Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

PRVARD COLLECE LIBRARY

APR 181908
CAMBRIDGE, MASS

The University,

[blocks in formation]

APPENDICES.

PREFACE

The present study of the labor contract is tentative in nature. Certain preliminary chapters are here presented as an introduction to a larger study of collective bargaining which the writer intends to complete from the mass of material collected on present conditions in the United States.

The period sketched in the present study lies between the close of the 18th and the beginning of the 20th century. This period marks the transition from individual to organized industry in the United States and it is this transition with which these preliminary chapters are especially concerned.

The facts presented are culled from data secured largely through personal contact with employers and workmen. The work of investigating actual conditions of industry, of interviewing employers and workmen, and of attending the meetings of their various organizations and associations was carried on mainly in Chicago supplemented by work in New York city and in certain smaller centers. The documentary material has been culled from a variety of sources the most fruitful being the records kept in the central administrative offices of some of the stronger unions. The courtesies extended by some of the national and international presidents and secretaries enabled the writer to secure a large amount of evidence from unpublished sources. Certain employers' associations having "labor commissioners" also extended many courtesies in the way of furnishing documentary material bearing on their various methods of bargaining with employees. Yet all the evidence secured through documents is of secondary importance compared to the insight which gradually breaks upon one from daily contact with the persons actively engaged in industry. The writer has come to certain conclusions, which are not generally accepted and which are not borne out by docu

mentary proof. Nevertheless they seem to be borne out by evidence which rests upon fundamental facts in our industrial life.

The writer desires to express her sincerest thanks to Professor Henry Carter Adams of Michigan University for many helpful suggestions in the early stages of the work, and to Professor John R. Commons of the University of Wisconsin for suggestive criticisms in the final preparation of the manuscript. The many courtesies extended by officials of labor organizations, by employers, and by "labor commissioners" are thoroughly appreciated. It is a cause for regret that their large number precludes individual recognition of invaluable assistance in enabling the writer to enter into the actual experiences of industrial life. Finally, to Professor Richard T. Ely of the University of Wisconsin, the writer desires to express her deepest obligation. His continued interest and assistance made possible the collection of the data upon which the investigation is based, and his kindly encouragement and helpfulness have made possible the presentation of the material in this preliminary form.

MARGARET A. SCHAFFNER.

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »