The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-04-29
THE. OPEN SHOP
PROVES FAILURE:
Building Exchange Draws
In It's Horns

ganization pure and simple. Its mem
bers reasoned that with the influx OF
Eastern craftsmen and laborers incident
al to the coming exposition the unions OF
Seattle could be overwhelmed and beat
EN- down and the open Shop policy firm
failure of this attempt is no surprise
to union men who know the class of
men who work under open shop condi-
tions, it has been a painful surprise to
the members of the Builders Exchange
That they have failed utterly in their
union busting campaign is shown in the
following article, taken from the Seattle
Union-Record of last week:
After trying to get along for more
than two years on an open shop plan
of conducting their business, and adver-
tising all over the country for non-union
workmen, flooding the city with incom-
petents, and in other ways working
hardships upon the mechanics of Sc
attic, the Builders Exchange has at last
confessed defeat and acknowledged that
the only place to secure competent work
men is through the channel of organized
labor. They do not say all this, but
their actions is a confession of it. The
unions in the building trades have not
attempted to retaliate in any way, feel
ing certain the business sense of the ma
iority of the members of the exchange
would sooner or later result in the man
ner in which it did last Tuesday evening.
The harm done the merchants and the
members of the exchange who desired
to be fair can not be estimated. Hun
dreds of thousands of dollars have been
lost to Seattle by the blind policy pur-
sued and the only people benefited were
the few eastern contractors who came
to get the cream of the building in Sc
attic prior to the opening of the fair
and have taken their profits to the
points from which they came The adop-
tion of the following resolution was
merely a matter of form, for what it
permits has been in practice for months:
''Be it resolved, by the Builders Ex-
change of Seattle that we favor the es-
tablishment and maintenance of the open
shop in every department. of the build
ing industry of Seattle and its vicinity
and will supply our members with open
shop workmen and otherwise support to
any reasonable extent every member of
this exchange in endeavoring to conduct
his business in accordance with the prin-
ciples of the open shop, but every mem
Der of this exchange shall be free, as
far as the exchange is concerned, to en-
ploy on any job any class of workmen
that he may desire
Mr.. Saunders, assistant secretary of
the exchange, sent the following state
ment in connection with the resolutions:
"Much misunderstanding and differ
ence of opinion appear to exist among
members of the exchange, outside con
tractors and other Interested parties in
regard to the real objects of the exchange
and its attitude on the open shop ques-
tion, and the object of the individual op-
tion resolution mentioned above is to re-
move as far as possible such minunder-
standing and difference of opinion and
to harmonize the attitude of the ex-
change on the open shop question with
the practice of its members"
The Misunderstanding and difference
of opinion has been emphasized more
than once in the meetings of the ex-
change when it became necessary to in
demnify some concerns for losses sus-
tanned on work through the employment
of men who knew as little about the
work they represented themselves capa-
BILE of doing and what they were really
able to do. Again the bonus system of
payments on contracts where one bid
der place a high bid and the others were
not allowed look in, but received their
divvy out of the net profits was source
of annoyance and misunderstanding.
The real purpose of the adoption of
the new rule" said W. r. Saunders, is
to make the exchange broader and big
ger than it was before. The adoption
of the rule does not mean any change in
policy but will legalize a practice which
members of the exchange have been fol
lowing for several months.
'We hope now to be able to enlarge
the membership of the exchange and
adopt many new features such as 90
with most other large builders exchanges
in this country"
II is not surprising that the policy
has been changed.
While the rule binding every member
of the exchange to an open shop policy,
adopted when the open show program
was inaugurated had never been repeal
ed OF withdrawn, aud although many
members of the exchange employed open
shop crews, it has been known that
some members disregarded the rule and
employed union workmen on portions OF
their work. Violation OF the open shop
rula durino the nas4 war has raeuifal