The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-10-22
LABOR union LAW.
The Right to Exclude OBJ
jeCtionable Members Up
held by the Chan
Ce1lOr.
Special to the Jersey ctr Mslss.

TRENTON, Oct. %, 1890. I'm the Court Of
Chancery, yesterday, the case of Michael
Meyers and others vs. the Journeyman's
Stone Cutters Association. of Newark,
was decided by Vice Chancellor Green,
and it involves some important questions
relating to the rights of labor organiza-
tions in this State.
The bill was filed praying for relief by
requiring the defendant association to
receive Jacob Hand and Henry Zimmer-
man, two of the complainants and mem
bers of an association of master stone
cutters OF Newark, as members of the
defendant association upon the payment
OF the customary dues. Also That the
defendant association be restrained
complainants by calling them sscabs"
and other offensive terms, because
they are not members of their
own assocition. thus preventing them
from securing work. It was claimed by
the compiainants That the intention was
Newark except they be members OF the
association, and by means of denuncia-
tioD and persecution strikes and boycotts
to keep them out. In May, 1889, the as
sociation determined not to admit any
more members for one year, thus pro-
trade not members of the associa-
ton. Hand and Zimmerman sought to
become members according to the claim
of the complainants and offered to pay
the dues required, but they would not be
admitted. The men then went to various
employers and asked for work, but were
told that as they were not members of
the association they could not be en-
ployed without causing strike which
would prove disastrous to them. The
two men were obliged to seek employ
ment at some other business at inferior
wages. The employers stated that they
would have been glad to employ The men,
but were afraid it would injure their
business by causing strike.
The cOmplainants in their bill assert
that the right of Hand and Zimmerman
to work at their trade was right of
property and that they are deprived of
this right.
The Vice Chancellor says that it was
clear that Hand and Zimmerman did
apply for card of membership, but they
did not do SO regularly. Even If they did
the Court could not require voluntary
society to take in any member who they
did not want. Such interference would
be repugnant to the scheme Of the or
ganization of such a society. The courts
exist to protect the rights of persons,
but no person had a right to member
ship in such society 1t was shown
by the evidence that the exclusion of
all members for one year was to keep
out foreign labor, as q number of for
eigners had come to Newark to work
for short time and then expected to
return TO their own country. The
society could make restrictions on any
line it pleased either on that of citizen
ship, color or anything else. There was
nothing in the evidence to show THAT
Hand and Zimmerman were unduiy per-
secuted or threatened. The association
had agreed to work only with members
of their union. To this the complainant
association had assented for years.
AS to the right of property claimed for
Hand and Zimmerman, the Vice Chancel-
lor says that the Legislature of 1888 abb
rogated the law making all such organi-
cations as the defendant unlawful COM
binations in this State, and they are now
inotfensive TO any provisions of the law
of New Jersey. There was nothing in
the evidence to show that any law of the
State had been broken. He arrived at
the conclusion that the Court could not
interfere with the matter.