The problem of structure in American labor

For the first time in the history of the American Federation of Labor, the supremacy of the craft union leaders is being challenged from the inside of the organization. The techniques of amalgamation of craft unions, widening the base of admission and forming departments, have been found inadequate to meet the structural problems faced by American unionism in the mass production industries. These methods can be used in those industries where craft division is clear and skill predominates. The craft unions have not been active in the mass production industries, and their title to these sectors is purely nominal. The workers in the mass production industries were aroused to the need of organization by the NRA; and the craft unionists immediately demanded that their jurisdictional rights be respected. The unions which supported industrial unionism, after being defeated at the convention of the American Federation of Labor, organized the Committee for Industrial Organization, which is determined to continue an active campaign in the mass production industries, although it has already led to charges of insurrection, and suspension. This development threatens a permanent division in the American labor movement.