Denver labor bulletin. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1915-19??, 1918-07-13
FOREDOOMS ALL "WEL.
FARE PLANS" AND PRI-
VATE UNIONS.
Employees of Big Plants Being
Shown How to Exercise Their
Rights and Have Something
to Say in Determining
Conditions of Work.
By LAURENCE TODD
<speoini Representative Th> Deav,r Labor
RuIf~tful

buhrtah-l
WASHINGTON, July 6.-So rapid
ly is the national war labor board
whipping into line the former anti
union employers of the country that
the trade union organizers have not
caught up with the job. As con-
sequence, the board is itself starting
TO organize the men and women in
some Of the big manufacturing in
dustries, plant by plant, on indus
trial rather than craft lines II Is
going straight at the task by giving
TO every employe the right of collect
i've bargaining. thru his own elected
representatives, with the employer.
This enterprise is called, for lack of a
better name, establishing industrial
government"
One Of the first instances is in the
plants of the General Electric Com
pany Mt Schenectady and Pittsfield
and one or two other places in the
East. The employers agreed to deal
with elected committees from their
plants. They wanted the meeting
held in the plants. under the eyes OF
the bosses. The workers, only par
tally organized. wanted TO meet in
trade union hall. The board compro-
missed the matter by ordering that the
employees meet in n public school build
ing, and there form their plant or
ganization and elect their various
committees.
Organizing Steel Workers.
The trade union movement will
soon absorb all Of the workers in
these plants, simply because the union
element will stick together and control
every action taken. The board is
making n short cut to bringing all Of
the employees into the unions. by get.
ting them to take part in the local
activities Of unionism.
At the Bethlehem Steel Company's
plant mt Bethlehem. Pa, the unions
Of the various crafts have been care
fully excluded until the past few
months. and the war labor board now
finds itself compelled to show the
Thousands OF employees how to exer-
cise their rights of self government.
II is going to conduct an election OF
shop committees. and il is then GO
ing TO name n government official TO
act as director of industrial opera
tons" mt Bethlehem. This official Is
to act rs the umpire between the
company and the shop committees.
when differences arise between them.
and he is to carry out his decisions
with the backing of the government.
This is new thing in American
industrial government. 1t is union
covering the entire industry. as rep
resented in the plant. It is not gov
erned by an international union, nor
by any group of internationals. 1t
has, to the extent that its demands
meet the standards laid down by. Pres
ident Wilson and the war labor board,
the full support Of the government.
Manifcstly It cannot long exist ms an
NkAr mr.
join with other similar unions which
may be formed in the plants Of the
United States Steel Corporation and
other steel concerns, or 1t must divide
its members among the various inter-
national unions in the steel industry
the intcrnationals which took part in
the conference Mt st. Paul last month,
on methods Of organizing the workers
in steel.
Establish Standard Wages.
Chances favor the latter course.
The various international unions will
get together on program, and will
agree upon jurisdictional lines, SO that
ali steel workers will fit into one
union or another as fast as the or
ganizers can get to them. While the
present tendency is toward bigger
and bigger organizations, and fewer
detrimental unionism. More impor-
tant still, the war labor board is es-
tabiishing n standard wage that is
enough to maintain the workers fam
ily in health and comfort. and this
wage comes to the worker In the plant
regardless Of whether he Is trade
unionist or m industrial unicnist or
no unionist at all.
No local leader can properly claim
credit for getting it for the workers
in a plant. Hence the worker will
naturally turn in appreciation to the