ALLEGED PERSECUTION

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2109, 28 March 1914, Page 4

ALLEGED PERSECUTION

A really shocking cage of persecution is alleged to have- occurred in connection with a young man, a cabinetmaker, who called on our evening contemporary, to 'ventilate his grievance. It. seems that he is a member of tho Furniture Workers' Union, and that, during the waterside workers' strike, being out of employment at his trade, ho first of all drove a cart and later worked on, the wharves. Just before the strike ended he seems to have again found employment at his trade, and all went smoothly for several weeks. Then a union official appeared oft the scene, and thereafter the- conditions at the factory were made intolerable for.the man by his fellowworkers. Bo sought emploj-ment elsewhere, and this week Mr. E. Coi.i.ik took him on in his factory, but ho had to leave again, as the other hands resented his coming there, 51 u. Cot-Uii's statement ti tho position speaks for itself:

Mr. Collie said he had wet {lie man foi , the tiffle On Wednesday last, anil had decided t<i give hitti work, but was told by bis foreman that if be did so ; all tho union hands ii> the factory would knock off, as he was regarded by members of the union as a scab, Mr, Collie then spoke to several of his men on the subject, and all expressed themselves strongly opposed to the ntftii starting wort They teld .him that bis name was on the black list in the. Union Gazette, copies rf which are sent to the secretary of every furniture uiiioji in Now Zealand and Australia. It was pointed out to Mr. Collie tli.a.t Who took'the man pfi his Shop would also be blacMis'te'd, and thai ho would find himself unable to get hands anywhere. . Although he <Mr. Collie) sympathised with the man, he felt he could not h»ke the risk of .precipitating 9 strike, and he had no option, therefore, but to refuse to give the poor fellow a job. Mr. Collie .added that lie considered it was erne) of the union to stop tlio man from earning a living at bis trade. The itniprt might fm*iis.h him in some'way for working ion tlie wharves, but. to do what it. was "doing was altogether unfair. Most people will find it difficult to believe that a union 111 iliis_ country would hound clown one. of its members in this way, II does seem in- ■ credible, but the statement of the president of the union oh the subject will hardly servo to satisfy the public on the point. _ He puts the position from tho union's point of view as follows: The furniture workers, he said, are not trying to keep the wan out. of work. At ft. meeting of the union the- man and two others who were in the same position were asked to resign. One of tho others was Mr. Pi.ihlie, secretary of the new Wijter- : side . Workers' Ufiten. The union recognised it could not Stop them .working, .and It Ires not (j<siii£ to expel them. Tliey had not rented, and consennently tho unitai eoultl Sot- take apy further action. If any member of the uiiion refused tcj work 'with theifi- that had nothing to- do 1 with tho union, which did not- dietMe to its members as to what course, they should take, _ The ftnion, he. reiterated, wa-5 not keeping these men from. werk, but as I hey belonged to the new Waterside Workers' TTnion, the Furniture Workers' fJnimi did not want them. They could work if they Kketl. "The president, it will be seep, denies that the union is ■ trying to keep the, man out of work, and in practically the same breath deck-res that if .any members of the union re-. fused to work with him, that had nothing to do with the union, which did. not dictate to members what cotirss they should take. This apparently Beans that if the members of a union systematically refuse, to work with a fellow-member, and by so doing prevent him earning his living fit his trade, the union takes no heed of it, and permits the persecution to continue without protestBut what- constitutes the union'! Presumably the publie are expected te believe that the union has. bo: responsibility in tho matter because tfc© member? of the union agree amongst themselves, and not at a meeting of tho union, to ruin a fo.l----1 Q-w-Tiiqm.ber so far as working at his trade is concerned. .If such is tho case—and it, of course, offers 110 excuse for such persecution as is alleged to- have taken plarc--t.heii who was responsible for the official blacklisting of the roan, which is stated to have been recorded in the Union Gazette, which seemingly circulates all over New Zealand and Australia'! Did the union dci' the blacklisting, and leave it to tho members to 010 the rest ? ■ it >s hard to credit that any body < of trades unionists would behave in this merciless fashion to one of their. number, who, being out of employment at his trade, sought to earn a living at some other occupation.: even though it might be wharf work. at strike time. Tho members of the union might fairly feel that they i have grounds lor resenting his a-e----tion, and might show their disapproval in some re-aspnable manner; • W to seek to crush a, fcllow- ! worker, as alleged, by so j crnel and ruthless a method :as to deprive him of any '• chance of securing employment at tlie trade on which, lie has to rely for a livelihood savours of savagery.