The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-11-19

followers are but faintly familiar. The American Federation of La bor has been undergoing a quiet but distinct transformation with in recent years. It is still very loose federation of III national and international (the labor or ganizationS having members in ? Canada call themselves interna- tional) trade unions. These af- filiate with it to protect what ever interests they have in com mon. But the American Fedora ton of Labor has no mandatory power over any of it's constituent bodies. The most it can do is to expel them if they refuse to abide by it's decisions. Each na- tional or international union is an autonomous body with abso- lute and final control over its own pro blems. This means that with respect to strikes the Ameri- can Federation of Labor has no power whatever. The usual prac- tice under the principle of trade autonomy is for each craft to conduct its own organizing cam paigns and it's own strikes. Other labor organizations may render financial aid, but are not expected to join in an organizing cam- paign or a strike. Each national or international union is virtual ly a Jaw unto itself, and gen orally self-sufficient.
 The coming together of twenty four national and international trade unions to carry on a joint campaign in the steel in dustry is, therefore, unpreced- ented in the annals of the Ameri- can labor movement. The build ing trades unions, to be sure, formed an alliance some years ago, partly to eliminate the numerous strikes caused by juris- dictionaI controversies between unions over undefned portions of work, and partly to regulate the use of the sympathetic strike in aid of any one organization. Similarly the four railroad broth erhoods sometime since inaugu- rated the so-called concerted wage movements, whereby the wages and working conditions of their members are negotiated at the same time, instead of pre- senting individual demands sepa- rately and at different dates.
 But these were actions of high 1y skilled workers already mar sha11ed into powerful individual craft unions. Within recent years, however, unorganized, =unskil1ed, and semi-skilled workers in the factory trades have been organ ized through the joint effort of a number of labor organizations. Coupled with this is the agree ment to carry on joint negotia- tions, and to strike as a unit if amicable adjustment is not at tainable. This is a new departure for unions affiliated with the unions affiliated with the Amer1- can Federation of Labor.
 The change in this mode of procedure was brought about by the rapid concentration in in processes not needing highly skilled workers. At present, a single firm, owning and operating chain of plants throughout the country, employs workers coming under the Jurisdiction of a dozen, or, as in the steel industry, two . dozen different unions,
 Naturally this corporation de- velopment presented difficult problems for the various craft unions. One craft union has found itself helpless in attempt ing to organize the workers of its craft The electricians union, for example, found it hard to get men of their craft employed in a congregate industry to join when other workers in the same industry were not members of their respective craft organiza- tions. Even if they succeeded in organizing their own craft and called a strike they soon found themselves replaced by other workers. Labor saving devices and division of labor makes it possible to replace the strikes in short time. With few ex- captions, workers are no longer skilled mechanics The electrical work has been divided into a number of branches so that inn migrants with a smattering of
 
 work under the guidance of a highly skilled mechanic. This is true of the other groups-the b1acksmiths. stationary engineers, and so on. Under such conditions a strike by an individual craft, without consulting the other workers, or without these being members of labor unions, has often meant only replacement of the strikers by others trained in few days to perform the par ncu1ar work.
 Trade unions have also learned thai 1t is useless to call a strike against one plant of a firm op- erairg a chain of plants. If one plant is shut down by a strike orders can be transferred to the other plants and filled there. In earlier years, 1t was customary for trade unions to concentrate on one plant at a time in build ing up the union. This was ef- fectfve and practicable as long as a firm owned only one plant Now. a strike can only be effec- tive by closing down all the plants belonging to a firm.
 The result has been that the so called trustifed industries have remained unorganized. Stu dents of labor have questioned if they would ever be organized by the old methods. The radicals outside and within the American Federation of Labor have pointed to these industries as proof that the A. F. of L. philosophy of trade autonomy is antiquateG-