of this character, namely, Attleboro, Beverly, Everett, Medford, Melrose, Newburyport, Newton, Revere, Waltham, and Woburn. During the year two central labor unions were organized, one in Plymouth and one in Southbridge, while in Bridgewater the central labor union was disbanded.

The aggregate number of local unions (including a few duplications) affiliated with the 36 central labor unions in Massachusetts was 810. There were 14 central labor unions, each of which had 20 or more affiliated locals, as follows: Boston, 173; Springfield, 52; Worcester, 47; Brockton, 44; Lowell, 37; Holyoke, 34; New Bedford, 31; Lawrence, 29; Lynn, 29; Fall River, 27; Cambridge, 25; Haverhill, 25; Taunton, 24; and North Adams, 21, making a total of 598 locals affiliated with these 14 central labor unions. The number of locals affiliated with the remaining 21 central labor unions was 212.

D. LOCAL TRADES COUNCILS.

Within this group there were 63 organizations at the close of 1913 as compared with 56 at the close of 1912. Among these 63 organizations there were 11 carpenters' district councils, 12 building trades councils or sections, seven allied printing trades councils, six joint shoe councils, five textile councils, and 22 other local trades councils. Of these 63 organizations, 21 were in Boston, five each in Brockton and Lynn, four each in Lawrence and Springfield, three each in Lowell, New Bedford, and Worcester, two each in Fall River, Holyoke, Pittsfield, and Quincy, and one each in Haverhill, Maynard, North Adams, Salem, Taunton, Westfield, and Whitman. The organizations of this character were confined to these 19 localities, all of which (except Maynard and Westfield) are cities. In each of these 19 localities (except Maynard and Whitman) there was also a central labor union. (See Section C, preceding, relative to Central Labor Unions.)

In this report statistics are presented showing the number of labor organizations in Massachusetts at the close of each of the seven years, 1908 to 1914; also, for the close of 1913 and 1914, the number and membership of locals in the leading cities and towns, the number and mem

bership of local unions classified by occupations and by industries, and the number of women in these organizations classified by occupations.1

B. COMPARISONS BY YEARS, 1908-1914.

In the following table is shown the total number of local unions in Massachusetts at the close of each of the seven years, 1908 to 1914, together with additional returns showing by sex the aggregate membership reported on corresponding dates.

Number and Membership of Local Trade Unions at the Close of Each Year Specified.

The membership of the 1,392 local unions in the Commonwealth at the close of 1914 was 234,266, as compared with a membership of 241,726 for the 1,403 local unions in existence at the close of 1913. The net decrease in the membership during the year was 7,460 members, or 3:1 per cent. The number of new local unions organized during the year 1914 was 80, and the number which disbanded or combined with some existing local union was 91, making a net decrease of 11 locals during the year.

The membership of the 80 new unions which were organized during the year was 9,944, and the membership of the 91 unions which disbanded or amalgamated with other organizations was 5,822, while there was a

1 The detailed tables will be found on pages 51 to 54 and are numbered, respectively, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

2 In the report for 1908, the number of local unions for that year was given as 1,256. This total included 13 unions which are not included in the totals for the other six years in the table, and which were not, strictly speaking, labor organizations, but rather educational and beneficial organizations. The totals for 1908 have, accordingly, been corrected as above in order that the totals for the several years may be strictly comparable.

* Estimated on the basis of returns from 1,160 unions which reported an aggregate membership of 161,887, of which number 151,765 were males and 10,122 were females.

Estimated on the basis of returns from 1,185 unions which reported an aggregate membership of 168,037, of which number 156,799 were males and 11,238 were females.

s In Lawrence, Fall River, Lowell, and New Bedford the losses in membership were principally by local unions affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World.

net decrease of 11,582 in the membership of the 1,312 unions which were in existence both at the close of 1913 and 1914. It therefore appears that although the gain in new members in 1914, due to the organization of new unions during the year, was greater by 4,122 than the loss due to the disbanding of former unions, there was, nevertheless, a net decrease of 7,460 in aggregate membership at the close of 1914, as compared with the aggregate at the close of 1913, due to the decrease (11,582) in aggregate membership of unions which were in existence both at the close of 1913 and 1914.

The average membership of the local organizations in existence at the close of 1914 was 168.3, as compared with an average membership of 172.3 at the close of 1913 and 174.0 at the close of 1912.

C. DISTRIBUTION OF LOCAL UNIONS BY MUNICIPALITIES.

A classification of local organizations by cities and towns is a rather essential one because the unit sphere of union activity is the local community, whether that be a city, a town, or a section of a city or town. The preparation of such a classification is no simple task for the reason that in many instances a so-called "local organization" may have jurisdiction over one or more adjoining cities or towns, or, in the case of railroad organizations, over even an entire railroad system. In those instances where the jurisdiction of an organization covers more than one city or town the Bureau has classified such organization under that city or town in which it maintains its headquarters, the membership of such organization being largely confined to the locality in which its headquarters are located. The total membership of organizations classified under Boston, for example, is probably in excess of the actual number of organized workingmen who reside in Boston because, for convenience, certain residents of neighboring localities may be members of an organization having its headquarters in Boston. In the case of certain so-called local railroad organizations the membership may include employees from even distant points on the particular railroad system represented; nevertheless, the point of departure is the essential consideration, and it is partly for this reason that no attempt has been made to determine the actual residence of the members of such unions. Accurate showing on the latter basis would obviously be very difficult, rendering it necessary for the Bureau to ascertain the actual place of residence of each member of each local organization in the State, or at least to secure a statement in detail from each organization as to the residence of its members, a task which the value of the information would hardly justify.

Boston far out-ranked all other cities both with respect to the number of unions and their aggregate membership. Of the 1,392 local unions in existence in Massachusetts at the close of 1914, 297, or 21.3 per cent, had their headquarters in Boston, as compared with 305, or 21.7 per cent, of the 1,403 unions in Massachusetts at the close of 1913. Of the aggregate membership (234,266) in Massachusetts at the close of 1914, 96,343, or 41.1 per cent, were in unions having their headquarters in Boston, as compared with 96,621, or 40.0 per cent of the aggregate membership (241,726) in Massachusetts at the close of 1913. These records, therefore, show that although there was in 1914 a net decrease of eight unions having their headquarters in Boston, a net decrease of 278 in aggregate membership, and a slight decrease in the percentage of all unions in Massachusetts having their headquarters in Boston, there was an increase in the percentage of the aggregate membership in Massachusetts who were members of unions having their headquarters in Boston. The cities having 25 or more local unions were: Boston, 297; Springfield, 71; Worcester, 66; Lynn, 63; Lowell, 58; Brockton, 49; Holyoke, 45; Lawrence, 40; New Bedford, 40; Fall River, 37; Salem, 32; Fitchburg, 31; Haver hill, 31; and Taunton, 29.

The cities represented by a membership of over 2,500 were as follows: Boston, 96,343; Brockton, 15,904; Lynn, 13,755; Springfield, 9,241; Fall River, 8,770; New Bedford, 8,729; Worcester, 8,254; Haverhill, 6,353; Lawrence, 6,115; Lowell, 6,067; Salem, 4,213; Holyoke, 4,012; Quincy, 2,577.

At the close of 1914, 127 municipalities in the State were represented by at least one local trade union, there being at least one local in each of the 35 cities and in 92 of the 318 towns, leaving 226 towns not so represented. The municipalities represented at the close of 1914 were the same as in 1913, with the exception of Hardwick, Lexington, Wellesley, and Westwood, which were represented in 1913 but not in 1914.

A comparison of the number of local trade unions in these 127 localities at the close of 1914 with corresponding data for 1913 shows that in 92 localities there was no change in the number of local unions; in 15 localities there was an increase; and in 24 localities there was a decrease (Hardwick, Lexington, Wellesley, and Westwood, which had one local each in 1913, having no locals in 1914). There was a net increase in the number of unions in each of the following localities: Lynn, four; Maynard and Springfield, three each; Chicopee, Fitchburg, Lowell, New Bedford, Norwood, and Waltham, two each; and six other localities, one each. The localities in which there was a net decrease in the number

of local unions were the following: Boston, eight; Lawrence, four; Worcester, three; Brockton, Greenfield, and Quincy, two each; and in 18 other localities, one each.

In each of 45 of the 1311 municipalities having one or more local unions in 1913 or 1914, there was a net increase in union membership aggregating 4,116; in each of 81 localities there was a net decrease aggregating 11,576; while in five localities the union membership remained unchanged. The net decrease in union membership was 7,460. The localities showing increases of more than 300 union members were Springfield, 526; Maynard, 492; Haverhill, 354; Salem, 323; and Framingham, 313. The localities showing decreases of more than 300 members were: Lawrence, 4,335; Fall River, 1,284; Cambridge, 1,102; Gloucester, 660; Lowell, 368; New Bedford, 349; Brockton, 335; and Worcester, 314. The decreases in Lawrence, Fall River, Lowell, and New Bedford were due principally to loss of members by unions affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World.

D. COMPARISONS BY INDUSTRIES AND OCCUPATIONS.
(a) Industries.2

Owing to the fact that local unions are not always organized strictly on an industrial basis it is somewhat difficult to classify them on the basis of industries, consequently it has been found necessary, in some instances, to classify a particular union under that industry in which the greater portion of its members may be employed.

The 1,392 local unions in existence in Massachusetts at the close of 1914 may be classified as follows: Building trades, 368; transportation (steam and electric), 160; boot and shoe manufacturing, 104; iron and steel manufacturing, 94; textiles, 62; printing and allied trades, 56; and all other industries, 548. In point of numbers of organized workers, boot and shoe manufacturing ranked first with 41,740 members, followed by building trades with 38,304; transportation, 35,367; textile manufacturing, 18,777; iron and steel manufacturing, 7,535; and printing and allied trades, 6,769.

A chart showing graphically the number and membership of local labor organizations in Massachusetts at the close of each year, 1908 to 1914, appears on the opposite page, and the statistics on which the graphs are based appear in the table on page 26:

1 Includes four towns which were represented by one union each in 1913 but by no union in 1914. For a tabulation showing in detail the number and membership of local unions in Massachusetts at the close of 1913 and 1914, see Table 6 on page 54.