The first four (in the order enumerated) of the six strikes described above, were conducted by organizations affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and were not attended by any serious demonstrations. The strike of the Polish and Greek hosiery workers in Ipswich and that of the barbers in Boston, both of which were under the direction of representatives of the Industrial Workers of the World, were characterized by a certain amount of demonstration, but in no measure approaching that which attended the notable textile strikes in Lawrence and Lowell during the previous year. Indeed, except for intermittent outbreaks, the activities of this somewhat revolutionary organization seem to have been transferred to other portions of the country, particularly New Jersey and the Middle West, each of which localities has been the recent scene of turbulent industrial conflict in which members of this organization have participated. The eminently satisfactory settlement in 1913 of the controversies between the Boston Elevated Railway Company and its employees in the one case, and between the New England Telephone and Telegraph Company and its employees in another case, appears to have resulted in a disposition on the part of employers and organized employees in various branches of industry, in addition to boot and shoe manufacturing (where arbitration has been largely in vogue for some years) to secure an adjustment of controversies through more peaceful methods than those associated with the strike, boycott, or lockout. Whether this disposition augurs well for the future, or merely represents a period of truce, it would be difficult to determine by means of evidence furnished through such a short period of time, but it would appear, from a study of the prevalence of collective agreements and from the numerous awards which have been made by Boards of Arbitration in this State, that the industrial agreement as an instrument for securing industrial harmony is being accepted with increasing favor by both employers and employees. 2. CHARACTER OF INCREASE IN UNION MEMBERSHIP. With reference to the growth in the number and membership of labor organizations in the Commonwealth during the year 1913, it may be stated that the increase during the year in the number of unions and membership has hardly matched that of 1912, but attention should be called to the fact that the net increase of the present year has counterbalanced a decrease of over 7,000 which has occurred in the total membership of the Industrial Workers of the World since the termination of the strikes in Lawrence, Lowell and other places in Massachusetts, in 1912. During the year 1913, under review, there has been a net increase of 42, or 3.1 per cent, in the total number of local labor organizations in the State and a corresponding net increase of 4,958 members, (2.1 per cent) as compared with a net increase in membership in 1912 of 79 unions and of 45,730 members. About one-third of the net gain of 45,730 members of labor organizations in 1912 was contributed by members of local unions affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World, the number of members in Massachusetts affiliated with this organization having increased from 1,292 in 1911 to 16,546 in 1912. A large part of this increase consisted of textile operatives in Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, Fall River, Haverhill, Boston, Holyoke, and Webster. Instead of a gain in the membership of this organization in 1913, there was a marked decrease of over 7,000, the membership at the close of the year having fallen to 9,157. Disregarding the somewhat transitory membership of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1912 and 1913, the membership of all other local organizations in the State was 220,222 in 1912 and 232,569 in 1913 representing an increase in the more conservative organizations of 12,347, or 5.6 per cent. On this basis of comparison the increase during the year in the membership of labor organizations in Massachusetts may be considered a normal one, and it compares very favorably with the corresponding increases during the years since 1908, in which year statistics of membership were first obtained. The principal sources of increase in the number of organized employees in Massachusetts during 1913 were found in the following occupations: Garment workers, 3,421 members; street and electric railway employees, 1,445 members; carpenters, 1,295 members; electrical workers, 1,272 members; retail clerks, 773 members; bookbinders, 595 members; boot and shoe workers, 675 members; telephone operatives, 638 members; station agents and employees, 521 members; and barbers, 501 members. The large increase in garment workers was a direct result of a special organizing campaign for purposes of securing increased rates of pay and improved working conditions; a campaign which resulted in the most important strike of the year, that of garment workers described on page 6, engaged in the manufacture of men's clothing, and of the strike, beginning about three weeks later, of garment workers engaged in the manufacture of women's clothes which may be considered as a phase of the earlier and more extensive strike. In the case of the street and electrical railway employees and of telephone operatives the special organizing campaigns of the previous year seem to have extended over into 1913, while in the case of the barbers there appears to have been an increase in membership of the locals affiliated with the Barbers' International Union, due to the efforts of the Industrial Workers of the World to organize a local union in Boston under their jurisdiction. The gain in membership in other occupations does not appear to have been due to any special organizing efforts on the part of the organizations represented. With the exception of a comparatively large decrease in the number of textile workers (principally mixed unions of Industrial Workers) and of boiler makers, there were no particularly large decreases during the year in the number of organized employees in any occupation represented. In a number of instances the membership remained fairly stationary, owing, no doubt, to the fact that industrial conditions in general were decidedly unfavorable during the entire year, rendering special organizing efforts inadvisable. The uniformly high percentages of unemployment among organized employees at the close of each quarter, to which attention is directed later in this report (see pp. 36-46), are sufficient evidence that the year was hardly an opportune period for successful organization of wage-earners. 3. SCOPE AND METHOD OF THE REPORT. No class of industrial statistics is in greater demand than that which registers the advance of the labor movement, among which statistics are those relating to the number and membership of organizations, the rates of pay and hours of labor and other data which indicate the success or failure of efforts made by representatives of labor to secure legislation in behalf of people whom they represent. The Bureau has, therefore, felt justified in continuing the collection and publication of data on these several subjects, and in enlarging the scope of its investigations as the demand for information has seemed to justify such extension. In this report attention has been confined principally to the presentation of the statistics relative to number and membership of organizations, and the conditions of employment of their members. The information relative to union scales of wages and hours of labor as of the date June 30, 1913, has also been collected during the year from the local organizations in the State, and was published in Labor Bulletin No. 97. The greater portion of the facts which are presented in this report were obtained in answer to inquiries contained in schedules which were returned by mail by union officials who were qualified to furnish the 1 For specimen forms of these schedules see pages 62 and 63. requisite information. In those instances where the union officials (resident in Massachusetts) failed to return the schedules properly filled out, agents of this Bureau obtained the information from such officials directly, or from some other reliable source. There were only a few instances where the international officials failed to supply the information requested, and in nearly all of those instances it was possible to obtain the facts from the official journal of the organization or from some organizer or other representative residing in Massachusetts. The returns here published were furnished as of the date December 31, 1913, with the exception of the quarterly statistics of unemployment which were as of the respective dates, March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. In some instances, owing to the failure or inability of certain organizations to state their membership as of the date, December 31, 1913, we have used the corresponding figure obtained at the end of the next earlier quarter of the year as returned on the Bureau's quarterly schedule on "Employment and Membership." The data showing the number and membership of organizations in existence on December 31, 1913, as classified by municipalities, industries, and occupations, may be taken as an authoritative and approximately complete showing as to the aggregate membership of all the local organizations in the Commonwealth at the close of the year. With respect to the statistics of unemployment, it may be stated that, while no information was received in some instances and in other instances the inquiries were not applicable owing to the nature of the organization addressed, for all practical purposes the tabulations may be considered sufficiently complete to answer the purpose for which they have been secured that of showing the general conditions in those occupations, industries, and municipalities which are, to any considerable extent, organized. Details relating to individual local unions are not published by this Bureau (although bureaus in several other States have found it advisable to do so) for the reason that we believe that such information should be considered as confidential and that it has served its chief purpose when presented so as to show general conditions throughout the Commonwealth without disclosing facts which might be used to the detriment of any organization. By express permission, however, we are accustomed to publish under the name of the organization to which it applies the information appearing in our Annual Directory of Labor Organizations. In our statistical tables we have not in any case presented facts which referred to less than five unions in any class. The Bureau desires to manifest that same disposition not to violate the confidence of its reporting agencies in the case of the labor organizations in the Commonwealth that it has steadfastly maintained in the case. of industrial establishments for the long period of years (1886-1913) during which it has been accustomed to collect and publish statistics of manufactures. 4. SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL DATA. Following are some of the principal facts shown in this report: Percentage of aggregate membership who were males, Percentage increase in number of members (both sexes), 211,213 30,513 87.4 12.6 4,958 2.1 0.1 18.5 Number of local unions disbanded or amalgamated with some existing local in 1913, Membership of local unions disbanded or amalgamated with some existing 105 Percentage of membership unemployed for all causes-average for the year Percentage of membership unemployed for all causes-average for the year 1912, 8.3 Percentage of membership unemployed owing to lack of work-average for the year 1913, 5.8 average for the year 1912, 4.5 Percentage of membership unemployed owing to lack of work · Statistical tables presenting, in detail, information of the character summarized above appear on pages 47 to 59 of this report. The more significant features of the returns have been discussed in the text, the discussion being for the most part, based on the summary tables accompanying the text. |