The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1910-06-04
federation of trad g unions.

STUDIES LABOR $COuuII1OHSy IN Germany
Is the almost complete solidarity Of
the trade unions. The federation Is
d huge machine, and each and every
trade union is a cog. all ST them
working in the same direction with
out friction. Surely here IAN In
jury to one is the concern Of ALL
One Of the most active men in the
labor movement of Germany to-
whom I have referred in a previous
letter, is Mr.. A. Baumeister the as
sistant secretary Of the federation,
and International secretary Of the
HOTEL Restaurant sund Cafe-Ange-
stellten. Mr.. Baumeister is the. Jere
Sullivan Of Germany, for he has
perfected big organization in
calling which is so difficult to unite.
He speaks English f1uently ani
if 1T were not for him I am afraid
would" have learned little of the
labor movement, or the working
mems compensation act in its ap-
plfcation to labor He is "a man Of
exceptional energy, and one wonders
how he finds time to do So much
England has been sending to Ger
many a number Of delegations Of
workingmen to study the effect Of
, the protective tariff on this country.
Mr.. &Baumeister because Of his posi-
ton and the fact that he talks good
English, is called upon to escort these
delegations about. : had, learned
this III advance, and therefore I did
not expect that he would give me
much of his time. .=..
However, in spite of my apologies,
he closed his desk, and spent two
full days escorting me about to every
place Of interest in Berlin. He is
coming to America some day, and
should he get as far west as Min
nesota it is my wish that he be made
the guest Of the trade unions of our
state The. only letter of introduce
ton I had to present to" him was
my plumbers union card, but it was
sufficient; and no time was lost in
giving the assurance: that I was his
welcome guest.
+: Germany has it's strikes, just as
we have them in America. 1t also
has it's manufa cturers' associations,
and the same: methods and tactics as
employed by the National Manufac-
turers Association of America are
in vogue here. The building \trades
of the entire country are in the
throes of a great lockout, with the
exception Of the building tradesmen
of the cities of Hamburg and Berlin.
There are $1,000 men involved.
Strike breakers have been secured
In some instances, but they have
proven very unsatisfactory, and now
there is a complete. tie-up outside
Of the two cities which are not af-
fected. :.
While recent developments in in
dustry have compelled the working
men to turn out greater quantity
Of work, yet the German people are
sticklers for: quality There the in
competent Workmen among the strike
breakers were. not satisfactory to the
| owners of buildings under construc-
tion,, and their services were SOON
dispensed with. ...:
The lockoutsi1s conducted by the
Central Employers association,
WHICH has been preparing for live
years for this Conflict. The associa-
ton has an immense war fund, and
it is being spent lavishly. Its Off
| GERS boast Of having sent 100000
marks to the Swedish manufacturers
to help them defeat the sworkingmen
of that country On the other hand
the trade unions of Germany sent
to their brothers in Sweden 1850, 900
marks as contribution, and they
also made a loan to them Of 1,000,-
600 marks. u: ~ -
It was the hope of the Central AS
ISOLATION Of manufacturers to in
volve the building trades employers
of Berlin and Hamburg in the con-
troversy, but these could not be in
duced to join the big movement. Now
the central association, is attempting
to compel the Berlin and Hamburg
builders to join. by cutting off their
| supply of material AS a result sew
eral large buildings in these cities in
| process of construction are now at
stand still 49,
ing demands ,1po nthe unions. First,
the lockout have made the follow
Ing demands upon the unions First,
| that unions recognize the EMPLOYERS
agencies, where records are kept of
each and every workman, similar in
operation to the scheme inaugurated
by the mine owners of Colorado, fol-
lowing the Industrial war in that
state; second, that labor should work
the ten-hour day, the unions want
Ing the nine-hour& workday; third,
the abolition of propaganda literature
on the jobs at any time; fourth, no
agitation by the unions against piece
work; and the fifth, minimum wage
to the capable men, with a lower
classification for others 1~t.> y.
From this it can readily be seen
the struggle Of the working classes
is about the same the world over.
However, it seems to me the manu-
facturers were unwise in one re-
| spect. They have been. working for
five years to have all trade agree
ments expire at the same time In
| America the !. employers would have
done just the reverse to prevent a
| sympathetic strike. Labor was loaded
for the lockout, and a good reserve
fund has been created >ax..
All OF the building tradesmen who
are working in Berlin and Hamburg
! a NC &.fr, to- -