nion.1 units in a given locality constituting a single local union. The local union for Detroit is Local 127, and we read of meetings of the Studebaker chop Unit, the Packard Shop Unit, the Hudson chop Unit, etc., although there is no Ford Shop Unit. The structure of the shop government presents no new Each department elects committee-men and women, one for each ten members or major fraction thereof.2 Each department committee elects at least one of its members to represent the department on the Conference Committee of the 3 shop unit. features. 4 All the department and shop committeemen constitute the Board of Administration of Local No. 127 When this board is not in session the governing body is the Local Executive Board, a smaller group, composed of the officials of the Local and one representative for each 250 members or major fraction thereof. 5 The government of the general organization is vested in a General Executive Board, which consists of the general officers and five members elected by the Detroit Local,6 where the general headquarters is located. are elected in the biennial convention. 7 The officers 1. Constitution,§§ 9 - . 10. 2. By-Laws of Local No. 127, Article II, § 9. The outstanding feature is the centralized discipline of the union, cffset by a generous provision for referendums. A shop unit of Local 127, in order to receive financial sup port of any strike, must first receive the sanction of the 1 2 Local Board of Administration. The Board of Administration must first obtain the endorsement of the General Executive Board in order to secure financial support for a strike. Unions are obliged to submit their agreements and contracts to the General Executive Board for endorsement before they are submitted to the employer, and the General Executive Board may make such changes as it deems advisable. 3 "We must have, above all else, discipline," said W. A. Logan, General President of the Auto Workers, speaking to the Fisher Shop Unit of Detroit. "The larger the group of workers affected by working conditions in a facthe more cumbersome and slower are apt to be tory...... the efforts to bring about more desirable results.. As our union becomes better grounded in all that pertains 1. By-Laws of Local 127, Articles II and XVIII. 2. Ibid, Article XVIII. Also General Constitution,§§ 30 (c), 80. 85. 3. General Constitution, § 73. 4. Auto Workers' News, March 18, 1920. The stern discipline of this organization presents a sharp contrast to the absence of it in the Hotel Workers' Federation. As a further illustration, Local 127, with some 10,000 members, requires them to attend shop meetings at least once a month, and they must remain until the meeting is over unless excused by the chairman. Some of the 2 1 3 shop units in Detroit impose a fine of $1 for failure to do So. A fine of $122.50, including reinstatement, was assessed by the Board of Administration against a former strike-breaker at the Dodge Motor Company; it was reported that the man made application and started to pay his fine. The Local in Grand Rapids forced several men who "scubbed" during a strike to sign a public statement before they would be admitted; a sample apology included these statements: "I admit that in the month of May, 1919, I accepted a strike-breaker's shameful and dirty job at the Haynes Iona Company, of Grand Rapids, Michigan.....I ask and beg the forgiveness of the United Automobile, Aircraft and Vehicle Workers of America and the entire working class of the world."4 The Auto Workers are a non-political organization. However, the Board of dministration of Local 127, by a practically unanimous vote, endorsed the plan of Mayor 1.By-Laws of Local 127, Article XI. 5 2."Report of Organizer Blumenberg," The Auto Worker, Feb.,1920. 3.Auto Workers' News, March 4, 1920. 4.The Auto Worker, Feb.,1920, "Grand Rapids Local News.' Logan, General Pres., "Who and What We Are." 5.Wm. A. |