New-York tribune., 1915-07-09
GARMENT TRADE TROUBLES.
Clash Between Efficiency and Com
munism in Industry.
To the Editor Of The Tribune.

toco the commendation bestowed upon the
manufacturers by impartial observers was
generous and unstintod. and the manuiact-
urers now present the record OF hve years
Of good faith and sacrifice for critical ana
fair examination. Those who seek to induce
the employers to join in "a substitute Tor '"'
protocol" would do we'll to avoid in this in
stance the hackneycd phrases usually hurled
at employers in industrial disputes.
The writer is a firm believer in collective
bargaining and in unions or associations ol
workers and employers, and was one OF the
active officers Of the association in installing
end carrying on the machinery Of the proto-
col. But he believes that the continued
existence Of any agreement. new or DID, Is
dependent upon two strong organizations a
workers union and an employers association
each respecting the other, and that unless
such an agreement is solidly founded upon
the business facts Of the industry it can
not last.
The report Of the Industrial Council OF
Great Britain shows that it is the unani-
nous opinion Of leading employers and
trades unionists, as the result of wide ana
varied practical experience in collective bar
X,
ployers or workers are outside the protocoi
the thing is bound to break down.
| Before the days of the protocol the best
shop conditions existed in fact in those
shops that refused to sign "closed shop
agreements. The unions policy Of calling
shop strikes turned out TO be complete
/ failure as a means Of maintaining standards
The value of the employers ASSOCIATION
10 the union has been that the employers
association did the enforcing, putting upon
| its members the burden Of proving aiirma-
lively their good faith and standing as
2uarantor for faithful performance by all
Of them But five years experience has
| demonstrated that the value Of the union In
enforcing standards upon competitors out
| side of the association is nil. Il cannot per-
form the job. Its militant programme, the
shop strike or the general strike, does great
damage but it builds up nothing and brings
only hatred and. violence in its train.
! The cloak industry is not "capitaistic'
/ industry in the usually accepted meaning
Of this term; only a few hundred dollars
arc required to organize a shop. A worker
or foreman having saved the necessary
amount engages in business, and makes up
/ his staff of workers from relatives or friends,
/ Immigrants who work under any and all con-
| ditions only too ready 20 accept employment
below union standards. This so-called so
cial" shop the union il unable to control
/ The union allegiance in such a shop is nat
Iurally weak, and the union officials naturally
prefer the easier work Of enforcing condl-
tions in the larger shop units. In the so
/ cial" shop everything is easy. The boss
gets along with his people and there are no
grievances" The union hears of no COM
plants and on paper everything is lovely.
/ The small shops, therefore, increase in
numbers, new employers spring up over
night and the cost of manufacturing tells
the tale to the association employer. The
/ difference in cost Of labor cannot be ac-
counted for by the difference in piece prices.
/ The problem is not one of establishing
new standards or standardizing piece prices.
/ Il is the problem OF enforcing standards al
ready fixed and agreed upon.
Suppose you were a member Of the pro-
tectiye association, having given up energy
90 strengthen the union for a better joint
work with the association in uplifting the in
dustry. Suppose these very Social shop
employers with individual closed shop agree
mcnts had organized rival association. Sup
pose the trade papers reported that the
union was working under another agreement
with this association, and suppose that the
union, admitting that this would be dis
.inct breach of good faith on its part if the
/ facts were true. denied the allegation. Then
Impose that three or four years later you
find unmistakable and official confirmation Of
/ he existence Of such a working agreement.
Would you feel that the union was cooper
atng with your organization?
| That is precisely our situation. The as
sociation, through the preferential union
shop" was strengthening the union, while the
union was working upon plans that made
for the associations injury. The association
was at peace with the union. but the union
was at war with the association.
/ The social reformer has regarded the pro
tocol not merely a peace document, but
as method for improving industry by Joint
control SO had the enlightened manufact-
Iurer. On the other hand. the radical So
calist regards it an additional weapon
with which 20 hit the employer. The polti-
cal unionist is interested in large numbers
I in strengthening the union as political fac
tor. The enlightened employer is interested
1 in increasing the efficiency of individual men.
/ Here is q conflict which sooner or later must
come to the surface.
/ It is the real meaning Of the discharge"
ISSUE Some of the contributors to maya
Zines upon this subject seem to think the
matter Of discharge can be easily explained,
upon the theory that the employers want an
unlimited right to discharge in order to have
the whip-hand over price committees The
matter is not so simple. The cases where
the power of discharge was actually used
against price committeeman during the five
years were negigibly small And the rec
Crds show that in all meritorious cases the
association protected the union. Discharges
because of activity upon price committees
are discharges for union activity" and nave
always been so treated And full review of
the facts in all such cases was freely con-
ceded by the employers That is not a point
in controversy.
! The fact is that a large influx of workers
from other industries followed the estab-
/ lshment of the protocol, due to the higher
rates Of wages established in this industry
rs compared with the mems clothing and
other kindred industries Now the union
puts forth the broad claim that no matter
how these men have been brought into the