The labor world., 1901-02-09
UNION OBLIGATIONS.

! Members of Labor Unions in their
zeal to promote their personal well-be-
ling, are too prone to conveniently over
look the faults that lay close at hand
and often-times within their own move
ment.
1t is lamentable fact that the wage
working class expends in denouncing
this, that, or the other thing, or person.
energy enough, which if properly ap-
piled in resolute and consistent effort
to Improve their condition through Or
ganization, would vastly ameliorate
| their conditions.
! We thing one Of the most serous in
| ternal weaknesses which members per-
sist in overlooking is the light manner
| in which some members look upon their
| union obligations.
Workingman may join a secret or
der where he may for one hour a week
| imagine he is on friendly terms with
the boss, and will not even reveal the
secret work of the order even to his
wife, the partner of his life.
The same man may join a union and
not regard any of it's work as secret,
but on the contrary may go and in
form the employer just what business
was transacted at the union meeting.
He would religiously keep his Obliga-
tions to befriend his fellow member of
the secret order, even though in some
cases said fellow member was a most
dissolute and unworthy character, while
at the same time he would turn a deaf
ear to his fellow workingman in dis
tress.
When spending his wages he will not
fail to patronize the good fellows
that belong to his secret order, hut
will studiously refrain from patroniz-
ing his fellow workmen by demanding
Union Label goods.
When he joins the secret order he
fully understands that he is cut off
from benefits unless he pays the dues
fixed by the rules. Should he lapse, he
accepts the results and penalties quite
philosophically, but if he joins a. labor
union, even' though he has agreed to
abide by the laws, if the laws provide
that a member thirteen weeks in ar
rears shall be automatically suspended,
and even through his own fault or neg
ligence lapses, then his outcries drown
the prostestations of the citizens of a
crushed republic.
1t is next to impossible for to make
him see that is was his own fault. He
persists in maintaining that he is an
injured party and tt hat the law Of the
union must be ignored or altered to 1t
his particular case r.. T.. ".....> 5.
Then instead of obeying the law as
he bound himself to do, he proceeds
to defy it, and to incite others to do
the same and the edifying spectacle is
presented of a division large or small
in the ranks Of those who have need Of
all their united power, and can accom-
plish all too little at best. >,~
What is still worse, some of. the bet
ter intentioned members are mistakenly
led to sympathize with the insurgent,
which flatters his vanity and leads him
to hope to overthrow the established
rules.
This lack of feality to obligation and
INSTRUMENTATION, encouraged in part by
mistaken sympathy, has tendency to
cause all the members to look upon the
laws or rules as mere empty declara-
+tions to be bended or broken to suit
IAAS AiAAAlSOlAlcs OCCdSlO1l,5 anu 10 USQTlyG
the movement of the discipline and pre-
cision which is essential to the sue
cess of any organized effort.
Such members are an element of
weakness rather than strength, and if
they will not keep their promises to
obey the laws, the movement will be
better off without them. In other words
they agreed to be good members, and on
that condition were accepted as men,
bers in the first place. They would not
have been accepted if they had an
nounced their refusal to comply with
the laws that they promised to obey,
and they cannot be considered desir-
able members now unless they imme-
diately proceed to comply with the law.
In the automatic suspension of those
who have negligently or otherwise fail
ed to pay as provided in the constitu-
tion this union is now separating the
wheat. from the chaff.
Let those whose suspension was not
| through their intent, reinstate them
selves in the manner prescribed.