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Show THE CITIZEN 6 Popular Fallacy About Labor Unions The January issue of the Industrial Digest, the official publication of the Utah Associated Industries, repeats a fallacious estimate of the manner in which labor unions do business, in the following words: 'The average unionist yields unquestioning obedience to his leaders He gives of his earnings, whether small or large. If his fellow unionists are on a strike he accepts the mandate to increase his contribution to 10 per cent of his income as a strike benefit and he keeps this up week in and week out, month in and month out. He takes it for granted that his contribution is being used effectively for the cause. The folly of this statement is that it gives the impression that labor leaders issue "mandates increasing dues and assessments and all that the unionist does is to accept the mandate Nothing and pay without question. could be farther from the truth. No labor leader or body of leaders, committees, or other section of a labor body can under any circumstances issue a mandate increasing the financial obligations of the members, or on any other matter except that mandate be in full accord with the previous decision of the members of the whole or- ganization. When a labor organization is faced by trouble that may call for an increase in the financial contributions of the members, the question is submitted to the membership through secret referendum ballot. Each member can retire by himself and mark his ballot as best suits his personal views and desires. No officer or other member can know how he voted or why unless he personally volunteers the information. After an assessment has been levied in this way, the only power the executive officers have is to enforce collection as the servants of the members; to suspend collection when funds are no longer needed, or to decrease the amount of the collections when it becomes apparent that a smaller amount will serve the purpose. In most labor organizations even the conventions of representatives from all locals have no power to increase the taxation on the membership. A standard rule on this The convention of fuestion reads: Union the Internationla s and shall have power to enact general laws for the government of the craft, but all laws involving an increased taxation shall be submitted to a referendum vote. Nor do the members blindly pay in their money and implicitly trust that the officers will always expend the funds provided to effectively promote the cause. Nearly all unions provide for the election of an independent auditing board to keep watch of the manner in which funds are handled and the purposes for which they are expended. Any departure on the part of the officers from the strict rule laid by-law- -- down by the membership is quickly checked and the offending officer brought to account. For years the general public has been fed up on silly buncombe regaid-in- g the autocratic powers of labor leaders, a persistent effort being made to give the impression that labor leaders are and that the members are blind dupes who submit without question to the orders of those leaders. One may not approve many of the acts of labor unions, or may even be opposed to them, but this should not lead to putself-selecte- d self-constitut- ed ting forth or accepting without question false statements regarding the manner in which they do business. Usually the authors of these misrepresentations pose as industrial experts and claim to have complete information regarding the inner workings of the unions. The facts are that whatever else may be said the labor union is one of the most democratic institutions in the land; that a most careful watch is kept on the collection and expenditure of money, and that the leaders but are selectare not ed by referendum vote of the membership at large. The leaders obey the voice of the membership and their orders are simply the voice of the members. Frequent evidence is given in the public press that where leaders depart from the rules laid down by the membership, they are subject to summary removal and often are so removed. The same rules apply to the calling of strikes or the signing of agreements. It is the membership which rules, the officers simply attending to self-constitut- ed details and making the orders of the under strict membership effective rules previously laid down. It is this democratic nature of the labor union; the knowledge on the part of every member that he is in fact equal to every other member; that no vital decision will be reached without consulting him and giving him a fair opportunity to register his desire in the matter entirely untrammeled; that the financial obligations can only be increased by the will of the individual members in fact that it is his organization these are the things that make for the unparalleled loyalty of the workers to their organizations. There should also be apparent here the reason why some organizations assuming to act for and in behalf of the general public without giving that public the right or opportunity to express its desires in the matter are not meeting with the unquestioning support they blindly expect.. The public is expected to flock to the support of propositions of wThich it knows little, which have never been submitted to it for consideration or decision specious plea that they are acting in behalf of all the people. There is good reason to believe that most of these persons care little for the general public except as thev can hoodwink that public into blindly serving their selfish purposes to the hurt of most of us. They seek to establish an autocracy while declaiming against the autocracy of those organizations which in themselves are types of the highest form of democratic action. A popular method adopted by the type of business organization to which we refer, in their efforts to arouse the public to blind support of secret and invidious purposes, is to set up a series of fearsome and aweinspiring scarecrows of their own making: The autocracy of labor! The of transportation facilipending tie-uties (which similar business organizations have desperately tried for some time to make an actuality). The throttling of industry by the workers, p etc. Had these people honestly and closely examined the would find that in many ness the institutions ognized and sive labor organization a continued and unequale3rj and growth. They woult railroad brotherhoods haom means within their pov?0f ( co-operat- necessary trouble and to0 ie and reasonable adjusty difficulties without reeng drastic methods. , 0f This whole campaign je based on the assumptiogyi eral public is blind and tofei cept any kind of mfcgsox provided it be put forth id 1 frequency and vehemeniHari Industrial peace and; j come to this land when be truthful and fair wiithoi to frankly tell our sides gr and have the decency to Pr fellow do likewise. Mr. Mi 8 or a Five Years of Study Before He Is A Inun in Ml fa Your union printer knows his job. He had to know it before he got a chance at it. For five long years as an apprentice, he had worked and studied under constant supervision. But the ordeal was worth it. He was a union printer at last a college trained artist. This careful training is another reason why its best to buy printing from a union ship. In the early days of its organization the International Typographical Union soon saw that if the art of printing was to progress some systematic means must be provided so that new workers could assume and further the high standards set for its members. So the present apprentice program has been evolved. The first step is to select the right sort of material for apprentices. The local union appoints a committee on apprentices, who carefully examine applicants to pick out the ones of highest caliber, both mentally and physically. The course covers five years of intensive practical training. Every effort is made to give the apprentice an training and to make him expert in every phase of his future work. The wisdom of this policy is apparent. Adaptability in an employe gives his employer a more flexible working force. It makes the employe more useful to the world and more sure of employment for a specialist with no job in sight is one of the most helpless things in the world. During each year of his apprenticeship the apprentice has certain things to master and the course is planned to be of progressing difficulty. At the end of every year a committee quite frequently composed jointly cf employes and employers, examines the candidate for the printers' trade to see if he has mastered his instructions so all-roun- d far and is qualified to ft hi Tnce years instructions. full power to terminal; ticeship of any one who. hui he has not the proper gf qualifications to procec.ce S work. , sei At the beginning of:ns. most agreements requL'i ce ternational Typographic Mac sons in Printing shall These correspondenccfarg: been widely adopted an. Mil contain practical lessoiibel the work of every stucnlgt plane and usually take na to complete. In many Whii for apprentices is crecc which apprentices an spend a certain amounts ! erta week. In order to insure tt O tices be properly instrThe care is taken to regula:. of apprentices in an eere ri the number of full-fleThis policy insures tha: c the work be maintain d M sures that each apprerJ proper guidance. Also.?ees are placed in an establ' it has the proper facili aft Krc thorough training. This apprenticeship I something more than T It insures the high mo:; bert printers trade. A ma, fro grit, perseverance and tree survive those five year; j-- Union Printers do your tah. Hug What We Do for &visit During the period of that the International c. Union has been in eente constantly sought to Iht al benefit to its member aV( printing craft. The V'on, Printers Home and on f |