The Moral Case for Unions
A defense of organized labor’s role in society, citing the need for collective bargaining to counter corporate power.
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.
In a recent address at Philadelphia, the Rev. William J. Kerby of the Catholic university at Washington said of organized labor: 'The law has long since recognized the principle that laborers may form unions for purposes of mutual protection... Organized labor has rendered to modern society services of which it may be proud. The industrial magnate keeps his attorney at his side always to protect his interests, to direct his action and even to control his speech and correspondence. The laboring class has had no attorney except its organization.'
“The industrial magnate keeps his attorney at his side always to protect his interests... The laboring class has had no attorney except its organization.”
This 1912 argument highlights the enduring struggle between corporate power and labor rights—a conversation that remains central to the civic identity of Everett, a town built on mill work and union organization.
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