A History of Organized Felony and Folly - The Clarence Darrow ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

A History of Organized Felony and Folly Building—Closed Shop Per Cent, of Town Idle Population Population Idle Pitts'gh-McKeesp. 85,000 635,124 13.4 Cleveland 104,000 796,836 13.0 Scranton 16,020 137,783 11.6 Newark, N. J 47,311 414,216 11.4 Butte 4,570 41,611 10.9 Dayton 16,400 152,559 10.5 Cincinnati 37,600 401,247 9.3 St. Louis 68,500 772,897 8.8 Providence 19,640 237,595 8.3 Indianapolis 25,000 314,194 8.0 Syracuse 12,200 171,717 7.1 Chicago 134,584 2,701,705 4.9 New Orleans 15,150 387,219 3.9 Kansas City, Mo. __ 9,000 324,410 2.8 Louisville 5,050 234,891 2^ 600,025 7,723,048 tT Limitation of Output While trade unions generally follow the practice, whereever they are strong enough, of limiting output in all industries in order to make the same amount of work go around among the greatest possible number of men, this practice has extended farthest in the building trades where the unions, if the industry be on a closed shop basis, exercise the most powerful control. The greatest mass of legal evidence ever adduced on this subject was brought out before the Lockwood Housing Committee. Among some of the practices in the New York building trades under union rules were the following: Paint brushes limited in width to 4y^ inches to reduce output of painter. Union bricklayers cut day's work from 1,800 bricks in 1914 to number ranging from 500 to 1,000 bricks in 1921. 86
A History of Organized Felony and Folly Union rule providing that plumbers must not be allowed to install toilet, lavatory or other fixtures that had been assembled rapidly and economically at the factory. Rule providing that every two plumbers must have a helper who should not be allowed even to touch the tools. Rule of metal lathers requiring contractors, where re- inforced concrete is mixed at shop under economical conditions and brought to building, to pay a bonus into the sick fund of the union at the prescribed rate based on the labor cost thus claimed as saved amounting to $6 a ton on cut steel and $18 a ton on fabricated steel. Rule of plasterers' union prohibiting use of casts over certain size being manufactured in shops and requiring them to be run on walls at job at greatly increased expense. Rule of plasterers' union requiring that stock models must be destroyed after being used in order to pro\ide more work for modelers. Rule preventing mixture of plaster of paris with Keene cement in making mantels, a practice which would reduce the hours of labor on mantel construction 75%. When business agents, either in New York or elsewhere under the closed shop, found men "rushing the job," the men were invariably reprimanded, sometimes fined, and even ex- pelled from their organizations. In some instances retaliatory measures were even taken against the employers who permitted men to work faster than provided by union regulations. A case of this kind occurred in San Francisco in 1916 during the height of McCarthy's power. A plastering contractor remonstrated with a business agent of the plasterers' union who was cursing the men for working too fast. The contractor called the business agent's attention to the union rule which prohibited direct intercourse with the men during working hours and requested him to transact his business with the shop steward as provided by union regulations. When the business agent declined to retire the contractor threw him off the property. Two hours later the men were called out. Ta^'-o days later, a boycott was declared against the contractor's father, also a plastering contractor, by the executive committee of the building trades council. This is an instance 87
Page 1:
isisi A History of ORGANIZED FELONY
Page 5 and 6:
CHAPTER CONTENTS PAGE "Uplifting" t
Page 7 and 8:
CHAPTER PACE Unionists Slay Under W
Page 9:
Introduction The Wall Street Journa
Page 12 and 13:
A History of Organized Felony and F
Page 14 and 15:
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20 and 21:
Page 22 and 23:
Page 24 and 25:
Page 26 and 27:
Page 28 and 29:
Page 30 and 31:
Page 32 and 33:
Page 34 and 35:
Page 36 and 37: A History of Organized Felony and F
Page 88 and 89: \ — — — A History of Organize
Page 104: A History of Organized Felony and F
show all

A History of Organized Felony and Folly - The Clarence Darrow ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?