Division 11: All glass and pottery employees.
Division 12: All paper mills, chemical, rubber, broom, brush and jewelry industries.
Division 13: Parks, highways, municipal, postal service, telegraph, telephone, schools and educational institutions, amusements, sanitary, printing, hotel, restaurant and laundry employees.[151]
This section provoked instant debate. In fact, two days and a half—about half the time given to the whole constitution—were given over to the discussion of this clause.[152] Many delegates considered that such a specific division was not only a practical impossibility, on account of the very definite limits to the jurisdiction of most industries, but was a very inconsistent step for an industrial organization to take, since in their opinion it was nothing more or less than a recreation of craft lines.[153] There was considerable feeling in evidence that this clause did not satisfy the provision of the manifesto for "craft autonomy locally, industrial autonomy internationally, and working-class unity generally." Flaws and inconsistencies without end could, of course, be found in such a categorical division, and they were pointed out by critical delegates with much gusto. The main idea in this attempt at departmental demarcation of industries was that a centralized administration was imperative. Most of the delegates agreed to this. They believed that even the industry, although the unit or cell of the new structure, should not be the dominant basis of the administration. That must be departmental.
Any of these industries [said Delegate Goodwin] are subsidiary and supporting the whole organization.... The tendency of capitalist development is concentration. We are going from industrial production to departmental production. It won't be many years ... till we have departmental production. The tendency in development in the early stages of capital is to go into industries, and the later tendency is to divide into departments, and these departments are international....[154]
As finally amended, the clause omitted any specific category of departments and industries and simply provided for thirteen departments with appropriate subdivisions. It read as follows:
Art. I., Sec. 2.—And shall be composed of thirteen international industrial divisions subdivided into industrial unions of closely related industries in the appropriate organizations for representation in the departmental administration. The subdivisions, international and national industrial unions, shall have complete industrial autonomy in their respective internal affairs; provided, the General Executive Board shall have power to control these industrial unions in matters concerning the interests of the general welfare.[155]
The list of specifically divided industries was later replaced in the constitution, but in a very much improved form. Wm. E. Trautmann has worked this up even further, and in 1911 published a still more improved outline in which the number of departments is reduced to six.[156]
The constitutional convention also made provision for other and subordinate bodies, i. e., industrial councils, which might be formed. These were to comprise seven or more local unions in two or more industries and the local industrial union. These local unions were the smallest units of organization then provided for, except that when isolated individuals applied for membership in a locality where no local union existed, such persons were admitted into the organization as "individual" members directly attached to the general organization.