Internal Characteristics of American Unionism
| Author | Philip Taft |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271625127400113 |
| Published date | 01 March 1951 |
| Date | 01 March 1951 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
94
Internal
Characteristics
of
American Unionism
By
PHILIP
TAFT
THE
present
union
membership
of
about
sixteen
million
workers
is
not
a
homogeneous
body.
Made
up
of
several
hundred
international
and
thou-
sands
of
local
unions,
the
trade
unions,
while
in
general
pursuing
similar
broad
ends-the
protection
and
improvement
of
the
economic
position
of
their
mem-
bers-nevertheless
frequently
differ
from
each
other.
Differences
in
policy
with
respect
to
the
employer,
the
community,
the
labor
movement,
and
the
member-
ship
may
be
due
to
one
or
several
causes.
Among
the
more
important
are
the
in-
dustrial
environment
in
which
the
union
operates,
the
kind
of
worker
the
indus-
try
attracts,
the
period
in
which
the
union
was
organized,
the
experience
of
the
union
in
its
relation
both
to
the
em-
ployer
and
to
its
members,
and
even
the
kind
of
individuals
that
emerge
as
lead-
ers.
It
is
not
feasible
to
assign
weights
to
the
factors
enumerated,
nor
could
one
argue
that
they
exhaust
the
reasons
for
variation.
They
are
listed
only
as
suggestions,
and
certainly
additional
and
more
precise
reasons
might
be
given.
CATEGORIES
OF
UNIONS
At
the
present
time,
American
trade
unions
can
be
divided
into
four
general
groups.
There
are
(1)
unions
affiliated
with
the
American
Federation
of
Labor,
(2)
unions
affiliated
with
the
Congress
of
Industrial
Organizations,
(3)
unaffili-
ated
unions
that
follow the
Communist
party
line,
and
(4)
other
unaffiliated
unions.
The
present
situation
contrasts
with
that
prevailing
prior
to
the
first
Roosevelt
administration,
when
organ-
ized
workers
belonged
to
unions
of
the
American
Federation
of
Labor,
non-
affiliated
unions,
and
company
unions.
The
latter
have
been
outlawed
by
stat-
ute,
and
although
unions
that
are
closely
tied
to
an
employer
still
exist,
they
show
considerable
independence
and
militancy
in
negotiations
and
in
the
handling
of
grievances..
There
are
unaffiliated
unions
such
as
the
United
Mine
Workers
of
America,
which
have
in
the
past
been
affiliated
with
the
American
Federation
of
Labor,
or
like
the
railway
brotherhoods,
which
have
been
closely
tied
to
the
AFL
in
philosophy
and
outlook.
Unaffiliated
unions
have
also
arisen
which
because
of
local,
personal,
racial,
or
craft
influ-
ences
have
not
joined
either of
the
two
labor
centers.
A
third
group
of
un-
affiliated
unions
resemble
the
older
com-
pany
unions.
THE
CIO
AND
COMMUNISM
A
number
of
unions
that
were
affili-
ated
with
the
Congress
of
Industrial
Or-
ganizations
now
find
themselves
inde-
pendent
because
of
their
expulsion
from
the
parent
body.
The
cause
for
the
forcible
dissociation
goes
back
to
the
founding
of
the
CIO.
Because
of
the
changes
in
legislation
and
in
social
cli-
mate,
large
opportunities
existed
for
or-
ganizing
workers
in
the
mass
production
and
otter
industries.
The
absence
of
unions
and
staffs
of
officers
made
it
pos-
sible
for
leaderships
to
arise
in
some
of
the
more
recently
organized
areas
which
followed
the
policies
and
accepted
the
principles
of
the
Communist
party.
In
some
unions-the
United
Automobile
Workers
(CIO)
is
an
example=oppo-
nents
of -the
principles
of
the
Commu-
nist
party
were
able
to
muster
sufficient
strength
to
eliminate
the
followers
of
the
Communist
party
from
all
influence.
In
others-the
United
Radio,
Electrical
and
Machinery
Workers
is
perhaps
the
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