Evening star., 1897-01-25
LABOR MOVEMENT
Plasserers Leave the Knights of Labor for
the Federation.
Indications That General Move Will
he Made Toward a New Alignment
In the Various Trades.

| bly,, No 1914, knights of Labor. to sever
| its connection with District Assembly No
| IS. Knights of Labor, of this city, and to
! become affiliated with the American Fed
| Grafton of Labor. After the consumma-
! tion of the latter transaction the assembly
| will be called Operative Plasterers Union,
No. 40. International Plasterers' Union.
| The drastic course determined upon by
| the assembly was made necessary because
| the assembly decided some time ago to
| apply for charter from the international
| Plasterers' Union (Which has since been
| received. and the latter being affiliated
| with the American Federation of Labor.
| forced the local assembly to form similar
| trade relations.
The action of the Plasterers' Assembly
! was also largely Influenced by the fact
| that in the recent controversy between the
| Plasterers Assembly and the Operative
| Plasterers Union Of the Central Labor
| Union Columbia Typographical Union de-
cided against the report of its own griev-
| ance committee In the matter by the mar
row margin of seven votes, and it is
| claimed the report would have been
| adopted by the union but for the fact
that many of the members of the latter
| were bitterly opposed to anything that
| seemed to favor the Knights of Labor.
The Final Report.
| A copy OF this report will. it is understood,
| be adopted at tonight's meeting of Plas-
| terers' Assembly as an expression of opin-
| ion from them to the points involved in
| the lcng pending controversy between the
| two rival plasterers' organizations. The
port Is as follows:
| ITO the officers and members of Typo
| graphical Union, No. 101:
| Your grievance committee to whom
was referred the matter of I'lasterers AS
| Sembly. No. 164I, X. of L., against the
Operative Piasterers Union, begs leave
| 70 report as follows
I'VE have he'd several sessions. at which
| We earnestly endeavored to give to both
sides of this controversy full and i'm
partial hearing, and to get the facts as
nearly possible. and from them TO form
an unbiased opinion as to whether or not
this union should grant the request of
! Pl&sterers' Assembly and refuse to recog-
nize the Operative Plasterers' Union as a
bon2 fde. legitimate labor union.
| 1T as clearly established by the evil
derce submitted 10 the committee that
Plasterers' Assembly. No. 1914, X. of L.,
has been in continuous existence since
| March & 1881: that il is the legitimate sue
cessor 10 the old Plastcrers' Union. which
naG gore down in the dark waters of ad-
versity during the stormy days that SO
nearly wrecked ali labor organizations i'll
| the District OF Columbia few years be-
fore; that ii has ever since its reorgani-
cation been recognized the only Plas-
| terers' Union in the District: that it has
established and maintained among its
| members 4 scale of wages and hours of
| labor and has disciplined its members for
infractions of It's rules ard regulations.
| 1t was also shown by the evidence that
| the Operative HlaStererS Union was or
ganized only q few weeks ago by the or
! sanizer of the Central Labor Union tha:
! Il large majority of the members present
at its organization were men who had
| either been expelled or suspended because
| of unpaid fines by the Piasterers' Assem-
bly,: that said Operative Plasterers Union
has not and never has had fixed scale of
| wages or hours Of labor or any other rules
| or regulations for the 0f =
members or the control of the plasterers'
| trade
1t was further shown by the testimony
| Of Secretary Jordan of the Consumers
Brewery Company that members of said
Operative Plasterers' Union had offered 10
work upon the building now being erecte /
by this company at a lower rate OF wages
and longer hours than the scale of S.; ~
per day of eight hours, which was then
being paid to members of Piasterers' AS
scmtly who Were employed upon said
building
Damaging Admissions.
With single exception, every repre-
sentative of the Operative Plasterers' Union
who appeared before the committee was a
self-eonfessed scab and some of them, in
Guiding the president of the union. by their
own admissions, had been working for less
| than the union scale tas established and
, | maintained by Plasterers Assembly, for
many years and are still working.
| MANY OF Ine members OF operative Pas
\ | terers Union claim TO have been arbitrarily
4 | II unjustly dealt with by the assembly
| ard give that as their reason for being out
| si6. the pale of unionism. But your COM
m.ttee is of the opinion that it is not the
: | province of this union TO say that its pun.
9 | ishments for offenses were too severe anj
i that men were justified in leaving it rather
n | thal submit TO its regulations. We would
0 not permit any organization to dictate ol
= | in any way medde in our affairs, and We
?, have no right to similarly interfere in the
internal affairs of any other union.
1T may be claimed by some because OF
l. | the number of plasterers outside of 1t.
!. membership. that Plasterers' Assembly
after more than fifteen years of continuou!
existence, has not been able to thorough,
organize and control the trade in the city
and that, therefore. another union is neces
: sary.
?. But your committee does not beliey,
g that this argument is just. There are man,
r | localities where trade is not a.
n well organized as it ought to be or W,
IS woald like to have it. AT the same time W.
r. would not permit other parties to step in
and organize the non-union element int,
| rival unions
r. There is no town in this country larg
enough for two unions Of craft, an,
. We would fight desperately all attempts OF
. | the part of outsiders to make union men O
. those who chose TO stand aloof from us
:, While claiming this right to regulate tn
q affairs Of our craft in all places where W
= | have a footing, ought to be willing L
~ conCede to others like powers privilege
and duties IN the management of trade af
| fairs.
Columbia Union is appealed to by
n | recognized and long established trade unio
A TO withhold its sanction and indorsernen
- from new rival organization, compose
- largely of men who have been for years 1
. open and active opposition to the only unio
3 of their craft in this city.
~ Effect ON Other Trades.
p 1T Is well known that other crafts b,
sides the plasterers are afflicted by hydr.
headed unions and 1t is the opinion of yor
T. committee that should do nothing
= encourage this policy of division and di
organization; but on the contrary. our be
efforts should be directed to checking IL
m work of disunion, matter by whom 70
: | tered.
II While We regret the circumstances ar
IL conditions which make II necessary, we b
tn | lieve II to be our duty to recommend th
al this union refuse Its sanction and recogn
TO ton TO the new plasterers' organzatio
sh and continue for the present at least
recognize Plasterers Assembly No 1Gi
he the only legitimate union in the city
tn In conclusion, your committee begs