Some unions are more successful
than others in collective bargaining. Martin Fox, the able leader
of the iron moulders, signed one of the first trade agreements in
America and fixed the tradition for his union; and the
shoemakers, as well as most of the older unions are fairly well
accustomed to collective bargaining. In matters of discipline,
too, the unions vary. Printers and certain of the more skilled
trades find it easier to enforce their regulations than do the
longshoremen and unions composed of casual foreign laborers. In
size also the unions of the different trades vary. In 1910 three
had a membership of over 100,000 each. Of these the United Mine
Workers reached a total of 370,800, probably the largest trades
union in the world. The majority of the unions have a membership
between 1000 and 10,000, the average for the entire number being
5000; but the membership fluctuates from year to year, according
to the conditions of labor, and is usually larger in seasons of
contest. Fluctuation in membership is most evident in the newer
unions and in the unskilled trades. The various unions differ
also in resources. In some, especially those composed largely of
foreigners, the treasury is chronically empty; yet at the other
extreme the mine workers distributed $1,890,000 in strike
benefits in 1902 and had $750,000 left when the board of
arbitration sent the workers back into the mines.
The efforts of the unions to adjust themselves to the quickly
changing conditions of modern industries are not always
successful.
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