Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-01-16
Whats
New?
By
EdWdrd ].
Duck,
Assistant
Director,
National
Auto-Lite
Division

IlOHS - IIle dudSS lluc lIidL
experience is the best teacher.
We learn new lessons each
day.
Organizing means dealing
with people. We meet all kinds
of them. We learn how to
sell, how to get along with peo.
pl, and how to get people to
work together. Most of all,
we learn by making mistakes
ourselves, and by taking a les
son from the mistakes OF
others. The secret is in not al
lowing the same mistake to be
repeated.
A union is as good or as bad
as irs members make it. 1t is
the job of the organizer to
make his membership a good
one, and the best way to do
this is to educate them by pro-
viding a good example for
them to follow. He must keep
abreast of the times. He must
know his product. He must
inspire them to want to know
as much about the union as he
does, He cannot be a fanatic,
in the strictest sense of the
word, or he will bore his listen
ers and drive them away. He
must know the answers to
their questions and be able to
present the facts and figures.
Most important, he must thor
ougnly believe in his union,
himself, or he will not be able
to carry his message to others.
These same standards apply
to a shop committeeman. They
apply to a shop steward. The
man who holds a higher office
than a steward or committee
man Is generally a man Cor
woman) who has learned his
Job a bit better than the other
fellow, or who has applied him
self more diligently. The word
generally" provides for the
big "if" - union politics.
POLITICS
1t being true that this latter
item runs rampant every
whtre, from the beggar to the
clergyman, we cannot froWn
upon it with completeness nor
deny its existance. We must
accept politics in every walk of
modern life, unionism includ-
ed. Our only moral obligation
is to try to keep our own pol.
itics clean and truthful.
Remembering that the best
politics OF all is a job well
done, especially union politics,
we can defend our union and
the men who represent it by
the simple eXpedient of becom-
ing active participating mem
bers of the organization.
Rumor mongers, those who
would divide and destroy us
for their own personal gain,
whether within the union or
outside of it, cannot hold their
own against an active educat-
ed membership.
II is regretaable that per-
sons of low mental caliber oc.
casiOnally creep into a position
of responsibility, but 1t is even
more regrettable when those
of little or no moral integrity
foist themselves upon us. A
stupid person cannot be blam-
ed for his stupidity unless he
never made an effort to over
come II, but the dishonest mag
pie who SEEMINGLY thrives on
dissension has no place in the
labor movement and should
not be tolerated any more than
he or she would be tolerated
by industry. Such an individ-
ual can raise more havoc and
destruction in one month than
you or l could accomplish in
five years If we worked at 1t
tweuty.four hours a day. And
there are a few such persons
around, too, but thank God,
not so many that they can't be
exterminated with a bit of
effort.
Pegler to the contrary, the
great majority of our repre-
sentatives are honest, hard
working men and women. That
ward or committeeman
whom we abuse so often when
the factory ism I run exactly to
our personal needs, is a fellow
who deserves more pats on the
back than he usually receives.
He doesn't write the contract
all by himself, he just inter
prets what has been negotiated
with the management.
No one is perfect. No or
ganlzation is perfect. How
ever, ours is exactly as good
as we make it. The person who
is first to complain or ridicule
the union is by some queer
circumstance the last to attend
the union meetings and offer
constructive criticism.
Let's give a word of en-
couragement to those who are
= Il a