The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1901-05-04
Bus ! S'INESS AGE | ! 5
CHICAGO UNIONS WILL NOT GIVE Up
y THE WALKING DELEGATES.

CHICAGO UNIONS WILL NOT GIVE UP,
& THE WALKING DELEGATES.
business Agents Are More Necessary |
Now Than at Any Time III the His
tory of the Labor M0vemcnt-Thcy
Work Sixteen Hours a Day and I'm !
Line Of Duty Please Neither Friend
or Foe-Are Valuable Adjunct.
After year of warfare directed to q
great extent against the walking dele
gate, contractors and manufacturers
believe now that, like the poor, the
delegate will be with them always.
When the unions began TO withdraw
from the Building Trades Council,
many contractors are led to believe
that the walking delegate, or business
agent would disappear with the wan
ing strength of the cen-ca; body.t To
their chagrin, however, investigation
shows that not a single union has dis
pensed with its delegate, while on the
other hand, some OF them have put ad-
ditional'agents in the field.
A prominent contractor TO- whom the
walking delegate is all object Of alb
horrence said: For over year we
directed a fight against the methods
used by the unions, and a liberal por-
ton of our energy was used in an ef-
fort to remove the irritating influence
of the walking delegate. We thought
we had succeeded, hut today we find
pet to a rock, and While occasionally
from his perch we wake in the mcrn-
ing only to find another fastened in his
place.
ITO make matters worse. our efforts
to remove him seem /, make the
unions more determined to retain him,
and we are much in the position of the
knights of old Who cut off the heads Of
tabled giants only t. find the number
of heads increased"
Labor organizations" said a repre-
sentative labor man today, ARE con-:
WINGED that the business agent is more
necessary now than at any other time
in the history Of the labor movement.
The stand taken az INST him hy en-
ployers has only increased their deter
mination not only 10 retain those in the
field. but to increase the NUMBER -
Careful investigation shows that 20
business agents and secretaries who do
the work Of business agents are en-
ployed by the unions Of Chicago today
and that this number is increasing rap
idly. They are of many different ma
tionalities, and some of them are able
to speak and write. in several Ian
guages. Woman walking delegates
have not yet been introduced into the
city, but as they have been found a
success in other localities it: is said the
experiment will soon be tried in Chi
cago. ..>'.' :.
Employers are disturbed over the
prospect of such an innovation, and
visions OF visits from walking dele
gates in the shape of comedy young
| women are said to disturb the slumber
| of several who have special aversion
| to walking delegates in any shape.
The power of the business agents
or walking delegates employed by the
building trades unions has been cur
tailed by the recent agreements enter
Ied. into between the ORE aniz ions and
the ontractprs. M The walking dele
gates are1n longer permitted to go on
fjobs and interfere with the workmen
| during working hours, but their infiu-
Fence is still felt. Much of the time Of
business agents employed by organl
cations outside of the building indus
try.it devoted to clerical work. They
LIDO not seek admittance to factories or
Eworkshops, but transact their business
lin the office when called upon by their
CONSTITUENTS to attend to any griev-
ance against employers. A portion of
! their time is also spent in organizing,
and, contrary to popular opinion, they
do not receive bankers salaries nor
work short hours, but as rule work
Is hours day, for which the average
salary paid is about $25 week.
The average life of the business
agent is short. In the majority of
cases they are elected for term of
six months and as a rule find them
selves out of job at the end of two
terms. A prominent agent seen today
said: MANY people believe the busi-
ness agent has snap; but, to. tell the
plain truth, the job is thankless one.
We have to be in our office at 8 q. M,
and after finishing our office work and
looking after other duties we must at
tend the meeting of the organization in
I the evening. AS rule we do not get
home until nearly midnight, and then
we have to start out the next day
again and go through the same pro-
:tEramme. Our work necessarily brings
down upon US the warth of employers,
and when we get bounced by the un-
ion, dose we all get sooner or later,
we can't get job in the city and have
to dig out to some other place where,
if, our record has not gone before U.S.,
we may find something to do :
Several of the national and inter1a-
tional organizations have their head
Quarters in Chicago, and it is estimated
q that an annual outlay of $4,000 is
spent in sustaining them. About $24,-
II 900 annually is spent in publishing Off
cial organs, while about $4,000 is paid
by the local organizations for printed
i matter. Nearly $4,000 is paid annually
for meeting places, and, with other
i incidentals. it is estimated that over