The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1913-01-10

The lumber industry is the predom
mating industry in Washington, Ore
gon, British Columbia, Northern Cali
fornia, Northern Idaho and Western
Montana. Not less than 100000 work
ers are employed in the forests anC
mills in this territory, which practic
ally embraces all of what is known as
the Pacific Northwest.
The organized forces of labor in this
same district total about $4,000. In
other words, the organization of the
quarter of million toilers would mul
tiply the number of organized men by
six AND THE POWER OF LABOR
WOULD BE MULTIPLIED ALMOST
BEYOND CALCULATION.
Take the Grays Harbor district as
an example. Less than 1000 men are
at present organized. These are scat
tered among dozens of small trades.
BARRIERS, bartenders, cooks, walters,
Icigarmakers, tailors, musicians, cleo
tricians, teamsters, clerks and a few
hundred mechanics in the building
trades constitute the bulk of the or
ganized labor movement.
None of these trades are engaged in
the industries that form the very
basis of Grays Harbor-LUMEBR and
SHIPPING. The former-the lumber
industry-with the exception of the
shingle mills, is wholly unorganized.
The workers engaged i'll shipping have
in the sailors and longshoremen's S
unions some measure of power.
There are about 5000 workers in
the lumber industry in the district en-
bracing what is known as Grays Har-
Dor. Their entire organized strength
is contained in about $50 members of
the shingle weavers' union.
Let us look into the future for few
brief moments and see what might
happen were these 5000 producers of
lumber organized for mutual protec-
ton and affiliated with the rest of the
organized toilers of Grays Harbor.
There would be no more skinning
employment sharks to fatten off the
hard-earned dollars of the loggers and
mill workers. The members of the
union would see to it that the bosses
would go to the union headquarters
for their employees.
The hospital graft would be abol-
ished. The workers could, if they so
desired, follow the example of the or
ganized coal miners in most commun-
tiles and organize their own hospital
associations, erect their own hospitals
and take care of the sick and disabled
among their members and their fam
lilies.
The time-stealing system that is
used in SO many places would not be
tolerated by group of organized
workmen. Unorganized they must
submit, being powerless individually.
There would be no more such out
RACES as the Cosmopolis messhouse.
Men would eat where they please and
would refuse to accept whatever
might be placed before them in the
form of food.
Nor would there be any more vic
tins of the vicious company store sys-
tenn. In Cosmopolis and other places
today the workers are the slaves of
the company, whether they work, eat,
sleep or anything else. A good union
would enable them to be free men
when away from their jobs at least,
The length of the workday would
not be wholly determined by the boss
as it is today. A maximum of work
ing hours would be set and adhered
to- If found necessary to exceed this
limit overtime pay would be exacted.
In many mills at present men are
working one and quarter time, or
10 1-2 hours per day and no more is
paid per hour for the overtime than
for regular time.
There would be a uniformity of
wages paid. The men would no longer