MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. Go 



by a change, l)uL lu udueate llu' iikmmIk'is of tlic uiiidii Wi ilic |M.iiil 

 of desii-iiig moie and bettei- Uiiugs which custom denies them. 



Eneroachiiients are l)y-]H'odncts of custom. F.ncroachmeuts ujiou 

 the agreements and the lra(U' by other trades and tlie employers 

 form a most serious problem for the carpenters. This problem 

 arises iu the wake of custom and the development of industry. Who 

 shall hang a door which is covered with sheet metal? The carpen- 

 ters have always hung the doors. That is custom. Tlie sheet-metal 

 workers liave always done all of the sheet metal work. That is cus- 

 tom. The deveIoi)nieut of the art has brought the sheet-metal door, 

 (.'fistom would justify either the carj)enters or the sheet metal 

 workers in doing the work. Uoth claim the exclusive right t(» do 

 it and a bitter stiiiggle has ensued. 



From present indications in this direction there will be no car- 

 ]»enteriug in the buildings in the business sections of our great 

 cities iu less than twenty-five years. Indeed, many carpenters fear 

 this change will take place in fifteen years. The general introduc- 

 tion of steel and the disappearance of timber will hasten this 

 trausfornuitiou. (*170.) 



The encroachments by the employers are less important but i)er- 

 plexiug. The bosses constantly curtail the work during the.i)eriod 

 of the joint agreement. According to the union the character of 

 the Mork in certain lines are changed or eliminated and new kinds 

 are introduced, which are not covered in the agreemeut. 



The intlueuce of the conditions and needs of the trade from year 

 to year are, however, the dominant force in determining the nature 

 of the carpenters' rules and must ever remain sO' if the union is 

 to remain realistic. Some of the rules are, and probably will con- 

 tinue to be forced upon the union from without, but the conditions 

 of the trade, the necessity of control over the men, and the rising 

 costs of living are the chief factors. 



Tf the leaders, the c(mdition of the trade, tli(> contractors, and 

 custom are the dominant factors in develoijing the car])enters' work- 

 ing rules, to what extent do the journeymen, (the rank and file) 

 imderstand them and their underlying ])rincij)les? Journeymen 

 who Avere interviewed always admitted lack of knowledge on souk^ 

 rules and some actually knew little or nothing of the rules in the 

 light of other explanations. One leader speaking of this, said ''Not 

 25 per cent of them know anything about the rules." (*1G2.> 

 Another leader said, ''They know nothing about the rules." (*181.> 

 Even when the journeymen know an immediate explanation for 

 particular rules, they do not often connect the rule with the under- 

 lying princi]»le, aim or theory. For example, one journeyman 



