The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-11-10
POLICY Of EMPLOYERS. =:
TOWARD UNION LABOR
Ideas of Policies Grow Out of Date
Just Like Worn Out
Machinery.
Unions Have Come to stay-sen-
sible Employers Are Deal
ing With Them.

| American employers have won their
success largely by their ope1i-minded-
| ness, by their Willingness to change
the good for the better. It has been
we'll said that good measure Of the
superiority Of American manufacture
ers is the greater size of their SCRAP
heaps of displaced machinery as COM
pared with the scrap heaps of manu.
facturers Of other countries.
But ideas Of policies grow out of
date as well as machinery, and the
successful employer must have an in
tangible scrap heap Of ideas and pol
icies larger than the visible one of ma
chinery The time has now come to
add to that heap some Of our policies
toward our employees, toward trades
unions
When the unions were young and
weak, and their management and poll
cies SO uncertain that that stability
which is necessary to the mainten-
ance and growth Of business enter
prises could not be guaranteed by
them, then we fought them in defense
of our property and rights: but now
the evidence that the Union has come
to stay Is so indisputable that all clear
sighted men admit 1t and employers
must recognize that the question is
not-"How shall the union be annihil-
ated?' but what shall our policy be
so that the unions can be made to help
us in helping themselves? What kind
Of bargain can we make withour en-
ployes, with the union? remembering
that every bargain to be a good one
must be mutually advantageous.
The chief difficulty of the past no
longer confr0nts us. That difficulty
the union had come to stay. II criti-
else that position, do it most sympa-
thetically, for I believe, as human ma
ture runs, and recognizing how Indus
trial principles and rights are evolved
through contest, that no other position
toward the organized form Of the new
demand Of our employees than that Of
opposition was possible at the begin
ming.
Be that as it may, the time has now
come when clear-sighted men admit
that the unions have come to stay, and
that only by organization Of employees
can best conditions be brought about.
Employers must be better and more
strongly organized and unions must
be better and more strongly organised
in order that the needless part Of In
dustrial strife be avertad.
If. then, the unions are to stay, how
are they to be made more serv1ceable?
For 1t Is undoubtedly true, and ad-
mitted by wise union leaders. that
their policies must also be changed, at
least in part.
How are these policies to be
changed?
The answer is forced upon us that
the first and most necessary thing IL
to change our own pOlicies-Our en-
ployers' policies. In the past, harassed,
by the unions, we have believed that
this harassing would be weaker, would
be less, if we kept the unions weak.
This is the great the fundamental mis-
take we have made. Today we know
from bitter experience that it is The
weak nj II that docs the most dam
age to us-the union controlled by rad
ical, short-sighted men, because larger
numbers Of our conservative en-
ployes are not active members.
This is a truth we have learned very
slowly, and at great cost, and az far
as our policies bear witness we have
not yet wholly learned it. Otherwise
it would be our policy distinctly and
definitely to encourage our best en-
ployes to go into the unions.
At present our policy toward the
existence of trades unions Is at hest
not more than neutral. urge with all
my power that the time has come to
change this policy to one Of definite
purpose to make the unions better by
BILE employees to join them and become
active workers in them.
What will happen If we do this?
The first and most important result
will be that much Of the struggle that
has hithertot been fought out to our
great loss In our plants will be found
out in the union meetings. For our
best and most valuable men are not
only god workers, but they are broad
err minded than the average: see con-
ditions more clearly than the average
employee; and therefore know our dit
f1cultfes better than the weaker am-
ployes. And so when the employees
policies are decided in their Unions.
these broader minded, clear-seeing
employees, adding their numbers to
those the are already in the unions,
will have the greatest weight In de-
termining the union policies toward
employers, and will help them to de-
termine with more consideration for
us and our difficulties.
If we adopt this policy, 1t will even
tually follow that many Of the Dues
tons that are now debated" (God
save the nark), with strikes, boycotts
really debated and fought out In the
union meetings.
This policy must and will bring
about better things for us. It is an
open secret that the wisest and most
farseeing union leaders have often
failed to carry out their more liberal
policies for lack Of the support which
this new employers policy would give
them.
More than this. Our new policy
would send many Of the harmful IN