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| Members of the San Mateo (Calif.) local has this picture of themselves made into a postcard at the turn of the century. |
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More Dates May/Jun 1899 >Mar/Apr 1899 Jan/Feb 1899 Nov/Dec 1898 Sep/Oct 1898 Jul/Aug 1898 May/Jun 1898 Mar/Apr 1898 |
In early 1899, McGuire was optimistic that the depression of the 1880's seemed to be ebbing and that carpenters were responding by organizing and unilaterally declaring the eight-hour day.
'Trade Movements' Among Carpenters"The eight-hour day and a code of trade rules will be established this season in Jersey City, N.J.; Trenton, N.J.; Seattle, Wash.; New Rochelle, N.Y.; Elizabeth, N.J.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Scranton, Pa.; Des Moines, Iowa.; and Springfield, Ill.
"On January 27th, Union 264, Boulder, Colo., established the eight-hour day and union rules.
"The nine-hour day and union rules will be enforced this spring in Peckville, Pa.; Cleburne, Tex.; Jackson, Tenn.; Moline, Ill.; and St. Joseph, Mo. In Torrington, Conn., and Cambridge, Ohio, the nine-hour day was established recently.
"Union 146, Schenectady, N.Y., has adopted the rule not to work with non-union men.
More Members at Work"For the first winter in over five years, since the industrial crisis has been fully under way, we can safely report a larger percentage of the membership at work all over the country, though work in the larger cities still keeps flat on account of the changes in building construction.
"The prospects for the coming spring are exceedingly bright, and numerous movements among carpenters for the eight-hour day are reported to this office.
"Our net membership in good standing since last August to date has not varied one hundred in the aggregate, where even in the best of times, during November, December, and January, we usually suffered a loss of 10 to 15 percent in membership. This evidences that our membership is less fluctuating and has become more stable and permanent.
"We now have over 400 unions and 31,600 members in good standing and benefit, and our cash balance at the end of this month will be fully $2,000 more than it was last September during the convention."
What Organization Will Do"It will give each trade control of the market supply of their individual craft. It will give to each union collectively and individually a more just proportion of its products. It will enforce a recognition of the union's rights. It will finally lessen the hours of all trade unions to an eight-hour work day, and thus give the skilled mechanics more chance to study the economic questions of the day and by so doing become better citizens and more intelligent voters.
"By doing all this, it will make the laboring man a home owner and an interested factor in the affairs of the nation. Through organization, labor can bring about all its aims and objects; without unity they will all fail. These are all principle facts, as clear and plain to the reader as they are to us.
"Then is it not better to exert all your power to organize your fellow tradesmen into a union if they do not have one already? Is it not best for you to do all in your power to make your union a strong one by attending all the meetings and taking an interest in all questions brought up for consideration?" – Journal of Industry
- P.J. McGuire
Founder of Labor Day and the UBC - Leadership & Vision
The struggle for the eight hour day - A Century Ago
100 years ago in Union History