USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume II > Part 31
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Recovery of Trades Unionism
Unskilled Laborers Organized
A New Employers' Association
688
SAN FRANCISCO
answered these criticisms by asserting that its sole purpose was to place its mem- bers on the same plane as the unions in dealing with labor disputes. But it was made perfectly clear that it was the intention of the association in all cases in which the unions acted on behalf of an employe to lift the burden from the individ- ual employer and make it a matter for the entire body of employers.
It has been asserted by some writers that the action of the employers' associa- tion precipitated the formation of the workingman's party and the advent of labor into politics, but the assumption is contradicted by well known facts. It is true that there was a considerable element in the ranks of the trade unionists op- posed to engaging in politics, but it was completely submerged when the unskilled laborers were organized. The opposition to the latter movement came from the same source as that which regarded with disfavor the innovation of putting all classes of workers on the same plane; but this undemocratic element in trades unionism was speedily relegated to the rear, and with the first success achieved by the workingmen at the polls the exclusive sentiment was almost wholly obliterated, and the theory of the value of solidarity was accepted in its stead. As already shown by experience there existed a capacity for political organization within the ranks of the workers which had asserted itself at various times, and won success at the polls. But, on the other hand, experience had demonstrated that successes achieved at elections had merely resulted in bringing to the fore a number of eager place hunters who, when they obtained position, disgraced those who had conferred it upon them.
Ruef Takes & Hand
The time was now at hand, however, for cunning and political organizing abil- ity of the old-fashioned boss sort to take advantage of the situation and profit by the solidarity of the workingmen's organization. Before 1901 the politicians had not treated the unions as a negligible factor, but had trusted to the ordinary meth- ods of procuring adherence to their candidates. Jobs were promised to influential leaders, and devotion to party principle was supposed to do the rest after the precaution had been taken by the old line bosses to frame tickets which they deemed suited to the needs of the community, and to advance their own interests. Abra- ham Ruef, a lawyer, who had for many years taken an active part in municipal politics, and who had worked as a republican, was first to perceive the opportunity which the changing conditions offered, and he resolved to make an attempt, which proved unsuccessful, to use the trades unions to capture the organization of the party to which he then belonged and by that means gain control. This is a part of the political history of San Francisco which has been almost wholly obscured by the course which events took after Ruef's failure to carry out his original plan. The causes which made success for him impossible along these lines need not be described in detail; a simple recital of the occurrences which followed will show the connection to anyone accustomed to linking up cause and effect.
In April, 1901, the metal polishers struck for an eight-hour day, demanding the same pay they were receiving for ten hours. The employers met this demon- stration by compelling the small shops, which were disposed to yield, to stand firm under penalty of having their supplies cut off if they acceded to the demand of the union. The strike was of comparatively short duration. It was called off in July. It attracted little attention outside of the circle directly interested. In May of the same year a strike was inaugurated which was forced on the observa-
Numerous Strikes in 1901
Unions Engage in Politics
689
SAN FRANCISCO
tion of the community. The cooks and waiters, who had formed a union, demanded that it should be recognized by their employers and sought to enforce the demand by the application of the boycott. The keepers of the larger restaurants formed an association to resist the demands made upon them and were assisted by the Alliance, which adopted the same methods as those resorted to in the case of the metal polishers. Restaurants disposed to yield to the demands of the union were refused supplies of meat by the wholesalers, and credit was refused to them by grocers and others with whom they dealt. This action provoked a strike of the butchers, which, however, was of short duration. The striking cooks and waiters paraded in front of the boycotted establishments and made it unpleasant for those who sought to patronize them, but the number of the latter was few, as the fear of violence was never absent. The carriagemakers went out about the same time, but the employers professed to be willing to accept the abridged hours of labor and to pay the wages demandcd. The union, however, imposed a condition of rec- ognition which was not acceded to by the employers, who refused to deal directly with representatives of the organization. There was also a strike of iron workers for a nine-hour day and over 4,000 of the men in this industry were unemployed for some time.
The most serious of all the strikes of this period was that of the teamsters. It began in July, 1901, and continued during several weeks, and was attended with considerable violence and may be said to have paved the way for the politi- cal success of the workingmen's party, which followed not long after. The trouble was precipitated on the occasion of the visit of the Epworth League to the City. It grew out of an alleged violation of an agreement by the draymen who, the Brotherhood of Teamsters and Draymen asserted, had promised to employ only union men. The extraordinary occasion made it impossible for one of the employ- ers to expeditiously handle all the business which the arriving Epworth Leaguers threw upon him and he called on his brother for assistance. The latter was a member of the Draymen's Association which employed nonunion men. The union teamsters promptly objected to handling any of the baggage which the nonunion firm had contracted to deliver, claiming that to do so would be a violation of their agreement with the brotherhood. This refusal was followed by a lockout of the teamsters and in a few days all but about 300 were idle. These were later ordered out by the executive committee of the union.
The employers' association then took a hand in the matter. The union had reckoned that their refusal would utterly paralyse business, but the activity of the employers was such that the places of the strikers were soon filled with competent men. So large a proportion of California's interior traffic was carried on with wagons that little difficulty was experienced in obtaining men from the country who were able to drive, and quite a number of teamsters who had been with the army in the Philippines were also available. There was some interference with the regular course of business, owing to the unfamiliarity of the newly engaged teamsters with the streets of the City, but this shortcoming did not last long. As soon as the leaders of the union perceived that the employers were in the way of becoming independent of their displaced employes they began an agitation for a sympathetic strike which they managed to bring about by reminding the unions of the result of the contests of 1898-4.
The Team- sters Strike in 1901
The Alliance and the Teamsters
690
SAN FRANCISCO
On July 30, 1901, the sailors, longshoremen, marine firemen, porters, packers, warehousemen, pile drivers, hoisting engineers, ship and steamboat joiners, steam and hot-water fitters, marine cooks and stewards and coal-cart teamsters, in all about 13,000 men left their work. Their action was at once followed by several other city unions, among them the boxmakers and sawyers, and the sand and gravel teamsters, and by the dock laborers of Oakland, Redwood City and Benicia and the warehousemen at Crockett. The marketing of fruit was seriously interfered with, and the supplies of the canneries being cut off those industries were brought to a standstill. The strike had in fact become state-wide and was creating con- sternation and causing loss in all quarters. Civic bodies and various organizations ; groups of citizens; clergymen and others interested themselves in bringing about an understanding, but could accomplish little. The unions gave heed to these advocates of peace, but the members of the employers' association planted them- selves on the proposition that nearly all the outside interference was actuated by sentimental considerations, and that there was a disposition being shown to sacrifice their interests because the workingmen threatened to interfere with their comfort.
Position of the Employers
While the workingmen professed a willingness to terminate the trouble, their profession was accompanied with the intimation that nothing but a complete sur- render to their demands would prove satisfactory. While the strike was in prog- ress the unions made efforts to discover the names of firms in the employers' asso- ciation for the purpose of instituting a boycott, and circulars mentioning several concerns were distributed in California and the neighboring states. The mayor and supervisors communicated with representatives of the employers' association and obtained from them a statement of its position. The association announced that it was willing to recommend to the members of the Draymen's Association that they fill all present and future vacancies with such persons as may apply for work irrespective of whether the applicant belongs to a union or not, upon the following terms:
I. That the employes shall obey all lawful orders of the employers.
II. That the employe will not directly or indirectly attempt to compel a fel- low employe against his will to join a union, or to compel his employer to employ none but union men.
III. That the employes will not engage in or support any sympathetic strikes or boycott.
There was no point of contact in this offer. The unions still insisted on obey- ing what orders they pleased; and reiterated their right to bring men into their organizations by any methods to which they chose to resort, and claimed that their only effective weapon against employers was the boycott and the sympathetic strike. The supervisors, professing to have at heart the interest of that portion of the community not directly interested in the contest, but suffering from the interrup- tion of the orderly conduct of business, informed the association of employers that public opinion was crystallizing against them, and urged that an understand- ing be reached, but the association stood firmly by its determination to not deal with the unions. They were ready, its agent said, to take up the matter with individuals, but to meet the representatives of the unions would simply result in a surrender of the principle for which they were contending: the right of the employer to control his business.
Employers Decline to Yieid
Sympathetic Strike Ordered
1.
ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL HINDU TEMPLE, WHERE ONLY WHITES ARE PERMITTED TO WORSHIP
BAPTIST TEMPLE JEWISH SYNAGOGUE
691
SAN FRANCISCO
The assertion of the committee of supervisors that public opinion was crystal- lizing against the association was one of those meaningless assertions put forward whenever labor troubles occur. The men who made the statement had no informa- tion concerning the attitude of the community which would permit a judgment to be formed that would stand challenge. The workingmen had the sympathy of their class, but it is doubtful whether outside of the unions the people were ready to accept the theory that an employer should be deprived of all voice in the manage- ment of his business. As a matter of fact, outside of the immediate contestants the only concern seemed to be to get rid of the impending trouble. The public sentiment was largely dictated by selfishness, and if the quarrel had not operated to interfere with the general comfort it would have found but feeble expression.
The employers were not disposed to accept the intimation that the public was against them but proceeded with their efforts to maintain their position. As al- ready stated they had little difficulty in finding men to take the places of the striking teamsters despite the fact that all sorts of violence was resorted to in order to intimidate those who took the places of the strikers. Police protection was de- manded and extended, but sometimes in a very perfunctory manner. The presence of men in uniform on the teams excited the strikers and their sympathizers, and attacks were frequently made on the new drivers on the most prominent streets of the City. James D. Phelan was mayor of the City at the time and was un- doubtedly firm in the determination to preserve the peace, but the attitude of the police, whatever their orders may have been, was often very questionable. Cases occurred of men being beaten on the wagons they were driving while guarded by police without any arrests following. Perhaps the forbearance of the officers was wise, for when assaults of this nature occurred there was usually a mob present, and a riot might easily have been precipitated.
The trouble dragged along until the beginning of October, when Governor Gage intervened. On the second of that month Gage appeared in the City and the an- nouncement was made that he had been requested to attempt to settle the difficulty. It was never clearly explained at whose instance Gage moved at this particular time. The excuse, or opportunity for his doing so, had been presented much ear- lier, when the movement of grain and other products had been interfered with, and suggestions that he should act were freely made, but Gage had political ambi- tions and was not disposed to antagonize any influential element. That the em- ployers did not move at this particular time is evident from the fact that they had practically won a victory, and that they did not desire intervention is further confirmed by the result. Gage sent for the officers of the Brotherhood of Team- sters and those of the Draymen's Association, and after a brief conference the strike was declared off. No publicity was given to the method by which an agree- ment was reached, but the community was enabled to form its own conclusions as the striking teamsters returned to work, and made no objection to the strikebreakers retaining their places.
It was while these events were occurring that Abraham Ruef conceived his idea of making use of the workingmen's organizations to further his political am- bitions. Up to this time Ruef, while not exactly a negligible quantity in local pol- ities was hardly regarded as a leader. He had a following and professed to be desirons of effecting reforms within the party with which he affiliated. About his
Attitude of the Com- munity
Scenes of Violence
Governor Gage Intervenes
Trying to Block Ruef's Game
692
SAN FRANCISCO
sincerity there is a doubt, but concerning his professions at the time there was none. The teamsters' strike terminated in October, 1901, and the municipal elec- tion at which a new set of city officers was to be chosen was imminent. Before the composition by Gage with the workingmen Ruef had been intriguing with the union leaders, and it was suspected by some that the governor's intervention was inspired by Dan Burns, the republican boss, and that its purpose was to prevent the too active local boss from gaining too strong a hold on the affections of the trades unionists.
Ruef Pro- poses to Reform the Republican Party
Up to that time the political bosses were not in the habit of regarding the unions as a factor in their games; they assiduously cultivated the individuals com- posing the unions, and even had relations with their leaders, but there was appar- ently no one bold enough to attempt to handle the organizations as a body until it occurred to Ruef that such a thing might be possible. While the teamsters' strike was on Ruef called on the managing editor of the "Chronicle" and expressed a desire to acquaint him with the local political situation. In the course of the inter- view he dwelt upon the chaotic industrial condition and expressed the view that in order to secure permanent peace and an approach to contentment that it would be necessary to recognize the place of the workingman in the social and industrial scheme, and that he believed that it was the duty of the republican party, as the party of progress, to take up the cause of labor. In the interview Ruef did most of the talking and at times became rhetorical. He referred to the oppressions en- dured by the toiler, and the necessity of giving him a better show if it was desired to avert a future castastrophe, and ended his discourse by urging that it would be the part of wisdom to elect a union man as mayor, and suggested the name of Eugene Schmitz as a candidate, and asked the editor whether he could not bring him to the office and introduce him.
He was informed that the editor had no objection to meeting Schmitz, but the political course of the paper was determined by its proprietor, who was then ab- sent from the City but was expected to return in a short time. Subsequently Ruef took Schmitz to the "Chronicle" office and presented him to the editor, but singu- larly enough no reference was made to the future mayor's political ambitions. Although Ruef did not repeat his former request he was evidently desirous of dis- playing the qualifications of his candidate by drawing him out. The conversation took a wide range, but Ruef skilfully directed it into channels which permitted Schmitz to air his views on many subjects. Subsequently the editor met Ruef on the street and the latter asked the journalist what he thought of his man, but gave no intimation of his design of running him as a candidate of the workingmen's party. Whether he tried to persuade Herrin and Burns that Schmitz would prove a strong man for the republicans to take up is not known but he probably did. That he made no secret of his affiliations with the trades unionists, and was trad- ing on his influence with them was known at the time, but his project of causing their absorption by the republican party was not made public.
Ruef Deals With the Unions
The situation created by the strike probably changed Ruef's earlier point of view and caused him to abandon his idea of republicanizing the laboring element. The workingmen were easily persuaded that the success of 1878 could be repeated. There was always in the ranks of the unionists a considerable number adhering to the view that the only possible mode by which the worker could achieve his desires
Ruef and Schmitz Make a Call
693
SAN FRANCISCO
would be through politics, and in times of excitement the proportion was greatly increased. The matter of control now presented itself to the unions in a concrete form. The action of the municipal authorities in affording police protection was bitterly resented. It was charged by the strikers and their adherents that the police had exceeded their duties in various ways under instructions from the mayor ; and it was also asserted that the force ordinarily assigned to Market street would have sufficed for the maintenance of order, and that the real purpose of placing officers on wagons with the teamsters was to assist the latter by giving them direc- tions and otherwise helping them in their work.
The latter accusations were wholly without foundation. The fact that the or- dinary police protection was inadequate was apparent to everyone. It was difficult to preserve order even with an augmented force of specials. Teamsters were dragged from the wagons they were driving at such crowded centers as Market and Third streets and cruelly beaten, while mobs applauded and the police were unable to disperse them, and sometimes exhibited a disinclination to do their duty. Occa- sionally a violent demonstrant would meet a check from an officer, but there was no interference with peaceable men. The bitterness was deliberately worked up and there is every reason for believing that the emissaries of Ruef were active in that direction. There was a prodigious quantity of talk about the assistance ren- dered to capital by the authorities, and it was pointed out that the charter adopted not long previously gave a great deal of power to the mayor who under its provi- sions appointed a number of commissions. Appeals of this nature found the work- ingmen in a receptive mood, and all opposition to the unions engaging in politics was laid aside. A workingmen's party was formed and Eugene Schmitz, Ruef's candidate, was chosen to head it, and his connection with the new party was soon made apparent.
The earlier political manifestations of the workingmen did not partake of the narrowness exhibited in this campaign. In 1871, and again in 1878 the leaders of the laboring element made their appeals to all classes. An examination of the platforms of those years discloses no tendency to set up class distinctions. The crusade against the Chinese, the denunciation of official malversation, the objection to the monopolization of land, the demand for the direct election of president and vice president and United States senators, the insistence upon the regulation of railway and other corporations, the affirmation of the principle that minerals and other public resources, including the public lands, should be conserved and retained for the benefit of the whole people, and the declaration in favor of equitable taxa- tion were the main features of the earlier workingmen's pronouncements, and ap- pealed alike to the man in the country as well as the toiler in the city, to the employer as much as to the wage earner. In short, unless labeled as such these first efforts at platform making would not have been recognized as class productions. They were in fact merely a formulation of the complaints and criticisms which were constantly finding expression in the newspapers, and, as already stated, although framed forty years ago, they anticipated nearly every demand made by the advanced progressives of 1912.
The municipal campaign of 1901 was not fought on these lines. The working- men's party did not discard any of its former objections to the existing order of things, it even embellished them. But they were not seriously considered or thoughit of by the workers who were struggling to accomplish one purpose: that of securing
Formation of the Workingmen's Party
Early and Recent Plat- forms of Workingmen
Schmitz Elected Mayor
694
SAN FRANCISCO
possession of the local offices to the end that such power as the charter reposed in the mayor should be exercised in their behalf in the event of future difficulties. The issue was clearly made and was perfectly understood by the people, but whatever may have been the real sentiment of the majority of the community it could not find effective expression owing to the failure of the adherents of the old political parties to come to an agreement. The republicans, whose destinies were controlled at the time by Burns, put up as their candidate Asa R. Wells, and the democrats named Joseph S. Tobin. Although Wells had the support of the Southern Pacific, which commanded the services of Sam Rainey and Chris Buckley, the democratic bosses, as well as Kelly, Crimmins, Burke and Lynch, who were republicans for what they could make out of that brand of politics, he failed to retain the support of the latter party; and Tobin was not strong enough to hold the democrats who had practically disbanded municipally and gone over to the workingmen. The result of the triangular fight was the election of Schmitz, who received 21,774 of the 53,746 votes cast at the November election.
As in the election when Kallach was chosen, all the other offices with the excep- tion of three supervisors were nominated by the other parties, the republicans winning the most of them. At no time during the contest did the workingmen make a serious effort to secure the other offices; their desires were centered on the mayoralty, and it was freely charged that some of the successful men of the op- posing parties had traded away the heads of their tickets to secure the votes of workingmen. Although the workingmen had elected their candidate for mayor, the fact that the rest of the city government was composed of members of the older parties practically isolated Schmitz. He was looked upon as harmless by his antagonists, and Rnef contributed to this feeling by using the argument that the election of his candidate was allaying class bitterness. As a matter of fact, dullness of business was accomplishing the result to which Ruef directed attention. The general recovery of trade at the East did not reach the coast until later, and workers thought more of getting jobs than of politics, but the latter were by no means wholly overlooked as the event showed.
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