LABOR UNION TACTICS.

NZ Truth, Issue 58, 28 July 1906, Page 6

LABOR UNION TACTICS.

A Warning to Workers/

L *?EO THE EDITOR,' ,. __

iSir.^To the many labor lioflies of one kind and another existincr in the colony there has recently been added The New Zealand Workers' Political Association in Christchurch, and this week has been launched the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Federation in Wellington, to which all wharf laborers, stevedores and marine laborers' unions will be asked to affiliate. Why so ?. la it any better than other similar societies ? If so ; how ? All Labor Societies, Unions, Associations and Federations are much alike in their platforms, and are going pretty strong just now— far more so, perhaps, than is really good for them. One can hardly think that any Member of Parliament will agree with one-eighth of the proposals put forward. Economy is one of the main planks of the various Unions' platform, and although they would apparently put the country to many hundred thousand pounds of expense, they put forward very little as to the wavs and means of supplying the needSul, the only item so far observable being an increase in the Land and Income Tax. Let them double tbese and it will not provide half enough to satisfy their hunger for 'political gains. Let it be understood t at the same lime that, capital will not. he. found, nslccp, and can play an ea<'rall Tr cuttm"; rair.c with ■ Labor. If capital ret-ireel from piotiucin'r mvl ma-iuiCaact-urinK ,v;lwie would Labor fcoi

Capital can stand out for a length of time although at great loss ; but Labor could not, and would' starve. This has all been shown plainly before. What is to prevent a manufacturer,, firm or company from closing down until such time as Labor has become better regulated, and who but Labor would suffer meanwhile ? Labor and Capital must work together, or an eruption must occur. It is well, therefore, that Labor should proceed, slowly. At a meeting of the Waterside Workers' delegates it was unanimously agreed to demand a "statutory preference to Unionists." Supposing this was obtained, then, what does it mean?. (I presume such a boon would apply to all classes of workers.) Is it that a list of Unionist workers would be kept, and that as required they would be taken on work in rotation, good and inferior alike? This would hardly satisfy many a worker, as his chances of work would be few and far between, supposing there were 1000 on the roll. , Or are they to be selected as required ? If the latter, then the indifferent worker would have no show. Is an employer who wants a good workman to be compelled to take an- ■' inferior one if the latter happens to be next on the list open for employment and pav him the good worker's wage? Or are the tnsn:: to be classifiedi first-class, sec-ond-class and so on, at differeilt rates ;of pay ? It must be one or the other, or' preference must fail. r How many men are going to acknowledge a slight failing with the .chance of losimr- employment ? Arrangements are to he made for this, according to a suggestion by one of the delegates,, that a Union should have the right of excluding ariy one it thought fit, fas per "New Zealand Times" report recently). What a monstrous proposal ? What are the discarded anen and non-Unionists to do? Are they to starve? Is- there any Christian, manly, or fellow-feeling in such a proposal ? , La-borers, think well over this proposal, and if that is Unionism, avoid it? It means preference, for some to obtain work and for agitators to enjov ease and com- I fort at the workers' expense. No, this preference proposal is rotten to the core, and the sooner Labor and Capital ,mit their, hob-nail boots on ■it the^-betten for humanity.— l am, &c. ; ■<> «*•■■• < F! : A SPADE! : July 1 23, 'b&. v .