USEFUL UNIONS

In another column of the Crimson appears an interview in which Mr. Fechner, lecturer at the Graduate School of Business Administration, calls attention to the wide-spread misunderstanding that exists as to the aims of labor unions. So much publicity is given their discreditable acts, that their usefulness is often overlooked. Among the aims mentioned by Mr. Fechner, is the campaign to carry on educational work among the workers. Not only do the unions advocate compulsory education for children, free text-books and the extension of night schools, but they would have opportunities for study so widely offered that all labor might avail itself of the chance to better its existence. Trade schools and classes organized by employers are valuable, but the benefits so derived are limited to the working forces of certain large companies. The trade unions, on the other hand, have the advantage of being in close contact with thousands of scattered workers, and of understanding far better than their employer what they need and want. The public rarely thinks of a union as an educational force.

The International Ladies Garment Workers' Union is a prominent example of a labor organization that has demonstrated both the workability and the worth of educating its members. It consists of thousands of men and women who work in hundreds of small shops and are drawn together only because of their union. For them it is not primarily, as the public so often thinks, an organization created to stir up agitations and beguile the world. It serves its members in many ways. Special arrangements are made with theatres for reduced admissions; concerts and social affairs of all kinds are included in the entertainment program. But, best of all, the Union has established in New York seven "unity centers," where men and women are taught English, hygiene and such things as the study of labor and unionism, and even applied economics, psychology and literature. From first to last it is the aim of the Union to give the worker an opportunity to secure what he wants from a common-sense program.

In a statement issued by the Educational Department of the Garment Union, the work is said to be "based on the conviction that the aims and aspirations of the workers can be realized only through their own efforts in the economic and industrial fields. While organization gives them power, education gives them the ability to use their power intelligently and effectively." A union that preaches such a doctrine, and then practices it, is proceeding in a way that leads to the betterment of all its members. For this the public must give them credit.