151^ HISTORY 19 



Strikes both against the reduction of wages and the " con- 

 tract system," by which the first four weeks' wages and a 

 percentage, usually twenty-five per cent, of all subsequent 

 wages were retained until the end of the year, then to be 

 paid to the men if profits should "justify such payment." 

 In 1879 trade revived, and there was a cessation of strikes. 

 In 1881 Canada was included within the jurisdiction of the 

 association, and colored men were made eligible to member- 

 ship. In 1883 the steel rail manufacturers reduced wages 

 one third and strikes v.-ere frequent. The union, however, 

 won the majority of its demands. ]\Iembership grew rap- 

 idly for several years, from 10,000 in 1880 to 11,800 in 

 1883. Reverses in strikes caused a decline of membership 

 to 6000 in 1885, but after that the association grew rap- 

 idly — to 15,000 in 1888, and nearly 25,000 in 1892, when it 

 undertook the great strike at Homestead, and was defeated. 



In 1892 the union began to decline. The membership 

 fell to 10,000 in 1898, then increased until 1902, when the 

 union was rooted out of all steel mills in the East. The 

 convention of 1909 reported a membership of 8,000, when 

 a strike against the American Sheet and Tin Plate Com- 

 pany, the last subsidiary company of the Steel Corporation 

 to deal with the union, depleted its ranks one-half. 



The industry has at no time been thoroughly organized. 

 In 1878 it was roughly estimated that there were 30,000 

 workers eligible to membership in the union.^^ Of these, 

 a little over 4000 were organized, or scarcely fifteen per 

 cent. Half of the mills were reported "unorganized"; 

 these were principally in the Eastern and New England 

 States. 



The union was at its highest point of membership, 24.068, 

 in 1 891. The number who were eligible was prol)ably 

 100,000. .There were eight districts, with centers at Pitts- 

 burgh, Wheeling, Cincinnati, Chicago, Indianapolis. Youngs- 

 town. Birmingham and Philadelphia, respectively. The 

 first, or Pittsburgh, district had always been the stronghold 



21 Proceedings, 1878, pp. 139-140. 



