The Connecticut labor news., 1924-01-19
EMBROIDERERS'
 UNION WILL BEGIN
 ORGANIZING DRIVE
Expecting Prosperous Season in Trade, Bonnaz Workers Organ ization Will Concentrate
 on Open Shop.

| New York, Jan 18.-With the begin ming of a new, and, union officials be- | lieve, a prosperous reason i'll the bon l.naz ebroidery trade a determined drive will be started to unionize the open shops in the metropolitan district.
 Because officials of Bonnaz Embroi- drers Union, Local 66 of the Information | al Ladies' Garment Workers Union claim. the union numbers among its members more than 80 per cent. of the skilled mechanics in the trade, it has not made any earnest efforts to organize the remainder of the workers. Especially was this the case because the union wished to be able to assume responsibility for the copetence of all workers supplied to employers and could not undertake to do so if the less skill ed workers were in it's rank, 1t Is ointed out.
 It was explained, however, that con- ditions in the industry have become such that shifting about of workers has be- come possible and the existence of open shops which have been able to obtain the service of highly skilled labor makes 1t imperative to organize the industry lOO per cent.
 There are, according to union figures, about 25O bonnaz embroidery shops In
 
 trated on Manhattan Island. Of these, it is claimed 160 are fully organized.
 Of the workers in the industry, the union claims 65 per cent, about 5O per cent of the less highly skilled and 50 per cent of the first grade operators.
 Conditions will be favorable for car rying on the organization campaign, union officials, say as a good season IS now. A sensible increase in available work is already in evidence, and it is believed that within the next few weeks, there will be plenty of work to go around. Since Jan. Is. several hundred workers have been placed, according to Max M. Essenheld manager of the wor- kers' organization.
 It was also announced that at the unions recent elections, all the major officers were elected. They are MT. Els senfeld, manager; Z L. Friedman, pres ident; Sidney Chaiken, vice-president j; Nathan Riesel, financial secretary, and Leon Hattab business agent.
 A strong effort to un1On1Ze the n1- therto unorganized hand embroidery in dustry will be made during the coming year. 1t was also announced by the Bonnanz Embroiders' Union, Local oo of the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union.
 At the next meeting of the general executive board of the international union, the embroidery workers will ask for cooperation in this work.
 Supplementing the efforts of the union, an attempt will be made to obtain legis- lation to stop giving out embroidery work to women and children in the tene- ments.
 While workers in other industries have steadily improved conditions, hand embroiders have made no effort to abol- ish what the bannaz union insists is an absence of decent living standards, it was said
 Other needle trades have achieved the payment of minimum living wage, y it was said, but the hand ernbroiders con- tinue to receive SIS to SIS per week.
 In contrasting the working conditions prevalent i'll this trade and the other needle trades, Max M. Essenheld. mana ger of the bonnaz union cited the con- tinued existence of a 5O-hour week, sin gle time for overtime and liability to sudden discharge.
 Because these conitions exist, union circles believe that 1t would be a com paratively easy matter to organize the workers, were 1t not for the prevalence of home workers. Union officials esti- mate that less than 50 per cent. of the work IS done in shops.
 Realizing the difficulty of unionizing a trade conducted in such fashion,, the bonnaz union will ask the legislative de- nartment of the American Federation of Labor to draft bill which will elini- iiate home work.