II.

NUMBER AND MEMBERSHIP.

1. NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.

A national or international labor organization consists of a group of affiliated local trade unions, representing a larger territory than a single State, but ordinarily having jurisdiction over but one trade or several closely allied trades. For the purpose of brevity the terms "national organizations" and "national unions" have been used in this report to designate both national and international labor organizations or unions.

The total number of national organizations having one or more chartered local unions in the United States at the close of 1917 was 147, of which number, 112 had one or more chartered local unions in Massachusetts, whereas at the close of 1916, there were 145 national organizations having one or more chartered locals in the United States, 109 of which were represented in Massachusetts by at least one affiliated local union.

A large majority of the national unions in the United States are affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, which bears to the national unions in the various trades and industries substantially the same relation that they, in turn, bear to their affiliated local unions. At the close of 1917 the number of national unions in the United States affiliated with the American Federation of Labor was 112, or 76.2 per cent of the total number (147) of national unions represented by one or more local unions in the United States, while at the close of 1916, the number of national unions affiliated with the Federation was 111, or 76.5 per cent of the total number (145) at that time. Of the 1,460 local unions in the State at the close of 1917, 1,231, or 84.3 per cent, were affiliated with the Federation either directly or through 87 of its affiliated national unions having chartered locals in this State, while at the close of 1916, 1,150, or 81.2 per cent of the 1,416 locals in the State, were affiliated with the Federation either directly or through 83 of its affiliated national unions. With reference to the membership of the local unions, it was found that at the close of 1917 the total membership of the 1,231 local unions directly or indirectly affiliated with the Federation was 221,493, or 79.8 per cent of the aggregate membership (277,720) of the 1,460 local unions in the State, while at the close of 1916, the total

membership of the 1,150 local unions directly or indirectly affiliated with the Federation was 201,015, or 78.2 per cent of the aggregate membership (257,007) of the 1,416 local unions in the State.

The "average paid up and reported membership" of the American Federation of Labor for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1917, was 2,371,434 and for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1916, it was 2,072,702.1 The organizations affiliated with the Federation are required to pay a per capita tax upon their full paid-up membership only, and, therefore, the membership reported does not include those members who were involved in strikes or lockouts or those who were unemployed and for whom no tax was received. Assuming, however, that the membership of the Federation as reported above is an approximately complete and accurate statement as of the close of the year, it would appear that Massachusetts, with 221,493 trade unionists directly or indirectly affiliated with the Federation at the close of 1917, furnished approximately 9.3 per cent of the entire membership of the Federation, and with 201,015 trade unionists directly or indirectly affiliated with the Federation at the close of 1916, furnished approximately 9.7 per cent of the entire membership of the Federation at that time.

On December 31, 1917, there were 14 national unions each of which was represented in Massachusetts by at least four affiliated local unions having an aggregate membership of over 5,000 members. The national unions are listed in the following table in the order of their aggregate membership at the close of 1917, and there is shown opposite the name of each organization the number of its affiliated locals in Massachusetts and the aggregate membership of these locals at the close of 1917, together with comparative data for the close of 1916.

1 See "Report of the Proceedings of the Thirty-seventh Annual Convention of the American Federation of Labor,” p. 52.

Principal National and International Unions Represented in Massachusetts at the Close of 1916 and 1917.1

At the close of 1917 the 14 national unions enumerated in the above table had 641 affiliated local unions in Massachusetts with an aggregate membership of 160,531 as compared with 617 locals with an aggregate membership of 149,171 at the close of 1916. Expressed in percentages, these 14 national unions included 43.9 per cent of the total number of local unions and 57.8 per cent of the aggregate membership in Massachusetts at the close of 1917, and 43.6 per cent of the total number of unions and 58.0 per cent of the aggregate membership in the State at the close of 1916.

The seven national unions, each having over ten thousand members in Massachusetts at the close of 1917 were the Boot and Shoe Workers Union, with a membership of 27,671; the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, with 21,145 members; the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees, with 15,934 members; the

International Association of Machinists, with 15,607 members; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, with 11,416 members; the Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen, and Helpers, with 10,809 members, and the United Textile Workers, with 10,911 members. At the close of 1916, these seven national unions also led all others in point of membership in Massachusetts, but the Machinists, Electrical Workers, Teamsters, and Textile Workers ranked, respectively, seventh, fifth, fourth, and sixth in this respect.

The relative rank of the several national unions on the basis of number of affiliated local unions in the State does not correspond closely with their rank on the basis of membership. Thus, the Carpenters ranked first in point of number of local unions in Massachusetts, followed by (2) Boot and Shoe Workers, (3) Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers, (4) Electrical Workers, (5) Textile Workers, (6) Teamsters, and (7) Machinists. The representation by locals in Massachusetts was especially large in the case of the organizations of boot and shoe workers. Thus, at the close of 1917, 40.7 per cent of all locals in the United States affiliated with the Boot and Shoe Workers Union, and 51.1 per cent of all locals in the United States affiliated with the United Shoe Workers Union, were located in this State. In these two cases the percentages were naturally high, for the reason that a considerable portion of the boot and shoe manufacturing in the United States is done in this State.

The number of locals, as classified under each occupation elsewhere in this report, does not represent, invariably, the number of locals in Massachusetts affiliated with any international having jurisdiction over that occupation, for in some cases a local union, or group of locals in the same occupation, may have become affiliated with more than one international body, while in other cases, several closely related occupations may be under the jurisdiction of a single international.

2. DELEGATE ORGANIZATIONS.

Introductory. Nearly all of the local organizations in Massachusetts, while affiliated with their respective international organizations, are at the same time affiliated with what this Bureau has found convenient to designate as "delegate organizations", which have no direct membership but consist merely of "delegates" or "representatives" from groups of local unions. These organizations have, for purposes of discussion, been grouped under three general classes: (A) State, District, and Trades Councils; (B) Central Labor Unions; and (C) Local Trades Councils. The number of such organizations in Massachusetts at the close of each of the ten years, 1908 to 1917, is shown in the following table.

Number of Delegate Organizations Having Affiliated Locals in Massachusetts at the Close of the Years 1908-1917.

The total number of delegate organizations in the State at the close of 1917 was 181, of which number, 79 were State, District or Trades Councils, 33 were Central Labor Unions and 69 were Local Trades Councils. During each of the nine years, 1909-1917, except 1913 and 1915, there was an increase in the number of these organizations, as compared with the number in existence at the close of the preceding year, but usually the increase was comparatively small, and during the year 1917 there was a net increase of only two in the number of such organizations.

A. STATE, DISTRICT, AND TRADES COUNCILS.

The total number of organizations included in this group at the close of 1917 was 79, as compared with a total of 75 at the close of 1916. These 79 organizations included 13 State Branches, comprising locals affiliated with various internationals; six New England District Councils having affiliated locals in Massachusetts; 28 Railway Adjustment Committees, Grievance Committees, and Conference Boards; and 32 District Trades Councils (including carpenters, 11; painters, 7; machinists, 4; and others, 10). During the year 1917 there was a net increase of two in the number of Painters District Councils and of Machinists District Councils, an increase of one in the miscellaneous group, and a decrease of one in the number of Railway Adjustment Committees.