
the industry. But on the minority of shop-condition issues which
become controversies in the negotiation of each contract, determina
tion is rather according to the strength of the groups than accord
ing to the needs of the industry. Thus the problems of unemploy
ment and the need of individual workers for protection on their jobs
have been answered by the enforcement by Typographical Union No.
6 of its overtime and priority laws, rather than in an attempt to work
out jointly a solution which would not interfere with efficient produc
tion. Similarly when changing technique in the pressroom called
for changes in operation, the league demanded reductions in the com
plement of men on presses, and the unions resisted concessions until
conditions made it impossible for them longer to do so, but there was
no jointly evolved and adopted program to meet the changing condi
tions and so far as possible protect the interests of all concerned.
On the other hand the unions exert a constructive influence by main
taining discipline among their members, and in some cases cooperate
directly with managements to improve production or increase effici
ency in the departments concerned.
The outstanding example of cooperation in a constructive attack
upon a fundamental problem of the industry, however, is in the pro

CONCLUSIONS

127

gram of apprentice training. The recognition of a common interest
in craftsmanship has made possible the waiving of differences and
the establishment of standards of training, jointly enforced, and
made possible by the establishment of part-time schools under the
supervision of joint apprentice committees. This experiment is
highly significant, both in its practical effect upon the caliber of the
craftsmen in the industry and as an example of the far-reaching
cooperation possible by the joint direction of the power of the two
groups, on problems in which a community of interest is recognized.
7. Finally, as to the relations between the management and the
workers in the plants, in some cases employers consider that because
so many conditions are determined in negotiations with the unions,
there can be no informal friendly relations with the men in the plant,
and that the union is a barrier to the development of plant loyalty and
cooperation. In many other plants, on the contrary, no such barrier
exists, and the relationship is entirely satisfactory, with no apparent
conflict between union and plant loyalty on the part of the workers.
Evidently the presence or absence of friendly cooperation within
the plant is much more affected by the personalities involved than
it is by the fact of affiliation of the workers to their unions.
The industrial-relations situation in the book and job printing
industry of New York may be summed up as one in which the
existence of strong organization on the part of both employers and
labor brings with it inevitably the possibility of unreasonable exer
cise of power, but at the same time an opportunity foi" constructive
action when the power of the two groups is turned toward a com
mon purpose, as is done in the effective maintenance of standards in
the New York industry and the putting into effect of a constructive
program of apprentice training.

Chapter 6.—Industrial Relations in the British Printing
Industry: A Study in National Organization
The printing industry of Great Britain presents many striking
contrasts to that of America. Above all is the fact that it is highly
organized locally and nationally on the part of both employers and
employees. Moreover, while local organizations retain a considerable
autonomy, the short distances and the ease with which important
committees can be convened from all parts of the country have made
possible a strong tendency toward national action. Standards of
wages, hours, and working conditions are for the most part de
termined nationally. Finally, a national joint industrial council,
representing a very large proportion of the employers and the
employees of the industry through their organizations, is able to
confer on large problems of the industry and is recognized by the
Government as the spokesman for the industry.
On the side of the employers, the chief organization is the Federa
tion of Master Printers, with a membership of 4,000 out of 7,000
master printers in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The num
ber of important firms outside the federation is small, although many
smaller firms are unorganized. The federation estimates that, omit
ting the London daily newspapers, its members employ 90 per cent
of the labor of the industry. The federation consists of 11 alliances,
or district organizations, in England and Wales and a Scottish
alliance, each alliance having local organizations, and 3 Irish associa
tions. Its function, “ to deal collectively with all matters affecting
the industry,” includes wTithin its scope in particular the handling
of labor matters and the promotion of scientific cost methods.
Several associations in the allied trades are affiliated with the federa
tion. The London newspapers are separately organized in the News
paper Proprietors5 Association. The provincial newspapers, many
of which have job departments and are represented in the federation,
have also their Newspaper Society which cooperates with the federa
tion in labor matters. The federation labor committee, an important
committee including representatives from each alliance and affili
ated organization, acts on all questions of standards of wages, hours,
and conditions, and in all negotiations with the national unions.
The local and district organizations act independently on labor
questions only when national standards are not affected. I t is with
the general printing industry, organized on the side of the employers
in the master printers’ federation, that this chapter is chiefly
concerned.
On the side of the employees the inclusive organization is the
P rinting and Kindred Trades Federation of the United Kingdom,
with a membership of 153,000. It is composed of 19 societies, most
of them national organizations, which retain autonomy although
subscribing in general to the federation purpose to secure unity of
128

ORGANIZATIONS IN TH E INDUSTRY

129

action throughout the industry. The lines of demarcation between
the various unions are not entirely definite nor based strictly upon
departmental divisions as in America. In general, however, union
jurisdiction in the different departments is as follows: The compos
ing rooms, except for London and Scotland, are controlled by the
Typographical Association, an old and powerful union. The Scottish
Typographical Association which is not now affiliated with the feder
ation, and the London Society of Compositors act independently in
their territories. In the pressrooms, pressmen are for the most part
under the two typographical associations, although in London there
are two separate societies. The “ Natsopa,” or National Society of
Operative Printers and Assistants, takes in a large variety of labor,
chiefly semiskilled, including the feeders and assistants in the press
rooms, ink and roller makers, and web pressmen and clerks on the
London newspapers. In the binderies the chief union is the National
Union of Printing, Bookbinding, Machine Ruling, and Paper Work
ers, generally known as the paper workers. This is the largest union
in the industry, with over 75,000 members. Having grown through
the amalgamation of various unions, it includes a great variety of
workers, the men and women bindery workers, warehouse men, and
paper workers of all sorts from paper makers to box and bag
workers. The remaining unions are the smaller allied groups, such
as the electrotypers and stereotypers, lithographers, photo-engravers
or “ process workers,” engravers, type founders, press telegraphists,
and journalists. Finally, a unique organization is the Society of
Women Employed in the Bookbinding and Kindred Trades, which,
having successfully organized women in the binderies and press
rooms of Manchester, shares jurisdiction there and in several small
Lancashire towns with the paper workers and the Natsopas. The
jurisdiction of the various unions will be made clearer by a com
parison with the American unions in the following table:
T a b le

13.—JURISDICTION OF PRINTING-TRADE UNIONS IN AMERICA AND IN
GREAT BRITAIN

Department

American unions

British unions

Composing room__ International T ypograph ical
Union.

Typographical Association. Scottish Typo
graphical Association. London Society of
Compositors. Association of Correctors of
the Press.

Pressroom------------ International Printing Pressmen Typographical Association. Scottish Typo
and Assistants’ Union.
graphical Association. National Society of
Operative Printers and Assistants. Printing
Machine Managers’ Trade Society (Lon
don). Printing Machine Branch, National
Union of Printing, Bookbinding, Machine
Ruling and Paper Workers (London).
Bindery................... International Brotherhood
Bookbinders.

of National Union of Printing, Bookbinding,
Machine Ruling, and Paper Workers.
Society of Women Employed in the Book
binding and Kindred Trades (Lancashire).

Other....................... International Stereotypers’ and National Society of Electrotypers and Stereo
Electrotypers’ Union.
typers.
International Photo-Engravers ’
Union. Amalgamated Litho
graphers of America.

Amalgamated Society of Lithographic Art
ists, Designers, Engravers, and Process
Workers. Amalgamated Society of Litho
graphic Printers.

130

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

The federation endeavors to secure united action, but in every case
the individual unions are free to decide upon their policy. When a
federated union contemplates a strike it notifies the federation and,
if the strike is approved by the federation executive committee,
receives strike benefits. The federation, however, has no power to
prevent action by a union nor to discipline it for acting contrary
to the desires of the federation. The individual unions are on the
whole substantial financial institutions, which pay their members
benefits ranging from strike benefits, unemployment, sickness, and
death payments, to pensions and other special benefits, even marriage
dowries for women members in some cases. They also are agencies
approved by the Government for the administration of national
unemployment insurance and, in some cases, of health insurance.
In addition to these organizations the Printing Trades Alliance is
a small nonunion organization including both employers and em
ployees and functioning chiefly in London. As it performs such
trade-union functions as providing unemployment and other bene
fits, establishing a scale of wages and hours, and maintaining an
employment bureau, while emphasizing the use of conciliation and
arbitration, it is registered as a trade-union. The Printers’ Provi
dent Association also provides various benefits to nonunion workers
in the industry and administers unemployment insurance.
While the extent of organization varies between the trades and in
different sections of the country, the trade-unions control a very
large proportion of the skilled labor of the industry.
Among the semiskilled groups organization is less strong, although
it is estimated as amounting to 70 per cent of the workers in the
printing industry. Organization among the paper workers is now
less extensive, following serious losses after the general strike of 1926.
I t was pointed out above that the Federation of Master Printers claims
to employ 90 per cent of the labor of the industry, except for the
London newspaper workers. The federation membership, however,
includes open-shop and nonunion plants as well as union. While
most of the large plants, and therefore a large proportion of the
labor employed, are union, a great many small plants, both in the
federation and outside, are nonunion or open shop. Particularly is
this true in London, where the small nonunion and open-shop plants
outnumber the union plants, although the great preponderance of
labor employed is union. This development, which is one of long
standing, has been strengthened to some degree and made more vocal
since the general strike. In Scotland also there is considerable openshop operation, particularly in the newspaper section of the industry.
Trade-unionism in the printing, industry of Great Britain is very
strong and widely accepted, but it is not unchallenged.
Several other points in the condition of the industry should be
made clear before going on to the relations between the employers
and the employees. Printing is regarded as one of the “ sheltered
industries,” which produce chiefly for the home market and have
been comparatively unaffected by the dislocation in world trade
which so seriously affected the great export industries. While print
ing was severely depressed in 1921 and 1922, its recovery has been
substantial. A t no time was it as badly situated as were many of
the leading industries. This is indicated in the Government reports

NATIONAL AGREEMENTS

131

on percentages unemployed of persons insured under the unemploy
ment insurance act, who are substantially all wage earners in the
industries reported. In paper making, printing, and bookbinding
the percentage unemployed was 9 per cent in 1921 and 6.7 per cent
in 1922, compared with an average for all industries of 17 and 14.3
per cent for the two years. In January, 1928, the unemployment in
printing, publishing, and bookbinding was 5 per cent, while the
average for all industries was 10.6 per cent.1 The favorable posi
tion of the industry is strongly reflected in wage^, which are high in
comparison with other industries. In September, 1927, the wage
rates per week for hand compositors and bookbinders in certain large
towns averaged 107 and 117 per cent, respectively, above their pre
war rates, while for other skilled trades studied the average was an
increase of from 70 to 75 per cent.2 Conditions have been favorable,
therefore, for the development of a satisfactory relationship between
the organized employers and employees.
A striking feature of the British printing industry is the existence
of national standards of wages and hours, which result in a wellestablished and regular basis for competition. National agreements
between the unions and the employers divide the country into a
series of grades on the basis of the size of towns and other conditions,
with varying wage rates for each grade. These wage standards are
generally observed by the open shops as well as by the union houses,
partly because of the need to do so in order to get competent help,
and partly because of the influence of the 44fair-wages clause ” of a
House of Commons resolution which requires contractors for pub
lic work to observe the recognized trade-union conditions of wages
and hours. In some national agreements London is included as the
highest grade, while in the case of some crafts, separate London
unions make their own agreements. London is a great newspaper
and periodical center and the need of the publishers for uninter
rupted operation, which makes them unwilling to resist union de
mands on wages to the point of a strike, has resulted in a wage level
in London far above the highest grade outside. This has contributed
to a strong tendency, like that familiar to the New York industry,
for work to leave the city for lower cost centers: Book work has
almost entirely left London. Many old London shops have estab
lished country plants and regularly produce there, perhaps 30 or
40 miles from London, a large part of their work. Because of pub
lication convenience periodical work has largely remained in Lon
don. Discontent of London employers with the high wage level has
contributed also to the open-shop sentiment which is much more
prevalent in London than in the Provinces. The London situation
is the least satisfactory in the system of national standards. As a
whole, however, it is generally agreed that the standardization of
wages and hours through national agreements has proved of great
value to the industry.
The present situation differs greatly from that of 10 years ago
and earlier. Formerly all agreements were local. Under the rapidly
changing conditions of the war and early postwar years, however,
the local determination of wages proved very unsatisfactory. This
1 Ministry of Labor Gazette, London, January, 1.928, p. 2; February, 1928, p. 62.
a Ministry of Labor Gazette, London, October, 1927, p. 370.

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS----BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

was a time of great unrest. Cost of living was rising rapidly and
wage increases followed. Increases secured by the strong unions in
the larger towns were quickly followed by demands and increases
in the smaller places, to be followed again by further demands in the
large towns. The trade press was full of complaints of the “ vicious
circle ” of wage increases. A t the same time, in other industries,
similar conditions were tending toward national consideration of
problems of wages and hours.
In 1916, in anticipation of the industrial relations problems which
wTould arise with reconstruction, the Government had set up a com
mittee on relations between employers and employed, known as the
Whitley committee, with the following duties: 3
1. To make and consider suggestion for securing a permanent im
provement in the relations between employers and employed.
2. To recommend means for securing th at industrial conditions
affecting the relations between employers and workmen shall be
systematically reviewed by those concerned, with a view to improving
conditions in the future.
The first report of the committee, on March 9, 1917, recommended
that in all well-organized industries there should be set up joint
industrial councils, representative of the employers and w7orkers, to
have as their object “ the regular consideration of matters affecting
the progress and well-being of the trade from the point of view of all
those engaged in it, so far as this is consistent with the general
interest of the community.”
In the printing industry conversations already under way between
leaders of the employers and the unions as to the future of the in
dustry, resulted in the summer of 1917 in a betterment committee
made up of representatives from the Federation of Master Printers
and the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation. A fter long dis
cussions, late in 1918 a betterment scheme, for the establishment of
a joint industrial council in the industry, was presented to the unions
and employers for their acceptance or rejection.4
In the meantime the unions had presented a request th at hours be
reduced to 48, in line with the reductions th at were occurring in
other industries. Hours in the printing industry were then 50 in
London and 51 outside. For the first time, negotiations for a
national agreement were conducted between the Federation of Master
Printers and the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation, represent
ing all the unions. The hours and holidays agreement which resulted
was ratified by the master printers and the individual unions, and be
came effective March 3,1919. The agreement provided for the 48-hour
week with no reduction in wages, all rearrangements of hours within
plants to be subject to mutual agreement. In addition, it was agreed
that there should be six holidays annually, to be paid for at the ordi
nary rates, and one wTeek’s vacation with pay for all employees who
had been in the employ of a firm for 12 consecutive months prior
to June 30 of any year. A joint committee representing each federa
3 Great Britain Ministry of Labor, Industrial Relations Department. Report on the
establishment and progress of joint industrial councils set up in accordance with the
recommendations of the committee on relations between employers and employed. Lon
don, 1923, pp. 5—12.
4 Members’ Circular, Federation of Master Printers and Allied Trades, June, 1918, p.
164 ; January, 1919, p. 20.

NATIONAL AGREEMENTS

133

tion was set up to decide any questions as to the construction of the
agreement. An important milestone in the development of relations
between the two groups in the industry wTas marked by this agree
ment. For the first time all the unions acted jointly, an important
issue was determined by negotiations of the two national federations,
national uniform standards for hours, holidays, and annual vaca
tions were set up, and permanent joint machinery was established
to deal with all questions that might arise under the agreement. The
spirit in which the agreement was reached was indicative of a new
attitude of cooperation which aroused much hope for the future of
relations in the industry.
On the question of wages, a feeling that all changes should be
nationally determined grew rapidly during 1918. The Typographical
Association began to present its wage demands for whole groups of
local unions as a unit. An important agreement in the Midlands
covered 32 localities, which were graded into four sections with flat
rates for each section. Finally the Typographical Association agreed
in principle on a national basis of wage settlement, and appointed
a joint committee to negotiate with the Federation of Master Printers
and the Newspaper Society. An agreement was eventually ratified
and became effective on May 24, 1919. Wages in the future were
to be settled on a national basis. For this purpose branches, or local
unions, were divided into six grades, with wages varying for hand
compositors on job work from 77s. 6d. to 62s. 6d.5 Certain provisions
for overtime and other conditions were included also. A joint labor
committee was established, which should meet within 14 days and
render a decision within 35 days, upon notice by either party of
desire for changes in wages or conditions, or reclassification. No
strike or lockout was to take place during the period named for the
labor committee to arrive at a decision. Separate national wage
agreements were made for Scotland and Ireland. National wage
basis agreements were shortly entered into also by the other national
unions with the Federation of Master Printers and with the news
paper proprietors, London rates for some crafts were included in
the national agreements, and in other cases were settled by agree
ments with the London unions separately. Since the adoption of
this series of agreements, for the first time in the history of the
industry there exists nationally a coherent system of wages in which,
except for certain London crafts, differences in wages between sec
tions are determined by national agreements after joint consideration
of the differences in conditions.
The entire system of agreements in the industry is rather com
plex. There is, first, the hours and holidays agreement for Great
Britain. Then, for England and Wales as a unit, for Scotland,
and for Ireland are national wage agreements with the various
national union(s for the general printing trade. Similar agreements
exist between the newspaper society and the various unions for
the provincial newspapers. London has a series of separate agree
ments between the London Master Printers5 Association and the
various London unions and between the Newspaper Proprietors5
Association and the unions. A very important agreement between
5 At par shilling = 24.33 cents, penny = 2.03 cents.

134

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH P R IN T IN G IN DUSTRY

the London Master Printers’ Association and the London Printing
Trades Federation establishes uniform conditions in all departments
for overtime and night work. A separate agreement between certain
London periodical houses and the London Society of Compositors
provides for piecework on all machine typesetting in these plants.
In addition to these definite agreements, various union rules gov
erning shop conditions have from time to time been accepted by the
employers or have become customary in the trade throughout the
country.
Certain points of interest in regard to these agreements should be
mentioned. In the first place, agreements are characteristically made
without time limitation. While in some cases it has been agreed
that no change should be asked for a period of a year, usually an
agreement can be opened for discussion on two weeks’ notice of
either party, and without such notice it runs indefinitely. Both
groups consider this method advantageous, for they are free to
act if they so desire, but are not faced with crises at regularly oc
curring intervals when the agreements come up for renewal. A
provision for a fortnight’s or week’s notice of dismissal or of leaving
employment for all regular employees is included in many of the
agreements or agreed rules and is generally recognized. In many
cases the amount of overtime which may be worked in a certain
period is limited.
Regulation of the number of apprentices is a usual feature of the
agreements. Finally, joint labor committes are provided for, to
which are referred any claims for changes in the agreements, or any
disputes under the agreements. I t is agreed that no strikes, lock
outs, or other aggressive action should take place during the period
named for the. committee to arrive at a decision. In case of ultimate
failure to agree, however, the unions reserve the right to strike.
Arbitration is strongly opposed as an invasion of an ultimate right
to self-determination and autonomy of each organization. To sum
up, with exceptions in the case of London, this is a system of agree
ments entered into on a national basis between organized employers
and national unions in the various sections of the industry.
The Jo in t In d u strial Council
Turning now from this structure of agreements which form the
basis of the relations between the individual unions and the organized
employers, we return to the betterment scheme which was proposed
in 1918 for the consideration of the entire industry. After more
than a year of discussion, a joint committee agreed upon a plan for
a joint industrial council for the industry. This was submitted to
the unions and to the Federation of Master Printers and was adopted.
On July 1, 1919, the Joint Industrial Council of the Printing and
Allied Trades of the United Kingdom met and organized. The con
stitution as adopted and later slightly revised is summarized as
follows: 6
The council is composed of employers who are members of the Fed
eration of Master Printers and Allied Trades or of the Newspaper So
6 Joint Industrial Council of the Printing- and Allied Trades of the United Kingdom.
Constitution and rules. See Appendix F, p. 226.

JO IN T IN DUSTRIAL COUNCIL

135

ciety and who employ trade-unionists, and trade-unions which are
affiliated to the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation. No mem
bers of any organization not in harmony with the objects of the
two federations are eligible for membership. Such an open-shop
organization as the Printing Trades Alliance is thus excluded. The
London newspapers are outside by their own choice.
The objects stated in full detail in the constitution are indicative
of the hopes and plans of the sponsors of this council. They in
clude, briefly, to secure complete organization of employers and em
ployees in the trade, to promote good will and cooperation between
them, to devise ways and means of settling any differences, to resist
the action of those who would injure the fair standard of prices
and wages by disposing of their goods or labor at less than the stand
ard mutually agreed upon, and to do all things possible for the bet
terment of the trad e; to establish uniform hours and working condi
tions, assist in the maintenance of reasonable selling prices, insure
the greatest possible security of earnings and employment and secure
to workers a greater share in and responsibility for the determina
tion of working conditions; and to consider apprenticeship, technical
and management problems, health, legislation, and any other matters
of general interest to the trade.
The council has 72 members, 36 elected by the unions and 36 by the
employers. I t holds quarterly meetings and has full power to con
sider all matters connected with the industry. All expenses are
divided equally between the employers and the unions. District
committees are to be formed, comprising equal numbers of employers
and union representatives and having executive powers only on
matters concerning their respective areas. In case of nonagreement
the dispute is referred to the joint industrial council, while all m at
ters which may concern other areas must be referred to the joint
industrial council for action. Works advisory committees, represent
ative of management and workpeople, may be established in the
various plants.
The following committees of which the chairman and vice chair
man and the two joint secretaries are ex officio members, and which
include equal numbers from the two groups, are established: General
purposes, finance, organization, conciliation, health, unemployment,
and apprentices and technical education. Officers are elected for one
year and the chairmanship and vice chairmanship pass from one
party to the other annually. The secretaries of the two federations
act as joint secretaries. An agenda for each meeting must be circu
lated with the notice of the meeting. Minutes of all meetings of the
council and of the committees are circulated to members. In all
cases a majority on both sides is required to carry any resolution or
motion.
In case of any dispute of a local character, no strike, lockout, or
other aggressive or coercive action may be taken until the dispute
has been referred by consent of the parties to the district committee,
or failing such consent to the conciliation committee. Pending such
reference the dispute must remain in abeyance, both parties con
forming to normal conditions. When settlement is not effected by
the district committee the joint secretaries of the council must be
notified. Similarly in any dispute of a national character which

136

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

might lead to aggressive action, the joint secretaries must be notified.
Upon notification of any failure to agree, they convene the con
ciliation committee within seven clays. I f this committee fails to
effect a settlement, it may call a special meeting of the council within
14 days, and pending such reference the dispute is to remain in abey
ance. The conciliation committee consists of the chairman and vice
chairman of the council and four members chosen from each panel
by the parties to the dispute. I t must be observed that the limita
tion upon aggressive action is only until the machinery for con
ciliation has been used. There is no provision for arbitration or
that a finding of the conciliation committee or of the council itself
shall be binding in case of a dispute. A fter conforming to the
provisions of the constitution the parties reserve the right to make
the final decision for themselves.
Any member may withdraw from the council, or the council may
be dissolved by either federation, upon six months’ notice in writing.
At the end is a statement of three agreed principles, as follows:
P roduction: That the employers shall have full advantage of the individual
efforts and good w ill of all their employees to assist in economical production,
and generally in forwarding the interests of the respective houses.
That it is desirable to encourage scientific adaptation of management, workers,
and machines to the work, and that the functions of the district committees and
works advisory committees should include the application of this principle to
individual cases.
Cost finding: That all employers should adopt and use for costing and esti
m ating a uniform costing system approved by the joint industrial council, or
be guided by any schedule of hourly cost rates issued for their district and
approved by the joint industrial council.

Because the Scottish alliance of employers retains a large degree
of autonomy, both on trade-union matters and on general questions
affecting the industry in Scotland, it wras decided to establish a
Scottish branch of the industrial council to deal with all matters
affecting Scotland, subject always to the national council.
A significant omission from the objects set forth in the constitu
tion is the negotiation of wages. I t was very clear in the minds of
those wTho laid the plans for the council that it should not take over
any of the functions of a negotiating body. This position has been
jealously maintained throughout the history of the council. As be
fore, all negotiations are carried on between the Federation of Master
Printers and the unions idirect. Upon failure to agree the good
offices of the council can be called upon, but only for conciliation.
So far as possible it was intended to keep the atmosphere of the
council clear of the controversial spirit of the negotiating chamber.
The council should then be able to consider more judicially and more
effectively the large problems of the industry th at are outlined in
the constitution.
Nevertheless, wages are the most fundamental fact in any industrial-relations situation. Before going on to the various activities of
the joint industrial council, therefore, it is necessary to consider the
wage developments during the life of the council, the extent to which
they have touched the council, and the degree, if any, to which the
council has been able to play a useful p art in these situations.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS----BRITISH PRIN TING IN DUSTRY

137

Negotiation of W ages
Several adjustments in the national wage basis agreements have
occurred, for the years after 1919 saw continued rising prices in the
postwar boom and a price decline in the depression which began in
1921. In the fall of 1919 negotiations between the Typographical
Association and the Federation of Master Printers over a request for
a general wage increase resulted in agreement only after the joint
industrial council had secured a continuation of conferences, lest the
national agreement break down. Early in 1920 all the unions except
the Typographical Association agreed to act jointly and secured an
offer of an increase, which was accepted. The Typographical Associa
tion, however, insisted upon a larger increase and gave notice of its
intention to strike. The council then intervened, insisting that no
strike should be called until the matter had been referred to the
council. The union finally accepted the original offer, with a pro
vision for reconsideration should rents further increase. The Man
chester and Liverpool branches of the Typographical Association,
however, demanded additional increases, contrary to the national
agreement. A 3-week’s strike followed in these cities, against the
orders of the national officers of the union and in the face of strong
opposition from the labor panel of the council. Eventually the
strikers were induced to return to work on the assurance that the
whole question of grading and wages would be reconsidered. F u r
ther conferences of the master printers with the Printing and Kindred
Trades Federation and with the Typographical Association, which
again actejd independently, ended in agreements for a flat increase,
which was accepted by all the unions.
In 1921 the serious depression brought a request for a general wage
reduction. Four of the strongest unions refused to join a federated
movement, while the others acted through the union federation.
Negotiations lasted from May through September. Twice the unions
rejected by ballot proposed reductions. The joint industrial council
stepped into the breach to secure resumption of negotiations and
proposed a compromise which was accepted by some of the unions.
The employers then began to post notices to put this reduction into
effect generally. Finally the unions which were acting in concert
and the Typographical Association agreed to accept the reduction
The three other unions which had acted independently, the London
Society of Compositors and the unions of electrotypers and stereotypers and of lithographic printers, were able because of their strong
position to reach agreement for smaller reductions.7
In February, 1922, the cost of living had continued to fall, the
industry was still seriously depressed, and unemployment was severe.
The master printers’ federation therefore again asked a wage reduc
tion. Again certain unions acted independently. In April, when
no agreements had been reached, the employers reported to the coun
cil their intention to take the necessary steps to enforce the reduc
tions. The unions agreed to ballot their members and again the
reductions were decisively refused. On June 12 the employers posted
notices to put the reductions into effect. The Ministry of Labor then
7 Members’ circular, June-December, 1920, June-September, 1921; Printing and Kindred
Trades Federation, annual report, 1920, pp. 10-15 ; 1921, pp. 8-12.

138

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

intervened in an effort to prevent a stoppage. A joint industrial
council meeting, called on suggestion of the ministry, led to an offer
of a slightly smaller reduction. This was balloted upon and accepted
by those unions which were acting jointly. The Typographical Asso
ciation agreed to refer the matter to the Industrial Court, a govern
mental arbitration agency. The court ruled that the union should
accept the reduction proposed. Although the Ministry of Labor and
the employers held that reference to the court implied acceptance of
the award, the union officers insisted that under their constitution
they had no authority to accept it without a ballot of their member
ship, and they submitted it to ballot with a favorable recommendation.
The union nevertheless turned down the award. The council was
then helpless to prevent developments. The employers put the re
duction into effect and 12,000 men struck, crippling both newspaper
and job offices over the country. After four weeks the union offered
a conference and accepted the reduction with a variation in the dates
upon which the installments of the reduction should become effective
and a provision that wages would be stabilized until the end of 1923.
In Scotland meanwhile, separate negotiations resulted finally in the
acceptance of reductions. The London unions continued to refuse
reductions after the other settlements had been made until, finally,
negotiations resumed on the suggestion of the council ended in
acceptance of reductions in London approximately half those ac
cepted nationally, with an assurance that wages would not be
changed during 1923.8
No further general changes in wTage rates have taken place since
1922. Because the agreements, except for a time of stabilization like
1923, are open to adjustment at any time, a considerable number of
minor adjustments are made affecting rates for particular machines,
special groups of workers, or specialized plants. A number of cases
in which disagreement on such questions led to reference to the
conciliation committee of the joint industrial council will be men
tioned in connection with the work of that committee. Since 1924
dissatisfaction among the unions with the grading of certain towns
has led to a series of conferences and the final appointment of a
joint regrading committee which is considering applications for
changes. In April, 1928, no changes had been made in the gracLes
as they were originally set up in 1919.
Several points in the wage policy of the industry appear from such
a review of wage movements. In the first place, autonomy in the
matter of wage negotiations is firmly maintained by the series of
individual craft unions. While the unions may federate for joint
action on wages when such action seems advantageous, at another
time the stronger unions may consider that more is to be gained by
independent action. Thus the London unions, the Typographical
Association, and others, declined to join a federated movement in
the period of reductions of 1922. In addition to this craft resistance
.to unified general wage determination, is the resistance of strong
local unions to national agreements even within one craft. In the
Typographical Association, for instance, many of the locals are very
old and have a strong feeling for local autonomy. The 1920 strike
8 Members’ circular, February, 1922—February, 1923; Printing and Kindred Trades
Federation, annual report, 1922, pp. 7-14.

INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL CONCILIATION COMMITTEE

139

of the Manchester and Liverpool branches of this union showed the
opposition of the rank and file to settlements on a different basis
than those of the earlier period. The national agreements had con
siderable resistance of this sort to overcome.
The joint industrial council then is a structure superimposed upon
a well-established system of collective bargaining by craft unions.
Both the employers and the unions have insisted that the council
should not interfere with negotiations, nor attempt to become a
negotiating body. When negotiations break down, or there is a dead
lock, the council is then in position to act as mediator. On several
occasions during the years 1919 to 1922 the council was able to secure
a resumption of conferences’ which led in time to agreement. The
calmer atmosphere of the council chamber, in which more than the
immediate disputants are represented, is helpful toward reaching a
settlement. When the good offices of the council have failed, how
ever, and a real crisis has developed, the council is helpless. During
the Manchester and Liverpool strike of 1920 the council and union
leaders independently expressed disapproval of the action of the local
branches, but the moral pressure so exerted was not sufficient to pre
vent the strike, and no other kind of pressure was possible. In the
general Typographical Association strike in 1922, union leaders in
sisted that the council should not become involved in the contro
versy, and settlement was reached without the intervention of the
council. The council could not interfere on such a question involving
the autonomy of a strong union, without jeopardizing its future
usefulness to the industry. The council may, and often does, suc
ceed in promoting conciliatory methods and an atmosphere in which
agreement is possible. I t can not go further and act as arbitrator.
Joint Industrial Council Conciliation Committee
Closely related to the work of the joint industrial council as a
conciliator when national wage negotiations break down is the work
of its most important standing committee, the conciliation committee,
composed of the chairman and vice chairman of the council and
four members from each panel, each party to the dispute selecting
the four from its side of the council, and with the joint secretaries
always in attendance. Under the constitution, no coercive action
may be taken by either group until the question in dispute has been
referred by consent of the parties to the district committee, or failing
such consent, to the conciliation committee, and both parties must
maintain normal conditions during consideration of the dispute.
I f the committee is unable to effect a settlement, it may call a special
meeting of the council within 14 days, the dispute to remain still in
abeyance. A finding of the district committee, of the conciliation
committee, or of the joint industrial council is recommendatory only.
A fter observing the constitution by referring a dispute to considera
tion through these channels, either party is free to take whatever
action it desires. The hope is, however, that through this concilia
tion machinery a basis of agreement may be reached.
The work of the conciliation committee has shown a healthy growth.
During the first five years of the existence of the council the number
17616°— 28------ 10

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS-— BRITISH PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

of disputes reaching the committee averaged under four for each
year. In 1925, 1926, and 1927, however, 8, 10, and 7 disputes, respec
tively, were handled by the committee. These numbers take no
account of difficulties settled through the agency of district commit
tees or with the aid of the joint secretaries of the council without
calling upon a conciliation committee. There is evident a growing
willingness to use constitutional methods in settling disputes and to
accept the council machinery for conciliation to that end. While
in rare cases the finding of the committee has been refused by one
or the other party, on the whole there has been great success in find
ing a basis of agreement acceptable to both sides. The result is an
increasing confidence in the fairness and im partiality of the com
mittee and an increasing readiness of both groups to refer disputes
for its consideration.
Nearly 50 cases have been heard by conciliation committees since
1919. A large majority of these fall within three main groups of
subjects of dispute, namely, questions of wages, of jurisdiction over
work or the manning of machines, and of nonunion labor. E x
amples of the work of the committee on each of these questions will
be given from the reports made to the council at its quarterly
meetings.
The conciliation committee has been called upon to secure com
pliance with national agreements. A case in 1920 when two provin
cial newspapers failed to pay the increases provided in the national
wage agreements was referred to the committee, which recommended
compliance with the agreement and the retroactive payment of the
increases. The recommendation was accepted. More frequent cases
involve rates for special machines, or requests for increases affect
ing certain groups. In 1923, for example, the London Society of
Compositors, which had long experience with piecework on the news
papers, asked that piece rates be accepted for all machine work in
weekly periodical houses. Negotiations broke down and a strike was
threatened. When a conciliation committee urged reopening of nego
tiations, further discussions resulted in agreement for piecework in
an agreed list of periodical plants. In 1925 a dispute between the
Federation of Master Printers and the lithographic printers over the
rate to be paid on flat-bed offset presses, which had not been included
in the 1919 agreement, came to the conciliation committee. Upon
the committee’s recommendation that no coercive action should be
taken pending further conferences to agree upon a new rate on its
merits, conferences proceeded and ended in agreement. The follow
ing year a similar disagreement over the rate on a new type of semi
automatic press feeder was settled by agreement under the auspices
of the conciliation committee. The union had at first opposed the
calling of a committee, saying that the matter of an agreement was
outside the province of a conciliation committee. The joint indus
trial council, however, held that the committee could function use
fully in promoting conference and urged the disputants to use the
machinery available. A dispute with a less satisfactory outcome
developed over a question of wages between the London branch of
the paper workers and the Book Trade Employers’ Federation, not
affiliated with the Federation of Master Printers or the council. The
dispute spread to the binderies through imposition by the union of

INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL CONCILIATION COMMITTEE

141

an embargo on work from the publishers, contrary to the council
constitution. The council prevailed upon the union to lift the
embargo but was not able to effect a settlement of the main issue.
The most important dispute handled by the conciliation commit
tee was one in 1925 involving the London members of the National
Union of Printing, Bookbinding, Machine Ruling, and Paper Work
ers and threatening to affect the entire industry. After long nego
tiations on rates for certain machines, the union attempted to enforce
on one house rates: which the employers claimed applied only to
periodical houses. The conciliation committee ruling, that these
rates should apply to only part of the work in the house in question,
was unacceptable to the union and a stoppage ensued. The council
was unable to secure a settlement. To support their member the
employers then issued lockout notices, while the union issued strike
notices to all members of the London Master Printers’ Association.
The stoppage involved 15,000 members of the union. The concilia
tion committee, however, secured the renewal of conferences, and on
the second day, in a lengthy conference under the presidency of the
chairman of the council, one of the union leaders, an agreement was
reached which was acceptable to both sides. Both groups agreed
also in the future to respect the constitution of the council and take
no aggressive action until the conciliation machinery had been fully
used. That so serious an issue could be settled through the council
is striking evidence of the increasing prestige and influence of the
council. The annual report of the Printing an,d Kindred Trades
Federation said of this dispute:
Your executive committee believe that the settlement of th e dispute w ill do
much to help promote the claims of the joint industrial council upon the
confidence of the employers and the unions, and that even greater readiness
will be shown in the future to bridge difficulties and differences w ithout the
accumulating ill effects of disrupting trade by lockouts or strikes.9

In disputes over wages the work of the conciliation committee is
to securing that the disputants continue negotia
tions in an effort to reach agreement. In matters of jurisdiction or
the manning of machines, more often the interpretation of agree
ments is involved and the committee is in position to make definite
findings. For example, a dispute between the two London unions
of pressmen over the right to operate the Miehle vertical press was,
on recommendation of the conciliation committee, referred to the
Printing and Kindred Trades Federation for decision and its verdict
was accepted, although earlier one of the unions had acted unconsti
tutionally in giving strike notice to enforce its claim. Findings of
the committee on the right to operate the Miller high-speed press
and certain bindery and warehouse machines were accepted by the
unions involved. On the other hand, on a question of the manning
of certain rotary presses, a finding of the committee was refused by
the union and the matter went back to further discussion with the
firm.
Among the most difficult of all disputes which come before the
conciliation committee are those having to do with nonunion labor.
The national agreements are for the most part not closed-shop agree
usually confined

9 Printing and Kindred Trades Federation, annual report, 1924, p. 15.

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IN DUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

ments. The unions, nevertheless, carefully distinguish between fully
union, or “ recognized ” houses, and those which are not entirely
union and make every effort to prevent the introduction of nonunion
labor into union houses or the retention in employment in union plants
of men who have dropped out of the union. Complaints of such
action occur rather frequently, particularly after any disruption in
the industry.
In many cases the conciliation committee is called upon to act.
While the first-stated object of the joint industrial council is “ to
secure complete organization of employers and employees throughout
the trade,” there are enough open-shop members in the employers’
federation that the organization is loath to take an aggressive posi
tion on this question. Many of the union employers, also, are
opposed to forcing union membership upon their employees. There
is, under the constitution of the council, no obligation to employ only
union members. The unions, on the whole, recognize the difficulties
of the situation and are not inclined to push the matter in the
council. The position is accepted that in general the problem of
organization of the workpeople is one for the unions, as that of
organization of the employers must be handled by the Federation of
Master Printers.
Nevertheless, many disputes over this issue are brought to the
conciliation committee. In some cases the difficulty can be settled
by inducing the workers to join the union and the firm to accept the
solution; in others, compromises have been accepted whereby men not
on actual productive work are not required to be unionists. In sev
eral cases, however, it was impossible to secure acceptance by the firm
of a settlement acceptable to the union. In one important instance
the conciliation committee, after failing in an effort to induce the
men involved to join the union, held that the firm should not be
asked to take any responsibility. The full council discussed the
question and expressed approval of the action of the committee.
I t recognized the right of either side to take whatever action it
wished, but urged that all should make further effort to find a solu
tion of the difficulty. The union finally compromised and did not
withdraw its members. Another case which developed from the non
union issue involved an unconstitutional stoppage of work in a union
office on a job for a plant which had recently become an “ unrecog
nized office.” A conciliation committee ruled that the job in ques
tion was a complete job and under the rules of the union should not
have been objected to. The union accepted the decision under protest
and has continued to produce this piece of work.
In summing up the wTork of the conciliation committee, it must
be remembered that it is a committee without powers. The only
obligation resting upon parties to a dispute is to allow the concilia
tion machinery of the council to function before taking coercive ac
tion. This obligation is increasingly recognized and observed.
While “ lightning strikes ” still take place, they are very rare in com
parison with the frequent disturbances of the earlier days. By thus
delaying* action, the conciliation committee is able to prevent a large
proportion of disputes reaching the stage of coercion. I t has proved
its ability to find an acceptable basis of settlement in a large majority
of the disputes which come before it. The committee, with a per-

GENERAL STRIKE SETTLEMENT

143

sonnel selected in part for the case in question by the disputants and
under the chairmanship of the chairman of the joint industrial coun
cil, sometimes a union man and sometimes an employer, has proved its
impartiality and fairness in so many cases that it is gaining an in
creasing confidence from the industry. Although in several cases
findings of the committee have been refused by one or the other party
to the dispute, the success of the committee in maintaining peace in
the industry is mentioned on all sides as the greatest achievement
of the joint industrial council.
General Strike Settlement
The general strike of May, 1926, was a serious shock to the satis
factory basis of industrial relationship which had been developing
in the industry. The printing trades were among the key industries
first called out by the general council of the Trades Union Congress.
Their response, in loyalty to the Trades Union Congress, was neces
sarily without the usual fortnight’s notice and meant a general break
ing of agreements and of the obligations entered into under the
constitution of the joint industrial council. Fortunately for later
developments, the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation had
played no part in calling the strike, for each union acted directly upon
call of the general council and not through the federation. Early
in the strike the officers of the joint industrial council agreed that,
under the circumstances, it was impossible at that stage for the
council to function.
When the strike was called off on May 12, the officers of the P rin t
ing and Kindred Trades Federation at once began efforts to secure a
resumption of work. The Federation of Master Printers, however,
was prepared to take the employees back only on individual day-today engagements, as they were needed, because of the cancellation of
important orders and other difficulties resulting from the stoppage,
and pending a national settlement which would give assurances
against lightning stoppages in the future. A fter three days a pro
visional agreement was reached by the unions and the employers,
under which work could be resumed. Long negotiations then fol
lowed between the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation and the
Federation of Master Printers, the Newspaper Society, and the Mas
ter Bookbinders’ Association. The employers wanted guaranties
against sudden stoppages and against interference by the unions with
the contents of publications, assurance that the council machinery of
conciliation would be used before notices were given, and, provision
that foremen should not be called out on strike. Finally on May 27
an agreement was reached. The agreements in force prior to the
general strike were reaffirmed without change. The employers’
organizations agreed.to recommend to their members to give prefer
ence in employment to their former employees, as they were needed.
The unions gave their word of honor that there would be no sudden
stoppages of any sort in the works and that all the possibilities of
the council conciliation machinery would be exhausted before giving
notice in consequence of any question arising in or out of the trade.
They agreed, also, not to interfere with apprentices nor to call out
works and departmental managers not actually engaged in productive

144

IN DUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

work during a strike, and not to interfere with the contents of publi
cations, nor with the right of management to employ, promote, and
discharge. The agreement wTas a compromise in which some of the
employers’ most insistent demands, as for legal guaranties against
stoppages and that foremen should not be called out on strike, were
omitted. The union concessions were chiefly in making definite
commitments w^hich the employers considered safeguards, although
in some cases the issues had never arisen until the general strike.
The essence of the agreement was in the reaffirmation of the old
agreements and of the obligation to observe strictly all agreements
in the industry, prevent sudden stoppages, and make full use of the
conciliation machinery of the council.
The work of the joint industrial council, both nationally and in
the district c.ommittes, had been interrupted by the strike. A fter
the settlement the council officers met and were unanimous in the
opinion that the wrork of the council should be revived. The regular'
quarterly meeting of the council wa3 called, therefore. The discus
sion that took place at that meeting, on July 14, 1926, was remarkable,
showing a determination on the part of employers and union leaders
both, to turn aside from the unfortunate events of the past and
proceed to make the council a greater instrument for the good of
the industry than it had been before. Both groups insisted that the
council should continue and that every effort should be made to
carry the atmo3 phere of good will which prevailed in the council,
down into the district committees and the works. Both believed
that the mutually acceptable agreement that had been reached would
lead to a strengthening of the work of the council. The feeling
was summarized by one of the ex-chairman of the council in these
words:
The feeling of the council w as that they were going forward in the future
pledging them selves to work w ith greater harmony than in- the past to carry
out the objects and ideals of the council in order th at they might find by
conciliation rather than by conflict, by cooperation rather than by combat,
the best means of guiding the industry in which they were concerned.10

Nationally, therefore, good relationships between the unions and
the employers were quickly reestablished after the general strike.
Throughout the industry, however, attitudes were created which are
not yet entirely overcome. Resentment persists among the employers
because of the breaking of the agreements, and among the men because
of failure of some men employed before the strike to secure reem
ployment and because of nonunion movements in certain sections of
the industry. The fact that the open shop3 were not closed during
the strike has given some impetus to the open-shop movement. Im
portant plants in the paper industry became nonunion. An important
provincial newspaper established a house organization which was
looked upon with great suspicion by the unions, although it finally
reached a basis of agreement with several of them. The membership
of the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation declined in the years
1925 to 1927 from 175,000 to 153,000, a fall chiefly accounted for in
losses among the semiskilled. In view of these facts, the establish
ment of mutual confidence on district committees and in the plants
10 Members’ circular, August, 1926, p. 218; Printing and Kindred Trades Federation,
annual report, 1926, pp. 17-22.

U N EM PLO YM ENT COMMITTEE

145

has been difficult. The joint industrial council has still an important
work to do in establishing its atmosphere as the general atmosphere of
the industry.
The joint industrial council after its discussion in July, 1926, of
its future position in the industry turned back to the routine which
had been interrupted by the general strike. Haying digressed to
consider this interruption in the development of peaceful methods
for the industry, the present discussion may now return to the work
of the various committees of the council. The conciliation committee
is concerned with the negative task of preventing trouble in the
industry. The other committees were set up to do constructive work
if possible.
Unemployment Committee
To find a way, if possible, to mitigate the evils of unemployment
in the industry was the task to which the unemployment committee
set itself with energy and spirit in the early years of the council.
The unemployment insurance act of 1920 permitted industries to
contract out of the general provisions of the act and establish special
schemes, with contributions and benefits adjusted to the needs of
the industry. - The unemployment committee believed that a special
scheme administered by the joint industrial council could give higher
benefits at lower cost than under the general plan and that joint
attack upon this serious problem would have far-reaching effects
upon the morale of the industry. I t insisted that if a reserve of labor
is necessary in the industry the industry should see that “ it is well
paid, that it gets its turn of employment, and that it is made a charge
on the industry which causes and should maintain it.” 11
Before the details of a special scheme could be adopted, however,
the serious unemployment of 1921 was on hand. The Government
then announced that no special schemes could be sanctioned during
the existing abnormal conditions. Supplementary schemes which
would give additional benefits could still be established with the
approval of the Government. The committee therefore turned to
the consideration of such a scheme, which would be jointly supported
as in the previous plan. The unions, however, each of which admin
isters its own unemployment benefits, were already very heavily in
volved through the unusual burden of unemployment. The diffi
culties involved in agreeing upon a uniform system and finding a
satisfactory method of joint administration in such an unusual period
proved too great, and it was finally decided to defer consideration
of a supplementary scheme until conditions should be more normal.12
The committee for a time sought other fields of usefulness. I t con
sidered plans for registration of workers and for transference of
labor from one locality to another to minimize unemployment. The
incentive of the hope for a far-reaching plan, jointly controlled, was
gone, however, and the committee by 1925 became entirely inactive.
Its failure was due cfuefly to the abnormal conditions and the Gov
ernment attitude which prevented contracting out. I t was in part
11 Report of unemployment committee, members’ circular, December, 1920, p. 307;
April, 1921, p. 133.
12 Printing and Kindred Trades Federation, annual report, 1921, p. 15; Joint Industrial
Council, annual report, July 15, 1925.

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS----BRITISH PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

due, however, to the fact that the unions with their individual unem
ployment benefit systems were hesitant to give up their own control
and set up a general scheme under the joint control of the unions
and the employers.
Health Committee
One of the most important and most successful of the committees
of the joint industrial council is the health committee. Health is a
noncontroversial subject on which the interests of employers and
employees coincide. This is an excellent field for joint activity,
therefore, and it is not surprising that the health committee has
been able to accomplish more than have the committees which deal
with such controversial subjects as apprenticeship or even unem
ployment. Joint consideration of health questions in the industry
began in a subcommittee of the betterment committee of 1917, whose
report led to the organization of the joint industrial council. The
council, at its first meeting, elected a health committee to carry on
the work which had been started.
The policy of the health committee has been to make readily
available to the industry information already obtainable from Gov
ernment departments and other agencies, and to stimulate inquiry
in new lines which would contribute to better health conditions in
the industry. The committee has tried, with a large degree of suc
cess, to put its material in the form of simple and practical sugges
tions that could be easily understood and readily put into practice
by employer and employee. From time to time the committee has
issued health leaflets which were distributed to all employers and to
each chapel and, in some cases, were reprinted as posters for work
shop walls. The following titles indicate the subjects covered by
these leaflets :
Lead poisoning among printers—how caused and how best prevented; Pre
cautions against consumption; H ealthy habits—advice to workpeople; V entila
tion and h ea lth ; Bronzing in letterpress and lithographic printing—how to
minimize danger to h e a lth ; Bichromate poisoning; The dangers of defective
ey esig h t; Good lighting of printing offices.

Investigations of several sorts have been stimulated by the health
committee or have been carried on with the advice and cooperation
of the committee. In 1923, after publishing its leaflet on the dangers
of dry bronzing, the committee asked ink manufacturers to find a
substitute for bronze powders, and a letterpress bronzing ink was
successfully introduced to take the place of hand bronzing. In con
nection with the leaflet on lead poisoning, a new type of dross con
tainer to lessen the danger of lead poisoning in electrotype and
stereotype departments was5demonstrated to the council. The coun
cil recommended that it be investigated by employers and many were
installed. The electrotypers’ and stereotypers’ union reported that
the recommendations in the leaflet were being generally put into
effect over the country.
In 1923 it was suggested that the council and the Newspaper P ro
prietors’ Association cooperate in a study of tuberculosis in the
industry. This suggestion led finally to. a plan for a national health
inquiry in the industry by the Medical Research Council, a Govern
ment agency, in cooperation with the joint industrial council and

HEALTH COMMITTEE

147

the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association,, the cost to be met half by
the Government and half by the industry. The inquiry had not
been completed in the spring of 1928, but data collected from 42,000
cards of printing trades workers, members of health insurance ap
proved societies connected with the unions, were being analyzed. The
industry awaits with interest the forthcoming report.
The subject of lighting of printing offices has been of considerable
interest to the committee. The earlier discussions were without
scientific basis. In 1925, however, an inquiry was made by two Gov
ernment agencies, the Industrial Fatigue Research Board and the
Illumination Research Committee, into the relation of lighting and
efficiency in typesetting by hand. This investigation, which was
carried out with the technical assistance and the cooperation of the
joint industrial council, gave the first statement of a standard, an
optimum value for artificial illumination with which it might be
expected that the daylight rate of output would be maintained.13 A
second report by the same investigators on the effect of different
systems of lighting on output and accuracy in hand composition
showed the most commonly used system, that of purely local light
ing, as definitely inferior to other methods from the point of view
of production.14 On the basis of these reports the health committee
then prepared a leaflet on lighting to put these scientific results in
such form that they would be understood and put into practice in
the plants. The interest of the health committee in lighting with
particular reference to its effect upon eyesight continues. Through
its interest a test of eyesight was made in the composing department
of a large plant with the result that 64 per cent of the staff were
found to need glasses or alterations in their glasses. A leaflet on
eyesight has been prepared and distributed in the industry.
The health committee has also investigated the sanatorium and
convalescent home facilities available to workers in the printing
industry, whether through the unions or through associations giving
such service for a very small weekly payment per member. The
work of certain of these associations was particularly recommended
to the industry. A list of all such convalescent homes is to be pub
lished. Numerous other questions, such as safety campaigns, the
use of dusting powders, tests for air purity, and special machine
guards, are on the agenda of the committee for future discussion and
action.
One other feature of the work of the health committee remains
to be mentioned. While the committee has endeavored in all its
publications to avoid generalities and make concrete suggestions
that could easily be put into practice, it has not relied alone upon
these publications and the reports of the joint industrial council to
carry the work into the plants. The committee has conducted an
active campaign of education by word of mouth also, and has sent
many of its members and specialists on health subjects to speak at
13 Medical Research Council and Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
The relation between illumination and efficiency in fine work (typesetting by hand).
Joint report of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board and the Illumination Research Com
mittee, 1926.
14 Medical Research Council and Department of Science and Industrial Research.
The effect of different systems of lighting on output and accuracy in fine work (type
setting by hand). Joint report of the Industrial Fatigue Research Board and the Illumina
tion Research Committee, 1928.

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local meetings arranged by the district committees. These meetings
have served to create interest in the work of the committee and in
its recommendations.
The health committee has a substantial list of concrete achieve
ments to its credit in its leaflets widely distributed and in the results
of the investigations which it has promoted. While it is impossible
to measure the actual degree to which the work of the committee
has affected workshop conditions throughout the country, opinion
on the part of both union leaders and employers is that a sub
stantial improvement in the health conditions of the industry has
resulted and that the educational effects of the committee’s work will
continue to grow. Recommendations of the committee carry much
weight because they are based upon the best information available
and are supported by both the unions and the employers’
organizations.
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is one of the major problems tackled by the joiiat
industrial council. The common practice in the skilled printing
crafts in Great B ritain is a 7-year apprenticeship, most of the boys
entering the trade at 14 years. The period of apprenticeship and
the number of apprentices permitted are regulated by union agree
ments, while apprentice wage scales are generally according to union
agreements or are a matter of accepted custom. I t was true in 1919
and to a large degree is still true in 1928 that the training of appren
tices is the concern onjy of the employer. None of the agreements
with the unions in 1919 set up any joint control over apprenticeship.
The type of training accordingly varies widely from firm to firm
and from place to place. Technical classes are provided in many
cities by the local education authorities and in many cases boys are
permitted or required to attend these classes during their apprentice
ship. The attendance at these classes is, however, generally a matter
for the decision of the employer. Attendance is typically not made
compulsory by any joint agreement.15
The pioneer in providing technical training for the printing crafts,
and the most complete in the facilities it offers, is the London School
of Printing, formerly the St. Bride Printing School. In 1917 this
school established the first clay classes for printers’ apprentices and
secured the agreement of certain employers to send their boys to
the school during working hours. This has been extended until, in
London, it may be said to be a custom of the trade that apprentices
should attend the school on the employer’s time for four hours each
week. Except in the case of one craft, however, there is no joint
agreement making this compulsory on ajl employers. The school is
controlled by a joint board representing the unions, the employers’
associations, and the local education authorities and is financed jointly
by these three groups. I t provides instruction, in both day and
evening classes, in every branch of printing and the allied trades.
In 1928 approximately 3,000 apprentices are in attendance, 1,700 of
them at day classes on the employers’ time. The school estimates
15 Great Britain. Ministry of Labor. Report of an inquiry into apprenticeship and
training for skilled occupations in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 1925-2(3. I,
Printing and allied industries.

APPRENTICESH IP

149

that 50 per cent of all apprentices in the industry in London attend
the sessions.
In onjy one section of the industry is there a jointly agreed upon
and controlled system of apprentice training covering the entire
craft. On January 14, 1921, an agreement was made between the
Electrotyping and Stereotyping Employers’ Federation and the
National Society of Electrotypers and Stereotypers for conditions
of apprenticeship in the trade. A joint apprenticeship committee
was established, which makes rules and regulations for indentures
and is a party, jointly with the employer, to ajl indentures. All
apprentices are required to attend technical classes at the London
School of Printing for certain hours, both day and evening. Wages
are paid during the attendance at day classes and fees for these
classes are paid by the employers. Periodical examinations are set
by the joint committee. The technical classes give the apprentice
the scientific foundation of the trade and, also, any parts of the
trade which his own plant is not qualified to teach him. Both
employers and the union are well satisfied with the results of this
plan. I t has improved the quality of boys coming into the trade
and is showing excellent results in the type of well-trained crafts
men who graduate from this course of training. The joint committee
has not gone so far as to select the apprentices, however. A boy
chosen by the employer and not challenged by the union is indentured
by the committee without further test. A similar agreement is in
effect for the training of stereotypers on the London newspapers
with a joint apprenticeship committee and the requirement of
attendance at the school on the employers’ time. These agreements
are the only ones in the industry establishing under joint control of
unions and employers definite requirements which must be met by
all apprentices and their employers.
The weakness of the existing system of apprenticeship was recog
nized by the joint industrial council from the first. An apprentice
committee wa,s appointed to see what was possible toward attaining a
better standard. I t was to consider in particular both the selection
and the proper training of apprentices. In July, 1921, the com
mittee presented to the council a proposed scheme for apprentice
ship and training, providing for the establishment of local joint
apprenticeship committees with representatives of unions and of
the employers’ organizations. The functions of these committees
would be the selection of boys, cooperation in filling vacancies,
cooperation with local education authorities in providing technical
classes, and general supervision of apprentice training. Training
should be a combination of work in fhe shop and in the school,
with no deduction from wages for the time spent in school. When
the plan was referred to the unions and to the Federation of Master
Printers for consideration, considerable opposition developed among
many of the employers to what seemed an extension of union control
into a field which had been the employers’ prerogative. A fter long
delay during consideration by the employers, the scheme was re
drafted in more permissive terms and again referred to the council
in 1924, when it was adopted.
The apprenticeship scheme for education and training, as approved
by the council on October 15, 1924, recommended that joint local

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INDUSTRIAL* RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

apprenticeship committees should be established, composed of equal
numbers of employers and workpeople. The functions of these com
mittees should be to stimulate the interest of suitable boys in the
craft, to recommend suitable boys to employers, to cooperate with
local education authorities in regard to the technical training avail
able, to secure regular reports on the training received by apprentices
in the schools, and “ to make suggestions where necessary, in an
advisory capacity only, to employers as to their training in the
workshop.”
Boys should be indentured after a probationary period, according
to custom in the trade. The employer would be responsible for
giving the boy every facility to learn the trade. All boys up to
16 years should attend day classes for a minimum of eight hours a
week on the employers’ time and also two evenings a week. From
16 to 18 years the boy should attend evening classes for two evenings
a week. I t was made very clear that this plan was permissive only,
and not compulsory on either side. The joint industrial council,
however, strongly recommended that district committees consider the
scheme and organize joint apprentice committees to put its provisions
into effect.
A t the request of the unions of semiskilled, the apprentice com
mittee was authorized to make a plan for the training of learners
in the semiskilled crafts which do not have a regular apprenticeship.
Finally, on July 13, 1927, a training scheme for learners was ap
proved by the council as an addendum to the apprenticeship scheme
and was recommended to the consideration of district committees.
In general, it provided that where facilities exist learners should
be taught more than one operation. Feeders, for example, should
learn to feed more than one class of machine, while girl learners
in binderies should be taught, in addition to the usual bench work,
at least one further operation. Where facilities for technical training
were available employers should permit their learners, male and
female, to attend .suitable classes.16
The entire training scheme proposed by the joint industrial council
is in striking contrast to jointly established plans of apprenticeship
in certain American cities. As in America, an apprentice plan is
put into effect by local agreement. When the British plan i,s adopted
locally, however, it is still advisory only. The joint apprentice com
mittee has no authority to enforce conditions on any plant. Each
employer decides if he wishes to indenture boys under the plan and
send them to the classes provided. Only in the case of the agreement
in the electrotyping and stereotyping industry are standards estab
lished and jointly enforced in all plants. Such jointly adopted plans
of training as those in effect between the printing-trade unions and
the organized closed-shop employers in Chicago and New York,
however, establish conditions that are then enforced by the unions
for all apprentices in the trade. In New York, for instance, all
apprentices in union printing plants must attend the apprentice
schools and every union plant which wishes to employ apprentices
must send them to the school during working time for certain hours
16 Education, Training, and Craftsmanship.
Printing and Allied Trades, Feb. 22, 1928.

Bulletin of Joint Industrial Council of the

APPBENTICESHIP

151

every week, during which their wages are paid.17 The British indus
try, on the contrary, follows the method more congenial to its mem
bers, of avoiding compulsion and endeavoring jointly to educate the
industry to the need of better training methods.
The joint industrial council hoped that the apprentice plan would
be adopted and put into effect generally. The results have on the
whole, however, been a disappointment. Only a few towms have
adopted plans and most of those in operation are somewhat different
from that adopted by the council. Derby has one of the most
extensive plans, administered by a joint apprentice committee. All
indentured apprentices must attend day classes twice a week for
two years and two evening sessions each week during the entire
apprenticeship, fees being paid by the employer so long as the work
is satisfactory. The committee keeps a register of apprentices, has
secured that all but one firm indenture their apprentices, advises
with the technical college on the courses offered, and receives reports
of the progress of all apprentices in their .school work. I t does not
act on the selection of apprentices, however. In Manchester the
efforts of the district committee have resulted in increasing the facili
ties for technical training and establishing day classes to which
many employers (send their apprentices. There is no agreement to
this effect, however, and no compulsion exerted on the employer. In
Leeds, after long hesitation on the part of the employers, a joint
committee has been established. Several Scottish cities have joint
apprentice committees. In London the scheme has not been adopted,
due to reluctance of employers to admit further union control and
of the unions to change the existing .system of control through the
London School of Printing. No complete information is available
as to the situation in all parts of the country, although other
apprentice committees have been organized, and in many localities
renewed interest in the subject of technical training in the industry
has led to improved facilities. Several large firms, in addition, have
well-organized plans of training for their own apprentices. Over
the industry a,s a whole, however, the plan for joint responsibility in
the selection and training of apprentices has not taken hold.
The work of the apprentice committee of the joint industrial
council nevertheless can not be accounted entirely a failure. The
discussions over its scheme aroused a great deal of interest over the
country and have, without doubt, created a new interest in the train
ing of apprentices and resulted in some improvement in the facilities
for technical training in schools and in the use made by the trade of
the available facilities. A certain minimum standard as to the
amount of technical school training which should be required is set
up in the committee plan. Such a standard officially adopted must
in time have considerable effect upon practice in the industry.
I t is significant, however, th at in 1928 the Federation of Master
Printers still includes in its annual a recommended form of ap
prentice indenture which does not include any provision for required
school attendance.18 Reluctance among employers to adopt the coun
cil apprentice scheme comes primarily from fear of the joint control
” See Chapter V, pp. 118 to 124.

18 The Master Printers Annual, 1928, p. 348.

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INDUSTRIAL. RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

set up, lest it open the door to the unions to more control within the
plant. There is also opposition to admitting joint control with
the unions because of union restrictions on numbers of apprentices,
restrictions which w^ork serious hardship to large plants by prevent
ing their training as many journeymen as they need. In view of
these difficulties the adoption of the council plan, proceeds slowly.
In 1928, however, renewed efforts were being made to give publicity
to the plan and to secure, if possible, experiments with the joint
selection of boys for the trade. The slow process of educating the
industry to make a joint attack upon the problem of apprenticeship
continues.
The joint industrial council acts upon a variety of other matters,
as a council or through its various committees. I t arranges for the
annual collection in the industry for the war orphans fuild of the
Printers Pension Corporation. As the organization best repre
senting the entire industry, it has sent several delegations to Gov
ernment departments, to the Postmaster General in regard to a
reduction in postal rates, and to the Board of Trade to secure that
printing coming from abroad should be properly marked under the
merchandise marks act. In 1921, during the coal strike and the cur
tailment of power, the council recommended that short time be
arranged by local agreements, to lessen so far as possible the hard
ships upon the workers. A subcommittee was appointed to con
sider the cost system of the Federation of Master Printers, and
recommended that it be approved as the official system for ascertain
ing costs. As one of the objects of the council is to assist in the
maintenance of such selling prices as will afford a fair remuneration,
this came within its province. Finally, the organization committee
of the council is active in efforts to extend the influence of the
council, to encourage organization of district committees and works
advisory committees, and to advise and assist them in every way
possible.
District Committees
The organization committee in 1920 adopted a set of suggested
rules for district committees. Under these rules, which have pro
vided the basis for most of the district committees set up, the com
mittee consists of equal numbers of representatives of the unions
and of the employers. A majority on. each side is required to carry
a motion. The committee has executive powers only on matters
within its area, all matters of wider interest being referred to the
joint industrial council. Any disputes are referred to the district
committee, and failing settlement, to the conciliation committee
of the council. The objects of the district committees are to carry
out locally the aims and objects of the council, to consider sugges
tions and make recommendations to the council, and to consider all
matters of local interest to promote the welfare of both groups in
the industry.
The industry has been rather slow to adopt the plan of the organi
zation committee and proceed with district committees. In some
cases the employers have hesitated and in others local unions have
opposed. In 1928, however, some 27 district committees were in
operation. Information is incomplete as to their activities, for the

DISTRICT COMMITTEES

153

committees do not all observe the constitutional provision and send
to the national headquarters copies of their minutes. From the
reports received it is evident that the number of committees that are
very active is comparatively small. Keports from a few committees,
nevertheless, indicate that valuable results can be obtained and are
being obtained from their activities.
The London district committee functions as a conciliation com
mittee. In a printing center so large as London many subjects of
dispute arise. When they can not be settled between the union
and the employer involved they are referred to the district com•mittee. An emergency committee of the officers is able to settle
many minor questions without calling the entire committee. I f the
district committee is not able to settle a dispute, the m atter is re
ferred to the conciliation committee of the joint industrial council.
In most cases the district committee has been successful and its
findings have been accepted. By delaying action the committee
prevents many of the strikes which under old conditions were fre
quent, although sudden stoppages still occur on rare occasions.
The district committee, with the support of the pledges under the
council constitution, is successful on the whole in keeping peace in
the London industry. The committee is not concerned with nego
tiations of agreements. These are matters between the London
Master Printers’ Federation and the union immediately concerned.
Like the council conciliation committee, however, the London dis
trict committee is often able to secure the continuation of negotia
tions and thus to contribute to an eventual settlement.
The Manchester district committee was not established until 1924
and still has to contend with a lack of interest on the part of many
employers. The committee consists of 23 members on each side. Its
social and health committee has held lectures on health and eve
ning social events which were not very well attended. A series of
first-aid or u ambulance ” classes, however, was a success. I t has
been responsible for the distribution of the health literature of the
council in the shops and has been able to stimulate interest of em
ployers in health and comfort in their plants to an extent that has
shown practical results, according to union leaders. The appren
tice committee secured the establishment of day classes for appren
tices and an increased use of the facilities of the technical college.
The district committee has endeavored to arouse interest in works
advisory committees. I t sent a delegation of union members and
employers to several large plants in an effort to secure the estab
lishment of works committees, but it has not been successful.
The committee has functioned in a number of disputes and has been
able to straighten out some difficulties which might have led to stop
pages. Although lack of interest among employers makes it difficult
to secure a full attendance, both sides report that the work of the
committee has resulted in an improved feeling between the two groups
and an attitude more conducive to satisfactory negotiations, and that
the committee is distinctly worth while, although its concrete achieve
ments are limited.
The Derby district committee has had a longer experience. I t was
organized in 1921, with 10 representatives on each side. Its work on
apprenticeship has already been discussed, including the adoption of

154

INDUSTRIAL, RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

the joint industrial council plan in general, and the use by most of
the firms of an approved indenture providing for attendance at
classes during the entire apprenticeship. Technical lectures have
been provided and have been well attended. The committee has dis
tributed the health leaflets, has acted as a conciliation committee, and
has discussed the efforts of both groups to secure complete organi
zation in the territory. Although here also it is difficult to secure the
attendance of employers at meetings, and there is reluctance on the
part of both employers and unionists to make full use of the possi
bilities of the committee, on the whole it seems to be serving a very
useful purpose in improving the understanding between the two'
groups.
In Nottingham a district committee was organized in 1921 with
10 representatives each from the employers and the unions. Its con
ciliation work has been important and successful and has resulted in
an increasing willingness to allow the committee to settle differences.
The joint industrial council apprentice scheme has been considered,
but was in the first instance refused by the unions and is still under
consideration. The committee secured agreement on a uniform fort
night’s notice for all workers, women as well asi men. I t also has
discussed health matters and organized a first-aid class. In Leeds
the employers for a long time refused to give their time to a district
committee, but in 1925 a committee was organized. Discussions of
the council apprentice scheme brought out much opposition on the
part of employers. In 1928, however, it was announced that a scheme
for apprenticeship had been agreed upon and that a joint apprentice
committee was to be appointed.
In Bristol an early organization of the district committee was
prevented by the opposition of some of the unions. Late in 1924,
however, a district committee had its first meeting. A unanimous
resolution recommended to the employers that there should be no
restriction of the free movement of workers from one situation to
another and that employees should apply to the unions for labor. A
permanent joint apprentice committee was appointed. The unions
have asked through the committee that they should have the moral
support of the employers in efforts to reorganize those who left the
unions since the general strike.
The Scottish branch of the joint industrial council, with 24 mem
bers on each panel, meets quarterly as a district committee for Scot
land. I t has secured the appointment of joint apprentice committees
in several cities and the extension of facilities for technical training.
I t has acted to straighten out several causes of dispute, has dis
tributed health literature and promoted lectures on health, and has
done independent work such as the promulgation of a circular on
the dangers of bichromate poisoning in photo-lithography. I t has
the right under the council constitution to act on all matters affecting
Scotland alone.
The above is not a complete report on the activities of district com
mittees. I t does, however, summarize the reports of those which
have been sufficiently active to send in at all extensive reports to the
council. These reports indicate some of the possibilities of the dis
trict committees and the weaknesses which are felt. Where district
committees have been tried they have been generally successful in

WORKS ADVISORY COMMITTEES

155

conciliation, in promoting the development of facilities for technical
training even where they have not agreed upon the full adoption of
the council plan, in increasing interest in matters of health, and in
establishing a better atmosphere of confidence and understanding
between the two groups. The weaknesses of the committees have
been in proportion to the lack of interest on one side or the other,
or old suspicions and fears which have prevented the full use of
the committee for joint consideration of all problems of mutual
interest.
Works Advisory Committees
The joint industrial council has constantly urged th at organization
and conference at the top were not enough and that the methods
and spirit of the council should be carried down into all parts of
the industry through the organization of district committees and
works advisory committees. I f the industry has been slow to estab
lish district committees, however, it has been more so in regard to
works organizations. Under the rules suggested by the council for
works advisory committees, such committees are formed on request
of either management or workers and continue at the pleasure of
both parties. They include managers, foremen, and representatives
of all departments and have as their purpose the consideration of
all matters affecting the welfare of the workers and of the employer,
including questions of production, efficiency, and plant, as well as
prevention of disputes and disaffection, health matters, and all the
variety of questions which may be grouped as welfare. I t was made
very specific that the committee should have no administrative or
executive power, but should advise on such matters as affect the
welfare of the employer and his workers for the consideration of
the directors. In spite of these safeguards, there has been great
hesitation on the part of employers, lest the committees encroach on
the right of management to make decisions and promote union con
trol within the plants. On the part of the rank and file of the
workers in the plants, also, there has been no such demand for the
establishment of works committees as would have stimulated the
employers to take action in that direction. In the chapel, the tra
ditional workshop organization in the printing industry, the work
ers have a department committee which can perform many of the
functions of a works committee, to protect the individual from in
justice and provide a spokesman for the men in their relations with
the management. In many larger plants, also, welfare committees
have long been established which serve some of the functions of the
works advisory committees as planned. The chapel and welfare com
mittee organizations, however, do not perform all the functions of
works committees, for they do not provide for regular meetings be
tween management and workers to consider such questions as pro
duction, efficiency, and the regular business matters in which both
are concerned. There is therefore a distinct need for this type of
organization. Nevertheless, very few works committees have been
organized. No complete information is available as to the number
in existence. In a few cases, however, it has been possible to find and
learn about the experience of such committees,
17610°— 28------ 11

156

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

One of the most successful works committees in the industry is
in a large plant employing 900 people in a provincial city. This
committee has had a long experience, having developed out of an
organization established in 1917. I t now includes 20 members elected
from the various departments, 2 management representatives, and
3 foremen. I t holds monthly meetings, elects its chairman always
from the management representatives, and sends its recommendations
to the board of directors for their action. The minutes of the com
mittee show that it has been active in discussing a large variety of
questions. An analysis of the subjects discussed in the meetings of
four years, 1921 to 1924, counting a discussion at one meeting as a
unit, shows the following:
Subject

Number of
discussions

Employment, discharge, hours, and h o lid a y s_________________
Efficiency, production, machinery_____________________________
B usiness conditions and problems____________________________
Health, safety, and comfort__________________________________
Social, donations, benefits, etc________________________________
M iscellaneous________________________________________________

14
28
7
35
39
14

This distribution indicates the trend of discussions on the commit
tee. Matters affecting the health, safety, and comfort of the- workers
and other social and welfare questions come before the committee id
rather greater numbers than do questions of efficiency and produc
tion. The attitude of the management, nevertheless, is that the
committee has served an exceedingly useful purpose. Some construc
tive suggestions have been received, particularly as to the plans for
a new building, while many minor suggestions of value have been
adopted. In the main, however, the management feels that the plan
has not been as productive of constructive suggestions as had been
hoped. The recent adoption of a suggestion system separate from the
works advisory committee and handled by a committee of manage
ment has taken from the works committee a part of its field, also.
Aside from this question of suggestions to management, the firm
feels that the committee has entirely justified its existence through
its success as a medium for bringing into the open and getting rid
of the small difficulties which might develop. The committee is a
very efficient safety valve.
Among the workers’ representatives the feeling is general that the
committee is useful. Primarily, it assures to the workers a regular
channel through which any difficulty can be taken up. The acquaint
ance promoted through the meetings of the committee and the
establishment of a regular method of handling difficulties make it
easier to straighten out any problems with the management. While
the people do not always get what they want through the committee,
they know that their opinions reach the management and are con
sidered and so necessarily affect decisions. Nevertheless, there is
among some of the workers still suspicion and skepticism as to the
value of such a plan. They are not entirely convinced that frankness
is advisable for the workers’ representatives on such a committee and
feel that tact is necessary lest they hurt their position. The fact
that foremen are represented on the committee, although they are
considered to be not entirely favorable, affects this attitude among
the workers. Both management and workers’ representatives feel

WORKS ADVISORY COMMITTEES

157

that the committee should be more useful. The question of what
should be discussed is a difficulty, however. Particularly since the
suggestion system has been under way, the works advisory committee
is in need of more matter for discussion and has asked the manage*
ment to suggest subjects. This is a problem still to be solved,
although this works advisory committee has had, on the whole, a
successful experience over some years.
Another large plant, doing newspaper and commercial work and
employing 1,500 people in a large provincial city, had experience
with works committees for about four years. Under a change of
management, however, the committees were discontinued. The ex
perience is valuable in showing some of the possibilities of such
organization. Each department elected a committee which met
monthly under the chairmanship of the department head. One rep
resentative elected from each department and the department heads
then met quarterly as a works executive committee. The department
committees, being closer to the problems in the plant, were more
'active. A great many complaints were brought up and quickly
adjusted by the department head. Matters affecting the comfort of
the men and questions of materials, needed repairs, changes in
methods, all were discussed.
Two difficulties in the attitude of the men were felt by the manage
ment; first, that they thought of the committee as a grievance com
mittee that was designed primarily for their welfare, rather than as
a cooperative institution, and, second, that they left, to bring up at
the meeting, questions that might have been remedied immediately
by bringing them to the attention of the department head. Never
theless, a chairman who was interested in securing the most possible
from the committee found that many suggestions of real value were
brought out and very useful discussions of output were held. The
minutes of one department committee for a period of two years
showed discussion of 41 matters affecting the comfort of the men, of
26 having to do with material and machines, and 30 affecting effi
ciency and output. The works executive committee was less closely
in touch with production problems, as it covered a variety of depart
ments. The larger p art of its work was, accordingly, on questions of
comfort, recreation, benefit funds, and welfare. I t functioned occa
sionally on large questions of policy. For example, after conducting
a discussion and vote of all employees, it secured a revision of work
ing hours throughout the plant, to make conditions uniform for all
departments. As a whole, this system of committees was successful
in eliminating causes of difficulty, in getting a considerable number
of suggestions making for efficiency in production, and as a means of
access of the firm to the workers on general questions of discipline or
policy. The new management, however, saw the faults of the com
mittees and declined to continue them. The only works organiza
tions now in this plant are welfare organizations, th rift clubs, sick
clubs, and social organizations. Certain department heads, neverthe
less, are still interested and hope that the committees may be
reestablished.
One of the works committees of longest standing is in operation
in a country plant employing about 200 people. This plant had
grown until the directors found that they could not keep the same

158

INDUSTRIAL RELATION’S----BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

personal relationship with the people in the plant as had existed in
the earlier days, They hoped to overcome this difficulty, so far as
possible, through the works committee. Twelve representatives
elected by the various departments, with two foremen, meet the
directors monthly or whenever occasion arises. The committee is
largely used for bringing up of grievances, some of which could have
been quickly eliminated by bringing them to the attention of fore
men; nevertheless, the directors feel that it serves a good purpose
in bringing out all such matters. The suggestions that have come
from the committee have been of considerable value also. One
department was completely reorganized on a suggestion from one
of the men. A third useful purpose served by the committee is in
clearing up differences between departments and thus making work
run more smoothly. The management is satisfied that the committee
has been very useful, that it has brought a closer touch into the plant,
and has been fruitful of good to both groups.
Another plant employing under 200 people has had a works
committee for about two years. A difficulty here is that the business *
is very seasonal. When the plant is busy no one has time for com
mittee meetings and the business of the committee drifts. Meetings
are quite irregular. The committee runs social affairs and has been
the means of handling many complaints. A number of suggestions
affecting production have been made, also, and some of them have
been put into effect. A suggestion box is handled by the committee,
but in active periods the secretary is too busy to see that it is opened
regularly. The management has been disappointed in that the sug
gestions of the committee are more directed toward the comfort of
the workers than they are toward furthering production. Among
the workers, on the other hand, is a feeling that the management
has been slow in putting into effect the suggestions that have been
adopted. Neither group, however, is ready to give up the committee.
One other experience is known. One firm tried a works committee
for a time, but gave it up because it was used only for the making of
complaints, while no suggestions to further the interests of the com
pany were brought forward. The firm considered that the commit
tee was entirely one-sided and abolished it. A committee of fore
men and managers now meets and is helpful in eliminating friction
between departments. There is no committee representing the work
people, however. While the management is aware of friction and
suspicion within the ranks of the workers it does not consider that a
works committee would relieve the difficulty and is unwilling to risk
such an organization again.
This very limited record of experience with works advisory com
mittees is too narrow to allow of generalization. Nevertheless, a
few points that appear are corroborated by experience in other indus
tries. ^ In the first place, the fear of many employers that works
committees would become primarily grievance committees has a
considerable basis. Grievances bulk large in the subjects brought up
for discussion. But those employers who do not organize committees
because of this fear, fail to realize that to bring out and eliminate
the sources of these grievances is to do much toward promoting a
better spirit in the plant. Again, disappointment is felt because of
the scarcity of valuable suggestions made. Nevertheless, some plants

M ANCHESTER GUARDIAN HOUSE SOCIETY

159

have found that valuable suggestions were forthcoming when in
vited and stimulated by the management. Committees do not func
tion in this regard without the active encouragement of the manage
ment. In addition, the problem of finding subjects of discussion
prevents some plants from trying the experiment and proves a diffi
culty in the case of some of the works committees in existence. It is
evident that here also the guidance of the management is very much
needed. None of these firms has, as yet, made much use of the works
committee for giving to the workpeople information about the
business in which they are concerned. This field, unexplored in the
printing industry, is proving one of the most valuable parts of works
committee activity in certain other industries.19 In spite of the prob
lems, howTever, those firms which have had most experience with
works committees are sure that they are worth while. They believe
that the contributions which works committees can make toward
eliminating causes of discontent are sufficient to urge the much wider
adoption of this kind of organization.
Manchester Guardian House Society
In connection with works organizations, the inception of an experi
ment by the Manchester Guardian as an aftermath of the general
strike of 1926 is of interest. This paper is widely known for its
liberal social and economic editorial policy and, on the production
side, enjoys a reputation for good working conditions and a satisfac
tory relationship with its workpeople. Among the workers a con
siderable pride in the paper and loyalty to the company is the result.
Until the difficulty of 1926 the plant was a closed shop union estab
lishment, dealing with several unions, of which the most important
in numbers was the powerful Typographical Association, controlling
the composing room and the pressmen. The good relationship within
the plant could not prevent strikes, however. The plant was stopped
by the Typographical Association during its strikes of 1920 and 1922,
while in 1926 all the unions joined in the general strike. Although
during the general strike a delegation from the Guardian chapel
went to the Typographical Association with a request that apprentices
and foremen be allowed to work in order to publish a small sheet to
make available to the public a fairer account of events, this was
refused, and the public service that might have been performed by
such a paper as the Manchester Guardian in a time of this sort could
not be rendered.
Throughout these experiences the company felt a growing convic
tion that public interest demanded uninterrupted service from the
newspapers. Accordingly it worked out in rough outline and pre
sented to the workers for their consideration a plan, the crux of
which was that under no conditions should the normal production
of the papers be interrupted, any disputes in the last resort to be
settled by arbitration. The company in exchange offered substan
tial financial benefits, recognized an obligation to insure regular
employment, and offered the right of appeal against discharge to
a joint board. On the preliminary ballot by the employees on
19 Cf. Britain’s Industrial Future, report of the liberal industrial inquiry, p. 235.

160

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

this plan, 574 were in favor and 20 against, while over 200 failed
to vote. Two months later a joint committee elected from all
departments presented the plan in final form. The vote then stood
609 for, 169 against, and 63 not voting, most of the non voters
being absentees. The votes in opposition came chiefly from mem
bers of the National Union of Journalists and of the Typographical
Association.
According to the constitution, all adult full-time permanent em
ployee^ are eligible to membership in the Manchester Guardian and
Evening News Society. Weekly contributions of members range
from 8 cents to 25 cents. A general committee of management is
composed of officers elected annually by ballot after nomination by
chapels, and of representatives elected by each chapel. Grouping
the chapels, the different interests in the organization are represented
in these proportions: Printing mechanics, 10; other labor, 4; distri
bution, 2; foremen and department heads, 2; editorial, circulation,
and offices, 5. The basis of the organization is the chapel. Any
dispute is handled first by the chapel committee with the manage
ment, and if no agreement is reached the matter is then referred
to the general committee of management, which has full power to
settle the question or refer it to arbitration. Decisions of the general
committee are final and binding on all members. Any member break
ing the rules or agreements with the company or acting in any way
detrimental to the interests of the society is liable to fine or expul
sion. The society may be dissolved whenever two-thirds of the
members so determine on secret ballot.
An agreement between the society and the company, included in
the proposition voted upon and accepted by the employees, provides
that employees may belong to tracle-unions, but that neither the
society nor its members shall enter into any obligations conflicting
with their obligations to the company under this agreement. Wages
and hours are to be not less favorable than tracle-union wages and
hours. Other union conditions can be varied only by agreement be
tween the management and the chapel affected. All complaints are
made to, and decided in the first instance by, the management, but
in case of disagreement and on request of the general committee, the
question may be referred to arbitration. Any worker, moreover, has
the right of appeal against the action of the company to a board con
sisting of an equal number of foremen, excluding the foreman con
cerned, and representatives appointed by the committee of manage
ment, with an independent chairman. A most important provision
is that under no circumstances shall any action be taken to hinder
or prevent the normal production or distribution of the company’s
newspapers. In the event of any such action, the company is en
titled to give notice terminating the agreement so far as such parties
are concerned, and the guilty parties forfeit all rights under the
agreement and lose their membership in the society. The company
agrees to use its best endeavors to insure regular employment and,
in case of unavoidable displacement of labor, to endeavor to insure
that members of the society do not suffer.
The remainder of the agreement is devoted to an elaborate system
of financial benefits which, in the light of general conditions and
trade-union benefits, are very favorable. The benefits include a

M ANCHESTER GUARDIAN H OUSE SOCIETY

161

noncontributory pension, with the right to a commuted value of the
pension to any leaving the employ of the company after 20 years of
service, except upon dismissal for grave misconduct; and a death
or retirement benefit varying with length of service for all whose
wages are less than $35 per week. Other benefits, funeral, sickness
beyond four weeks, widows’ and orphans’ benefits, and social com
mittee expenses are paid for on equal shares by the company and the
society. In case of sickness of under four weeks’ duration, the com
pany pays a sum sufficient to bring the entire income, including
benefits, up to the standard wage. In case of termination of the
agreement by six months’ notice or by dissolution of the society,
pension rights would not be affected; prospective pension rights of
those of 20 years’ service who had not yet attained the pension age
and all rights in the death and retirement benefit fund would be at
once commuted by cash payments, and benefit funds of the society
would be divided equally between the members of the society on the
one hand and the company on the other.
The trade-unions, who were strongly opposed to the plan, requested
a conference before the plan was submitted to vote. The manage
ment was quite willing that its plan should be associated with the
unions if it could secure its fundamental objectives, the assurance
of uninterrupted publication, and freedom from certain restrictive
union conditions. The unions pointed out, however, that the plan
was contrary to trade-union principles in two respects, in th a t it
would require the unions to give up the right to strike and would
permit local determination of conditions other than wages and hours.
Such a society could not, therefore, be affiliated with the Printing and
Kindred Trades Federation nor have representation on the joint in
dustrial council. Nevertheless, in the face of union opposition, the
employees accepted the plan on the final ballot. The Typographical
Association, the strongest union, refused to compromise on funda
mental principles and would not allow its members to join the house
society. Thirteen of its members left the employ of the Guardian,
but over 200 retained their positions and lost their union member
ship. In addition, some dozen men/who were near the pension age
were permitted to retire on pension, in order to lose neither their
Typographical Association membership nor Manchester Guardian
pension. The other unions believed that a wiser policy was to retain
what influence they could in the plant, and permitted their members
to join the house society. They all lost somewhat in membership,
but retained a foothold.
Long negotiations then ensued between the unions that had retained
members in the plant and the management, seeking a basis of recon
ciliation between the two types of organization. Finally, in De
cember, 1926, agreements were made between the company and the
National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants, the National
Society of Electrotypers and Stereotypers, and the National Union
of Journalists. The unions recognized the house society by agreeing
to accept its services as mediator in case of dispute. The company
recognized the unions by agreeing in the future to engage only union
members in the departments involved and that whenever a majority
of the members of a chapel voted to avail themselves of the good

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

offices of the union in disputes, the company would consent to such
mediation.
Any dispute not settled by the house society within two weeks
would be placed in the hands of the union. I f after two weeks more
no agreement had been reached, the question would be referred to the
conciliation committee of the joint industrial council, whose decision
would be final and binding. The unions agreed to reinstate their
former members upon payment of arrears, with the right to full
benefits as if they had been members continuously. These agree
ments are terminable upon six months’ notice by either party. The
Typographical Association refused a similar agreement on the grounds
that it would mean compulsory arbitration, working with nonunion
ists, and acceptance of an apprentice system that was contrary to
union rules. This union endeavored to secure from the Printing and
Kindred Trades Federation a vote of censure against the unions that
had compromised, but it was defeated by a large majority.
Under these agreements the Manchester Guardian and Evening
News Society continues to function as the house organization, while
feeling over the union issue is becoming modified. A majority in
some departments are now union members and many men carry cards
in both their trade-union and the house society. In 1928 union mem
bers were serving on the general committee of management. The
membership of the society is nearly 900, close to 100 per cent of the
employees. All ranks of employees, from unskilled labor up to de
partment heads, are included in the society.
The affairs of the society are administered by a full-time general
secretary, elected and paid by the society. Before accepting this
position he was a compositor and chairman of one of the composingroom chapels. He handles the finances of the society, works with all
committees, and is the representative of the men in all negotiations
between the men and the company. Having the confidence of both
the men and the management, he serves an important function in
straightening out sources of difficulty within the plant.
The society performs' two functions, as a benefit society and as a
works council. As a benefit society it collects the weekly contribu
tions of members which are duplicated by the company, pays bene
fits, administers a loan fund, and has- established a widow’s pension
fund on a low-cost group insurance basis. W ith the pension and
retirement allowances given by the company, payment of wages dur
ing sickness, and the assurance of regular employment, many of the
usual risks of the wage earner are provided for.
As a works council the society serves a useful purpose by bringing
together in one group all the interests within the plant, as was never
done under the old system of separate union chapels. I t therefore
promotes an understanding of the problems of the enterprise, as
distinct fr'om those of separate sections. The management finds it
uesful as a means of communication with the employees and for con
sultation on problems affecting both*groups. The employees, on the
other hand, use the machinery to*secure the elimination of difficulties
affecting their welfare in the plant. All questions since the plan
was instituted have been settled* amicably without resort to arbitra
tion, although both sides testify that the men do not hesitate to
criticize the management. In only one case has an appeal board been

MANCHESTER GUARDIAN HOUSE SOCIETY

163

resorted to. In this case, the one discharge since 1926, the dismissal
was because of an occurrence outside of working hours and away
from the plant. The appeal board upheld the man’s dismissal from
his old job as watchman but unanimously voted to reinstate him as a
general laborer with pay from the time of his discharge, saying that
he should not be so penalized in his employment for an unfortunate
event outside.
The question of apprenticeship had long been a -sore point between
the company and the Typographical Association, for the union allowed
only five apprentices, not enough to supply the need of the office for
replacements. The firm was forced to recruit journeymen from out
side and found difficulty in securing competent men. By agreement
with the chapel concerned, a committee from the composing room
now controls apprenticeship. Five apprentices a year are taken on
at the age of 16 years. They are under the direct supervision of the
committee, are required to attend technical school classes, and are
receiving a thorough training.
Wages, which according to the agreement must be at least equal
to trade-union rates, actually are in most cases somewhat above
union levels. The management discussed with the composing room
ways of increasing production and the possibility of piece rates.
While the men were strongly opposed to piece rates or any differen
tiation between individuals, they were willing to accept a collective
bonus arrangement whereby, if average production increased, they
would receive the entire benefit in an increased flat wage rate. While
no mathematical basis has been established to determine such a bonus,
the management, on the basis of increased production, is paying a
bonus of $1.25 a week.
The management has no entirely conclusive figures on linotype
output, but it believes that there has been a substantial increase since
1926. The firm’s payments per man in this department, including
the production bonus, wages during sickness, and the various contri
butions to the society, increased approximately $2.50 per week. In
spite of this increase the average cost of composition per page for
6-month periods decreased from 1926 to 1927 approximately 4 per
cent on the morning papeu and 5 per cent on the evening paper.
Allowing for the fact that the department had been cleared of a
number of old men by pensioning them, the management believes
that there is a substantial margin of improvement as a result of the
loyalty and cooperation secured through the house organization.
The cost of this organization to the company is considerable.
When the plan was introduced the company put into a pension re
serve $250,000. I t is liable also for substantial amounts on death or
retirement of wage earners. In matching all employee contributions
to the society the firm pays annually over $6,000. In addition the
company pays wages rather above the union rates. The company
estimates that, including all the special benefits, its cost per man per
week is over $3 above the trade-union minimum. I t is obvious that
most firms would consider it quite impossible to pay at such a rate
for the advantages of such a special plan.
Definite advantages accrue to both the company and the work
people from the operation of this plan. The company has the assur
ance that its publications will not be interrupted and that the special

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

problems of its business will receive consideration through the organi
zation representing all departments. The workers are assured good
wages and working conditions, consideration and arbitration, if nec
essary, of any disputes with the management, very favorable financial
benefits, and freedom from the cost of strikes.
A serious disadvantage exists, however, and is indeed recognized
by the management in the isolation of the company and the wTorkers
from the rest of the industry. This isolation was partly overcome by
the agreements made with three unions. In the case of the com
positors and the pressmen, however, while at least trade-union condi
tions of wages and hours must be observed, neither the firm nor the
workers have any share in the determination of those conditions. To
the men, moreover, there is a very serious disadvantage in their isola
tion. The newspaper industry, except for parts of Scotland, is almost
entirely union. As nonunionists, who would find serious opposition
from the Typographical Association to readmitting them, these men
have very few alternative opportunities for employment and are tied
to their jobs to a degree that is undesirable under the most favorable
circumstances.
The present situation of the Manchester Guardian, through the
antagonism between its organization and the most powerful union in
the industry, is an anomalous one that can hardly last. The com
pany is labeled as opposed to the trade-unions, in spite of its editorial
policy, and is classed, in a way to which it takes strong exception, with
nonunion schemes that are on a quite different basis. An eventual
compromise which would satisfy the interests of both parties would
not be surprising.
The Manchester Guardian, through this experiment, has secured
agreements that its publications shall be free from interruptions.
Three strong unions, contrary to their general policy and tradition,
have given up the right to strike and agreed to arbitration. This is a
new development in the British printing industry. Whether it will
lead to the adoption of general arbitration agreements, such as those
long familiar to the American newspaper industry, is an interesting
question for the future.
Betterment Committee
The work of the joint industrial council and its standing commit
tees, the progress of district committees, and the development of
works organizations have been discussed. There remains one impor
tant development of the past two years. This was an outcome of the
events following the general strike. The rapidity with which the
industry made its national settlement and went back to work and the
determination of leaders of both groups that the joint industrial
council should continue and become a more important force in the
industry have been reported. In the course of that first remarkable
meeting of the council after the strike, when both groups reaffirmed
their confidence in the ideals of the council and their belief in its
future, the retiring chairman, an employer, in a thought-provoking
statement suggested that the time had come for a closer relationship
and cooperation on the vital problem of production. He suggested
that a small committee might be appointed to consider this. The next

BETTERM ENT COMMITTEE

165

month the journal of the Federation of Master Printers carried an
article by another leader among the employers, urging the need of the
industry to discard old ideas, old methods, old machinery, and that
employers and employees should consider with open minds how costs
could be reduced without reducing wages. u The printing industry in
the past has on many occasions shown to other industries new and
better ways of dealing with problems which affect them all. Would
it not be well for the leaders of both sides in the printing trade to
realize the inestimable advantages of lower costs of production; to get
together and start a big campaign for greater efficiency and lower
costs ?” 20
The next meeting of the joint industrial council found all groups
willing to discuss these considerations, and a committee of five from
each panel was set up. The committee early decided to take its
name from that of the 1917 committee which had led to the organ
ization of the council, and it became known, therefore, as the bet
terment committee. In order to secure the greatest frankness of
discussion no reports were issued during the preliminary work
and no detailed minutes were kept. The committee invited the
Printers’ Managers and Overseers Association to send two repre
sentatives to assist in the discussions. From October, 1926, until the
following summer the committee met regularly and discussed very
frankly many important problems, such as the effects of new
machinery, unemployment, the development of works committees,
how to secure suggestions from the workers, the possibilities of
payment by result, and profit sharing. These controversial ques
tions were discussed with the same frankness as are the noncontroversial subjects of the health committee. The difficulties in the way
of sweeping changes were very apparent, however, in the opinions,
prejudices, and traditions current among the rank and file in the
industry. Whatever agreement might be reached among the lead
ers of the two groups could not be made- effective unless accepted
by the industry as a whole. I t was necessary, therefore, for the
committee to move slowly, In July, 1927, the committee submitted
a preliminary report to the joint industrial council, which sent it con
fidentially to all the unions and local alliances of master printers,
asking for discussion. The criticisms, most of which came from
the unions, wTere directed primarily against the suggestions as to
payment by results. The committee decided, therefore, that it should
not attempt too much at first and omitted from the final report the
references to piecework and bonuses. I t included an addendum to
the report to the effect th at other matters still under consideration
and to be submitted to the two panels before the council would be
asked to pass on them, included payment by results, either through
a bonus on output, in addition to time wrages and arranged as a
group or individual bonus, or through a piece rate fixed to enable
the worker to earn an agreed percentage above minimum time
rates; and schemes of share purchase for employees or profit shar
ing, wThich might obtain greater cooperation between employers and
employees. The betterment report was unanimously adopted and
signed by the members of the committee on January 3, 1928.
20 Members’ Circular, August, 1926, p. 226 ; September, 1926, p. 244.

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS---- BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

The report was unanimously approved by the joint industrial coun
cil on January 11, 1928, and sent out to the industry, but without the
controversial addendum. The council strongly ^urged that special
meetings should be called in every town to consider the report and
that the recommendations should be put into effect.
The betterment report is quoted in full below:
First Report of the B etterment Committee to the Joint Industrial Council of the
Printing and Allied Trades
On October 12, 1926. as the outcome of a suggestion made by Gen. W. W right
Bemro.se, on a resolution moved by Mr. James MacLehose, and seconded by
Mr. T. G. Newland, a committee w a s appointed by the joint industrial council
to report upon the question of betterment.
The council decided to invite the cooperation of the Printers’ Managers and
Overseers A ssociation; and their president, Mr. A. H. Wilson, and Mr. A. E.
Jarvis, chairman o f their technical committee, attended the meetings.
The discussions have been free and frank, and very careful consideration has
been given to many problems.
The committee suggest the follow ing as the objectives likely to improve the
status of the in d u stry :
(a) To improve the earning capacity of the industry and so m aintain or im
prove the position of both employers and employees.
(b) To increase employment and avoid periods of slackness.
( c ) To reduce the cost of printing and/or improve the quality so as to create
greater demand.
There should be mutual agreement and hearty cooperation in trying to carry
out any suggestions bearing on the foregoing problems, and the following' are
subm itted:
1. Employers should be urged to improve the efficiency of their works, by
scrapping old and installing new machinery and adopting improved methods of
organization and production of every kind.
2. Modern time-saving machinery, the costing system, paper standardization,
and other methods; of simplification reduce the cost of production, are beneficial
to all concerned, and should be generally adopted.
Employees should cooperate w ith the employers in the use o f these methods.
3. In view of the temporary loss of employment which in some instances has
been known to follow the introduction of time-saving machines, employers are
recommended, when machinery of a new type is introduced, to endeavor to
retain all their employees by transfer to other duties. This suggestion is not
intended to interfere w ith any of the recognized lines of demarcation.
4. A works advisory committee should be formed in all offices where the
number of the employees makes the formation of such a comm ittee practicable.
5. Employees should be encouraged to make suggestions for improving the
methods of working and the amenities of the factory.
The works advisory committee should be the natural and proper channel
through which suggestions by workers should be made. Employees making
suggestions which are adopted by the employers should be suitably rewarded.
6. When possible, additional day labor, double shifts or night shifts, should
be engaged instead of working avoidable persistent overtime.
7. Work' in the printing trade is largely seasonal, and large consumers, all
public authorities, and the Stationery Office should be persuaded to place their
orders earlier and, ass far as practicable, in slack seasons.
8. Wherever possible, the education authorities, the employers, and the trade
unions should jointly arrange classes for unemployed workers, so th at they
may improve their efficiency and be instructed in the latest developments in
their trade.

To estimate the value of this betterment report is very difficult.
I t was acclaimed in the trade press as an event of first importance.
On the other hand, there is much disappointment among employers
that no agreement was possible on the important subject of payment
by result, which they consider the crux of the problem. Great
allowance must be made for bitter opposition on the part of most

QUARTERLY M EETINGS OF INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL

167

of the rank and file of the workers of the industry to any form of
piecework, for it is the result of past experience when piece rates
meant exploitation through speeding up and lowering of rates of
pay. In the light of this experience, it will take long education to
overcome the suspicion aroused by any discussion of output. The
betterment report must be estimated in view of this attitude among
the workers. Its main achievement, then, appears to be in the fact
of a frank discussion of problems of production by the leaders on
both sides. Such a discussion, with its full recognition of many
common interests and problems, would have been impossible in the
industry 10 years ago. The report, jointly signed, recognized a
common interest in increasing efficiency and adopting modern
methods in order to improve the position of both employers and
employees in the industry. Such a statement on the part of the
national leaders of the unions must in time have an effect on the
attitude of the rank and file. The other recommendations, for
minimizing unemployment, securing the placing of orders in slack
seasons, and encouraging works advisory committees and the making
of suggestions by employees, are less controversial, but they are
subjects on which the majority of employers require education. Here,
again, the effect of the betterment report must be educational. To
secure the putting into operation throughout the industry of such
recommendations is much more difficult than securing an agreement
by a national committee that these things are desirable. Lack of
interest in the plants may defeat the purpose of the betterment
report, as it has largely nullified some other projects of the joint
industrial council. Nevertheless, the leaders of the industry have
put their seal on the important fact of common interest of all in
the industry in greater efficiency. This must be accepted as a step
forward. But the larger task remains for the betterment committee
to educate the industry to recognize this fact and, on the part both
of employers and employees, to put this recognition into practice.
The committee, therefore, is continuing its work, both of propaganda
and of the making of further plans for betterment.
Q uarterly Meetings
A large part of the work of the joint industrial council is done
by the committees. Nevertheless, the quarterly meetings of the
full council play an important part. These meetings, made up
of 72 representatives of the two groups from all parts of the country,
are an excellent means for developing and using public opinion in
the industry, for pooling experience of all sorts, and for education.
The council hears* and discusses the detailed reports of the work of
each committee. Discussions of the conciliation committee repoits
are educational, bringing out as they do the feeling on the part
of both groups that for the good of each the findings of the committee
should be accepted. On rare occasions, when the conciliation ma
chinery has been disregarded or findings of the committee, after being
formally accepted, have not been put into effect, opinion has been
unanimous against such action and the officers have been authorized
to use every effort to secure a settlement in the spirit of the council.
The discussions of the health committee reports show a very great

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS----BRITISH P R IN T IN G IN DUSTRY

interest on all ,sides. In addition to acting upon matters reported
by the committee, the council often discusses other problems brought
up by members of either group. For example, the fact that a certain
turpentine substitute had been proved to cause dermatitis was
reported by one member, others reported their experience, and the
whole question was referred to the committee for investigation.
Similarly, dangers from certain types of machinery were discussed.
In this way problems that have arisen in one plant are brought to
the attention of the industry for study and action. Again, dis
cussions of the apprentice scheme and of the betterment report serve
the purpose of stimulating interest and spreading the knowledge of
what is being done in different sections, and of arousing public opinion
in favor of the proposals. When the 72 representatives return
to their constituencies and report, with the aid of the detailed minutes
published in the journals of both the employers and the unions, the
potentialities of the council as an organ of education bfecome
very great.
Achievements of Joint Industrial Council
The joint industrial council in the printing industry has had an
experience of nearly nine years. During this time joint councils
in many other industries have failed, or have become practically in
active. In the printing industry, on the contrary, the council has
developed in its activities and in its standing and influence. The
reasons for the degree of success of this council are to be found
primarily in three facts: The strong organization already existing
on both .sides, the character of the leadership of both groups, and
the fact that the council did not become a negotiating body. I t has
been on the rock of negotiations that many joint councils have met
destruction. In the printing industry, however, the existing system
of collective bargaining was not disturbed and the individual organi
zations continue to negotiate their agreements. The council, there
fore, has been able to devote itself in a dispassionate manner to
the many problems other than wages and hours in which there
is a common interest. Problems such as health, training, unemploy
ment, development of good relations between employers and em
ployed, and legislation affecting the industry, have not been crowded
out by more controversial subjects. Moreover, the atmosphere de
veloped in the consideration of such subjects, that of common interest
in the welfare of the industry, has carried over and affected the
adjustment of controversies. When negotiations have failed, the
council is able to intervene as a conciliator, in an attitude somewhat
detached from the controversy, and, with its strong will to keep the
peace, it is often able to promote a settlement.
The joint industrial council is a body without powers, however.
Its constituent associations retain their autonomy and have the right
to reject any decision of the joint industrial council or one of its
committees. Nevertheless, as the council is able to make articulate
a public opinion in the industry, it can exert considerable moral
pressure, and often one group or the other, with the support of the
council, is able to bring members into line. A plan to make legally
binding upon the whole industry the decisions of joint industrial

ACHIEVEM ENTS OF JO IN T INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL

169

councils is under consideration in England. While the council of
the printing industry has not made a decision upon this point, its
entire policy has been against compulsion. It prefers that the council
should be an educational and conciliatory force, relying upon the
common sense of the industry not to disregard decisions of a repre
sentative body. The Federation of Master Printers has no power
over employers, except that of exerting moral pressure, for expulsion
is not a serious penalty. The individual unions control their mem
bership, but the unions themselves are not subject to any compulsion
from either the union federation or the joint industrial council,
except, again, the power of public opinion exerted by their own group.
Whatever compulsion exists in the industry lies in the power of the
unions to enforce compliance with standards, aided by the fair-wages
clause. The influence of the council lies in a different direction, that
of conciliation and education to the needs of the industry.
The primary achievement of the council has been the intangible
one of creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding
of each others’ difficulties and problems among the leaders of the
organizations of employers and employees. Nine years of meeting
together regularly to discuss important problems affecting both
groups has modified attitudes on both sides and created a new basis
for cooperation. In this atmosphere the conciliation wTork of the
council has been highly successful. The use of the conciliation ma
chinery of the council is becoming the accepted custom of the trade
and unconstitutional stoppages are very rare. In all but a few cases
referred to it the council has been able to avert resort to coercion by
encouraging negotiation until a settlement was reached or by sug
gesting a basis for an acceptable solution. While conditions in the
industry of recent years have been favorable for peace, since on the
whole wages are high and conditions good, in many instances the
council with its will to keep the peace has prevented troubles that
might have developed to serious proportions. In the opinion of
many, voluntary conciliation is becoming so well established a habit
that the possibility of any serious stoppage in the trade is exceedingly
remote.
Keeping the peace is perhaps a negative achievement. On the
constructive side, the work of the health committee is a striking
demonstration of the possibilities of joint action on matters in which
there is no fundamental difference of interests. There can be no
question of the educational value of this work to the industry. On
more controversial questions the record is less satisfactory, for two
difficulties appear; first, to find a program that can be agreed upon
and, second, to secure its application throughout the industry. In
the case of apprenticeship the program finally adopted was not radi
cal—providing as it did not for joint control but for consultation only
and joint encouragement of proper training, leaving the employer
free to make decisions upon his own policy—still it would have meant
an improvement in the general standard of training. While this
program has aroused discussion of the problem, it has only to a
very slight extent been put into effect. The program is serving an
educational purpose, but its progress is very slow.
The open-shop problem is a highly controversial issue. Although
one of the purposes of the council is to secure complete organization

170

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS----BRITISH PR IN TIN G IN DUSTRY

on both sides, the open-shop employers ate sufficiently numerous to
hinder the Federation of Master Printers from taking any action to
ward promoting union organization. Many union employers, more
over,. are not sure that complete organization of the employees
would be to the advantage of the industry, although they recognize
the open-shop problem as a disturbing element in the industry at
present. The joint industrial council accordingly avoids this prob
lem for the most part, leaving it as the job of each group to organize
its group without asking aid of the other side. The issue can not
be entirely avoided, however, and controversies that come to the
conciliation committee are handled and, in some cases, settled. This
is a type of issue, however, on which, as a whole, the council is not
able to function.
Finally, in attacking the whole problem of “ betterment,” the
council indicated a belief that it had progressed until it could use
fully apply its methods of discussion to the most fundamental
problems of the industry. Nevertheless, the really controversial
points were omitted from the first report of the betterment commit
tee. The report marks a significant step forward in the public recog
nition of the joint interest in efficiency. But to what extent the
recommendations of the committee will be accepted throughout the
industry and be made effective remains to be seen. Again, it is a
problem of education of the rank and file on both sides.
The joint industrial council consists of 72 people, the picked
representatives of the industry. To spread through the entire indus
try the attitude and atmosphere that has become general in the
deliberations of this group is, however, a difficult problem. Spread
ing from the center of the industry—the national council—to the
districts and plants, the council atmosphere becomes very dif
fused. The council recognizes the need of organization and local
conference to promote a good relationship in all sections of the
industry, but it has had only a limited success in securing such
organization. Where district committees have been organized they
have been successful in furthering the purposes of the council and
promoting a friendly relationship. But the number of active district
committees is small. The record as to works advisory committees
is even less satisfactory. Although a few plants have organized
works committees and found them useful, the attitude of the indus
try, on the whole, is one of lack of interest or of active opposition.
Many employers are hesitant to admit in the plant the same degree
of joint consultation that prevails nationally, lest it lead to inter
ference with the work of management and the encroachment of
union control. While there is considerable interest among employers
in such developments as pension plans and profit sharing, the organ
ization of regular means of consultation with employees, even without
giving up control, is contrary to tradition, and is progressing very
slowly. The same attitude is behind the failure of the industry
generally to adopt the apprentice scheme. On the part of the
employees, also, there is much of the old attitude of suspicion, failure
to see the value of cooperation, and disbelief in many of the ideas
promulgated by the councij. The council has made only a slight
beginning in the task of promoting cooperation throughout the entire

ACHIEVEM ENTS OF JO IN T IN DUSTRIAL COUNCIL

171

industry. I t has a mass of inertia, tradition, and prejudice to over
come if it is to accomplish that purpose.
Although the British printing industry is able to act on a national
basis in a way quite unknown to the industry in the United States,
many of the problems that develop are the result of the still existing
fundamental decentralization of the industry. The local units of the
industry have fox the most part given up their old autonomy on
wages and hours in favor of national settlements. On other ques
tions, however, whatever the recommendations of the council, action
is dependent upon acceptance by the local groups. The nationally
adopted programs for apprenticeship, for betterment, or for the
organization of works committees or district committees, accordingly
must wait for action by the autonomous local groups. The British
policy of leaving such programs to voluntary acceptance by the
groups concerned makes education in the industry a very important
phase of the work of the program-making body.
The essence of the achievement of the joint industrial council of
the printing industry is in the atmosphere it has established in the
national council chamber, making possible the cooperation of the
national organizations on many important problems of the industry,
the settlement by conciliatory methods of most of the differences
arising in negotiations between the various autonomous organizations,
the pooling of experience in the industry, and the promulgation of
plans and policies for the welfare of the industry. As an agency
of education, to spread through the industry the ideals of the council
and to secure the adoption of its programs, the joint industrial
council has already shown some success, but, to a large degree, the
education of the rank and file of both groups is a task remaining
for the future.
17610°—28---12

Chapter 7 —Company Experiments in Cooperative
Organization
In the printing industry with its large numbers of plants the tra
dition is strong for industrial-relations organization in the form
of trade-unions which deal collectively with groups of employers in
establishing conditions of labor. This tradition and the condition
which favored its development are largely responsible for the rarity
in this industry of experiments by single companies in industrialrelations organization. In the postwrar years, w^hich have seen a
large development of employee-representation plans by individual
companies in other industries, the outstanding experiments in the
printing industry in America in organization on other than a union
basis have been those in Boston, in Baltimore, and among the New
York bookbinders. Each of these plans organizes the relations be
tween the employees and the employers of an entire group of plants.
Only a very few company plans have been found. Of each of these,
however, it has been possible to learn from the plant something of its
experience.
Only one example has been found in the American printing in
dustry of an employee-representation plan established by a single
company on an open-shop basis and maintained for several years.
This experiment was made by the Otterbein Press, the plant of the
United Brethren Publishing House, of Dayton, Ohio. This plant
was established over 90 years ago by the United Brethren Church
and now prints all the church literature and a considerable volume
of commercial work. Over 200 people are employed. Before 1921
the plant was run as an open shop, employing a considerable num
ber of union members. Since the strike of the printing trade-union^
for the 44-hour week on May 1, 1921, the plant has operated on a
nonunion, 48-hour basis.
In the fall of 1919 the publishing agent became interested in the
plan of industrial democracy described by John Leitch in his book
“ Man to Man.” He asked others in the organization to read the
book, sent a delegation to New York to consult with Mr. Leitch,
and called a meeting of all the employees to discuss the matter. An
elected committee of 15 studied plans in operation in .several near-by
factories and presented to the employees a plan which was unani
mously adopted on January 17, 1920. A constitution which was
then drawn up and adopted provided for the form of organization
usual in the Leitch plans, that is, an organization modeled in part
after the Government of the United States. The industrial de
mocracy established by this constitution put all its legislative powers
in three bodies, a cabinet, senate, and house of representatives. The
cabinet was composed of the publishing agent and other officers
selected by him. The senate was made up of superintendents and
foremen, while the hou,se consisted of representatives of each de172

EXPERIM ENTS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

173

partment, elected by the workers for terms of one year. Each group
was to meet weekly and make its decisions by majority vote. Legis
lation could be initiated by either the house or the senate. A bill
passed by either house went to the other for action, and when ap
proved by both went to the cabinet for approval, rejection, or the
suggestion of amendments. No bill was effective until it was ap
proved by the cabinet. An important provision was for an economy
dividend. Whenever by the elimination of waste, paving of time,
or increase of production the costs of production were reduced for
one month from the previous month, the saving was to be distributed
among all the employees in an economy dividend. I t was said
that a continuous reduction in costs would be possible, for reduc
tion of costs would permit lowering of prices, which would increase
the volume of .sales and lead again to further reduction in costs.
Employees were guaranteed against any discrimination for activities
under the plan.
The plan was adopted with considerable enthusiasm. The first
bills adopted provided a set of rules for employees, secured certain
changes in the sanitary conditions of different departments, and
took other action affecting the comfort and welfare of the employees.
Later a suggestion system was set up, jointly controlled, which was
successful in securing many suggestions of value and putting them
into effect. Social and athletic activities under the auspices of the
industrial democracy were enthusiastically supported and brought
members of the production and office forces together without
distinction.
For a time economy dividends were earned regularly and dis
tributed. When the poor years following 1921 came, the regular
volume of business from the church organization maintained produc
tion, in spite of the difficulties in the commercial printing business.
But finally the economy dividends became less frequent, and during
1927 none were distributed.
Under the plan each house was to meet weekly. For a time they
did so, but it was not long before meetings became irregular. The
senate, of foremen and superintendents, found great difficulty in
getting its members together, since it meant calling them away from
their departments, and began to meet only when there was special
need. The house continued its regular meetings longer, although it
reduced the frequency of meeting. Interest decreased after the first
flush of activity during which the most pressing causes of dissatisfac
tion and difficulty were eliminated. Later few subjects were brought
up at the meeting. The employee chairman of the house urged the
representatives to take an active interest and make use of the plan,
but got little response. Economy dividends ceased to have any
incentive either for greater interest in production or to stimulate
interest in the industrial democracy itself. An auditorium which
was used during the life of the plan for mass meetings of all
employees to discuss various phases of the plant’s interests, in the
fall of 1927 was being used for another purpose. Social activities
continued, but there were few other tangible evidences of the work
of the industrial democracy organization. Finally in 1928 a meeting
of all employees voted that as the plan had become inactive, it
should be discontinued,

174

EXPERIM ENTS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

Both the management and representatives of the employees
expressed the opinion that in its early period the plan was beneficial.
I t helped to maintain a cordial relationship in the plant, it eliminated
many small sources of friction and dissatisfaction, improved produc
tion, and brought out many suggestions which increased efficiency and
added to the comfort of the employees. As time went on, however,
both groups lost interest in the plan. In the first place it proved too
cumbersome. The system of three houses sitting separately meant a
considerable delay in getting action on any subject, even when the
houses met each week. In practice long delays were inevitable and
irritating, and the men lost faith in their ability to get action
through these channels. Direct appeal to the management was more
effective. The disappearance of the economy dividends decidedly
dampened the ardor of the men who earlier had been enthusiastic
about the plan. A final factor of some influence was the refusal of
the management to grant the 44-hour week on May 1, 1921, although
many plants in Dayton did so. A t that time some union members
left the Otterbein Press, while others gave up their union cards and
stayed with the plant. Feeling over this issue was without doubt one
element in the decrease in activity since the summer of 1921.
The industrial democracy of the Otterbein Press followed the
experience of many other employee representation plans, going
through a cycle of enthusiasm and success in its early period, tfien
gradual loss of interest and decreasing activity, and finally abandon
ment. The management has not lost faith in employee representation,
however. I t is now working on a plan for a smaller joint committee,
representing the management and the workers of each department,
to meet regularly and decide immediately upon matters brought
before it. Such a plan would eliminate the delays of the old regime,
while retaining the benefits of regular channels for handling matters
of common interest. I f this plan, which is being worked out in the
summer of 1928, is put into effect it will be able to profit from the
weaknesses of the other plan and to continue an experiment of interest.
Three other plants had brief experience with shop committee
organization. The American Lithographic Co. of New York, which
employs over 500 people, in August, 1927, discontinued its shop
council after three years’ experience. The council had represented
only the lithographic department, which was operated on an openshop basis. The typographic department, employing members of the
printing-trade unions, was not included. The council met monthly.
I t was used chiefly on questions of welfare and comfort, many of
which the management felt could have been easily arranged, if the
men had taken them directly to the management, without the for
mality of the council. Neither the company nor the workers consid
ered the plan useful enough to justify the expenditure of time and
money, and it was given up by a vote of the employees. Its only
vestige now is a suggestion system which functions through the pro
duction manager’s office and is successful in bringing out some sug
gestions of value. Another plan which received some publicity in
1920 was adopted by the Crookston Times Publishing Co. for its
plant employing some 40 men in Crookston, Minn. An elected com
mittee from the men took over the entire management, subject to veto
by the board of directors, Savings from the average costs of the

EXPERIM ENTS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

175

previous five years were to be divided equally between the company
and the men. This plan lasted only a few months.
Another plan was that of the Hamilton Press in New York,
adopted in 1919 in an effort to establish closer working relations
between the employees and the management. The plan, which was
the result of collaboration of the two groups, provided for a works
council elected by the two general committees of employees and man
agement. Any difficulties which could not be settled by the works
council were referred to a joint meeting of the two general com
mittees, and if then not satisfactorily settled, to arbitration. Em
ployee representatives were guaranteed against any discrimination
for activities in their representative capacity. The trade-unions at
this time were actively organizing, and it w^as only a few months
before this plant was struck with a demand for unionization. The
management called the men together, found a large majority of them
in favor of joining the unions, and acceded to the demand. The
council plan was at once given up, although with some regret on
the part of the firm, for it considered that the regular personal con
tact between management and men was advantageous. Continuation
of the committee in conjunction with unionism was not considered,
for it was assumed that the unions would have opposed. The plant
now has a safety committee meeting regularly. Experience shows
that quite naturally, when a group of men from the various depart
ments meets, questions other than safety are brought up. This safety
committee accordingly discusses questions of broader interest and
serves informally as a shop committee. The management considers
it very useful in this aspect of its activities.
An experiment which is rare, perhaps unique in the printing in
dustry in the United States, an experiment in combining tradeunion and plant organization, has been conducted by a small plant
in New York City, the Nation Press Printing Co., which until 1920
was connected with the Nation. The plant prints the Nation and
other periodicals, also advertising matter and other job work. I t
employs regularly about 45 people. Since 1918 it ha^ been a union
plant.
In the fall of 1919 the New York industry was paralyzed by a
strike in which one issue was a demand for a reduction of hours from
48 to 44. A representative of the Nation suggested that the company
grant a 40-hour, 5-day week, establishing at the same time a repre
sentative council for the democratic control of production and dis
cipline. The company agreed to try the experiment, providing pro
duction should not decrease. The unions were entirely favorable to
the plan, for the concession was in advance of their demands. Ac
cordingly the plan went into effect, although the rest of the New York
industry continued on a 48-hour week basis until May 1, 1921.
The constitution which was formally adopted on May 11, 1920,
outlines an organization known as 44The Nation Press Cooperative
Democracy.55 The organization comprised the employer and all
employees of six months’ service. A representative council was to
consist of three representatives of the employer and four representa
tives of the mechanical departments. The council was to have “ com
plete control of production and discipline,55 and be guided by the
constitution and by-laws passed by the general assembly. No rules

176

EXPERIM ENTS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

were to be adopted, however, which would conflict with rules of the
various, unions. Members of the council were to be elected annually
by the departments and be subject to recall by a two-thirds vote of
the departments represented. A general assembly of all members
was to be held every six months to hear the report of the council, and
special meetings of the assembly could be called on petition of 10
employees. The council, which was organized in November, 1919,
and held regular meetings twice a month, recognized as its problems
the control of production, discipline, and the coordination of all parts
of the organization.
In the fall of 1920 the owner offered to sell the company to the
employees. His plan was to retain the preferential stock, which was
preferential as to assets only, not as to dividends. About one-third
of this preferential stock was to be retired over a period of 20 years.
The common stock would control the business, and was offered to
the men either for cash or on installments running one year. The
interest of the employees in the company was indicated when 21 out
of 35 men bought stock. The shares of any of the original stock
holders who have left the employ of the company have been bought
back and offered to other employees. In 1928 the same amount of
stock originally bought by employees is in the hands of employees,
but the number of employee stockholders has decreased to 15. The
president of the company, who is the manager, in 1928 owns 40 per
cent of the common stock, 15 per cent is in the hands of outsiders,
and 45 per cent is owned by employees. Most of the employee p ar
ticipators own from $100 to $500 of stock, wThile two have blocks of
$1,000 and $1,200.
A t the time of the sale of stock to the employees, the control was
put for a term of five years in the hands of a voting trust of three, to
safeguard the interests of the retiring owner. Since the expiration
of this period, however, the stockholders have annually elected the
board of directors, who appoint the officers. The day to day man
agement of the business is not greatly affected by the unusual char
acter of the ownership of the company.
While thus the employee stockholders exerted some control over
the destinies of the company through the annual stockholders’ meet
ing, all employees of six months’ service were entitled to vote for
representatives on the council. Under the terms of the constitution
the council had large powers, the “ complete control of production
and discipline.” Although the demarcation of the lines of authority
between the council and the management was nowhere laid down, in
practice there was no conflict. The council was a small body meet
ing regularly to discuss plans and policies, hear reports of the man
agement, and make recommendations. Whether an actual decision
was made by the council or by the management does not always
appear from the record, and is perhaps under these circumstances
immaterial. Certainly on questions of expenditure it was necessary
for the responsible management to make the final decision. The
council frequently discussed requests of various departments for new
machinery and other equipment, and changes of organization and
methods to increase efficiency. The management reported on sales,
business conditions, and finances of the company, and methods of
increasing business were discussed. Many questions affecting health,

177

EXPERIM ENTS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

safety, and comfort were brought up and acted upon. A set of shop
rules worked out by the foremen and the management was approved
by the council. Questions of discipline were occasionally discussed.
The fact that a man was a stockholder was not allowed to interfere
with the discipline of the plant, and in one serious case the council
agreed that it was necessary to discharge a man, although he was
a stockholder and had been a director. The question of smoking in
the factory was finally decided by the council after a general assem
bly had been called by petition to protest against the prohibition
of smoking.
Under the industrial compensation rating schedule in New York,
a plant may pay a lower rate for its insurance by organizing a
safety committee which meets regularly and receives reports on a
weekly safety inspection. For a time the council of the Nation
Press acted as the safety committee. As time went on, however,
a decrease occurred in the number of questions other than safety
which were brought up. Finally in 1926 the council became the
safety committee. No regular elections of representatives have been
held since then. The committee still consists, nevertheless, of repre
sentatives from all departments, including both foremen and jour
neymen. In practice the safety committee still performs the same
functions as the council, although with more emphasis on safety
questions. I t still hears reports of the condition of the business
and discusses production problems.
From the minutes of the council and of the safety committee an
analysis has been made of the subjects discussed at the meetings of
the council during its life from November, 1919, to August, 1926,
and of the safety committee from September, 1926, to April, 1928.
A discussion of a subject at one meeting was counted as a unit. The
larger number of discussions were of matters of health, safety, and
comfort, but a very substantial proportion were devoted to the production and business problems of the company.

Subject

Discussions
of council,
November,
1919, to
August,
1926

Discussions
of safety
committee,
September,
1926, to
April, 1928

Efficiency production machinery
_ ___________________________________
Costs sales business problems
_______________________________________
Health safety, comfort
- ____________________________________
Vacations, holidays, hours, social ________________________________________
Discipline
______________________________________
Profit sharing bonuses, group insurance ___________________________________
Miscellaneous
-- _____________________________________ - _____

86
31
108
31
6
6
8

31
6
49
5

-- _______________________________ ___ ___

276

Total

The general assembly of all employees was not called upon to
function regularly, but on several occasions it was useful. P a r
ticularly when the return to the 44-hour week was under discussion,
an assembly was called to present to the employees the facts about
the condition of the company, and to secure their suggestions on
the problem.
The 40-hour, 5-day week continued until the summer of 1926.
I t was reported at the end of the first year that production had not

178

EXPERIM EN TS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION*

decreased with the reduction of hours, nor had costs increased. In
the spring of 1925, however, a comparison of the hour costs of the
Nation Press with the average hour costs of the commercial group
of plants in the New York Employing Printers’ Association showed
pressroom costs comparing favorably, while the costs in the com
posing room and bindery were a little higher than the general
average. Late in 1925 and in 1926, a time of very slack business, the
company found that it was at a considerable disadvantage in com
petition. While production in 40 hours was less than could be
turned out in 44, even more important was the fact that customers
demanded service on Saturdays. I t was therefore necessary to call
men in for work on Saturday, for which extra wages at regular
hour rates were paid, thus increasing costs. In a time of scarcity of
work this competitive disadvantage was very serious. The board of
directors called a general assembly to discuss the problem. The
directors then decided to continue the 40-hour week, but to abolish
the vacations with pay which had been in force for several years.
The council urged all to cooperate in giving 40 hours of con
scientious work and avoiding waste in order that the short work
week might be continued. When summer came, however, the firm
was still in difficulty in competing for work. Accordingly it was
finally decided to reverse the previous decision and to return to 44
hours, but continue the vacations with pay. While the men recog
nized the problem, they felt keenly the loss of their Saturday holiday.
They might arrange to take time off on Saturday in rotation were
it not for the union rule that permits lay offs only in order of priority.
The management feels in 1928 that the company has made satis
factory progress. I t has had a moderate financial success and has
paid reasonable dividends. Twice, in December of 1924 and of
1926, it has made a small profit-sharing distribution to all
employees.
The management is convinced that the fact of part ownership
on the part of the men and the consultation through the council, the
general assembly, or more recently the safety committee, has shown
results in the cooperative spirit general in the plant. The foremen
also are substantial stockholders and have therefore a considerable
incentive to maintain efficiency. The men themselves are interested
in the success of the company. Moreover, the vacations with pay
and other minor conditions more favorable than the usual situation
in the industry help to explain the satisfactory relations within the
plant.
I t is apparent that the fact of copartnership through the owner
ship by employees of voting stock is more prominent in the minds
of the men than is the old plan of cooperative democracy. A t the
present time, however, only 15 out of 35 men are copartners. These
men are from the more permanent group, many of whom have been
with the plant over 10 years, while other men come and go. P a r
ticipation in stock ownership is limited now to a smaller number
of employees than originally. Nevertheless this nucleus is sufficient
to affect the morale of the plant.
The cooperative democracy of the Nation Press is now inactive.
I f the men remember the enthusiasm with which the plan was
adopted in 1919 they give no sign now. The safety committee which

EXPERIM ENTS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

179

has taken over the functions of the old council works quietly, meet
ing regularly to receive the safety reports and then informally
consulting on plant problems, coordinating the work of the de
partments, discussing the condition of the business, and making sug
gestions. The management now feels that in so small a plant there
is danger of overorganization, and spending too much time in dis
cussion. The present less formal committee serves all the purposes
of the council. In case of any important development, however, the
council or the general assembly would be called. I t is a substantial
advantage that the plant has the background of this type of organ
ization which it could revive and use if needed. There is one dis
advantage in the present situation, nevertheless, in that the employees
as a whole do not hear much of the work of the committee.
The cooperative democracy of the Nation Press was never carried
to the extent of a democratic control of production. I t amounted
rather to democratic consultation among the representatives of all
groups, including the management, with the result that decisions
were often jointly arrived at. Authority remained in the hands of
the management, subject to the eventual control of the stockholders.
The present less formal organization carries on the same process.
The significance of this whole experiment of the Nation Press is
not in any revolutionary plan of plant organization nor in any
extraordinary accomplishment, but in demonstrating that it is pos
sible for a union plant to organize a works council and to secure
whatever advantages are inherent in such an organization for con
sidering the problems of the individual plant. In this case loyalty
to the plant has been possible in conjunction with loyalty to the
union. While this cooperative democracy, like many other works
councils, was started with an enthusiasm wThich became somewhat
diluted as time went on, nevertheless for over eight years a genuine
democratic consultation of men from the different departments with
the management has continued. Business and production problems
of the firm are regularly discussed by the committee as well as in the
annual stockholders’ meeting. A nucleus of the more permanent em
ployees through their ownership of stock and representation on the
safety committee have a share in the democratic control of the com
pany and an interest in its success, at the same time that they main
tain their membership in the unions.
In several large union plants in the New York industry are found
joint conferences or committees which serve in minor degrees the
functions of wrork committees. These are of two sorts, joint com
mittees representative of management and men to deal with certain
limited fields of activity, and foremen’s conferences. The first type
are found in welfare committees and safety committees. One large
plant employing nearly a thousand people has a joint welfare com
mittee which has charge of athletics and social activities and is work
ing on the organization of a mutual benefit society. A number of
other plants also have benefit societies. Of more significance in this
connection, since they are jointly organized to deal with an important
problem within the plant, are the safety committees. The large plant
already mentioned has a safety committee composed of foremen, sub
foremen, and one journeyman from each department. Members of
the committee make daily safety inspections in each department.

180

EXPERIM ENTS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

The committee meets weekly under the chairmanship of the engineer
to hear reports and consider all questions of safety. The Nation
Press safety committee which has taken the place of the earlier coun
cil and still performs many of its functions as well as those of a
safety committee, has already been described. The Hamilton Press
also finds its safety committee useful for the discussion of other ques
tions affecting the interests of the men and the plant.
Foremen’s conferences are being used by several of the large plants
as a means of improving correlation between departments, eliminat
ing friction, encouraging suggestions, and improving the relation
ships within the plant. In some cases they meet regularly every
month, and in others only when called. Several plants include all
subforemen. In one plant, monthly conferences were held for
several years. The employer found them very useful, particularly
in the opportunity they gave him to educate the entire group in
their responsibilities by dramatizing situations before them all and
securing their agreement. Finally the regular conferences were
dropped and in their place conferences are called informally, of
the men concerned in any question. The employer believes, how
ever, that the present satisfactory relationship, in which suggestions
come constantly from the production departments and conferences
occur as there is need for them, is in part the effect of the old period
of regular meeting. In another plant the monthly foremen’s con
ference which includes all subforemen, is very useful in straighten
ing out difficulties between departments and eliminating grievances.
Foremen and subforemen are union men, although representatives
of the management in the plant. The subforemen in particular are
expected to be in close touch with the men under them, to bring up
any grievances, and to take back to the men the results of the con
ferences. None of these plants has tried the experiment of extend
ing the conference method to include the chapel chairman or other
direct representative of the men. In most cases the possibility had
not occurred to the employer, while in some it was considered un
necessary, since the subforemen were so close to the men. Provi
sion for the meeting of the foremen with the management, however,
whether regularly or at frequent intervals as need arises, is well
established in these plants as a means of maintaining satisfactory
personal relationships.
An opinion is common among employing printers that shop com
mittees of the sort found in open shops of other industries are im
possible, or of u not much use ” in union plants. These employers
usually believe that because the agreements between the unions and
the employers establish the rules for working conditions, there is no
field for conferences between the employer and the men in his plant,
and the unions would object to any such conferences. In an effort
to learn if there is any basis for this opinion, officers of the different
New York unions were asked their attitude toward shop committees
in union plants. No hostility was shown, although the interest of
the men questioned varied. In fact, all pointed to committees in
operation in various plants as evidence that the unions did not object.
Although these committees upon investigation proved to be either
limited committees devoted to safety or welfare or foremen’s confer
ences, rather than more general shop committees, the unquestioning
acceptance of them by the unions is indicative of the union attitude.

EXPERIM ENTS IK COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

181

One union leader, however, was skeptical of the value of such com
mittees. He felt that the chief interest of individual workers and
of the union should be and was in the skill of the individual, while
the efficiency of the plant was outside their province. He doubted
the likelihood of any suggestions of value being secured by the
management from the men on such committees. Another leader
pointed out the difficulty of enlisting efforts to increase efficiency,
since such improvements led usually to displacing men. I f the
workers had security in their jobs, then it would be possible through
joint committees to get real cooperation in eliminating waste and
increasing efficiency. An officer of another union, however, was
decidedly interested in the possibilities of shop committees, believing
that an organization which would give the individual a chance to
express himself and encourage him to make suggestions was in line
with progressive unionism. He believed that the modern trade-union
must be interested in plant problems and should therefore favor the
development of shop committees.
I t may safely be assumed that a New York closed-shop plant
would not be prevented by the unions from making any experiment
in the use of conference committees to consider the problems of
the plant. The fact that the unions made no objection to the
cooperative democracy established by the Nation Press in 1919, but
have the friendliest relationship to that plant, gives further support
to this assumption.
I f the possibility of establishing such committees is granted, there
is still the question whether there is any field for their activity.
The working conditions agreed upon in the union contracts can not
be changed by any plant committee. To some extent, therefore, the
union plant is restricted in its freedom to experiment with methods
and organization of work. Nevertheless, outside the field covered by
union rules, there is still a large body of questions affecting only the
relationships within the plant in question. Consultation of the man
agement and the men is obviously possible on questions of safety
and comfort, and also on grievances and personal relations, the rela
tions between departments, and questions of efficiency and produc
tion not touched by union rules. The union organization within the
plant, the chapel, is devoted chiefly to insuring that union condi
tions are maintained and to carrying on union business. The chapel
protects the individual also from any action by the company contrary
to union regulations. Such major grievances as unjust discharge are
therefore handled through the union. But many minor grievances
and frictions develop and are not taken care of unless the personal
relationships are entirely friendly and cooperative. Foremen’s con
ferences have proved helpful in this field, and their extension to
include chapel chairmen or other direct representatives of the men
might give further help.
The difficulties in making joint conference committees within the
plants useful for both the management and the workers are many.
Conferences use much valuable time, and sometimes result in round
about methods when direct methods would be more successful. Con
ference committees can not succeed without leadership and imagina
tion on the part of the management. In some plants, both union
and open shop, the personal qualities of the managers are such that

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EXPERIM ENTS IN COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION

satisfactory relationships are maintained with informal personal
contacts, making unnecessary the formal organization of conference.
Under the guidance of men with such qualities, however, it is possible
for conferences within the plant to have important results in plant
morale.
On the whole, few tests have been made in the book and job prin t
ing industry of the possibility of increasing confidence and coopera
tion within the plant by frank discussion in joint committees of
the problems and needs of the plant. The experience of the few
plants which have made such experiments in America and also in
the British printing industry shows that it is very difficult to main
tain interest and keep the organization functioning actively over a
period of time. Any shop committee is limited to the problems of
the plant, and after the first period of active interest has taken care
of outstanding difficulties, it often finds little to do, and interest
wanes. Nevertheless, the experience indicates that with intelligent
and constructive leadership on the part of management it is possi
ble for shop committees, whether under union or open-shop condi
tions, and whether as general committees, safety committees, or
foremen’s conferences, to be useful parts of plant organization.

Chapter 8.—Results of Organization for Joint Control
Industrial relations in the book and job printing industry in the
United States are of three types, according to the character of
organization and the underlying philosophy of the employing
printers. There is first the large group of employing printers, either
open shop or strictly nonunion, who are individualistic in philosophy
and each of whom, within the limits set by economic conditions,
determines the working conditions for his own plant. This group
makes no attempt to enforce uniform* conditions throughout the
industry. The second group, including also both open shop and
nonunion plants, believes that organization of both employers and
employees for cooperation in the joint control of industrial relations
is advantageous. This group includes chiefly the cooperative employer-employee organizations of the Boston and the Baltimore
printers and the New York edition bookbinders. Finally, there is the
union section of the industry, in which very commonly the employing
printers act less according to a conscious philosophy of organization
than under the necessity which conditions bring upon them. In
this part of the industry employers and employees are organized to
protect their own interests, and cooperation for the control of the
industry follows when it appears to be in line with the interests of
the two groups.
The second and third types of industrial relations, in which there is
organization of employers and employees to establish standards and
jointly control the industry, have been the subject of this study. The
purpose here is to summarize the character of the activities on which
these joint organizations work, and to indicate the extent to which
an effective control is established.
The extent to which the determination of conditions in the indus
try is actually divided between the employers and the employees dif
fers widely in the various organizations. Under the Graphic Arts
Industrial Federation of Boston, for instance, the plan is rather for
democratic consultation by the representatives of both groups than
for a relinquishment of control by the employers’ organization, which
retains the veto power on any matter vitally affecting its interests.
The American Guild of the Printing Industry, in Baltimore, on the
contrary, is based on a theory that it is inevitable for control to be
divided, and therefore the employers relinquish to the joint chapter
board the right to make final decisions, and provide for arbitration
in case of disagreement. In the union relationships, however, such
as in New York and in England, the joint responsibility for deci
sions is more far-reaching, for a decision requires the consent of the
two organized groups, each group having a considerable economic
power with which actively to support its desires. Finally, there is
the joint industrial council in England, a council superimposed upon
a system of national autonomous organizations, and with no authority

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RESULTS OF ORGANIZATION FOR JO IN T CONTROL

to enforce its decisions, but with a growing recognition which is
giving it a large influence in the affairs of the industry.
A significant contrast appears also in the basis of these organiza
tions. In the open-shop organizations conflicts of interest between
employers and employees are recognized, but it is believed that
organization for cooperation can protect the interests of both groups
and minimize the area of conflict between them. In union relation
ships, on the other hand, the conflicting interests of the two groups
have led to separate organizations to protect those interests, and a
tendency to emphasize more the conflicts than the common interests of
employers and men. Cooperation between the two opposing groups
then takes the form of establishing rules which narrow the field of
possible conflict.
1STo broad generalizations are possible as to the value of different
sorts of industrial relations organizations under all conditions. The
intention is here, by way of pragmatic test of organizations in the
book and job printing industry, only to summarize the practical re
sults of the typical organizations studied in their several fields of
activity. The chief fields in which industrial relations organizations
work, and in which they exert varying degrees of control, may be
summarized as follows: (1) Establishing standards of wages, hours,
and working conditions; (2) protection of individual workers; (3)
promotion of cooperation for efficiency and production; (4) promo
tion of craftsmanship; (5) education of both groups of the industry
in policies and programs. W hat has been accomplished in each of
these fields by the various organizations ?
Establishing S tandards of W ages, Hours, and W orking
Conditions
The individualistic philosophy of open-shop employing printers is
reflected in the standards accepted by the open-shop joint organiza
tions. While wage scales are agreed upon by the open-shop coun
cils, they tend to be somewhat lower than the union scales in the
same cities. They therefore leave a considerable scope for individual
bargaining, through w^hich the skilled wrorkers are able to demand
above the scale. The standards are low, although not absolute
minimum scales. In contrast is such a situation as in New York
where union strength forces the minimum scale up and a majority
of all employees receive the scale, although still superior men receive
premium wages.1 The difference in level of the scales in New York
and other cities is, of course, dependent upon other conditions as well
as differences in the strength of trade-union organization. The indi
vidualistic open-shop philosophy results also in the making of very
few general rules for working conditions to govern all plants. Eules
for overtime, however, based upon trade-union rules, have been made
generally applicable by the Boston and the Baltimore open-shop
organizations, and in Baltimore a provision for a wTeek’s notice of dis
charge or resignation has become an established rule. Union agree
ments, on the other hand, standardize practice in the different plants
1 According to a survey by the New York Printers’ League in September, 1926, 61 per
cent of hand compositors, 46 per cent of all compositors, 66 per cent of cylinder press
men, 50 per cent of job pressmen, and 76 per cent of cylinder press feeders were receiving
the minimum scale.

ESTABLISHING STANDARDS OF WAGES, ETC.

185

by establishing a large number of rules for working conditions. On
the whole, the open-shop associations establish fewer standards than
do the union agreements, although their standards are largely af
fected by union conditions, and they leave a greater scope than do
union relationships for bargaining by the individual worker and
determination of conditions by the individual plant.
To what extent do the agreed-upon conditions determine the actual
conditions in the industry? The open-shop organizations are at a
disadvantage as a result of covering so small a field that their in
fluence is limited. The typographical union scale appears to be the
standard for skilled journeymen in Boston and in Baltimore,
although the unions are recognized in only a minor part of the com
mercial industry in those cities. Are the standards enforced within
the plants under the jurisdiction of the joint councils? There is a
difficulty in that the standards are not absolute minima. In Boston
an employer has a right to pay less than the scale to a man who is not
considered a “ competent journeyman,” and similarly in Baltimore to
workers who are said to be of less than average skill. Since these
terms are not definitely defined, individual bargaining is necessary,
and it is impossible to be sure that the standards are maintained in all
cases. The flexibility of the standards has certain desirable features,
since workers who could not hold jobs at the full scale may secure
work which they are capable of doing at a wage corresponding to the
value of their services. But there is possibility of abuse in slack
times by forcing wages of competent men below the standard. Al
though grievances on this score should be brought up through the
machinery for conference, there is no assurance that this will be done
or that all plants are on an equal ba,sis of wage costs.
In contrast to this situation is that where the printing-trade unions
are strong. In such cities there is a strong tendency for the more
competent workers to be members of the unions, and through competi
tion for their services the union scales are thoroughly established as
the standards for skilled journeymen.
In New York union activity, aided by the joint machinery for in
terpretation and enforcement of the agreements, is successful in main
taining the standards agreed upon. These standards establish a
common basis for competition in a very large part of the industry.
An exception must be made, however, in New York, for the numerous
small plants which are difficult to organize and which in recent years
have become a menace to the larger plants by their competition on
commercial work produced on the automatic high-speed presses.
Nevertheless, in New York there is a high degree of uniformity in
wages, hours, and working conditions throughout the printing indus
try. The unions are thus much more effective than the open-shop
organizations in maintaining standards locally. The printing in
dustry, however, is undergoing a widening of the market because of
the growth of large plants, which make intercity competition far
more important than in the past. Differences in, labor conditions in
different cities are a source of serious difficulties; in competition to the
employing printers. The lack of standardization by the unions on a
broader basis than local is a serious criticism of their functioning,
and is the source of much irritation in their relations with the em
ployers. In Great Britain, since the war, this difficulty has been

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RESULTS OF ORGANIZATION FOR JO IN T CONTROL

largely overcome by the adoption of national standards, the result of
collective bargaining on a national basis, and these standards of
wages, hours, and working conditions are effective^ maintained over
the greater proportion of the industry. In, the United States, how
ever, in spite of the lack of national standardization, the unions have
a greater success in making their standards effective than have the
open-shop joint organizations.
Protection of Individual W orkers
An important function of any industrial relations plan of organi
zation is to insure that the worker receives just treatment on his job.
The open-shop councils studied try to give this protection to the
worker by setting up shop committees in various forms and urging
employees to bring grievances to the management through these
channels and if necessary to appeal to the central council. The
Baltimore plan is more explicit than the others as to the right of
employees to appeal through the committees, and guarantees them
against discrimination for activities on behalf of the guild. In both
Baltimore and Boston cases were found in which the machinery was
used to straighten out sources of dissatisfaction, whether on dis
charge, wages, sanitary conditions, overtime pay, or other matters.
Appeals to the central councils, however, are very rare, and in view
of the years during which these plans have been in operation, the
cases handled by the shop committees have been few. Although the
size of the plants in part explains this fact, the use of the plans has
been less than was expected by the employers. The activity of the
organization varies from plant to plant and it is evident that the
interest of the employer strongly influences the attitude of the men
to the committees and their use of these facilities. Whether men on
the whole are independent and unafraid to use these plans is doubt
ful. Even the strong guarantees in the constitution of the Baltimore
guild do not remove suspicion from the minds of some members of
the guild, although both there and in Boston those employees who
have been most active in the organization are convinced of the good
faith of the employers. Supported by the declarations of the em
ployers in establishing them, these organizations give much strength
to the employees, but they can not secure fearless independent action
by workers when aggressive employee leadership is lacking or in plants
where protection is most needed. When, as in Boston and in the New
York bookbinders’ plan, the employment bureau is handled by the em
ployers, the possibility that a man may be penalized for his activities
by being refused employment, whether or not such policy is used,
affects the psychology of the employees. This danger is avoided by the
operation of the employment bureau jointly as is the case in B alti
more. All these plans, however, make possible a considerable pro
tection of the individual worker if there is sufficient aggressive
employee leadership to use it.
The situation under union contracts contrasts with this in that the
workers have support from the outside. In New York, if a difficulty
ris not straightened out in the plant, appeal to the union brings the
matter before the union and the Printers’ League jointly for action.
The worker is protected against discrimination and assured that he

PROTECTION OF INDIVIDUAL WORKERS

187

will be accorded the conditions agreed upon by the two organiza
tions. The complaint cases handled by the league and the unions
from 1924 to 1928 are evidence of greater activity in support of indi
viduals than under the open-shop plans. Whether or not .the indi
vidual worker is aggressive, his complaint is actively supported by
the union officers. I t is through such activity, fundamentally, that
the unions enforce standard practice in the industry. There is a
possibility, however, under this system of strong outside support, that
individuals may be unduly protected at the expense of other individ
uals or of the industry. For example, ,the priority law as enforced by
New York Typographical Union No. 6 protects the less-efficient man
at the expense of the more efficient.
A second type of protection afforded by industrial relations organi
zations is through insurance or pensions. The open-shop plans put
much emphasis on group insurance paying sickness and death bene
fits, of which the cost is borne in whole or in part by the employers.
To a great many employees insurance is the chief feature of these
plans and the one wThich holds their interest and support. While
under these plans an employee may shift to other plants within the
group without losing his insurance, so few plants are included that
he is considerably limited in his field of employment. Union mem
bers, on the other hand, receive certain benefits to which the employ
ers contribute only as the costs are paid out of wages, and which are
entirely controlled by the union. These vary for each international
and local union, but include pensions, rights to care in the hospitals
and homes maintained by the international unions, in some cases
unemployment benefits, and in a few cases group insurance arranged
by local unions through insurance companies. As under the openshop plans, the worker loses his insurance or other benefits if he
leaves the field of employment; that is, in this case gives up his union
membership; but the field of employment is much broader than under
the open-shop plans. The competition of the open-shop plans and,
the unions for employee interest is in part competition of these finan
cial benefits.
Finally it may be asked to what extent the various organizations
protect the independence of the workers. The open-shop worker is
more dependent upon the employer than is the union man, for his
opportunity for employment is limited to those plants which have
joined in the plan, while the union member may accept employment
in any union plant in the country without losing his union benefits.
On the other hand, when a union enforces such a law as the priority
law it seriously restricts the freedom of its members, for the man
with long priority standing in one plant can not afford to give it up
and go to the foot of the list in a new plant, whatever the oppor
tunities offered there. Again there is a contrast in the tendencies as
to regularity of work. Union policy is for wage rates as high as
possible, men to be employed and paid only when there is work, with
the exception in New York that they must be paid for a full day
when called to work. Because the unions act as a central clearing
house for the supply of skilled labor, union plants follow a general
policy of laying off when work is slack, and if the old employees are
not available when needed, of securing new men from union head
176160—28------13

188

RESULTS OF ORGANIZATION FOR JO IN T CONTROL

quarters. While some union rules limit the freedom of the plant in
lay offs, and many union plants hold over their more competent em
ployees during slack periods, there is still a marked tendency to lay
men off as work is slack. Open shops do not usually have so easily
available a supply of skilled labor, and therefore tend to hold their
competent workers by not laying them off so promptly when work
is slack. In Baltimore the guild requires a week’s notice of dis
charge or lay off, while in Boston at one time when a wage increase
was refused the employers promised to make every effort to give full
time employment, and in some cases men wTere kept on the pay roll
in spite of very slack work. While plants of both groups vary in
their policy and practice because of peculiar conditions, the tendency
is distinct for fewer lay offs in open shops, and in union plants higher
wage rates which are paid only for the time when work is available.
The union worker therefore tends to be less closely tied than is the
open shop worker to the plant in which he has employment. No
accurate data are available as to relative financial advantages to the
workers of these two systems of employment. The open-shop worker,
however, is more dependent upon his employer than is the union
man, although within the limits of that dependence he may have
more security and regularity of income. The union member, on
the other hand, because he has the support of his union, is less
dependent upon his employer.
Cooperation for Efficiency, W aste Elimination, and
Production
Under the open-shop organizations, general rules establish stand
ards of wages, hours, holidays, and overtime rates. Other shop
conditions are generally a matter for the individual plant to deter
mine. Under a flexible system without restrictions the plant is there
fore free to organize its production in the most efficient manner pos
sible, and to experiment so far as it wishes. Under the union con
tracts which establish a large number of rules, a plant is less free.
While many of the rules establish standard conditions to the advan
tage of the industry, some of the standards are restrictive. The
lines of jurisdiction between the unions prevent a mobility of labor
within the plant which would often be advantageous and which to
some degree the open shops maintain. The number of men on a
machine can not be determined by the closed-shop employer, based
upon the need for efficient operation, but is determined by agreement
between the union and the organized employers, and in some cases
is the result of the power of the union to maintain a certain number
of jobs rather than of a joint decision as to the needs of the industry.
Again the priority and overtime laws are a hindrance to the most
efficient organization of the composing room. To whatever extent
such disadvantages may be counterbalanced by other advantages, the
union plant is less free than is the open shop to experiment for the
most efficient organization of production.
Aside from the effects of the specific rules there are the less
tangible relationships and attitudes favorable or antagonistic to
cooperation. The open shop organizations are based upon a theory of
cooperation., attempting to eliminate conflicts and emphasize the

EFFIC IEN C Y , WASTE ELIM IN A TIO N , AND PRODUCTION

189

common interests of employers and employees. In estimating the
success of these organizations it is important to remember that in
none of their jurisdictions has business been sufficiently active since
1922 to be ‘favorable to aggressive demands from labor. This con
dition, as well as the cooperative organization, has contributed to
the peaceful period since that date. In both Boston and Baltimore,
however, the employers have been able to convince those employees
who have been actively associated with them in the joint organiza
tion, of their good faith. The mutual confidence and good will thus
attained have been conducive to cooperation in the plants. Never
theless in many plants where the employers have had little interest
in the organization there is no evidence of such favorable results,
and employees are uninterested or actively suspicious. Neither in
Boston nor in Baltimore has the cooperative organization made a
significant joint attack upon any large problems affecting production
or efficiency. In Baltimore the attempt to work out a system of
wages based upon production has had little effect. The record of
these organizations as to constructive programs has not been im
pressive. In promoting friendly relationships, these organizations
have the disadvantage of being in competition with the traditional
form of employee organization in the industry, and needing to over
come a natural strong suspicion from the employees of the em
ployers’ motives. In so far as the employers have been able to
convince the workers of their good faith, as they have in some
plants and among some of the employee leaders, the plans have
succeeded in promoting cooperation.
In the New York industry, the fact that the unions are frankly
recognized by the Printers’ League and that both groups are strongly
organized and meet on an equality contributes to a feeling of mutual
respect and a friendly relationship. Certain union leaders have
shown decided interest in the problems of efficiency in the industry,
have made suggestions to plants, and have supported managements
in questions of discipline and efforts to increase production. On
joint conference committees many questions are decided in the light
of the practical needs of the industry, as well as in accord with the
desire of union leaders to protect the interests of their members.
The programs of apprentice training are outstanding examples of
cooperation of the unions and the league in constructive action for
the good of the industry. There is evidence of a growing apprecia
tion of both groups of their common interests in the industry. On
the other hand, old ghosts rise to interfere with efficiency and pro
duction when uneconomic conditions are enforced in the name of
union rules.
An important example of union-employer cooperation on problems
of production is the work, in Great Britain, of the betterment com
mittee of the joint industrial council of the printing industry. This
committee for two years, since 1926, has discussed fundamental prob
lems affecting the efficiency and welfare of the industry. Its first
report put the seal of approval of both groups on the fact of a
common interest in efficient methods. While the committee has no
power, and its recommendations must be put into effect by the local
groups, agreement of the leaders in the industry upon such policies
must have an influence upon the attitudes of the rank and file.

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RESULTS OF ORGANIZATION FOR JO IN T CONTROL

Cooperation or noncooperation in efficiency and production is
finally a matter of relationships within the plants, howsoever such
relationships are affected by union attitudes, open-shop joint organi
zation for cooperation, or such national joint efforts as those of the
British betterment committee. The open-shop councils lay great
stress upon the development of good relationships within the plant,
since conditions are less regulated from outside. The shop commit
tees of the various sorts recommended to establish regular channels
of communication between the management and the workers and
.secure the prompt elimination of grievances are successful in pro
moting good will within the plant when they are kept alive and
functioning. In many plants under the Boston and the Baltimore
plans, however, the committees are not actively encouraged by the
interest of the employer and they cease to function. The plan of
the New York bookbinders provides for regular meeting of the shop
committee of each plant, under the chairmanship of the general
industrial relations manager, and thus tries to prevent loss of interest
in any plant. Plant organization which is used whenever there is
need is an essential part of the open-shop joint organizations. These
organizations are successful in promoting cooperation in production
in those plants where the workers feel that their interests are pro
tected and where they have confidence in the employers. In other
plants the organization does nothing to improve the relationship.
In each union plant the unions have their chapels, which are
devoted to the protection of union interests in the plant, and not to
plant problems. The union emphasis in the relationships with the
employers is entirely on the making of agreements to standardize
conditions, and not on organizing to encourage good relationships
within the plants. For this reason some union employing printers
consider the unions a barrier to friendly relationships in the plant,
and union loyalty a hindrance to plant loyalty. Many other union
employers, however, deny any such barrier. Tne Nation Press in
New York was able to make an extensive experiment with an organi
zation for the joint control of production, without conflict with the
unions, and other New York plants have in operation committees
to act upon certain limited subjects, or conferences of foremen and
subforemen on plant problems. Many other plants testify to the
cooperation and loyalty of their union employees, although there is
some evidence that the priority law protects men to such an extent
that some of them under it do not feel their responsibility to the
plant. The open-shop organizations nevertheless have an advantage
in their emphasis upon promoting good relationships within the
plants. Not all plants included in these organizations, however,
have such cooperative relationships. On the other hand, union
plants are not prevented from developing good will and cooperation
within the plant. These things are primarily a matter of the per
sonalities and qualities of leadership on the part of the management,
whatever the system of organization.
P rom otion of C raftsm anship by A pprentice T rain in g
Apprentice training has not been the subject of such far-reaching
cooperation of employers and employees in the open-shop joint
organizations as it has by the unions and employing printers in a

EDUCATION OF BOTH GROUPS IN TH E IN DUSTRY

191

number of cities. In Boston the employers cooperate with a school
of printing and take boj^s into their plants when they have completed
a 1-year course. There is no joint regulation of training or of
apprentice wages through the Graphic Arts Industrial Federation,
however, and it is therefore possible for difference of opinion to
arise in a plant as to whether a man is a journeyman and entitled
to the scale. In Baltimore, also, the employers cooperate in main
taining a school of printing, to which some plants send boys on a
half-time basis. But it was not until 1926 that the American Guild
established a wage scale for composing-room apprentices and some
supervision over apprentice training. In 1928 a wage scale for other
apprentices is being considered. The General Council of the New
York Bookbinders also has established apprentice wage scales, a ratio
of apprentices to journeymen, and a period for apprenticeship.
Much more extensive control of apprenticeship, to insure a supply
of broadly trained and thoroughly competent workmen, has been es
tablished by cooperation of the unions and the closed-shop employing
printers in Chicago and in New York. In Chicago a joint appren
tice committee representing the typographical union and the Franklin
Association, the association of union employing printers, has full
control of apprenticeship, approves an apprentice before he is reg
istered, determines the character of work required to be taught in
each year, establishes apprentice scales, and passes upon the qualifi
cations of each apprentice before he receives his journeyman’s card.
In New York the cooperative control of apprenticeship goes further
in the establishment of schools jointly controlled and supported by
the Printers’ League and the unions, in the case of the machine train
ing school and the school for printing pressmen in cooperation with
the board of education. A recognition of the interest of both groups
in the well-rounded craftsmanship of workers in the industry leads
to the establishment of standards of training and of accomplishment
■which must be met by each apprentice. The power of both groups
is directed to enforcing these agreed-upon standards upon the indus
try, and every union employer must comply and send his apprentices
to the schools.
In Great Britain an apprenticeship program is being strongly ad
vocated by the joint industrial council and is having an educational
effect upon the industry. Joint apprentice committees have been
set up in a number of localities as a result, and facilities for technical
training are being increased. Compulsion is avoided, however, and
the joint efforts are chiefly directed to encouraging the establishment
of classes and urging employers to send their apprentices to these
classes.
Education of Both Groups in the Industry
A fundamental result of joint industrial organizations is to affect
the attitudes and behavior of employers and employees by informing
them of policies and programs and arousing their interest in the
problems of the industry. This result is inevitable when a joint
organization is playing a vital part in the industry. The open-shop
organizations which have been studied cover only a narrow field,
because they have not secured a wide interest and support from
employing printers. These organizations therefore can not influence

192

RESULTS OF ORGANIZATION FOR JO IN T CONTROL

behavior in the industry as they would if they had more support. In
these organizations, moreover, there is no pressure from the em
ployees to force interest 011 the part of the employers or to extend
the organization. The lack of leadership and initiative on the part
of the employees is regretted both by interested employers and by
the few employees who have come to the front as leaders under these
plans. The organizations do not exert the vital influence on the
industry which they could if the employees would make use of the
facilities. Although the central councils serve a useful purpose in
bringing the representatives of the two groups together for consulta
tion, there is no assurance that the results of the deliberations of these
representatives reach back to affect the rank and file. In Boston the
regular meeting of representatives of workers from all the plants is
very helpful in maintaining interest among these representatives, but
they do not always keep up an active interest among the workers
whom they represent, and means of publicity are not sufficiently
active to insure that all workers in federation plants know about the
organization arid its purposes.
In Baltimore the periodical of the guild and the meetings of all
members in the chapter have helped to maintain interest and knowl
edge of the activities of the guild. But so few plants are included
that the guild can not arouse great interest or respect even in
Baltimore. Under these plans there is no momentum which sweeps
the industry into the organization and gives force to its policies and
programs, either by an original interest of the employers or by
pressure exerted by the demands of labor.
Under such a relationship as that between the unions and the
Printers’ League of NewT York the power of the unions to enforce
their rules injects a substantial element of vitality into the relation
ship. Probably a large proportion of the members of the league are
in the organization not because of a philosophy of cooperation, but
because the power of the unions makes it necessary for them to run
union shops, and under that condition it is advantageous for them
to cooperate with the other employing printers in dealing with the
unions. The joint machinery set up then has a very vital effect upon
the industry. Employers and unions, each acting to protect their
own interests, must reach decisions and in so doing to some degree
coordinate their interests. Joint decisions of general interest are
widely published and become the law of the industry, enforced by
union power. Adherence of the employers to the established opinion
of the industry is thus secured. Through the joint machinery of
interpretation and enforcement, moreover, the league and the unions
have a continuous organ of education which reaches both employers
and employees. The character of union leadership greatly affects
the relationship, since union power is so vital a factor in the situation.
In spite of certain political aspects of union leadership, however,
the aggressive independent action of the leaders of the unions fur
nishes a vitality and power to the joint organization of industrial
relations with the closed shop employing printers which is absent
from the open-shop cooperative organizations.
An agency of education of much more far-reaching influence
than any in the printing industry in America is the joint industrial
council of the printing and allied traders in Great Britain. This

SUM M ARY

193

council of 72 representatives of the unions and the employers from
all parts of Great Britain, while without power to enforce decisions,
has the moral authority of the public opinion of the industry and
is receiving increasing recognition. While the national agreements
are made between the individual unions and the national federation
of employing printers, the council as an agency of conciliation has
a considerable effect in securing peaceful adjustments and assuring
that disputes are settled through constitutional means, discouraging
resort to force. On other broad questions, such as health, apprentice
training, and the interest of both employers and employees in
efficiency and production, the council makes recommendations ba3 ed
upon the experience of the entire industry, and through a long
slow process of education it is influencing attitudes and practices
throughout the industry.
Summary
The chief points of strength and weakness which have appeared
in the experience of the various types of organization for the
joint control of industrial relations in the book and job printing
industry may be summarized, basing these generalizations chiefly
upon the experience of the American Guild of the Printing Industry
in Baltimore, the Graphic Arts Industrial Federation of Boston,
and the relationship between the printing-trade unions and the
Printers’ League in New York. The open-shop joint councils have
a source of strength in that they are favorable to cooperation,
^ince they are organized for th&t purpose rather than that of conflict,
and accordingly emphasize the common interests of the two groups,
although the differences of interest are recognized and dealt with
through the established machinery. They are favorable also to
satisfactory relationships within the plants because of their emphasis
on shop committees to handle grievances and eliminate hindrances
to good will and cooperation. They are able to hold the interest of
employees by group insurance and by paying to the skilled employees
at lea3 t as much as union rates. Perhaps the chief source of strength
of these plans is the personal confidence of those employees who
have been active in the organizations, in the integrity and good faith
of the leading employers, whether or not the plan specifically pro
vides guaranties to employees of freedom from discrimination and
provides for reference of differences ultimately to arbitration.
The chief weakness of these open-shop organizations is the narrow
territory covered, as the result of lack of interest of employing
printers. The organizations are therefore unable to affect standards
widely and follow the union standards for the most skilled workers,
while the open-shop scales, whether they are considered minimum
scales or “ normal scales,”*are not objectively defined and can not be
universally enforced even within the organization. In addition to
the lack of continuous interest and support from the employers,
there has been evident a striking lack of employee interest. Em
ployees in these organizations with no outside support have shown
no such vital, aggressive, and independent interest as would have
forced more active interest on the part of employers. The organiza
tions have therefore not grown and have not called forth enough
aggressive leadership among the employees to make the fullest pos

194

RESULTS OF ORGANIZATION FOR JO IN T CONTROL

sible use of the organization for the interests of the workers. These
organizations are at a disadvantage in having to compete for em
ployee interest with the trade-unions which are the traditional form
of organization in the industry. They attempt to substitute for
the unions which developed from a momentum by the employees
a new type of organization based upon a conscious theory and receiv
ing its impetus from the employers. The emploj^ers have not been
sufficiently interested to overcome this inherent disadvantage and
establish a broad organization which could then appeal more suc
cessfully for employee interest. Since these organizations depend
for their success fundamentally upon the active interest and consent
of the employers they have developed no power to enforce widely
their standards and policies. Nevertheless, within these organiza
tions individual employers who are fair-minded and far-sighted
make use of them to promote good relationships and secure coopera
tion within their plants.
In the New York printing industry the present relationship be
tween the unions and the Printers’ League is materially strengthened
in that it is the culmination of joint dealing based on frank recog
nition over a period of more than 20 years, during which time
machinery has developed from the needs of the industry. Because
both groups are strongly organized and possessed of considerable
economic powTer, their relationship is characterized by a real vitality.
The agreed-upon standards of wages, hours, and conditions are to
a large degree enforced in the local market, thus establishing in
large sections of the industry an equality of labor costs as a basis for
competition. The joint machinery gives to the individual worker
a substantial measure of protection against discrimination or other
grievances from failure of a firm to observe the agreed-upon condi
tions. A relationship which is on the whole friendly between the
unions and the league makes possible constructive cooperation when
a common interest is seen. Particularly in the field of apprentice
ship, because of the recognition of common interest in craftsmanship
it has been possible to agree upon standards of training, establish
apprentice schools under joint control and support, and generally
enforce training requirements which must in time materially affect
the level of craftsmanship in the industry.
On the other hand, there are several disadvantages in a relation
ship based upon strong organization of both groups. Since both
the unions and the employing printers are organized separately,
chiefly to protect their own interests in opposition to the other group,
a fundamental antagonism exists which needs to be overcome before
cooperation is possible. Moreover, this type of organization does
not emphasize good shop relationships and does not therefore directly
try to educate employers in methods of industrial relations within
their plants, although the fact of union organization does not appear
a barrier to satisfactory relations between the men and the manage
ment.
The standardization by union rules is something of a hindrance to
efficiency in that the plant is restricted in its freedom to organize its
production on the basis of experiment and its own experience. I t is
possible for very strong unions, moreover, to make unreasonable use
of their power and enforce rules which are to the disadvantage of the

SUM M ARY

195

industry and therefore ultimately of the employees themselves. An
other serious weakness is in the local character of the standards en
forced, although the widening competition in the industry makes
differences between localities in hours, complement of men on ma
chines, and wages a disadvantage to the employers in those cities
where the unions are very strong. Finally, the fact that the unions
are organized on a craft basis results in a lack of unity of action
between the various unions, to the detriment of their interests, and
although the strength of the chief unions affects the wage scales of
the others who are less strong, this power is not used to help enforce
Standards for groups which find organization difficult to maintain.
In contrast to the union relationships in America are certain out
standing points of the relationships between the printing-trade unions
and the employing printers in Great Britain. The fact that to a
very large extent standards are made on a national basis and gen
erally enforced removes one of the difficulties of the America situa
tion. Meanwhile the national joint industrial council as an organ
of education and public opinion in the industry is able to exert a
considerable influence upon attitudes and actions of both groups in
the industry.

APPENDIXES
Appendix A.—Sources Used
Official sources
American Guild of the Printing In d u stry:
Constitution, by-laws, and insurance code, 1922.
Guild craftsmen classification system, 1925.
Manuscript, minutes, 1922-1927.
Teamwork, 1922-1927.
Baltimore Typographical Union No. 12: Bulletins, 1920-21.
Baltimore, Typothetase o f: Agreements and arbitration decisions w ith various
unions, 1910-1921.
Boston Allied Printing Trades Council: Agreements w ith various book plants,
1913-1923.
Boston Typographical Union No. 13: Leaves of history from the archives of
Boston Typographical Union No. 13, December, 1923.
Boston Typothetse Board of Trade:
Agreements with various unions, 1899-1920.
Manuscript, minutes, 1887-1927.
Employing Bookbinders’ Association of New York, open-shop group:
By-laws of general council and shop councils, 1922.
Shop rules and wage scales for men, January 1, 1927.
Shop rules and wage scales for women, January 1, 1927.
Federation of Master Printers and Allied Trades of Great B rita in :
Master Printers’ Annual and Typographical Yearbook, 1928. London, Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co. (L td.).
Members’ circular, 1918-April, 1928.
Graphic A rts Industrial Federation of Greater Boston:
An outline of organization for the graphic arts industries of Greater
Boston.
Constitution and by-laws, 1922.
Manuscript, minutes, 1922r-1927.
Ham ilton Press, industrial relations plan, passed by the representatives May
19, 1919.
International Brotherhood of B ookbinders: International Bookbinder, January,
1920^July, 1928.
International joint conference council of the commercial and periodical branches
of the printing in d u stry:
Constitution and activities.
Manuscript, minutes, 1924-1925.
International Printing Pressmen and A ssistants’ U n io n :
American Pressman, December, 1919-July, 1928.
Constitution and by-laws, 1926.
International Typographical Union: Typographical Journal, January, 1920June, 1928.
Joint Industrial Council of the Printing and Allied Trades of the United
K ingdom :
Constitution and rules, 1926.
Education, training, and craftsmanship, February 22, 192&
Health leaflets.
Manuscript, minutes, 1910-April, 1928.
Nation Press Cooperative D em ocracy:
Constitution, May 11, 1920.
Manuscript, minutes, 1919-March, 1928.
196

APPENDIX A---- SOURCES USED

197

New York Employing Printers’ Association, Bureau of Industrial R ela tio n s:
Apprenticeship training in the commercial printing industry of New York
City, May, 1928.
The premium wage situation in the Printers’ League section, September,
1926.
Imprint, 1924-August, 1928.
Printers’ League section—
Arbitration agreements w ith various unions, 1907-1928.
Arbitration proceedings w ith various unions, 1924-1928.
Constitution and by-laws, June 16, 1924.
Industrial relations bulletins, 1923-August, 1928.
Joint conference committees, manuscript, minutes, 1924-August, 1928.
Manuscript, history of wage scales; and arbitration agreements.
Manuscript, minutes, 1924-August, 1928.
Shop rules and wage-scale contracts with various unions, 1907-1928.
N ew York Printing Pressm en’s Union No. 51: Bulletin, July, 1925-May, 1928.
New York Typographical Union No. 6: Monthly Bulletin, January, 1924-April,
1928.
Printing and Kindred Trades Federation of Great B r ita in :
Annual reports, .1919-1926.
Constitutions and rules of various unions.
United Typothetse of A m erica:
Constitution and by-laws.
Department of industrial relations, Statement of facts, 44-hour week
oituation, March 1, 1921.
Typothetse Bulletin, August 4, 1924, p. 180; November, 1921, p. 63.

Othei' sources
American Labor Yearbook, 1928. Hand School of Social Science, New York.
Barnett, George E . : The Printers. American Economic Association Quarterly,
October, 1909.
Bird, Francis IT.: Report to chairman o f Closed Shop Association on conferences
with executive council of International Typographical Union, August 23, 1923.
Brassil, D aniel S .: Address to convention of E m p lo y i n g Bookbinders of America,
Cleveland, October, 1922.
Britain’s Industrial Future, being the report of the Liberal Industrial Inquiry.
London, Ernest Benn (L td.), 1928.
Folding Box Manufacturers’ A ssociation: Membership B ulletin 143.
Francis, Charles: Printing for Profit. New York, Charles Francis Press, 1917.
Great Britain. Committee on Industry and T ra d e: Survey of Industrial R ela
tions, London, 1926.
------ Industrial Fatigue Research Board and Illum ination Research C om m ittee:
Joint report on Relation between illum ination and efficiency in fine work
(typesetting by hand). London, 1926.
--------------Joint report on effect of different systems of lighting on output and
accuracy in fine work (typesetting by hand). London, 1928.
------ M inistry of Labor: Labor Gazette, October, 1927. January, February, 1928.
— --------- Report of an enquiry into apprenticeship and training for the skilled
occupations in Great B ritain and Northern Ireland, 1925-26. Printing and
allied industries. London, 1927.
------------- Report on the establishment and progress of joint industrial councils,
1917-1922. London, 1923.
Hinrichs, A. F .: The printing industry in New York and its environs. Regional
plan of New York and its environs!. Economic Series Monograph No. 6, 1924.
M assachusetts Department of Labor and Industries : Census of Manufactures,
1925.
New England Printer, December, 1926-June, 1928.
Passano, Edward B . : The Typo the tse of Baltimore plan of industrial relation
ship. Paper read at Fourth D istrict Typothetse Federation, April 15, 1921.
Powell, Leona M .: The history of the United Typothetse of America. Chicago,
University of Chicago Press, 1926.
Printing, January, 1926-May 5, 1928. Eastern edition.
Silcox, F. A.: New York situation, industrial conflict of 1919. (Unpublished
manuscript.)
Stevens, George A .: New York Typographical Union No. 6. New York State
Department of Labor, 1913.

198

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN T IN G IN DUSTRY

United States Bureau of Labor S ta tistic s: Health survey of the printing trades,
1922-1925, by Frederick L. Hoffman. Bui. No. 427. March, 1927.
------ Survey of hygienic conditions in the printing trades, by S. Kjaer. Bui.
No. 392. September, 1925.
United States Census of M anufactures, 1914, 1919, 1923, 1925.
United States Census of Occupations, 1920.
Wolman, Leo: Growth of American trade-unions, 1880-1923. New York, N a
tional Bureau of Economic Research (In c.), 1924.

Appendix B.—Constitution of American Guild of the Printing Industry1
PREAMBLE
We, individuals engaged in the printing and allied industries, believe that at
least three elements enter into successful industrial en terprise; namely, coopera
tion, justice, and service.
Cooperation is a necessity: In order to elim inate the vast w astage which
occurs where it is wanting, and in order to increase to the highest possible
degree the output of industry, w ith the object in view that all who are engaged
therein may derive additional reward and benefit.
Justice is a necessity: In order to assure to every individual who makes a
contribution of skill or effort to an industry a fu ll protection in all of his
rights, among which is the right to a reasonable standard of living. W ithout
justice, cooperation is impaired or broken down and the rewards of industry
lessened.
Service is a n ecessity : Not only in order to fill a genuine demand on the part
of the public, but also to make certain the self-respect which is derived only
from doing something really useful and worth while.
W e believe, further, that those actually engaged in an industry are best
suited to solve its problem s; that prosperity and security can be assured in
greater measure to both employers and employees when mutual distrust is
replaced by mutual understanding; that there is a wide field in which the
interests of employer and employee are closely identified; and that by associa
tion and joint conference on industrial problems, greater material w elfare can
and w ill accrue to every party to the association.
Such association presupposes certain ideals of frank discussion, of square
dealing, of w illingness to give and take for the benefit of the greatest num ber;
and we believe that such ideals can be carried out most successfully when
bound up w ith practical m atters of compensation and sound economic business
administration.
We, therefore, in order1 to achieve a more nearly perfect industrial coopera
tion, in order to give more nearly perfect protection to the human beings en
gaged in the business of production, and in order to render to the general
public a more nearly perfect service, do associate ourselves together and enact
the follow ing constitution.
CONSTITUTION
A r t ic l e

I .—N am e and ju risdiction

1. 'Name.—The name of th is association shall be the American Guild o f the
Printing Industry.
2. Ju risdiction .— Its jurisdiction shall embrace all of the United States o f
America. For administration purposes this territory shall be divided into
districts and chapters as may be provided. B ut nothing in this or in any other
section of this constitution shall be construed as preventing the organization
of branches of the guild in countries other than the United States of America.
A r t ic l e

I I.— Objects

The objects of the association shall b e :
1.
Joint association.—To provide an association in which both employer and
employee are eligible for membership and m ay meet on common ground.
1 Copyright, 1922, by the American Guild of the Printing Industry.
is made to the guild for permission to reprint.

Acknowledgment

APPENDIX B---- CONSTITUTION

199

2. Cooperation .— To create a better understanding and to promote a closer
cooperation between employer and employee.
3. Personal relationship.—To foster personal relationship between employer
and employee.
4. Adjustment. —To provide means for the friendly and equitable adjust
m ent of all differences which may arise between employer and employee.
5. Compensation.— To insure to the worker compensation which w ill be com
m ensurate with the American standard of living and with the worker’s indi
vidual skill and efficiency; and to the management and the public, a maximum
degree of efficiency.
6. Joint conference.—To provide means for joint conference between manage
ment and workers as touching wages, hours, and working conditions; and to
standardize these m atters as far as possible.
7. Insurance.—To provide insurance for the members in the m atters of death
benefit, health, accident, and total disability in d em n ity; and, when feasible,
old-age pensions and insurance against enforced idleness by reason of involun
tary unemployment.
8. Education.—To foster and encourage among its members knowledge of
printing as an art and as an industry; to provide methods of informing its
members in m atters of trade in terest; and to provide means for the vocational
education of apprentices and others.
9. Public welfare.— To create a community spirit by the promotion of matters
pertaining to the public welfare.
10. Loyalty. —To promote loyalty to the law s and Government of the United
States of America and to the principles on which this Government is founded.
A r t ic l e

III.— Membership

1. Eligibility.—Membership in the guild shall be restricted to w hite individuals
who are and concerns which are engaged in the printing and allied industries.
Any individual so engaged in the mechanical, clerical, or any other department,
from chief executive to apprentice, may be an applicant for membership.
2. Citizenship.—Members shall be citizens of the United States of America, or
shall have legally declared their intention to become citizens. But nothing in
this section shall be construed to bar applicants who are not fu ll citizens only
because they are less than 21 years of age.
3. Other association no bar.—Membership in any other organization shall
not be considered a bar to membership in the guild, provided the constitution
of such organization is in consonance w ith the laws of the United States.
4. Active members.— Active membership shall be of two s o r ts : Individual
membership applying to persons, and company membership applying to em
ploying concerns. Company members shall be represented on governing boards
and committees thereof by one of their chief officials. A concern desiring com
pany membership shall not be admitted thereto until at least 51 per cent of
its employees shall signify intent to become individual members. Any eligible
individual may be an active member, even though the concern by which he
is employed be not a member. Such member shall pay in addition to regular
dues, an amount equivalent to that normally paid by the employing concern
for insurance purposes. Such dues shall keep the member fu lly protected
under the insurance regulations of the guild.
5. Associate members.— It shall be law ful for any eligible concern to pay dues
to the association even though there be no members in its p la n t; and any
concern so paying dues shall be known as an associate company member. Like
w ise any eligible individual may pay dues to the guild as an associate indi
vidual member. A ssociate membership shall not carry w ith it the right of
representation on any board or in any chapter or convention, and the conformity
of the associate member to regulations shall be voluntary. A ssociate member
ship may be cancelled at any tim e at the option of the associate member or of
the chapter board.
6. Pledge.—Every individual member shall, in making application for member
ship, subscribe to the following p led ge:
“ I hereby make application for membership in the American Guild of the
P rinting Industry, and in so doing affirm that I am a citizen o f the United
States [or have legally declared my intention to become a citizen "of the United
States].
“ In consideration of the benefits to be gained by membership, I pledge m yself
to conform to all rules and regulations set forth by the guild, and to pay

200

AMERICAN- GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

promptly all dues which may be levied by the guild upon m e; also, in ease o f
any violations of the regulations of the guild by me, I agree to the penalty
imposed, when imposed by the proper authority and according to constitutional
method.
“ I further pledge my active personal support to the guild, that I w ill exhaust
every means provided by the guild for the adjustment of differences between
its members, before employing any other m ea n s; that so far as I may be able
I w ill assist in increasing the guild’s membership, and endeavor to promote
a closer industrial cooperation and a closer personal relationship between em
ployer and employee, and to build up the efficiency of the industry.
“And I declare and pledge my allegiance to the United States of America, its
law s and government.55
7. Company pledge.— Every company member shall also subscribe to this
pledge, with the necessary change of personal pronoun, and a statem ent that
the company is owned and operated by citizens of the United States1. The
pledge of the company member shaii also include the following paragraph:
“ We further agree that our membership shall be effective for three calendar
years following the date of our application, and shall be autom atically renew
able at the end of each three years, unless w e shall give notice of w ithdraw al
at least 90 days prior to the expiration of any three-year period.”
8. j Review of applications.— Application for either individual or company
membership shall be reviewed by the chapter board and rejected or approved by
it. It shall require a majority vote of all the members of the board to approve
a membership application. Membership may also be revoked by the chapter
board for cause. In case the membership of a company member is revoked,
individual members in that plant shall be protected in their insurance and
membership rights by the guild for a period of 90 days, in order that members
may have opportunity to seek employment w ith a guild member.
9. W ith d ra w a l.—In case a member who is in good standing (w hich shall
mean that all of his dues, or penalties if any, are paid to date, that no charges
are pending against him, and that he is not under suspension) leaves the industry
temporarily, he may ask for and receive a withdraw al card. The holder of a
w ithdraw al card is entitled to resume active membership without repayment
of initiatory fee, but during the period of withdrawal the member shall not
be entitled to a voice or vote in the councils of the guild. A withdrawn member
shall not be required to pay dues, but may do so as an associate member.
I f a withdrawn member desires to keep his insurance coverage in force he shall
pay regular dues plus the sum normally paid by the employer for insurance
purposes. An individual member in good standing may resign membership
by giving seven days’ notice to the chapel secretary.
10. Company w ith d ra w a l.— A company member may withdraw from the asso
ciation by giving 90 days’ notice prior to the expiration of any three-year
period for which the concern may be a member. W ithdrawal may occur only
when no charges are pending and when all dues, or penalties if any, are paid to
date. During the 90-day period, the company member shall conform to all
regulations, enjoy all the privileges, and accept all the responsibilities of mem
bership. Should charges be filed during such period, or the member become
delinquent in dues, the w ithdrawal shall be held in suspension until such time as
good standing is restored.
11. Sale of business.—In case a company member sells or otherwise disposes
of its business, it shall be the duty of the company member fully to inform the
prospective purchaser of the privileges and responsibilities of membership in
the guild, and endeavor to persuade the new owner to continue such member
ship. If, however, the new owner declines to become a member, at least 30
days’ notice of such change in ownership shall be given both to the employees
of the concern, and to the headquarters office of the chapter. I f the sale be
consummated and the property turned over before the expiration of the 30-day
period, the new owner shall conform to the regulations of the guild (but shall
not be required to pay dues) until the employees shall have had the full 30
days’ notice of such ch a n g e; and individual members in the plant shall be
protected in their insurance and membership rights by the guild for a period
of 90 days after the first notice of change of ownership, in order that such
members may have opportunity to seek employment w ith a guild company
member. Company members shall exercise care to see that sale is made sub
ject to this understanding. In case the new owner retains membership, such
intention shall be signified by subscribing to the company member pledge.

APPENDIX B----CONSTITUTION

201

12. Preference.—It shall be the policy of the guild that a company member
should not discriminate in favor of or against any applicant for employment
by reason of membership or nonmembership in any organization, except such
as are outlawed by the laws of the United States. Company members shall
give preference to guild members, whenever such are available, in engaging
new em ployees; also in the retention of old employees, or in promotions made
in the plant. Similarly, an individual member shall give preference to company
members in seeking employment.
13. Transfer .—A member upon entering or leaving a chapter shall report h is
name to the executive manager, stating his place of last membership, if enter
ing, or stating where he intends to seek employment, if leaving. On leaving,
the member shall request and be furnished w ith a traveling-card which he shall
present on entering a new chapter. Members taking up work in a chapter
other than the one in which they were originally enrolled, autom atically be
come members of the new chapter. It shall be the duty of the executive man
ager to advise the executive manager of the chapter to which the member may
remove of the circumstance of such removal. Members may notify the execu
tive manager of intended transfer through the medium of the chapel secretary,
and may employ the same medium in entering a new chapter.
14. Unemployed members protected,— In case a guild member finds him self
without employment and unable to secure it, the guild shall protect such
member in his insurance and membership rights, by the payment of all premi
ums, for a period of 90 days, and waiver of dues in like period, in order that
the member may have opportunity to find employment. Under special circum
stances the chapter board, w ith the advice and consent of the board of trustees
of the insurance fund, may continue such protection for a member or for a
group of members, beyond such 90-day period. No extension of the period
shall be made in any case or cases, without the express and formal approval
of the board; nor shall any action of the board relating to this m atter be
regarded as precedent for subsequent action.
15. Rights of members.—Among the rights o f every member, the follow ing are
included:
(a) The right of participating in the deliberations of the chapter of which
he may be a member.
(b) The right of participating in collective bargaining between employer and
employee according to the methods provided by the guild.
(c) The right of individual bargaining.
(d) The right of making complaint or suggestion through the conference
committee.
(e) The right of initiating m atters of concern to the guild or to the industry
through his representatives on committees and boards.
(f) The right of appeal in case of disagreement between employer and
employee.
Among the rights of the individual member the following are included:
(a ) The righ t o f developing h is ow n sk ill and earn in g cap acity to the h ig h est
degree.

(b) The right of freedom from discrimination and danger of discharge in
making use of the machinery of the guild.
(e)
The right of at least one week’s notice of discharge, except in case of
transient or emergency employees.
Among the rights of the company member the follow ing are in clu d ed :
(a) The right of freedom in directing the work of the plant, and in developing
plant organization to the highest degree of efficiency.
(b) The right of engaging new employees, and of discharging employees for
cause.
(c) The right of at least one week’s notice of the resignation of an employee,
except in case of transient or emergency employees.
A r t ic l e

IV .—Dues

1. In itiatory.—Individual members shall, on application for membership, pay
an initiation fee of $1 to the general fund of the association^ In case of
rejection of the application, the fee w ill be returned to the applicant.
2. Individual dues.—Dues shall be paid by individual members in a weekly
sum sufficient to cover administration expense and the cost of insurance coverage,
such sum to be fixed by the chapter board.

202

AMERICAN GUILD OF THE PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

3. Company initiatory. — Company members shall on application for member
ship pay an initiation fee in a sum equivalent to $1 for each member employed
by the concern. In case of rejection the fee w ill be returned to the applicant.
4. Company dues.—Dues shall be paid by company members in a sum equal to
the aggregate amount of dues paid by all members in the employ of the com
pany for the week for which dues are paid.
5. Associate member dues.—Dues of an associate member as defined in
Article III, section 5, shall be such as agreed upon between the associate
member and the chapter officers or chapter b oard ; but shall not be less! than
$5 monthly for a company associate member, and not less than $1 monthly
for an individual associate member.
6. Delinquents.—I f an individual member shall become delinquent in dues
for a period of four weeks, he shall be autom atically suspended, and all rights
and privileges of membership shall be in abeyance, until he shall be reinstated,
which may be only when he has made good his delinquency. Should such
delinquency be extended to three months, the member shall be dropped from
membership ; he may not again become a member until the delinquency shall
be paid in full. I f a company member shall be delinquent, the executive manager
may, after 60 days of such delinquency, on advice and consent of the chapter
board, proceed to legal means of collection. In such case the costs of legal
action and interest on the deferred payment at 6 per cent per annum shall be
added to the dues, and this provision is specifically agreed to by every signatory
of an application for company membership. In case of repeated delinquency,
the chapter board may expel any member, in which case due publicity shall be
given to the expulsion and the cause for the same, and every company member
and every chapel secretary shall be notified of the fact in writing.
A r t ic l e

Y.—The chapel

1. Definition.*—The group of members in the plant o f any company member,
being the employees of one concern, shall be known as the chapel.

2. Conference committee.—In each chapel there shall be elected by secret ballot
a representative from each departm ent or group of workers, each representative
to be elected by those of his own group ; such representatives shall be known col
lectively as the conference committee. One member shall be elected by the
chapel as chairman, and one as secretary. The conference committee shall be
composed wholly of employees, and shall have not fewer than three members,
except in the case of plants employing fewer th an th a t number.
3. E ligibility.—Members of the conference committee shall have been em
ployed by the company for at least three months. Plant executives or office staff
shall not be eligible for elec tio n ; but there may be a separate committee
for the office staff where it may be deemed desirable. Committee members
shall hold office for six months or until their successors are elected.
4. Duties of conference committee.— It shall be the duty of the conference
committee to review all complaints or suggestions made by workers in the
plant and pertaining to the plant. If deemed necessary by 50 per cent of the
committee, any complaint or suggestion may be laid before the m anagem ent;
but no conference w ith the management, as such, shall be held unless at least
a m ajority of the members of the committee are present. The comm ittee is
the spokesman for the members in the plant, and not a board of arbitration.
Management and conference committee in session together constitute a consul
tation board for m atters pertaining to the chapel or to the plant.
5. Duties of officers.—The duties of the chapel chairman and secretary shall
be such as usually pertain to such offices. The chapel secretary in the plant
is the representative of the executive manager, and it is h is duty to make
record of all members in the plant, to enroll new members, to collect dues, to
make reports, distribute literature sent for that purpose from the headquarters
office of the chapter, and perform such other duties as may be specified from
tim e to time. He may receive compensation for his services in amount fixed
by the chapter board, and the headquarters office of the chapter shall furnish
him w ith necessary supplies for the conduct of h is office.
6. No discrimination.— No conference committeeman shall be subject to d is
crim ination by the management by reason of any activity on behalf of the
guild.

APPE N I)IX B----CON STITUTION

203

7.
M eetings.— Meetings of the conference committee shall be held as need may
require. Chapel meetings may be held as frequently as desired ; but the chapel
shall meet at least every six months for the election of officers and committee
men.
A r t ic l e V I.— The chapter
1. D efinition.— Members residing and working in a city and its environs shall
constitute a chapter.
2. M eetings.— Stated meetings of the chapter shall be held periodically accord
ing to resolution th ere o f; but the chapter shall meet at least in one annual
session for the election of the chapter boards. Such meetings shall be partici
pated in by both employers and employees sitting in one chamber, but the right
of either group to caucus without the other shall not be called in question.
A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of one-tenth of the
employee members, and one-tenth of the employer members.
3. Function of the chapter.—The chapter shall in itiate and pass on matters
of local concern. Important action shall not be deemed final unless it is agreed
to by a majority of the employer members present and voting, and a m ajority
of the employee members present and voting; but a m ajority of either group
may make formal recommendation to the chapter board.
4. The chapter board.— The governing body of the chapter shall be the chapter
board, which shall consist of six employer members and six employee members
elected by the chapter at the annual meeting thereof, by secret ballot. Members
shall hold office for one year or until their successors are elected. Employee
members of the chapter in separate session shall choose employee members of
the board; and employer members shall likew ise choose employer members of
the board. Two alternates for each group shall be chosen at the same time.
Vacancies in the chapter board shall be filled at the next regular meeting of
the chapter, employees filling employee vacancies and employers filling employer
vacancies. Temporary vacancies may be filled by the board itself, in like
manner.
5. Chapter officers.— Chapter officers shall be elected by the chapter board,
which shall also fix their salaries. They shall be a chairman of the board and
an executive manager. The chairman of the board shall preside at all board
and chapter meetings, and shall be neither employer nor employee in the print
ing or allied industries. The executive manager shall devote his entire time
to his office, and shall be a man of suitable ability, preferably w ith a practical
knowledge of the industry, but shall not in any w ay be interested in the industry
either as employer or employee. H e may employ clerical and other help to
assist him in the discharge of his office. He shall be the chief executive officer
of the chapter, and shall be responsible only to the board. The chapter board
shall also elect a member of the chapter to serve as treasurer, h is duties to be
such as usually appertain to such office.
6. D uties of chapter board.— It shall be the duty of the chapter board to pass
finally on all matters arising w ithin and pertaining to the ch ap ter; to review
and decide appeals from conference comm ittees; to drawT up by-laws for the
guidance of the chapter; to decide all questions of wages, hours, and working
conditions; to fix wage and hour levels for the ch ap ter; to give attention to
matters of safety, health, and education; to promote the interests of the guild
and the objects for which it is established.
7. M eetings of the chapter board.—The chapter board shall hold regular
meetings according to its own resolution, the chairman of the board being the
presiding officer. Special meetings may be called on request of 50 per cent
of the employer members and 50 per cent of the employee members, or 100 per
cent of either group. A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist
of four employer and four employee members. Sessions shall be open to any
member of the chapter in good standing, but the board may resolve to go into
executive session and exclude all but its own members. It shall be the privilege
of any member of the board to ask for a secret ballot on any motion.
8. T ie v o te .— In any matter which shall come before it, the chapter board
shall exhaust every honorable means to arrive at a just decision. In case of
a tie vote on any motion the board shall go into committee of the whole and
endeavor to fram e a form of motion which can secure majority assent. In
case this and all other means of breaking the tie shall fa il the matter shall be
referred to the chapter board of appeal.
17616°—28------14

204

AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PR IN TIN G INDUSTRY

9. Chapter board of appeal.— The chapter board of appeal shall be chosen in
the follow ing m an n er: At the annual session of the chapter employee members
shall elect five of their number to sit on the chapter board of appeal and the
employer members shall likew ise elect five of their number for like purpose.
None of the 10 shall be a member or alternate of the chapter board. The 10
so elected shall forthw ith agree upon and elect five other members of the
chapter board of appeal who shall be neither employers nor employees in the
printing or allied industries, and who shall be representatives of the general
public. No member of the public group shall be elected unless agreed to by at
least three employee and three employer members. The names of the public
group shall be announced before the annual session of the chapter shall have
adjourned, or as soon thereafter as possible. When a matter is referred for
appeal or review three of each group shall be selected by lot to constitute
a chapter board of appeal, such selection being made in the presence of the
chapter board.
10. Decision "binding.— The chapter board of appeal shall proceed to a review
of the case according to such rules as may be established. A decision in w riting
shall be rendered, signed by all or a majority of the board, and such decision
shall be final and binding on all members of the chapter.
11. E xpenses.— Expenses which may be incident to the meeting of the chapter
board of appeal shall be borne by the chapter.
12. Prom ulgations.— Important decisions of either chapter board or chapter
board of appeal shall be promulgated by a bulletin or bulletins, bearing the
names of the board and signifying approval. Such bulletins shall be distributed
by the executive manager at least to every chapel, and to every company mem
ber, and all members shall govern them selves accordingly.
A r t ic l e

V II.—D istrict and national organization

1.
D istrict and national boards.— When tw o or more chapters shall be organ
ized and functioning, they may proceed to form a district organization by the
calling of a convention of delegates from each chapter for that purpose, one of
the acts of which shall be the election of a district board to function in behalf
of the district in a manner similar to that in which the chapter board functions
for the chapter. When the total number of chapters shall justify, a national
organization may be formed by the election of representatives of each district
to a national council.
A r t ic l e

V III.— Wages, hours, conditions

1. Standards.—The chapter board shall fix a normal wage and a standard
work-week for the chapter, and may set forth principles of wage payment and
m atters pertaining thereunto. A normal wage is defined for the purpose of th is
constitution as one which can be earned by the average skill in the number of
hours set as the work-week.
2. Classification and ra tin g .—More than the normal wage may be paid to more
skilled and efficient employees, and less may be paid to those not capable of
earning the normal wage. The question of skill and efficiency may become one
of adjustment between management and conference committee, w ith appeal to
the chapter board or to a committee appointed by it on classification. The
chapter board shall set forth a classification and rating system for the rating
of em ployees; such system shall have the force of constitutional law of the
guild; and no journeyman employee shall be paid less than the rate fixed for
the low est rating.
3. W age levels, how fixed.—Wage levels shall be fixed w ith reference to the
economic state of the industry, the object being to provide at all tim es the
maximum wage which the industry is capable of paying.
4. O vertim e and night scale.—Work in excess of the standard number of
hours in the workday shall be regarded as overtime. A proper differential
shall be established for work on a regular night shift.
5. Holidays.—W hat days are holidays shall be designated by the chapter
board. I f it becomes necessary to work on such days, such work shall be com
pensated at the rate of double time. An employee may decline to work on the
holiday w ithout being subject to discrimination. The follow ing days shall
alw ays be h o lid a y s: All Sundays in the y e a r ; New Year’s D a y ; Memorial D a y ;
Independence D a y ; Labor D a y ; Thanksgiving D a y ; Christmas Day.

APPENDIX B---- CONSTITUTION

205

6. Distribution of hours.—In any plant, management and chapel may agree
on a distribution of hours throughout the days of the week other than the
distribution arrived at by dividing the total number of hours by six.
7. Safety and health.—Working conditions and the environment of the job
shall be a matter of concern to the chapter board. Standards of safety and
health may be erected from time to time, the object being to elim inate all pre
ventable accident and illness. Plants shall be kept as safe, clean and sanitary
as possible, and the officers and boards of the guild shall cooperate w ith the
State authorities, and coordinate their endeavors with those of the authorities,
in the matter of safety and health. The board may publish a safety and health
c o d e; in which case it shall be the duty of every plant to conform to standards
so set as nearly and as quickly as possible.
A r t ic l e

IX.— Initiative and referendum

1. Individual m itiative. —The power of initiative in any m atter of wages,
hours, or conditions, or in any matter pertaining to the guild or to the objects
for which it is established, shall be considered as vested in every member, and
shall be exercised by him through his representatives on boards and committees.
2. Referendum; hotv taken.—Referendum to the membership at large of any
question may be ordered by a two-thirds m ajority of the chapter board. When
such a referendum is ordered, ballots shall be prepared containing the question
or questions to be voted upon, and supplied to each chapel, where a secret ballot
shall be taken under the supervision of the conference committee and manage
ment, and it shall be their duty to see that every member in the plant shall
have ample opportunity to cast h is ballot. Such referendum shall be under
the general supervision of the executive manager.
A r t ic l e

X.— Complaints

1. Just cause for complaint.— When any member shall judge that he has
just cause for complaint he shall make use of the method herein provided for
redress of the same. Just cause for complaint shall have the fullest and freest
definition, but shall specifically in clu d e: Feeling on the part of the member that
he is not being paid according to established levels, or according to his sk ill;
that he has worked overtime without receiving overtime p a y ; that he has been
unfairly discriminated against, or unjustly discharged; that conditions under
which he works are unsanitary or unsafe.
2. Review of complaint.—The member shall make his complaint known to the
conference committee. If the committee shall decide that the complaint is not
a proper one, it shall so advise the complaining member. If the cause for com
plaint is deemed just, the matter shall be referred to the management for
adjustment.
3. Adjustment. — Conference committee and management shall exhaust every
honorable means to adjust the complaint. I f unable to do so, the executive
manager shall be appealed to for a decision. Appeal may be taken from the
decision, either by management or conference committee, to the chapter board.
A r t ic l e

X I.— Penalties

1. Liability to penalty.— Whenever any member shall act in contravention or
violation of the constitution or any part thereof, or of any regulation set forth
by proper authority, such member shall be liable to penalty.
2. Charges.—If it is alleged that a company member is in violation of any
guild regulation, charges may be filed against such member by the conference
committee in its plant, by the executive manager, or by another company mem
ber. Such charges shall be made out on a blank to be provided for that purpose,
and shall detail the nature of the violation, and shall be duly signed by those
bringing the charges. Such charges shall be filed in the executive office of
the chapter.
3. Review of charges.—The executive manager shall transm it such charges
to the chapter board, and shall, in advance of the meeting of the board at
which the charges are to be considered, notify the accused member in writing
of the time and place of such meeting, so that he may be present, in person
or by representative, to defend him self if he desires to do so. I f unable to
be present the accused member may send to the executive manager a written

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AMERICAN GUILD OF TH E PRIN TING INDUSTRY

brief, which shall have the same consideration when presented to the board
as if the company member were present in person. No penalty shall be imposed
unless ample opportunity is given to the accused member for self-d efen se; but
failure to be present or submit h is case in w riting to the session of the chapter
board, after such opportunity has been extended, shall be considered as tacit
acknowledgment of the truth of the charges.
4. Fines.—I f the chapter board shall find the accused member guilty of
all or a part of the violations charged, it shall impose a suitable fine, or
expel the member from the association ; but the board shall expel a member
only for grave cause. In case the chapter board shall impose a fine or
order expulsion, the member accused may take an appeal to the chapter
board of appeal.
5. Quashed charges. — If, after the charges have been filed, the company mem
ber accused shall acknowledge violation, and so far as possible make reparation
for damage done, the charges shall be quashed by the executive manager. Nor
shall any charges be laid before the board until the accused member shall have
had the matter called to his attention and opportunity given him to conform
his practice, if it be in violation of regulations, and, if necessary, m ake
restitution.
6. Refusal to pap fine.—I f a fined company member shall refuse to pay a
fine properly imposed, the chapter board, after 30 days, shall have authority to
proceed to legal collection. In such case the costs of legal action shall be
added to the fine, and this provision is specifically agreed to by every signatory
of an application for company membership.
7. Publication.—In the event that either legal action or expulsion becomes
necessary, the chapter board shall prepare a statement setting forth ^the facts
in the case in detail, and such statement shall be distributed to every company
member and chapel secretary in the chapter.
8. Charges against board member.— Should charges be filed against a member
of the chapter board, he shall not sit on the board during discussion of the
charges, but his place shall be taken by an alternate.
9. Charges against individual member.— In the event that an individual mem
ber is accused of violation of or nonconformity w ith regulations, all o f the
above shall apply in such case; charges against an individual member may be
filed by any member in the same chapter or by the executive manager, but the
only company member which may file charges is that member employing the
accused individual member. In place of expulsion the individual member may
be suspended for a period fixed by the board, and if suspended he shall lose
all rights of priority which may have accrued to him, and all insurance benefits
shall be held in abeyance. In case of expulsion all rights and benefits are
fo rfeited ; but the chapter board shall expel a member only for grave cause.
A r t ic l e

X II.— Insurance

1. Earning power insured.—The association shall make proper arrangements
to insure its individual members, in so far as practicable, expedient, and legally
possible, against every contingency that may put a stop, tem porarily or
permanently, to the earning power.
2. Insurance code.—The several amounts of insurance, the circum stances
under which it is to be paid, the collection of premiums, and all other m atters
pertaining thereunto, shall be determined by the chapter board, which shall
draw up an insurance code, as a body of law under which the insurance fund
shall be administered. The insurance code shall have the full force of constitu
tional law of the guild.
3. Insurance fund.—An insurance fund shall be established by apportioning
a definite percentage of the regular dues for that purpose. This fund shall
be entirely separate and apart from the general fund, and shall never be used
for any other purpose than the insurance of the members. Any expense of
adm inistration of the insurance fund shall be borne by the general fund, and any
dividends or participations from the insurance carrier shall ■be added to
the insurance fund.
4. Board of trustees.— The insurance fund shall be administered by a board
of trustees of at least four members, two employers and two employees, to
be elected by the chapter board. In the first instance of such election, one
member of the board of trustees shall be elected for one year, one for two,

APPENDIX B---- CONSTITUTION

207

one for three, and one for four years. Thereafter one member of the board
of trustees shall be elected annually, to take the room of the member whose
term expires, and the term of office of each member shall be four years. When
an employee member’s term expires, an employee shall be elected in his room;
and when an employer member’s term expires, an employer shall be elected in
h is room.
5.
R eserve.—When a reserve accumulates in the insurance fund, such may
not be transferred to the general fund, but such reserve shall be held for
the use of the insured.

A rtic le X III.—A pprentices
1. T rade schools.—Trade schools may be established for the education of
apprentices and providing opportunity for journeymen to improve their crafts
manship. The number of apprentices, the manner of their education, their
course of study, and all things pertaining thereunto shall be under the guid
ance of the chapter board, and general principles of the operation and m ainte
nance of such schools shall be set forth by the chapter board.

A rtic le X IV .—Finance
1. D eposits.—-All funds placed in the chapter treasury shall be deposited in
a bank or trust company as selected by the chapter board, and shall not be
paid out except on vouchers O. K.’d by the executive manager and passed by
the chapter board. O. K. of the chapter board shall be certified by any member
of the board chosen by the board for that purpose. Checks issued in payment
of accounts shall be signed by the executive manager and by the treasurer.
2. B u dget.—The executive manager of the chapter shall each year prepare a
budget of probable expenditure for the- ensuing year. Such budget shall be
reviewed by the chapter board, and after the board has fixed the budget, ex
penditure shall not exceed the amount fixed. It shall be the duty of the
executive manager to m ake expenditures as low as possible w ithout impairing
the functioning of the chapter, regardless of the budget.
3. A u dit.—There shall be an annual audit o f the books o f the treasurer by a
firm of certified public accountants, and the report of such auditors shall be
published to the membership by sending it in printed form to every chapel
secretary and every company member.
4. Su rety bond.—Officers responsible for funds shall be required to furnish
surety bond satisfactory to the chapter board, in an amount fixed by the board.
The cost of such bond shall be defrayed .out o f the funds of the chapter.
5. F unds; hoto u sed .— The general fund shall be used for usual purposes of
administration, organization, and promotion. The insurance fund shall be
used only for (a ) the payment o f insurance premiums to an insuring company
underwriting the r is k ; ( b ) special benefits to members.
6. In vestm en ts.— Should reserve accumulate in the insurance fund it may be
loaned on authorized court securities at the discretion of the executive manager
in consultation w ith the board of trustees of the fund. Report on such reserve
and loans must be included in the annual audit. The practice of making such
loans shall not be inaugurated until the chapter board shall have given form al
approval. Interest earned by investment of the reserve shall be added to the
reserve.
A rtic le X V .—A lterations
1. D efinition.—Any proposed addition to or omission from this constitution,
or any substitution of one word, figure, phrase, sentence, section, or article,
for another, shall be deemed an alteration of the constitution.
2. H ow m ade.— Such alterations shall be made only in the manner follow ing:
a. It shall be proposed to the chapter by a two-thirds majority vote of the
chapter board; or by petition signed by 20 members of the chapter, all o f whom
shall be in good standing.
b. The proposed alteration shall be distributed in printed form to the entire
membership.
c. Final disposition of the proposal shall be made only at a regular or special
m eeting o f the entire chapter, to be held not earlier than 10 days after general
distribution of the printed proposal to alter.

208
d.
of the
which
3.
unless

GRAPHIC ARTS IN DUSTRIAL FEDERATION

Affirmative action on the proposal shall require the assent of two-thirds
employees and two-thirds of the employers at such chapter meeting, at
at least a constitutional quorum shall be present.
When effective.—The alteration so ordered shall go into im mediate effect,
otherwise specified.

Appendix C.—Constitution and By-Laws of Graphic Arts Industrial
Federation
CONSTITUTION
A rtic le 1.—Name
The name of this organization shall be the Graphic Arts Industrial Federation.

A rtic le 2.—M embership defined
This organization shall consist of open-shop employers and employees engaged
in the arts of printing, photo-engraving, electrotyping, bookbinding, and other
allied trades connected with Boston Typothetse Board of Trade.

A rtic le 3.— O bjects
Section 1. The aim of this organization shall be to promote by mutual
counsel, endeavor, and service the interests of those engaged and employed in
the graphic arts industries of Greater Boston. All m atters of mutual interest
shall be open for consideration.
S ec. 2. This organization is designed to promote a spirit of confidence and
good will, and thereby elim inate unfortunate and costly m isunderstandings
which arise chiefly from the lack of a trustworthy means of communication.
S ec. 3. The organization is designed as a constructive influence in the graphic
arts industries ; so to improve existing conditions as to reflect them selves in
greater stability of business, employment, and wages by the joint endeavors of
management and employees working together to th is end.
A rtic le 4.— Organization
Section 1. This organization shall be composed of two groups— an employees’
group and an employers’ group.
Em ployees’ group

Sec. 2. The employees in each shop that is a member of Boston Typothetse
Board of Trade may form a shop organization, who w ill elect a chairman, a
vice chairman, and a secretary. These officers shall constitute the shop
committee.
S eo. 3. In shops employing less than 50 people the employees shall assemble
in some convenient place and elect their shop committee by ballot—the meeting
to be entirely free from any influence of the management.
S ec. 4. Shops employing a large number of people and having various depart
ments, may elect one representative from each one of these departments, which
representatives shall assemble and elect a shop committee.
S ec. 5. Shops employing a very small number of people may, if they so
choose, elect only a chairman.
S ec. 6. The chairman in each case shall be the shop representative in the
employees’ group of the joint industrial federation. It is provided, how7ever,
that shops employing women in reasonable numbers may elect to the employees’
group both a man and a woman, the man and the woman being entitled to cast
a total of one vote only.
Employers' group
S ec. 7. Each firm shall elect an employer to represent the management in
the employers’ group of the Graphic Arts Industrial Federation.
S ec. 8. In case a shop is individually owned the proprietor w ill be the
representative.

APPENDIX 0-— CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

209

S ec. 9. If the business is a partnership or a corporation, the owners shall
decide among them selves which member shall represent the firm, as no business
is entitled to more than one representative.
A r t i c l e 5.— Officers of the federation
S e c t io n 1. Each group in the organization shall meet separately and elect
annually th e follow ing officers:
{a) A chairman, a secretary, a treasurer, and a recording secretary.
(1)) An executive committee of nine members, who w ill represent the group
on the joint industrial board.
The duly elected officers of each group may be a part of the executive com
m ittee of nine if the group so elects.
Sec. 2. The executive committee may be so selected as to represent each trade
in the graphic arts industries.
S ec. 3. The recording secretary of each group shall be a member ex officio
of the joint industrial board for the purpose of keeping records but shall have
no vote.
Sec. 4. The executive committee from each group will' combine, form ing a
joint industrial board. In case of absence, or in case of a m atter affecting
a member of the joint industrial board, the member shall deposit h is proxy w ith
the chairman of his group or an alternate may be appointed.
Sec. 5. The joint industrial board shall have full power in all m atters referred
to it for adjudication. Vital actions, affecting either or both groups, shall not
become final and binding until confirmed by the group affected.

C om m ittees
S ec. 6. Special committees for special work may be appointed by each g r o u p
as the members deem advisable.
A r t ic l e

6.—M eetings

S e c t i o n 1. The organization in each individual shop may hold monthly meet
ings at such tim e and place as their shop committee may direct.

E m ployees’ group
S ec. 2. The employees’ group shall hold regular monthly m eetings at such
time and place as their chairman may elect.

Sec. 3. Special meetings may be called at such time and place as the chairm an
may determ ine; or, he shall be obligated to call a special meeting upon the
w ritten request of 10 members in good standing.
E mployers' group
S ec. 4. The employers’ group shall hold regular monthly m eetings at such
time and place as the chairman may direct.

Sec. 5. Special meetings may be called at such time and place as the chair
man may determ ine; or, he shall be obligated to call a special meeting upon
the w ritten request of 10 members in good standing.
BY-LAWS
A r t i c l e 1.— General

Fees and dues
S e c t i o n 1. In case finances should at any time be needed, same shall be pro
vided in such manner as the joint industrial board may designate.

Chairmanship of join t in du strial board
S eo. 2. The chairman from each group shall alternate in presiding at
meetings.

GRAPHIC ARTS IN DUSTRIAL FEDERATION

210

S ecretary, join t industrial board

Sec. 3. The recording secretary of each group shall alternate in keeping
records of the meetings.
Sec. 4. When the chairman of the employees’ group presides at m eetings of
the joint industrial board, the recording secretary of the employers’ group
shall keep the records, and vice versa.
Sec. 5. The book of records shall be kept at headquarters and open at a ll
tim es for inspection by any member of the federation w h o is in g o o d standing.
S ec . 6. Order o f b u sin e ss:

1. Calling of roll.
2. Reading of m inutes of previous meeting.
3. Unfinished business.
4. Reports of committees.
5. New business.
6. Adjournment.
A rtic le 2.—A m endm ents
T his constitution and by-laws shall be abrogated or amended only a t the
regular monthly meetings of the joint industrial board by a two-thirds vote
of those present, such abrogation or amendment having been proposed by one
or more members filing a proposal w ith the secretaries at least one month
prior to the date of the meeting.

Employee’s Group
Name
S e c t i o n 1. This branch shall be known as the employees’ group of the Graphic
A rts Industrial Federation.
How con stitu ted

Sec. 2. This group shall consist of any shops in the printing and allied trades,
provided said shops are members of Boston Typothetse Board of Trade and the
employees thereof desire representation in th is group.
Object
S e c . 3. The object of th is group shall be to promote the interests of those
engaged and employed w ithin the shops of members of the organization, by
mutual endeavor.
R epresentation

Sec. 4. Each shop shall send one representative, regardless; of craft or sex,
to represent it in the employees’ group. It is provided, however, th at shops
employing women in reasonable numbers may elect to the employees’ group
both a man and a woman, the man and the woman being entitled to cast a
total of one vote only.
E lig ib ility
S e c . 5. Any bona fide working employee, as distinguished from a n executive
i n any form, or those having a financial interest in any way, shall be eligible

to membership in the employees’ group.
M ethod of electing represen tatives
S e c . 6. The representative to the employees’ group shall be chosen by o n e o f
the follow ing m eth od s:
(a ) B y a m ajority of the employees of the entire shop.
(b) In shops where there are various departments, each department may
choose a delegate from said department, said delegate to be elected
by majority vote in that department. The delegates so elected may
choose or elect one of their number to be the representative to t h e
employees’ group.

APPENDIX C— CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

211

Meaning of w ord “ em ployee ”

Sec. 7. The word “ employee ” wlienever used in these by-laws shall be
construed to mean a bona fide employee as defined in section 5 hereof.
Application for mem bership

Sec. 8. Any representative applying for membership in the employees’ group
shall file proper credentials with his (or her) application that he (or she)
is the chosen representative from said shop.
P roper credentials

Sec. 9. As to w hat constitutes proper credentials as stipulated in section 8
hereof shall be determined from tim e to time.
Seating and unseating m em bers
S eo. 10. This body reserves the right to govern its members, and may refuse
to seat an applicant, or unseat a member, at any time for sufficient cause.
Sufficient cause may be deemed to be anything that may in a measure impair
the objects of the association, as defined in section 3 hereof.
Method of seating

Sec. 11. An applicant upon filing application and credentials, may become
seated by a majority vote of those present.
M ethod of unseating

Sec. 12. Any representative may be unseated at any regular ^meeting, or a t a
special meeting called for that purpose. The unseating of" a member w ill
require a two-thirds vote of the members present.
R egular m eetings

Sec. 13. R egular m eetings shall be held on the last Thursday of each month,
or at such other tim e and at such place as may be stipulated from tim e to
time. Twenty members shall constitute a quorum.
Special meetings

Sec. 14. Special meetings shall be called by the secretary on order of the
chairman, at such times as he (or she) may deem necessary; or upon demand
in writing therefor, signed by 10 representatives. The call shall consist of a
w ritten notice to each representative, stating the time and place of meeting,
and the object thereof. The notice shall be duly addressed to a representative
at the address of record, postage prepaid, and deposited in the United States
m ail two days prior to the date of meeting, which shall be deemed due notice.
Officers
S ec. 15. The officers may consist of a chairman, a vice chairman, a secretary,
a treasurer, an executive committee, and a recording secretary.
Chairman

Sec. 16. The chairman shall be chief executive of this group, and shall hold
office for one year, or until his (or her) successor shall be chosen. Election
shajl be by secret ballot. Plurality elects. It shall be the duty of the chairman
to preside at all meetings and perform such other duties as may from time
to time be delegated to him (or her).
Secretary

Sec. 17. Election shall be by secret ballot. Plurality elects. It shall be
the duty of the secretary to keep a record of all meetings, a list of members,

212

GRAPHIC ARTS INDUSTRIAL FEDERATION

together w ith the shop they represent, to issue all calls for special meetings,
as defined in section 14, and to perform such other duties as may from time
to time be delegated to him (or her).
Treasurer
S ec. 18. Election shall be by secret ballot. Plurality elects. It shall be the
duty of the treasurer to protect the funds of the organization, to receive and
disburse all money, to keep an accurate account thereof, to report the financial
condition at all regular meetings, and to perform such other duties as may from
time to time be delegated to him (or her). The disbursing of money shall be by
authorization.
E xecutive com m ittee
S ec. 19. The executive committee shall consist of nine members, of which the
chairman, secretary, and treasurer may form a part. The remaining six mem
bers necessary to complete the board shall be elected at large by secret ballot.
P lurality elects. Two alternates shall be elected to act as substitutes, should
occasion arise.
It shall be the duty of the executive committee to represent this group at all
conferences w ith the committee from the employers’ group on the joint indus
trial board ; and to perform such other duties as from time to tim e may be
delegated to it.
Amendments
S e c . 20. These by-laws may b e amended, suspended, or repealed at any regu
lar meeting, or any special meeting called for that purpose, b y a two-thirds
vote of the members present.

O rder o f business
Sec. 21.

1. Calling of roll.
2. Reading of m inutes of previous meeting.
3. Unfinished business.
4. Reports of committees.
5. New business.
6. Adjournment.
E m p lo y e rs ’ g ro u p

Nam e
S e c t i o n 1. This branch shall be known a s the employers’ group of the
Graphic Arts Industrial Federation.

H ow con stitu ted
Sec. 2. T his group shall consist of employers representing firms in' the graphic
arts trades, provided such firms are members of Boston Typothetse Board
of Trade, and that employees have organized and become members of the
federation.
Object
S e c . 3. The object of this group shall be to promote th e interests of those
engaged and employed in the graphic arts industries.

R epresentation
S ec. 4. Each firm shall send one representative to this group.

N ew mem bers
Sec. 5. N ew members may be received into the group at such tim e as they
comply w ith the constitution and by-laws of the Graphic Arts Industrial
Federation.

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APPENDIX D----RULES AND WAGE SCALES CONTRACT

M eetings
S e c . 6. Regular and special meetings shall be held as provided for in the
constitution and by-laws of the general organization.

Officers and executive com m ittee
Seo. 7. The officers and executive committee shall be elected annually as
provided for in the constitution and by-laws of the general organization.
A m endm ents
Seo. 8. These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of those present,
notice of such amendment having been filed w ith the secretary one month prior
to the meeting.
Summ ary

It is the intention of those interested to conduct the organization on a fiftyfifty basis for the mutual w elfare of all engaged therein. The honest coopera
tion in spirit of both employers and employees w ill assure the successful outcome
of the undertaking.

Appendix D.— Shop Rules and Wage Scales Contract Between Printers’
League Section, New York Employing Printers5 Association (Inc.) and
Typographical Union No. 6, 1927
C ontract

This contract and scale of prices made and entered into th is 6th day of
January, 1928, by and between the Printers’ League Section, New York Em
ploying Printers’ Association (In c.), hereinafter called the league, and New
York Typographical Union No. 6, hereinafter called the union.
D uration of contract
This contract shall be in effect for a period of five years, October 1, 1927, to
September 30, 1932, at the rates as provided h erein ; for the follow ing p eriod s:
W age rates
D ay
shift

Period
Oct.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.

1,
1,
1,
1,
1,
1,

1927, to
1928, to
1929, to
1930, to
1931, to
1932, to

Jan. 1, 1928.................................................................... .......................
Dec. 31, 1928..__________________ _____ ________________ _____
Dec. 31, 1929________________________________________ ______ _
Dec. 31, 1930________ ____ __________________________ ________
Dec. 31, 1931 ................................................................................... .......
Sept. 30, 1932___ ______ ___ __________ ______________________

$55
56
57
58
59
60

Night
shift
$58
59
60
61
62
63

Third
shift
$61
62
63
64
65
66

. All sections in this contract which carry wage rates computed upon the basic
rates shall be made to conform thereto upon the dates at which changes in the
basic rates are herein provided.
Hours
Working h o u rs: D ay shift, 44 h ou rs; night shift, 40 h o u rs; third shift, 35
hours.
In terpretation
(A )
If any controversy arises as to interpretation or enforcement of this
contract the conditions prevailing prior to the dispute shall be m aintained until
the controversy has been disposed of as provided herein.

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PRINTERS- LEAGUE AND TYPOGRAPHICAL U N IO N

(B ) Tlie league agrees that only members of the union shall be employed
for journeymen's work in the composing room, except as elsewhere provided,
upon the terms and conditions contained in this contract.
(C) The union agrees to furnish as many competent and skilled workmen
as required by each office for the operation of its composing room.
(D ) This contract shall govern all members of the union and all members
of the league, and employment is given and accepted under these conditions.
(E ) All differences of opinion on any question (except as provided in sec
tion 33) arising under this contract in league offices shall be submitted to the
president of the union, or his representatives, and the president of the league,
or his representatives, for conciliation, and if conciliation fails, then and
at all times said differences shall be submitted to a joint conference committee.
(F ) The joint conference committee shall consist of five members of the
league and a like number of members of the union. This committee shall meet
at the request of the league or of the union at such tim e and place a s may
be determined. Due notice in w riting of such meeting .shall be given all
interested parties.
(G) The said joint conference committee must act w ithin five fu ll business
days, when its services are desired by either party to this contract to an appeal
as above. When the joint conference committee can not reach an agreement,
or when it is unable to render a decision within 10 fu ll business days after
the final submission of the case, either party to this contract shall have the
right to a review by an arbitrator to be selected by the joint conference
committee. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on both
parties to this contract.
(H ) No precedents or previous conditions, rules, or agreements shall be
recognized in any way, or affect or modify this contract.
(I ) Local union law s not affecting wages, hours, and working conditions, and
the law s of the International Typographical Union, shall not be subject to the
provisions of the above: Provided, That international or local law s enacted
subsequent to the execution of this contract shall not be effective during the life
of this contract.
E xpiration of contract
I f either party to this contract desires to amend or abrogate any or all of
its provisions, to take effect at its expiration, notice in w riting must be
given to the other party at least 90 days prior to its expiration date, of their
desire to so amend or abrogate; such notice shall open this contract by both
parties and shall be followed w ith an exchange of proposals at least 60 days
prior to its expiration. In which case negotiations shall be im m ediately entered
into and proceed with all due diligence.
I f no notice by either party is given in writing as stipulated in the preceding
paragraph the then existing provisions of this contract shall continue in full
force and effect to September 30, 1933; and thereafter be subject to the stipula
tions as set forth in the preceding paragraph prior to each succeeding annual
expiration date.
G e n e r a l R e g u l a t io n s

1. D ay sh ifts.—All members of the union employed on day shifts, except
as hereinafter provided for, shall receive not less than $56 per week. Five
days of eight consecutive hours (exclusive of time for lunch) and four hours
on Saturday, shall constitute a week’s work, the hours to be between 7.30
a. m., and 5 p. m., except on Saturday, when the hours shall be between
7.30 a. m. and 12.30 noon.
2. N ight sh ifts.—All members of the union employed on night shifts, except
as hereinafter provided for shall receive not less than $59 per week. Five
nights, Monday to Friday, inclusive, of eight consecutive hours (exclusive
of time for lunch) shall constitute a week’s work, the hours to be between
5 p. m. and 3.30 a. m.
3. T hird ( lo b ster) sh ifts.—All members of the union employed on third shifts,
except as hereinafter provided for, shall receive not less than $62 per week.
F ive mornings, Tuesday to Saturday, inclusive, of seven consecutive hours
(exclusive of time for lunch) shall constitute a week’s work, the hours to
be between 1 a. m. and 10 a. m.
4. A printed notice stating the time when work shall begin and end shall be
kept posted in a conspicuous place in each composing room, and any member

APPENDIX D---- RULES AND WAGE SCALES CONTRACT

215

required or permitted to work before or after the hours so posted shall be
paid for same at overtime rates, except as provided in section 53.
A ll members must start and quit work at the prescribed hours of the shift.
The starting and quitting time on each and every day shall be the same as to
the hour and minute, except Saturday quitting time.
5. Payment of wages shall be made weekly in cash, not later than 72 hours
after the close of the fiscal week, and not more than 7 working days shall
elapse between pay d a y s: P rovided, Such payment may be made by check under
the State law if a majority referendum vote of a chapel approve.
6. All employees must be paid off w ithin 10 minutes after quitting tim e on
pay day. Employees required to w ait for a longer period shall be paid over
tim e rates from the regular quitting hour until paid off: P ro vid ed, That the
above shall not prevail for the first omission when it can be shown that it was
not w ithin the employer’s power to prevent.
7. Each and every member of New York Typographical Union No. 6 must
refuse to perform any work whatsoever in an office which has not paid wages
in fu ll for previous week’s work as hereinbefore stip u lated ; said prohibition
to remain on said office until all members of New York Typographical Union
No. 6 have been so paid. No further action by this union shall be necessary
when wages have not been so paid.
8. When legal holidays fa ll on pay day the force shall be paid off on the pre
ceding working-day.
9. In cases where members are laid off before the regular pay day they shall
be entitled to and shall immediately receive, whatever sum may be due them, on
demand: Provided, Men so laid off on any other than the day sh ift shall
receive their pay on demand the next working-day.
10. Time hands in charging overtime shall not charge less than one-fourth,
one-half, three-fourths, or full hour; in offices where the unit system is used,
they shall not charge less 'than 2 units, 12 m in u tes; 5 units, 30 m in u tes; 8
units, 48 minutes, or fu ll hour.
11. Members when called in to work as extras shall receive a fu ll day’s pay
unless they are employed for a full day im mediately following the day of their
engagement, in which case they shall only be paid for the actual tim e worked.
This shall not apply to men discharged for incompetency after trial, not exceed
ing three hours, in which case they shall be paid for actual tim e worked.
12. When a request is made of the union for a man, he shall report for work
w ithin a reasonable time, not to exceed one h o u r; or if the call is made on the
day before, at the regular hour for beginning work, or forfeit any tim e lost
thereafter.
13. Where men on day shifts have been laid off or are off w ith the consent
of the foreman and are called back, the follow ing w ages shall be paid:
A. Where men are called back during their regular shift hours on week
days (except Saturdays) they shall be paid for a full day’s work based on
their regular wages for the hours of the s h if t ; if required to work beyond
their regular sh ift hours they shall be paid for such hours at overtime rates
based on their regular wages.
B. Where men on day shifts are called back to work on week days (except
Saturdays) on night sh ift hours they shall be paid double price based on their
regular wages. Any portion worked of the regular hours o f the night shift
of such day shall be considered a full night’s work. Any time worked beyond
the regular hours of the shift on above nights shall be paid for at triple time
based on their regular wages.
C. Where men on day sh ifts are called back on Sundays or legal holidays
on night sh ift hours they shall be paid triple price based on their regular
wages. Any portion worked of the regular hours of the night shift of such
days shall be considered a fu ll night’s work. Any time worked beyond the
regular hours of the shift on above nights shall be paid for at quadruple time
based on their regular wages.
D. Where men on day shifts working Saturday mornings are called back after
leaving the office they shall be paid continuous overtime at overtime rates, as
set forth in section 6- from the regular quitting hour of their sh ift until ordered
by the foreman to quit work.
E. Where men on day shifts are called back on Saturdays, during their
regular shift hours, after notice of lay-off has been given on Thursday, in
accordance w ith section 19, they shall, on so reporting, become entitled to four
hours’ pay at price and one-half. Any tim e worked beyond the regular sh ift
hours on Saturdays shall be paid for as set forth in section 61.

216

PRIN TERS’ LEAGUE AND TYPOGRAPHICAL U N IO N

F. Where men on day shifts are called back on Saturdays between the hours
of 12 m. and 4 p. m. on that day, they shall receive price and one-half for eight
hours, based on their regular wages. Any time worked beyond 4 p. m. on above
days shall be paid for as set forth in section 61.
G. Where men on day shifts are called back on Saturdays between the hours
of 4 p. m. and 12 midnight, they shall be paid triple price, based on their regular
wages. Any portion worked between the above specified hours shall be con
sidered a fu ll night’s work. Any time worked beyond 12 midnight on above
nights shall be paid for at quadruple time based on their regular wages.
14. When time is called men must be at their appointed stations ready to
work and shall remain there and at work until call of time at the end of the
period. Time shall be called by the method employed* in each individual shop.
15. Any member may be assigned work in any position in the composing room
other than the position for which he w as engaged, in case of emergency, and
if such emergency position carries w ith it a higher scale than the scale which
he has been receiving he must receive, w hile filling that position, the scale
provided for the same.
16. In the event of the emergency position carrying a lower scale than he
has been receiving in his regular position, the payment for such emergency
work must be at the rate as that of h is regular position.
IT. No member shall be permitted or required to execute work coming under
the jurisdiction of the union outside of a printing plant.
18. Extras (meaning all members of the union employed for less than a
wreek) shall be entitled to 50 cents per day extra. This does not apply to
employees holding regular situations in the office, or to those quitting work o f
their own volition, nor to members canceling overtime.
19. Broken w eeks for regu lars.—An employee in a book office, holding a regu
lar situation, when laid off part of a week for lack of work shall not be con
sidered an extra, the extra being distinctively an employee not holding a
regular situation: P rovided, That when a regular employee is to be laid off
for Saturday only he shall be notified not later than Thursday before leaving
the office.
20. When employees have been employed for a fu ll week, even though the
week covered portions of two fiscal weeks or if they are employed on tw o differ
ent shifts for six consecutive days, they are not to be considered as extras.
21. Compositors taken from the case to learn to operate machines shall be paid
at the rate of 75 per cent of the scale for a period of 10 weeks and thereafter
the full scale. No obstruction or restriction w hatever shall be placed upon
or stand in the w ay of learners.
22. When an office introduces machines, it shall select its operators from
members who have been employed in its composing room for a period of at
least three months. When the machines have been covered by one set of learn
ers for the tim e specified in this scale, the office shall be free to select its
operators from outside: P rovided, That offices introducing m achines to the
number of two or more shall be entitled to engage one experienced operator
from the outside.
23. Members of the union m ust not handle type, slugs, matrices, or plates
received from nonunion shops.
24. The bringing into the composing room of persons other than members of
No. 6 to handle type matter, locking up or unlocking form s or performing such
work as removing cuts from type, etc., when such is destined to unfair offices
or publications is a violation of this agreement: P rovided, how ever, That this
section shall not apply in cases where a customer of the employer makes a
demand upon such employer for his property.
25. This union reserves the right to its members to refuse to execute all struck
work received from or destined for unfair employers or publications.
26. Any member failing to fulfill an engagement shall, on conviction, be
fined the sum of $25.
27. Members ordered by foremen to report for work shall, upon so reporting,
become entitled to a day’s pay, subject to provisions in sections 11, 18, and 56;
except in case of fire, flood, or accident over which the employer has no control
and same occurs before men start to work. This does not relieve the employer
from responsibility of day’s pay if he had sufficient tim e to notify members of
same and failed to do so.
28. Members of the union employed on book and job work transferred to work
coming under the “ Scale o f prices for newspapers ” shall be paid the highest
prevailing scale of w ages for the sh ift on which the work is performed.

APPENDIX D----RULES AND WAGE SCALES CONTRACT

217

29.
Any type set, if used, must have a first reading and be corrected and
revised by members of the union before proofs w ith alterations or corrections
marked thereon emanating from outside the composing room may be corrected.
This shall not apply to foreign languages where a member of the union
competent to read it can not be obtained.
80.
Lunch time may be arranged by mutual consent, but the foreman can not
keep an employee more than four and one-half hours before allowing a reason
able time for lunch, except in cases of emergency. Any employee compelled
to work during lunch time must take the regular time off for lunch when the
other employees return to work.
31. Members of the union shall be employed, receive orders from, disciplined,
laid off, and discharged by the foreman and by none other. In the absence of
the foreman he shall designate and post who w ill be the foreman during his
absence: P rovided, That nothing in this section shall interfere w ith instruc
tions being given by others for the proper execution of a job, when same is
deemed necessary by the foreman.
32. Foremen of printing offices have the right to employ help, and m ay dis
charge (1) for incompetency, (2) for neglect of duty, (3) for violation of office
rules (which shall be conspicuously posted), or of law s of the chapel or union,
and (4) to decrease the force, such decrease to be accomplished by discharging
first the person or persons last employed, either as regular employees or as
extra employees, as the exigencies of the matter may require. Should there be
an increase in the force the persons displaced through such cause shall be rein
stated in reverse order in which they were discharged before other help may
be employed. Upon demand, the foreman shall give the reason for discharge
in writing. Persons considered capable as substitutes by foremen shall be
deemed competent to fill regular situations, and the substitute oldest in con
tinuous service shall have prior right in the filling of the first vacancy. This
section shall apply to incoming as w ell as outgoing foremen. Members legally
discharged according to the provisions of this section, except to reduce the force,
may be reinstated only at the option of the forem an: P rovided, That after a
period of one year any member may seek employment in an office from which
he has been discharged.
33. When a member is discharged for any reason and such action is contested
in behalf of the member affected, by either party to th is contract, the conten
tion shall be referred directly to a conference committee of three representatives
of the league, and three representatives of the union, without any intervening
action. A fter considering all the evidence in collection w ith the reason assigned
for discharge, effort at agreement shall be made, and if a decision is reached
it shall be final, and shall be so accepted by both parties to the controversy.
I f agreement can not be reached the conference committee shall select a seventh
member, and the decision of the committee as thus made up shall be final.
Should the conferees fa il to agree on an odd man he shall be selected by the
presiding judge of the appellate division of the supreme court for the first or
second district : P rovided, That the priority standing of members shall not be
subject to review by the conference; committee.
34. Regulars may be transferred by mutual consent from sh ift to sh ift when
ever the exigencies may require it. I f such transfers can not be arranged
by mutual consent then the men must be transferred according to their priority
standing in the office: P rovided, That members so transferred m ust be restored
to the shift from which they were taken, if they so desire, before any new situa
tions can be created on th at shift.
35. The overtime lawr as at present enforced in the newspaper offices in th is
city shall be in full force and effect in book and job offices in this jurisdiction.
36. In case the secretary-treasurer of the union has reason to believe that
the returns to the union by any of its members are not in accordance w ith the
actual pay roll of the plant, he must be furnished, upon request, a copy of
any composing room pay roll for the purpose of making correct returns of the
earnings of members. When more than one month’s pay roll is requested, the
union w ill pay the legitim ate expense of making up such pay r o ll: P rovided,
T hat any request for pay rolls from members o f the league w ill be made through
the secretary of the league.
37. All laws of the International Typographical Union in effect a t the tim e of
signing this contract are recognized as part of this scale.
38. The employer shall furnish a t all tim es a healthful, sufficiently ventilated,
properly heated, and well-lighted space for the performance of all work and all

218

PRINTERS' LEAGUE AND TYPOGRAPHICAL U N IO N

sanitary conditions shall be in accordance with the law s of the State of New
York and the Board of Health of the City of New York.
39. In the event a strike is authorized by the executive council of the Inter
national Typographical Union affecting a department over which it has estab
lished jurisdiction, nothing in this contract shall be construed to prevent the
international and local union from proceeding in accordance w ith "section 4,
Article XXY, general laws, I. T. U., 1927.
Machine tenders in booh and job offices
40. The scale for machine tenders on type-casting and typesetting machines
shall b e : 1 to 4 machines, $56.00 per w e ek ; 5 to 8 machines, $57.50 per w e e k ;
9 to 12 machines, $59.50 per w e e k ; 13 or more machines, $61.50 per week.
Machine tenders working at night shall receive $5 per week in addition to
the above day scale.
41. On all sh ifts when five or more men are operating typesetting machines
a machine tender must be employed and shall have charge of a ll repairs.
No printer member shall make repairs or adjustm ents when a machine tender
is employed. The duties of a machine tender shall be confined exclusively to
work coming under the jurisdiction of the union.
42. The regular working time of a machine tender shall be the same number
of days or nights per week of as many hours as are the regular hours of the
operators on each sh ift employed in the office operating the machines.
43. All tim e worked before or after these hours shall be considered as over
time, and shall be charged at the rate for overtime as set forth in this scale
of prices.
44. No machine tender holding a regular situation in an office shall be per
mitted to attend to the repairs on machines in any office other than the situ a
tion in which he is employed, except in case of emergency, all such cases to be
reported to h is chairman and to the president of the branch as soon a s possible.
45. Machine tenders may cast slugs, dashes, leads, and rules.
46. All offices of five machines or more shall be entitled to employ one helper
to each machine tender employed, who shall not handle tools, make repairs or
adjustments.
47. Attendants on type-casting machines shall be classed as laborers and are
not to be confused w ith machine tenders. No attendant w ill be permitted to
take charge of any plant, nor make repairs or adjustm ents requiring m achinists’
tools, but this w ill not prevent attendants from changing m ats on monotype
machines when casting fonts or sorts.
48. On type-casting machines a member of the union m ust be in charge of
each shift.
49. Two monotype keyboards shall be classed as one machine.
50. Two or more monotype casting machines shall call for a machine tender.
Legal holidays
51. The follow ing are the recognized legal holidays : January 1, February 12,
February 22, May 30, July 4, Labor Day, October 12, Election Day, Thanksgiving
Day, Christmas, Sundays, and such days as the President of the United States
or the Governor of the State of New York issue proclamations making same
legal holidays.
The holiday for night shifts shall be the night of the holiday.
The holiday for third shifts shall be the morning follow ing the holiday.
52. Satu rd a y half holiday.— Saturday afternoons throughout the year shall
be half holidays, the day’s work ending not later than 12.30 noon.
O vertim e
53. Overtime when worked shall be paid for on all sh ifts to a ll members of
the union except the general foreman and the foreman of each shift, which
shall be at the option of the employer.
54. All members of the union receiving wages in excess of the minimum scale
required to work other than the regular hours of the sh ift shall be paid the
rates called for by the scale based on their wages, except as specified in
section 53.

APPENDIX D---- RULES AND WAGE SCALES CONTRACT

219

55. All overtime to be distributed equally as far as practicable. In the
event of any foreman showing discrimination in this connection, this will be
considered a grievance and it will be the duty of the chairman to immediately
take same up with the foreman, and on failing to get a satisfactory adjustment
with him shall report the matter to the officers of the union, who shall take
the matter up with the management.
56. In book and job offices 10 hours must intervene between the time of
quitting and starting work, except in cases of unusual emergency. A member
reporting at the end of the 10-hour period immediately following overtime, in
order to be entitled to a full day’s pay, must work the major portion of that day.
A member ordered by the foreman to report for work at the regular starting
time of the shift, i. e., before the expiration of the 10-hour period, shall be paid
time and one-half for the time worked up to his 10-hour starting time; this
shall be in addition to the day’s pay when members work the major portion of
the day.
57. Whenever a member of the union isi required or permitted to work over
time one hour and a half, one-half hour shall be allowed to obtain lunch;
thereafter he shall be entitled to another lunch period of one-half hour for
every four hours of actual overtime worked. Lunch time shall be paid for at
overtime rates of the period within which, it occurs: Provided, That when a
member is required to work overtime for less than one hour and a half the
above provision shall not apply.
58. Overtime for day shifts .—For the first four hours following regular quit
ting time, price and one-half; for all time thereafter, up to the regular starting
time of the shift, double price: Provided, That men called to work one hour
or less before the regular starting time of their shift shall be paid price and
one-half up to the regular starting time of their shift; if called to work more
than one hour before starting time of their shift double price shall be paid for all
time worked up to the regular starting time of their shift.
59. When members of the day shifts are required to work continuous overtime
from their regular quitting time on one day through and beyond their regular
starting time on the following day, they shall receive triple time for all time
worked beyond their regular starting time of the next day: Provided , on Sun
days or legal holidays men shall be paid quadruple time in accordance with
the above.
60. Overtime shall apply to work done before as well as after the regular
hours of the shift.
61. If required to work on Saturday afternoon price and one-half shall be paid
for the first four hours; after which double price shall be paid until 10 p. m .;
after which triple price shall be paid up to regular starting time of the shift.
62. Sundays and legal holidays! shall be charged at double time rates; any
portion worked of the regular hours of the shift of such day shall be consid
ered a day’s work. Any time worked before or after the regular hours of
the shift on above days shall be paid for at triple price.
63. Overtime for night shifts. —Overtime for night shifts> shall apply to work,
done before as well as after the regular hours of the shift and shall be paid
for the first four hours at price and one-half, after which double price shall be
paid up to the regular starting time of the shift. Provided , That men called
to work one hour or less before the regular starting time of their shift shall
be paid price and one-half up to the regular starting time of their shift: if
called to work more than one hour before starting time of their shift double
price shall be paid for all time worked up to the regular starting time of their
shift.
64. When members of the night shifts are required to work continuous over
time from their regular quitting time on one night through and beyond their
regular starting time on the following night, they shall receive triple time for
all time worked beyond their regular starting time of the next night: Pro
vided, On Saturdays, Sundays, or legal holidays, men shall be paid quadruple
time in accordance with the above.
65. Night forces working on Friday night shall be paid as follows:
For the regular hours of the shift, single price. If required to work over
time, price and one-half shall be paid for the first three hours; after which
double price shall be paid for the next three hours; after which triple price
shall be paid.
17616°— 28------ 15

220

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND TYPOGRAPHICAL U N IO N

66. N ight forces working on tlie eve of a holiday shall be paid as follow s:
For the regular hours of the shift, single price. I f required to work over
time, double price shall be paid for the first four hours; after which triple
price shall be paid until the regular hours for starting the sh ift over again.
67. When members on night sh ifts are called in to work Saturdays, Sundays,
or legal holidays, they shall receive double price. All tim e worked before or
after the regular hours o f the sh ift on above days shall be paid for at triple
price.
68. Where men on night shifts have been laid off or are off with the consent of
the foreman and are called back, the following w ages shall be paid:
A. W7here men are called back during their regular shift hours on week
nights they shall be paid for a full night’s work based on their regular w ages
for the hours of the s h ift; if required to work beyond their regular shift hours
they shall be paid for such hours at overtime rates based on their regular
wages.
B. Where men on night sh ifts are called back to work on week days (except
Saturdays) on day sh ift hours, they shall be paid double price based on theii
regular wages. Any portion worked of the regular hours of the day sh ift of
such day shall be considered a fu ll day’s work. Any time worked beyond the
regular hours o f the sh ift on above days shall be paid for a t triple time based
on their regular wages.
C. Where men on night sh ifts are called back on Saturdays, Sundays, or legal
holidays, on day-shift hours, they shall be paid triple price based on their
regular wages. Any portion worked of the regular hours of the day shift
of such day shall be considered a full day’s work. Any time worked beyond
the regular hours o f the shift' on above days shall be paid for a t quadruple
tim e based on their regular w^ages.
D. Where men on night shifts have worked the night and are called back
after leaving the office between their regular quitting time and the starting
tim e of the day shift, they shall be paid continuous overtime a t overtime rates
as set forth in sections 63, 64, 65 and 66 from the regular quitting hour o f
their shift until ordered by the foreman to quit work.
69. Overtime for third sh ifts shall apply to work done before as w ell as after
the regular hours of the shift and shall be paid for the first four hours at
price and one-half, a fter which double price shall be paid up to the regular
starting tim e of the s h ift: P rovided, That men called to work one hour or less
before the regular starting time of their shift shall be paid price and one-half
up to the regeular starting tim e of their s h if t ; i f called to work more than one
hour before starting time of their sh ift double price shall be paid for all tim e
worked up to the regular starting time of their shift.
70. Third shifts working on Saturday morning or the morning of a holiday
shall be paid as fo llo w s:
For the regular hours of the shift, single price. I f required to work over
time, double price shall be paid for the first four hours; after w hich triple
price shall be paid until the regular hour for starting the shift over again.
71. When members on third shifts are called in to work Sunday or Monday
mornings or the morning follow ing a legal holiday, they shall receive double
price for regular hours of the shift. All time worked before or after the
regular shift hours on above days shaOl be paid for at triple price.
72. When members on the third shift have been laid off or are off w ith
the consent of the foreman and are called back to work, the sam e ratio on
their regular w ages shall be paid for the same kind of call a s set forth in
sections 13 and 68.
73. When members of the third shifts are required to work continuous
overtime from their regular quitting time on one morning through and beyond
their regular starting time on the follow ing morning they shall receive triple
price for all time worked beyond their regular starting tim e of the next
morning: P rovided, On Sundays, Mondays, or legal holidays men shall be paid
quadruple price in accordance with the above.
R ules governing the em ploym ent of apprentices

74. In book and job offices apprentices may be employed in the ratio of one
to every seven men or a majority fraction thereof; but no more than 10 ap
prentices shall be permitted in any office: P rovided, That no apprentice shall
be employed until two journeymen other than the proprietor shall be regularly

APPENDIX D— RULES AND WAGE SCALES CONTRACT

221

employed. In offices where the work fluctuates, the average for the preceding
year shall be the basis for the number of apprentices.
75. When new apprentices are employed the said apprentice shall be selected
from the regular list of unemployed registered apprentices: Provided, That the
employer shall have first preference to select an apprentice from boys that
have been employed at least one year in h is composing room. A list of the
unemployed apprentices to be in the hands of the director of the school.
76. The term of an apprentice shal,l be five years (except as hereinafter
otherwise provided), the first year to be considered one of trial, all applicants
to be possessed of the following qualifications: (a ) Between 16 and 21 years
of age, and shall be required to submit a certificate of birth or a copy of same.
(&) Possessed of an education that fits him to enter the industry. ( c ) In
good health and sound physically.
Upon registering, a fee of $1 shall be levied upon the apprentice to cover a
physical examination by the union’s physician. In the event of rejection
of application the fee shall be returned. H e shall also pass an exam ination
at the school for printers’ apprentices as to his educational qualifications.
The union reserves the option of protesting the employment of any apprentice
because of lack of above qualifications. In the event of a protest by either
party to this contract, the matter shall be adjusted by the joint apprentice
committee.
77. The foreman is required to test the ability of al,l apprentices under his
charge during the first year of their service, to determine the fitness of such
apprentices for the trade. The apprentice shall thereupon receive from his
foreman a w ritten statem ent of his qualifications, copy of which he shall file
with the union and the organization to which h is office belongs. Should an
apprentice be proven incapable he shall then be refused further work at this
branch of the trade.
78. No office shall be entitled to employ an apprentice unless it has the
equipment necessary to enable proper instruction being given the apprentice
in the several classes o f work to be taught each year as agreed upon in this
contract. No apprentice shall be permitted to work on the third (lobster)
shift.
79. In the first year aljL apprentices shall be required to perform general
work in the composing room at the discretion of the foreman at any work
which they may be deemed capable of doing. Al,l apprentices shall serve a term
of not less than three nor more than six months of the first year as copyholder
and assistant to proof reader, but shall not do first reading.
80. In the second year an apprentice shall be employed at least 75 per cent
of his time at composition and distribution. H e shall be given opportunity to
set reprint ads and job work.
81. In the third year an apprentice shall be employed at least 75 per cent
of his time on the floor at hand composition and distribution. H e shall be given
opportunity to set ads and job work from manuscript, and assist on make-up
and imposition.
82. In the fourth year an apprentice shall be employed at least seven hours
each day at hand composition, distribution, make-up, and stone work.
83. In the fifth year an apprentice shall be employed the first h a lf of the
year at hand composition, distribution, make-up, and stone w o rk ; in the second
half of the fifth year, if the apprentice has selected machine training he
shall be instructed and set live m atter for his fu ll tim e on any typesetting
(linotype or intertype) or typecasting (monotype keyboard) machine in
the office where he is em ployed: P rovided, The above is subject to the follow ing
regulations.
A. The above applies to any office equipped with four or more typesetting or
typecasting machines or a combination of both kinds of machines that amount
to four or more.
B. In offices equipped w ith two typesetting and two typecasting machines
or more, the apprentice must designate which machine he w ants to take up,
the typesetting or typecasting.
C. The above does not apply to offices equipped w ith three typesetting or
typecasting m achines or a combination of both kind th at amount to three
or less.
D. The union and the league pledge them selves to make a study of the
three machine plants and plants that have no machines to the end that
machine training may be provided for apprentices from these offices.

222

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND TYPOGRAPHICAL U N IO N

E. A ll apprentices under machine training (la st six months of the fifth
year) on day sh ifts shall, on their own time, attend the School for Printers’
Apprentices of New York, one night each week. I f employed on the night
shift, they shall, on their own time, attend the school one afternoon each
week. Such attendance to be devoted to the study of English only.
In the event a machine school is established, section E shall be deleted and
section E l inserted.
E l. F ifth year apprentices, employed in offices compelled to give machine
training, and who have selected machine training, working 011 the day shift,
shall attend the school for machine instruction one afternoon each week.
I f working on the night shift, they shall attend the school for machine in
struction one night each week. In either case, time shall be paid for by the
employer. In addition they shall be required to go one afternoon or night
each week on their own time, and the foreman or h is representative shall
not interfere w ith the attendance of the apprentices at the school for machine
instruction, on their stipulated days or nights for attending same. Such
attendance to be devoted to the study of m achines only and the instruction
to be given by union instructors.
F. No office shall be compelled to train more than one apprentice at the sa,me
tim e on machines.
G. F ifth year apprentices employed in offices having three machines or less,
or no machines, shall be employed their fu ll tim e at floor work and m ust
attend the school for printers’ apprentices, or, in the event a school for
machine training is established, an apprentice shall have the privilege of
selecting which school he desires to attend.
H. In the fifth year, if the apprentice has selected machine training, he may
in the first six months, at the option of the employer, be instructed and set
live matter on any typesetting or typecasting machine.
I. A ll machine apprentices must demonstrate in the first six months o f
their fifth year to the director of the school for machine instruction, subject to
review by the joint apprenticeship committee, whose decision shall be final, that
they have the necessary qualifications for becoming machine operators.
84. The minimum scale of wages to be paid apprentices shall bear the
following proportions, to the fu ll scale of the sh ift on which they are em
ployed :
Per cent
F irst y e a r :
Per CGnt F ourth year :
F irst 6 months______________
60
F irst 6 months______________ 30
Second 6 months_____________
70
Second 6 months-------------------- 35
F ifth year:
Second year:
80
F irst 3 months______________
F irst 6 months--------------------- 40
Second 3 months_____________
85
Second 6 months-------------------- 45
Third 3 months______________
90
Third year:
L ast 3 months_______________
95
First 6 months______________ 50
Second 6 months_____________ 55
85. I t shall be the duty of the chairman to n otify the foreman at lea st 14
days prior to the time when an apprentice is entitled to pass from one o f the
above periods to another. I f the foreman and chairman can not m utually
agree as to the apprentice’s qualifications to be advanced into the next period,
the matter shall be referred to the committee on apprentices, whose duty it
shall be to inquire into the qualifications of said apprentice to ascertain if
he meets the necessary requirements called for in the several classes of work
specified for each year of h is apprenticeship, after which the committee shall
report their findings to the foreman and the chairman. In the event the find
ings of the apprentice comm ittee are not complied with, the chairman shall
notify the officers of the union who shall w ait on the employer and secure
adjustment.
86. In no instance shall an apprentice be allowed to work overtime unless he
is 18 years of age or over and then only when one or more of the regular
force, other than the foreman, shall be so employed. The ratio of one to
seven shall be m aintained for all overtime. Nothing in this section shall pre
vent an apprentice from doing overtime work permitted office boys under
section 88.
87. Apprentices shall be registered on the books of the union and shall at
all tim es be under the direction of the foreman and supervision of the chair
man in regard to carrying out these rules,

APPENDIX D----RULES AND WAGE SCALES CONTRACT

223

88. Office boys (not apprentices) may carry proofs and copy, and sort and put
aw ay leads, furniture, cuts, and plates; set pi and handle and prove type on
galleys, but shall not set, make-up, nor distribute type, nor break up forms, nor
act as bankman.
89. No apprentice may leave one office and enter the service of another em
ployer w ithout the w ritten consent of h is first employer, indorsed by the presi
dent of Typographical Union No. 6. When an apprentice is discharged*
the foreman shall at once notify the chairman of such fact, who shall investi
gate the cause of discharge, and if, in his opinion, the discharge is not for
good and sufficient reasons he shall so report to an officer of the union.
90. Apprentices must be regularly employed, if employed a t all, and not
laid off on regular working days unless the composing room is completely shut
down or by request of the apprentice.
91. The employer shall pay to the school for printers’ apprentices a tuition
fee of $25 each year, in advance, on the first day of each and every school term
w hile the apprentice is in h is employment: Provided, The employer shall not
be required to pay the tuition fee o f the apprentice if said apprentice is in the
first year o f his apprenticeship.
92. The school for printers’ apprentices is conducted cooperatively and jointly
by the league and the union, a s provided in the school agreement between the
league, the union, and the Hudson Guild.
93. The apprentice must pay to the school for printers’ apprentices the follow
ing tuition fees, which may be paid in eight monthly instalm ents, in advance,
beginning w ith the first month o f each and every school term :
Per
year

Second year apprenticeship.
Third year apprenticeship..
Fourth year apprenticeship.
F ifth year apprenticeship-_

Per
payment

$15.00 $1.88
18. 00
2.25
22.00
2. 75
30. 00
3. 75
94. The apprentice must attend the school for printers’ apprentices o f New
York, if employed on the day sh ift one stipulated afternoon session each week,
if employed on the night sh ift one stipulated night session each week from the
beginning of his second year until the completion of' his apprenticeship. In
either, case apprentice shall be paid by employer for tim e w hile attending said
school.
95. The apprentice m ust on his own tim e attend the above school one stipu
lated night session each week if employed on the day shift, if employed on the
night sh ift one stipulated afternoon session each week, from the beginning of
his second year until the completion o f h is apprenticeship.
96. The employer, or any representative o f his, shall not interfere w ith the
attendance of the apprentice a t the school for printers’ apprentices or machine
school on his stipulated days or nights for attending same.
97. All employers and apprentices shall abide by a ll the rules governing the
employing o f apprentices- a s set forth in th is “ Scale o f prices for book and job
work ” and such other rules and regulations as- m ay be agreed upon from tim e
to time by the union and the league in relation to apprentices1.
98. Should an apprentice be careless' and neglectful of the duties required by
those in control o f his trade training, h is case shall be investigated by the com
m ittee on apprentices o f thej union for such action as they deem advisable
even to the extent of revoking his* registration. I f the committee on apprentices
of the union or the employer so desire, the case shall be referred to the joint
apprentice committee, whose duty it sh all be to investigate same, and report
its findings, which shall in all cases be final and binding.
99. These rules shall be posted conspicuously in all offices.
100. A joint apprentice committee composed of five representatives from the
league and five representatives from the union shall be formed to study, investi
gate and report, and during th e life o f th is contract act to secure enforcement
of the conditions outlined in th is contract covering apprentices and shall have
full power to enforce and regulate section 83 of th is scale. The committee
shall have fu ll power and authority any tim e during the term of apprentice
ship to cancel th e apprenticeship of an apprentice w ho does not show aptitude
and proper qualifications for the work This comm ittee shall m eet jointly at
the call of the chairman of each committee, a t such tim e and place as may be
determined by them.

224

PR IN TER S’ LEAGUE AND PR E SSM E N ’S U N IO N

Appendix E.—Arbitration Agreement Between Printers’ League Section, New
York Employing Printers’ Association (Inc.) and New York Printing Press
men’s Union No. 51
[In effect the first day of the first full fiscal week after October 1, 1927, up to and
including October 1, 1929]

This agreement, made th is 1st day of January, 1928, between the Printers’
League Section, New York Employing Printers Association (In c.), hereinafter
called the “league,” and N ew York Printing Pressm en’s Union No. 51, I. P. P.
& A. U., hereinafter called the “union.”
Section 1. The league agrees to employ none but members of the union to
do any work th at comes! under the jurisdiction of said union: Provided, That
said union can and w ill at all times furnish, upon requirement by a member
or members of the league, sufficient competent men for the needs of such mem
ber or members of the league. It also being understood and agreed that in
case of the failure of the union to furnish such number of competent work
men as may be required, then and then only, members of the league shall be
privileged to secure necessary help elsewhere, until such tim e as the union can
furnish the help required. And it is further agreed by the league that it w ill
do no work that comes under the jurisdiction of the union for any firm that
does not employ members of said union, provided the union does not allow its
members to do th e same class of work in “ open shops ” unless by mutual
consent.
Sec. 2. A ll members of the league shall be protected under this agreement
by the union against walkouts, boycotts, or any other form of concerted inter
ference w ith the peaceful operation of all departments coming under the
jurisdiction of said union: A n d it is fu rth er p rovided, That the league agrees
w ith the union to arbitrate any and all differences th at m ay arise under this
agreement between the league and the union, if those differences can not be
first settled by conciliation.
Sec. 3. The league and th e union hereby agree to enter into a scale contract
for a set period, fixing the wages, hours, and working conditions of members
o f the union employed by members o f the league, w hich scale contract may be
amended, extended, or abrograted in accordance w ith provisions therein ex
pressed w ithout in any w ay affecting any of the terms or conditions of this
arbitration agreem ent; and th is arbitration agreement may be altered, amended,
or extended w ithout affecting any of the term s or conditions of said scale con
tract. The wages, hours, and working conditions set forth in the scale con
tract w ill be inaugurated and m aintained by both parties to this agreement;
and said union further agrees that it w ill not allow any of its members to
work for less wages or more hours than those set forth in said scale contract.
Sec. 4. All disputes arising over provisions in the scale contract shall be
subject to arbitration under the provisions of this agreement if such disputes
can not be adjusted through conciliation.
Sec. 5. Local union law s not affecting wages, hours, and working conditions,
and the law s o f the international union shall not be subject to the provisions
of this agreement : P ro vid ed, That the international or local law s enacted sub
sequent to the execution o f the scale contract herein referred to shall not be
effective during the life of such contract.
Sec. 6. All differences of opinion on any question arising under this agreement shall be submitted to the president of the union and the chairman of the
conference committee o f the league for conciliation, and if conciliation fails,
then and at a ll times said differences shall be submitted to the joint conference
committee.
Sec. 7. The joint conference committee shall be a standing comm ittee and
shall consist of five members and five alternates appointed by the league and
a like number of members and alternates appointed by the union. This com
m ittee shall meet separately on the call of the chairman of each part for con
sultation and jointly by the call of the chairman of each committee, at such
tim e and place as may be determined by them. D ue notice in w riting of such
meeting shall be given a ll interested parties. A m ajority vote of each part of
the committee shall be necessary to a decision.
Sec. 8. (a ) The said joint conference committee must act w ithin five full
business days when its services are desired by either party to an appeal as
above.

APPENDIX E---- ARBITRATION AGREEMENT

225

(&) The alternates may meet with the committee of the organization to
which they belong, but shall not take part in the proceedings of the joint
conference committee except as substitutes.
Sec. 9. When the joint conference committee renders a decision which is
unsatisfactory to either side, or when it is unable to reach a decision w ithin 10
full business days after the final submission of the case to said committee, then
review by an arbitrator of any dispute involving the interpretation of the
terms of existing “ W age scale and working conditions contract ” and, in case
of dispute over the renewal of the “ W age scale and working conditions con
tract,” before a board of three arbitrators to be appointed by mutual agreement
may be asked for by the dissatisfied party through appeal, provided w ritten
notice of appeal to the other party be given 5 full business days after
decision has been rendered, and a w ritten statement setting forth the grounds
of the appeal is filed with the joint conference committee w ithin 10 full busi
ness days after the decision has been rendered.
Sec. 10. In the event it becomes necessary under this agreement to have an
arbitrator or a board of three arbitrators, he is or they are to be selected by a
majority vote of each part of the joint conference committee. Should the
conferees fail to agree on an arbitrator or on a board of three arbitrators
w ithin 15 full business days, each side shall within 5 fu ll business days select
an arbitrator and the two so selected shall w ithin 5 fu ll business days select
the third.
Sec. 11. The conditions obtaining before the initiation of the dispute shall
remain in effect pending the findings of the joint conference committee or
arbitrator.
Sec. 12. The follow ing rules shall govern the joint conference committee in
adjusting differences between parties to this agreem ent:
а. It may demand duplicate typewritten statem ents of grievances.
б. It may exam ine all parties involved in any differences referred to it for
adjudication.
c. It may employ such stenographer or clerks as may prove necessary to
facilitate its business.
d. It may require affidavit on any or all disputed points.
e. It shall allow equal opportunity for presentation of evidence or argument.
f. Its deliberations shall be conducted in executive session and the finding,
whether unanimous or not, shall be signed by all members of the board in
each instance, or shall be certified to by the chairman and secretary of the
joint committee to the twTo parties to this agreement. A member of the joint
conference committee may hand in a dissenting opinion to become a part of
the records of the proceedings.
g. In the event that either party to the dispute refuses to appear or present
h is case after due notice, it may be adjudicated and finding rendered in ac
cordance w ith such evidence as may be in the possession of the committee.
h. All evidence communicated to the committee in confidence shall be pre
served inviolate and no record of such evidence shall be kept except for use on
appeal, in which case such inviolability shall still be preserved.
i. All expenses attendant upon the settlem ent of any appeal or hearing
before the committee or arbitrator shall be borne by the party losing the ap
peal, or, in case of a compromise being reached, each party to the controversy
shall bear h alf of the cost.
S ec. 13. In case the matter in dispute is finally referred to an arbitrator
or to a board of three arbitrators both parties to the controversy shall appear
personally or by proxy, the proxy to be either a duly recognized member of
either body in good standing or their accredited representatives or counsel and
not of the legal p rofession ; or may submit records and briefs, and may make
oral or written arguments in support of their several contentions. They may
submit an agreed statement of facts, or a transcript of testim ony properly cer
tified to before a notary public by the stenographer taking the original evi
dence or depositions.
S ec. 14. Pending final decisions by the arbitrator, work, w ithout inter
ference and under existing conditions, shall continue in the office o f the employ
ing printer party to the case, and the award by said arbitration shall in all
cases include the determination of the issues involved, covering the period
between the raising of the issues and their final settlem en t; and any change
or changes in the wage scale of employees may, at the discretion of che
arbitrator, be made effective from the date the issues were first made.

226

JO IN T IN DUSTRIAL COUNCIL---- U N IT E D KINGDOM

S ex?. 15. In the event that either party to the dispute refuses to accept
and comply w ith the decision of the arbitrator, all aid and support to the
firm or employer, or member or members of the union refusing such acceptance
and compliance, shall be withdrawn by both parties to this agreement. The
act or acts of such employer or member of the union shall be publicly dis
avowed and the aggrieved party to this agreement shall be furnished by the
other party hereto w ith an official document to such effect.
Sec. 16. I t is further agreed th at .all employers holding membership in the
league shall be accorded terms and conditions as good or better than those
accorded employers who are not members of the league.
The foregoing agreement between the league and the union shall remain in
full force and effect upon being ratified by both bodies parties thereto, and so
attested from October 1, 1927, to and including the 1st day of October, 1929.
In w itness thereof, and in fu ll attest of ratification by both bodies, the under
signed presidents, respectively, of the parties to th is agreement have hereunto
signed their names, attested by the secretaries of each organization th is 1st
day of October, 1927.

Appendix F.—Constitution and Rules of Joint Industrial Council of Printing
and Allied Trades of United Kingdom
CONSTITUTION
1. The joint industrial council is an association of (1) employers who are
members of the Federation of Master Printers and Allied Trades of the
United Kingdom, and who employ members of a federated trade union, and
(2) trade unions affiliated to the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation
of the United Kingdom. No members of any organization not in harmony w ith
the objects of both federations, shall be eligible for membership o f the join t
industrial council.
Objects

2. To secure complete organization of employers and employees throughout
the trade.
3. To promote good relationship between employers and em ployed; to secure
cooperation and the recognition of mutual in ter e sts; to encourage direct
contact between employers and workers; to devise w ays and means of settling
any differences that may a r is e ; to resist the action of those who would injure
the fair standard of prices and w ages by disposing of their goods or labor
at less than the standard m utually agreed upon; and to do all things possible
for the betterment of the trade and the improvement of its conditions.
4. To establish uniform working hours and conditions.
5. To assist in the maintenance of such selling prices a s w ill afford reasonable
remuneration to both employers and employees.
6. To establish means of insuring to the workpeople the greatest possible
security of earnings and employment, w ithout restriction upon change of
employer ; and to endeavor to minimize unemployment and casual labor.
7. To secure recognition by all persons in the trade o f agreements relating
to wages and working conditions.
8. To provide means for securing to the workpeople a greater share in and
responsibility for the determination and observance of the conditions of health
and comfort under which their work is carried on.
9. To take in hand the question of apprenticeship conditions; the adoption
o f suitable methods of selection for apprentices, and the technical training
for apprentices, learners, and journeymen throughout the in d u stry; the removal
of blind-alley occupations; the improvement of processes, designs, and standards
of workmanship; to seek adequate representation on the control and manage
ment of all technical in stitu tes; to consider and report upon all improvement
of processes, machinery, and organization, and appropriate questions relating
to management and the examination of industrial experiments, w ith special
reference to cooperation in carrying new ideas into effect, and fu ll consideration
of the workpeople’s point of view in relation thereto. The better utilization
of the practical knowledge and experience of the workpeople, w ith provision
of facilities for the fu ll consideration and utilization of acceptable inventions

APPENDIX F---- CONSTITUTION AND BULES

227

and improvements designed by employers or workpeople, and for the adequate
safeguarding of the rights of the designers of such improvements.
10. To consider, report, advise, and make representation upon any proposed
legislation affecting the trade; to combine to secure full and proper observance
of the House of Commons fair-wage resolution by public bodies.
11. To insist upon clean, healthy workshops; to encourage full and proper
ventilation, clean surroundings, and decent habits; to promote the systematic
observation of the health of workpeople generally, and especially of young
persons of both sexes until they reach the age of 18, in continuation of the
methods in use in public elementary schools, and to combat the scourge of
tuberculosis. To this end the joint industrial council shall inquire and report
upon the advisability of the creation of sanatorium®, etc., controlled by the
joint industrial council or otherwise; in this connection to secure the services
of medical inspectors to the end that men and women suffering from tuberculosis
shall be ordered to cease work immediately and to receive treatment at the
institution referred to, and to provide that some maintenance grant be provided
to them during their stay in the sanatorium.
12. To encourage friendly intercourse between all engaged in the industry
outside of working hours by means of sports and social clubs and by other
means.
13. To encourage the establishment of welfare departments and the provision
of meal rooms for workpeople.
14. To promote the recognition of merit and ability among workpeople.
15. To consider and, if necessary, deal with any other matters of general
interest to the trade.
16. For the purpose of administration there shall in addition to the joint
industrial council be district committees, and such standing and subcommittees
as the joint industrial council shall decide upon from time to time.
There shall be for Scotland a branch of the industrial council which shall
deal with all matters affecting the industry in Scotland, subject always to the
national council.
M eth o d o f C o n d u ctin g B u s in e s s

Joint industrial council

17. The council shall comprise 60 members, 30 elected by the employers and
30 by the various trade unions, all of whom must be members of the Printing
and Allied Trades of the United Kingdom.
It shall meet at least once each quarter on the second Wednesday in Janu
ary, April, July, and October at 10 a. m. The meeting in or about June shall
be the annual meeting, at which all officers, etc., shall be elected for the ensu
ing 12 months.
It shall have full power to consider all matters connected with the industry.
It shall have power to appoint standing or subcommittees for any purpose;
such committees shall have power to consult experts.
It shall appoint and maintain its own secretaries and clerical staff, fix their
duties and remuneration, arrange for its own accommodation, and control its
own expenses. All expenses of administration incurred shall be divided equally
between the employers and the trade-unions.
Thirty to form a quorum.
D istrict committees

18. In each important town (including adjacent smaller towns) a district
committee shall be formed comprising an equal number of employers and tradeunion representatives. Each district shall register its formation and area
with the secretaries of the joint industrial council and annually send in lists
of its officials.
The trade-union representatives in each district shall decide how many rep
resentatives they will send to the district committee, and the employers within
the district shall nominate a similar number of representatives.
The district committees shall have executive powers to deal only with mat
ters within and concerning their respective areas. In case of nonagreement
the matter shall be referred to the joint industrial council. All matters which
do or may concern other areas shall be referred to the joint industrial
council to be dealt with.

228

JO IN T INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL---- U N IT E D KINGDOM

The rules for the conduct of the business of the joint industrial council
shall generally apply to these committees.
Each district committee shall convene a local annual conference at least
three months preceding the annual convention, at which representatives of
employers and employees from all works shall be invited to attend. The con
ference shall discuss motions for submission to the annual convention. These
meetings shall be open to members of the trade as visitors.
Each district committee shall be responsible for the expenses o f its delegates
to the annual convention.
C om m ittees
There shall be the follow ing standing committees and the chairman and
vice chairman of the council shall be ex officio members of all committees.
19. General purposes comm ittee: Six members from each party to form a
quorum.
20. Finance com m ittee: Chairman and vice chairman, two members from each
party.
21. Organization com m ittee: Six members from each party.
22. Conciliation comm ittee: Chairman and vice chairman of the council and
four members from each panel of the council. The four members from each
panel shall be selected respectively by the parties to the dispute. The joint
secretaries shall be in attendance.
23. H ealth com m ittee: Four members from each party.
24. Unemployment comm ittee: Four members from each party.
25. Apprentices and technical education com m ittee: Four members from
each party.
GENERAL RULES
26. (a ) A ll members o f any committee must be members of the printing
and allied trades as defined under clause 1.
(&) All committees shall comprise an equal number of employers and rep
resentatives of trade-unions, each party electing* its own representatives.
In the unavoidable absence of an elected member of any standing or sub
committee, a deputy (w hose name shall have been previously registered) may
attend in h is or her place.
When the chairman is an employer, the vice chairman shall be a member of
a trade-union and vice versa.
The chair and vice chair shall p ass from party to party annually.
(c) The officers in all cases shall be elected for one year only.
(d ) The chairman, or, in his absence, the vice chairman, shall preside, and
shall have a vote, but not a casting vote.
( e ) All comm ittees shall appoint annually their own chairman and vice
chairman, except the finance commitee, over which the chairman of the joint
industrial council shall preside.
( f ) Special m eetings of the joint industrial council may be summoned at
the discretion of the chairman, vice chairman and joint secretaries acting to
gether, or on a requisition signed by any six members (three from each side)
of the joint industrial council and endorsed by the general purposes com
mittee.
Not less than seven clear days’ notice shall be given, and an agenda shall
be included w ith the notice o f meeting. No resolution shall be considered by
the joint industrial council unless notice has been given in tim e to allow of its
being placed on the agenda, except w ith the consent of the general purposes
committee. All resolutions m ust have attached to them the names of both
mover and seconder prior to being sent to the secretaries. Amendments to
resolutions may be moved w ithout previous notice.
Speeches shall be lim ited as follow s: Chairmen o f subcommittees in intro
ducing their reports and movers o f resolutions, 15 minutes. Other speakers,
10 minutes.
( g ) The joint industrial council shall circulate to its members, as early as
possible, copies o f the m inutes o f all its meetings.
( h ) Standing committees shall meet at least once in each quarter. They shall
be convened by their chairman, or, in h is absence, the vice chairman, who shall
fix time and place. Seven clear days’ notice shall be given, an agenda of busi
ness to be transacted to be sent w ith notice. They shall send the report of their
proceedings to the joint secretaries in tim e to be circulated w ith the agenda
for the next meeting of the joint industrial council.

APPENDIX F----CONSTITUTION AND RULES

229

(i )
The joint industrial council shall issue an annual report, outlining its
activities during the year prior to the meeting of the annual convention. Such
report shall be prepared by the secretaries and submitted to the council.
(j) All standing committees shall keep minutes and shall forward their re
ports to the joint secretaries of the joint industrial council for issue w ith the
council’s agenda.
( k ) Subcommittees w ill meet on appointment as required and w ill keep
minutes, which shall be submitted to the joint industrial council for confirma
tion, except when otherwise provided for. Such minutes shall be forwarded to
the joint secretaries of the joint industrial council for issue w ith the council’s
agenda.
(I)
As far as possible, the order of speaking shall be for and against the
propositions under discussion. Where no difference of opinion is shown, it
shall be at the discretion of the chairman to put the question to the vote.
(m ) Members of the joint industrial council unable to attend a m eeting may
appoint a substitute, who shall have the same powers of speaking and voting
as the member for whom he is acting. Members who appoint substitutes must
do so in writing, such communication to be read by the secretary im mediately
the chairman takes the chair.
(n ) Suspension of standing orders may be moved at any time, but shall not
be deemed carried unless supported by a m ajority on both sides.
(o) Voting: Voting on all questions in the annual convention, joint industrial
council and its subcommittees, and in the district committees and conferences,
shall be by show of hands, and a majority on both sides, irrespective of the
numbers present, shall be required to carry any resolution or motion.
(p ) D isputes and differences: I f local.— a. In the case of any dispute of a
local character as defined by rule 10 (district comm ittees) no strike, lockout
or other aggressive or coercive action shall be taken until the matter in question
has been placed by consent of the parties before the district committee, or failing
such consent, before the conciliation committee o f the council, and pending such
reference the dispute shall remain in abeyance, the members of the union (or
unions) to remain at work, and the employer (or employers) concerned, not to
persist beyond the point of protest. Both parties shall conform to normal
conditions pending the reference. In all cases the district committee m ust be
notified of the dispute.
b.
In all cases where a dispute has been referred to the district committee
and a settlem ent has not been effected, or where there is no district committee,
the joint secretaries of the council must be notified of the dispute.
I f national.—c. In the case of any dispute of a national character in which
there has been failure to agree and which m ight lead to aggressive action, the
parties to the dispute shall im mediately advise the joint secretaries thereof.
Reference to council.— d. The joint secretaries of the council on receiving
notification of any failure to agree shall arrange for a meeting of the concilia
tion committee w ithin seven days. In the event of the conciliation committee
failing to effect a settlem ent, the committee shall have power to authorize the
convening of a special m eeting of the council w ithin fourteen days thereafter,
and pending such reference the dispute shall remain in abeyance, the members
of the union (or unions) to remain a t work, and the employer (or employers)
concerned, not to persist beyond the point of protest. Both parties shall con
form to normal conditions pending the reference.
e.
The joint secretaries shall draw up the “ Terms o f reference ” in consulta
tion w ith the parties concerned.
The conciliation com m ittee shall comprise.— f. The president and vice presi
dent of the joint industrial council for the time being, and four members from
each panel of the joint industrial council.
The four members from each panel shall be selected by the parties to the
dispute.
The joint secretaries shall be in attendance.
g.
In the event of a dispute arising between an employers’ organization or a
trade-union which is a member of the joint industrial council and a third
party not a member of this council, which dispute is likely to involve working
relations in the printing and allied trades, as represented on th is council, then
the joint secretaries shall at once be informed so as to enable the council to
protect the interests of its members.
(q ) W ith draw al from m em bership: Any member being either an employer
or a trade-union may withdraw from the industrial council by giving 6-months’

230

JOINT INDUSTRIAL COUNCIL— UNITED KINGDOM

notice in w riting to the joint industrial council, but such notice shall not be
given so as to determine the membership w ithin one year of joining.
(r) D issolution: The industrial council may be dissolved by either the
Federation of Master Printers or the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation
giving six months’ notice in w riting of their intention to withdraw, but such
notice shall not become operative until 12 months have elapsed from the first
meeting of the annual convention.
27. W orks a d viso ry com m ittee: W orks advisory comm ittees m ay be created
in every office where possible, representative of management and workpeople.
28. A nnual convention: There shall be an annual convention, consisting of
the joint industrial council w ith delegates from every district committee, in
equal numbers of employers and employees, each side electing its own repre
sentatives. The meetings of the annual convention shall be open to all con
cerned in the trade as visitors, The function of the convention shall be
lim ited to the discussion of m atters of general principle affecting the printing
and allied trades— industrial, economic, legislative, and hygienic.
AGREED PRINCIPLES
29. Production: That the employers shall have fu ll advantage of the indi
vidual efforts and good w’ill of all their employees to assist in economical
production, and generally in forwarding the interests of the respective housea
That it is desirable to encourage scientific adaptation of management,
workers, and machines to the work, and that the functions of the district
committees and works advisory comm ittees should include the application
of this principle to individual cases.
30. Cost finding: That all employers should adopt and use for costing and
estim ating, a uniform costing system approved by the joint industrial council,
or be guided by any schedule of hourly cost rates issued for their district
and approved by the joint industrial council.
31. A lteration of constitution or rules: No alteration of constitution or rules
shall be made except at the annual meeting of the joint industrial council by a
two-thirds m ajority on both sides, nor shall such alterations be considered
unless the secretaries shall have received a notice in w riting at least 30 days
before the date of such meeting, stating in fu ll the proposed alteration, which
shall be placed on the agenda.

Index
Page

Activity, fields for, industrial relations organizations___ ______________
184
American Guild of the Printing Industry____________________________ 11-42
Achievements_______________________________________________ 31-42
Membership________________________________________________
35
Amalgamated Lithographers of America, membership_________________
6
174
American Lithographic Co., shop council—____ _____________________
Apprenticeship:
Baltimore__________________________________________________
29
Boston_____________________________________________________ 56, 69
Chicago__________________________________________________ 150, 191
Great Britain______________________________ 134, 148-152, 163, 169, 191
New York bookinders_______ _______________________________
77
New York printing trades_______________________ 118-124, 127, 150, 191
Open shop and union_______________________________________ 190-191
Arbitration:
Baltimore__________________________________________________ 12, 18
Boston_______________________________________________ 44, 48, 71, 78
Great Britain_________________________________ 134, 138, 139, 159-164
New York............................................................... ....... 83-91, 93-100, 113-116
Baltimore:
American Guild of the Printing Industry________________________ 11-42
Collective bargaining, union___________________________________ 11-14
Betterment committee, Joint Industrial Council, Great Britain_______ 164-167
Bindery women________________________________ 90-91, 98, 99, 115-116, 129
Bookbinders, edition, New York________________________________ 74-78, 81
Council membership______________________________ __________
75
Bookbinders, trade, New York____________________________________
81
Book plants, Boston__________________________________________ 44, 47, 48
Boston:
Collective bargaining, union___________________________________44-49
Graphic Arts Industrial Federation-------------------------------------------- 43-73
Chapels_____________________________________________________ 5, 30, 155
Chicago_________________________________________________ 1, 2, 3, 79, 191
Classification and rating system________________________________ _
24-27
Collective bargaining:
Baltimore___________________________________________________ 11-14
Boston_____________________________________________________ 43-49
Great Britain._____________________________________ 131-134, 136-139
New York bookbinders_______________________________________ 74, 81
New York printing trades_________________________________ 82, 83-100
Results___________________________________________________ 194-195
Complement of men on presses___________ 89, 92, 93, 95-99, 113-115, 126, 141
Conciliation committee, Joint Industrial Council, Great Britain________
135,
139-143, 153, 167-169
Conflicts of interest______ 2-3, 11, 16, 33, 43, 50, 100, 125-127, 184, 188, 192-193
Control, division of____________________________________ 38-39, 70-72, 183
Crookston Times Publishing Co___________________________________
174
Discharge. (See Employment and discharge.)
Discrimination____________________ 17, 27, 30, 34, 38, 66, 78, 107, 110, 186, 194
District committees, Joint Industrial Council, Great Britain_____ 152-155, 170
Educational effects_____________________________________________ 191-193
Eight-hour day________________________________________________7, 44, 84
Employee leadership_____________________ 32, 38-39, 41, 59, 186, 192, 193-194

231

232

INDEX

Page
Employee representation__________________________________________
2
Baltimore___________________________________________________ 11-42
Boston_____________________________________________________ 49-73
Company plans___________________ ________________________ 172-182
New York bookbinders------------------------------------------------------------ 74-78
(See also Shop committees.)
Employing Printers’ Association of America_________________________
2, 6
Employment and discharge_____________________________________ 186-188
Baltimore__________________________________________27, 30, 33, 34, 35
Boston______________________________ ____ ___________ 60,62-63,66
Great Britain________________________________________________
134
New York__________________________ 87, 92, 102-103, 105, 107-111, 118
Federation of Master Printers of United Kingdom__________________ 128, 130
Five-day week. (See Forty-hour week.)
Fitch, John A., arbitrator_____________________________________ 88, 96, 116
Foreman_____________________________________________ 21, 31, 40, 155, 156
Foreman’s conferences____________________________________________
180
Forty-four-hour week_______________________ 7-9, 12-14, 46-48, 50, 74, 80, 85
Forty-hour week______________________________________ 92-94, 98, 175, 177
Francis, Charles____________________________________________ 84, 115-116
General strike, Great Britain________________________________ 143-145, 164
Graphic Arts Industrial Federation_________________________________43-73
Achievements_______________________________________________ 63-73
Membership________________________________________________
63
Hamilton Press__________________________________________________
175
Health committee, Joint Industrial Council, Great Britain___ 146-148, 167, 169
Health inquiry, British printing industry_______ __________________ 146-147
Health survey, American printing industry__________________________
9
Hours and holidays agreement, Great Britain______________________ 132-133
Independence of workers_____ ___________________________________187-188
Industrial relations, types of______________________________________ 1, 183
Insurance and pensions_______ ________ 20, 22, 23, 52, 65, 66, 77, 161, 170, 187
International Association of Employing Electrotypers_________________ 7, 47
International Brotherhood of Bookbinders__________________________ 6, 10
International Joint Conference Council______________________ 7-9, 12, 45, 85
International Photo-Engravers’ Union______________________________
6
International Printing Pressmen and Assistants’ Union_______________
6,
7, 10, 86, 93, 94, 97, 99, 112, 113
International Stereotypers and Electrotypers’ Union__________________
6
International Typographical Union_____________ 6, 7, 10, 13, 86, 93, 94, 99, 112
Joint conference committee cases, New York______________________ 104-118
Joint Industrial Council of Printing and Allied Trades, United Kingdom. 132,
134-152, 164-171
Leiserson, William M., arbitrator________________________________ 113-115
Lighting______________________________________________________ 146-147
London, conditions in the industry___________________ 131, 133, 137, 138, 153
London School of Printing________________________________________
148
Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen___________________________ 2, 14
Manchester Guardian House Society_____________________________

159-164

National agreements, British____________________________ 131-134, 137-140
Nation Press__________________________________________________ 175-179
Newspaper Society_______________________________________________
128
New York:
Administration of agreements___________________________ ___ 103-118
Book and job printing industry________________________________ 79-83
Collective bargaining_____________________________ 82, 83-100, 124-127
Union agreements, 1928____________________________________ 100-103
(See also Bookbinders.)
New York Employing Printers’ Association_________________________
81
New York Printing Press Assistants’ Union No. 23___________________
82,
88, 89, 92-95, 97, 99, 113-115

in d e x

233
Page

New York Printing Pressmen’s Union No. 51___ 82, 86, 92-96, 99, 103, 120-122
New York Typographical Union No. 6 ____ 82, 86, 88, 92-98, 102-103, 119-120
Nine-hour day__________________________________________________
6, 7
Nonunion. (See Open shop.)
Organizations, early______________________________________________
5
Open Shop Employing Printers’ Association of Chicago_______________
1
Open shop, extent of________________________ 9-10, 13, 43, 74, 89, 90-91, 130
Open shop joint organizations, results of_______ :__________________ 193-194
Open shop policies_____ 1-3, 38, 48-49, 81, 124, 130, 141-142, 160-170, 172-175
Otterbein Press________________________________________________ 172-174
Overtime law_____________________________________ 87, 92, 94, 111-112, 126
Overtime, payment for__ _________________________ 28, 56, 60, 112, 134, 184
Pensions. (See Insurance and pensions.)
Plant relationships________________ 40, 61, 71, 127, 170, 181-182, 190, 193, 194
Presses, automatically fed_______________________ 80-81, 88-89, 91-93, 95-98
Presses, web________________________________________________95, 113-115
Printers’ League of America_______________________________________
6
Printers’ League Section, New York Employing Printers’ Association__ 81-127
Printing and Kindred Trades Federation of United Kingdom________ 128-130
Printing crafts__________________________________________________
4
Printing industry, book and job:
Baltimore_______ *___________________________________________
11
Boston__________________________________________________ 43, 67-68
Great Britain___ =
__________________________________________ 128-131
New York___________________________________________ 74, 79-83, 125
United States_______________________________________________
3-5
Printing Trades Alliance, Great Britain_____________________________
130
Priority law__________ ______________ 92, 94, 102-103, 107-111, 117, 126, 187
Production and efficiency:
Cooperation for______________________________________________
39,
68, 72, 123-124, 126-127, 163, 164-167, 173, 175-179, 181, 188-191
Wage system__________________________________ 19, 24-27, 39, 165-167
Protection of individuals________________________________________ 186-188
Safety committees_____________________________________________ 179-180
Shop committees:
Baltimore_______________________________________ 17, 30-31, 32, 33, 40
Boston___________________________________ 51, 58-62, 64, 65, 70, 71-72
Great Britain__________________________________________ 155-164, 170
New York bookbinders_______________________________________ 75-76
Other open shops__________________________________________ 172-175
Union plants______________________________________________ 175-182
Size of establishments____________________________________ 4, 11, 59, 75, 80
Standards, establishing of_______________ 1-3, 124-125, 184-186, 190, 193-195
Stelzle, Charles, arbitrator________________________________________ 90-91
Trade-union activity, results of____________________________________
100,
103, 116-118, 124-127, 169, 185, 186, 189, 190, 192
Trade-union joint relationships, results of_________________ 124-127, 194-195
Trade-union jurisdiction, American and British______ _______________
r29
Trade-union membership:
Baltimore___________ _______________________________________
13
Boston_____________________________________________________ 48, 62
Great Britain_________________________________________ 128-130, 144
New Y ork_________________________________________ 82-83, 90-91, 92
United States_______________________________________________ 6, 10
Trade-union organization, extent of_______________ 9-10, 82-83, 128-130, 170
Unemployment committee, Joint Industrial Council, Great Britain_____
145
United Brethren Publishing House_______________________________ 172-174
United Typothetae of America__________________________________ 1, 6, 8, 81
Vacations

29, 57, 132

234

in d e x

Wages:
Page
Baltimore_______________________________________ 19, 23-27, 33, 39, 40
Boston_____________________________ 48-49, 53-56, 60, 61, 65, 69-70, 71
Great Britain__________________________ 131-134, 137-139, 140-141, 165
New York bookbinders_______________________________________ 76-77
New York printing trades ______________________ 86-100, 110, 116, 124
Standards, open shop and union_____________________________ 184-186
Welfare committees________________________________________ 155, 157, 179
Whitley committee, Great Britain__________________________________
132
Women in printing trades (see also Bindery women)__________________
4
Working conditions, standardizing of_________________________ 184-186, 188
Works advisory committees. (See Shop committees.)

LIST OF BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
The following is a list of all bulletins of the Bureau of Labor Statistics pub
lished 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 bulletins published since that date, will be furnished on application.
Bulletins marked thus (*) are out of print.
Conciliation and Arbitration (Including Strikes and Lockouts).
*No. 124. Conciliation and arbitration in the building trades of Greater New York.
[1913.]
*No. 133. Report of the industrial council of the British Board of Trade on its inquiry
into industrial agreements. [1913.]
No. 139. Michigan copper district strike. [1914.]
No. 144. Industrial court of the cloak, suit, and skirt industry of New York City.
[1914.]
No. 145. Conciliation, arbitration, and sanitation in the dress and waist industry of
New York City. [1914.]
*No. 191. Collective bargaining in the anthracite-eoal industry. [1916.]
*No. 198. Collective agreements in the men’s clothing industry. [1916.]
No. 233. Operation of the industrial disputes investigation act of Canada. [1918.]
No. 255. Joint industrial councils in Great Britain. [1919.]
No. 283. History of the Shipbuilding Labor Adjustment Board, 1917 to 1919.
No. 287. National War Labor Board : History of its formation, activities, etc. [1921.]
No. 303. Use of Federal power in settlement of railway labor disputes. [1922.]
No. 341. Trade agreement in the silk-ribbon industry of New York City. [1923.]
No. 402. Collective bargaining by actors. [1926.]
No. 468. Trade agreements, 1927.
Cooperation.

No. 313. Consumers’ cooperative societies in the United States in 1920.
No. 314. Cooperative credit societies in America and in foreign countries. [1922.]
No. 437. Cooperative movement in the United States in 1925 (other than agricultural).
Employment and Unemployment.
*No. 109. Statistics of unemployment and the work of employment offices in the
United States. [1913.]
No. 172. Unemployment in New York City, N. Y. [1915.]
*No. 183. Regularity of employment in the women’s ready-to-wear garment industries.
[1915.]
*No. 195. Unemployment in the United States. [1916.]
No. 196. Proceedings of the Employment Managers’ Conference held at Minneapolis,
Minn., January 19 and 20, 1916.
*No. 202. Proceedings of the conference of Employment Managers’ Association of
Boston, Mass., held May 10, 1916.
No. 206. The British system of labor exchanges. [1916.]
No. 227. Proceedings of the Employment Managers’ Conference, Philadelphia, Pa.,
April 2 and 3, 1917.
No. 235. Employment system of the Lake Carriers’ Association. [1918.]
*No. 241. Public employment offices in the United States. [1918.]
No. 247. Proceedings of Employment Managers’ Conference, Rochester, N. Y., May
9-11, 1918.
No. 310. Industrial unemployment: A statistical study of its extent and causes.
[1922.]
No. 409. Unemployment in Columbus, Ohio, 1921 to 1925.
Foreign Labor Laws.
*No. 142. Administration of labor laws and factory inspection in certain European
countries. [1914.]
Housing.
*No. 158. Government aid to home owning and housing of working people in foreign
countries. [1914.]
No. 263. Housing by employers in the United States. [1920.]
No. 295. Building operations in representative cities in 1920.
No. 469. Building permits in the principal cities of the United States in [1921 to]
1927. (In press.)
Industrial Accidents and Hygiene.
*No. 104. Lead poisoning in potteries, tile works, and porcelain enameled sanitary ware
factories. [1912.]
No. 120. Hygiene of the painters’ trade. [1913.]
*No. 127. Dangers to workers from dusts and fumes, and methods of protection.
[1913.]
*No. 141. Lead poisoning in the smelting and refining of lead. [1914.]
*No. 157. Industrial accident statistics. [1915.]
*No. 165. Lead poisoning in the manufacture of storage batteries. [1914.]
*No. 179. Industrial poisons used in the rubber industry. [1915.]
No. 188. Report of British departmental committee on the danger in the use of lead
in the painting of buildings. [1916.]
*No. 201. Report of committee on statistics and compensation insurance cost of the
International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions.
[1916.]
*No. 207. Causes of death, by occupation. [1917.]
*No. 209. Hygiene of the printing trades. [1917.]
17616°— 28-------16

(I)

Industrial A ccidents and Hygiene— Continued.

*No. 219.
No. 221.
No. 230.
*No. 231.
*No. 234.
No. 236.
No. 249.
♦No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

251.
256.
267.
276.
280.
291.
293.
298.
306.

No. 339.
No. 392.
No. 405.
No. 425.
No. 426.
No. 427.
No. 428.
No. 460.
No. 466.

Industrial poisons used or produced in the manufacture of explosives. [1917.]
Hours, fatigue, and health in British munitions factories. [1917.]
Industrial efficiency and fatigue in British munition factories. [1917.]
Mortality from respiratory diseases in dusty trades (inorganic dusts). [1918.]
Safety movement in the iron and steel industry, 1907 to 1917.
Effects of the air hammer on the hands of stonecutters. [1918.]
Industrial health and efficiency. Final report of British Health of Munition
Workers’ Committee. [1919.]
Preventable death in the cotton-manufacturing industry. [1919.]
Accidents and accident prevention in machine building. [1919.]
Anthrax as an occupational disease. [1920.]
Standardization of industrial accident statistics. [1920.]
Industrial poisoning in making coal-tar dyes and dye intermediates. [1921.]
Carbon-monoxide poisoning. [1921.]
The problem of dust phthisis in the granite-stone industry. [1922.]
Causes and prevention of accidents in the iron and steel industry, 1910—1919.
Occupational hazards and diagnostic signs : A guide to impairments to be
looked for in hazardous occupations. [1922.]
Statistics of industrial accidents in the United States. [1923.]
Survey of hygienic conditions in the printing trades. [1925.]
Phosphorus necrosis in the manufacture of fireworks and in the preparation
of phosphorus. [1926.]
Record of industrial accidents in the United States to 1925.
Deaths from lead poisoning. [1927.]
Health survey of the printing trades, 1922 to 1925.
Proceedings of the Industrial Accident Prevention Conference, held at
Washington, D. C., July 14-16, 1926.
A new test for industrial lead poisoning. [1928.]
Settlement for accidents to American seamen.

Industrial R elations and Labor Conditions.

No. 237.
No. 340.
No. 349.
No. 361.
No. 380.
No. 383.
No. 384.
No. 399.

Industrial unrest in Great Britain. [1917.]
Chinese migrations, with special reference to labor conditions. [1923.]
Industrial relations in the West Coast lumber industry. [1923.]
Labor relations in the Fairmont (W. Va.) bituminous-coal field. [1924.]
Postwar labor conditions in Germany. [1925.]
Works council movement in Germany. [1925.]
Labor conditions in the shoe industry in Massachusetts, 1920-1924.
Labor relations in the lace and lace-curtain industries in the United States.
[1925.]

Labor Law s o f the U nited States (Including: Decisions o f Courts R elating to Labor).

No. 211. Labor laws and their administration in the Pacific States. [1917.]
No. 229. Wage-payment legislation in the United States. [1917.]
No. 285. Minimum wage laws of the United States: Construction and operation.
[1921.]
No. 321. Labor laws that have been declared unconstitutional. [1922.]
No. 322. Kansas Court of Industrial Relations. [1923.]
No. 343. Laws providing for bureaus of labor statistics, etc. [1923.]
No. 370. Labor laws of the United States, with decisions of courts relating thereto
[1925.]
No. 408. Laws relating to payment of wages. [1926.]
No. 444. Decisions of courts and opinions affecting labor, 1926.
No. 467. Minimum wage legislation in various countries. (In press.)
No. 470. Labor legislation of 1927.

Proceedings o f A nnual Conventions o f the A ssociation o f Governmental Labor Officials o f the
U nited States and Canada. (N am e changed in 1928 to A ssociation of Governmental Officials
in Industry of the U nited States and Canada.)

♦No. 266.
No. 307.
No. 323.
No. 352.
No. 389.
No. 411.
No. 429.
No. 455.
No. 480.

Seventh, Seattle, Wash., July 12-15, 1920.
Eighth, New Orleans, La., May 2-6, 1921.
Ninth, Harrisburg, Pa., May 22-26, 1922.
Tenth, Richmond, Va., May 1-4, 1923.
Eleventh, Chicago, 111., May 19-23, 1924.
Twelfth, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 13-15, 1925.
Thirteenth, Columbus, Ohio, June 7-10, 1926.
Fourteenth, Paterson, N. J., May 31 to June 3, 1927.
Fifteenth, New Orleans, La., May 15-24, 1928. (In press.)

Proceedings o f A nnual M eetings of the International A ssociation of Industrial A ccident Boards
and Commissions.

No.
No.
No.
♦No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.

210.
248.
264.
273.
281.
304.
333.
359.
385.
395.
406.
432.
456.

Third, Columbus, Ohio, April 25-28, 1916.
Fourth, Boston, Mass., August 21-25, 1917.
Fifth, Madison, Wis., September 24-27, 1918.
Sixth, Toronto, Canada, September 23-26, 1919.
Seventh, San Francisco, Calif., September 20-24, 1920.
Eighth, Chicago, 111., September 19-23, 1921.
Ninth, Baltimore, Md., October 9-13, 1922.
Tenth, St. Paul, Minn., September 24-26, 1923.
Eleventh, Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 26-28, 1924.
Index to proceedings, 1914-1924.
Twelfth, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 17-20, 1925.
Thirteenth, Hartford, Conn., September 14-17, 1926.
Fourteenth, Atlanta, Ga., September 27-29, 1927.

Proceedings o f A nnual M eetings o f International Association of Public Em ploym ent Services.

No. 192. First, Chicago, December 19 and 20, 1913; second, Indianapolis, September
24 and 25, 1914; third, Detroit, July 1 and 2, 1915.
No. 220. Fourth, Buffalo, N. Y., July 20 and 21, 1916.
No. 311. Ninth, Buffalo, N. Y., September 7-9, 1921.
No. 337. Tenth, Washington, D. C., September 11-13, 1922.
No. 355. Eleventh, Toronto, Canada, September 4-7, 1923.
No. 400. Twelfth, Chicago, 111., May 19-23, 1924.

(II)

Proceedings of Annual Meetings of the International Association of Public Employment
Services—Continued.
No. 414. Thirteenth, Rochester, N. Y., September 15-17, 1925.
No. 478. Fifteenth, Detroit, Mich., October 25-28, 1927.
Productivity of Labor.
No. 356. Productivity costs in the common-brick industry. [1924.]
No. 360. Time and labor costs in manufacturing 100 pairs of shoes, 1923.
No. 407. Labor cost of production and wages and hours of labor in the paper boxboard industry. [1926.]
No. 412. Wages, hours, and productivity in the pottery industry, 1925.
No. 441. Productivity of labor in the glass industry. [1927.]
No. 474. Productivity of labor in merchant blast furnaces. (In press.)
No. 475. Productivity of labor in newspaper printing. (In press.)
Retail Prices and Cost of Living.
♦No. 121. Sugar prices, from refiner to consumer. [1913.]
♦No. 130. Wheat and flour prices, from farmer to consumer. [1913.]
♦No. 164. Butter prices, from producer to consumer. [1914.]
No. 170. Foreign food prices as affected by the war. [1915.]
No. 357. Cost of living in the United States. [1924.]
No. 369. The use of cost-of-living figures in wage adjustments. [1925.]
No. 464. Retail prices, 1890 to 1927.
Safety Codes.
♦No. 331. Code of lighting: Factories, mills, and other work places.
No. 336. Safety code for the protection of industrial workers in foundries.
No. 350. Specifications of laboratory tests for approval of electric headlighting devices
for motor vehicles.
No. 351. Safety code for the construction, care, and use of ladders.
No. 375. Safety code for laundry machinery and operations.
No. 378. Safety code for woodworking plants.
No. 382. Code of lighting school buildings.
No. 410. Safety code for paper and pulp mills.
No. 430. Safety code for power presses and foot and hand presses.
No. 433. Safety codes for the prevention of dust explosions.
No. 436. Safety code for the use, care, and protection of abrasive wheels.
No. 447. Safety code for rubber mills and calenders.
No. 451. Safety code for forging and hot-metal stamping.
No. 463. Safety code for mechanical power-transmission apparatus—first revision.
Vocational Workers’ Education.
♦No. 159. Short-unit courses for wage earners, and a factory school experiment*
[1915.]
♦No. 162. Vocational education survey of Richmond, Va. [1915.]
No. 199. Vocational education survey of Minneapolis, Minn. [1917.]
No. 271. Adult working-class education in Great Britain and the United States.
[1920.]
No. 459. Apprenticeship in building construction. [1928.]
Wages and Hours of Labor.
♦No. 146. Wages and regularity of employment and standardization of piece rates in
the dress and waist industry of New York City. [1914.]
♦No. 147. WTages and regularity of employment in the cloak, suit, and skirt industry.
[1914.]
No. 161. Wages and hours of labor in the clothing and cigar industries, 1911 to 1913.
No. 163. Wages and hours of labor in the building and repairing of steam railroad
cars, 1907 to 1913.
♦No. 190. Wages and hours of labor in the cotton, woolen, and silk industries, 1907
to 1914.
No. 204. Street-railway employment in the United States. [1917.]
No. 225. Wages and hours of labor in the lumber, millwork, and furniture industries,
1915.
No. 265. Industrial survey in selected industries in the United States, 1919.
No. 297. Wages and hours of labor in the petroleum industry, 1920.
No. 356. Productivity costs in the common-brick industry. [1924.]
No. 358. Wages and hours of labor in the automobile-tire industry, 1923.
No. 360. Time and labor costs in manufacturing 100 pairs of shoes, 1923.
No. 365. Wages and hours of labor in the paper and pulp industry, 1923.
No. 394. Wages and hours of labor in metalliferous mines, 1924.
No. 407. Labor cost of production and wages and hours of labor in the paper boxboard industry. [1925.]
No. 412. Wages, hours, and productivity in the pottery industry, 1925.
No. 413. Wages and hours of labor in the lumber industry in the United States, 1925.
No. 416. Hours and earnings in anthracite and bituminous coal mining, 1922 and 1924.
No. 435. Wages and hours of labor in the men’s clothing industry, 1911 to 1926.
No. 438. Wages and hours of labor in the motor-vehicle industry, 1925.
No. 442. Wages and hours of labor in the iron and steel industry, 1907 to 1926.
No. 443. Wages and hours of labor in woolen and worsted goods manufacturing,
1910 to 1926.
No. 446. Wages and hours of labor in cotton-goods manufacturing, 1910 to 1926.
No. 450. Wages and hours of labor in the boot and shoe industry, 1907 to 1926.
No. 452. Wages and hours of labor in the hosiery and underwear industry, 1907 to
1926.
No. 454. Hours and earnings in bituminous-coal mining, 1922, 1924, and 1926.
No. 457. Union scales of wages and hours of labor, May 15, 1927.
No. 471. Wages and hours of labor in foundries and machine shops, 1927. (In press.)
No. 472. Wages and hours of labor in slaughtering and meat packing, 1927. (In
press.)
No. 476. Union scales of wages and hours of labor, 1927. Supplement to Bui. 457.
(In press.)

(Ill)

W elfare Work.

♦No. 123. Employers' welfare work. [1913.]
No. 222. Welfare work in British munitions factories. [1917.]
♦No. 250. Welfare work for employees in industrial establishments in the United
States. [1919.]
No. 458. Health and recreation activities in industrial establishments, 1926.

W holesale Prices*

No. 284. Index numbers of wholesale prices in the United States and foreign countries.
[1921.]
No. 440. Wholesale prices, 1890 to 1926.
No. 453. Revised index numbers of wholesale prices, 1923 to July, 1927.
No. 473. Wholesale prices, 1913 to 1927. (In press.)

W omen and Children in Industry.

No. 116. Hours, earnings, and duration of employment of wage-earning women in
selected industries in the District of Columbia. [1913.]
Prohibition of night work of young persons. [1913.]
Ten-hour maximum working-day for women and young persons. [1913.]
Working hours of women in the pea canneries of Wisconsin. [1913.]
Employment of women in power laundries in Milwaukee. [1913.]
Hours, earnings, and conditions of labor of women in Indiana mercantile
establishments and garment factories. [1914.]
♦No. 167. Minimum-wage legislation in the United States and foreign countries.
[1915.]
♦No. 175. Summary of the report on conditions of woman and child wage earners in
the United States. [1915.]
♦No. 176. Effect of minimum-wage determinations in Oregon. [1915.]
♦No. 180. The boot and shoe industry in Massachusetts as a vocation for women.
[1915.]
♦No. 182. Unemployment among women in department and other retail stores of
Boston, Mass. [1916.]
No. 193. Dressmaking as a trade for women in Massachusetts. [1916.]
No. 215. Industrial experience of trade-school girls in Massachusetts. [1917.]
♦No. 217. Effect of workmen’s compensation laws in diminishing the necessity of industrial employment of women and children. [1918.]
No. 223. Employment of women and juveniles in Great Britain during the war.
[1917.]
No. 253. Women in the lead industries. [1919.]
#
Workmen’s Insurance and Compensation ( I n c l u d i n g Laws Relating Thereto).
*No. 101. Care of tuberculous wage earners in Germany. [1912.]
♦No. 102. British national insurance act, 1911.
No. 103. Sickness and accident insurance law of Switzerland. [1912.]
No. 107. Law relating to insurance of salaried employees in Germany. [1913.]
*No. 155. Compensation for accidents to employees of the United States. [1914.]
No. 212. Proceedings of the conference on social insurance called by the International
Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, Washington,
D. C., December 5-9, 1916.
♦No. 243. Workmen’s compensation legislation in the United States and foreign coun
tries, 1917 and 1918.
No. 301. Comparison of workmen’s compensation insurance and administration.
[1922.]
No. 312. National health insurance in Great Britain, 1911 to 1921.
No. 379. Comparison of workmen’s compensation laws of the United States as of
January 1, 1925.
No. 423. Workmen’s compensation legislation of the United States and Canada as of
July 1, 1926.
No. 477. Public-service retirement systems, United States and Europe. (In press.)
Miscellaneous Series.
♦No. 174. Subject index of the publications of the United States Bureau of Labor
Statistics up to May 1, 1915.
No. 208. Profit sharing in the United States. [1916.]
No. 242. Food situation in central Europe, 1917.
No. 254. International labor legislation and the society of nations.
[1919.]
No. 268. Historical survey of international action affecting labor. [1920.]
No. 282. Mutual relief associations among Government employees in Washington,
D. C. [1921.]
No. 299. Personnel research agencies : A guide to organized research in employment
management, industrial relations, training, and working conditions.
[1921.]
No. 319. The Bureau of Labor Statistics : Its history, activities, and organization.
[1922.]
No. 326. Methods of procuring and computing statistical information of the Bureau
of Labor Statistics. [1923.]
No. 342. International Seaman’s Union of America: A study of its history and prob
lems. [1923.]
No. 346. Humanity in government. [1923.]
No. 372. Convict labor in 1923.
No. 386. Cost of American almshouses. [1925.]
No. 398. Growth of legal-aid work in the United States. [1926.]
No. 401. Family allowances in foreign countries. [1926.]
No. 420. Handbook of American trade-unions. [1926.]
No. 439. Handbook of labor statistics, 1924 to 1926.
No. 458. Health and recreation activities in industrial establishments, 1926.
No. 461. Labor organizations in Chile. [1928.]
No. 462. Park recreation areas in the United States. [1928.]
No. 465. Beneficial activities of American trade-unions.
No. 479, Activities and functions of a State Department of labor.
♦No. 117.
No. 118.
No. 119.
♦No. 122.
No. 160.

(IV)

Full text of Joint Industrial Control in the Book and Job Printing Industry : Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 481

FRASER