THE STORY OF THE PAINTERS UNION
Silverstein, Louis
The Story of the Painters Union V---Recent Years (1914-1926) By Lousi Silverstein A S in the cans of meat latstaa Z» tlonal unions officiated with ¦*> the American Federation of LaborX...
...they refuse to pay the money they owe to the unemployment insurance fund on the grounds that first, the contract between y>e union aad the association was not binding upon them, and secondly, that the fund is illegal, since it constitutes an insurance business carried on without a proper license from the authorities of the state of new york...
...NOW LABOR'S SINGERS HAVE INTERNATIONAL the labor singers' international is the latest recruit to the ever-growing ranks of international working class organizations...
...a strike was called june 20...
...They are hebinning to undermine the monopoly of...
...the railroaders, with 86,399, come next, and the building workers, with 62,249, are in third place...
...at the may congress of the textile workers, the union executive committee was charged with having failed to interest the workers in their union, and with having failed to give adequate representation to the interests of the members...
...the more progressive members, however.- consider these health moves mere camouflage to hide more important economic mattare...
...district council no...
...This power- is not defied -by contractors who cannot afford to Jeopardize the punctual fol-' ailment oi their agreements...
...14 of the painters in chicago refused to comply with the new arrangements and pulled out its glaziers on the continental and other ,buildings in...
...city employes win a strike The field of labor '. The first test of- tba legality of unemployment Insurance funds, that ass 'being established by sgreaanant between emptayena, and ¦ employees, is now...
...the membership had reached 110,000 but that due to the depression of that period the number dropped to 84,872...
...Immediately 12,509 persona already .receiving pensions, retroactive to July 1. Further investigation reveals .that this is accomplished by increasing the rate of contribution to the retirement fund of present employees from 2% to 3% per cent...
...the discontented employees then affiliated themselves with local 14-of the international federation of technical engineers, architects* and craftsmen's unions...
...198 41.525 210 1923...
...The newly organised union members receive temporary working cards tor which they pay fifty dollars...
...an important step taken by the last convention was to amend the constitution to exclude communists...
...provision was made as follows: "no member shall at any time belong to more than one- local union of the brotherhood or become a member ot any dual organization of painters, decorators, or paperhangers, or a member of the communists' organization opposed to the principles of the american federation "of labor under penalty of expulsion...
...in fact, his profits are'greater...
...the most recent controversies have been with the bricklayers and masons over work with various types of opaque glass, and with- the electrical workers over painting telegraph poles...
...it has been fighting lead poisoning and the increasing use ot the spray gun...
...in the other, briefs are now being filed add an opinion of the court i can be expected within two or three weeks...
...It Claims It is not a dual union...
...they are much more concerned about the- "rushing system" where-by the "boss" employs pace-setters at a bonus and thus places the" other workmen in a position either to keep up with them or to accept a rate of pay be'ow the union scale...
...but these days are gone...
...that made a total of 33,275,168.64...
...other disputes have been with the sheet metal workers over glazing metal sash and skylights...
...the result was that the city fathers who had until midnight to fix the budget, had to stop the clock to give themselves time to...
...in addition, the individual members were to become entitled to the benefits of the brotherhood for the period during which they had been in good standing in their old organization but not to exceed two years...
...in various speeches delivered by president tomsk...
...per claims paid claim •1921...
...the latter has been referred in the usual manner to the american federation of labor convention...
...this has not been a unique situation since the plumbers and steamflttera, carpenters and joiners and a dozen other international unions have been similarly affected...
...the trustees of the fund, the three employers' associations involved, the international union and the joint board have brought action against the -recalcitrant jobbers...
...GERMAN RAILROADERS WIN COURT VICTORY german railroaders have-won a victory in the railway court of arbitration over the german national railway company, the aemi-prlvate organization of germany's railroad lines, which la being operated under the dawes plan principally for the purpose of paying reparations...
...But now eosne the -unorganliad electrical workers...
...The rest of his employees he treats in Shy manner he pleases...
...after having been wiped out during the inflation period, the property holdings of the austrian unions, not including the defense funds, amounted to aboiti $2.25 per capita at the end of 1925, against il.35 in 1924, and 65 cents in 1923...
...there waa a spirit of mistrust aeWoad which often enough took the form of a breach between trade unionists and their organizations...
...Since the beginning ot payments in june about a million and a bait .dollars have been distributed to about ...thirty...
...they now had american federation of labor backing...
...these figures are quoted in order to show what large financial transactions have to be dealt with in a big union like that of the paintera...
...the officials of the unemploy- j ' ment insurance fund rare prepared to carry the cases to the highest courts...
...The Federation of 'Federal Employees and other governmental workers' organizations put up a gallant fight in vajn...
...If he a grass, be is sent the stated number of union men whom he pays twelve dollars per day...
...They have organised two thousand electrical workers and they are demanding admission into Local 3. 1 The A. F. of L. union has been compelled to take some action...
...At the end of that time they may complete their Initiation fas...
...when they - first appeared before the municipal authorities »U»is yesr scant attention waa paid to them.' then,: their new connections became known when john fitxpatrick, president of the chicago federation of-labor, showed up in their behalf...
...211 54,300 257 tl925...
...then the men returned to work...
...there as been a standing quarrel with the brotherhood of carmen over painting done in railway car shops...
...unemployment benefits paid by the unions were advanced to- a minimum of about 12.50 per week, from 11.10 in 1923...
...the women, in the unions number 185,922...
...a dispute had arisen in chicago between the brotherhood and the building trades council, which was endeavoring to set up arbitration agreements, whereby .sympathetic strikes to enforce the employment of union men and materials would have become illegal...
...the principle of trade union democracy was decidedly not observed in every quarter...
...it has...
...during the la follette campaign the union had supported the a. f. of l. stand...
...death and disability benefits since 1921 have been paid as follows: death benefits tear no...
...the building trades council fined district council no...
...in 1903 a decision of the a. f. of l. executive council differentiated this from puttyglazing, which was conceded to belong to the brotherhood of painters...
...the carmen have been responsible for excluding these unions from affiliation with the railway employees department of the american federation of labor...
...courts...
...conferences have been held fn the last dozen years in vain...
...the montreal convention endorsed the principle of a labor party...
...which includes only those who have paid their dues in full for the whole period, was (42,304, against 587,176 in 1924...
...How CooUdge - economy will permit any equitable solution, tt Is hard-to see...
...The Story of the Painters Union V---Recent Years (1914-1926) By Lousi Silverstein A S in the cans of meat latstaa Z» tlonal unions officiated with ¦*> the American Federation of LaborX especially those In the building trades, a targe portion ef the energy of ths Painters' Union has been expended on jurisdictional disputes...
...this action was taken in face, ot the efforts of the trade union educational league, affiliated with the workers (communist) party, the socalled "left wing," to push through a progressive program, calling for a universal, five-hour day ana a five-day week, direct election ot officers, and election' of vice presidents by districts to facilitate organization work...
...international congresses are to be held biennially...
...these newly admitted groups were to retain complete autonomy over their trade as previously...
...not a single strike collapsed, not one wage movement failed completely and hardly any of the conflicts resulted in defeat for the workers...
...the managers of the reichsbahn, backed by some of the allied experts, have been contending that their company is not bound by the general german arbitration and other labor laws because of its peculiar character as part of the reparation machinery...
...it is one of the factors that has kept the organization together.' the brotherhood's income during the four-year period amounted to 32,833,669.17...
...The local 1. members are kept busy on **nser**' wosgt ansT Yhay are cneasaxefi, I* ta-watxassatacw.to them as pay tba two kxmdred doUar bMMsstaa fee aad the aeveaty-Ove cente per week dues tajratafa, roM tha, oppotinaity_ to work at Twelve dollars per day...
...an appropriation, was made sufficient to cover increases tor the last three months of the year...
...the railroad men's unions and the ministry of labor took the matter to the courts, and on june 9 the leipzig tribunal handed down a decision upholding the ministry andy pointing out that the arbitrators nwfpli power to act in the case of railway employees as well as ot other workers...
...the matter came to a head again soon, afterwards, however...
...709 158,553 224 1924...
...It is wining to dissolve as soon as its members are admitted Into Local S. Conferences between ths two, parties to the djsputernay.be expected in the near ftatwre: "'' THE CIVIL SERVANTS ' GET A 'TREAT" Little attention has been paid to" the Federal civil service pension law which was ground out of tha Congressional legislative mill within the hurt few minutes of the session that has just closed and signed try the President without much ado: At first sight it loOks like a generous measure...
...for several years preceedlng 1915 the brotherhood was being confronted with its first major dispute in a decade...
...with the carpenters over corner beads and window strips...
...up to the middle of 1925 more ,than three'arfd a naif million dollars had been paid out from the-death and disability funds, certainly an enormous amount of business...
...the controversy had one good result, however...
...the average membership for the year...
...J. Lammert made some interesting 'observations concerning finances, which have been the subject of permanent discussion in the Brotherhood - slaps tba beginning of its existence...
...of total ami av...
...733 163,200 - 228 tl925...
...President george f. hedrlck reported that in September, 1921...
...RUSSIAN UNIONISTS SEEK MORE POWER according to repots from ruasia on union activities summarized by the amsterdam bureau of the international federation of trade unions, many unionists are trying to free the trade unions from their subordination to the communist state power and their position in the russian economic system...
...nevertheless, the convention decided that the receipts were insufficient and voted to increase the per capita tax to sixty cents...
...communications were read from labor singing societies in holland, belgium, great britain, denmark and switzerland approving the objects of the new international and expressing a desire to join up...
...this new tone is already to be perceived, and at the congresses of different trades a similar note is sounded...
...the membership at the beginning of 1926 was 807.515, against '828,OsS a year before...
...On" the soealfod T and M." (Hme and material) can-tracts, the employers compensation ia based in...
...A contractor is approached and he ts told that the union will unionize up to one half of bis Working forde...
...guttman of berlin and laid down in the constitution adopted at the meeting are the publication of songs and music filled with the spirit of internationalism and the reconciliation of the peoples and the general linking up of the workers' singing societies on a socialist basis...
...eight years later this position was reaffirmed...
...it is sought to make them real representatives -of the workers as against the conceptions of state control and the plans of state undertakings...
...at the miners' congress in may similar complaints were voiced...
...both the executive and the local leaders of the union, it was said, had made the vital mistake of forgetting that their chief duty was to represent the views of the organized workers...
...it brought home the silliness of the situation...
...Meanwhile, they are permitted ts work for no one except the contractor to whom they are assigned, so that what they gain In wages they* loss in ' freedom of seeking employment when work is Slack...
...The Brotherhood haa had a", fruitful jurisdictional career...
...735 129,500 171 1923...
...it started with a balance of 3441,599.47...
...there'is even a limit to tie nonsense that it is the 'civic duty of governmental employees not to strike...
...the officials of the brotherhood and the amalgamated' eventually got together and worked out a plan of consolidation...
...Meanwhile, plans are afoot to establish a ocmmlssion to study -the whole problem...
...287 57,900 202 1922...
...The Electrical Workers' Association wants to put an end to this procedure...
...in 1813 the convention of the building trades departments' and uf .-the: american federation of labor sustained the position of the painters and directed the remission of the fine and the withdrawal of the art-glass workers...
...the -last general assembly of the brotherhood of painters, Decorators and Paperhangers, held for the first time since 1921, took place at Montreal, Canada, early In September, 1925...
...dues are 2 pfennigs (v4 cent) per member per year...
...in many cases trade union democracy had turned into trade union bureaucracy, and the union leaders frequently brought pressure to bear on the local unions in order to effect the election of persons suitable to them...
...the arrangement called for the chartering by the painters of the amalgamated locals, unless in such cases where the latter agreed to fuse with existing bodies in the brotherhood...
...the main aims of the Labor singers* international, as expounded by dr...
...its expenditures were $2,674,331.88, leaving a balance of $600,836,76...
...ten million dohara" worth - of - local improve-* merits was tied up.- the municipal engineering employees' association joined the union...
...every claim won means so many more members enlisted in the union, so much more work available for its membership...
...It increases the maximum annuity of retired government workers from $710 to $1,000...
...the union leaders were too much concerned with falling in with the wishes of the directors of the industry and too ready to form a "united front" with them at the expense of their members...
...it is expected that the new body will aoon be in a position to carry the songs of labor around the world...
...Now, come two 'former members ot' the jobbers', association who have since left the business...
...the city, where building trim was used, made by nonunion painters and finishers...
...mayor dever lured them back to work promises of future adjustments...
...immediately the tables , were- turned...
...For two years thereafter they continue to pay weak- j ly dues, aa if they were full-fledged...
...Secretary-treasurer Chaa...
...consequently, when the ministry of labor's arbitrators ordered an increase of from one-quarter to onehalf cent per hour last january to railroaders more than 24 years old, the company plead poverty and refused to accept the award...
...a year ago the same men engaged in a four days' walkout...
...members who tried to criticise the activities of the union were often deprived of the opportunity of expressing their views...
...14 two thousand dollars, and under the protection of the former, members ot the amalgamated glass workers stepped in and replaced the brotherhood "putty-glaziers...
...thousand workers...
...unenploginent inturance Tested in N.Y...
...now the railroad unions and the company have reached an agreement making the new rates effective from july 1 and providing for the payment of back wages since january 1, under the award, in lump sums...
...the former has been settled through a compromise...
...91 18.225 280 1922...
...that limit is abominable economic conditions...
...Such g corfnitkm is not at all new...
...By tacit understanding anion men-- benefit from this system...
...with the asbestos workers over tacking muslin and canvas for decorative purposes (and not as non-conductors of sound) and with bricklayers over setting glass used as mural decoration's...
...Thay claim that tba-clauses providing for sanitary conditions are not lived up to anyway...
...The b. T. c. stands ready to take all the workmen off a building it -t£ finds, a non- 1 union man employed...
...other jurisdictional disputes of the brotherhood have not been scarce...
...these proposals were easily defeated...
...these problems will require solution within the next few years...
...by June, 1925, however, a recovery had been made and a new high point of 117,889 was reached...
...but nobody took them seriously...
...Labor Unions Withstand Depression in Austria...
...the* latter are found not only in the' building trades,- which local 3 controls, but also in the public utilities...
...ever since the ahange, art the form of the organization of the german railroads, nearly two years ago, their management has apparently been looking for trouble with the unions and has banked on the support of the allied against its own government and people...
...often the trade union officials lost touch with their members, once they had been elected, ' and neglected to report on the carrying out of decisions arrived at by past conferences...
...as long as the employer has the right of hiring and firing whenever he v pleases, they feel that the so-called "health clauses" will not be enforced...
...the' metal workers, with 114,619 members, lead the list of unions...
...Local t. '¦ Where they can get employment, as on repair jobs, they mast acceanv wages -foeiuw the union scale, since they-must bargain individually...
...under w«r In .the .Near, York City cloak and suit industry...
...unfortunately, the result has been a cessation of organisation activity among the- unorganised electrical workers...
...The Government, according to- the Budget Bureau's scheming, actually saves $28,000 a year...
...114 29,750 261 •last six months, tfirst six months...
...a year went by and -these pledges were not redeemed...
...new york local 3. of the international brotherhood of electrical workers, haa for some time had its membership books closed...
...part on a percentage of hat pay-roll, it makes no difference to him how-much time ia wasted...
...statements by the leaders that although wage increases were undoubtedly necessary they were nevertheless' impossible on account of the difficult state of the industry placed the local unions In an awkward position aad needlessly sapped the confidence of the members...
...An organisation committee has been created to organise not the workers—but ths contractors...
...members...
...it was founded in berlin on june 5 by representatives of labor singing societies in germany, austria, czechoslovakia, hungary and france on the eve of the opening of the sixth general convention of the german workingmea's singing society...
...the amalgamated glass workers' international association had been chartered in 1900 with jurisdiction over art-glass work...
...the headquarters of the new international is in berlin at the office of the german worklngmen's singing society...
...Ths a F. of L. tries to draw lines of demarcation between the different crafts, but industrial progress j constantly upsets any rulings that are I made, *f>e Brotherhood of Painters," Decorators and Paperhangers have been no exception to the rule and the last do serf* years af its history has found its officials squabbling just as ' hard as anybody else for what it judges to be Its field of jurisdiction...
...the technical employees of the city of chicago reached that point, went out on strike and in twenty-four hours were back on their jobs victorious...
...434 96,000 221 •last six months, tfirst six months.' disability benefits •1821...
...It bad added the word "paperhanger" to Its title In 1894, but It was not unth 1901 that it actually chartered the local unions of the national paperhangers' association...
...Russ Labor Is Restless Labor Doings Abroad Despite the- worst period of unemployment aince the world war, the number ef idle workers on the official list last year sometimes nearlng 200,000, the report of the austrian trade union commission for 1925 shows a loss in membership of only 2% per cent., against about 8 in 1924, and 15 in 192a...
...Joe Crisa...
...the brotherhood of painters, decorators and paperhangers haa in recent years devoted a good deal of attention to health matters...
...In addition, they are numerous in the puhtts utilities...
...judgment has been against the jobber but the latter has appealed...
...later the national sign paint-1 era' union was incorporated in the brotherhood, while trie a. F. of l. granted the latter jurisdiction over glaziers, hardwood finishers, carriage, wagon and automobile painters, gilders and allied trades...
...The cost of Coolidge magnanimity ia-borne by the active workers...
...There the manufacturer contributes 2 per cent of the weekly payroll, the jobber $ per cent and the.workers 1' per cent of his weekly earnings...
...catch their breath...
...in 1913, at the beginning of our period, the brotherdood delegates to the a. f. of l convention followed the instructions of their national convention and introduced a resolution declaring "in favor of the .collective ownership and democratic management of mines, railroads and all other industries upon which the people depend in common and which are so organized an to .make their immediate transfer from private to public ownership feasible and desirable...
...national organizations may be admitted by majority vote of the managing committee...
...Forced to the wall by the shortsightedness of Local 8. they have formed within the last three months the Electrical Workers' Association ot Greater New York...
...years ago, when the socialists were stronger in the union, the labor party cry was constantly raised in strong terms...
...with the longshoremen over painting ships...
...Its purpose, of course, haa been to give its members a monopoly of the desirable electrical work in the city and so restrict the number of available employees that it can control the labor market in its field...
...in one caseV fried before municipal court j justice genung...
...191 44,375 232 1924...
...the organised workers monopolize the" attractive jobs on new buildings, where they are protected by the affiliation of their union with the building trades Council...
...been claimed that the matter was never voted upon by the convention investigation has proven that the printer inadvertently omitted the procedure relating to this matter from the . daily proceedings furnished the delegates...
...On work that-doea> net involve near buildings and the consequent protection of the Building Trades Coimcfl, they underbid the union men...
...the slight falling off fn membership was compensated for by the success with which attempts by the bosses to take advantage of the economic crisis were resisted and the improvement in the financial status of .the unions...
...during the spring and summer of 1915 the amalgamation was carried thru successfully...
...81' ce then a dispute has arisen as to the legality of this action...
...N.ew members flocked to headquarters...
...Their president Is Carl Brodshy and their organiser...
...they were represented by*a mutual benefit organization known-as the municipal engl neering employees' association...
...ELECTRICAL UNION'S KNOTTY PROBLEM a situation has arisen among the electrical workers in new york city, which requires the attention of every good trade unionist...
...Jt affects...
Vol. 3 • July 1926 • No. 27
