Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1920-12-24
OPEN SHOP VERSUS
UNION SHop-HoW
EACH AFFECTS WORKER
BIZ JOHN GOLDEN

International President United Textile
Workers of America.
For several months q nation wide
campaign has been conducted BY EN-
ployers' Associations. headed BY the
National Manufacturers Association.
on the Issue OF the Open Shop In In.
dustry." The assistance OF the United
States Chamber of Commerce and all
its subordinate bodies from one end
OF the country to the other was en-
listed In this campaign and as was
to be naturally expected from the
composition OF the membership OF
Chambers of Commerce and Boards
of Trade, this assistance was readily
granted. The same can be said or the
Bankers Association.
The organized labor movement of
the country knows from experience
what to expect from such bodies. A
series Of questions was submitted by
the United States Chamber OF Com.
merce to what the labor movement
would term tits subordinate locals.
putting them on record for or against
the open shop, having pretty accur-
ate idaas. as to what their verdict
would be, from bodies composed OF
employers, business and professional
men, most OF whom had never had or
ganized labor's side of the case pre-
scented to them by those qualified to
do so, their only source OF informa-
ton having been derived from q pref
udiced public press or from paid press
agents OF employers associations.
The organized labor movement has
never accepted the terms of open
Shop and Closed Shop" for the
simple reason that in actual practice
such shops do not exist. What does
exist is the Union Shop and the Non
Union Shop. The employer as a rule
dislikes these latter terms. SO ne
coined the phrase of open Shop and
CLOSED Shop" and then goes so Tar
as to apply the misleading term OF
.American Plan" to the former and
declares the latter un-American-
Many years experience Of the so
called open Shop" plan has proven
conclusively that the term CLOSED
Shop" properly applies to the so-called
open Shop" for the reason that 1t
eventually becomes absolutely nom
union and is then the real CLOSED
Shop"-closed to Union men and
women.
There. can be no Industrial de-
mocracy in the non-union shop. The
employer is absolute. He Is judge,
jury and hangman. IL he cares to go
that far, which many employers do in
deciding what working conditions
shall be- He automatically sets the
hours and wage scales and then says
to his employees, IL not In so many
words at least by his actions in post
ing notices, These are the conditions,
you may either accept them or quit.
Sometimes the unorganized worker
does quit, feeling he cannot bear the
burden any longer. When there Is
surplus of help another unorganized
worker takes his place and the injus-
tice remains.
Over three-quarters OF century OF
struggle between capital and labor mas
brought about a system OF collective
bargaining between organized EN-
ployers and organized employees
through representatives of their own
choosing; the Organized Employers
secure clever, DTdtHy iaNsCAS 49,
others OF high intelligence as their
representatives, which they have
perfect right to do. The organized
workers choose what they consider
their brainiest and most experienced
men as their representative. which
they have the same right to do. These
representatives gather around the Ia
BILE with the sole object of arriving at
agreements as to working conditions
and wages which will be fair TO both
sides. And no one can truthfully say
that this system has not saved the
country from many industrial conflicts
that meant millions OF dollars or loss
to capital and saved millions OF work
ers and their wives and children nom
suffering and privation- With the
open Shop" policy such achieve
ments are impossible. No one with
an ounce of intelligence will claim
that this system of collective bar
banning has been 100 per cent sue
cessful. Neither can they deny tnat
on many occasions 1t has averted
many industrial conflicts, bringing Ia
Dor and capital closer together.
New tangled plans and systems are
being patented every day by so-called
experts, some of whom ara resUns .
rich harvest Of profit from employers.