The protective rules of the Typographia are similar to those of the Cigar Makers. Members thrown out of employment through their own fault cannot be entered on the lists for thirty-six days. If a member gives up his situation voluntarily, he is not entitled to a benefit for four weeks unless his action is approved by the executive committee of the local Typographia. Unemployed members must report daily to an officer of the union. If a member neglects to report he loses his benefit for that day. If a member drawing the benefit refuses to take a situation he loses his right to the benefit for seven weeks. If he refuses work as a substitute he loses his right to the benefit for two weeks. If an unemployed member is unable to fill a situation and so cannot secure work, he is not entitled longer to a benefit, and it becomes the duty of the local executive to recommend that he be given a sum of money in lieu of his rights as a member.

The following table shows the cost of maintaining the out-of-work benefit in the Cigar Makers and in the Typographia:

COST OF MAINTAINING THE OUT-OF-WORK BENEFIT. Typographia. Cigar Makers. Year. - Per Capita Per Capita Total Cost. Cost. Total Cost. Cost. 1885 $ 1,118.90 $ 2.00 1886 1,453.08 1.52 1887 1,240.10 1.15 1888 1,315.13 1.16 1889 6,281.50 5.55 1890 4,315.00 3.47 $ 22,760.50 $ .92 1891 6,067.00 4.58 21,223.50 .87 1892 9,359.50 6.77 17,460.75 .65 1893 7,835.00 5.67 89,402.75 3.34 1894 17,262.50 14.33 174,517.25 6.27 1895 9,464.20 8.66 166,377.25 5.99 1896 7,812.00 7.00 175,767.25 6.43 1897 8,485.00 7.83 117,471.40 4.46 1898 8,603.00 7.82 70,197.70 2.65 1899 11,135.00 10.39 38,037.00 1.31 1900 8,703.00 8.33 23,897.00 .70 1901 6,716.00 6.56 27,083.76 .79 1902 7,839.00 7.86 21,071.00 .56 1903 4,846.00 4.86 15,558.00 .39 1904 5,785.00 5.82 29,872.50 .72 1905 5,105.00 5.23 35,168.50 .87 1906 5,086.00 5.22 23,911.00 .60 Total $145,826.91 $1,069,777.11 Average 6,638.49 $5.99 62,928.06 $2.20

From the above table some comparison can be made of the per capita cost of the out-of-work benefit in the Cigar Makers' Union and in the Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia, respectively. For the twenty-two years ending with the fiscal year June 30, 1906, the average annual cost to the German-American Printers has been $5.99 per member, while the Cigar Makers have disbursed, during the fifteen years in which the benefit has been paid, a yearly average of $2.20 per member. The higher average cost to the Typographia has been due chiefly to two causes, (1) the greater amount paid as a weekly benefit, and (2) the larger annual sum which may be paid. The Typographia has always paid a greater weekly benefit. From the adoption of the benefit in 1884 to 1888 this union granted five dollars per week for a maximum period of twelve weeks. During 1888-1894 six dollars per week was allowed. For several years following 1894 five dollars per week for sixteen weeks, or eighty dollars per year, was granted, while at present six dollars per week, or ninety-six dollars per year, is paid. On the other hand, the Cigar Makers' Union, during 1889-1896, paid three dollars per week and fifty cents for each additional day, with a possible maximum of seventy-two dollars per year; but since 1896 the maximum allowance has been fifty-four dollars. Thus, at present the German Printers pay both a greater weekly benefit and a larger maximum yearly amount.

In the Typographia there appears to be a tendency towards an increased per capita cost, while in the Cigar Makers' Union the reverse has been true. This may be attributed in large part to the difference in the age grouping of the memberships. The membership of the German Printers is small, of a higher average age, and is gradually decreasing, while that of the Cigar Makers, with a lower average age, shows a steady increase. Many of the older men in both organizations are employed only when trade is very brisk and draw each year the full amount of the benefits. The variations from year to year are so great, however, as to obscure any general tendency. During the depression of 1893-1897 the per capita cost in the Typographia rose from $3.47 in 1890 to $6.77 in 1892, and to $14.33 in 1894. The per capita cost in the Cigar Makers' Union shows a very sudden increase from 65 cents in 1892 to $3.34 in 1893, to $6.27 in 1894, and to $6.43 in 1896, after which there followed a gradual decrease. The cost of the out-of-work benefit is therefore far more variable than that of any other benefit in either of the unions, and necessitates on the part of both the maintenance of larger reserves.

* * * * *

The systems of so-called out-of-work benefits maintained by the Iron Molders, Pattern Makers, Tobacco Workers, Granite Cutters, Leather Workers on Horse Goods, and Locomotive Firemen, as has already been noted, merely exempt the unemployed member from payment of national dues. This is a device to retain members in "good standing" during unemployment.

The system maintained by the Iron Molders is the most important of those in operation. The history of the introduction of this benefit by the Iron Molders' Union illustrates the conditions many unions face in building up a system of relief. As a union develops benefits the dues required of members are larger. The unemployed member thus finds himself heavily burdened by the dues he must pay his union at the very time he needs most the protection afforded by the benefit. The establishment of the out-of-work benefit in the Iron Molders' Union was the direct result of the inauguration of a system of sick benefits in 1896. Members in arrears for dues for a period longer than thirteen weeks were excluded from sick relief. The limitation aroused serious dissatisfaction. It was felt that if an unemployed member could not be aided, at least he should be protected against the loss of his right to benefits. Some local unions paid the dues of their unemployed members, but in a period of depression the burden became too great. In October, 1897, two years after the inauguration of the sick benefit, the national union of the Iron Molders assumed the responsibility of paying the dues of unemployed members. All members of six months' standing, who were not in arrears for more than four weeks' dues, became entitled to relief from the payment of dues for thirteen weeks during any fiscal year. The out-of-work benefit does not begin, however, until two weeks after the member has become idle.[176] The national union issues through the local unions out-of-work stamps which are received in payment of dues.

[Footnote 176: Constitution, 1902 (Cincinnati, 1902), Art. 19. Until 1899 the unemployed member must not have been in arrears for more than four weeks' dues, and the benefit did not begin until he had been idle four weeks. (Constitution, 1898.)]

The fund for paying the dues of unemployed members is supported by a weekly tax of one cent on each member. For 1898 the income of the out-of-work relief fund was $6,861.61, while the disbursements were only $1278, representing 7100 out-of-work stamps. In the whole period (1897-1907) since the inauguration of the out-of-work benefit, the revenue has more than sufficed for the disbursements. Although the 1899 convention transferred $10,000 of the surplus to other funds, on June 20, 1907, there remained in the fund the sum of $125,021, nearly twice as much as had been expended. The Union has not passed through a period of depression since the system was established, and the officers have insisted that wise policy requires the maintenance of a large reserve.[177]

[Footnote 177: Proceedings of Twenty-second Session, p. 646. In Supplement to Iron Molders' Journal, September, 1902.]

The exemption of unemployed members from the payment of dues takes many forms. The Tobacco Workers' Union provides that members out of employment shall be granted twelve weeks in which to pay dues before they may be suspended from the Union.[178] The Granite Cutters' Association provides that any member in good standing and out of employment for two months or more shall be exempt from half of his dues.[179] The Brotherhood of Leather Workers on Horse Goods grants exemption from payment of dues for a period of thirteen weeks in any one year to unemployed members.[180] The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen provides that any member out of employment and unable to pay his dues or assessments shall not be expelled, and that the local lodge must pay his dues for one quarter. It is optional with the subordinate lodge as to whether or not it shall keep the member in good standing for more than one quarter.[181]

[Footnote 178: Constitution, 1900, third edition, 1905 (Louisville, n.d.), sec. 43.]

[Footnote 179: Constitution, 1906 (Quincy, n.d.), p. 45.]

[Footnote 180: Constitution, 1904 (Kansas City, n.d.), p. 22.]

[Footnote 181: Constitution, 1905 (Indianapolis, n.d.), sec. 195.]

The regulations enforced by the unions concerning the remission of the dues of unemployed members are less stringent than the rules governing the larger money out-of-work benefit. In the first place the period of good standing required before a member is entitled to assistance is shorter. A member of the Iron Molders is eligible to the benefit after six months of good standing. The Granite Cutters require only a two months' membership.[182] Moreover, the rules as to registration are less strict. In the Iron Molders' Union an unemployed member must report the date of the beginning of his idleness at the first regular meeting after he has been discharged and must report in person at every regular meeting of his local union; otherwise he cannot claim the benefit. The Leather Workers have the same provisions. The Tobacco Workers require idle members claiming indulgence in the payment of dues to report to the local financial secretary twice each week.[183]

[Footnote 182: Constitution, 1905 (Quincy, n.d.), p. 45.]

[Footnote 183: Constitution of the Leather Workers on Horse Goods, 1905 (Kansas City, n.d.), p. 22; Constitution of the International Tobacco Workers' Union, 1900, third edition, 1905 (Louisville, n.d.), sec. 43.]

The cost of the exemption of dues in none of the unions is large. The following table gives the chief facts concerning the benefit in the Iron Molders' Union for the period 1900-1906:

OUT-OF-WORK RELIEF IN THE IRON MOLDERS' UNION. ========================================================== Year. Number of Stamps Value of Cost per Member Issued Yearly. Out-of-work[184] per Year. Stamps 1900 23,436 $ 5,859.00 $0.12 1901 26,349 6,587.25 .12 1902 10,389 2,597.25 .04 1903 26,073 6,518.25 .04 1904 92,685 23,171.25 .27 1905 24,906 6,226.50 .07 1906 16,676 4,169.00 .04 Average 31,502 $7,875.50 $0.10

[Footnote 184: Approximate number only. Data furnished by Mr. R.H. Metcalf, financier of the union.]

The great variations in the number of out-of-work stamps issued is due, of course, to variations in the amount of unemployment. The annual amount of unemployment per capita, so far as it is measured by the number of stamps issued, varied from less than one fourth of a week in 1902, 1903 and 1906 to one and one half weeks in 1904. The per capita cost of maintaining the benefit varied from four cents in 1902, 1903 and 1906 to twenty-seven cents in 1904.

In the history of certain of the principal unions a system of loans or travelling benefits has preceded the out-of-work benefit. The travelling benefit may indeed be termed the first stage of out-of-work relief. The following unions maintain the travelling benefit either in the form of a loan or of a gift: the Cement Workers, Chain Makers, Cigar Makers, Compressed Air Workers, Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia, Flour and Cereal Mill Employees, Fur Workers, Glass Snappers, Hod Carriers, Lace Curtain Operatives, Leather Workers on Horse Goods, Machine Printers and Color Mixers, the Mattress and Spring Bed Workers, Shipwrights, Slate Quarrymen, Tile Layers and Helpers, and the Watch Case Engravers. The travelling benefit and the out-of-work benefit are complementary in several of these unions. The systems of travelling benefits maintained by the Cigar Makers, the Leather Workers on Horse Goods and the Typographia are the most important.

The history of the travelling benefit in the Cigar Makers' Union begins almost with the earliest years of the Union. Prior to the Detroit convention, September, 1873, the Union maintained a system of loans to travelling craftsmen. Under this system any member, travelling in search of employment, was entitled to a loan sufficient to transport him to the nearest union. The local union in which the travelling member secured employment was required to collect at least twenty per cent. of the weekly wages of such member.[185] This first attempt was an absolute failure and in 1878 the system was abolished.[186] In October, 1878, local union No. 122 proposed an amendment to the international constitution to provide means of aiding "all travelling craftsmen in need." The aid was not to be a loan but an absolute gift.[187] This proposal failed of adoption; but in August, 1879, local union no. 144 proposed a new plan.[188] A member of six months' standing, if unemployed, was to be loaned a sufficient sum to transport him by the cheapest route to the nearest union and so to the next. The total of the loans was not to aggregate more than twenty dollars.[189] The plan was adopted and became effective May 1, 1880. In 1884 the amount of any one loan was limited to twelve dollars, and in 1896 it was farther reduced to eight dollars.[190]

[Footnote 185: Constitution, 1867, Art. 11.]

[Footnote 186: Cigar Makers' Journal, Vol. 1, October 5, 1878, p. 3.]

[Footnote 187: Ibid.]

[Footnote 188: Ibid. Vol. 4, August, 1879, p. 2.]

[Footnote 189: Constitution, 1880 (New York, 1880), Art. 4.]

[Footnote 190: Constitution, 1884 (New York, 1884), Art. 7; 1896, fourteenth edition, (Chicago, n.d.), p. 27. (Issued in 1906.)]

The Cigar Makers have always required members to return the sum borrowed. The repayment of such loans, in the case of the Cigar Makers' Union, must commence with the first week of employment, and must continue at the rate of ten per cent. of the weekly earnings.[191] The Brotherhood of Leather Workers on Horse Goods require payment at the rate of fifteen per cent. of weekly wages.[192] The German-American Printers, on the other hand, grant travelling loans as an absolute gift.[193] This is the only important union which follows this policy.

[Footnote 191: Constitution, 1880 (New York, 1880), Art. 4; 1896, thirteenth edition, (Chicago, n.d.), p. 28.]

[Footnote 192: Constitution, 1904 (Kansas City, n.d.), p. 21.]

[Footnote 193: Report of Industrial Commission, Vol. 17, Introduction, p. XLII.]

Naturally the rules governing the benefit in the Typographia are more stringent than in the case of those unions which merely loan travelling money. The chief regulations are as follows: In order to draw the benefit a member must have been in good standing for at least six months. He must have paid in full his dues to the day of his departure. He may draw two cents per mile for the first two hundred miles and one cent for every additional mile, but he cannot at any one time receive more than ten dollars. A member assisted with the travelling benefit must remain at least three months in a place before he can claim another travelling benefit. When he has drawn a total of twenty-five dollars he is not entitled to any further assistance for twelve months. Those members who lose their places through their own fault are not entitled to a travelling benefit for three months, and those who give up their places can receive the benefit only if the executive committee of the local Typographia approves their action. A travelling member going to a place where there is a local Typographia must report to it within two days or he forfeits his right to out-of-work benefits for four weeks. If a member receives the travelling benefit and does not leave, he must return the amount received, and is not in good standing until he has done this.

The total amounts paid yearly in some of the leading unions furnish some idea of the importance of this benefit. Since the inauguration of the benefit to January 1, 1906, the Cigar Makers' International Union has paid a total of $991,777.98 in travelling loans, or an average of $38,145.31 per year.[194] The Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia has paid from July 1, 1884, to June 30, 1906, $8116.11, or an average of $368.91.[195] For the year ending September 30, 1904, the Cement Workers paid $1600, the Flour and Cereal Mill Employees, $2084.95, the Hod Carriers and Building Laborers, $1500, and the Leather Workers on Horse Goods, $7703.15.[196]

[Footnote 194: Cigar Makers' Journal, Vol. 31, April 15, 1906.]

[Footnote 195: Hugo Miller, 25-jaehrige Geschichte der Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia, 1873-1898, p. 58; Jahres-Bericht, 1899-1906.]

[Footnote 196: Report of Proceedings of the Twenty-fourth Annual Convention, American Federation of Labor, 1904 (Washington, 1904), p. 46.]

The table on page 99 shows the total amounts paid yearly and the average loan per capita of membership in the Cigar Makers' Union and the average per capita cost in the Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia.

TOTAL AND PER CAPITA AMOUNTS OF TRAVELLING LOANS AND BENEFITS. ======================================================= Cigar Makers. Typographia. Year. Amount of Loans Per Amount of Travelling Capita of Travelling Cost per Loans. Membership. Benefits Member. 1880 $ 2,808.15 $0.63 1881 12,747,09 .87 1882 20,386.64 1.78 1883 37,135.20 2.81 1884 39,632.08 3.48 1885 26,683.54 2.22 $ 345.50 $0.61 1886 31,835.71 1.29 264.10 .27 1887 49,281.04 2.34 483.45 .44 1888 42,894.75 2.50 669.29 .59 1889 43,540.44 2.71 456.17 .40 1890 37,914.72 1.53 576.65 .46 1891 53,535.73 2.21 622.47 .47 1892 47,732.47 1.78 797.19 .57 1893 60,475.11 2.25 439.64 .31 1894 42,154.17 1.52 680.06 .56 1895 41,657.16 1.50 304.46 .27 1896 33,076.22 1.39 339.86 .30 1897 29,067.04 1.10 279.50 .25 1898 25,237.43 .95 390.62 .35 1899 24,234.33 .83 320.74 .29 1900 33,238.13 .97 178.79 .17 1901 44,652.73 1.31 175.05 .17 1902 45,314.05 1.22 107.28 .11 1903 52,521.41 1.33 159.56 .16 1904 58,728.71 1.41 181.85 .18 1905 55,293.93 1.37 195.46 .20 1906 50,650.21 1.29 147.52 .15 - Total $991,177.98 $8116.11 - Average 38,145.31 $1.63 368.91 $0.33 -

The travelling loan in the Cigar Makers was for some time badly administered. Until the adoption of the out-of-work benefit, the financial secretaries, moved by sympathy, frequently granted the benefit to members who had never left their jurisdiction and who had no intention of leaving.[197] This practice endangered the entire system.[198] Since the adoption of the out-of-work benefit the amount of loans per capita of membership has diminished. At present the cost of the travelling benefit in the Cigar Makers is not large; the loans are promptly and efficiently collected. Data for recent years are not available; but in the period from 1881 to 1901 the sum of $735,266 was loaned and $660,255 was repaid. The balance outstanding at the close of 1900 was $75,014, and of this a considerable part was collectible. The net cost of the system for twenty-one years was thus certainly less than $50,000, an average annual cost of about $2400, or an annual average per capita cost of ten cents. Even in the Typographia, where the benefit is a gift, the annual per capita cost to the membership is not large, varying from eleven to sixty cents, according to the state of employment.

[Footnote 197: Cigar Makers' Journal, Vol. 6, July, 1881, p. 1.]

[Footnote 198: Ibid., Vol. 9, July, 1884, p. 3.]



CHAPTER V.

SUPERANNUATION BENEFITS.

In 1901 thirty-eight of the one hundred principal British unions paid a superannuation benefit. These unions had a membership of 566,765, and the amount paid in superannuation benefits from 1892 to 1901 was about one sixth of the total amount expended for all benefits.[199] In the American trade unions, on the other hand, superannuation benefits are paid by only a few unions. A considerable number of unions have in recent years been considering the advisability of introducing this feature, and it is likely within a brief period to form an important part of the beneficiary system of the American unions.

[Footnote 199: Weyl, "Benefit Features of British Trade Unions," in Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor, Vol. 12, p. 722.]

The superannuation benefit may take several forms—a weekly stipend, a lump sum or a support in a home for the aged. The aim of the benefit in all three cases is to protect the member in old age. The weekly stipend is regarded as the preferable form, since in going to a home the member must leave his family. Ordinarily, too, a weekly payment is deemed wiser than a lump sum, since the aged member cannot very well manage property, and the chances are that he will lose his capital. The British trade unions uniformly pay the benefit in the form of a weekly or monthly pension.

The earliest attempt made by any American trade union to make provision for the support of aged members was that of the Typographical Union in 1857. The National Convention of that year appointed a committee to consider the proposal of the Philadelphia printers for the establishment of an "Asylum for Superannuated and Indigent Printers." This plan was defeated at the ninth convention in 1860.[200] The Iron Molders' Union as early as 1874 provided for the establishment of a "superannuated fund," from which superannuated members of twenty years' standing were to receive three hundred dollars and those of twenty-five years' four hundred, if permanently disabled and unable to earn a living at their trade. Membership was to date from July 5, 1859, and no benefit was to be paid until August, 1879.[201] Because of the failure to accumulate sufficient reserve for its support, the regulations were repealed in 1878 before any benefit fell due.[202] The superannuation benefit adopted by the Granite Cutters early in their history met a similar fate.

[Footnote 200: Proceedings of the Seventh Convention, Chicago, 1858 (New York, 1858), p. 11; Proceedings of the Ninth Convention, Nashville, 1860 (Boston, 1860), pp. 53-54.]

[Footnote 201: Constitution, 1876 (Cincinnati, 1876), Art. 18.]

[Footnote 202: Constitution, 1878 (Cincinnati, 1878), Art. 17; Iron Molders' Journal, August, 1878, p. 4; October, 1878, p. 30.]

In recent years agitation for the establishment of some form of superannuation benefit has been carried forward in several of the more important unions. In 1893 Mr. Gompers proposed the establishment of this form of beneficiary relief in the Cigar Makers' Union. In June, 1904, a plan was discussed for the payment of a monthly benefit of six dollars to members sixty years of age and twenty-five years in good standing. Larger benefits were to be paid to members older and of longer standing. Up to the present, however, the Cigar Makers have not adopted any of the plans for a superannuation benefit. The Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, at the 1900 convention, provided for the payment to members of twenty-five years' continuous membership and over sixty years of age such amount as the National Convention might designate.[203] In 1902 it was decided that if the members by referendum vote endorsed an increase of dues, the amount of this benefit should be fixed at $150.[204] But the increase of dues failed of ratification, and the plan for a superannuation benefit was abandoned.

[Footnote 203: Proceedings of the Eleventh General Convention of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, Scranton, 1900 (Scranton, 1900). p. 67.]

[Footnote 204: Proceedings of the Twelfth General Convention, 1902 (Atlanta, 1902), pp. 123, 163; The Carpenter, Vol. 22, November, 1902, p. 3; Vol. 23, No. 1.]

A few unions have allowed aged members to draw all or a part of their death benefit. Thus, the Granite Cutters permit members sixty years of age who have been in continuous good standing for ten years to draw the sum of $125.[205] The Typographia also pays an indeterminate lump sum to aged members who wish to retire from the trade.

[Footnote 205: Constitution, 1905 (Boston, n.d.), p. 28.]

More important still, a considerable number of unions have made provision for the payment of a superannuation benefit in one form or another at a definite future date. Such unions are the Journeymen Plumbers, the Pattern Makers, the Machinists and the Jewelry Workers.

In the Plumbers' Association any member of at least twenty years' full membership and not less than forty-five years of age, who, through old age or infirmity, is incapacitated from following his employment, is entitled to the benefit according to a prescribed scale; those of twenty consecutive years' full membership and not under sixty-five years of age are to receive three hundred dollars; those of twenty-five years' membership and not under seventy years of age, four hundred dollars; those of thirty years' membership and over, five hundred dollars. The rule providing for the payment of the benefit became effective in January, 1903, but no benefit is to be paid before January, 1923.[206] The Pattern Makers' League provides that superannuated members be divided into two classes: (a) members sixty years of age and of twenty-five years' continuous membership, who receive twelve dollars per month, and (b) those sixty-five years of age and over and of thirty years' membership, who receive sixteen dollars per month. The provisions of this rule became operative July 1, 1900, and the first benefit will be payable on July 1, 1920.[207] The Jewelry Workers have the same specifications as the Pattern Makers. The rule went into effect January 1, 1902, but no benefit will be paid until January 1, 1922.[208] The Machinists provide that any member sixty-five years of age and of ten consecutive years' good standing shall receive five hundred dollars and those sixty-eight years of age and of twenty years' standing shall receive one thousand dollars. This benefit became effective June 1, 1903, and no payment can be made before June 1, 1913.

[Footnote 206: Constitution, 1904 (Chicago, n.d.), pp. 52-53.]

[Footnote 207: Constitution, 1906 (New York, n.d.), pp. 15-16.]

[Footnote 208: Constitution, 1902, Art. 11.]

The only two American trade unions which in 1908 are actually paying a superannuation benefit as distinguished from a mere compounding of the death benefit are the Granite Cutters and the Typographical Union. In both the establishment of the benefit is very recent.

In 1905 the Granite Cutters made provision for the payment of a monthly benefit of ten dollars for "six months each year beginning with November" to those who had been members for twenty years and who had reached the age of sixty-two. The applicants must have been in continuous good standing for the "last ten years previous to arriving at the age of sixty-two."[209] The first payments under the new rule were made in December, 1905.

[Footnote 209: Constitution, 1905 (Quincy, n.d.), p. 45.]

The Typographical Union has, however, led all the American trade unions in the provision which it has made for its aged members. As has been noted above, as early as 1857 it was proposed to establish a home for aged printers in Philadelphia, and the project was revived from time to time. The persistence with which this proposal appeared and reappeared gave evidence of its popularity. In 1870 a Kansas union proposed the establishment of a "Home for Disabled Printers." All members of local unions were to be taxed two dollars each for the purpose of endowing the Home. The committee of the International Union to whom the plan was referred reported that they "deemed it impracticable at the present time." In 1877 a similar proposal was defeated. In 1882 a committee consisting of the officers of the union was appointed to inquire into the possibility of establishing and maintaining a "Home for Disabled Printers." This committee expressed its approval of the project, but doubted the ability of the union to finance it.

In 1886 Messrs. George W. Childs and A.J. Drexel of Philadelphia presented to the International Union the sum of ten thousand dollars. This donation was to be used in any manner the union might see fit. For some years an active discussion as to the best use to be made of the fund was carried on, and in the meantime the sum was being increased by contributions from members of the union.

It ultimately became evident that some plan for applying this fund to the establishment of a home for aged printers would best satisfy the membership. In 1887 the Austin, Texas, union announced that the Mayor and City Council of Austin were willing to present a site for such a home. In 1889 the Board of Trade of Colorado Springs offered to donate eighty acres of land for the same purpose, and other offers of land were received from time to time. The International Union finally decided to accept the offer of the site at Colorado Springs, and this decision was approved by a referendum vote.

The Home was opened on May 12, 1892. Applicants for admission were required to have been members of the union in good standing for five years. Persons incapacitated either by age or by illness were admitted to the Home. The number of residents has increased from twenty-two in 1893 to one hundred and forty-three in 1907. A considerable part of the residents are sufferers from tuberculosis, and the union has made provision for treating them according to modern methods. A part of the inmates, however, have always been persons whose incapacity was solely the result of old age.

About 1904 an agitation began to be carried on in the union for making more adequate provision for the maintenance of aged members. The establishment of the Home had made provision only for those incapacitated members who were willing to leave their families and live in an institution. It was argued that the Home benefited one class of the aged, and that another class, equally worthy, was left entirely dependent upon its own resources. Moreover, certain innovations in the trade had made the union highly sensible of the helplessness of its aged members. The introduction of the linotype caused many old members to lose their employment. The New York local union established an out-of-work benefit in 1896 which has since been maintained. This benefit, while nominally an out-of-work benefit, was in many cases really a superannuation benefit. In 1903 the Chicago local union made provision for the payment of old-age pensions to its members, and other local unions rapidly followed the same policy.

In 1903 and 1904 propositions were introduced at the sessions of the International Union for the establishment of an International old-age pension system. In 1905 the session of the International authorized the appointment of a committee to investigate the subject. The eight-hour strike which taxed for two years the resources of the Union delayed the consideration of this report. In 1907 the committee reported in favor of the establishment of old age pensions, and presented a plan which when submitted to the referendum was ratified by a large majority, and on August 1, 1908, the International secretary-treasurer began the payment of pensions. All members sixty years of age who have been in continuous good standing for twenty years, and who earn less than four dollars per week, are entitled to a weekly pension of four dollars. The original plan provided also that in order to receive a pension a member must have no other means of support. The officers of the Union, however, have construed this provision liberally, and the pension is paid as of right and not as a form of charity.

The pension scheme thus adopted by the Typographical Union is the most ambitious that has been proposed in any American trade union. The sum of money required to finance the project will be very large, and the Union has levied for the support of the pension system an assessment of one half of one per cent. on the wages of all its members. Whether this will be sufficient adequately to support the benefit is as yet uncertain, since the number of pensioners cannot be estimated with any accuracy. It is certain also that the number of pensioners will not reach its maximum for a considerable period.



CHAPTER VI.

ADMINISTRATION.

No factor has been of more consequence in determining the development and stability of the relief systems than the character of their administration. The problems that confront the unions are both legislative and administrative, but the administrative organs must not only execute the rules already in force, but must furnish data upon which additional rules can be based.

When the early voluntary insurance associations were formed under the auspices of the national unions, their management was usually confided to a separate set of officials, and the funds of the association were kept distinct from those of the unions with which they were connected. In some cases the officers of the unions, for purposes of economy, acted also as officers of the association. The Iron Molders' Beneficial Association was thus formed as a separate institution to furnish a voluntary death and disability benefit to any journeyman molder in good standing in any local union under the jurisdiction of the national organization.[210]

[Footnote 210: Iron Molders' Journal, Vol. 7, March, 1871.]

The administration of the beneficiary systems, in all but two of the unions, is now carried on by the officers who manage the general affairs of the union. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and the National Association of Letter Carriers each maintains a mutual benefit department administered by separate officers. The official staff of the Engineers' Insurance Association consists of a president, a vice-president, a secretary-treasurer and five trustees; while that of the Letter Carriers consists of the president of the National Association, a board of trustees, a chief collector and a depositary. In those unions in which the administration of the beneficiary system is in the hands of the officials of the union the officials in charge of the administration of the benefits are usually two, variously known as a grand chief, grand master or president and a secretary-treasurer. In a few unions the offices of treasurer and secretary are separated. In the Cigar Makers the president also performs the duty of secretary. In the Tailors the general secretary has sole charge of the benefits. In the Iron Molders' Union the "financier" has charge of the administration of the sick benefits.

The secretary-treasurer in the majority of the unions is the chief official concerned in administering the benefits. Such is the case in the Typographical Union, the Brotherhood of Painters, the United Association of Plumbers, the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union, the Tobacco Workers' Union, the Brotherhood of Leather Workers on Horse Goods, and the Barbers' International Union.[211] In the Iron Molders' Union, the Brotherhood of Carpenters, the Wood Workers' Union, the Glass Bottle Blowers' Association, the United Garment Workers' Union, and the Granite Cutters' Union these duties are divided between the general secretary and the general treasurer.

[Footnote 211: Typographical Union, Constitution, 1904 (Indianapolis, n.d.), p. 26; Plumbers' Constitution, 1904 (Chicago, n.d.), pp. 19-21; Painters' Constitution, 1904 (La Fayette, n.d.), secs. 230-241; Boot and Shoe Workers' Constitution, 1904 (Boston, n.d.), sec. 7; Tobacco Workers' Constitution, 1900, third edition, 1905 (Louisville, n.d.), pp. 10-15; Leather Workers on Horse Goods, Constitution, 1904 (Kansas City, n.d.), p. 7; Barbers' Constitution, 1905 (Indianapolis, n.d.), pp. 13-14.]

Ordinarily no particular part of the funds of the union is devoted to the payment of beneficiary claims. The unions paying insurance, however, are exceptional in this respect. In such cases the funds of the insurance departments are separate from the general funds of the brotherhoods, and the dues for maintaining the insurance departments are levied as assessments distinct from the general levies. Nearly all the grand lodges have made provision in their constitutions against encroachments upon the beneficiary funds by the grand officers for the benefit of other departments. The Trainmen and the Switchmen provide that the beneficiary fund shall be used exclusively in paying death and disability claims.[212] The Telegraphers provide that no part of the mortuary fund shall be paid out, loaned or diverted for any purpose except for the payment of approved death claims.[213] The Firemen pay out of their beneficiary fund "all expenses for the proper conducting of the beneficiary departments."[214] The position of the Conductors on this point is not so explicit. The Order, however, holds in reserve a fund of $300,000, from which the grand officers may draw, in case the assessments levied for beneficiary purposes are insufficient to pay legal claims and the surplus in the beneficiary fund is not sufficient to cover the deficit.[215] The Engineers and the Maintenance-of-Way Employees have no specific regulation of this kind; but the implication is that similar protection is furnished their funds. The Letter Carriers provide that the beneficiary fund shall be used exclusively for paying insurance claims.

[Footnote 212: Constitution of the Railroad Trainmen, 1903 (Cleveland, 1903), sec. 58; Constitution of the Switchmen's Union of North America. 1903 (Buffalo, n.d.), sec. 57.]

[Footnote 213: Constitution, 1903 (St. Louis, n.d.), Article 23, p. 109.]

[Footnote 214: Constitution, amended, 1902 (Peoria, n.d.), sec. 52.]

[Footnote 215: Constitution, 1903 (Cedar Rapids, n.d.), Article 27, p. 86.]

Only a few of the unions paying benefits as distinguished from insurance make any such provisions. The Boot and Shoe Workers provide that the "sick and death benefit fund shall not be drawn upon for any purpose except for payment of sick and death benefits;" the Painters, that "no money received for a specific purpose shall be otherwise used;" and the Tobacco Workers, that "none of the funds shall be transferable one to another."[216] The Cigar Makers and the unions which follow its methods go quite to the other extreme.[217] All the moneys of the union are kept in a single fund and are drawn upon for the payment of benefits, organizing expenses, or strike pay, as need requires. In the great majority of unions, however, a nominal allocation of funds is practised. Thus, the Typographical Union in 1906 apportioned its monthly dues as follows: five cents to the general fund; five cents to the special defense fund; seven and one half cents to the defense fund; seven and one half cents to the burial fund; and ten cents to the endowment fund of the Union Printers' Home. Similarly, the Iron Molders, the Boot and Shoe Workers, Painters, Pattern Makers, Barbers and many others apportion their dues in fixed ratios to specific objects. But such apportionments are mere book-keeping devices. None of these unions hesitate in an emergency to transfer money from one fund to another. The Iron Molders and the Printers, for example, give their executive board or council power to transfer money from one fund to another whenever occasion demands.[218] In the other unions there is an implied power. In 1899 the Executive Board of the Iron Molders transferred $10,000 from the surplus in the out-of-work fund to other funds, as follows: $3000 to the strike fund; $5000 to the expense fund, and $2000 to the monthly fund.[219] Similarly, the Typographical Union, from 1897 to 1902, transferred $24,174.64 from the burial fund to the general fund.[220] Although the Brotherhood of Carpenters do not make provision for the transfer of money from one fund to another, it has been found necessary to borrow from one fund in order to meet claims on another. In 1896 the Executive Board borrowed seven thousand dollars from the "protective fund" and twelve thousand from the "organization fund" with which to pay benefit claims.[221]

[Footnote 216: Constitution of the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union, 1904 (Lynn, 1904), p. 25; Constitution of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, 1906 (La Fayette, n.d.), p. 39; Constitution of the Tobacco Workers' Union, 1900, third edition, 1905 (Louisville, n.d.), p. 18.]

[Footnote 217: The following are the more important unions making no allocation of their funds: Cigar Makers, Typographia, Piano and Organ Workers, and Plumbers.]

[Footnote 218: Constitution of the Iron Molders' Union of North America, 1902 (Cincinnati, n. d.), p. 20; Constitution of the International Typographical Union of North America, 1904 (Indianapolis, 1904) p. 10.]

[Footnote 219: Proceedings of the Twenty-second Session, Toronto, 1902, p. 646 (Supplement to Iron Molders' Journal, September, 1902).]

[Footnote 220: Proceedings of the Forty-sixth Session, Milwaukee, 1900, pp. 51, 99 (Supplement to Typographical Journal, September, 1900).]

[Footnote 221: The Carpenter, Vol. 16, October, 1896.]

Efficient financial administration requires in the case of certain benefits an apportionment of revenue between the national union and its subordinate unions. The funds for the payment of death and disability benefits or of old age pensions can be held at national headquarters, since the administration of such benefits can be centralized and immediate payment is not essential. In the railway unions and in the great number of unions, such as the Brotherhood of Carpenters and the Typographical Union, which have developed only death benefits, the dues for beneficiary purposes are collected by the local unions and paid over to the national treasury. In those national unions which have introduced sick, out-of-work, or travelling benefits, national funds are ordinarily held by the local unions, for the reason that it is desirable that payment of claims should be made immediately. The unions which pay such benefits are divisible into two classes according to the extent to which they have entrusted the funds of the national union to the local unions. The Cigar Makers, the Typographia, the Piano and Organ Workers and the Plumbers intrust to the local unions all the funds of the national organization. A more numerous class of unions apportion the dues between the local unions and the national organization. The Iron Molders, for example, collect twenty-five cents per week from every member. This amount is applied as follows: ten cents per week per member is transferred to the International treasurer, of which sixteen per cent. is placed to the credit of the death and disability fund, twenty-six per cent. to the monthly fund, and fifty-eight per cent. to the strike fund; eight cents per week per member is held by the local unions as a credit to the benefit fund out of which are paid sick and out-of-work benefits; and the remainder, seven cents per member, is held by the local unions as a fund for local expenditures.

The adjudication of claims is naturally the most important administrative task connected with a system of benefits. In all cases the national officials rely upon the local unions and their officers for a certain amount of cooeperation and aid in preventing fraud, but the amount of this dependence varies with the character of the benefit. In death and disability benefits the national union can prevent fraud almost without any cooeperation on the part of the local unions. A certificate of death or disability, properly signed, is in the great majority of cases an indisputable evidence of the fact it purports to attest. A union may in like manner administer an old age pension directly from its head office. But in the case of sick, travelling and out-of-work benefits, the local unions become an essential part of the administrative machinery of the national union. No national union attempts to determine whether a member of a local union is entitled to the out-of-work benefit except through the local union. The administrative systems fall thus into two great classes according as the benefit administered can be guarded against fraud by means of certificates and sworn statements, or according as it must be administered partly by persons in contact with the claimant. In both cases the national officers administer the benefits; but in the one they act directly and the mediation of the local union is formal and dispensable, while in the other the aim of national administration is to supervise and control the local administration.

The administration of the death benefit or of a system of insurance against death presents relatively few difficult problems. The local union reports the death to the national officials and certifies to the good standing of the deceased member in his local union. If the reports of national and local unions correspond and the deceased member is clear on the records of both local and national unions, the claim is approved by the national officers and payment is made to the designated beneficiary, or the legal heirs of the deceased. The report of the subordinate union to the national union, covering the case in point, contains a certificate validating the claim, sworn to before a notary public or commissioner by the president and the financial secretary, together with all documents upon which the local authorities based their decision or prayer for the payment of the claim. Upon receipt of an application for a claim the general secretary-treasurer, the general president, or both, examine it and, if satisfied as to its validity, order immediate payment; if the claim is questionable it is referred to the general executive board for final adjustment.[222]

[Footnote 222: Iron Molders' Constitution, 1902 (Cincinnati, 1902), p. 41; Cigar Makers' Constitution, 1896, fourteenth edition (Chicago, n.d.), sec. 151; Painters' Constitution, 1906 (La Fayette, n.d.), sec. 151.]

The adjudication of disability claims is more difficult than that of death claims. Of the unions that pay disability insurance or benefits the Locomotive Engineers, the Railway Conductors, the Locomotive Firemen, the Railroad Trainmen, the Switchmen, the Maintenance-of-Way Employees, the Iron Molders, the Brotherhood of Carpenters, the Painters, and the Glass Workers specify the disabilities that constitute "total or permanent disability," while the Wood-Workers and Metal Workers define disability simply by the resultant disqualification for "following the trade,"[223] In the latter group of unions the administrative officers have large discretionary power. The lack of more specific rules in such cases causes unsatisfactory administration and this in turn gives rise to general complaint.[224]

[Footnote 223: Iron Molders' Constitution, 1902 (Cincinnati, 1902), p. 40; Carpenters' Constitution, 1905 (Milwaukee, n.d.), p. 19; Painters' Constitution, 1904 (La Fayette, n.d.), p. 29; Glass Workers' Constitution, 1903 (n.p., n.d.)5 p. 11; Wood Workers' Constitution, 1905 (Chicago, n.d.), sec. 137; Metal Workers' Constitution, 1903 (Joliet, n.d.), sec. 115.]

[Footnote 224: Proceedings of the Nineteenth Session of the Iron Molders' Union of North America, 1890, Report of President (Cincinnati, n.d.); Proceedings of the Seventh General Convention of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 1892, Report of the President (Philadelphia, 1892).]

All claims for disability benefits are filed with the local officers of the disabled members' union for their examination and approval or rejection. In case of approval the claims are forwarded to the central office of the national union with all necessary papers concerning its validity. If the claim is approved, payment is made through the local union to the legal claimants.[225] The majority of the unions paying disability benefits, as a precautionary measure specify the time within which claims for disability must be filed. The Conductors and the Carpenters require claims to be filed within one year from date of disability,[226] the Firemen and the Switchmen, within six months,[227] and the Trainmen "promptly" after injury;[228] while the Engineers and the Maintenance-of-Way Employees fix no specific time for filing claims. The Carpenters and the Painters require that notice of a claim for disability must be given to the general secretary-treasurer within sixty days after disability occurs.

[Footnote 225: Constitution of the Iron Molders' Union of North America 1902 (Cincinnati, 1902), p. 41; Constitution of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 1905 (Milwaukee, n.d.), secs. 109-110; Constitution of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, 1906 (La Fayette, n.d.), secs. 84-87.]

[Footnote 226: Constitution of the Railway Conductors of America, 1903 (Cedar Rapids, n.d.), p. 82; Constitution of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, 1905 (Milwaukee, n.d.), p. 19.]

[Footnote 227: Constitution of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, 1905 (Indianapolis, n.d.), p. 30; Constitution of the Switchmen's Union of North America, 1903 (Buffalo, n.d.), p. 20.]

[Footnote 228: Constitution of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, 1903 (Cleveland, 1903), p. 35.]

The disability claim must be accompanied, under the rules of practically all the unions, by the sworn certificates of the attending physicians.[229] The Firemen provide that the national officials may, when they consider it necessary, appoint a physician to pass upon the validity of a claim; the Maintenance-of-Way Employees require subordinate lodges to appoint a special committee to report on the nature and cause of the disability. The Engineers exercise special care in passing upon a claim for loss of sight. In such cases they require a certificate signed by two experienced oculists; and in case the eyes have not been removed the claim remains on file for one year, when additional certificates from two experienced oculists, certifying to total or permanent blindness, must be furnished.[230]

[Footnote 229: Constitution of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, 1903 (Cleveland, 1903), p. 35; Constitution of the Switchmen's Union of North America, 1903 (Buffalo, n.d.), p. 16; Constitution of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, 1905 (Milwaukee, n.d.), p. 19; Constitution of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, 1906 (La Fayette, n.d.), p. 20.]

[Footnote 230: Constitution of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen, 1905 (Indianapolis, n.d.), p. 34; Constitution of the Maintenance-of-Way Employees, 1903 (St. Louis, n.d.), p. 13; Constitution of the Grand International Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, 1904 (Cleveland, 1904), p. 85.]

A member whose claim for a death or disability benefit has been rejected may appeal from the decision of the official authorized to pass upon claims. The provisions of the Trainmen are typical. Every claim rejected by the secretary-treasurer is referred to the Beneficiary Board, consisting of the grand master, the assistant grand master and the secretary-treasurer. If rejected also by the Board the claimant may appeal to the Grand Lodge "at its next succeeding session, but not afterward." The appellant must give a written notice to the grand secretary-treasurer of his intention to appeal.[231]

[Footnote 231: Constitution of the Railroad Trainmen, 1903 (Cleveland, 1903), p. 39.]

The unions paying the sick benefit fall into two classes according as they administer the benefit directly from the offices of the national union with the aid of the local union or as they intrust the administration of the benefit to the local union and leave to the national officers only a general supervision. The Boot and Shoe Workers, the Barbers and the Tobacco Workers are in the former class, while in the latter are the Cigar Makers, Iron Molders, Typographia, Plumbers, Leather Workers on Horse Goods and the Garment Workers.

The chief means relied upon to guard against fraud are the certificate of the attending physician and the report of a visiting committee of the local union. Some of the unions require both the certificate and the report; the larger part, however, rely on the report of the visiting committee, although local unions are permitted to require that a physician's certificate shall be furnished. The duties of the visiting committee are set forth with great elaboration in all the constitutions. Thus, the Boot and Shoe Workers require that the claim shall be investigated by "three Union members of good repute not related to the sick member, each acting independently of the others and reporting individually to the local executive board." The Plumbers and Cigar Makers require that every sick member shall be visited at least once in each week and that no two members of the committee shall visit him at the same time.

Notwithstanding these precautions it has not been possible entirely to prevent the payment of fraudulent claims for sick benefits. The visiting committees of the local unions are frequently neglectful or careless in exercising their supervisory functions, and occasionally knowingly sanction the payment of unwarranted claims. Where the unions do not have an out-of-work benefit, there is always the chance that unemployed members will claim the sick benefit and that the local unions, aware that the money for the payment of the claim comes from the national union, will not scrutinize with any care the severity of the illness.

Reserving to the national officials the right to pass finally upon sick-benefit claims is not effective as a precaution against such frauds. The national officials cannot inform themselves as to the honesty of the physician who signs the certificate nor as to the good faith with which the visiting committee has performed its duties. On the whole, the better policy seems to be to place the responsibility of passing upon individual claims directly upon the local union, and to reserve to the national officials an oversight of the administration of the local unions.

In several of the unions no effective measures appear to have been taken to keep the local unions up to their duties, but in others a close scrutiny is maintained. The system in use by the Iron Molders is probably the most effective of those used by the unions which do not pay a money out-of-work benefit and in which consequently the need for supervision is greatest. Every member of the union is catalogued on a card. When he is reported as having received a benefit payment from any local union, this fact is entered on his card. Members removing from one local union to another and drawing more sick benefits than they are allowed by the rules are thus detected and forced to make restitution. The "financier" of the union also notes the sick rate in each local union. When the amount of sickness in any locality appears to be excessive, he employs for a limited time a reputable physician, who must sign all claims for sick relief. The result usually is the discovery of laxity in the local administration and the necessary corrective measures are applied.[232] The Cigar Makers have a staff of travelling auditors who from time to time inspect the accounts of local unions and scrutinize the administration of the benefits.

[Footnote 232: Proceedings of the Twenty-second Convention, 1902, in Supplement to Iron Molders' Journal, September, 1902; Proceedings of the Twenty-third Convention, in Supplement to Iron Molders' Journal, September, 1907.]

The administration of out-of-work relief is similar to that of sick benefits in that the national union must of necessity rely upon the local union. The requirement of registration from day to day is the chief administrative check upon the payment of the benefit to members not entitled thereto.

The more complete the system of benefits the less is the difficulty in preventing the payment of fraudulent claims. A union such as the Cigar Makers or the Typographia has a comparatively small problem in administration as compared with that of a union like the Iron Molders. Since the Iron Molders do not maintain an out-of-work benefit unemployed members are tempted to try to secure sick benefits. Even in the Cigar Makers the sick benefit and the out-of-work benefit are used as a form of superannuation relief. The addition of a superannuation benefit would lower the expense of maintaining the sick and out-of-work benefits.

The administration of trade-union benefits is subject to certain rules imposed by the statutes of the various states. All the commonwealths of the United States regulate by law the conduct of insurance business. In this regulation, distinction has necessarily been made between regular insurance companies and that class of organizations known as fraternal or beneficiary societies. The trade organizations described in this monograph as maintaining insurance or benefit departments fall under the latter class.

The unions paying insurance, as distinguished from benefits, have conformed to certain requirements of these laws, either by incorporating their insurance departments or by modifying the rules of the organizations in harmony with special state regulations for fraternal insurance companies.

Prior to 1894—from December, 1867, to 1894—the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers had its headquarters in the state of New York. In the latter year the State Superintendent of Insurance notified the Brotherhood that incorporation of the insurance department was necessary for the continuance of the business. In consequence thereof the central office of the Brotherhood was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio, and on the twenty-second of February, 1894, the insurance department was incorporated under the laws of the state of Ohio as a separate organization.[233] Similarly, the Conductors were forced to incorporate by the pressure of the state laws. In December, 1885, the Order moved its central office from Cedar Rapids to Chicago. In order to strengthen its power and to broaden its influence, the Order, in 1886, applied for a certificate of incorporation under the laws of the state of Illinois. The Secretary of State refused the certificate on the ground that the insurance regulations of the Order were not in accordance with the state laws, and requested that these be changed and that the insurance department be incorporated as a separate organization. The Secretary of State was willing to incorporate the Order under the Act of 1872, provided the Order eliminated from the object of organization the clauses referring to the payment of benefits or indemnity; or he was willing to issue a charter based on the Act of 1883 which provided that only such powers could be taken as are specifically granted therein, namely, "the furnishing of life indemnity or pecuniary benefits to widows, orphans, heirs, relatives, and devisees of deceased members, or accident or permanent disability indemnity to members."[234] In other words, the Order could have been incorporated under the Act of 1872 to do all business except insurance, while under the Act of 1883 it could have been incorporated to maintain a system of insurance, but nothing else. The only alternative was separate organization for the protective and the benevolent departments. The Order was unwilling to separate the two departments and consequently transferred its central office to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Board of Directors, on July 12, 1887, ordered the grand secretary to proceed with incorporation under the laws of the state of Iowa.[235] The certificate of incorporation, however, was not issued until the laws of the union were made to conform to the insurance laws of the state. These changes were only unimportant ones, such as the change of the name of the Insurance Department to "Mutual Benefit Department," and in no way affected the intent of any laws of the Order.

[Footnote 233: Locomotive Engineers' Journal, Vol. 28, p. 360.]

[Footnote 234: Proceedings of the Nineteenth Convention of the Order of Railway Conductors, New Orleans, 1887 (Cedar Rapids, n.d.), pp. 51-52, 63.]

[Footnote 235: Proceedings of the Nineteenth Convention of the Order of Railway Conductors, New Orleans, 1887 (Cedar Rapids, n.d.), pp. 155-156.]

The other railway brotherhoods have conformed to the insurance laws of the states in which they do business. The insurance department of the Switchmen's Union is incorporated under the laws of the state of New York. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen does business in the state of Illinois under a law enacted in 1893 whereby all beneficial fraternal associations are declared to be corporations, the insurance features of which are subject to state laws.[236] The Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen operates its insurance department under a license issued by the insurance department of the state of Ohio under the Fraternal Beneficiary Society Act.

[Footnote 236: Hurd, Revised Statutes of Illinois, 1901 (Chicago, 1901), secs. 258-260, p. 1071.]

The National Association of Letter Carriers, at the time of organizing the Benefit Association, on August 7, 1891, incorporated the Association under the laws of the state of New Jersey. But less than one year later, on February 26, 1892, the Association was reincorporated under the laws of the state of Tennessee. This change was made, according to Collector Dunn,[237] in order that both the National Association and the Mutual Benefit Association might operate under a single charter.

[Footnote 237: Letter to the author, February 14, 1905.]

The unions that pay benefits as distinguished from insurance are less subject to legal regulation. They do not issue beneficiary certificates as do the railway unions, the Letter Carriers' Association, and the large class of fraternal beneficiary societies, and hence are not deemed to be maintaining insurance departments. With one exception, the Brotherhood of Painters,[238] the unions of this group have neither taken out charters of incorporation nor in any way obtained authority to operate benefit departments within their respective states. These unions cannot be said to operate their beneficiary systems irrespective of state laws. In all the states the laws define the scope and functions of such organizations.

[Footnote 238: Constitution, 1901 (La Fayette, n.d.), p. 1. Chartered under the laws of the State of Indiana.]

The Brotherhood of Painters, in the incorporation of its organization, has taken a step beyond the practices of unions of its type. On December 7, 1894, the Secretary of State of Indiana issued a certificate of incorporation to the Brotherhood under the state law entitled "An act to authorize the formation of voluntary associations;" and in order to conform more strictly to the state laws the corporate name was changed, in December, 1899, to the present name.[239] Incorporation, however, has not proved satisfactory. For many years the Brotherhood maintained one general fund from which local unions received assistance in time of strikes, or in other cases of need. As a chartered institution the funds were liable at legal action and all payments from them subject to injunction. This state of affairs led the officials to urge complete separation of protective and benevolent funds, thereby offering greater protection to the membership. Consequently in 1904 the Brotherhood adopted the recommendations of the national officials and apportioned the national receipts into separate funds to be used only as specified.

[Footnote 239: Constitution of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, 1899 (La Fayette, n.d.), pp. 2-5.]

THE END