The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1914-12-24
STRENGTH OF TRADE UNIONS.

Whenever FactionaIism Springs Up
Then Is the Cause of Labor Weak
ened-Dual Unions Menace to the
Welfare of Workers.
The greatest factor in the organized
labor movement is unity That is the
bedrock upon which it is founded Un-
fortunately, however, the bedrock is
bit thin in some places, and some un-
ions seem to be inclined to get on the
thin places. 1t might be thought that
this disposition is due to Indifference or
lack of knowledge, but such Is not al
ways the case.
1t is true that group of unorganized
workers may not have very much
knowledge of the labor movement.
Still. they may feel desire to organ
lie, but it takes very much missionary
work among them to pun them togeth-
er. Sometimes the employer does It,
perhaps unintentionally but none the
less effectively. Given fifty men work
ing on the same class of work and in a
sense working in each others company
and given an employer who makes a
change in the working conditions or
wages that affects a large part of these
fifty men. and the first step is taken
toward driving them together in one
solid body.
Now. as said before. they may not
know much about the labor movement.
They get together and decide to form
some kind of an organization, and
which way they will fall-that is to
say, whether they will join the legih-
mate trade union movement or one of
the outside factions-may be deter
mined by any one who chances to meet
them at the critical time or what repre-
sentations that particular party may
make or what misrepresentation he
may make These are the men who
may be innocently led through their
own lack of knowledge or through
malicious misleadership into an un-
sound position.
AS for such misleaders, however, the
excuse of ignorance cannot be made.
AS a rule. such men have split away
from the regular movement because
their aspirations for office were not
gratified Some Of them have sought
to place it upon the grounds of dis
agreement as 10 principle but when
any man who has ever been men,
ber of legitimate trade union and
then goes off in a secession movement
and starts a dual union attempts to
Justify himself on the basis of a dis
agreement as TO principle he has a
mighty narrow foundation to stand
upon. In fact. he has no foundation at
all for his argument.
There can be no disagreement as TO
principle that can justify a wage
Garner supporting faction Of wage
earners opposed to the general move
ment of wage earnerS. That sort of
opposition Is a violation Of the funda-
mental principle of unity that must be
the basis of labor unionism; that Is
the basis of labor unionism, and that
furnishes labor unionism its strength
In proportion to the extent to which
this elementary trade union truth is
realized and accepted
Sometimes these misleaders, knowing
the unsoundness of their position on
principle, try to make 1t up in other
ways. They assume radical attitude;
they invite adherents on promise OF
immediate successes and radical i'm
provements. They fight to organize
and organize to fight. They precipitate
contests In the desperate hope that
success may entitle them to larger
membership. larger revenue and more
official salaries to be paid. The result
is that wherever they can they secure
a membership sufficiently large to be
a basis of strike order. Right at this
point we wish to say that we are out
lining these circumstances as they
have occurred in the shoe industry.
We are not speaking of any other in-
dustry Therefore none of our sister
international unions can take excep-
tions, because we are not talking about
any of them. but only of the shoemak-
ers. One result of these contests is to
bring hundreds of green shoemakers
into the trade while the real shoemak-
ers are walking the streets.
In an unsuccessful strike in one fac
tory In Milwaukee 1t is said that over
200 new shoemakers were brought into
the field while the old shoemakers,
whom they displaced, are now idle.
Very likely ten times that number
were displaced in the affair at Ports
mouth, 0. Conditions somewhat SINH
lar occurred in ST. Louis several times
within the last ten years, and other
shoe manufacturing centers have wit
messed similar scenes. which lead not
only to the teaching of more shoe
workers, but to the indefinite post
ponement of organization, and all be-
cause there is lack Of appreciation OF
the necessity that unity shall be the
foundation of the labor movement and
that any individual who departs from
that unity is traitor to the cause and
unworthy of being followed or believ-
ed.--Shoe Workers Journal