The Tacoma times. [volume], August 27, 1941, Page 20, Image 18

About The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
20
Central Council Local Labor’s Coordinating Drivewheel
The handsome structure ot 13th and Maorket streets, now being remodelled, and which
soon will house AFL centrel council and locals headquorters.
Defense Depends on Nation's
Workers, Coffee Declares
At no time n our history have
the laboring men and women of
America been shouldered with
greater responsibility thas that
which rests upon them at this
very hour.
They are called upon te build
an impregnable national defense
and at the same time provide mili
tary equipment for the use of
other countries resisting totall
tarian aggression.
Back of the rumble of army
tanks, behind the slide of new
battieships and destroyers for the
navy; underneath the roar of
countless planes that sweep across
the sky stands the craftsmanship,
elergy, Industry and patriotism of
millions of working men and
wemen.
TOur government provides funds
and organizing leadership. A na
tion must have these. But Amer
168's defense effort depeuds for its
ultimate success upon the offi
clency and the will of its carpen
ters, machinists, welders and other
workers. In their hands rests the
AT BU RNETT,S ses
Select an American Made
ELGIN WATCH
AN\
S
=) b 0 \ // \
| ‘ N P
'~
~ TACOMA'S LEADING JEWELERS
. 924 Breadway
IS s
e @ MEN OF LA80R.... :
; ON LABOR DAY, SEPTEMBER 1 ¢
| @it
4 Owned ond . N 77X $
: = NRT.NA ;
| INPUSPPNPT PR IPTIPENPO S DOI[AR \/STORhsg
accomplishment or the failure of
our defense objectives in this cru
clal period. ¢
The consideration given to the
protection and welfare of labor's
fundamenial rights and privileges
must not be jeopardized during
this defense emergency. The means
employed to bulld a strong na
tional defense must be ldentical
with our common sim of protect
ing the democratic way of life.
To do less is 1o destroy morale,
create disunity, lose our lncentive
and lnvite disaster.
On this Labor day 1 join with
my fellow citizens In extending
heartiest greetings and congratu
lations to the laboring men and
women of Tacoma and Pierce
county. They are helping maintain
& steady flow of ships and planes
and other defense goods to our
military forees.
In so doing, they are fully aware
of the fact that our freedom and
our demecracy cannot be pur
chased by arms alone. The wel
fare of the men and women whe
toll with hand and brain must be
protected. That is essential to our
program of total national defense
—Our ocommon goal of keeping
America free.
- 4 I
’l9 Unions i
| nions 1n
M. T. Council
’
They're Vital to
Defense Program
Of the many Jabor groups
{making substantial contribu
{tions to the defense program,
ino single organization oc
t’:upies & more important posi
{tion than the Metal Trades
| Council,
‘ With this group in Tacoma are
affiliated 19 metal craft unions.
| Take away any one of these metal
|erafts and the defense program
| would have a weak spot.
The Metal Trades council,
affiliated with the American
Federation of Labor, iy unique
In that it represents the first
attempt to organize federated
unions in the same industry
for the purpose of coordinating
their efforts for the good of
all trades in the industry.
This movement started in 1900
when Federated Metal Trades
Was organized.
The organization was a loose
federation of metal trades work
ers unions, both affiliated and non
affiliated with the American Fed
eration of Labor. This federation
functioned until June, 1908, when
the present Metal Trades depart
ment of American federation was
formed, in accordance with & policy
adopted in 1907.
That year the federation con
vention had endorsed the policy of
organizing departments subordin
ated to American Federation of
Labor, to be composed of national
and international unions in a given
industry, and to be affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor.
Thus the metal trades de
partment of the federation
consists of all metel trades
unions. It has authority to
issue charters to local metal
trades councils consisting of
local metal trades unions
which are chartered by na
tional and international unions
in the federation.
The Metal Trades department is
administered by a president, sec
retary-treasurer and executive
council. This group has authority
te handle all matters pertaining to
the affiliated metal trades unions.
Like other departments of Amer
fcan Federation of Labor this
group holds conventions one week
prior to the federation conventions
and in the same city.
Chester E Rowley is president
and George Thomas secretary of
Tacoma Metal Trades council
Since ship building created a
boom in the metal trades indus
tries their jobs have become plenty
busy.
.. :
Your Postmaster can tell you
how to imvest in U. 8, Defense
€he Cacoma Cimes
Organization Is Composed of 96 Uni
Embracing More Than 20,000 Memb
mpracing More dll 4V, emupers
Tacoma’s Central Labor council is the big drive wheel most of the citv's « anized
abor It s the local direct representative of American Fed L fLa rand aii u !
and brotherhoods, and federal unions in Pierce county affiliated with the AFL are geared
to it through the Tacoma central body
There are todav 96 local unions embracing more than 20,000 individuals members,
which form Central Labor counecil here.
Tacoma Central Labor council traces its ancestry back to a meeting the ev g of
April 3, 1800, in a room at 1015 Pacific ave - =
Represented there that night were delegates from the
cigar makers, iron molders, carpenters, bricklavers, stone
cutters, tinners and cornice workers, longshoremen, steve
dores and riggers, even the Knights of Labor.
They orgonized the city’s first Trades Council, adopted
the preamble to the constitution of the American Federation
of Labor as their own mbie, with o few necessory chonges,
ond elected Charles B':n os chairmaen ond George L. Mc-
Murphy as secretary. McMurphy was secretary for yeors
afterward.
With various ups and downs, the Trades Council carried
on until 1907 when it acquired its firsl American Federa
tion ufl Labor charter and became the Tacoma Central Labor
council.
Formed of delegates elected
from the membership of locals ac
cording to numerical strength,
Central Labor council has served
for many years as the central
clearing novse for joint activities
of the locals and for relationships
between the locals and the parent
body (American Federation of
Labor) for the juriadiction of Ta
coma and Pierce county,
UNDERWRITES PACTS
It maintains various joint ser
vices avaiiable to all its affiliated
locals, and underwrites agreements
with employers, subject to consent
of the locals.
‘ In short, instead of having 96
‘unions pulling at cross purposes
without reference to each other,
here they pull together, with the
Central Labor council acting as a
balance wiaeel or governor on the
obligations and commitments of
&all wherever they come together.
For example, take a large de
partment store as a typical case
of an employer having to negotiate
with a large number of unions.
Building employes, retail clerks,
culinary alliance, radio repair
men's branch of the electrical
workers; electrical workers, car
penters, display men, barbers,
beauty operators, etc., each with
its own business agent,
SYSTEM SMOOTH
Suppose the employer, acting
alone, should have to deal with
all these business agents inde
pendently, and negotiale contracts
expiring at different times: what a
mess would result, and often has.
The system set up in Tacoma
now works very smoothly under a
blanket agreement covering 30 of
the leading iocal stores.
Each craft has its own contract
covering its peculiar requirements
28 to wages and working condi
tions, but all these contracts per
taining to all 30 stores have the
same date of beginning and the
|LS A . hos - ' >3
L»_' l“h ) ‘ a
A ——— ; ——t .
=3 e R - 3
AR BT =
For 58 Years, Dickson Bros.
Have Supplied
CLOTHING for th
[ or the
MEN of INDU
N of INDUSTRY
7 We extend o hond of greeting to
. | Q' Lebor ... to you men whose broins *
N end might have built the greot
B ¥ . Northwest and mony of whom ore
= ¥\ now building for the defense of our
nation.
Since pioneer doys, Dickson Bros. have served the
men of industry with the kind of clothes thot have
been equal to the job.
We Feature These Work Clothes
of Time-Tested Quality:
BLACK BEAR & FILSON WATER-REPELLENT CLOTHING
Made in Washington for Washington Weather
DAY'S TROUSERS FOR WORK OR DRESS WEAR
Corduroys, Whipcords, Twills and Gabardines
COOPER JOCKEY UNDERWEAR
Shorts, Knee Lengths, Longs, in 3 Weights
FOR “OFF THE JOB” WEAR
ADLER ROCHESTER SUITS AND OVERCOATS
STETSON HATS BOTANY TIES
ARROW SHIRTS RACINE SHOES
MHOLEPROOF HOSKE HICKOK BELTS
i @ B AL st s
same date of renewal, and are
bound together with a joint agree
ment, to which Tacoma Building
Trades council has collectively
subscribed and which the Centrgl
Labor council also jointly signs
through its authorized officers.
DEAL WITH BOARD
Through the Industrial Confer
ence board, representing employ
ers, all the stores jointly and sev
erally sign, making the final docu
ment a buiky thing binding upon
all AFL unions involved and upon
all 80 employers,
The advantage to the employer,
it is pointed out, lieg in the fact
that no one business agent of a
union ean ‘pull” his memberg out
on strike because of some local
grievance within his own unit.
Such a situation must go before
the entire group for conciliation.
METHOD PRAISED
Agreements of this kind, involv
ing multiple crafts employed in
one industry or business. have be
come common in Tacoma. Such
have been signed and are in effect
in the furniture industry, chemical
industry, at Pacific Match Co.
plant and elsewhere.
They have done a grest deal to
stabilize industrial operations in
this period of national emergency,
and to keep the normal processes
of retail trade in motion. -
IN LINE WITH AFL
The basic idea is held by the
unions to be strictly in accord
with the policy of American Fed
eration of Labor. Such a plan
has been practiced for years in
the railway industry, and Tacoma
has demonstrated in its own ex
perience here that there is no
reason why it cannot work in the
labor relalions of the local crafts.
For the benefit of the labor
movement generally and the indi
vidual and collective welfare of
affiliated crafts, Central lLabor
'm'mr:! maintains certain facilities
It employes a legal cournsel the
year around, publishes a weekly
| newspaper, the Tacoma Labor Ad
| vocate; maintaing a central mail
|ing bureau and mimeographing
fquipment backed by a file of
|nearly 20,000 indexed names of
union members stamped on ad
dressing machine plates, and pro
|\'idu bousing for meeting rooms
‘i‘nd the business offices of many
{of its memoer unions
' TEMPLE PURCHASED
| Only recently the council,
_’through a 4 separate but fully con
| trolled corporation, purchased a
|new permanent Labor Temple
| building at 15th and Market sts.,
| where some of the units will begin
, Occupancy about the middle of
| September. Sixty-one unions have
signed up for offices in the new
temple and the job now is to as
| Sign adequate space to them,
| The basement of this new
-itflnple will house the council
- owned and conliolled plant of the
| Labor Advocate, iabor's own pub
| | lication first started in 1909 32
: years ago. The council has owned
. its own printing plant since 1924,
.|and directly, through its board,
| controls appointment of the pa
- per's editor, business manager and
t iemployu.
5 ————
Blames Breath and
»
'Smoko of Cigarets
| CARLSBAD, N. M. lt may
have taken centuries for the fa
- \mous Carlsbad Caverns to develop
|but that doesn't prevent the rocks
|from being sensitive. That's the
fopinion of one woman visitor who
|wrote the superintendent that she
|had noticed the formation had
taken on a darker tone and sug
gested that maybe the breath and
|cigaret smoke from tourists were
' responsible.
o \’(SF
I ) ® ; y o—
v ) 4 L D S
. » e
v ‘ “1-‘ " / “_‘ : “GOLD
i S| O iGHY
4 FY e " W
& ‘ -
gz (1A o
S S f 1941
- P ————— ’ -‘?. o
L ' - '
< AN
OF THE men who “‘struck it rich”’ in the Gold Rush of '49,
the few who were foresighted enough to ‘‘salt away’’ a
part of their quickly-gained wealth laid the foundations
for several of our largest business institutions of
7 today.
J _l = Many a prospector with a full poke lost sight
(&) _— ",‘ of the future .. . They spent with an air of easy
T s’ FAR= come, easy go ... with little thought to what lay
- { /5; beyond the bonanza days.
"l@ o In this period of defense activity, with higher
52 lA’; ss== wages for the worker in industry, there is a
—— parallel . . .
'"T SPEND IT L
DON AL
For 42 vears, The Tacoma Savings and Loan Association has cared for the
surplus funds of its members . . . and for 42 years we have paid semi-annual
dividends to all members on the full ameount of their savings,
*
% Open an Account 30
With as Little as
sl.oo—Add to It
SEMIANNUAL | Reqularly Each | |nerALLWENT
DIVIDENDS
{Current Rate PGY DGY ACCOUNTS
Ninth and A Streets MAin 3133
Meet a Craftsman . . . when you think of building
houses you think of a carpenter. And to think of house
carpenters is to think of August J. Jonas, of Route 5, Box
938, Tacoma, who has been building houses in Tacoma
since 1905 and very rarely has worked on anything else.
Local 470, of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners,
found Jonas about the oldest name on its roll of house
builders. Since Jonas first came to Tacoma from Wiscon
sin @5 @ new journeyman carpenter to get in on a home
building boom, he admits he has seen a lot of changes in
house construction. The cameraman caught Jonas on the
job at So. 9th and Lawrence where he was working on a
new development in residential building, a house on the
corner with separate apartment back of it over the double
garage and connected to the home heating system.