The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1902-07-26

An important development of the
week in the circles of organized labor
is the admission of the Licensed Tug
mems Protective association to member
ship in the International Longshore.
mems Marine and Transport Workers
| association.
Following close on the heels of the
union the tugmen with the larger organ
ization of lake freight handlers, came
the action of the executive committee
of the latter organization, placing in the
hands of President D. J. Keefe the au-
thority to call out the etnire membership
of the organization on strike,- if he
deemed it expedient, in support of the
tugmen.
Since April the tugmen have been en-
gagged in IA bitter struggle with their
employers to force certain wage conces-
sions, and the fight had no more ap-
pearance of termination, before this
last development, than it had at any
time since it was first inaugurated.
But this last move puts a new face
on the situation, and the next week will
likely bring still more interesting devel-
opments to the front. The $500 men,
bers of the Tugmen's association are
scattered along the entire length of the
Great Lakes, and represent a class of
labor which is skilled above the average
of employees. :.
The LOngshoremen's association has
upwards of 10000 members on the
Great Lakes, embracing the lumber
leaders, coal beavers, and ore trimmers.
Were they to quit work, it would tie
up the lake traffic more completely
than has ever been done before, and
the financial loss and embarrassment
to business would be beyond computa-
ton.
President Keefe will proceed to Cleve-
land some time next week, it is said, to
confer with the tug trust officials. The
outcome of the trip, if taken, will be
fraught with portentious results for or
ganized labor. Should the tug trust rep
resentatives refuse to treat with Pres
ident Keefe, or should they. remain OBJ
durate, it will rest with him to decide
whether or not to declare a sympathetic
strike of the entire organization.
This would not mean that the long,
shoremen, ore trimmers and coal beavers
would refuse to work, uut merely tha,
they would refuse to load or unload YES
sells which are handl.~ by tugs manned
ab e ~ ~ ~. ~ 81
IT would, then be- up to the vessel
owners to either lay their boats up, at
great financial loss, or else refuse to en-
ploy the scab tugs of the Great Lakes
Towing company.
It is very possible that the vesselmen
would, SO far as they could, employ
union tugs, and if that stand were taken
it might easily follow that the demand
which would arise for union tugs would
lead to many tugs being put in the field
by opponents of the tug trust. Such
result would be very apt. to bring the
trust managers to their senses, for they
have labored hard and expended much
money to create and maintain A practi-
cal monopoly of towing on the great
lakes.
It can be said that the longshoremen's
organization Stoday5has the sympathy of
many of the larger vessel owners, while
the tuglnen themselves by their con-
duct during the strike, and the gallant,
clean fight which they have made for
their rights. have enlisted the support
and sympathy of the vesselmen.
,Therefore,t.it It would seem that the out
look for winning the strike of the Ii
censed Tugmen's Protective association
is brighter today than it ever has been
before.
>Should the union of the tugmen and