Southwest Washington labor press. [volume] (Hoquiam, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1926-12-17

workers Hhe HaFz eass eAaaH 81
So bzfanz their noses Once esIab-
Ilehed tHe company union IS lard %
beat. but It cen 81 beaten aHf hes
BEEN; 50 Hfter FL tie company union
s not tAe nest serious threat against
81 the progress oE legitimate and
pnFposeInI Organization. Most iHsid-
ioas j tIe empIeys -stosk NneEshIp
scheme
From Sc bosssz viewpoint Ills plan
has much 3 recommend 4 and Be
HIH Sc slew e reI'nQ6s1 his hopes
EoH Is Il tie first place. 3 believes
that e bis employees can Be dalndsd
with De notion shat they eEc part
owners and fhal ths1 zfe IS she way
20 having E .0lzc Is nenskeatal
they VII take greater iateztzt IN
production AIae, he believes that
TIE employee vi handle eompanf
plant equipment e. mofe ta1der-
". the feels that IS i partly BIZ.
Those points are plausible until
one reflects that no serious charge
81 c. eznny st sabotage has ever
been laid against American labor The
bess does not need protection Of that
sort.
The real kernel Of the plan. how
ever. Is tie reduction Of The employe
to impotence i collective bargain
ing. r. Be owns AZ equity q 81 800
Or So II q block Of company shares
he cannot strike without loss Of q
part 81 his savings therefore, be IS
in tie company's power q matters
Of wages. hours and working eondi-
lions. Unionism cannot exist Il the
worker cannot strike. II the employee
stock ownership scheme IS generally
applied and that is the present STRAIT
eey Of Big Business rgahized labor
the one sanctuary to which the exs
plotted worker can turn viii be de-
stroyed And that is what the boss
wants.
eHow much wiser IS the employee
who invests his savings IN sound Sc
Hcurities Of his own choosing or in real
estatel Any working man Of sense
can buy his own securities with the
advice Of his banker He has no busi4
ness investing in speculative stocks
under any circumstances He should
buy bonds. Common stock is always
speculative, no matter how sound the
company may appear. No working
man, with his limited income, should
put all his eggs in one basket.
aThe bunk about giving the work.
er chance 70, become an owner
with 3 voice in management i an
insult to a mans intelligence. A sta
tistician has figured that at the pres
ent rate Of employe-stock selling, two
centuries will be required to give the
workers control Of industry. Only 3
fool can believe that capital win ever
deliberately sell any measure Of con-
troll to labor. The worker has he
means Of preventing increase N cap
italizafion or stock watering. AIRS
Professor Ripely has recently pointed
out, this practice Is followed con-
stantlv by the manaRements Of large
corporations aRainst the interest Of
their stockholders.
"Empl0ye -stoek-oWnerzhlp Is sub
tie plot to destroy organized labor.
No sane observed can doubt that de-
struction Of this laboriously erected
bulwark against exploitation Of the
worker would be followed speedily
BY return to something appFoximatingl
the conditions that existed before
Unionism became an economic force.
( Tbs. employing class. given complete
control over the lives and fortunes Of
workers. has never failed to abuse
| this undenocratic and unnatural
/ privilege
workers who esteem their dignity
as men win do their own investing,
instead Of placing themselves at the
mercy Of employers BY nibbling the
bait in this great trap now preparing
| foss reran4-o1 IAhn@ y