Beneficiary Features of American Trade Unions Part 7

The unions which have adopted the benefit have all experienced difficulty in safeguarding it against fraudulent claims. They usually require, for eligibility to the benefit, that the wife be not in ill health at the time the member is admitted to the union. In the unions which have had the benefit longest in operation it has been found possible materially to lessen the number of claims for the wife's benefit after some experience in its operation.

The following table shows the percentage of claims paid by the Painters for wife's and member's death benefits for a series of biennial periods:

==================================== | Percentage | Percentage | of Wife's | of Member's Year. | Death | Death | Benefits. | Benefits.

------------------------------------ 1889-1890 | 49.1 | 50.9 1890-1892 | 43.5 | 56.5 1892-1894 | 45 | 55 1894-1896 | 37.5 | 62.5 1896-1900 | 35.3 | 64.7 1900-1902 | 32.5 | 67.5 1902-1904 | 32.6 | 67.4 ------------------------------------

It will be observed that the ratio of the number of wife's funeral benefits to the number of member's funeral benefits has steadily fallen for a considerable number of years. The experience of the Painters is probably typical, although the number of claims of each kind is not ascertainable in the other unions.

The combination of the wife's funeral benefit with the death benefit causes a material addition in the cost of the death benefit. This increase is greatest in those unions in which the wife's benefit is relatively large in amount. The following table shows the sums paid for member's and wife's death benefits in three of the more important unions:

SUMS PAID FOR WIFE'S AND MEMBER'S DEATH BENEFITS.

====================================================================== | |Wife's Death Benefit.|Member's Death Benefit.

| |--------------------------------------------- | | |Percentage| |Percentage Union. | Year. | |of Whole | |of Whole | |Expended. |Sum | Expended. |Sum | | |Expended | |Expended | | |for Death | |for Death | | |Benefits. | |Benefits.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Painters |1888-1889|$ 650.00| | | |1889-1890| 1,075.00| 26.8 |$ 2,894.00| 73.2 |1890-1892| 2,075.00| 23.1 | 6,000.00| 76.9 |1892-1894| 3,912.00| 27.7 | 10,548.00| 72.3 |1894-1896| 550.00| 19.1 | 2,319.00| 80.9 |1896-1900| 2,025.00| 18.3 | 8,996.25| 81.7 |1902-1903| 6,050.00| 16.3 | 30,307.00| 83.7 |1903-1904| 9,700.00| 20.4 | 37,711.25| 79.6 |1904-1905| 10,025.00| 18.6 | 43,855.50| 81.4 Brotherhood | | | | | of Carpenters |1890-1892| 23,650.00| 20.1 | 93,696.00| 79.9 |1892-1894| 17,750.00| 14.2 | 106,906.95| 85.8 |1894-1896| 13,525.00| 18.7 | 58,527.10| 81.3 |1896-1898| 6,725.00| 10.2 | 59,108.44| 89.8 |1900-1902| 29,545.00| 15.6 | 159,249.98| 84.4 |1902-1904| 46,892.60| 16.1 | 243,218.25| 83.9 |1904-1906| 45,525.00| 12.9 | 306,294.44| 87.1 | | | | | Tailors |1890-1893| 17,075.00| 32.2 | 35,880.00| 67.8 | 1894 | 3,600.00| 29.5 | 8,591.00| 70.5 | 1895 | 2,435.00| 23.6 | 7,853.50| 76.4 | 1896 | 1,674.70| 25.9 | 4,774.95| 74.1 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

From this table it appears that the expenditures on account of the wife's funeral benefit in these unions range from twelve to twenty-five per cent. of the total sum spent for death benefits. In the Cigar Makers' Union and the Typographia it is probably still less.

The cost of the wife's funeral benefit to each member cannot be determined for all the organizations. In some, even of the older unions, as the Typographia and the Cigar Makers, separate reports of the cost of the wife's funeral benefit are not made, and the reports only of the Carpenters and the Tailors are capable of a.n.a.lysis.

TOTAL AND PER CAPITA COST OF THE WIFE'S FUNERAL BENEFIT.

================================================================ | | | Total | Annual Cost | |Member-| Expenditure | per Member Union. | Year. |ship | for Wife's | of Wife's | | | Funeral | Funeral | | | Benefit. | Benefit.

---------------------------------------------------------------- Brotherhood |1894-1896 | 29,500| $13,525.00| $ .23 of Carpenters |1896-1898 | 30,600| 6,725.00| .11 |1898-1900 | 50,000| | |1900-1902 |106,800| 29,540.00| .13 |1902-1904 |141,800| 46,892.60| .16 |1904-1906 |165,700| 45,525.00| .13 | | | | |Jan. 1-July 1,| | | Tailors | 1890-1891 | 3,760| 4,925.00| .86-2/3 |July 1-Jan. 1,| | | | 1891-1894 | 7,560| 12,150.00| .64 | 1894 | 8,200| 3,600.00| .44 | 1895 | 8,600| 2,435.00| .28 | 1896 | 9,600| 1,674.70| .17 |To July 1, | | | | 1897 | 10,500| 499.00| .10 ----------------------------------------------------------------

In both unions the per capita cost of the benefit was relatively high at the outset, chiefly on account of the larger size of the benefit, but partly on account of the laxity of the rules governing its administration. In the Carpenters the wife's funeral benefit of twenty-five dollars and fifty dollars to members in good standing for six months and one year, respectively, costs each member about fifteen cents annually. The cost of the seventy-five dollar wife's funeral benefit in the Tailors' Union ran in the first year as high as eighty-six and two thirds cents. At the time the benefit was abolished the amount paid was practically the same as that now paid by the Carpenters and the per capita cost had fallen to about seventeen cents in 1896. It may fairly be concluded that a wife's funeral benefit of twenty-five dollars will cost each member of the union about fifteen cents annually.

The consideration of the cost of the death benefit has been deferred until an examination of the cost of the disability benefit and of the wife's funeral benefit had been made, since the member's death benefit, the disability benefit and the wife's funeral benefit are regarded in the unions with the most highly developed systems as parts of a single benefit. In only a few unions are the payments for these several purposes separated. The unions thus differ so widely in the character of the death benefit paid that it is impossible to inst.i.tute any comparison as to the relative expense of maintaining the benefit. Some of the systems combine death and disability benefits, some group the death and disability benefits, some pay a wife's funeral benefit while others do not. It will be possible to describe certain typical systems and to indicate the cost of the benefit in the particular system and certain general differences.

The death benefit of the International Typographical Union may be regarded as the simplest type. The greater number of the death benefit systems found in American trade unions are of this general character.

The union pays a benefit on the death of any member in good standing. It pays no wife's funeral benefit nor any disability benefit. The benefit, when established in 1892, was fixed at sixty dollars, and has since been raised to seventy dollars in 1906. The annual per capita cost of the benefit has never exceeded eighty-four and has averaged less than eighty cents. This extremely low rate has been due to the large number of lapses. The beneficiary system of the union has not been highly developed and members of the union quitting the trade drop their membership. There is no sort of provision whereby members may retain their beneficiary rights on the payment of less than full dues. Only a small part of the dues are devoted to beneficiary purposes. The net result in such systems is that the members of the union get insurance at a low rate at the expense of those leaving the trade.

A second type is that of the Brotherhood of Carpenters. In their system, death and disability benefits are combined and a benefit is paid on the death of a member's wife. The benefits are graded but the maximum amounts are not large. The following table shows the system as a whole:

BENEFICIARY SYSTEM OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS.

===================================================== Member's Death | Wife's Death |Disability Benefit. | Benefit. |Benefit.

----------------------------------------------------- $100 on 6 months'| $25 on 6 months'| $100 on 1 year's membership. | membership. | membership.

| | $200 on 1 year's | $50 on 1 year's | $200 on 2 years'

membership. | membership. | membership.

| | | | $300 on 3 years'

| | membership.

| | | | $400 on 4 years'

| | membership.

The per capita cost of maintaining this system, adopted in 1882, has varied greatly from year to year. In 1895 it was as high as $2.46, while in 1900 it was as low as eighty-one cents. The explanation of this variation lies in the changes in the number of members and consequent changes in the age grouping. When the membership was at its lowest point in 1895 those who retained their connection with the organization were to a considerable extent the older members who were desirous of keeping their insurance. The number of claims (death, wife's death and disability) in 1895 was sixteen per one thousand of membership. In 1900 when the membership had doubled the number of claims per one thousand of membership was thirteen and in 1906 it was nine. The average amount of a claim in 1895 was $133, while in 1900 it was $105. In 1906 the average amount of a claim was $125.

Two deductions may be made from these statistics. The Carpenters have heretofore been unable to retain their membership in dull times. The result has been that the death rate has been lower and the average amount of the claims less than it otherwise would have been. The increase in membership in prosperous times results also in decreasing the average amount of the claims, since in such periods the ma.s.s of the members have not been long enough in membership to ent.i.tle them to more than the minimum benefits. The benefits furnished by the Carpenters and other unions with similar systems of benefits are provided at less than the cost would be in organizations with stable membership. The per capita cost of $1.23 in 1906 is far below the actuarial cost.

The Typographia and the Cigar Makers are typical unions of the third and final cla.s.s. In these organizations there are highly developed beneficiary systems. The members receive not only death benefits but out-of-work and sick benefits. In both unions the membership is stable.

In the Typographia periods of depression and prosperity do not affect the number of members. In the Cigar Makers the increase in members is checked in hard times but no decrease is suffered. In such unions the per capita cost of the death benefit is not lowered by lapses to any appreciable extent.

The death benefit in the Typographia includes a member's death benefit graded from sixty-five dollars to two hundred dollars, a wife's funeral benefit of fifty dollars and a disability benefit varying according to the age of the member. This combination of benefits costs to maintain on the average about three dollars. The cost varies considerably from year to year on account of the small number of members, and the consequent lack of regularity in the death rate, but taking five-year periods, the cost is stable.

In the Cigar Makers the cost of the death benefit is increasing. The full effect of the grading of the benefit has not as yet shown itself in the cost, since the influx of members recently has caused the rate to be somewhat lower than it would have been. If the Cigar Makers hold their membership and the increase slackens, it may be expected that by 1912 the cost of the benefit will be much higher than at present. In 1905, a normal year, the death benefit, including a member's death benefit graded from $200 to $550 (two to fifteen years), a wife's funeral benefit of forty dollars and a disability benefit equal to the death benefit cost the union the per capita rate of $3.56 to maintain. The following table shows the per capita cost of the death benefit system in several of the more important and typical systems:

PER CAPITA COST OF THE DEATH BENEFIT.

========================================================================= Year.|Cigar |Typogra-|Carpen-| Typo- |Iron |Leather |Granite |Gla.s.s |Makers.| phia. |ters. |graphical|Mold-|Workers |Cutters.|Bottle | | | | Union. |ers. |on Horse| |Blowers.

| | | | | |Goods | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1882 | $0.15 | | | | | | | 1883 | .20 | | | | | | | 1884 | .33 | | | | | | | 1885 | .35 | $2.11 | | | | | | 1886 | .20 | 1.05 |$0.69 | | | | | 1887 | .43 | 1.94 | .66 | | | | | 1888 | 1.23 | 2.58 | .66 | | | | | 1889 | 1.06 | 1.85 | .90 | | | | | 1890 | 1.03 | 1.94 | .90 | | | | | 1891 | 1.51 | 2.23 | .99 | | | | $0.92 | 1892 | 1.60 | 1.60 | 1.38 | | | | 1.02 | 1893 | 1.74 | 2.20 | 1.38 |$0.73 | | | 1.37 | 1894 | 2.12 | 4.36 | 1.62 | .81 | | | 1.28 | 1895 | 2.27 | 3.51 | 2.46 | .78 |$0.44| | | 1896 | 2.69 | 2.36 | 1.62 | .78 | .44| | | 1897 | 2.44 | 4.23 | 1.77 | .84 | .44| | | 1898 | 3.30 | 2.63 | 1.80 | .80 | .44| | |$4.66 1899 | 3.13 | 1.27 | .99 | .83 | | $0.31 | | 1900 | 2.64 | 3.13 | .81 | .78 | .42| .11 | | 1901 | 3.67 | 4.09 | .90 | .72 | .54| .28 | 1.18 | 1902 | 3.11 | 3.58 | 1.10 | .80 | .57| .39 | 1.21 | 1903 | 3.14 | 3.25 | .92 | .72 | .60| .34 | 1.16 | 1904 | 3.24 | 2.26 | 1.18 | .84 | .64| .55 | 1.11 | 1905 | 3.56 | 4.09 | 1.30 | .84 | .72| .38 | 1.53 | 5.93 1906 | 4.08 | 2.71 | 1.23 | .79 | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER III.

SICK BENEFITS.

Second in importance among the systems of benevolent relief maintained by American trade unions is the sick benefit paid to members who are prevented by illness from working. Historically, the sick benefit was probably the earliest beneficiary feature inaugurated by local trade unions, but, for several reasons, its adoption by the national unions was delayed. At the present time two systems of sick benefits can be found among American trade unions. In some unions this benefit is paid from the funds of the local union but is subject to the general supervision of the national organizations. In other unions it is disbursed from the national treasury and is immediately controlled by the national officials.

Of the one hundred and seventeen unions allied with the American Federation of Labor in 1904, twenty-eight reported payment of sick benefits.[120] They were as follows: Bakers and Confectioners, Barbers, Bill Posters, Boot and Shoe Workers, Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, Amalgamated Carpenters,[121] Cigar Makers, Compressed Air Workers, Foundry Employees, Freight Handlers, Fur Workers, Gla.s.s Snappers, Hotel and Restaurant Employees, Jewelry Workers, Leather Workers on Horse Goods, Machine Printers and Color Mixers, Machinists, Mattress, Spring and Bed Workers, Iron Molders, Oil and Gas Well Workers, Piano and Organ Workers, Plumbers, Print Cutters, Street and Electric Railway Employees, Tile Layers, Tobacco Workers, Travellers'

Goods and Leather Novelty Workers, Wire Weavers. All of these, with a few exceptions, such as the Machinists and the American Wire Weavers, pay sick benefits from the national treasury.

[Footnote 120: Proceedings of the Twenty-fourth Annual Convention (Washington, 1904), p. 46.]

[Footnote 121: An English union with branches in the United States, with a voting strength of fifty in the American Federation of Labor, representing about four thousand members.]

The following table contains a list of the princ.i.p.al organizations that pay national sick benefits, arranged in the order of the introduction of the benefit:

================================================================= | Year |Year Sick Benefits Name of Organization. | Organized. | Introduced.

----------------------------------------------------------------- Granite Cutters ................| 1877 | 1877 Cigar Makers ...................| 1864 | 1880 Typographia ....................| 1873 | 1884 Barbers ........................| 1887 | 1893 Iron Molders ...................| 1859 | 1896 Tobacco Workers ................| 1895 | 1896 Pattern Makers .................| 1887 | 1898 Leather Workers on Horse Goods..| 1896 | 1898 Piano and Organ Workers ........| 1898 | 1898 Boot and Shoe Workers ..........| 1895 | 1899 Garment Workers ................| 1891 | 1900 Plumbers .......................| 1889 | 1903 -----------------------------------------------------------------

The Granite Cutters' Union was the first national union to inaugurate a system of national sick benefits. In its first const.i.tution, 1877, provision was made for the formation of a voluntary a.s.sociation for the payment of sick benefits. All members of the Union under fifty-five years of age were eligible to membership.[122] An initiation fee, varying from two dollars for members under thirty years of age to six dollars for those fifty years old, was charged. The amount of the benefit was fixed at six dollars per week during sickness, without any limitation on the amount granted during any one year. The a.s.sociation never had a large membership and was dissolved in 1888. The Union from 1888 to 1897 exempted members during illness from all dues except funeral a.s.sessments; since 1897 members in good standing who have been sick for two months are exempt from half dues.[123]

[Footnote 122: Const.i.tution, 1877 (Rockland, Maine, 1877), p. 30.]

[Footnote 123: Const.i.tution of the Granite Cutters' International a.s.sociation of America, 1888, Art. 38 (New York, 1888); Const.i.tution, 1897 (Baltimore, n.d.), p. 32.]

The Cigar Makers' Union was the first American national trade union to establish a compulsory sick benefit. The system was put into operation in 1880.[124] For some years previously sick benefits had been paid by certain of the local unions, particularly those in New York, New Haven and Brooklyn. In 1877 the Brooklyn local proposed that the sick benefit should be nationalized, but the convention defeated the plan.[125] At the convention of 1878 a committee was appointed to consider the advisability of establishing a national system of relief. This committee made a favorable report in 1879, and its plan was finally adopted at the thirteenth annual session, September, 1880.[126] The success of the sick benefit was immediate, and in 1881 and 1884 the amount of the allowance was increased.[127] The popularity of the sick benefit grew rapidly, and it soon took rank as one of the most successful features of the organization.[128]

[Footnote 124: Cigar Makers' Journal, Vol. 6, Oct., 1880, p. 7.]

[Footnote 125: _Ibid._, Vol. 3, Oct., 1877, p. 3.]

[Footnote 126: _Ibid._, Vol. 5, June, 1879, p. 1; October, 1880, p. 7.]

[Footnote 127: Const.i.tution, 1881 (New York, 1881), Art. 9.]

[Footnote 128: Cigar Makers' Journal, Vol. 14, August, 1889, pp. 10-11.]

In the first national const.i.tution of the Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia, adopted in April, 1873, provision was made for the payment of sick benefits by the subordinate unions.[129] The system, however, was unsatisfactory, and in 1879 and 1881 unsuccessful efforts were made to remedy its deficiencies. The desire for a better system finally led to the adoption of a national sick benefit at the New York convention in May, 1884.