What “collective bargaining” means.
Methods and Policies of Labor: Collective Bargaining.—The prime purpose of the regular labor organizations, as has been said, is to enable the workers to bargain with the employers upon equal terms. Where the unions have acquired strength, therefore, they insist that all agreements as to wages, hours, and conditions of labor shall be made by the employer on the one hand and the officers of the unions on the other. That is to say they insist that the members of the union shall deal with the employers collectively, not individually, and that the employers shall agree to this method of determining all labor questions. The unions insist upon collective bargaining because they believe it to be the only way in which the workers can be prevented from competing among themselves and thus reducing the rate of wages below a reasonable minimum. The labor of today cannot be sold tomorrow. If it is not sold today, it perishes and brings the worker no return. This inexorable fact places the workman in a position where, if left without protection, he would have to accept whatever terms are offered him. Many large employers of labor throughout the country have accepted the principle of collective bargaining, but many others decline to do so on the ground that it interferes with freedom of contract and restricts employment to the members of labor unions. Collective bargains between employers and workmen are made at joint conferences between the representatives of both sides, and the matters agreed upon at these conferences are embodied in trade agreements, which usually run for a term of months or years.
The theory and practice of strikes.
The Right to Strike.—The chief weapon in the hands of organized labor is the right to strike. A strike is a “concerted withdrawal from work by a part or all of the employees in an establishment, or several establishments, to enforce a demand on the part of the employees”. Strikes are called by officials of the unions when it appears that the demands of the workers cannot be enforced in any other way. This can be done, as a rule, only after a vote of the members has been taken, and in most cases the approval of the national officers of the union must also be secured. While the men are “on strike” it is customary to grant them a small daily allowance for the support of themselves and their families. This is paid out of the treasury of the union where funds have been accumulated from monthly membership fees paid by the men. |Picketing| When a strike is called, “pickets” are stationed near the factory or plant against which the strike is being conducted. These pickets or watchers are furnished from among the strikers; their purpose is to intercept “strike-breakers” or persons who may be going to take the places of the strikers, and to persuade them against doing this. So long as picketing is conducted peacefully and no intimidation or violence is practiced, the laws do not, as a rule, interfere.
Boycotts.
In addition to picketing, the strikers often persuade members of other unions to “boycott” the products of the establishment against which the strike is being conducted, in other words to refuse to transport materials for it or to buy from merchants any of its manufactures. It is becoming the general practice of organized labor to buy no goods which do not bear the “union label”, which is a sticker or tag certifying that the merchandise was made by members of a union.
How the employer strikes back.
Lockouts and Blacklists.—But if the worker has his weapons, so has the employer. When the employer believes the demands of his workmen to be excessive he can shut down the establishment and lock the workers out. Then, if he can find men and women to work for him on more favorable terms, he takes them into his employ and starts up again. Lockouts are not now as common as they used to be. Another weapon of the employer is the blacklist, which contains the names of workmen who have been prominent in fomenting labor troubles and who are, accordingly, regarded by the employers as undesirable. This list is circulated by the employers from one to another and no workman whose name is on it will be given employment. When a worker’s name goes in the blacklist it means that he has the greatest difficulty in finding employment in his own trade anywhere.
Labor and the courts.
The Use of Injunctions in Labor Disputes.—A much-discussed question affecting the interests of labor relates to the use of injunctions in controversies between employers and workmen. An injunction is a writ or order issued by a court of equity. It commands a person or a corporation to do something, or not to do something. A court, for example, may by the issue of an injunction order an employer to reinstate a workman who has been wrongfully dismissed, or it may forbid the calling of a strike by the officers of a union if such action involves the breach of an agreement with the employer. |Contempt of court.| Anyone who disobeys an injunction is guilty of “contempt of court” and in most cases may be clapped into jail without formal trial by a jury. Members of labor organizations feel that injunctions are frequently used in the interest of the employers. The American Federation of Labor has strongly opposed the use of injunctions in labor disputes so long as men are not given a trial by a jury before being adjudged in contempt of court. The Clayton Act of 1914 provided that, in the federal courts, alleged violations of an injunction issued in connection with labor controversies should be determined by a jury trial. In the courts of most of the states, on the other hand, no such provision has yet been made and there is strong opposition to making it. Many people believe that labor is asking a special privilege in demanding that controversies in which it is especially interested shall have an exemption from the usual process of the courts.