The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-12-17
UNIONS GREAT WORK
What the IronmoIders Have Done
In Fifty Years.
A RECORD OF Achievement.

Agreements Favored.
In July of this year the Ironmold'
ers' union celebrated the tiftieth ami
versary of its organization as national
body.
There was a union of ironmolders
in Pittsburg in 1896 and one in Phlla-
delphia in 1887. Cincinnati had one in
1S47. Each of these various unions
may have been organized several
years earlier than the date named for
1t. The records of most of the early
unions are lost. We get just glimpse
of one here and there by accident.
On June 1G, 1850 the molders of
Philadelphia formed a union, which
still exists as union No. !. Through
it's efforts the national organization
was formed. In the fall of 1858 cir
cular was sent from the Philadelphia
union to all the local ironmoIders' un-
ions it could get track of, asking each
to send delegate to a national con
vention. This convention met in Phil
adelphia July 5, 1859, with delegates
from local unions in Philadelphia, st.
Louis, Albany, Troy, Peekskill, Utica
and Port Chester, n. Y; Providence,
r. l.; Jersey City, n. j.; Wilmington,
Del; Baltimore and Cincinnati. Let
ters came from local unions in Louis
vile, KY, and Stamford Conn, pleds-
ing them to abide by whatever action
was taken by the convention.
While the molders from the very
start favored wage agreements and
their union was among the first in the
field with this peace promoting device,
they have had harder fights and more
of them than any other union | know
Of. Partly because Of its numberless
strikes the holders union early came
up against that most serious of all
the foes of unionism-the opposition
of the wives of union men to the I'M
ion. Women could see in the organi-
cation of labor only danger Of more
strikes and an expense at least to the
extent of the dues and assessments.
Whether the benefit features of the
Ironmolders' union were consciously
introduced to placate the women or
not | do not know. In 1868 at the con
vention in Toronto a resolution en-
bodying some rather wild benefit fea-
lures was adopted, but 1t was never
put in practice In 1870 an attempt
was made to form an auxiliary asso-
citation to be composed only of mem
bers who agreed to pay an assessment
to meet death benefits. This plan soon
collapsed. The convention of 1879,
held in Chicago, ordered death or to-
tai disability benefit of 500 in each
case to be paid from the general fund,
this to be in operation on and after
Jan. l, 1880, and to apply to all men,
ability had been in the organization
for twelve consecutive months and did
not owe more than three months dues.
The convention of 1899 changed this
arrangement to a graduated benefit
and provided that member who had
been in good standing from one to five
years should receive 500, from five to
ten years $50, from ten to fifteen
years $40 and from fifteen to twenty
years or over 5000, membership to be
computed from Oct 1, 1895.
From the inception of this benefit
feature, Jan. /, 1880, to June 80, 1909,
there had been paid from the general
fund for death benefits $619,SS6; for
disability benefits, $45.225: total, $685.
III.
A sick benefit fund was established
by the convention of 1895, also held
in Chicago. At that time the dues
were raised to % cents week, cents
of it to go to a fund from which
benefit of s. a week was to be paid to
a sick member for period not to eX-
coed thirteen weeks i'll any one year
Any member who was twelve weeks
in arrears on dues stood suspended.
The high dues went into effect Oct
l, 1895, and 30 per cent of all dues and
reinstatement fees from that time on
was to be set aside for sick benefits,
but the latter were not to begin until
Jan. l, 1896 In July, 1902 the sick
benefit was increased to 500 a week
and in July, 1907. to $40 a week. In
October, 1907, the dues We're increased
to 40 cents a week
Since January, 1896, the union has
paid out in sick benefits $1GG0,007
1t was found that 80 per cent of the
dues provided an unnecessary surplus
In the sick benefit fund. so in 1897 a
so called out of work benefit was
started Oh a cent a week from each
member. All that is intended by this
fund is to prevent the lapse of mem
bership through nonpayment of dues
by members who are neither sick nor
disabled nor on strike. If a member is
out of work the union will pay his
dues for thirteen weeks in any one
year From Oct. |, 1897, to Oct l.
1907, period of ten years, when the
dues We're % cents a week, 2S3 ,473
payments OF dues were made, amount
ing to $70,SGS. Between Oct. |. 1907,
and June, 1909, there was an enor-
nous amount of enforced idleness in
all the trades, the ironmolders being
especially affected. During the period
the weekly dues were 40 cents a week,
and 271,GJG payments were made,
amounting to S10S.6G2, or a total from
the fund of $179,530.
We have thus a total of benefits paid
by this union as follows: Sick benefits,
81 ,6G0,079; out of work dues paid,
$179,530; death and disability, $685.
Ill; total, S2,504, 720. -Ethelbert Stew
art in Chicago News.
HOPE 0E TIE Toll ER