coal trade bulletin - Clpdigital.org

e established by districts, sub-districts or local
unions if desired by a vote of two-thirds of the
entire membeiship of a local."
Article X was again taken up and the committee
recommended that the salary of vice president
be made $3,300 per year. The committee made
the recommendation because it gave the vice president
the same percentage of increase as the president.
Considerable debate was indulged in and
a number of motions made to amend and table,
but the recommendation was adopted and the salary
fixed at $3,300.
The secretary-treasurer's salary also was increased
to $3,300 per year and that of the International
Board members to $125 per month when
employed after a futile attempt had been made
to fix their pay at $5 per day.
An attempt was made to limit the expense of all
officials to $2 per day, failed and they were granted
all legitimate expenses by a vote of 487 to 409.
The convention adopted a resolution favoring
social welfare work among its members.
The convention went on record as favoring a
resolution to include the Brooke county, W. Va.,
strike in the investigation of Colorado and Michigan
strikes to be made by a committee of the
Congress of the United States.
The question of support for the strike in the
Michigan copper district came up again through
the resolutions committee and this resolution was
presented:
Whereas, several districts have requested this
convention to present a resolution to the convention
asking that a small assessment be levied for
the benefit of the copper miners of Michigan; and,
Whereas, an International assessment is now
being paid by our members; be it
Resolved, that we recommend that each district
that may be able to levy and collect a
SMALL ASSESSMENT
do so and send the same to the official representatives
of the Western Federation of Miners
for the relief of our fellow-miners, their wives and
children now on strike in the Michigan copper
region.
The resolution was adopted.
A resolution was adopted pledging the International
union to assist District No. 23, Southwestern
Kentucky, in organizing Hopkins and adjoining
counties in that state, and thus remove nonunion
competition.
Secretary-Treasurer Green read the report of the
delegate to the American Federation of Labor convention.
In it he said, among other things:
The report of the secretary indicated that 322
charters had been issued during the year, of which
two were granted to international organizations.
Seventy unions reporting had paid out in sick.
THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN. 23
accident, death and disability benefits to their
members the sum of $2,939,603.28 during the year.
At the close of the fiscal year—September, 1913—
the paid-up membership of the Federation was
2,054,520.
The sessions of Feb. 3 were among the most important
of the convention as on that day tbe scale
committee made its report.
the convention adopted the demands recommended
by the scale committee without changing
any of them in any manner.
[The scale as adopted will be found at the head
of this report.—ED.]
Following the adoption of the scale demands,
the question of whether there should be a suspension
of work on April 1 in case a wage agreement
is not completed by that time was taken up.
The scale committee offered a recommendation
that there be no suspension of work on April 1,
in case wage negotiations were pending and an
agreement had not been reached at that time.
The recommendation of the committee was as
follows:
"Your scale committee concurs in that part ot
President White's report recommending the continuation
of work after expiration of contract pending
negotiations, which reads as follows:
" 'For many years our organization has been confronted
with a very annoying situation at the expiration
of wage contracts, and it seems but right
that we try to rectify this condition that is no
longer justifiable in my opinion. There is now
a strong sentiment
PEUMEATING OIK .MOVEMENT
against suspensions, and much discussion has taken
place as to the wisdom of changing our policy and
inaugurating a more businesslike method and remain
at work pending settlement in the event we
are still negotiating at the expiration of wage
contracts.
" 'I recognize I am approaching a question thai
will bring strong criticism and much opposition,
but I am fully convinced that we have reached a
place in our history where something must be done.
About all we have ever been able to accomplish
by the old system of suspending work at the expiration
of wage contracts is to destroy the financial
resources of nearly every branch of our union,
impair the earning power and credit of our membership
and bring considerable inconveniences, in
a business way and otherwise, upon helpless communities.
It is true that some profit from such
misfortunes, but it is safe to assume that the
membership of the United Mine Workeis has
everything to gain and nothing to lose by abolishing
a system that produces such results as I
have referred to herein. I can foresee ample
opportunity to safeguard every right that we now