APPENDIX. DEFINITIONS AND EXPLANATION OF TERMS.1 (a) The term “labor organization" as used by this Bureau is a group of wage-earners employed in the same trade or industry who have associated themselves primarily for the purpose of securing more favorable rates of wages, hours of labor, and other working conditions where obtainable. There are three distinct types of labor organizations in the United States, (a) the local, (b) the delegate, and (c) the nationa' or international. (b) The local trade union, properly so-called, is composed of wage-earners working in a definite locality and employed in the same craft, occupation, or industry. Its affairs are authorized by direct vote of the members in formal meetings. The term "local" is customarily used by organized wage-earners to signify "local trade union" or "local union" and for purposes of brevity is so used in this report. Some locals have subordinate departments, such as the "chapels" among printers or the shop crews" in other trades. In those localities where no local has been formed employees often attach themselves to the nearest local elsewhere, although they may not be able to participate in its deliberations. In some localities where there is not a sufficient number of persons in a single craft to form a distinct local for each craft the American Federation of Labor has made it a practice to form what are known as "federal labor unions," in which are associated those wage-earners whose occupation is such that they are not eligible to join any of the existing locals in that locality. The term "local" as used in this report includes not only organizations whose official names actually include the word "union," but also other organized bodies of wage-earners who prefer to be known as "associations,” “assemblies," or "lodges.' (c) A delegate organization consists of a body of representatives from a group of local unions or other delegate organizations. The function of such bodies is to make possible concerted action by the local unions in particular trades or localities through these representatives, known as "delegates," who have been elected by the several locals for the purpose of considering matters of common interest. The influence of each organization of this character is determined largely by the number, membership, and degree of organization of the local unions represented by the delegates elected. Among the delegate organizations there are several distinct types. (See "State and District Councils," "Central Labor Unions," and "Local Trades Councils," defined on page 61.) (d) A national or international organization represents a group of affiliated local unions covering a larger territory than a single State, but ordinarily having jurisdiction over but one trade or several closely allied trades. The only distinction between national and international organizations is that the latter may have affiliated locals in more than one country. In this report the word "international" is used to designate both national and international organizations, a use of the term which general usage amply justifies. An international union may have affiliated locals in each of those States or districts where there are wage-earners employed in the trade over which that international has assumed jurisdiction. Thus some of the stronger internationals have affiliated locals in nearly every State in the Union and some have affiliated unions in Porto Rico, Hawaii, the Isthmian Canal Zone, the Philippines, Canada, and Mexico. Two British organizations have affiliated "Societies" in this country The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners and the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, the latter body including machinists, millwrights, and pattern makers. These "Societies" also have branches in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The word "National," forming a part of the official title of some organizations, is sometimes misleading, inasmuch as the organization so designated may have a very limited number of affiliated locals and these may be concentrated in a few localities only. The name may thus be merely prophetic of what the organization hopes to become, or, as in the case of one or two organizations, the trade over which the organization has jurisdiction may be confined to a limited section of the country, thereby precluding the union's further growth territorially. A large majority of the internationals in the United States have become affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. The principle of federation is similar to that of the local unions with their respective internationals, and its revenue is raised by a per capita tax on the members of each affiliated union and by charter fees. The International Union of the United Brewery Workers of America, the Western Federation of Miners, and the United Mine Workers of America, while affiliated with the 1 For a descriptive and historical study of the various forms of trade unions, see "American Trade Unions," by Helen Marot (New York, Henry Holt & Co., 1914, 275 p.). Chapter VI, entitled "Industrial and Trade Organization" is of particular interest in this connection. American Federation of Labor, depart somewhat from the typical form of International and National Organizations affiliated with the Federation in that they comprise locals of which the membership is not always confined to a single branch of trade or occupation. Thus the locals of brewery workers may, in addition to brewery workers, include bottlers, drivers, stationary firemen, and other employees about the brewery, and likewise the local unions of mine workers include many of the different trades employed about the mines as well as those who are actually miners. Notable among the internationals which are not affiliated with the American Federation of Labor are several large railway organizations which, while without formal federation among themselves, are nevertheless closely associated through sympathy and identity of interests. Two other organizations commonly classed as federations - the Knights of Labor and the Industrial Workers of the World - differ fundamentally from the American Federation of Labor in that they are composed not of affiliated internationals each reserving to itself a large measure of trade autonomy but are composed rather of affiliated local bodies organized on an industrial basis and having a membership consisting of wage-earners in various more or less unrelated trades. As variations of this type of organization may be mentioned other organizations which are, in principle, alliances of national unions having jurisdiction over related trades. The triple alliance of the International Typographical Union, the International Printing Pressmen and Assistants Union, and the International Brotherhood of Bookbinders may be cited as illustrative of this form of association along trade lines. The American Federation of Labor has established five departments: Building Trades Department, Metal Trades Department, Mining Department, Railroad Employees Department (all branches are not - represented, however), and Union Label Trades Department. Each department has a chairman and secretary and is concerned with matters affecting the group of trades. (e) State and District Councils.- - Between the local union and the international body there are sometimes organized State or district councils, which are composed of delegates from local unions of a particular trade organization within a given locality, the locality being in some cases a county, State, or group of States. Such a body is the Massachusetts State Council of Carpenters and Joiners, in which are associated for certain purposes representatives from all of the local unions of carpenters in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts State Council of Wood, Wire, and Metal Lathers and other similar organizations have their own officers and definite authority within the district, represented by their affiliated locals. State Federations such as the Massachusetts State Branch of the American Federation of Labor, for example, are organized upon a basis similar to the central labor unions, but the territory from which local unions are eligible is a State rather than a city. (f) Central Labor Unions. In nearly all of the cities and in several of the large towns there is a central labor union (sometimes called a "trades and labor council" or "city central"). Such body is composed of delegates from the local unions of various trades in a certain definite locality. Usually a majority of the local unions in a city are affiliated with the Central Labor Union of that city. (g) Local Trades Councils. Federations of local unions, generally known as "local trades councils," are made up in the larger cities of delegates from local unions of closely allied trades grouped together for certain stated purposes. The local Carpenters' District Councils, the building trades councils, and allied printing trades councils are examples of this form of federation. INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATIONS 1. Name of International Organization,. 2. Name and Address of International Secretary,. 3. Title of Official Journal,.. (If none is published, kindly write "None.") 4. Place and date of last convention,. 5. Place and date of next convention,. 6. Total number of chartered locals,. Aggregate Membership,. Aggregate Membership,.. 8. Kindly enter below a list of the local unions in Massachusetts affiliated with the International. 7. Total number of chartered locals in Massachusetts,.. (The list may be enclosed separately if more convenient.) NAME AND NUMBER CITY OR TOWN WHERE NAME OF LOCAL ADDRESS OF LOCAL This Bureau would be pleased to receive a copy of your Constitution and By-Laws as last amended, and also a copy of your last convention report. Date..... Information supplied by.. 12 1 A copy of this schedule was sent on December 18, 1914, to each national or international organization known to have affiliated with it at least one local union in the United States. 2. SCHEDULE SENT QUARTERLY TO SECRETARIES OF LOCAL LABOR ORGANIZATIONS. 1 1 NOTICE. — Kindly answer each question in order that further correspondence may be rendered unnecessary. If any question is not applicable to your organization, mark a cross (X) opposite such question. Where the proper answer is "NONE," this word should be written, so that we may know the question has been considered by you. Remarks with reference to any of the inquiries may be written on the reverse side of this schedule. 1. City or town where your organization is located. 4. How many members were unemployed because of lack of work or material? 5. How many members were unemployed because of unfavorable weather? 6. How many members were unemployed because of strike or lockout? 7. How many members were unemployed because of sickness, accident, or old age? 8. How many members were unemployed because of other reasons? State what these reasons were, 9. Total number of members unemployed on date specified above, . 10. Number of members in your local organization on date specified above? Men. Women. ....... Total... 1 A copy of this schedule was sent quarterly to each local union known to be in existence at the close of each quarter in 1914. |