THE STORY OF THE TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION
Silverstein, Louis
THE STORY OF THE TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION a revive of streting and progresive by Louis Silverstein i Founc&W a National Onranixation (I776-1B2) AN efiBeer of the Ihternathmel Typographical...
...Carl Brodsky is associated with the General The r^ergency^C^rm^r^B^r^ft'A's Relief was established by the League for Industrial Democracy and ' the American Civil Liberties Union . for general relief purposes, and specifically to assist the Passaic strikers...
...he stated that Carl Brodsky Is "connected with the Emergency Relief Committee of the Ajisalc...
...Workers would simply get together from time to time when circumstances became particularly distasteful and...
...Two *» examples of contrary occurrences are L* supplied by the agreements' Just made : by the "righ" administrations of the S cap and hat makers and pocketbook * workers' unions...
...Not all of these bodies, it must be remembered, existed at any one time...
...a Faint;tog Socialist Party aasT hopes all the organized workers there wfO be able to unite upon a practical - platform...
...8. Nafew of Albany...
...There the union's .efforts were particularly obstructed by the management ot the Woolworth store in that city...
...The workers contribute nothing, ...the L {"bosses" everything and the union, adsnlnisters the fund...
...Consequently on November 7. I8U, the first national cesureatlon of printers tat the United States seat aa the National Typographical Society...
...It was founded in 1816 afid to considered by some authorities as the oldest existing union of any trade...
...The' organization of native workers, made up largely of plantation and mining laborer*, is said to be much larger than the Centre Intemacionsi...
...Although it did manage to secure wage increases, circumstances militated against it, so that It did not survive its third year...
...Glass Wages Unchanged ATLANTIC CITY, N. J.—Th* American Flitt Glass Workers' Union and the Pressed Glass Baanufacturers' Association signed u contract at Atlantic City renewing wages and working conditions for the coming year...
...forming of a federation to be called the United Trade Unions ot Bulgaria, which will be a national section of the International Federation ot Trade Unions...
...The first president of the newly constituted national union waa'J...
...The present International Typographical Union was formed by an extension of the field of activity to Canada in 1869...
...The final agreement defined concisel ly what is meant by a pocketbook soaker's helper so that there would be -no doubt about, who was to receive a , higher scale and- who was not...
...In bis answer, accepting the mantos*?*}!* want* tsftnev U^eTea^ ¦anion has any iiugnwrOhiii with the Pan siasriisabl Federation . of Labor Argentine SoshUtats and trad* union men are eager to help their Peruvian Brothers' nrgsnlss both peslMoelry anfi Industrially...
...This was In or¦ Aer to - prevent surreptitious escapes' •.from union control...
...Permanent committees were established and a report waa adopted advocating the <-.'-Mi,hment of a national printers' union, "legislative In character.'* The printer* had at last come to realize that recommendations were not enough, that action waa necessary...
...Ail Items bought from outside manufacturers must be bought from shops registered by the unions as in contractual relations with It Absolute equal division of work was to prevail...
...As this ia a camping and bathing hike, bring your pup tent* and bathing suits along...
...7; St...
...ForBjgssrty they...
...peruvian indians ask aid from argentina Despite the pressure of the tyrannical yoke...
...With the help of the Central Labor Council this concern was placed on the unfair list, resulting in sufficient' loss of sales to compel the firm to capitulate...
...While such a <xmvlete yactot^y ,n>ay not at all be possible in a large city where conditions axe much more complicated and where little reliance can be placed upon labor patronage, still the Anaconda case indicates that there is the possibility of many accomplishments in this field yet—L...
...Permanent organizations did not arise until close to the end of the eighteenth century...
...Consequently, there are ne> more tabor members in the Parliament of Uruguay, no the SociaHsts did not win any seats last November, although they increased their popular vote by about 75 per cent over that of 1133, while the...
...ta their paper, ^gj^ SOI.'' have been passtisp many ssu i* castle remarks about the "iron .Moscow discipline" among the Communists which allowed a Deputy .to remain la'' the party with only, a motion of censure by the Executive Cuufmftteo' aa punishment for voting for' a bin pensioning off a number of Deputies defeated' la the election* of...
...Buyers, are calling for goods, but the prices they are offering do not suit the manufacturers, so the latter have gotten together and curtailed production to less than 60 per cent of normal...
...About thirty cities, scattered throughout the United State* from coast to coast and from the Great Lakes to the Gulf ot Mexico, were the scenes of activity of these union* before 1850...
...It never occurred to them that the solution might lie In fixing Abe ratio of apprentices to Journeymen in, tbe trek* The result was' that "two-thirder*" and ' non-union I printer* increased in number since they could underbid the regular Journeymen, The situation was dramatized by the experience of the Columbia - Typographical Society in Washington, D. C General Duff Green was the Government printer as well as the pubesher of...
...a newspaper, the "United fates Telegraph.** In 1833 General Green began to take on "two-thirdera" for his paper and a large number ot boys as apprentices for the Government work...
...Baltimore, No...
...151 Clinton street...
...The final agreement with the merchant* of Anaconda calls for the closed shop, limitation of-apprentices, minimum wage scales, nonemployment 'of a married woman* unless her husband is an Invalid and her family depends upon her for a living, definite closing hours, fining of disobedient merchants by the union, and the check-off, optional with the union...
...1776 a* well as in the other authenticated instance of cassation of work by Philadelphia printers ten year* later...
...One of the important reasons for the disappearance of many of the early bodies waa the practice of "tree membership...
...Cincinnati (No...
...The principal for, elgn concern pro fitting by this exploitation of the worker* ta th* Foundation Company of New Tork...
...Labor International, which took place In March, 1926, was approved...
...Time, 4JO p. m. (Saturday afternoon...
...But publicity ha* missed them...
...Then it set about to organize the subordinate unions...
...Typical of the attitude of the Congress was the exclusion of a representative of the typographical union)v although he . worked at his trade, on the ground that be was a member of a town coun111...
...This . scheme is a denial of 'the - right to strike, safeguarded in American law by the LaFoIIette seamen's act of 1916...
...Thus, the printers of thto country finally attained the goal they had been striving to reach for many years...
...2; Cincinnati, No...
...ostensibly for the State, but In reality for foreign companies holding contracts for road and other public works...
...This meeting went much further than the former National Typographical Society...
...All those who are interested in the sport club should coons tVeur neat meeting, on Tuesday evening, August IT...
...Italian socialists in Buenos Aire* have erected a Matteotti Monument It is a high relief of bronze, designed by the Italian Soualfet, Zirardinl...
...Judging from a letter recently received by Senator Juan B. Justo, one of the leading Socialists of Argentina, Writing in the name of the native Peruvian workers, Manuel Sumalvia, Foreign Secretary of the Federaclon Indigena Obrera, asks Senator Junto to represent that organisation' in the columns of La Vanguardte, the big Buenos Aires Socialist dally, and In any other way he may thing appropriate...
...The union resisted these encroachments...
...The conservative side finally won, bnt the radicals went on organising' on the outside Just tbe same...
...Montana, local of tbe Betail...
...Through careful discussion sad bitter experience they had come to this mature decision...
...13), 184S...
...In New Tork City the New Tork Typographical Society, founded in 1809, and still existing, suffered a similar fate ia spite ot an early aggressive career...
...Other record-breakers are Baltimore (No...
...Thm Notional Union Idea Sprouts ...The convention otitis^oUoeriaa^year liaiuL at Baltimore rsspawiifJtsVIt,- lgsi, with <*Megate* from New Tork...
...Boston, No...
...The conservatives being In power, they accepted a legislative charter in 1818, stripping the Society, of Ita economic function...
...He worbed below the union scale and when exposed and expelled, fromhto orgnnitssXron.aa a "»**?¦ handed dealing...
...The Washington society took up thto proposal...
...It issued a circular on November f, 1815, caning for a national convention...
...A couple of years ago' the restive organisation was reported to have accepted a Communist program and ta bo on the point of Joining the Communist Trade Union International...
...v "Seesad, that Journeymen bringing oert(fiesta* of membership in any society, of good standing, receive a prof ere aoe ever alt others in the efforts made ta procure them employment...
...acts ot T. favoritism...
...1881...
...Third, that rets, pronounced by one society, be considered as sueh, by all other societies...
...They exchanged Information aa to wage* and working condition...
...and represents Matteotti making a speech...
...A second and what proved to be the hurt convention of the National Typographical Society met again the following year...
...we have the first recorded instance of a strike, of Journeymen or fun-fledged printers...
...Among its officers are Norman Thomas, .chairman...
...The following year he announced the outline of what many conceived as a fantastic scheme...
...He wan expected beffa from the contention and ftuw his union...
...New Tork sClty...
...Jiulgingfrr/m recent publicity stunts only "leAa" seem capable of > snaking—and enjoying—triumphs...
...Philadelphia, and by proxy from New Qrdelphla -was hlmaatf, « "rat" who' bad w*rh*B tor General Green...
...Wages were Inereaeed...
...3; Albany, No...
...5; New Tork, No...
...organization ceased to exist about the time the first list ot tree members appeared...
...The old rule .of the medieval guilds requiring an apprentice to serve six year a between the ages of fifteen and twenty-one had become, in the face of changing conditions, only a" general guide...
...Before that time two faction* in the Society were struggling for, supremacy, as th every other typographical organlxsMsu faythe first -third ot the nineteenth oeafury...
...1850, and Philadelphia (No...
...costs, be mantainect The affiliation ot the Party with the Socialist and...
...leader, August Faude...
...It was not until 1850 that the next attempt to organise on a country-wide basis waa made...
...H. S. Rauschenbush...
...With regard to the absolute superiority of the various tactions and -the- military dictatorship It waS decided to maintain the greatest political reserve and to concentrate all efforts on building up the Party and on Its inner organization...
...It proposed...
...9; Louisville, No...
...Their efforts were confined to making stricter apprenticeship rule* and limiting their membership to those who had lived up to all th* regulations...
...S. brodsky not connected with i»>mri.ajEF In Louis Sllversteln's article, "Behind the Scenes of the New Tork Subway Strike...
...The printers were not yet ready for thto conclusion...
...foreign and native capitalists and publicity abroad is requested...
...In spite of ourselves...
...Louis, No...
...But while thto voluntary arrangement sometimes worked well, the need for more unified and centralised action was recognized...
...The ' first unions grappled'with this problem by keeping up a diligent correspondence with one another...
...at sag life*'- A-^eVA-: -*.«*-flvA';.£, • -I- ^¦<&S8&kn*t&kZ...
...it..posed upon both native and foreign—or-semi-foreign worker* —by the Peruvian Government, heeded by President Legula, the division between the 100 per cent...
...It further went on record as classifying all persons who did accept such work aa "rata" with whom union printers might" not work...
...Boston (No...
...For the latter two classes of work the New Tork seals today ranges from fifty-four to sixtyeight dollars on the former and sixty to sixty-four on the latter...
...It was seldom observed...
...Harrisburg, No...
...government work...
...In spite ot the manner In which these early union* were scattered throughout the country, they soon discovered that their economic interests were closely Interconnected,' that the labor market for printers wds not a-mere local affair' but waa really national and that their difficulties could not be solved except by ccwfsaraiivo action...
...Equal proportional - sTflvision of work between the main and I subsidiary shops vtafipr»%oMeaflor...
...note that they denied General Green's development of the logic ot their position when he said that their interference implied the right to regulate the number of apprentices...
...We have started with ' n membership of fifty, and It la Increasing every week, Soooa* and baseball team* have been formed and within m short time they'wifi show good results...
...The delegates adopted a number of recommendations proposing uniform apprenticeship rules, exchange of and mutual - recognition of "rat" lists and, moat Important of an, tbe opening of membership books to all non-union printer* for a period of six year* irrespective of whether they had served proper apprenticeships or not...
...No other gatherings ever took place...
...In Decernber of that year the first National Convention of Journeymen Printers met in New Tork City, with representatives from New Tork, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Kentucky...
...Such was the case in tbe strike of...
...To fortify their position they appealed to the societies in other cities ' not to permit their members to take employment with General Green aa teachers...
...Mill Owners on Strike NEW BEDFORD...
...The union which haa had the longest period of continuous life is that at Washington, D. c. (No...
...Communists gained only 25 per cent...
...We are also having affiance on Saturday evening, October 3, at Clinton Hall...
...were.victims of the boss' rwhlm, since there has been an oversnppry of them...
...The officials of the former Communist unions, subsequently^ known aa Independents, accepted an invitation to negotiate extended by the officers of tbe unions affiliated with Amsterdam and the result was the...
...Its position waa endorsed by practically every other organisation of its craft...
...In spite of very lively debates and many differences of opinion, all speakers were united on the one point, that the cphension ot the Party must, at all...
...The impression may have been created that what was meant was the Emergency Committee for Strikers* Relief ' That was not the intention...
...In fact, it became customary for master printers to hire runaway apprentices who bad not completed their term of service, even when .it was less than.six years, and discharge old hand...
...The principle of the forty' hour week was won and its lntroduc-'¦ tioo, without any string* attached *p;|t» '.as In the furriers" agreement, was set i '••or July 1, 1927...
...mmunists oust deputy in uruguay Celestlno MfbelU, one of tbe 1<isillng . lights of the Communist Party of Uru- . guay...
...In that year it became a purely benevolent association...
...ffip md Pocketmk^ ?¦ Wr...
...The new body to to build a home for its central office and will publish a paper...
...He emphasizes the need of...
...The most notable l gain was the binding of the manufacturer under penalties not to produce h tor or sell to non-union Jobbers...
...Deputy Mlbellt ' \ ' Although the early re porta, of the last elections gave the Communist Party two Deputies In the Chamber, the way in which the Executive Committee refers to Benny Mibelll indicates that ho waa the Only Communist elected...
...First, that each society fn Ha own district be sustained by all ethers in the prises (wages) it may establish...
...has been thrown out by that party, and ita Executive Committee haa decided to present file resignation to the President of the Chamber of Deputies, according to' a new* dispatch from Montevideo...
...They now had a national union which could legislate and enforce the taws it made...
...Among tboee benefiting by tbe pension law- to a brother of...
...Memphis, No...
...The walkout failed...
...Thto failure at national organization discouraged the local bodies and for a time the "benefit" group, or "alimoners," triumphed over the strict trade unionists...
...It demanded twenty-five «nu"' psr...
...They sent each other list* of "rata...
...ereiten.of T*a4e ftya postal mmtmotMm General Cbenirit of th* vf...
...Its first action was to condemn Sunday work...
...He would establish a Washington Institute—the printers ceiled to- "a- manual labor school,'' enroll two hundred boys each year,' teach them the printing trade and pay them two dollars a week for their work to be paid to them at the end of their period of employment-instruction...
...Peruvian Indians, organised in the Federacloa Indigene Ohrera, -Regional Peruana, and the workers of foreign or mixed blood, united 'in the Centre Intarneclonal Obrero del Peru, still exists...
...At present such transfers must be made to another shop with ¦ the union's permission...
...Clerks' International Protective Association...
...Strikers...
...P ¦ The pocketbook workers were just 'as successful, /The majtufacturej* had presented dpniandV^alming to Wtfersnine union control of the shops, such .aa the right to employ twenty percent ;„of Bon-union members at the height ' ef the season, temporary employment ' "of apprentices, counting of overtime only after forty-four hours bad been ~ worked instead of after the scheduled I soaping hour each day, break-down of \ eonal division of work and privilege to t v tester employees from one depart-r asent to another in order to wean workv en away from, the union -by...
...ii*iJ!».l Furuseth Returns From Geneva WASHINGTON — Andrew Furuseth, president of the International Seamen's Union of America, is hack at Washington headquarters after a stay of three months in Europe...
...He spent much of that period in Geneva, blocking a proposed provision in the draft' convention for a maritime industrial law which would make it a crime for a, seaman to leave his vessel in a safe harbor before completion of the voyage...
...4; Columbus, No...
...Others took their places...
...with glee...
...It haa the honor of having formulated the first complete wage scale presented by printers and won by striking...
...Not one of these points was 8 pasaBsded by the union...
...Charter numbers were assigned to the local unions by lot, as follows: Indianapolis, No...
...6; Pittsburgh, No...
...n:v£n New Agreements The Field of Labor ' "Sr 1TTLE .general notice has been ; m* taken of...
...Here are two agreements made by "rights- which any...
...Stress to laid upon the miserable conditions under which the Peruvians are being exploited by...
...SeasvUit Juste requires if the Peruvian workers would like to have an Argentine labor agttater visit their country'and help them organize...
...One group waa Interested only in the benefit features and decried trade potion, the] other had no objection to mutual assistance in case ef need but insisted upon the necessity of taking steps to protect the economic interests of printers...
...V*-^'^ ~ In the meantime an organisation was formed at Philadelphia in 1802 known aa the Philadelphia Typographical Society...
...Apparently this affiliation never took place...
...Thto was a victory for the radical* who contended that the former strictness and discrimination injured themselves more than their supposed victims...
...The agreement waa reached on July 31 and waa ratified by a big labor meeting in Sofia, at which enthusiasm ran v high and optimistic prophesies were made by many speakers...
...Bight here it must be noticed that there was no such thing aa a permanent union in those days...
...lefts" can well be proud of...
...committees is 799 Broe*d"wsry...
...It suggested Its own city as the meeting, place...
...walking time, three hour...
...L_ Reports from Sofia ten of the unification of the labor organizations ot Bulgaria as the result of the recommendations made by the Balkan Trade Union Congress of last April...
...Ia uV the man behind the counter wins So much has been said about the impossibility of organising retail store clerks because of the lack of uniformity in their working conditions, that it is worth while catling, attention to the clear-cut gains Just made by the Anaconda...
...treasurer, and Clarina Michelson, executive secretary...
...About 5,000 workers are affected...
...1; Philadelphia, No...
...A total of 1.5,000 workers are idle as the result of the bosses' strike...
...Even considering the probable rise of the cost and standard of living, we cfin readily see how unionisation haa benefited the Pftnter...
...When the third convention assembled at Cincinnati In 1862 it organized Itself as the National Typographical Union in accordance with tbe report of the committee it had appoint...
...The meeting of 1888 wag postponed...
...By a formal vote on Wednesday, May 5, 1852, the National Typographical Union came Into existence...
...Sign Wage Agreement HAVERHILL, Maes,—Three hundred workers in the counter making departments of 10 Haverhill shoe" factories got renewal of old wages and conditions in a two-year contract negotiated by the Shoe Worker*' Protective Union...
...decide upon some temporary action...
...Delegates were present from BtJthmore, Bow Tork City, Washington, HarrUburg...
...The cap and bat makers were conf fronted by l!he demands of the manu. - facturers for tbe abolition of the une employment Insurance fund of the in| dustry, the right to discharge twenty -percent of the working force, the prtv* Bege of employing workers without applying to the union's employment £ otPce and the abolition of pay for legal | holidays...
...Today It la the oldest printers' association In the country but - since 1831 it ha* lacked its trade union character...
...New Tork (No...
...A Strike In 1835 As a result of this controversy the Washington printers went out on strike ln.JM5...
...It to interesting to...
...s. v ?;.,'.' While the new Pnfiesntlori and the railroad union*, which are leading tha move for a realty nation wide) organization, are gaining ground, the recently held Buenos Aires Congress of the Communist J Syndicalist trade union Federation (Union Slndlcal Argentina), has once more demonstrated the impotence and sectarian nature of its movement...
...New Tork...
...The ' minimum wage of such helpers was ' .tTcred at thirty 4 olars per, week...
...These newcomers were called "half-way Journeymen," and later- "two-thirdere...
...It recommended the formation of a national body the locals qt which would accumulate reserve funds of ten dollars per member and agreed to help each other financially if necessary to the extent of one dollar per member...
...the quiet and magniflB «•**•*¦ cent Tlctorie* ths* hare been ?. made by the "right wins/* administra.; tlona of the Mew York needle trade* 5* Unions...
...It bad a fair measure of success during Its five years of life...
...workers' sports ' Tourist Club Hike This Sunday, August 16, we kike to Silver Lake and the Quarry near White Plains...
...Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and New Jersey...
...The address, of fapth...
...Mass:—Mill owners of New Bedford are on strike tor higher prices...
...Progressive Sport Club A radical sport club ha* been organised by the City Committee of the Jewish Socialist Verbond, to promote athletic activities among tbe young element ot the working else...
...In Iftf a Typographical Society waa founded In New Tork City...
...The unemployt. spent insurance that was retained Is one of the dreams'of the "lefts...
...The greater part of tha discussion was devoted to personalities and mutual insults, and it was apparent that no alteration Is to be expected in this state ot attains...
...The strike is directed against the consumer...
...which Is said to force every able-bodied, worker in the country to put ia twelve days a year foiling...
...Perhaps , it ta this wise contact and this necessary literacy that is rhsnsrirrurtVr of the printer's trade that explains the fact that the Typographical Union probably has the longest history and the most complete record of any union in the United States.' In the year of American Independence, 177...
...Overtime remained f: at time and a half...
...Naturally, tbe printers' organisations .tried to eradicate this evil...
...Washington Local Thm Oldest Other organization* of the printers' craft cropped up in various place* from time to time...
...last November...
...socialists demand unity in portugal The annual convention of the Socialtot Party of Portugal, held in Lisbon, July } to 5, was chiefly occupied with trje recent' polltlestl event* and tbe party's attitude toward* th* struggles between various competitors for the dictatorship...
...THE STORY OF THE TYPOGRAPHICAL UNION a revive of streting and progresive by Louis Silverstein i Founc&W a National Onranixation (I776-1B2) AN efiBeer of the Ihternathmel Typographical Oaten epee remarked to the writer In specking of the nature of hi* craft: **We printera become educated, even...
...It came out tor the limitation ot apprentices, which had become popular with the local unions in the years preceding, and for a co-operative printing sh,op_ Uf do the...
...Non-members are welcome guests at ail times, provided ' they are nature-loving proletarians...
...Subsidiary shops, "owned and controlled by a main manufacturer, could not be started without notifying the union...
...3), 184...
...It was an attempt to force employers In New Tork City to grant an increase In wages...
...1.000 ems and minimum wage* 'Of seven doners1 per ' week * on book and Job work and of eight dollars on newspapers...
...Thto development had been anticipated for seme time by the Socialist* ef Uruguay, who...
...The Centre anternacional Obrero dot Peru ia aAlhtasd with the Pan American Federation and only recently seat - an appeal to Bysldapt William Green for help fn jits fight against tbe Peruvian lahoy conscription law...
...i860...
...Meeting place, East 180th street subway station, downstairs...
...fare, 70 cents...
...The manufacturers had to retreat...
...A fraternal delegate from Nova Scotto, was present, thus foreshadowing the present International organisation...
...and the town shows a total of 1,619 idle workingclass tenements...
...Apprenticeship A Major Problem The other big problem ot tbe printers was apprenticeship...
...Old-timers after a stated period of dues' paying varying from ten to twenty years wens exempted from further payments...
...The new members had to hear the burden...
...They came and went...
...lis radical address to the printers ot the country whs but a reflection of the Utopian socialism of that period' It spoke of the clash between labor and capital and tried to abolish tbe wage system by co-operative ventures...
...The travelling or "tramp" ' printer was one cause ta point.' He' Sought employment ¦hot* he heard.there were opportunities for work and higher wages than at home He scabbed ta one town and then after the strike moved Into smithes to fie damage there...
...8; Buffalo, No...
...It to one of the earliest American unions about which we have information, Thm Frariklin Society Is Born At the close 'of the century in 1799, the Franklin Typographical Society of Journeymen Printers of New Tork came Into existence...
...The Columbia Society saw the danger and protested In vain...
...1 the previous year to draw up a constitution...
...Where the system, prevailed, the...
...About the same time the Franklin 1 Society' of Cincinnati found It* conduct of a strike against a wags reduction hampered by the importation ot "strangers" from Pittsburgh and elsewhere...
...101...
Vol. 3 • August 1926 • No. 31
