The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1914-05-01
UNION LABEL FOES
Employers Pay High Tribute to
Organized Labor.
MANY MEN SUBJECT TO FEW.
Efficiency Of Trade Unions Inviting
ly Praised by an Enemy-Manufac-
turer Charges That Only Per Cent
of Workers Are Organized.

ly Praised by an Enemy-Manufao-
turer Charges That Only Per Cent
of Workers Are Organized.
In a general way we are accustomed
to look upon union hating employers
as the enemies of the union label, and
this, too, not without some reason. 1t
has been noted in one of our ex-
changes that the last convention of the
National Association of Manufacture
ers, held in Detroit, gave, as usual, a
great deal of time to the consideration
Of ways and means Of defeating or
ganized labor, and particularly the
closed shop principle that the union
label represents.
The article from which we quote
says: According to press reports one
of the speakers said: "If all who labor
We're members of the closed shop I'M
ions or even sympathizers with them,
one might consider it political wisdom
for the party in power to manifest its
sympathy with closed shop ideals as
it has done. However, the number Of
people in closed shop organizations
would not equal per cent of all the
laboring people in this country. Yet
it seems the 5 per cent are being given
special privilege which cannot help but
work injury to the 95 per cent"
This is the strongest testimony in
favor of the efficiency of labor unions
that we have ever heard. Ordinarily
trust is presumed to control a cOnsid
cradle majority Of its product before it
can be considered a trust. Monopoly
means control, but in the above quo
tation we have a new theory that 5
per cent constitutes control Of 95 per
cent. If labor unions so increase the
efficiency of per cent that they con-
troll the other 90 per cent, then we re-
peat that this is the strongest testi-
mony for the efficiency Of labor unions
that we have ever heard.
AS to working injury to the 95 per
cent, the labor unions are composed of
working people who desire better
wages and conditions of labor, who de-
sire to keep their children in the schools
and their wives at home. Every new
desire of the wage earnerS Is for i'm
proved conditions of life, which would
benefit not only the per cent which
the speaker conceded as organized, but
also would benefit the 95 per cent
whom the speaker conceded would be
controlled by the 5 per cent. Just in
what way better wages shorter hours,
better living conditions, better food and
clothing would be an injury to the 95
per cent who are enforced benefciaries
of the per cent we are not yet in
formed.
To cap the climax, this convention of
manufacturers has a committee on
union label, not Of course, for the pur-
pose Of promoting the demand for I'M
ion label goods, but Of trying to bring
force to bear to crush the union label
idea.
We are very sorry for the National
Association of Manufacturers and for
Its grief at the idea that five horrid
uiiOh iubSi biCh oiidAl
FIVE other laboring men who would 9th
erwise be free The only thing we can
consider would be a worse condition
would be to have one employer com
pletely dominate all his employees. AS
we understand it. the prime purpose of
the union label, through complete or
ganization and the union shop, is to
prevent the employer running the
whole show and is to give perrnanency
to organized labor through organizing
their purchasing power, which, of
course, the National Association of
Manufacturers fully understands and
Is determinedly opposed to.
Perhaps the most refreshing thing
about these conventions of manufac-
turers Is that in their continual on
slaughts on the union label and all that
goes with 1t they are apt to cause a
larger and larger proportion of wage
earners to love the union label for the
enemies it has made. This would GER
tainly be a most desirable result and
one In which the National Association
Of Manufacturers have our heartiest
good wishes for their success.-Shoe
Workers Journal