Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-06-07
THE WILL TO WORK.

The journal has, on all occasions spoken APP
provingy OF the labor union an institution. 1t
has lifted the aboring from position of
helplessness to point where he is able to deal
with his employer at arms length.
This is exactly it should be. The employer
should not be left in position to dictate to his
employe the wages he must accept without pro-
test nor the conditions under which he must
work A contract is contract at all when one
party to the so-ealed agreement is in position to
eoerce the other into its acceptance.
This being true, labor will be in exactly the
same untenable position in which the employer
once was il it is allowed to carry Its organization
to the point where it can do all the debating. That
is only putting the commanding economic shoe Non
the other foot
That balanced position where neither can insist
upon less or more than is just, is what public
sentiment will require. This is as it should be.
In the matter of wages and hours, the public
has little difficulty in reaching opinion in each
Individual controversy Public sentiment can reach
these phases of dispute While the settlement OF
these questions sometimes irritating the matter
can be settled and the irritation thus stopped
But there is another angle of the labor prob
lem which is an amending source Of public irri-
tation. we refer to the terrible under-production
which has resulted from the policy of some unions
Unless labor itself corrects the cause of this an
noyance, it will result in public hostility to all
unions The popular mind is made up on this
matter IN the aDSlfdcl IL lS ulllNuil iol 'iiN
public to get the in concrete cases Therefore
the people can not bring public opinion to bear in
the specific case as it in the tangible matter of
wages hours.
While it may be true that in individual cases,
the employer once over-drOve his men, 1t Is I'M
disputed that most unions encourage the idea of
no workmen exceeding another in the volume of
work done. They want uniform days work They
get 1t in many cases. by holding the rapid work
man back to the pace of the sowest
Further than that many unwse labor leaders
encourage a spirit of hostility toward employers
which leads the to be indifferent or to actu-
ally shirk.
All this is too uneconomc to succeed for long.
Every producer should do his reasonable best.
Lessened production is identical with wage in
crease insofar it concerns costs Of production.
Just so. also, increased production would be the
economic equivalent to a cut in without
the cut being made, for it would result in de-
creased labor costs on the article produced.
In a country where individual skill, initiative
and energy are the hallmarks of business success,
this plan of curtailed production will not work.
The laborer hurts himself and irritates the public.
The effect OF unionizng should be to increase
production This would at once commend itself
to the public and win favor from it. The other
plan will not work indefinitely and finally will
destroy the unions if persisted in
Men need renewal of the will to work In
times of shortness of employment it will be the
most competent, earnest and energetic who hold
their jobs But the policy of the unions should be
to make every member do his best.
If competitive conditions demand a decreased
cost of producing an article to the extent Of 20
per cent this result can be had in either of two
ways-either by 20 per cent wage reduction or
by corresponding increase in the work per day
done by each workman. The workmen must elect
which thing is to happen
Labor should grapple with this problem.