The Oklahoma Labor Unit (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 43, Ed. 1 Saturday, April 17, 1909 Page: 1 of 8
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TlilE OKLAHOMA LABOR UNIT
I
DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF ORGANIZED LABOR AND THE F. E. C. U. OF A. OF OKLAHOMA
Endorsed by the
OKLAHOMA CITY BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL
Endorsed by the
OKLAHOMA STATE FEDERATION OF LABOR
Endorsed by the Oklahoma City
CENTRAL TRADES AND LABOR ASSEMBLY
VOL. I
OKLAHOMA (MTV. OKLAHOMA. SATHUUY. A I'll I L 17. 11109.
NO. U
THE LABOR UNIONS
BRIEF SKETCH OF THEIR ORGAN-
IZATION.
Shipwrights First to Get Together as
Far Back as 1803—Tailors and
Carpenters in 1806.
The first labor union In the lTnlted
States of which there is any histori-
cal record was that of the shipwrights
who formed a society in New York in
1803.
The tailors and carpenters organ-
ized in 1806. In the next four or five
decades organizations were establish-
ed in most of the great industries,
some of which lasted only a few
years. Many of these gradually be-
came national.
The printers were the first craft of
any consequence to extend their or-
ganization all over the country. They
establishedl the National Typograhi-
cal L'nion in 18.">2. So as to take in
Canada they established the Interna-
tional Union in 1862, being the lead-
er also in the broader field.
The formation of great corporations
and the immense exansion in industry
which begun soon after the civil war
incited larger labor combinations
than had existed prior to that time.
Some of these formed the National
Labor Union, established at a conven-
tion in Baltimore in 186.1, which en-
tered politics in 1S72 by nominating
the Labor Reform ticket, utting Chas.
O'Connor u for resident. It's votes
were few, and it attracted no general
attention in the campaign. That broke
up the combination, and labor socie-
ties kept out of politics for the next
few years.
Starting as a local secret society in
Philadelphia in 1860, and holding its
first general assembly in 1878. the
Knights of Labor was the earliest so-
ciety which aimed to gather all the
workers of all trades into a single or-
ganization. It had 500,000 members
in 1886, with Terence V. Powderly as
the head. Then began its decline and
fall. Its strike on the Gould system
of railways in St. Louis and the south-
west in 1885 it won, but the larger
strike in 1886 on the same roads it
lost. From that time onward it grad-
ually shrunk in importance.
The American Federation of Labor
rose as the Knights of Labor fell. At
a convention in Columbus. O., in 1886
the American Federation of Labor was
formed and it has gradually absorb-
ed nine-tenths of all the labor or-
ganizations of the country. In it the
several crafts retain their autonomy,
but are federated for purposes of co-
oeration. The American Federation
of Labor comprises 119 national and
international unions and 2,200,000
members. The affiliated unions pub-
lish 365 weekly and monthly papers
devoted to the cause of labor.
Outside of the American Federation
. are about fifteen labor organizations,
the most important of which are the
Knights of Labor, the Stonemasons'
International Union. t"ne Bricklayers'
and Masons' Union and the various
switchmen, trainmen, conductors and
others.
The societies not affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor have a
membership of about 500.000, making
the membership of all the labor socie-
ties of the United States, in the ag
gregate, about 2,700,000.
THE LABOR PRESS—ITS MISSION.
Of all agencies that stand for the
cause of trades unionism the labor
paper is in the front rank. Whether
published weekly, or in magazine
form monthly, it is all the year
found the champion of organized la-
bor.
The labor advocate is always "on
guard." It is ever fighting the battle
of the cause.
And in these days of the Van
Cleaves, the Posts, the Parry et al.,
there is always work to be done.
But it is not its militant aspect
alone that renders the trades union
publieation valuable. Its educative
feature must not be overlooked.
The labor paper voices the senti-
ment and policies of organized work-
ingmcn, and the courts, professional
and business men everywhere learn
through its columns what are the de-
mands of organized labor.
And these demands are maintained
by arguments, illustrations and ap-
eal by citing facts and figures to
demonstrate that the unionist toiler
asks nothing but what is just, reason-
able and proper.
The labor paper is not alone the
warrior of the movement—it is the
attorney of the movement as well.
The "power of the press' is a pro.
verb and in no realm of activity li
the application of that proverb so<
pronounced as in the labor movement
Notwithstanding all this—and a
score of other things that might be
cited to show the power for good of
the labor press—it is to be regretted
that these papers do not receive the
support they should.
Many a trades unionist, who is
zealous in all other matters affect-
ing the movement, betrays indiffer-
ence when it comes to the mainten-
ance of his labor paper.
It is a fact—deplorable in every
sense of the word—that many men in
the movement for years cannot point
to a single one of these years that
shows a paid up subscription to their
labor paper.
This ought not to be.
Kvery member of a labor organiza-
tion should be a subscriber to his or
her labor paper.
Preferably organizations should sub-
scribe in a body—the total member-
ship of the union should be on the
subscription books of the labor pa-
per.
Remember when you subscribe for
your labor paper you are not enriching
any man or set of men; you are help-
ing the cause of organized labor by
I lending support to the advocate of
that cause.
And you have your labor paper at
your home every week.
You get all the local labor news
the doings of the central labor body.
You get all the important labor
news of the country, as well as the
interesting items from foreign coun-
tries.
You get the comments on these
happenings.
In short, you get an up to date, first
class labor paper.
The season of resolving has not
yet. passed.
Why not resolve to remedy your
past delinquencies, and—
Subscribe for your labor paper.'
And resolve to keep up that sub
scription so long as you remain in tin
labor movement.—John Mitchell.
The Unit is the only labor paper in
Oklahoma City. Take Mitchells ad-
vice and subscribe.
Preaching Vs. Practice
Idea of the auxiliary, ller interest will
prompt her to go further anil con-
vey the proposition to her friends and
neighbors, until the benefits from this
agitation will be limitless.
The organization of women is but
declared that he was loyal to the! lie was always loudly wailing that the , natural outgrowlh of the times, an,I.
union workers" cause, honest working man though their organization has been
And he ranted of his staunchness with \ tint the U nion handed daily by til difficult of acompllshment than the
out any halt or pause. i "scab employing clan. organization of men, they are advanc-
lle would Hi out unionism from the Karly morning, noon and evening in lag in that respect. The average man
dawn till set of sun, such talk he would engage
And he
would surely rank A-l.
He . .
he'd spout within the hall, "We are victims!" he would holler ! ,
.. • .i ,.r null „rnfi " different with the woman. She la not
And he spouted In the barroom till "<>' 'he hosts of greed and graft. ,
he'd make the celling fall. lie would cuss the man who didn't
When he saw non-union workers he | Join the union of his craft.
would fairly writhe with rage--! "We've Just got to hang together or
lie
affiliated with a union of his trade with-
said that as a booster he Hut he clean forgot the label when I out solicitation, because he has learn-
he spent his weekly wage. j the value of organization while
I learning the trade, and he finds if a
would spout upon the corner and ^ h<> | good business proposition. Hut 1, is
But he elan forgot the label when he
spent his weekly wage.
He would rise up in the morning with
his talk works running free.
And he'd holler unionism till as
hoarse as he could be.
He would damn the "scabs" a plenty,
but he dearly loved the most
To heap curses loud and hearty on
\ anCleave and Sawdust Post.
SOCIALISM AND THE CHURCH.
XII. Where the Church Stands.
By the Rev. Charles Steizle.
While the church cannot accept and
advocate Socialism, It recognizes the
following facts:
First. That a man has a perfect
ris-'ht to be a Socialist if lie is con-
vinced that Socialism is morally and
economically sound.
Second. That it is quite possible for
a man to be a Christian and a Social-
ist, too. There are certain forms of
Socialism which are not antagonistic
to Christianity, although it should be
remembered that there is no neces-
ary relationship between the two—
one being an economic system and the
other a religion.
Third. The church does not stand
for the present economic system. It
stands only for so much of it as is
in accordance with the princiles laid
down by .lesus Christ. The economic
system under wlich we are living is
not ideal. There is much in it which
must be remedied and good men ev-
erywhere must seek to bring about a
fairer condition ill behalf of the toil-
ers. This will never be accomplished
by soup kitchens and bread lines.
Workingmen demand justice and they
are right.
Fourth. The church does not preach
the gospel of .lesus Christ in order to
make men satisfied with their present
economic condition, nor because they
desire to offer it as a mere sop. It
does not preach this gospel, fearful
lest workingmen are about to bring
about a great revolution—but it
preaches the same gospel with all of
its hopes and aspirations as well as
its duties and obligations to work
ingmen and employers alike.
While the church may not be able
to introduce the program of the So-
cialists, it surely must seek to obtain
for the workers many of the things
for which Socialism is contending, but
each must labor in its own field and
degenerate to slaves
And go down to death forgotten and
be dumped in unmarked graves!"
lie would orate and palaver till the
atmosphere was blue
And Insist that what he told them all
the workingmen should do.
In the union hall he'd rampage like
a lion ill a cage—
Hut lie clean forgot the label when
he spent ills weekly wage.
Will M. Maupin ill the Wageworker.
Do Members of I. T. U. Appreciate
Value of Woman's Auxiliary.
Although in existence for almost
seven years, the Woman's Interna-
tional Auxiliary of the International
Typographical Union today lias a
membership of only 1,000. II was
organized for the purpose of advoca-
ting the use of the printers' la ui
in particular and all union labels ill
general. It has not made the pro-
gress it should have made; not from
lack of interest of its members, but
by reason of the Indifference of the
membership of the International Un-
ion. We have been and are agitating
in so far as we can, among the mer-
chants patronized by us, the use of
the "union label on their printing; we
have prevailed on others to ceaso
handling unfair publications; we
have, in time of strike, caled upon the
wife of the non-unionist and through
her Induced her husband to join the
union. These are some of the efforts
that have been made by the member-
ship or the Woman's Auxiliary, and
they were made during such time as
could be spared from housework—
ihey were made because they believ-
ed that the cause of our husbands,
fathers and brothers was our cause.
Still our progress as to membership-
Is slow. The male relatives of those
eligible to membership ill our organ-
ization are not doing for us what we
gladly do for them.
The purpose of the Woman's Aux-
iliary is along educational ines. It
seeks to point out to its members
the proper channels for the distri-
bution of such wages of the bread-
winners of thir families as conies
under their supervision. It contend*
that the wages of the members of
the union man, earned under union
conditions, should lie spent for artic-
les manufactured under like condi-
tions, and that any part of such wa-
PRESSMEN WIN OUT
DEFEAT TYPOTHETAE IN COURT
OF APPEALS.
Final Test Before Judge in Cleveland
Shows Pressmen Had Right to
Abrogate Higgins' Contract.
WAGEWORKER WHISPERS.
(From Lincoln. Neb., Wageworker.i
Every interest in the country is pro-
tected save the interests of the wage
earners. There is no duty on foreign
labor.
The man who thinks more of his
political party than he does of his un-
ion hasn't got a thoroughly clear card,
neglect of its advocates than it has
through opposition of its enemies.
A lot of men who insist upon eight
hours for themselves never think of
helping their wives to get through the
day with less than sixteen.
Unionism is genuine charity in ac-
tive operation.
Unionism asks for justice, not for
privilege.
We'd give a lot for a wage enve-
lope that couldn't be opened until we
got horn*1.
The man who is in love with his
work is the one who soonest finds the
easy task.
*****************
★ *
★ TO THE PRINTER—If you *
* hire non-union carpenters to *
★ build your house, don't kick if *
** he passes up a union print *
* Fhop. *
★ You have no kick coming. *
* *
*****************
Butterick Troubles in Germany.
The non-union *Butterlck Publishing
Company is now having its troubles
in Germany. The Berlin Vorwaerts,
the central organ of the eGrman soc-
ialist party and a very influential
per, in
recent issue, called on the German
workers to boycott the Butterick
magazines and patterns. The editor-
ial tells of the struggles- of New York
Typographical Union No. G to estab-
lish the eight-hour day and of the per-
sistent refusal of the Butterick com-
pany to recognize the rules and reg-
ulations of tne printers' organiza- j
tion. It also points out that the pub- |
lishing company is hounding 'Big
Six" in the courts, with the object
of jailing its officials and exhausting
its treasury. The editorial also in-
cludes a list of their unfair Butter
ick products, and in simple an.I plain
language Urges the German workers
to abstain from buying them, so that
the true international spirit of labor
be manifested.
iii its own way. respecting one anoth . ... , c
er and giving each the credit of being Bes used in the purchase of a non-
sincer". remembering that neither ] union article Is a travesty upon tin-
has the right to lampoon the other be- j ionism.
cause it does not accept its program, j woman's auxiliary contends
As a matter of fact the church has ,jia^ interest of* those eligible to
as much right to insist that the So- , membership in its ranks lies in the
cialist shall come into the church and > ;ljJ0Ve COurse. That the women in-in-
accept its program as the Socialist Ls Qf the fanilIes of UIlion nuM1.while
has to insist that the church member I y may dQ {Mn^ ln(ljvldually
shall come into the ranks ot Social-, ?h< <)ff(.ctlven ,L j; diminished from
ism and introduce all of its doctrines., ^ WQU]d ]je lf a C0I1(M,rt(Jti ar,d
time will come when men will
editorial published in a enter the labor movement in the same
spirit and with the same devotion
that others today enter the work ol
the Christian ministry. Some of
these will come from the ranks of So-
cialism and some from the church,
but only those who build upon the
foundation laid by Jesus Christ and
the prophets.
Ohio is Now Third.
Ohio now stands third in the li.it
of states having the largest number
of typographical unions, with forty-
two locals, while New York has forty-
five and Illinois forty-eight.
London's Charities
In London there are about 1,800
charities, dispensing $r 0,000.000 annu-
ally.
organized action were made along
those lines.
Many of you will say, what can a
woman do along these lines? We
have been asked that before. Did it
ever occur to you to anyllze the pos-
sibilities of an organization made up
of a woman member from the family
of each union printer? To illustrate
! The International Typographical Un-
I ion has a membership in round num-
I hers, of 46,000, earning on an average,
$18 per week, or a total of $828,000,
almost all of which is distributed for
1 necessaries—clothing, food, fuel, etc.
; —and these purchases are male by
the women of the household. Imag-
ine, then, these purchases made by
the women for only union articles
and a fair idea presents itself of whot
the woman can uj, educated up to the
**********
*'***★*■
★
★ TO THE CARPENTER—If you
★ buy a non-union cigar, don't
★ howl if the cigar-maker gets his
★ screen doors, and repair work *
★ done by a scab carpenter. *
★ You have. no. howl coming. ★
★ *
*****************
******
★ i *
*********
★
TO THE CIGAR MAKER—If *
you patronize a scab bar- *
ber. don't bellyache because the *
„ Union barbers refuse to buy *
* your union-made cigars. *
* You have no bellyache coming *
* *
*4***************
familiar with the importance of organ
ization; it has never been brought to
her immediate attention, and she must
be asked and encouraged by the male
members of her family to lend her
support to the union cause. It is dif-
ficult to get her to make the initial
move, to send in her application, and,
later, to attend the first meeting; but
once her interest is aroused she will
enter into the spirit of the organi-
zation with zeal. And so, ere long,
she will approach the small tradesman
with whom she deals and ask him
why he does not have the label on his
printing, why he does not handle un-
ion bread, that she cannot buy any
other and wll have to go elsewhere,
etc., until her inliuence for good is
directed in a channel never reached
by men. And so I might go on and
enumerate many Instances where the
women members of the printer's fam-
ily could be of direct benefit to him,
all of which she has learned to ap-
ply effectively through her member-
ship in the auxiliary.
But, as a general proposition, the
woman will not take th6 first step to
join an organization without being
persuaded. She has never belonged
to any organization and is timid, and
it requires the encouragement of her
husband to Induce her to join. A
request from him would have more
weight than all other invitations.
As an Instance of what the auxil-
iary women have done, we cite the
fact that they have assisted In no
small degree in relegating to the rear
the Butterick patterns in many of the
large department stores throughout
the country; the publishers of the Pic-
torial patterns wrote recently that
they had been besieged so much by
letters from auxiliary women with ref-
erence to the label an their publica-
tions that they were wiling to order
the label on the patterns In the fu-
ture. As a further Illustration of what
women can do In the organizing line,
we might cite the fact that the bind-
ery girls were organized by a small
body of women in St. Louis, and, to-
day, the organization numbers 400.
So high an authority as John Mitch-
ell, late president of the United Mine
Workers of America, and member of
the executive council of the American
Federation of Labor, Is an ardent sup-
porter of woman's auxiliaries.
Aside from the foregoing useful bus-
iness assistance to the International
Typographical Union, the auxiliary
has a sentimental value. At the pres-
ent time a fund Is in course of col-
lection by Its members for the erec-
tion of a monument on the burial
plot at the l'nion Printers Home, to
which $L'00 has been collected to date.
We might go on and enumerate
many more instances where the aux-
iliary is a benefit, but space does not
permit. Mr. Union Printer, do not
pa s this opportunity by to say a good
word for the auxiliary, and say it
where It will do the most good—at
heme. Remember, the auxiliary Is do-
ing as much for you. Talk it ov<.;
j with your family and request l!r* wo
! men to send in their applications;
the cost of membership is trifling—
80 cents per year goes to the mlei
national body, and in addition t this,
there is a small amount of local dues.
The organization provides of a death
benefit of $50. It has a transfer card
system by which your family will find
itself among friends in case of your
removal to another jurisdiction of the
auxiliary. Isn't it worth your whiie
to make the request of yaur family?
Think it over. If the auxiliary Is to
be made a great power for ;rood, It
is up to the membership of the Intel-
national Typographical Union to do it.
They have the opportunity njw. Will
they avail themselves of It?
Mrs. Charles Hert'M!Sleir..
St. Louis, Mo.
★ * * * *
*********** * ****************
TO THE BARBER—if you
persist in buying a scab suit of
clothes, don't chew the rag if
the tailors take a notion to give
you the go-by.
It isn't your place to chew.
TO THE TAILOR—If Star
chewing and Hull Durham smok-
ing tobaccos suit your taste
best, don't yell lf the plumb-
er falls to ask for the label.
It is not your time to yell.
The International Printing Press-
men and Assistants' Union by the de-
cision of the United Statesi circuit
court of appeals, sitting at Cleveland,
Ohio, wins out in the flnal test in
the controversy with the United Typo-
thetae of America. A. R. Barnes &
Co. and a number of firms In Chi-
cago, New York, and Springfield rep-
resented the typothetae in the suit.
The suit was over an alleged agree-
ment between the pressmen and the
employers, providing for a nine-liour
day and the "open shop." negotiated
by Martin H. Higglnsi and the execu-
tive board of the International Print-
ing Pressmen and Aslstants' Union in
January, 1907, and which ^ ts the'sub-
ject of much contention among the
union presmen. in Tact, the agree-
ment was repudiated by the press-
men at a national convention, and
their displeasure was further shown
by retiring Mr. Higgins asi president
and placing George L. 'Berry at the
head of their organization. The typo-
thetae then invoked the aid of the
federal courts, alleging that the press-
men were violating a contract, and
on thai, ground an Injunction was
asked for against president Berry
and Secretary-Treasurer McMillen to
restrain them from using any of the
funds of the union in paying strike
benefits, or otherwise photnotlng or
doing anything in violation of the al-
leged contract with the typothetae.
The federal court refused to grant
the injunction, holding that, the al-
leged contract on which th« typo-
thetae relied was ont ratified by the
pressmen's union. It is on this same
ground that the court of appeals,
where the case was taken, now de-
cides against the typothetae. In the
opinion just rendered It 1 declared
there was no contract between the
Higgins and the other officials of the
union who endeavored to make an
agreement acted beyond their author-
ity, and that the union disowned their
attempt to bind It. Under the cir-
cumstances. it Is held by the court of
apeals that the lower tribunal wa-
right in refusing to grant an injunc-
tion. and the action Is confirmed. The
Issuing of the Injunction had little
effect on the contest of the pressmen's
union, as that organization went light
along with its movement to establish
on eight ?hour day. which has oeen al-
most entirely successful in ever/
jurisdiction.
BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL.
Work is reported good in all lines.
The cement workers of the city art-
getting a move on themselves and
planning to Institute a local here.
The structural iron and steel work-
. .*8. now in the city ,have sent a re-
quest in to the international body ask-
ing lor a charter, and will soon have
a local here.
The council voted Wednesday night
to maintain the business agent's head
quarters at 116 West Grand, at least
for a while yet.
The report comes that the lathers
and plasterers are getting straighten-
ed out.
A case of the violation of the state
law in regard to the Importation of
scab labor has come to the attention
of the council and a special commit
tee is investigating the matter. If
there is ground for prosecution, it is
likely the party guilty will hear from
it soon.
The ouildlng trades department is
looking for a new hall and headquai-
tcrs for its business agent.
Business Agent Traylor was shout-
ing glad when the Labor Unit man
saw him Thursday. It was because
the representative of II. Eilenberger
& Co., general contractors of Chicago
and Kansas City, who have the con-
tract to erect the new Bass & Harbour
building, struck the city hunting tot-
union men, and giving it out that the
contracting firm would have no other
kind of workmen on the job.
*****************
*
TO THE PLUMBER—If you *
can't read other than maga- *
zines produced by scab printers *
don't CU3S the printer for *
hiring scab plumbers. *
He is following your suit. *
*****************1*****************
*****************
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Smith, H. W. The Oklahoma Labor Unit (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 43, Ed. 1 Saturday, April 17, 1909, newspaper, April 17, 1909; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc107614/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.