The sun., 1903-11-08
THE BUSINESS AGENTS RISE.
HOW MEN LIKE SAM PARKS GOT
THEIR POWER.

As walking Delegates They Got Little Pay.
but, Banded Together In the Board Of
Building Trades. They became Tyrants
Hard Lot OF Unanlaried Omcers.
Since tho conviction Of Sam Parks and
the indictment Of other walking delegates
for using their places to extort money
from employers, either by the threat Of .
str. 9 or as a consideration for prevent
ing a strike, a reaction has cat In among
members Of labor unions against the auto
cratic walking delegate. now known a.
tho business agent.
The time was when the walking delegate
was the servant OF the union and when the
fewer strikes he had TO his credit the better
his chances for reelection. That was
many years ago, before he developed into
the business agent" and became, not the
servant, but the master OF the union.
The pay Of the walking delegate In the
old daye was the pay of his craft and 81 q
day expenses. There were no 34s a week
walking delegates then. with unlimited
expenses.
The evolution Of the walking delegate
into the business agent began with the
organization Of the Board of Walking
Delegates, which later became tho Board OF
Building Trades. The power Of the board
to order sympathetic strikes, which was
never delegated to it, but which it as
sumed, enabled the business agents to
make it vast machine for corruption.
With the growing power of the board,
which it assumed without license from tho
unions, the pay Of the business agent
jumped up far beyond the regular wages
of the workers, whom by this time they
had begun to lord it over. and tho more
pay they got the more arrogant they be-
came. The question Of consulting union
in ordering strikes came to be looked on as
unnecessary and childish.
In the meantime the unpaid officials
OF the union had their noses held to tho
grindstoas by their respective organiza-
tons. Cnsalaried delegates to central
bodies were disciplined if they said any
thing hey ond what their unions instructed
them to say.
A good example of the Importance of
tho business agent in a union as compared
with that Of the unpaid president was fur
n,shcd at a meeting of tie Houseslniths
and Brleemens | Mon shortly before the
rnocing Of Sam Parks. Parks, who talked
strike and nothing bat strike, was received
with the customary roars cf APPLAUSE and
when any one ventured to inte rlpt him
or suggest a change Of policy the "enter-
tainment committee Eot in line ready
TO wipe the floor with him
President Stt3jg, "ho is urselaried and
wh, wa5 supposed TO run the meeting,
niad 70 speak in favor Of peace rclicy,
but was received with shouts of dt rision.
was laughed at and saved hirTself from
bodily injury partiy by defyinC the crowd
and partly by the Intervention Of Sam
ParNH.
When Sam ,, oonpsrs. president Tt ,i Of The The
headquarters in C.inton place, his salary
was about one half OF what Il is now.
he was also an. Official Of Cigarmakers'
Tnion No. IA Of this city. but for this he
got no pay AZ that tine tn theG, ,t was bin
ta brands Of imported cigars and mee>-
iuc t,f cigar manufacturers was held in
tie Hoffman House to protest. against
tho bill Gcmpers wls invited to tie
raeeutative Of labor H., went there but
sat away hack and refused 70 take any part
in the Irocecdings.
fio was asked TO speak and taking the
floor larGed into TRADE aeainat tie MANI.
fncturcrs and employers. He SAID he had
sympathy with employers whstever.
Two days later Ci2armaHers' Union
No. IA held a meeting and passed resolu-
in caritalistic meeting" Commenting on
this later he said:
aOf all The tyrannical bosses on earth |
co.nncnd me- TO labor Union. Every |
mar, IN the Union heh his eye on tho officers |
and considers it hie preroGative to order |
irc,n about and call for the disciplining |
OF Their, by the union in case he is displeaeed |
,yi.il anything they say or do"
WHY do lecre wart 10 ie ul paid dele |
gptes?f sold tto delegate from union 10
we'll krcwr talkir clearing houra Of dele- |
gates which meets every Sunday for no |
eason that any ere can explain. Il have |
often tIied to figure IL out, but II is beyond |
ME. suppose the delegates. think it an |
honor conferred Oh item by their unions.