Differences in the rate of morbidity in different trades affect the cost, but these are relatively unimportant in the unions considered. A more important cause of difference in cost is the extent to which the unions are able to prevent the sick benefit from becoming a pension to members incapacitated by old age and disease. The heavy cost in the Typographia is partly due to the more liberal provision which is made for such members. In those unions, such as the Iron Molders and the Leather Workers on Horse Goods, which do not maintain an out-of-work benefit, the cost of the sick benefit is undoubtedly somewhat higher than it would be on account of the temptation of the unemployed member to feign illness.
The out-of-work benefit, of prime importance among English trade unions, has made little headway in America either as a national or even as a local trade-union benefit. In 1905 the amount expended for out-of-work benefits could not well have exceeded eighty thousand dollars, and of this sum a considerable part was spent by the Amalgamated Carpenters, a British trade union with branches in the United States. Certainly less than one half of one per cent. of the expenditures of American national unions, and less than one per cent. of their expenditures for beneficiary purposes, is for out-of-work relief. In the one hundred principal English trade unions twenty-one per cent. of the total expenditure in the ten years from 1892 to 1901 was for out-of-work benefits. Of the sum spent by the same unions for benefits of all kinds (not including strike pay) about one third was for out-of-work benefits.[155]
Relief to the unemployed member has assumed in American unions three forms: (a) an out-of-work benefit of a fixed amount per week in money, (b) exemption of unemployed members from weekly or monthly dues, and (c) a loan or benefit sufficient to transport the unemployed member in search of employment. The first and second of these are ordinarily known as out-of-work benefits, while the third is known as a travelling benefit.
The unions that pay a money benefit are the Cigar Makers, the Typographia, the Coal Hoisting Engineers, and the Jewelry Workers.[156]The Cigar Makers' Union is still the onlyAmerican trade union of considerable membership which maintains a system of out-of-work benefits under which unemployed members receive a weekly money benefit. On October 11, 1875, the New York branch of the Cigar Makers' Union formed an out-of-work benefit and became from that time the steady advocate of a national system. As early as 1876 the New York Union proposed a plan to the International Convention, modelled upon the system in operation in the local union, under which a member was entitled to receive aid for a term of three weeks, beginning with the second week of unemployment.[157]This proposal failed of adoption; but the International Convention agreed that sick members should have their cards receipted by the out-of-work seal. Proposals for the establishment of a money out-of-work benefit were made in 1877 and in 1879 at conventions of the Union. Although International President Hurst endorsed the idea in 1876 and recommended that it be placed before the local unions for consideration, the International Convention voted adversely. A substitute, proposed by Mr. Gompers, was adopted in 1879. This provided that every subordinate union should establish a labor bureau for the purpose of securing work for unemployed members.[158]The compromise was by no means satisfactory, and suggestions continued to be made for the establishment of a national out-of-work benefit.[159]
The Cigar Makers' present national system of out-of-work relief was adopted at the eighteenth session, held in New York City in September, 1889, and became operative in January, 1890. The measure as finally adopted by the International Convention was framed by Mr. Gompers. It provided that the unemployed members should receive three dollars per week and fifty cents for each additional day, that after receiving six weeks' aid the member shouldnot be entitled to further assistance for seven weeks, and that no member should be granted more than seventy-two dollars during any one year. The original system has remained practically unchanged with the exception that in 1896 the annual allowance per member was reduced.
From the outset—the first benefit was paid on January 22, 1890[160]—this system has been successful in operation. The report of the international president to the nineteenth session, September, 1891, showed that 2286 members out of 24,624, or less than ten per cent. of the total membership, drew out-of-work benefits during the first year, to the amount of $22,760.50; while during the first six months of 1891, the second year of its operation, 1074 out of 24,221, or less than five per cent., received assistance to the amount of $13,214.50.[161]During 1892 the per capita cost of the benefit was 65-1/2 cents, as compared with 92 cents and 87 cents in 1890 and 1891, respectively. These years were immediately preceding the great industrial and financial depression of 1893-1897, and in consequence during the following years the per capita amount paid showed considerable increase. In 1894 the unemployed cost the Union $174,517.25, or $6.27 per capita of membership, and in 1896, $175,767.25, or $6.43 per capita.[162]Since 1897 the yearly amount paid has gradually decreased with the exception of 1901 and 1904. During sixteen years of operation, ending January 1, 1906, $1,045,866.11 has been paid to unemployed members.[163]
Even before the Cigar Makers, the Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia, the small union of the German American printers, had established an out-of-work benefit. The Typographia began to pay an out-of-work benefit in 1884, eleven years after the organization of the national union. The new preamble adopted at the first national convention in Philadelphia, 1873, declared one of the purposes of theunion to be the support of members "when unable to obtain work."[164]In 1884, when the union nationalized its system of benefits, the out-of-work benefit was fixed at five dollars per week. In 1888, owing to the prosperous financial condition of the Union, it was increased to six dollars per week, but in July, 1894, because of the strain upon the funds of the organization caused by the introduction of typesetting machines and the general business depression, it was reduced to the original sum.[165]
The system in operation at present provides that members in good standing who have been on the unemployed list for eighteen days shall be entitled to six dollars per week. After drawing twenty-four dollars, no further benefit is granted until the member is on the unemployed list again for eighteen days, and no member is entitled to more than ninety-six dollars in any one fiscal year. Since 1888, with the exception of the fiscal years ending June 30, 1890, and June 30, 1891, the amount paid for out-of-work assistance has been the largest single item in the budget of the Union. During the year ending June 30, 1894, $17,262.50, or $14.33 per capita, an equivalent of forty-eight per cent. of the total disbursements for all benevolent purposes, was paid in out-of-work claims. The total amount paid up to June 30, 1906, was $145,826.91, and the average yearly per capita cost had been $5.99.[166]
Only two other American unions paid out-of-work benefits in 1906. Both of these are small unions and recently organized. The National Brotherhood of Coal Hoisting Engineers pay five dollars per week to members out of employment, after the first thirty days, until work is secured, or until the expiration of twelve weeks.[167]The Jewelry Workers provide for the payment of seven dollars per week to married men and five dollars to unmarried men.[168]Certain other unions, notably the Pattern Makers,[169]pay a"victimized" benefit to members who are unable to secure employment because they are members of the union. Such benefits are directly connected with collective bargaining, and any discussion thereof lies without the scope of this monograph.
The introduction of a national out-of-work benefit has been, however, much discussed in several important unions. These have been the International Typographical Union, the Brotherhood of Carpenters and the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union. The unemployment caused by the depression of 1892-1897 was responsible for much of the consideration given the matter.
In none of these unions has the subject been more fully debated than in the Typographical Union. In October, 1895, the New York local union adopted an out-of-work benefit, which provided for its unemployed members an allowance of four dollars per week for a period of eight weeks in each year.[170]Such activity on the part of the largest local union added considerable force to the movement for an International benefit. President Prescott in his report to the forty-second session of the International Union in 1894 recommended the establishment of an out-of-work benefit, in preference to a sick benefit. He showed that during 1894 several of the largest local unions had found it necessary to levy special assessments for the support of unemployed members. The amount of unemployment, especially in large cities, had increased rapidly. A large per cent. of the unemployed consisted of old men who were unable to compete with younger men in the operation of the linotype. The neglect of this class of men President Prescott characterized as criminal.[171]All agitation for the establishment of an out-of-work benefit has, however, up to the present time failed.[172]
In 1894 at the eighth general session and again at the ninth in 1896 the Carpenters and Joiners considered seriously the question.[173]The Boot and Shoe Workers at their fifthconvention in 1902, although refusing to adopt a proposed plan for a national system, recommended as a partial substitute that all local unions raise funds for the payment of dues of out-of-work members and provide such other relief as they should deem wise, "to the end that from the experience so gained a national plan for relief of unemployed members may be developed."[174]
In the unions maintaining out-of-work benefits it is customary to provide as a precautionary measure that members must have been in good standing for a lengthy period before being entitled to the benefit. The Cigar Makers and the Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia provide that only members of the union in good standing for two years shall be entitled to the benefit.[175]
Both the Cigar Makers and the Typographia have also stringent regulations intended to prevent fraud. In the Cigar Makers' Union a member thrown out of employment must obtain from the collector of the shop in which he works a certificate stating the cause of his discharge. If the unemployment is caused by the intoxication of the member, or if he has "courted his discharge" through bad workmanship or otherwise, he is not entitled to the benefit for eight weeks. Mere inability to retain employment does not, however, deprive a member of the relief. If a member leaves employment of his own volition, he is not entitled to a benefit until he has obtained work again for at least one week. Having obtained the certificate of the collector, the unemployed member must register at the office of the union in a book provided for that purpose. After having been registered for one week, he begins to draw the out-of-work benefit. If while receiving out-of-work pay he refuses to work in a shop where work is offered him, or neglects to apply for work when directed by an officer of the union, he loses his right to the benefit and cannot receive out-of-workpay again until he has had employment for at least one week. Shop collectors are required to report immediately the name of any member refusing to work.
After having received out-of-work benefit for six weeks, the member is not entitled to assistance for seven weeks thereafter. From June 1 to September 23 and from December 16 to January 15 no out-of-work benefits are paid. During these periods, however, any member out of work can obtain remission of dues by application to the financial secretary. He must, however, pay such dues at the rate of ten per cent weekly when he secures employment. The total out-of-work benefit which may be paid in any one fiscal year is fifty-four dollars. Moreover, any member who has received fifty-four dollars in benefits is not entitled to any further sums until he shall have worked four weeks. But members over fifty years of age are not required to secure employment for four weeks, but may continue to draw the fifty-four dollars yearly although not working.
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:
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. During1888-1894 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 nationaldues. 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.
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]
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]
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 aftersix 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]
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:
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 unionand 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]
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.
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 localTypographia 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]
The following table 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.
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 forrecent 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.
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.
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 providedfor 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.
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.