The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-09-03
UNION FEES AND DUES
Cost OF Maintaining Labor'S Or
uanization In New York.
EXPENDITURE OF INCOME.

The Principal Charges Against Trades
Unions Are Administration, Benefits
and Per Capita Taxes-Averaee 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.
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 nee
essary in August, 1904, to impose an
assessment upon its membership to
obtain sufficient funds for the betrayal
Of the expenses of trade dispute then
in progress That levy extended over
period of thirty eight weeks during
nineteen of which each working men,
Der paid into the treasury $3.50 per
week, while for each of the remaining
nineteen weeks the amount paid was
81 per member This netted about
S261 900. As further illustration of
the need for such eXactions in an eX-
IRENE emergency the action of Typo
graphical union No. Of New York
city may be cited here. In the year
1898 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 brief pc
riod 6G2 members had lost their posi-
lions as a result of the sudden change
in the method of reproduction. Quite a
number of these printers had advanced
to a stage in life when they felt I'M
able to master what they considered
to be a new trade Many younger men
were also deprived temporarily of
means of gaining a livelihood. This
/ l,nt, ono 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 &C.
equations. AS a consequence there en-
sued the greatest suffering ever eXpe-
rinced in the printing industry. 1t
therefore deyolved upon the local typo
graphical union to devise measures to
relieve the distress occasioned by this
displacement of hand labor, and on
Oct l. 1898, a plan to create an I'M
employment fund was put into execu-
ton. Members at work were required
to contribute a 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 it
consisted of / per cent of the wages
earned, and the aggregate amount real
lied and disbursed was $751;, 551.55.
Ninety-fye per cent of the 2,459 I'M
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
industry and public employ
ment, to 5000 fixed by two unions in |
the constructive industry. During a
single year 74,77S new members were
accepted by 1928 unions, and these
paid S675,105.S5 for admis-
sion, or an average of $9.O3.
Every trades union has it's own
method Of collecting dues, some or
CARNATIONS requiring payments week
", others monthly, quarterly, semi
annually or annually.
The lowest amount of dues demand
gu WAS ~ CeIlS PEI ycaL ny an assn
citation Of stationary engineers, while
the maximum reached $40 monthly,
which an organization of flint glass
cutters and workers required to be
paid. The average monthly rate for
the 403,032 members affiliated with
the 1929 unions reporting in the COM
bined industries was Go cents.
An interesting fact developed in the
inquiry was that the percentage sys-
TEN of levying dues has gained some
favor in this state, fourteen unions hav-
ing successfully inaugurated this plan
Of gathering their revenues on a GER
tain basis of the earnings Of their
2.517 members whose payments varied
from / per cent to 3 per cent of the
wages earned. Among them were
three unions of hatters. one of gold
pen makers, eight Of compositors and
two Of glass workers