The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-09-04
UNION FEES AND DUES
Cost of Maintaining Labor's Or
ganization In New York.
EXPENDITURE OF INCOME.
The Principal Charges Against Trades
Unions Arc Administration, Benefits
and Per Capita Taxes-Avsrass Cost
to Members,

and Per Capita Taxes-Avsrass Cost
to Members.
The New York state bureau Of la
Dor statistics has been engaged in an
investigation of trades union initia-
ton fees and dues and has Just is
sued a valuable report on the subject,
a part of which is here quoted:
Generally speaking. the principal
income Of trades unions is derived
from initiation fees and regular Dues
Moneys thus collected are in the main
devoted to administering the business
affairs Of the organizations. to the pay
ment Of sick and death benefits and
lin cases where unions are affiliated
with national or international labor as
sociations) to the payment Of capita
ton taxes for the support of parent
bodies. Levies for special purposes
are occasionally made. For example,
the district council Of the United
Brotherhood Of Carpenters and Join
ers Of Greater New York found it nec-
essary in August. 1904. to impose an
assessment upon its membership to
of the expenses of a trade dispute then
in progress. That levy extended over
a period Of thirty-eight weeks. during
nineteen Of which each working men,
Der paid into the treasury $1.5O per
week, while for each Of the remaining
nineteen weeks the amount paid was
81 per member. This netted about
$261. 900. AS a further illustration of
the need for such exactions in an ex-
IRENE emergency the action of Typo
graphical union No. G Of New York
city may be cited here. In the year
1893 the effect incident to the intro
duction of linotype machines in the
composing rooms Of the large met
ropolitan daily newspapers began to
be felt by journeymen compositors in
this city, and statistics at that time
gathered and compiled by the officials
Of the union showed that in a brief Pc
riod 662 members had lost their posi-
tons as result of the sudden change
In the method Of production. Quite q
number Of these printers had advanced
to a stage in life when they felt un-
able to master what they considered
to be new trade. Many younger men
were also deprived temporarily of
means of gaining a livelihood. This
occurred at a time when a severe in
dustrial depression was sweeping over
the country. and the compositors thus
thrown into idleness when all indus
tries were paralyzed by the panic fail
ed to obtain employment at other oc-
AS
sued the greatest suffering ever expe-
rinced in the printing industry. 1t
therefore devolved upon the local typo
graphical union to devise measures to
relieve the distress occasioned by this
of hand labor. and on
Oct. l. 1898. a plan to create an un-
fund was put into execr-
ton. Members at work were required
to contribute certain proportion Of
their weekly earnings for this object
The assessment then inaugurated con
tinued for exactly fourteen years. dur
ing the greater portion of which il
earned. and the aggregate amount real
lied and disbursed was $532.351.55.
Ninety-6ve per cent Of the o.459 IN
ions in New York state sent in answers
to the questions propounded by the
statistical bureau of the state depart
ment Of labor as to initiation fees.
The figures ranged from % cents.
charged by a few organizations in the
clothing industry and public employ
men,. to 500 fixed by two unions In
the constructive industry. During a
single year 74,77S new members were
accepted by 1923 unions. and these
initiates paid S673.lO5.S5 for admis-
sion. or an average of 5000.
Every trades union has its own ,
method of collecting dues. some or
CARNATIONS requiring payments week |
ly, others monthly, quarterly. semi
annually or annually. --
The lowest amount Of dues demand
ed was 80 cents per year by an asso- |
citation OF stationary engineers. while /
the maximum reached SO monthly.
which an organization OF dint glass
cutters and workers required to be
paid. The average monthly rate for
the 40S.O32 members a1iliated with |
the 1929 unions reporting In the COM |
bined industries was IS cents
An interesting fact developed in the |
inquiry was that the percentage sys-
tenn Of Ievying dues has gained some
favor In this state. fourteen unions hav- |
ing successfully inaugurafed this plan /
Of gathering their revenues on q GER
tain basis Of the earnings OF their t
2.5T7 members. whose payments varied |
from, per ceat to 3 Dcr cent of the .