EDUCATION AND ACTION IN AN AMERICAN LABOR UNION

418 Pages·019.692 MB·English

by  STENSLAND, PER GUSTAF

EDUCATION AHD ACTION
IN AIT
AMERICAN LABOR UNION
by
Per Gustaf Stensland
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in the Faculty of Philosophy,
Columbia University.
XL
TABLE OF COUTEHTS
IliTRODUCTIOI-J
Purjpose, Definitions, and Hypothesis....................vii
Limitations................ *.................................
The Procedure.............................................. xv
Plan of Presentation...................................... xxxvi
PART I. THE EEVIEOEIHHT
CHAPTER I
lhe Communix>^w .lation Development 1
Generax migration 6
B. The Impact Ox x^i
13
C. Summary .
ER II
CHA-SS
The Company and the Union.
A. Company A
B. "The Strike."...............................noa:] ~n
C. The International Union and the Riverbenu - °
D. Organizing Riverhend and Building a Union.
E. Summary
PART II. PEOPLE AUD PURPOSES
CHAPTER III
The Actors on the Scene, Spring, 194-7
A. The Lien and Y/omen in the S h o p ..................... 39
1. The Rank and File members ...................... 39
2. The S t e w a r d s ............................ 4-3
3. The Supervisors, Spring, 194-7.................. 4-9
4. A Brief Comparison ............................ 50
3. Top Union L e a d e r s ...................... 51
1. The Administrators ............................ 51
2. The Policy-I.Iakers......................... 52
C. Implications for the Educational Problem of the Union 55
CHAPTER IV
The Purpose of Unions
A. Aims of the International Union . yf-uo
1. The Codified Expressions . pr 'GO
2. The Opinions of the Rational Leaders 60
B. Aims of Unions on the Local Level G/•O
1. The Administrators ............ 68
2. The Policy-makers ................ 71
iii
3. The Stewards.......................................... 74
.4. Implications for an Educational Program . . . . 79
CHAPTER V
The Purpose of Education in the Union
A. Reasons for ’.Yorkers Education in the International Union 82
1. The Top Loaders.................................. 82
2. The Leaders in Piiverbend........................ 85
B. Summary.............................................. 89
CHAPTER VI
The means of Y/orkers Education
A. The Education Leans in the Union............... 9'1
1. The International Machinery ..................... 91
2. The Local Machinery for Y/orkers Education . . . 96
B. "The Most Effective Means of Education"............... 102
C. Education of the Company Supervisors...............108
1. Aims and P r o g r a m ..................................109
2. The Supervisor's Choice of "Best Education Means" 112
D. Summary................................................. 114
PART III. PARTICIPATION AND PATTERNS OF ACTION
CHAPTER VII
Organising and Running the Union
A. Organizing the W o r k e r ......................... 117
1. The G o a l .................. ... 117
2. The Organizers ............................ 121
3. The Methods of Organising ............... 122
4. The Story of Organizing .................. 125
5. Implications for the Educational Problem of th
U n i o n ..................................... 127
B . Running the Union ............................... 128
1. Awareness of the General Goal of the Organised
Group ..................................... 129
2. . Participation in General Union Affairs 132
The Patterns of Action on Boards and in Member
Meetings .............................. 137
The ] cations for an Education Program 141
CHAPTER VIII
ducation EEffforts
Participation in Forma
Le ve 1 143
A. Participation on the h
143
1. The Union Paper .
146
2. The Pamphlets
147
3. The Institutes
151
B. Participation on the Local Level .
152
1. The Local .union Paper .
153
2. The Classes and Activity Groups
iv
C. A Comparison of Reading Material..................... ....
D. Summary ...............
• •
CHAPTER DC
Framework for Labor-Lianagenent Relations
The Contract and the Negotiators..................... ....
B. Implementing the Contract...............* * * " * -,r~n
1. Top Leaders in the union . . . . ! ! * * * 170
2. The Riverbend Leaders ! ! ! * * 17
3. Management's Viewpoints 011 the Contract . . . . 180
Implications for an Educational P r o g r a m ............ 185
CHAPTER X
Opinions on Power and Communications
A. Opinions on Power.................................. 188
1. The Power in the Union.............. 188
2. Power in the Company...............................192
3. The Power to Oneself............................... 194
4. Relationship to Schooling .........................195
B. Opinions on Communication in Company and union . . . 197
1. Opinions on the Company Communication work . . . 197
2. Opinions About union Communication Work . . . . 198
3. Relationship to Schooling ..................... 200
C. Opinions 011 Power and Communication: A Summary with
Implications for Education Work ..................... 201
CHAPTER XI
The Action in the Shop
A. The General Grievances ......................... 204
1. The Nature of Grievances...........................204
2. The Grievance Procedure...........................206
3. The Level of Settlement...........................208
4. Differences Between Mill Units .................. 211
5. The Open Conflicts................. 214
B. The Common Projects..................................... 216
C. The Problem of Developing Leadership and Spreading
Understanding: AS ummary......................... 222
CHAPTER XII
The Union in the Community
A. The Opinions 011 Carrying Out the Wide Community Aims . 225
B. The Organisation........................................ 228
C . The Riverbend Program of Community Action .............. 230
1. The Character of the A c t i o n s ..........................231
2. The Case of the 1947 C a m p a i g n ..........................235
3 . The Case of the 1947 Labor L a w s ...................... 237
D. Individual Participation in the Wider Union Actions . 240
1. Participation in a Specific Political Action . • 240
E . S u m m a r y ...................................................246
V
PART IV: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND ACTION
CHAPTER XIII
The Verdict
A. Opinions About the Performances in the Shop . 251
1. Opinions About Shop Conditions............
2. Opinions in "Belonging"...................... 253
B. Opinions About the Effect of the Union . . . . 255
1. The S t e w a r d s ............................... 256
2. The Ranh and File Y/orkers................... coL
3. The Supervisors............................ 260
C. Summary ............................................ 262
CHAPTER XIV
Education, Opinions, and Actions
A. Stewards...................... 266
1. Opinions About Information means . . 26 7
2. The Relationship Between Participation and Choice
of Goals ............................... 270
3. The Relationship Between Participation and Actions
in the Shop . . . ................... 272
4. Relationship Between Participation and the Verdict 278
5. The Case of the Stewards in Local A . 279
oOo
B Supervisors............... -.............. hUd
1. Opinions About Information Leans . •
2. The Relationship Between Information-intcrest and
Opinions on Actions in the Shop
3. The Relationship Between Information-inter' st and
the Verdict ............................ 286
4. The Relationship Between Information-inter' st and
Feelings of Recognition ................ 287
5. The Case of the Supervisors in Company A 288
C. The Rank and File Y/orkers................... 290
1. The Inter-relationship of Various Forms of
Participation.........................
2. Knowledge About the Basis for Labor-manage, lent
Relations ............................ 271
3 • Understanding the Union................ 295
4. The Relationship Between Participation and tne
Verdict . . . . ................... 301
5. The Relationship Between Participation and
Practices in the Shop ................ 302
6. The Case of the Rank and File Y/orkers in Company A 303
CHAPTER XV
Conclusions and Recommendations
A. The C-ap Between Leaders and members _ . 305
B. The C-ap Between the Company and the Union 313
C. The Gap Between Ideas and Actions 3-17
D. The Relationship Between Education and Opinions-Actions
E. Recommendations........................................
1. The Union and Its members........................
2. The Union and the Company ........................
3 . Workers Education ..............................
4. Labor Research ............ . . . . . . .
Append me A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix 33.................................................
Appendix C .................................................
Appendix D .................................................
A. PURPOSE, DEFINITIONS , AND HYPOTHESIS
This is a study of what relationship may exist between organ­
ized efforts to educate workers for action, and the execution of
these actions.
Such education of men is assumed to be a result not only of
organized teaching, but also of organized, purposeful, and volun­
tary learning experiences outside traditional teaching. It con­
cerns the inner organization, administration, and atmosphere of
the union, as well as the efforts to reach a modus vivendi in re­
lations with the employer and the community. It concerns the at­
tempts to reconciliate a basic philosophy of an organized group
with its actions, the goals with the attainments, the attitudes
with the practices. It is assumed that at any time a study of or­
ganized labor practices approaches realism to the degree it takes
all of these aspects into account.
In the study, three concepts will be referred to time and
again. The following definitions have been formulated to lay bare
the author’s choice of interpretation.
Actions in an organized group are thought of as dynamic sys­
tems. involving the preparatory deliberations, the immediate ex-
ecutive act, the result and the post-evaluation. These systems
are social in the sense that they involve other human beings than
the actor himself. They are group actions in the sense that they
involve all the members of a group even if they do not participate
concretely in the process. They are organized in the sense that
they have come about through concerted efforts within an organized
group.
This definition permits the observer to see the actions as
being always purposeful; always involving goals and ends; always
including the stage-setting for new actions. As the actions are
social, they involve prejudices for or against the other human
beings involved in the process or intended as objects of the proc­
ess. The definition does more, though. It permits the observer
to look at certain phases of action as intellectual and emotional
overtones to the very performance of the act.
Adult education is thought of as that part of adult learning
which is organized, purposeful, voluntary, and self-directed. The
deliberations before actions, the interpretations during the proc­
ess, the evaluation following the performance - all these are in­
volved in adult education.
This definition permits the observer to see workers educa­
tion - whatever form it takes - as such learning experience that
the union brings about through organized efforts, that is not
forced upon the learner, nor dictated through some form of pre­
scription developed outside the group. The definition moreover
suggests that education is an aspect of the dynamic system called
action. As such, education engages both knowledge and skills,
attitudes and habits, intellectual, emotional, and manipular fac­
ulties.
Throughout the study we shall regard action as being the nor­
mal life performances of the Union, while education is that part
of action that involves organized pre-deliberation, interpretation,
pnd post-evaluation.
Community is used to relate to both a, specific local area and
a field of interest. It refers to both structure and function;
thus we shall speak of "the three cities that form a community,"
and of "the community interests of the Union." In the "interest-
sense" of the term, the Union itself would be regarded as "a com­
munity;" however, in this study the term will refer to the inter-
ests that lie outside the factory walls.
Pour sets of hypothesis have been set up. The first two re­
late to attitudes, opinions, and action patterns in the Union, the
third to the nature of "education," the fourth to the relationship
between education and action.
Hypothesis 1. (a) Attitudes and opinions about unions and
about labor relations vary between layers of leadership. The
hierarchy position of the individual union member decides the
attitudes.
(b) Attitudes and opinions about unions and
labor relations vary between representatives of union and
management, and between organized and unorganized workers.
Hypothesis g. (a) Action patterns in unions vary between
layers of the total union structure. The hierarchy posi­
tion of the organized unit decides the patterns.
(b) Participation in action among union mem­
bers varies with the hierarchy position of the member.
1 Lindeman defines "community" as both "any consciously organized
aggregation of individuals residing in a specified area," and
"any process of social iteraction which gives rise to a more in­
tensive or more extensive attitude and practice of interdependence
cooperation, collaboration, and unification." Lindeman, Bduard C.
"Community," in "Encyclopedia for Social Sciences," Vol. IV,
p. 103•
Hypothesis 3 . (a) The type of education program varies in
the union between layers of the structure. The hierarchy
position of the individual member decides the type of educa­
tion experiences.
(b) Participation in education efforts varies
with the hierarchy position of the members.
Hypothesis 4. (a) Attitudes on action and education do not
necessarily conform with support or participation. Attitudes
change v/ith increased participation in education and in action.
(b) Education in organized labor groups in­
fluences action to the extent that it is closely related to
action experiences. It influences the total action scheme
of the union to the extent that it reaches beyond the imme­
diately responsible executive members.
(c) Action in organized labor groups influ­
ences future actions to the extent that it is included in an
education program. It influences the total action picture in
the union to the extent that it reaches beyond the immediate­
ly responsible executive members.
B. LIMITATIONS
The choice of study object and the method employed in the re­
search present certain limitations setting the frame to v/hich the
findings refer. These limitations are assumed to be realistic
for the following reasons.
The American labor movement represents an immense variety of
patterns and ideas, all varying with each locality and each union.