The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-03-09

their union as shop organlZatloh
with separate officers in each shol
to handle members business; col
lective bargaining with the employ
er was their method for winning
better wages, hours and conditions
The union was opened to all work
ers in the industry; and an employ
ment bureau run by the union help
ed members find jobs.
This new business unionism'
began to show results. "We fought
for each gain," he says, "and will
bare hands unaided carried off vic
tories against the protest of hos
| tile world. In those days the move
ment was very poor-but the!
forged ahead. Other unions studied
their methods. Business unionism'
spread throughout New York state
t h e Cigarmakers Internationa
Union, elsewhere. Union discipline
developed. Wildcat strikes were
Ioutlawed; grievance committees as
sured workers justice on the jol
and eliminated causes of strikes
signed contracts made joint agree
ments binding.
These early unionists saw il
their drive for higher wages lift
| ing force that could better th'
whole human family. Through
their unions they won higher
wages, then participated in mea
sures to reduce costs and get ouT
the production necessary to pay fol
the wage increase. Our founder
policy was not to oppose the intro
duction of labor saving machinery
but to see that union members
were employed to operate it anc
that workers benefited by the saw.
ing in costs. The union wages chart
shows 10 industries where today
union wages are from 20 to 30 per-
cent highep than nonunion wages
Yet the union plants are prosper
ing, we'll able to compete with non
union concerns because of their
superior labor force and efficiency.
This far-sighted policy on the
part of labor has been basic in
American progress. High wages in
union plants have forced nonunion
employers to raise pay. Rising buy
ing power has increased demand,
raising production and creating
more jobs and more demand, while
expanding production reduced unit
costs. 1t was Gompers' policy to
demand the obtainable now, and
tomorrow, more now, more then,
and these gains built up union
strength so that unions became
stable agencies. He started unions
along the road to steadily growing
possibilities. So while the genius of
American management brought
new production miracles, AFL
unions translated production into
higher living standards, and work
ers' larger pay envelopes created
an expanding market to absorb the
flood of new goods turned out.
The purchasing source chart shows
that the per capita buying power
of the American people (that is,
the general living standard) almost
doubled in the 20 years from 1900|
10 1929 and rose az percent in 10|
years from 1889 to 1949.
On his death in 1924, Gompers
left to his successors militant
trade union movement, guided byI
sound basic principles, applicable tol
new and changing problems.
At time when it is particularly
needed, this practical business un-
onism, based on moral principles
md guided by the ideals of human
'reedom, has spread throughout
he United States. 1t makes pos
ible joint voluntary action of
lnions aud arrangements in meet
ng the serious economic problems
# today. This is our hope to avoid
government domination.