Page:William Zebulon Foster - The Railroaders' Next Step, Amalgamation (1922).djvu/51

Rh be no very serious disadvantage. And then, later on, when the varous trades, through contact with each other, hal lost their narrow craft spirit; when they had become digested by the amalgamation, the number of departments could be decreased to conform more clearly to the natural divisions of the industry. Closely allied groups of trades, such as the Engineers and Firemen, could eventually be placed in one department; the Conductors, Trainmen and Switchmen in another; the metal trades (as fast as their organizations amalgamated nationally) in a third, and so on. Finally, the number of departments could be cut to eight, or if necessary, less.

The first step, and a mighty important one, in bringing about the proposed amalgamation, would be to popularize the plan in all the organizations and to put them on record in favor of it. But let us suppose for a moment that this big job had been accomplished. Then the next step would be, at the amalgamation conference, or convention, to throw out a super-structure in front of the whole sixteen unions, definitely locking them together. This would be done by creating a national executive committee, based upon the departmental system, to handle the affairs of the new industrial union. In a pinch this committee might consist of the united executive boards of the amalgamated organizations; but the part of wisdom would be to construct it of about three delegates from each department; or—but it is not so good a system—of about 50 delegates chosen by the various departments on the basis of their respective voting strengths. Of course, the necessary general officers and subcommittees would also be provided for. This would lay the foundation of the industrial union.

One vital thing, the very essence of the amalgamation, and the measure without which it could have no meaning, is that the individual craft unions would completely surrender their autonomy to the industrial union. Thenceforth the latter would be supreme. It would formulate the demands of all trades, present them together to the