It is his duty to have union men employed in all shops, if possible, and in case of disputes, he shall endeavor to settle the difficulty to the best interest of the council.62 He relies upon the shop steward for facts as to the standing of the factory. The council may direct the business agent to collect initiation fees, but he is required to give receipts for such sums and turn over all funds collected by him to the secretary at each regular meeting. The council may appoint as many business agents as are necessary for the proper supervision of the affairs of the council. They are required to meet three times per week to consult as to the best methods of procedure, and to file with the secretary daily reports of the conditions of labor in the various shops. The business agent may prefer charges against any member found guilty of violating the rules of the council. He must always be prepared to respond to a call for a business agent, and perform such duties as the council may direct. The council may at any time dismiss a business agent on proven charges of incompetency, intemperance, or negligence of duties.

THE TRIAL SYSTEM

In the administration of the affairs of a union many questions arise which involve the constitutionality of a given policy or action. The attempts to solve this question has led to the development of a judicial system which is one of the most significant de velopments in the government of trade unions. This system is known in the Amalgamated Union as the "Trial System" and was adopted from the Machine Wood Workers' Union. Whereever a wood workers' council has been established, the question of the violation of union rules comes directly within the authority of the council. In fact, one of the objects of the council is "to settle all disputes between local unions and their members. ''63 For this purpose the council appoints a trial commit

62 In serious difficulties the matter may be taken up by the General Secretary. Cf. page 168 ff.

63 Const. Chic. W. W. C., sect. 4, 30-39. Cf. also Const. M. W. W. I. U., 1890. Art. XII, sect. 1-3. Also Const. A. W. W. I. U., sect. 90-101.

UNIV. OF

VINNOWITY

DEIBLER-THE AMALGAMATED WOOD WORKERS' UNION

101

tee of five members, no two of whom may be from the same local. It is the duty of the trial committee to gather evidence, which is then reported to the council, where it is decided by a majority vote. All charges against a member must be presented in writing with a full explanation of the charges, giving the names of the prosecutor and the defendant, as well as the witnesses.64 The committee has the authority to call for whatever evidence it may require, and in case an accused member refuses to appear before the committee without reasonable excuse, he may be fined by the committee as it thinks proper. The accused member is given the right to plead guilty before any other evidence is taken, or he may remain to defend himself against prosecution and, if he chooses, he may employ some member of the union to assist him in the defense. The case is then decided by the coun

cil as indicated above. Where a council does not exist, the trial committee reports to the local and the case is then decided by a majority vote of the local. In case of fine the secretary of the council notifies the union of which the accused is a member, that a fine has been placed against the accused party and this fine must be paid the same as dues.65 The accused member may take an appeal from the decision of the local or the wood workers' council, to the general council in which case he must give security to cover the fine or no working card will be granted to him.66 Should any financial secretary violate this regulation he may be brought before the trial committee and punished as it sees fit. In extreme cases an accused may appeal to the general representative convention for a justification of his action but this is the final resort and he must abide by its decision or failing to do so, be suspended from the union.

This completes the treatment of the internal structure of the

Witnesses for the prosecution summoned by the council, are given 25c carfare. The members of the committee receive $1.50 for each meeting of the committee. Cf. Rules of A. W. W. C. of Chic. sect. 38.

65 Any member who works for less than the official scale shall be fined $10 for the first offense, $25 for the second, and $100 for the third. Cf. Oonst. A. W. W. C. of Chic., p. 13. Members are not permitted to work on buildings, and if they do, they are subject to a fine of $5 for the first offense. Ibid. p. 13. The general council hears also all appeals from the decisions of the general secretary.

organization, but the union has certain external relations, the social significance of which cannot be passed over without a brief examination. In the first place the Wood Workers are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. In the meeting of this body its representatives take part in framing the policy of that organization on questions in which all the laborers of the country have common interests. The Wood Workers have had occasion to appeal to the American Federation in their jurisdictional disputes with the carpenters. But the principal importance of this relation is to bring the union into touch with the national labor movement. In the second place, in the larger cities the Wood Workers are usually affiliated with central labor organizations, as for instance, the Chicago Federation of labor. Here the delegates meet and pass upon the larger local questions which affect all the laborers of the city. Questions of national interest come before these bodies also, and the expression of opinion may take the form of resolutions indicating the attitude of the organization, but the influence of such bodies is more direct and potent on local questions. Lastly, in Chicago the Wood Workers are members of the Building Material Trades Council. The need for this organization arises from two causes, concentration of production on the one side, and extreme division of labor on the other. There has been a constant extension of centralized management without a corresponding extension of centralized control of the employees. This has led in many cases to the following situation, namely, that in one shop there will be workmen belonging to a number of different unions. The agreements may expire at different times, and, because the processes may be so nearly alike, the employer can play one group of workmen against another. The Building Material Trades Council has undertaken to handle this situation. It recognizes that the workmen in the shop have certain shop interests which can best be handled by increasing the strength of each union in making its agreements. If the agreements of all unions expire at the same time, and the various unions agree to work for a

Cf. p. 200-221.

common end, the strength of each union is greatly increased. The Building Material Trades Council then is simply a devise for meeting a condition which has been created by changed methods of production.

CHAPTER V

THE FINANCIAL AND BENEFIT SYSTEMS

The subject of the finances of the organization may be divided into the revenues of the international, those of the wood workers' council and those of the local union. There are four regular sources of revenue, the per capita tax, the sale of supplies, advertisements and subscriptions to the journal, and a group called in the secretary's report, "other sources." Besides these regular sources of income, there is always an important item in special assessments. Whenever the funds of the Amalgamated Union run low and a deficit is likely to occur, the general council has authority to draw on the locals for a sum not to exceed ten cents per member.1 If the treasury becomes exhausted on account of a strike, the general council has the authority to levy on all members not affected by the strike, a special monthly assessment of twenty-five cents.

In the old Furniture Workers' Union the locals had the right to regulate the dues but they were required to pay to the Execu tive Committee a weekly due of 10c per member. From this sum a reserve fund of 10c per month per member was set aside to be used in case of strikes. Half of the reserve fund was kept on deposit with the treasury of the local union, but it was at the disposal of the Executive Committee alone, so that the local had to keep it separate from all other moneys in its possession. Each local was further required to contribute 10c per month per member for agitation purposes and for the support of the jour

1 Const. A. W. W. I. U., Rev. 1904, sect. 57.

A charter fee was charged after 1890. An initiation fee of $1.00 and an in. crease of the monthly dues to 50c was made at the same time. Cf. Const. F. W. I. U., 1891.