Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1922-02-10

by William Tracy, Secretary Treas
urer Of TIE United Rnck and Clay
Workers q Ameuea1
During the period IF the Worlds
War. Ne continually warned eur MEM
berS . build up and strengthen their
union IN order % meet the situation
that vas sure 70 confront Us after the
ending Of the var. n nearly all To-
Gals 81 our union and among those
Of other organizations this Was done.
As those Of organized labor fully ne
allied the many promises that were
being made during that period would
be violated As soon Is the employers
were able to DO SO, Is past history
would only repeat itself. Among the
non-union workers this warning was
ignored. as they felt secure IN the
promise Of Rig Biz and were boast
ing in some instances Of the fact that
they. the non-uniOn workers. We're re
eeiving a wage equal TO that being
paid the organized workers, and
further boosted that they did not have
to pay dues OF assessments in order
to secure this compensation.
The bonus paid during the war per
iod vas another plan worked cut very
nicely BY the bosses. and kept away
from organized labor unknown thou
sands of the toilers, all of whom have
had = rude awakening during the past
few months since their bonuses have
been chopped off, wages reduced in
many cases as much as so per cent
Figures of the employersl With long
err working hours, not 10 mention the
Shut-downs and half-time operation OF
the industries in order to create a
surplus of labor, SO this could be
brought about So the unorganized
worker has awakened To his having
been the poor fish" But what of
the organized worker True, they
have refused to be duped into allow
ing their organization TO collapse
through bonuses and other schemes of
the "open shoppers" and thereby re-
tanned for themselves the protection
of their union. But the union itself
must have some protection in order to
function as a union, and even the or
ganized workers in their failure to
use their power politically, permitted
men to gain office who are, and al
ways have been, antagonistic TO la
Dor, and that situation now eonfronts
US, and is being brought home to us
every day.
The Supreme Court recently decid-
ed that "pieketing was unlawful in
any manner Governor Cox of Mas
sachusetts, recently signed an infam-
Gus bill. which will enable corpora
tons to attach trade union funds with
damage suits. and of course, this
could be expected, as he has ever
been against labor, but was boosted
into office by the assistance OF the
labor vote. A state law was recently
passed i'm Alabama, which provides
that factions or suits may be main
tanned against any in the name of an
incorporated organization or associa-
ton, for any cause of action for or
upon which the plaintiff therein may
maintain such an action against the
members of such organization or as
ISOLATION" Very beautifully worded,
but in brief it means that trades
unions as organizations may be sued
in time of strikes or lackouts, and
the funds attached for damages.
We realize, of course, that Alex
ander Howat and August Dorchy,
president and vice-president of the
Miners of the state of Kansas, have
been in Jail since September 30th and
will be compelled to serve term
of six months each because they had
called a strike to force coal corpora
ton to pay widows son the wages
that had been due him for two years.
And why? Because this action was
violation of the Kansas Court of
Industrial Relations Law, which is
better known among Labor as the
cant strike, can't quit law" and
which has made Governor Allen, the
father of the same, a 'tin hero
among the employers.
Most of our members lave haf.
clubs and Chambers of Commerce
during the past few months to thor
oughly convince them as to which
side of the question these birds stand