Evening star., 1939-02-26
Many 0bstac|esLie
In Path Of A. FL,
And {. |. 0. Peace
Dual Unionism Is One j.,
But Only One Of
Problems Faced
BY JOHN C. HENRY.

BY JOHN c. HENRY.
Although there can be no ques.
tion of the high purpose and wis
dom underlying efforts to effect a
reconciliation between the American
Federation of Labor and the Con-
gress of Industrial Organizations
a realistic approach to the problem
must involve acknowledgment that
there are many positive obstacles in
the way.
The split in the A. F.. of l.. which
led to the present situation occurred
in November, 1885, with the an
nouncement that eight federation
presidents had joined to form a
committee for the purpose of organ
tzing workers in the mass production
industries into industrial unions.
Six of these individuals brought
their unions with them and in the
ensuing months a whirlwind or
ganizing drive of the new faction
brought it hundreds of thousands
of members and additional unions.
both new and established ones. In
August. 1896, the A. F. L. Executive
Council suspended 10 c. I. o.
unions. In November it's convention
upheld the council action and in
October. 1887. power to expel was
voted to the executive group.
Money Spent Freely.
Meanwhile, both factions had
spent money freely in membership
drives, and when peace negotiations,
proposed by the c. I. o. were under
taken late in 1887, each group was
claiming enrolment of about a.
100000. a record high total for the
labor movement in America.
Committees first and John L..
Lewis and William Green later were
unable to reach agreement during
the 1897 consultations and their
termination has ben followed by
some Is months of completely indie
pendent and often conflicting action.
During that interval there have
been numerous interventions in be-
half, of peace. among them an ap-
peal by President Roosevelt to con-
ventions of each organization last
fall and proposal by Secretary OF
Labor Perkins that each faction Sc
lect five representatives, that these
ten in turn select three distinter-
ested persons and that the full COM
mittee of 13 thus formed proceed
to mediate the controversy.
Nothing came of these proposals.
Green Saw Unity Impossible.
Only two weeks ago President
Green proclaimed that unity with
c. I. o. was obviously impossible"
on Mr.. Lewis terms. He made the
statement in Miami after the A. F.
L. Executive Council had discussed
the administrators effort to bring
the warning factions back to the
peace conference table.
The breakdown of the 1887 nego-
tiations may be traced to numerous
factors, but the fundamental one
was the problem of what to do in
cases where each organization had
strong unions in the same field. Con-
tinuance of dual unionism obviously
was impractical and to merge them
implied virtual withdrawal of the
leadership on one side or the other.
Naturally enough, there was strong
undercover resistance to such a
course by those who might have been
most affected.
But if this problem was a fatal
stumbling block in 1887, it is nothing
less today.
Bitter Fights Waged.
As at that time. both factions
have powerful representation in the
field of electrical workers and bit
terly opposed unions face each other
at sea and along the waterfront.
Since the previous negotiations, the
c. I. o. has increased its strength
In the communications field. where
an A. F. l.. union also exists, and
its lumbermen's union has fought a
bloody and effective war against the
federation's carpenters on the West
Coast.
On the other side, the A. F. L.
has taken over part of the textile
membership. which in 1897 was en-
tirely within the c. I. O., and has
chartered and nurtured the Pro-
gressive Miners as opposition to MIR.
Lewis own United Mine Workers.
But dual unionism is not the
only obstacle in more exaggerated
relief today than Is months ago.
Others follow:
l. The C. 1. o. definitely is COM
mitted to political action in its
sponsorship of Labors Nonpartisan
League and its positive policy of
preparing for political battle on
both local and national scale. The
A. F. L., specifically unfriendly to
the league, is detel1nined to follow
Its traditional policy of vicarious
electioneering.
Wagner Act Differences.
?. The A. F. L. is fighting fiercely
for revision Of the Wagner Labor
Relations Act. The C. I. o. is
campaigning in like manner for its
preservation as is.
5. The A. F.. L. has asked tax
consideration for business and
Government sympathy for the prob
lens OF business. The C. I. o. has
espoused continuance of Govern
ment spending and past policies
often declared inimical to business
interests.
4. Much plain and fancy name
calling has taken place since 1887;
some OF it rankles deeply.
self on a permanent and constitu-
tional basis.
Resources Difficult to Measure.
The comparative abilities of the
two factions to carry on their fight
indefinitely are question difficult
OF appraisal. The c. I. o. has suf-
fered during the last year by the