Printers’ Union Strikes Back After 'Religious' Rejection
The Trades Council declares the Cascade Printing & Stationery Company 'unfair' after a dispute over religious grounds for opposing labor organization.
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After a series of conferences covering a period of several weeks, the special committee appointed by the Trades Council to meet with the proprietors of the Cascade Printing & Stationery company were forced to recommend that the firm be placed on the Unfair List. The firm's owners cited religious prejudice against unionism, arguing that the modern labor movement could not square with the teachings of Christ. The Labor Journal counters this by highlighting the Typographical Union's history of social welfare, including a million-dollar home in Colorado Springs for sick and elderly printers, noting that the union acts as a mutual aid society for its members.
“If, as we take it, present day applied Christianity is the Golden Rule put into practice, let us see how the Typographical union squares with the Golden Rule.”
This story highlights the historical friction between organized labor and employer-led arguments of 'religious values,' a dynamic that continues to appear in modern labor relations. The description of the Typographical Union as a provider of social safety nets provides a vivid glimpse into the era of craft unionism.
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