The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-01-20
SHOULD NOT start
UNJUST B0YCOTs|
Unions Must Gaurd Against
This Abuse Of
Power. -
Weapons Of Organized Labor
Should Not Be Used to Gra-
'tify Personal Ambition.

The boycott and the strike have been
recognized as organized labor's two
principal weapons Of defense and Of s
Tense, says Labor Clarion. The use Of
either should never be resorted to ex-
cept when more moderate methods
have been tried and proven ineffective.
When, however, the strike or the boy
colt is resorted to by labor union tho :
action should only be taken in defense
of the fundamental principles of trades
unionism or to enforce the unions de- 4
mand for fair wages, hours or other
conditions affecting the employment Of
Its members. That there exists danger
that either the boycott or the strike
may be resorted to without sufficient
justification is recognized by all well
conducted labor organizations, and
consequently the laws governing the
declaration of strikes and boycotts are
framed with great care. specifying
with minuteness the purposes for which
either may be declared and the steps !
necessary to take before they can be
put in operation
Notwithstanding the law and gen
eral custom of labor unions with re-
spect to the levying of boycotts and de-
claration of strikes, the fact cannot be
ga1nsayed that the power to strike and
boycott has often been abused nor
can 1t be galnsaid that abuse of this
power is one Of the gravest offenses OF
which unions or union officials can be
guilty. In some instances the entire
membership of the organization is at
fault, and In the case of strike the /.
men engaged in it pay the heavy PEN
atty that is occasioned by failure of tho
strike-failure being almost inevitable
when the strike is without justifica-
ton. In such cases abuse of the strike
weapon carries with it it's own puninsh-
ment. When. however, the unjust
strike or boycott is instigated and
practically declared by union officials
through mistaken zeal or to crafty
desire for personal revenge for real or
fancied grievances. no punishment is
too severe to inflict on the guilty ones
for the suffering their wrongful act
entails on the victims of their folly or I,
worse. Punishment in some form, as
matter of fact, is generally meted
out to the union official guilty Of Gauss
ing a strike without justification, but
1t is rarely If ever of an adequate
nature s.. 5ss rs 5ssss ssss
ssysstt. q Iszi.s b; =; o. o.
trivial' reasons or to crafty personal
desire for revenge the results are nee
essarily- somewhat different from those 4
following the unjust strike. In some
instances the boycotted individual or
firm: is made to; suffer severely and
those directly responsible for the wrong
escape punishment: The entire labor
movement, however, suffers in the de-
gree that the wrong done becomes
known to the people, and the prejudice
created by this knowledge is often q
serious factor in neutralizing the ef-
fects of boycotts declared in good faith
and for reasons that Of themselves
strongly appeal to the sense of justice
of the fair minded citizens for suppor
AS heretofore stated. the well con-
Quoted labor union will resort to the
boycott only when all efforts to effect
the purpose in view by persuasion,
mediation and Cancellation have failed,
and under no circumstances will such
an organization declare a boycott ex-N
cept In defense of the purposes for
which the union was founded. It has
happened that the power Of the boycott
has been used by labor organizations
to punish offenses that are entirely
without the category of which labor
union can properly take cognizance and
act consistently with it's declaration of
purposes. When this has been done in
several instances the aggrieved party
has appealed to higher authority in the
world of organized labor, and that au-
thority has without exception repudiat-
ed the action Of the subordinate organ
ization.
One of the most frequent instances Of
abuse Of the boycott power by labor
unions Is In the case Of newspapers
which have offended these organiza-
tions or influential officials of such by
severe criticism, whether well founded
or not. That newspapers often pro- i
woke action of this kind by their gross
ly unfair criticism Of the members or
officials Of a labor organization Is tun-
deniable, but, no matter how unjust
the attack OF the newspaper may be,
the application of the trades union boy
colt is not the proper remedy The
trades union boycott should only be 9
levied for the purpose of securing for s.
union men and women fair conditions
eoEernllS tnelr employment. Ii this s.
rule is followed public symphaty and
cooperation will be readily obtained,
but If 1t is departed from and the b
trades union boycott becomes a weap-
on used Unfortunately to punish all
manner of offenses 1T. will soon lose It's
effectiveness and, in fact, become &
boomerang, and rightly so.
The American Federation Of Labor
is on record as disapprovlng OF, boy
colts of this nature. and interna tional #a
unions have also repudiated them
lad 2 1922. zEE3 ssss 8i
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