Evening star., 1925-01-26
MINE LABOR PLAN
WEAKNESSES SEEN
Sage Foundation Report
Says Rockefeller Scheme
Has Obvious Defects.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, January 90 The
Rockefeller plan of employees repre-
sentation, which was introduced in
the mines of the Colorado Fuel &
Iron Co. Immediately following the
famous strike of 1913, and which has
since been adopted in hundreds of
other plants, has proved to be only
a partial success, according to pre-
1iminary report made public today by
the Russell Sage Foundation.
In making the report public Mary
Van Kleeck, director of the founda
tion's department OF industrial stud
les, said it has a three-fOld signi-
ficance for industry generally and
for the country at large. 1t reveals
the underlying causes of the peren-
NAL controversy between coal miners
and mine operators; II is the first i'm
partial appraisal of the most promi-
nent experiment in employees repre-
sentatiOn-an experiment which was
Ihe forerunner of the shop commit
Tees, works councils and similar prof.
ects introduced in about 1000 COM
panies within recent years.
Nature of Plan.
The industrial representation plan
was developed by w. L. Mackenzie
King, now premier of Canada. at the
request of John y. Rockefeller, jr.,
the report says, and was introduced
at the mines of the company by Mr..
Rockefeller. At each mine two or
more representatives are elected by
the employees to serve for one
year. These representatives, from all
brances of the company. meet period
ically with an equal number of COM
pany officials. AT these conferences
any matter which employees desire to
have discussed can be brought up.
There are also in each mining dis
trict joint committees composed of
equal numbers of employees repre-
sentatives and company officials to
consider: % safety and accidents;
CD sanitation. health and housing:
CD recreation and education; (G in
dustrial cooperation and Cancellation.
The report says that as a result
of this plan, working and living con-
ditions are more wholesome and
happy for the miners and their fam
flies. but that the miners are not
satisfied that their representatives
have the power to protect them in
decisions regarding wages and other
conditions of work.
Big Step in Advance.
Employees representation, as prac-
tiCed in the mines of this company"
Miss Van Kleeck said, works a rev
grievances of an earlier decade, but
limited as it is to conference, con-
cerned primarily with the adjust
ment of grievances. and failing to
take cognizanCe of organized labor
it does not develop leadership or
stimulate interest among the wage
earners. The lesson for industry
generally, in the experience of this
company, is that giving workmen a
IN, H.
is decidedly a step toward perma-
nent industrial peace and efficiency,
but the measure of success to be at
tained by an employees representa-
tion plan depends on the sincerity
and intelligence with which the plan
is carried out by foremen. superin-
tendents and higher administrative
officials"
The report points out that at the
Colorado Fuel and Iron Co. the en-
ployeS representatives are men who
work in the mines and who do not
feel free to act in opposition to the
companys interest in defense of fell
low employees; that employees are not
making full use of the plan even
for the presentation of grievances;
that in actual practice the employees
representatives have no share in de-
cisions concerning reported griev-
ism versus employees representation
is kept constantly alive by the COM
pany's refusal to permit union meet
ings in any building in the camps
owned by the company, by other fire.
Quent instances of antagonism to
unions and by the company's policy
of accepting the wage scale of its
competitors, which has actually been
set by unionized companies through
he
Workers, while refusing to deal in
any way with the miners union.
The report credits the company
with much more liberal attitude
toward unionism since the employees
representation plan was introduced
but adds that a conflict is in existence
in Colorado between employees repre-
sentation and trade unionism, which
must be dealt with before any plan
can be made to work satisfactorily
There IS in this situation" declare
the foundations investigators, IAN
opportunity for a piece Of construc-
tive statesmanShip on the part of Mr.
Rockefeller and his associates which
will have widespread influence upon
the further development of employees
representation in industry generally
throughout the country This is
nothing less than to undertake the
task which he himself predicted
would be necessary for the ultimate
development of employees representa-
tion, namely, to devise some method
of extending ii to include all COM
panies in an industry, and through
conference to determine just what part
labor organizations and employers
associations can best take in such a
plan"
GLAD OF INVESTIGATION.