The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-01-22

throughout the jurisdiction Of the nationa
union, and I think would be beneficial il
their results
QUARTERLY REPORTS.
The quarterly reports should be sen
promptly by the unions to the Secretary al
the end of each quarter, and as promptly
printed and issued to the unions. The
quarterly reports are, think, Of great i'm
portance, for they furnish to each union the
financial condition, as well as the numerical
strength of the whole organization, and
tend to promote confidence and unity be-
tween the members Of the various unions
not otherwise attained.
| RELIEF.
l would suggest the propriety Of the Ma
tional Union establishing permanent fund
for the immediate relief of any Union that
may (by any attempt on the part Of the en-
ployers to reduce the wages) be forced into
strike. / think the establishment of a
fund for this purpose perfectly feasible, and
should no longer be neglected, and hope
you will give it due consideration.
ExPULsIoNs,
The present constituAiea is silent on this
subject. In my opinion many Of the expul-
slons are unjust, and result in no good to
national or local unions. The national
union should specify the offence that may
be punishable by expulsion, and guarantee
every member fair and impartial trial, and
.he executive of the national union should
be vested with the power to set aside the ac-
ton Of a union, by which such punishment
has been inflicted, without legal trial. Al
50, to grant pardons in certain cases. l
think this system would, in many instances,
prevent prosecutions, and tend to secure JUS
tice, and trust it will receive your favorable
consideration.
ANNUAL SESSIONS.
would. call your attention to the very
important subject of extending the time be-
tween our sessions. I think it would be
conducive to the general good Of our organ
lzatlon if we should hold our sessions but
once in two years. This question, in nv
opinion, concerns the future progress of the
National Vi nion. The change would tend
70 secure a better representation at our ses-
slons when held, as many of the nnions, on
account of the expense attending the same,
cannot afford to send delegates to our annu-
al session. But, aside from this, economv
IS the strongest reason why we should meet
but once in two years. 1t costs nearly
as much to hold one convention as
would be necessary to defray the expenses
OF the union for one year, and while it
would be a great saving in money, it will
also prove Of vast benefit in regard to legis-
lation for, in my opinion, too much legis-
iation is more to be deprecated than too lit
tie, Let us try the experiment, and if we
do not succeed we can again return to our
annual session; the amount to be saved is
certainly worth the trial I hope this ques-
ton will command your earliest attention
for | think it will prove beneficial to orr or
ganization.
DEBTS
l hope this convention will adopt some
measure by which the national union may be
able to meet all necessary expenses required
for the successful working Of the organiza-
ton. At the close Of the last year the ma
tional union was in debt to the amount of
S217.S5, and in order to liquidate the same
the treasurer was compelled to appropriate
the whole amount from the conspiracy tax
During the past year the national union has
been somewhat embarrassed for the want of
sufficient funds to meet the necessary expen-
ses Of the organization, and the union at
present is considerably in debt
In reference to the payment Of the balance
due on account Of printing the proceedings
of the last COW ention, that is question /
shall leave for your consideration, but have
been informed that the contractors intend
holding the union to the fllfillment of said
contract.
TITLE OF OUR ORGANIZATION.
l would recommend that the title Of our
organization be changed from the present
appellation. to the name and title of The Op-
erative Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers'
International Union of North America. /
think such change would prove advanta-
geous to the growth of the union. There
are very many reasons why this change
should b. consummated, only few of which
however shall at present lay before you.
Of the IS unions comprising the present ma
tional organization, 80 are composed Of
bricklayers, nasons and plaSters, leaving
but small majority Of the unions composed
wholly Of brickIayers.
From statistics that Mve been able to
obtain, find that Of the II unions repre-
sented in the Plasterers' international I'm
ion, six are also represented in the National
Union of Bricklayers, leaving only Is ex-
elusive plasterers' unions represented in that
body. In most localities in the interior of
the several States, there are not a sufficient
number Of men to form district unions Of
their respective callings. while many of
them are sufficient in the three branches
of masonry. II, therefore, they desire
to form union, they must do so by uniting
in our common unions giving their organi
zation the title of Bricklayers, Masons and
Plasterers Union, and we have quite num-
Der Of unions represented in the national
union, that are working under this title. In
New York city there is MasOns' Union,
many Of its members being also 5ricklayers-
During the year 1868 this union applied to
the National Union of BrickIayers for a
chrater, but was refused on the ground that
they were not bricklayers' union (or, at
least they did not apply for a charter as
such, and | have not the least doubt but, if
the proposed change is made, that this union
would soon become a branch Of our noble
institution. We should soon have all these
unions (and there are many of them in va
riOus sections Of this country united in our
national organization.
deem it unnecessary for me to say any
more on this question. I believe you fully
understand its importance in my opinion
however, whichever Of the national bodies,
either Of the International Union of Plas-
terers, or the National Union Of Bricklay
ers, shall adopt this suggestion or recon-