Evening star., 1901-10-14

in the gaining of recruits from among
non-union men of the trade. The office of
business agent exists in only minority OF
locals. A local must have considerable
strength before it can afford the expense,
and in many trades the need is hardly felt.
The office plays an especially large part In
the building trades
'In his capacity of employment agent for
the union the business agent Is able, IL ne
Is not quite upright, to serve his special
friends, and so to make It worth while for
members who are or may be out or JOBS TO
consult his desires. AS the representative
of the union in dealing with employers, ne
Is able to bring the organization, without
the previous consent of the members. into
positions from which it cannot easily re-
treat. In some unions he has power to or
der strikes. Even when this power is not
formally granted, his advice to quilt work
will often produce the same effect. On the
other hand, the business agent may some
times take 1t upon himself to make agree
ments with employers on behalf OF the
union. The union Is likely to repudiate
such agreements II they do not meet Its
views; nut the employers blame the union
in such cases, and consider that it has vio-
lated it's obligations
so long as he holds his place, therefore.
the business agent has a large power for
good or evil. The living of his fellow-mem-
bers depends upon his wisdom and his hon
esty. But they realize It, and they watch
him with the eyes of jealous master. II
they come to believe that he is either rash
quickly ended.
Small Salaries Paid.
1.-THE salaries of the national officers are
in most cases moderate In proportion TO
their RESPONSIBILITIES In this respect. as in
several others, the great railroad brother-
hoods form a class by themselves. The
presiding officers of the engineers, the con-
ductors and the firemen are understood to
receive 200 a year. No organization IN
any other field of work pays half so mucn
The Knights of Labor did pay Mr. Powder-
man, for several years, but they pay such
rates no longer The president OF the
Marine Engineers now receives salary
which is believed to the highest PAID 70
any labor union officer outside the railroad
brotherhoods-$2,40 400 a year. The president
of the American Federation of Labor re-
ceives 81, 100, and the secretary, SIX Ihe
comonest rates of pay for the prlnclpai
officers-the president and the secretary
when they are expected to devote their
full time to the work. range from $500 to
81, 800 a year. Some receive smaller rates;
and the salaries paid by those unions which
expect their work to be done in leisure
hours, in the intervals of employment at
their trades, range down to nominal
amounts.
'The funds in the hands Of local treas
urers do not usually exceed a very few
hundred dollars and those in the hands OF
a national treasurer seldom exceed few
thousand. The great accumulations OF
some Of the British unions. amounting in
some cases to a million or million and a
half dollars. have no parallel in America.
Two or three of the railroad brotherhoOds
have strike funds of about 100000 each,
and other funds, chiefly belonging to their
total assets up to 100000 or $4O0, 1900 each.
The Cigar Makers have over $4,000 ap-
plicable to strikes or to any other purpose
at the will of the organizations; but, as has
f1,rv fc iv, fp6ry nf
the local unions, and is not gathered into
the hands of one officer. With these ex-
ceptions hardly any American union has
more than very moderate amount OF
Under these circumstances. the only re-
sources of the unions when trouble comes
are voluntary contributions and assess
ments. In a great strike, which arouses
widespread interest, voluntary contribu-
tions are sometimes a more important
source Of revenue than might be supposed.
In the great cigar makers strike In New
York city in 1900 about $65,OOO was volun-
tarily given by individuals and local unions
of the trade outside Of the district affected.
in addition to the regular assessments, and
about $4,000 was given by individuals and
labor organizations of other trades. At the
time of the anthracite miners strike Of
1900 the national executive of the Brewery
Workmen was reported to have levied an
assessment of 5 cents member a week
for heir benefit, to be continued through
The Uniform Wage.
81 is great mistake to suppose that the
standard rate of the labor organization
means a uniform wage for each member
by the day or by the week The standard
rate means a uniform compensation to all
members for the same performance. A
very large proportion of the trades unions
secure this uniformity of compensation
by means Of piecework prices. In that case
the recognition Of superior skill and speed
is automatic When the circumstances of
the trade and the experience of the men,
bers make time wages seem the more ef-
fective means of maintaining the standard
rate, the usual method is to adopt a mini
mum price. below which no member of the
union is allowed to work.
1T may seem If the union itself might
undertake a classification of it's members
according to their efficiency, and the estab-
lishment Of a series of daily or weekly
rates. to some one Of which each member
should be assigned. Such a system does
not meet with the favor of any labor or
ganization.
"The unions very rarely, If ever. con-
tain any prohibition of the acceptance of
rates above the fixed minimum, and mani
festations of feeling hostile to such
higher rates seem to be comparatively
rare. In most unions the minimum wage
is the actual wage Of practically all the
men: but In such strong unions as those OF
the printers and the iron molders the faster
and more Skllful men sometimes get wages
materially above the union rate.
Want Old Apprentice System
considering how thoroughly the modern
conditions of production have destroyed
the old apprentice system in most trades,
1t Is surprising to see how many unions
not only look back to it with longing, but
retain expressions of desire for it in their
written constitutions. A considerable rum
Der of national organizations urge their
members to strive for some action of the
state which shall promote the formal inden-
ture of apprentices. 1t is believed that such
indenturing hardly anywhere appears.
Some Of the stronger unions are able, how
ever, to m aintain something like it by theiI
own power. They provide that an appren-
tice shall agree to stay with an employer
for fixed term, and that If he leaves be-
fore the term Is up he shall not be per-
mitted to work at the trade under the juris-
diction of the union 1t is sometimes pro-
vided also that an employer who discharges
an apprentice without good reason shall
not be permitted to replace him.
1T appears, then, that the circumstances
Of considerable number of trade unions
make piece prices seem more favorable to
their interests than day wages. There are