Evening star., 1922-09-24
COMPANY UNIONS AND SHOP COMMITTEES:
SUBSTITUTES FOR THE GENUINE

establishment Of different institutions.
In the printing industry. for exam
pie. the workshop Is the unit OF oper-
alton. AS a consequence there has
among organized printers what is
known as the chapel. The chapel is
merely the group of printers employ
ed in. any given print shop. There is
a chairman Of every chapel and he is
in every case employed in the shop
along with the other members OF that
chapel. He may take up at any mo-
ment any grievance in behalf of any
member of the chapel. or of all Of the
members of the chapel. but the
chapel must necessarily conform to
the standards, wages, hours and con-
ditions of the union.
Different in Other Trades.
The conditions are vastly different
in such a trade as the building trade.
where a great many of the workers
are constantly moving from one scene
of operation to another.
In the clothing industry there has
been a still different experience to
guide both workers and employers
in the creation of machinery through
which the problems of the industry
may be dealt with. One Of the great
evils which in earlier days confronted
tho workers on ladies' garments was
that of discharging without adequate
cause. 1t was a weapon resorted to
by employers to break the spirit of
the workers. One of the results of
this has been the creation Of the
ONCE of impartial chairman and a
discharge is not effective until 1t has
been ratified by this impartial chair
man. There is, ! believe, an appeal
even from his decision.
There are generally two points of
view to be harmonized in the creation
Of machinery for the solution of prob
lens in any industry. There is the
point of view Of the employer seek
ing to protect his power and his
profits. And there is the point of
view OF the workers seeking to safe
guard their jobs and to build up a
nrotection around working conditions
which they have been able to estab-
lish.
Plans that are worked out by agree
ment between employers and workers
nerience usually are intensely practi-
cal and result in fair dealing to both
parties.
M,.leadins Employe Representation.
OF late considerable inventive
genius has been concentrated by en-
ployers and their propagandists in
the direction Of outlining various
schemes Of so-called employe lspse-
sentation, the real purpose of WI !,;h
fs to displace agencies built up by
Joint agreement and to break down
the trade union organizations of the
workers. OF course, as all fair-minded
persons will concede. any proposal
for employe representation which
does not permit absolute freedom on
the part Of employees to select their
representatives In whatever manney
they choose is not at all system
Of empioye representation. but is
merely a system by which employers
seek to control the utterances and
actions of the workers. In short, it is
nothing less than fraud. There can
be no meeting of minds" between
workers and employers unless there
Ia. on each side perfect freedom of
selection of spokesmen. There must
be. also. on each side perfect freedom
In determining upon the method and
character of organization.
There is a further fact which must
never be forgotten in connection with
the formation Of what are known a.
shop committees and emp1ose repre-