Social Civics

Labor in the Old and the New Industrial Order.—So long as the system of hand-industry was in existence there was no sharp division of employers and laborers into two separate classes. The employer was himself a workman at the loom, the bench, or the forge. He might have as helpers a couple of apprentices who were learning the trade, and perhaps a journeyman or two; but rarely were there more than a half dozen men or women employed in a single establishment. The apprentices and journeymen, moreover, expected in due course to set up in business for themselves. There was no hard-and-fast labor class, and no labor problem as we have it at the present day. The employer and his helpers worked together, often lived together; no great gulf separated them in wealth, education, or social position.

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The advent of steam power, factories, and clanging machinery changed all this. The number of employers diminished; the number of employees increased. Hundreds and even thousands of workmen were brought together into great brick factories, working long hours, destined to be laborers throughout their entire lives, with no hope of ever being anything else. With this new organization of industry the relation of the employer to his helpers was completely changed. The old personal relation disappeared; the employer no longer possessed even a passing acquaintance with his men.^[178] The new relation was simply one of dollars and cents. He gave them so much wages; they gave him so much work. Being only one among a hundred, or one among several hundred, the individual employee lost his industrial independence. Whether he liked his work or not there was little for him to do but take the wages that were offered; he could no longer leave his employer and set up in business for himself as he could in the older days of hand-industry. The Industrial Revolution thus brought into being a new labor class, new conditions of labor, and a new labor problem.

Why Labor Organizes.—Organizations of workmen, now commonly known as trade unions or labor unions, were not in existence prior to the Industrial Revolution. There was no need for such associations then. But when the workers found that as individuals they could not bargain with their employers on terms of equality, they naturally sought to achieve this position of equality by combining together into groups or unions. The original purpose of a labor organization, therefore, was to enable its members to act unitedly in the interest of the worker, making a collective bargain with the employers. |The aims of labor organizations.| By this process of collective bargaining they aim to secure fair wages, reasonable hours of work, sanitary conditions in factories, and security against dismissal except for proper cause. In addition to seeking these advantages the labor organizations try to promote the social and intellectual interests of their own members.^[179] They have supported the policy of free, public, education and have urged the prohibition of child labor in order that the children of the workers may be kept at school. They have advocated wholesome forms of public recreation, particularly the establishment of play-grounds. In a word the policy of organized labor is to support every movement which aims to make the worker self-respecting and independent while opposing everything that tends to reduce him to the ranks of a mere cog in the great industrial mechanism.^[180]

Organization Methods.—Trade unions are composed of the wage-earners in a particular trade or occupation.^[181] A local union is formed among the wage-earners of each city or town. These unions, usually called “locals”, hold regular meetings, elect their own officers, and collect small monthly dues from each member. In the earlier stages of the labor movement these local unions were not federated into any national body, but in 1866 the National Labor Union was formed by uniting many of the local associations. This national organization became too much involved in politics, however, and soon went to pieces. In its place arose another national organization known as the Knights of Labor, which gained considerable strength during the twenty years from 1870 to 1890. The Knights of Labor did not attempt to federate the local unions but took individual members directly into their own ranks. In the end the organization became involved in several unsuccessful strikes and gradually weakened, although even today it still maintains a nominal existence. Since 1890 the most important national organization in labor circles has been the American Federation of Labor. Meanwhile, however, the unions in particular trades (such as garment workers, mine workers, railroad trainmen, etc.) had begun to affiliate into individual national unions of their own. State and city federations had also been formed, made up of all the unions in a given state or city. All this made more easy the rise of a giant national federation.

The American Federation of Labor.—The American Federation was organized in 1881 but at first its growth was slow. Today it claims a membership of about four million workers. It is a federal organization comprising various national unions in particular trades, state federations of labor, city federations, and a large number of directly affiliated unions. Directly or indirectly the American Federation of Labor has brought into affiliation nearly thirty thousand local organizations throughout the United States and Canada. Every year it holds a convention made up of delegates from the component organizations, and this convention determines the Federation’s policy. The annual convention also elects the Federation’s general officers. The Federation has no compulsory authority of its own but merely exercises such powers as the organizations of which it is composed may concede to it. Its chief function is to bring representatives of unions together once a year for the discussion of common problems, to secure general agreement upon a common program, to give the labor movement greater strength through united action, and to represent the interests of labor before the public authorities.

The Federation’s Program.—The Federation’s program comprises both economic and political aspirations. Among the former are included the demand for a rate of wages in all trades sufficient to enable the worker to live and bring up his family in accordance with “American standards of living”; the establishment of an eight-hour workday in all occupations, with a half holiday on Saturdays; the prohibition of paid labor by children under sixteen years of age; the more effective inspection of workshops, factories, and mines in order that proper sanitary conditions may be ensured and industrial accidents prevented; and the establishment of a system of social insurance against sickness, disability, accident, and old age. Among the political changes advocated by the Federation are the nation-wide use of the initiative, referendum, and recall; the election of a President by direct popular vote; the restriction of the Supreme Court’s right to declare laws unconstitutional; the prohibition of injunctions in labor disputes; and the extension of government control over railroads. The Federation also urges that greater attention be given to vocational training in the schools. It should be understood that the foregoing program is not fixed and inflexible; it may be changed by the annual convention at any time and is being constantly modified.^[182]

Revolutionary Labor Organizations.—In recent years it has become apparent that the relatively moderate program and the strictly peaceful methods of the American Federation do not satisfy the more radical elements in its own ranks. Repeated attempts have been made at the annual convention to displace Mr. Gompers, the head of the Federation, in favor of some leader with more radical views, but thus far these attempts have failed. In some of the labor organizations the radicals have from time to time got out of hand and have gone on strike in defiance of their leaders. Strikes of this sort are commonly known as “outlaw strikes”.

But more particularly the drift to radicalism in labor’s ranks has been shown by the organization and progress of the Industrial Workers of the World (the I. W. W.), which aims to supplant the American Federation of Labor and to combine all the workers of the country into “one big union”. The history of the I. W. W. goes back to 1898, but it gained little strength as an organization until about 1910. Estimates as to the extent of its present membership are uncertain. The program of the I. W. W. includes the abolition of all capitalism, the control of all industry by the workers, and the union of workers throughout the world. The I. W. W. opposes the making of agreements with employers and is at war with the whole existing economic system. It favors the overthrow of the present system of government and the establishment of a proletarian dictatorship.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

The Closed Shop and the Open Shop.—The most hotly-debated question in the whole range of labor problems today concerns the policy of the open versus the closed shop. Shall all shops and factories be closed to those who are not members of the union? Shall non-union men be virtually required to join the union or be refused employment unless they do? Or shall shops and factories be open to all competent workers no matter whether they belong to the union or not? A closed shop, so-called, is a factory or other industrial plant in which none but members of a labor union are employed.^[183] An open shop is one in which the employer makes no distinction between those who are members of the union and those who are not. The unions insist upon the closed shop as the only way of maintaining the effectiveness of their organizations and of upholding the principles of collective bargaining. They believe it to be impracticable to have union men and non-union men working efficiently, side by side, in the same establishment. Many employers, on the other hand, maintain the open shop because they believe it is essential to proper discipline and gives every workman an equal opportunity. They believe that it is the inalienable right of every American to work for whom he pleases, on such terms as he pleases, without the necessity of joining any organization. Hence they have adopted the habit of calling the open shop system the “American plan” of industrial organization. In those trades where practically all the workers have become unionized the controversy over the open or closed shop does not usually arise; it is chiefly in those trades where a substantial proportion of the workers are not organized.

Conciliation and Arbitration.—The frequency of strikes and lockouts has been diminished in recent years by an increasing resort to the settlement of industrial disputes by conciliation and arbitration. By conciliation is meant the action of some public authority, usually a state board, in tendering its assistance to smooth out the difficulty and effect a settlement. This assistance both sides often accept, although they are under no obligation to do so. By arbitration is meant an agreement to submit the dispute to some one man or group of men, and to abide by whatever decision may be rendered. An arbitration board is commonly made up of three members, one chosen by the employers, one by the workers, and a third mutually agreed upon as neutral. Some states maintain official boards of arbitration to which industrial disputes may be referred at any time by consent of the disputants. Even in cases where they are not called upon to arbitrate disputes these boards usually have the right to investigate the questions at issue and to make known their findings for the information of the public.

Compulsory Arbitration—The Kansas Plan.—Although the compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes has existed for some years in a few other countries^[184] it has not been looked upon with favor by labor leaders in the United States. These leaders feel that compulsory arbitration would take from the worker his most effective weapon—the right to strike at an opportune time. In 1919, however, the legislature of Kansas passed a law establishing in that state an Industrial Court, with judges appointed by the governor.^[185] This court is empowered to fix rules, regulations, and practices for the operation of essential industries.^[186] All industrial disputes, of whatever sort in these essential industries, must be submitted to it, and its decisions are binding upon employers and employees alike. If either side declines to accept the award, the state government is empowered to take over the industry and operate it until the controversy is settled. The Kansas law substitutes adjudication before a state tribunal for the usual method of redress by strikes and lockouts. It is based upon the doctrine that neither capital nor labor has the right to carry on industrial warfare at the expense of the public and that essential industries must be kept in operation because the whole community depends on them. The law has been held to be constitutional, but it is still bitterly opposed by the leaders of organized labor.

Labor and the Law.—It is often alleged that the laws of the land are largely on the side of the employer. This may have been true of the common law which grew up in the days of hand-industry, but the statutes passed by Congress and by the state legislatures during recent years have done a great deal to ensure the just and humane treatment of the American worker. These laws have been concerned with such matters as the prevention of industrial accidents and the establishment of workmen’s compensation, the limitation of the hours of labor for women, the prohibition of child labor, and the establishment of minimum wages in certain industries. In addition the laws have made provision for proper sanitary conditions in shops and factories, and have eliminated many of the abuses which grew up in the earlier days of the factory system. The general tendency of American legislation during the past twenty-five years has been in the direction of protecting the workman in all cases where he cannot be counted upon to protect himself.

Industrial Accidents and Employers’ Liability.—The use of high-powered and complicated machinery in modern times has greatly increased the danger of accident to the workers. By the terms of the common law an employer was obliged to grant compensation to any workman who met with an accident because of defects in the machinery or because of any other negligence on the employer’s part. But he was not obliged to grant compensation when the accident was due to the employee’s own negligence or to the negligence of a fellow-employee. In any event the only way in which an injured workman could get compensation, in case the employer declined to give it, was by bringing a suit in the courts, an expensive and uncertain method. This meant that large numbers of the workers who were disabled every year by accidents were left without any means of support for themselves and their families. It availed very little to say that they were themselves to blame for their plight, or that some fellow-employee was to blame. Placing the blame did not save the worker or his family from starvation. A great amount of hardship and suffering was caused in past generations by putting so much of the burden upon the hapless employee.

When machines break down the employer has to pay the cost of replacing or repairing them. He, in turn, adds this expense to his cost of production and in this way passes it to the public which buys his product. But men break down as well as machines. Every great industry has many human accidents each year. No matter how well the machinery is guarded or how careful the workmen may be, accidents are inevitable. An enormous amount of attention has been given to making railroad-operation safe by means of automatic couplers, air-brakes, electric signals, interlocking switches, and so on, yet it is said that one railroad employee is killed or injured each year for every mile of trackage operated. Why not, therefore, require the employer, and through him, the consumers of the finished products, to pay for what is an inevitable item in the cost of transportation and manufacture? The answer to this question is that it should be done, and in most of the states it is now being done, through the medium of workmen’s compensation laws.

Workmen’s Compensation.—The usual arrangement established by workmen’s compensation laws is as follows: Every injured worker is entitled to compensation, according to the extent of his injury, no matter how the accident may have been caused. If the accident results in the death of the workman, his dependents are entitled to compensation. The amount of the compensation is either fixed by law, or adjusted to the amount of wages which the employee has been receiving, or determined by a state board. It is paid in installments, so much per week for a set period of time. In addition, an injured workman receives medical attention without any expense to himself. The employer usually arranges with a liability insurance company or with the state insurance department to pay this compensation in return for an annual premium which he remits to the company or to the insurance department as the case may be. The cost of the insurance, in other words the amount of the annual premium, becomes one of the regular expenses of conducting business, like taxes, fire insurance, or interest. If the employer does not arrange for liability-insurance, he must pay the compensation from his own pocket. These workmen’s compensation laws have been of incalculable service to the employees; at the same time the cost to the public, in the way of higher prices, has been so small as to be almost unnoticeable.

Limitations on the Working Hours of Women in Industry.—The various industries of the United States now employ several million women, and the special protection of the laws has been extended to them in various directions. The reason for this is that women cannot work long hours without detriment to their physical welfare, and any break-down in the physical well-being of several million women would result in a serious injury to the physique of the whole race. Women in industry, moreover, are not as well able to protect their own interest as men are and for that reason also the laws have intervened in their behalf. Most of these laws have been directed towards limiting the hours of labor for women to a certain maximum per week, forbidding work at night, and improving the conditions under which women are employed. Factories, for example, have been required in some states to provide rest rooms, and stores are under obligation to furnish seats for the use of saleswomen whenever they are not busy at the counters. It may be urged that women, like men, should have the right to work as many hours as they please; but the general welfare of society is paramount to the rights of any class, whether of men or women. It is the duty of society to protect itself against anything that tends to break down its physical or moral well-being.

Child Labor.—In the early days of the factory system children of twelve, ten, or even seven years were put to work for long hours under frightful conditions. Underpaid and underfed, deprived of schooling, they grew up to be physically and intellectually unfit and developed into inferior citizens.^[187] Child labor was thought to be cheap, and from the employer’s point of view it was; but in the long run society found it to be incalculably expensive. Unrestricted child labor increased the number of illiterates, promoted the spread of disease and crime, augmented poverty, and bred discontent. The child is the father of the man; and as our children are cared for so will the future manhood and womanhood of the nation be. No fewer than two million persons under fifteen years of age are engaged in some form of wage-earning occupation in the United States today. Since they are unable to protect themselves against overwork and underpayment, the state must see to it that they are treated by their employers with consideration and humanity.

The laws relating to child labor differ considerably in the various states; in some the provisions are much stricter than in others. In general the tendency is to prohibit the regular employment of children under fourteen years of age. Many of the states forbid the employment of persons under sixteen years of age in night work or in certain dangerous occupations, such as mining. The hours of labor for persons under sixteen are also limited in some states to not exceeding eight per day. Many other provisions restricting child labor are now in force, and year by year new limitations are being added.^[188] In 1916 Congress undertook to place a general restriction on child labor throughout the entire country by passing a law which forbade the transportation and sale in interstate commerce of any goods made in whole or in part by children under a designated age-limit. The Supreme Court of the United States held this law to be unconstitutional, however, declaring that the authority to regulate commerce among the states does not empower Congress to control the conditions of industry within the state boundaries. Congress has since placed a ban upon child labor in another way, namely, by providing that the profits of these industries which employ children shall be taxed more heavily than the profits of those concerns which do not.^[189]

Minimum Wage Laws.—Investigations into the subject made some years ago disclosed the fact that not only were women and children frequently overworked in industries but that they were often underpaid as well. One reason for this underpayment was that many of the women and children workers lived at home and did not need to be entirely self-supporting. They merely contributed to the general family earnings. They were thus in a position to work for smaller wages than if they were entirely self-dependent. But there were also many thousands of women and children who had to support themselves entirely from their own earnings and to these the low rate of wages meant hardship and suffering. It meant undernourishment, physical break-down, and premature old age. It led to pauperism and immorality. So the laws have once more intervened to protect the well-being of the race against the fruits of industrial injustice by providing that the wages of women and children in industry shall not fall below a certain minimum.

Many of the states have put these minimum wage laws upon their statute books. Sometimes the minimum rate of wages is fixed in the law; more often it is determined in the case of each industry by a state board after an investigation. The minimum rate is set at such a point as will enable the wage-earner to be self-supporting. Here, again, the basic principle is that the actual cost of production, including the cost of protecting society against things detrimental to it, should be paid by the public which buys the goods. |Some practical difficulties.| One practical difficulty connected with the minimum wage plan is that it tends to throw the less efficient employees out of work altogether. The employer who is forced by law to pay a fixed minimum in wages, no matter how unskillful the worker may be, will promptly dismiss all those who do not give him, in work, the worth of their wages. If a minimum wage is established in all industries, where will the least skillful find employment?

The Problem of Unemployment.—The greatest of all economic wastes today is that which results from unemployment. The ideal condition would be to have everybody employed all the time. If that could be accomplished we could produce a great deal more each year at lower cost. Unemployment means that idle men must use what other workers are producing. But it is not possible to do away with unemployment altogether. Some trades are seasonal in character, that is to say, busy at one period of the year and slack during others. In northern regions the building trades, bricklaying, outdoor carpentry, and so on, are in this category. The larger part of the unemployment, however, is due to other than seasonal causes. It is due rather to trade depressions which from time to time cause the shutting down of industrial establishments and it is caused in some degree by the lack of careful planning on the part of the employer. The number of unemployed workers throughout the country varies greatly from time to time. It may be as low as five per cent or as high as forty per cent of the entire number.

Various plans for lessening the evils of unemployment have been suggested, but they all present some practical difficulties. Better vocational training would reduce the number of unskilled workers; and it is the unskilled who contribute most largely to the ranks of the unemployed. The establishment of public employment offices has done something to bring workers into touch with available jobs. It is proposed that we have a more careful planning of state and municipal improvements so that the heaviest demand for labor on public works would come at times when unemployment is most prevalent—this, it is urged, would help alleviate the trouble even though it might not go very far in solving the whole problem. Much would be accomplished by the better organization of industrial production and by some scheme of co-operation among employers which would enable workers to be transferred from one industry to another. Great practical obstacles are in the way of doing this on a large scale.

Some large concerns have already adopted the plan of setting aside each week a certain percentagepercentage of the total pay roll as an unemployment reserve. Then, whenever workers are temporarily out of employment through the slackening of business and not through any fault of their own, a certain weekly wage is paid to them from this reserve. Something will also be accomplished in the way of reducing unemployment by better vocational guidance, for young men and women often go into employments which afford no chance of promotion and which they subsequently find to be unsuited to their tastes. Many large industries now bestow great care upon the selection of new employees. All applicants are dealt with through a special official known as the employment manager, whose function it is to make reasonably sure that the applicant is fitted for the position. Foremen and bosses are not allowed to discharge employees at will. The complaints must first be referred for investigation to the employment manager’s office. This plan will also help alleviate unemployment if it becomes general.

Unemployment insurance has been tried in a few European countries and has been advocated in America. This plan contemplates that each employer shall contribute to a fund from which a stated wage scale shall be paid to those who remain out of work through no fault of their own, or that the government shall provide such a fund from the proceeds of taxes. It is easy to see that a scheme of this sort might be seriously abused, yet so long as the problem of unemployment remains serious we must strive to find some way of solving it.

Old-Age Pensions.—Most wage-earners do not save enough to provide for themselves in old age. The result is that after long years of toil they are dependent upon their children, or must eke out a precarious existence by doing odd jobs, or must be supported by the public poor-relief funds. |The experience of Great Britain and Germany.| This is not a desirable state of affairs and in some European countries, notably in Great Britain and in Germany, systems of old-age pensions for workers have been established. In Germany the worker pays a small amount each week into the fund; the employer pays an equal amount and the government pays the rest. In Great Britain the employers and the government pay it all. Every wage-earner, on reaching old age, receives a small weekly allowance for the rest of his days.^[190] The cost of an old-age pension system is enormous, but in the long run it is likely to represent real economy. Sooner or later the system will probably be established in this country; the only question is whether, when it comes, the wage-earner should be required to pay a regular contribution during the years in which he is able to do full work.

American Labor and the War.—Among the various factors which helped to win the World War the loyalty and enthusiasm of American labor should be accorded a high place. War always creates a great shortage of workers, partly because so many able-bodied men are taken into the army and partly because of the tremendous need for workers in munition plants and other war industries. During war, therefore, the labor organizations are always in a position to make demands which cannot well be refused. It is quite true that American labor took advantage of its opportunities during the World War; but so did the employers. The wages of labor rose everywhere, as did the profits of industry. Nevertheless it can fairly be said that labor co-operated with the government at all the essential points and produced the uninterrupted flow of materials which was needed to ensure victory. Certain it is that without this co-operation on the part of labor the United States could not have figured so prominently in deciding the ultimate issue of the great conflict.

Isaac Lippincott, Economic Development of the United States, pp. 491-511;

R. T. Ely, The Labor Movement in America, pp. 34-91 (Growth and Present Conditions of Labor Organizations);

T. S. Adams and H. L. Sumner, Labor Problems, pp. 461-501 (Labor Laws);

F. T. Carlton, Organized Labor in American History, pp. 11-44 (Epochs in the History of Organized Labor); pp. 169-197 (Labor Parties); pp. 198-225 (Ideals of the Wage Earner);

R. F. Hoxie, Trade Unionism in the United States, pp. 254-275 (Collective Bargaining);

John R. Commons and J. B. Andrews, Principles of American Labor Legislation, pp. 35-90 (Individual Bargaining);

Samuel Gompers, American Labor and the War, passim.

1. The origin, growth, and aims of labor organizations. The organization of industry before the Industrial Revolution. Rise of the factory system. Creation of a labor class. Early conditions of factory employment. Beginnings of labor organizations. Early attitude of the law and the courts. Growth of labor organizations during the past half century. Central organizations and national bodies. Present-day aims of labor organizations—economic, social, and political. Specific features of organized labor’s program. Labor as a factor in politics. The movements for industrial democracy. References: T.S. Adams and H.L. Sumner, Labor Problems, pp. 214-279; Sidney Webb, History of Trade Unionism, pp. 1-56; 431-541; Mary Beard, Short History of the American Labor Movement, pp. 47-79; F. T. Carlton, Organized Labor in American History, pp. 11-44; 198-225; R. F. Hoxie, History of Trade Unionism in the United States, pp. 211-252 (The Law in Relation to Labor); John R. Commons (editor), History of Labor in the United States, passim; R. T. Ely, The Labor Movement in America, pp. 34-91; P. F. Brissenden, History of the I. W. W., pp. 83-112 (The I. W. W. vs. the A. F. of L.).

2. The American Federation of Labor: its history, aims, and achievements. References: Samuel Gompers, American Labor and the War, pp. 186-196; John Mitchell, Organized Labor, pp. 397-406; F. T. Carlton, History and Problems of Organized Labor, pp. 75-82; Mary R. Beard, Short History of the American Labor Movement, pp. 86-149; G. G. Groat, Organized Labor in America, pp. 82-99; Helen Marot, American Labor Unions, pp. 11-28.

3. The arbitration of industrial disputes. References: T. S. Adams and Helen Sumner, Labor Problems, pp. 295-332; Sidney Webb, Industrial Democracy, pp. 222-246; N. P. Gilman, Methods of Industrial Peace, pp. 301-345; R. T. Ely, The Evolution of Industrial Society, pp. 374-397; John Mitchell, Organized Labor, pp. 337-346; F. W. Taussig, Principles of Economics, Vol. II, pp. 303-322.

4. The general principles of labor legislation. References: W. S. Jevons, The State in Relation to Labor, pp. 1-32; F. W. Taussig, Principles of Economics, Vol. II, pp. 285-302; John R. Commons and J. B. Andrews, Principles of Labor Legislation, pp. 1-34; H. S. Person, Labor Laws and Their Enforcement, passim.