Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/463

* TRADE UNIONS. 405 TRADING STAMPS. crs with whom loval trade unionists arc oncour- aged to have uo business dealings either as pur- chasers of commodities or sellers of labor. A majority of American unions use this system to a greater or lesser extent. The Federation of Labor gives national scope to the more inijior- tant boycotts by indorsing them and including the offenders' names in the colunui of the Ameri- can Fcdenitiottist. Between 75 and 100 lirms and companies were under boycott by the Federa- tion in Januarj', 1903. It is clear that if the 1.405,800 or more members of the Federation strictly observed every olficial bo.ycott the latter would become a formidable weapon against man- ufacturers and sellers of commodities in general use among the laboring classes. The observ- ance, however, is so lax that the boycott is not effective except in a few industries, such as the breA'ing industry, and in some union strong- holds, such as Chicago, Milwaukee, and the larger cities generally. Boycotts proper, however, have been generally held unlawful in American court?, though a few recent equivocal decisions are held by some to point the other way. American trade union- ists, however, are practically unanimous in up- holding the right to bo^'cott. Their argument rests upon the absolute and complete legality of the act of discontinuing business relations. Finally, trade unions exert what is often called 'a legal boycott' through the familiar union label, which has played such an important part in the building up of the Cigarmakers', Garment workers,' and Hatters' unions in America, and the use of which is now spreading, not only among American unions, but among those of England, Germany, Austria, and Australia. See Union Label. BiBLiooR.^riiY. For the history of trade imion- ism in England, consult Webb, Historif of Trade Unionism (2d ed., London, 1896), containing an exhaustive bibliography ; for the United States, Ely, The Labor Movement in Ameriea (New York, 1880) ; for statistics in England, see An- nual I^eporls by the Chief Labor Correspond- ent of the Board of Trade on Trade Unions; for statistics in the United States, 17th volume of the Report of the Industrial Commission (Washing- ton, 1901); for legal aspects, Stimson, HajKi-Boofc to the Labor Laio of the United iStates. This is brought up to date in the fifth volume of the Re- port of the Industrial Commission. For the or- ganization, functions, and policies of trade unions, see Webb, Industrial Democracy (London, 1902) ; for organization, functions, and policies of Amer- ican trade unions, 17th and 19th volumes of the Report of the Industrial Commission. For ma- terials and sources, England, Report of the Royal Commission on Labor: in particular, vols, ii., iii., and v. : LTnited States. Report of the Industrial Commission; in particular, vols, v., vii., xii., xiv.. xvi. Most of the labor and statistical bureaus of the separate States now publish statistical and other material upon trade unions. Much of thi3 information is fragmentary and untrustworthy, but the reader is especially referred to the Re- ports of the Massachusetts Bureau of t^tatistics of Labor and the Annual Reports of the New York Bureau of Labor Statistics. A notable source of current information is the bi-monthly bulletin of the Bureau of Labor. Almost all of the trade unions now publish uionthly journals, among which the American t'ederutionist, the fypoijraphical Journal, anil tle Locomotive Fire- niens Maya;ti)ir are especially nolcwortliy. TRADE UNIONS, THE GENERAL FED- ERATION OF. The central labor organiza- tion of (ircat Britain. It was organized July 1, 1899, under the auspices of the Britisli Trades Union Congress for the purposes of upholding "the rights of combination of labor," promoting industrial peace, and establishing a fund for mutual assistance and sujiport. The Federation is "open to every hona-fide trade union in Great Britain," but the unit of membership is the trade union and "no branches or individuals are allowed to join." It is governed by a gen- eral council of delegates which meets an- nuallj', and between these sessions by a manage- ment committee of fifteen. Appeals may be taken from the decisions of both the council and the committee to the genera! membership. The Federation is "non-political and non-legislative," leaving to the Labor Representation Committee (q.v.) the campaign for the election of labor representatives to Parliament, and to the Parlia- ment committee of the Trades Union Congress the agitation for favorable labor laws. The Federation pa_ys, in strikes authorized by the general council or the management committee, two grades of strike benefits: five shillings a week per member "on the higher scale," and half this amount "on the lower scale." Unions on the higher scale contribute sixpence a mem- ber per quarter, and unions on the lower scale threepence a member per quarter, on ninety per cent, of the total membership, exclusive of super- annuated members. In cases of emergency the management conunittee is authorized to increase the regular dues 100 per cent. The entrance fee is one penny per member upon ninety per cent, of the total membership, but in addition it is provided that "Any society desirous of joining the Federation shall pa.y ten per cent, of the average worth per mendjcr of the class or scale the xmion or society is joining, in addition to their entrance fee, biit any society not in exist- ence at the time of adoption of this scheme shall be allowed to join on payment of five per cent, of the average worth per member of the Federation at the time of joining." No union is entitled to benefits until it has belonged to the Federation for twelve months. The Federation started with 34.3.000 members. During the fis- cal year ending June 30, 1£02, the total income was £29.902 and the total expenditures £9.957, of which £8,338 was for strike benefits. At that date the reserve or defense fund amounted to £70,969 and the membership to 419,606. TRADE WINDS. See Wind. TRADING STAMPS. Slips of engraved or printed paper usually in the form of gummed stamps, which are given by merchants to pur- chasers of goods, and which may be presented to some person or corporation in exchange for arti- cles of value. The trading-stamp companies usually agree to distribute books containing the names of their subscribers among the residents of the city and surrounding country. The scheme amoimts to an advertisement and various forms of it are in operation in many States. The statutes of a number of States prohibit these