The Connecticut labor press. (New Haven, Conn.) 191?-1921, 1920-10-23
A REAL UNION SHOP,
It's the Spirit of Unionism Which
Makes It.

People who know little of the labor
movement are sometimes inclined to
think that it is the formal agreement
that the manufacturer signs with the
union which makes the union shop.
Even some workers fall into the mis-
take of taking the appearance instead
of the real thing. Specifically it seems
that as soon as the employer recog-
nized the union and dealt officially with
its representatives, we had the union
shop. By the same token some think
there is no union shop whenever the
employer does not officially recognize
the union.
There cannot be any greater mistake
than this determining the nature of the
shop by the question whether it has or
has not formal agreement with the
union. 1t is the spirit of unity of the
workers of the shop, their ability to
stand together, their readiness to sup
port one another and finally their abi1-
ity to act concertedly and to count on
the support of all the other organized
workers of the trade that really deter
mines whether they are or are not
union shop.
Without the proper union spirit,
without the ability to stick together, no
recognition by the employers can make
the shop union shop. There are cases
in the history of the labor movement
when recognition by. employers not
merely was helpful but on the contrary
interfered with the development of
real union spirit on the part of the
workers, and as a result, such formal
union shops did not bring the workers
any real or lasting benefits. The So
called label union shop Is an instance
In some cases an employer needs the
union label SO badly, because the goods
he is making must find a market in
communities where organized labor is
strong, that such an employer may at
times grant recognition to the unoin
even before the workers of that shop
are well organized. There are known
cases where an employer would make
his workers join the union in order to
be able to get the union label. For
mally such shop would be union
shop; but as matter of fact it will
merely be "a burden upon the union
and will seldom result in substantial
benefit for the workers. For as long as
the workers themselves lack in the
spirit of unity and cooperation as long
as they themselves are not organized
strongly and remain unable to take con-
certed action; in short, as long as the
workers are not imbued with the real
spirit of fraternity and unionism, all
formal recognition of signed agreements
are mere dead letters.
The same is true the other way. If
the workers of the shop are really
united, both in spirit and also by means
of practical and efficient organization,
the lack of formal recognition by the
employer or failure to sign the agree
ment makes very little difference indeed.
The employer presently realizes that
there is a new spirit in the shop, that
the workers support one another as real
brothers and sisters; that they always
act in a concerted way and as a well
changes. The mutual respect and love
of the workers for one another COM
mands the respect of the employer,
manager and foreman. The knowledge
that the entire shop will stand by every
worker to protect him or her against
injustice or unfairness, makes the en-
p1oyer, whether it be recognition or not,
treat every worker as a member. of the
organization in the same way, whether
the ufacturer-recognizes it official
ly or not, the conditions and the wages
of the workers of such shop are de-
termined through collective bargaining.
Whether officially recognized or not,
nothing interferees with the workers of
shop who are really well organized,
to agree upon the conditions and wages
which everyone of them shall ask for.
In such case the employers will prob
ably find that it is to their convenience
to deal with the shop committee rather
than with every individual worker sep
arately. Every worker who has any
experience at all will be able to cite
cases in which the manufacturers deal
with shop committees and even with
representatives of the union though the
union was never officially recognized.
The conditions of the workers and
their wages are decided not by signing
agreements of formal recognition but by
the organized power of the workers to
act unitedly and to protect their rights
and interests. And the power of the
workers depends alone and exclusively
on the spirit of unity and fraternity ON
the efficiency of their organization and
its ability to take concerted action at all
times, and their readiness to stand one
for all and all for one.