The Struggle for One Big Union
Labor organizers weigh the merits of craft unions against the rising 'one big union' movement in the railroad industry.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Occupying headliner space in national labor news during the past few weeks have been the railroad federations of shop employes with their demands on two great railway systems. The 'one big union' fellows accuse craft unionism of being stagnant and totally inefficient. Despite their croaking, we are moving fast toward the goal of accomplishment and the federation of crafts in a given industry is one of the big things labor is accomplishing at the present time. Each branch of railroad service has had its union working independently of any other. If the agreement of the machinists expired and negotiations failed to renew it satisfactorily, a resultant strike found the boilermakers religiously held to their agreement by the company. The result was industrial chaos and virtual 'organized scabbery.' The federation of trades in a given industry will revolutionize industry in this country as sure as the sun sets.
“If the switchmen struck, there was an agreement binding the trainmen, conductors, firemen, etc., which compelled them virtually to scab on their striking fellows.”
The tension between fragmented craft unions and a unified labor force was a defining feature of early 20th-century American labor. This internal struggle for solidarity remains a central narrative in union organizing efforts today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.