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been made for it.33 One delegate remarked, "I think the Kaiser didn't have much on the way the rank and file are treated by our officers." 34 Much resentment was caused by the methods used by the district officials in putting down the movement. Certain delegates from Belleville were slugged when on their way to address the miners at Springfield, and a firm belief that Farrington was responsible for this caused the Springfield group to join the insurgents at once. The charge of complicity in this affair was not denied by Farrington.35

Aftermath

Although the "outlaw" convention held on August 19 voted to call off the strike, on the ground that the national officers had decided to negotiate for a new agreement, large numbers of the Illinois miners remained out for some time longer. The operators agreed to refund the Mooney strike fines and not collect fines for this strike if the men returned to work by August 30, upon the promise of Farrington that the charters of all locals whose members refused to return by that time should be revoked. This apparent cooperation between operators and union officials made many of the insurgents angry, and twenty-four locals remained on strike long enough to suffer the threatened penalty. The Peoria miners replied to the threat of the loss of their charter by a telegram addressed to "His Royal Highness, Lord Farrington," which said in part: "You all can go to Hell and take the charter with you, for may we not advise you to get passports to Holland and join your friend Bill Hohenzollern, for the miners will not stand for the

3 Proceedings of the Sub-district No. 4, District No. 12, Convention, April, 1920, p. 70.

84 Ibid., p. 59.

so Ibid., p. 10.

organization being Kaiserized any longer." A mass meeting of Peoria locals had previously passed a resolution (which was later introduced at the national convention) complaining of the "treacherous anti-working class conduct of the officials of District 12-Farrington and others," who had been corrupted by the operators, and declared for a revision of the constitution to make it conform to the spirit of true industrial unionism.30

The strike died out gradually and by early September was practically over. Thereupon began a campaign of retribution. Although new locals were promptly organized in place of those which had lost their charters, the ringleaders of the strike were refused readmission or expelled, and hence could get no work in Illinois mines, and without transfer cards could with difficulty work elsewhere. The operators discriminated against the insurgents in many cases also, and as it was necessary to have a job before rejoining the union, kept many out of the organization in that way. Many protests against "unfair discrimination" were voiced at the district and sub-district convention of 1920. At the national convention in September, 1919, delegates from the twentyfour expelled locals presented themselves, and a long debate occurred over the question of seating them, those in favor speaking of the fine spirit shown by the insurgents and the inactivity of the district officials in remedying intolerable conditions, and those opposed maintaining that the whole movement was merely an attempt on the part of the U. M. W. to wreck the union. It was finally voted that they could not be seated.37

Proceedings of the U. M. W. Convention, 1919, p. 635-36.

For a full discussion of the question, see pp. 438-560 of the Proceedings of the U. M. W. Convention of 1919.

Before turning away from the Illinois situation it is interesting to note that Farrington upheld the Illinois strikers of 1920 in their protest against the award of the Bituminous Commission, though their strike was considered by the national officials to be a flagrant violation of agreement.

Summary of Main Characteristics

In bringing this chapter to a close, we may sum up the main characteristics of the U. M. W. as follows: The organization is one of the largest and most successful in the country, but nevertheless it is still forced to fight bitter conflicts for the right to exist in certain regions. In general its officials maintain loyalty to contracts scrupulously, but occasionally groups within the union. get beyond their control, due to the pressure of circumstances which seem intolerable to the rank and file. On the other hand, the union officials in some cases are less devoted to the interests of their members than perhaps they should be, and are content to receive large salaries and court the favor of operators while the rank and file are suffering from abuses which should be remedied. Although the organization considers itself democratic, there is a decided feeling on the part of some of its members that the officials, through their power of appointing organizers and others on the pay-roll and thus building up a machine which is loyal to it under all circumstances, and through their power to settle various matters without consulting the membership, dominate the organization to such an extent that there is need of a reconstruction of the constitution which will put greater power in the hands of the rank and file. The traditional policy of the union is conservative, but there is a radical minority which is increasing in influence, and has recently caused the organization to take what seems to many a radical stand in regard to the future of the industry.

To what extent are the characteristics of the U. M. W. due to the fact that it is an industrial union? As has been pointed out, the industrial form of organization was adopted, not because of any special theories as to the solidarity of all workers or the superiority of indus

trial to craft unionism, but rather because of the practical advantage of including all who worked in and around the mines, so that small groups might not tie up the industry and throw the mass of the workers out of employment. The fact that the mines were for the most part in isolated regions where the few skilled craftsmen could not readily unite with their fellow craftsmen of other industries, combined with the fact that the overwhelming majority of the mine workers were eligible to membership in no other union, made the industrial form of organization inevitable. Although adopted for practical rather than theoretical reasons, the industrial structure has nevertheless affected the policies of the union in various ways. The automatic collection of union dues by means of the check-off system was a natural outgrowth of the attempt to include every worker in the industry. The policy of making contracts with employers is no more characteristic of industrial unionism than of craft unionism, if as much so, yet it is unquestionably true that the U. M. W. would have been much less successful in its contracts if it had not tried to unite all types of workers connected with the mines. The domination of the organization by its officials, in so far as it exists, is quite out of keeping with the spirit of industrial unionism, but the rising tide of protest against it and the growing demand for greater democracy in the conduct of union. affairs are a natural result of the emphasis on the value of every individual worker, however humble, and on the necessity of united action on the part of the whole social group, which the philosophy of the industrial union involves. Finally, the demand for such a reconstruction of the industry as will result in production for the common good rather than for private profit, is in harmony with the fundamental hopes and aims of industrial unionism.

CHAPTER IV

INDUSTRIAL UNIONISM AMONG THE

METAL MINERS

History of Metal Miners' Union

The idea of joining the various unions of metal miners into one organization was born in the brain of George Pettibone when he was in jail after the Coeur d'Alene strike in Idaho in 1892, and as a result the Western Federation of Miners came into being the following year. At first it was practically a craft organization, including only underground workers, but before long the folly of this restriction was realized and the jurisdiction extended to include engineers, pumpmen, firemen, machinists, and others working in and around the mines, and also those engaged in reducing the ore in mills and smelters. The early policy of the organization was to form separate locals of different crafts, to some extent. Firemen, pumpmen, machinists, and engineers, for instance, were obliged to join the Engineers' Union of the Western Federation of Miners. In 1910, however, it was voted to issue no more charters that would segregate men according to crafts, as it was felt that uniting all workers in and around a mine in one local would result in greater solidarity. In 1916 the name of the Federation was changed to the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, as neither the word "Western" nor the word "Miners" was inclusive enough to describe the union accurately. By this time it had extended its jurisdiction over the United States and Canada and had

1 Miners' Magazine, August 11, 1910, p. 9.

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