The Connecticut labor news., 1922-06-09
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draWal or suspension of local unions since our last Convention, but due largely to the decrease in member ship in the Trade Cnton Movement in Connecticut due t0 the depression. Come ctiCut occupies a rather peculiar position among the forty-eight states in the Union, inasmuch as the major ity of our factories in Connecticut during the war were working exClu- siNcly on war contracts, and since these contracts expired the manufac- turerS of Connecticut have been un- able to secure peace time contracts and in all probabilities will not until the great aJOrIty of the other forty seven states in the Union have recov- cred from the present slump in buSi- ness. It Is, however, encouraging to get reports from the various commun- itieS in the State showing the splendid improvement with the Buildinl Trades. My information is that prac tically every building trade mechanic in Connecticut is now employed and approximately fifteen hundred mem berS of various building trades unions ate needed in various communities to make up the shortage required in those specific trades.
 Achievements of the Federation
 1 feel that 1t Is necessary, due to tte propaganda which Is being dis scm:nated by members of Organized Labor and in several instances off CcrS of labor unions, to call the at 7 tent;on of the delegates to the many accomplishments of the Federation in recent years.
 In 1913, the General Assembly of our State passed the Workmen's Compensation Law at the behest of Organized Labor in Connecticut.
 In 1915 the General Assembly amended the W Workmen's CompcnSa ton Law.
 In 1917, after the Supreme Court of the State had declared unConSti- tutiOnal the section of the law rela tive to Occupational Diseases, the Executive Council of the Federation made a strenuous effort to have the clause rewritten in the law protecting the workers against disease contract ed during the course of their employ ment We failed, however, but in 1910, secured the passage of an amendment to the law restoring com pcnSatlon to the workers of COnncc- ticut who contracted diseases in theri occupation. Until today the Con- ponsation Law in Connecticut is be- EOnd a doubt one of the best Compen- sation acts in the United States Dis gruntied members of Organized La bOr content themselves with a5kinr the question: "What good may we receive from being affiliated with the Connecticut Federation of l,abor3" Let me say to the delegates asse1n-S bled at the ,37th Annual Conventions: Beware of these so-called Trade Cnionists, as l prefer to believe that their interests lie with the Sherman Detective Agency, whose sole pur- pose is to aid the non-union shop employers and destroy the Trade Union movement of our country. In 1910 your officers succeeded in having the Judiciary Committee of the Gen eral Assembly instruct the Attorney General HeaIy to modify the Boycott and Intimidation Act, which has been so disastrous to Organized Labor and report a modified act to the Gen eral Assembly of 1921. The Attorney General failed to comply with the de- cision of the Judiciary Committee and the General Assembly of 1919 and permitted the instructions to remain pigeon-holed in his office despite the fact that your officers made urgent request upon him to report as per his instructions. The failure of your off cers to have the Attorney General comply with above instructions was no fault of theirs whatever, but a fault of the rank and file of the wage earners in Connecticut in selecting their public officials in the fall of 1920. Ii you recall that the session of the General Assembly of 1927 was made up of most reactoinary men in all walks of life, and in spite of the make up of the 1921 General Assem- bly, your officers prevented the pass age of the State Constabuary biT and the Anti-Strike Bill. If either of these three bills had become law it would have practically >titled Or ganized Labor The Anti Strike Bill, especially. I recall the day after the hearing of the Anti Strike Bill many members of Organized Labor, some occupying important positions in Labor circles asking the question:: "Where was the Federation's attor- ney3" As your legislative agent rep resenting the Federation at this ses- sion, l did not deem it necessary to put the Federation to the expense Ol having attorneys appear in our be- half aS l was thoroughly in touch with the situation and believed that l had the situation we'll in hand, which later proved to be a fact. l am at q loss to understand just what brings forth such unfair criticism as referred to above, unless as I have said before the Sherman Detective Agcnt> arc operating in our midst. If were an employer I should be perfectly will ing to place some of the representa- tite~ of Labor upon my payroll and, l may add, that if these destructive Trade Jni0nists are not on the em- p10yers' payroll they are certainly working under the scale or wages re f:1S4 f nav 2< off offer a:''' as comparson the achicvcmcnts of the Manufacturers Association oi Massachusetts, with that of Connecticut during the year