The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1916-05-19
NO Benefit IN
PROFIT SHARING
Workers Do Not Take Kindly
TO the Bonus System.
PREFER STRAIGHT WAGES.

In Some Instances the Supposed Extra
Remuneration Is Taken Away From
the ToiIer-Tends to Prevent Men
From Joining Trade Unions - Plan
Not indorsed by Labor Leaders.
One Of the most exhaustive reports
that have ever been made on the var1-
GUS profit sharing plans that are In
force or have been tried In the United
States has been made public by the
welfare department OF the National
Civic federation. Civic workers have
been engaged for twelve months In In
vestigating more than 300 so called
profit sharing schemes, and their report
covers the analysis OF some 200 plans
THE work was undertaken" says
Chairman Ralph NJ. Easley of the ex-
ecutive council, lin response to many
requests for up to date information
from men interested In the subject In
a practical way. There has been a
marked growth of interest In the profit
sharing idea during the last year, and a
large number Of new schemes have
been launched, but thus far the news
papers have been the only source of In
formation with regard to these recent
experiments, some OF which are far
reaching In extent"
The report itself comes to no set CON
clusion for or against the profit sharing
idea.
The views Of the leaders OF organized
labor appear unanimous in opposition
20 the general theory and practice of
profit sharing, while a large number Of
the employers whose plans are ana
iyzed In the report consider profit shar-
ing a success. The report says:
Union representatives also point out
that labor itself is making no demand
for profit sharing. either in the organ
lied or unorganlzed fields, and that the
things of real vital interest to labor are
not those which employers propose, but
which emanate from the workingmen
themselves"
The leaders Of organized labor, in
cluding Samuel Gompers, head of the
American Federation; Warren S. Stone
OF the international Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers, James z. Hol
land, president of the New York State
Federation of Labor, and John P.
White of the United Mine Workers Of
America, have become unfavorably dis
posed toward the various profit sharing
schemes that great Industrial concerns
throughout the country are putting into
practice.
ut has come under my observation"
says Mr.. Gompers, that some employ
ers who have inaugurated systems Of
so called profit sharing have pared
down the wages Of their employees so
that the combined sharing Of profits
and their wages do not equal the
wages of employees Of other compa-
nies in the same line Of industry"
Grand Chief Stone says: Il am op-
posed to profit sharing Of any kind un-
der any name l believe in paying the
worker fair wages and allowing him to
look after his own interests. All forms
Of profit sharing have a tendency to
speed up the worker and make him
resigned to work under conditions
which otherwise he would not tolerate
for single day"
President Holland says "a cash dis
tribution makes some men work hard
TO the detriment Of other men The
H.,
and they are unable to air their griev-
ances for the reason that they would
lose their bonuses. The selling Of
stock to men at low price is the
means Of preventing organizing"
Even at the highest rate paid, 81
a day." adds the report, ''the employees
of certain company manufacturing a
low priced automobile do not get as
much as skilled mechanics in the same
Industry in Detroit where different
processes are employed IN making the
automobiles of higher grade. This
company, depending almost entirely
upon machinery, requires almost no
skilled workmanship"
Forty private detectives, the report
says, keep constant watch on the
employees, and they scrutinize govern
ment records, family Bibles, pass
ports, tax bills, In getting at facts
about the men under surveillance. The
report says the profit sharing plan
though, has helped employees and the
community.
Not % per cent of the United States
Steel corporations $4,000 employees
have taken advantage of the stock
ownership plan, and not over 15 per
cent stie hold their stock and are re-
ceiving a bonus thereon, says the re-
port.
The Baldwin Locomotive works
abandoned its stock distribution plan
in February, 1916, when 1t found that
employees had secretly sold their stock
In the speculative market at profit.