217] THE BENEFIT SYSTEM 85 



Every member is catalogued on a card. The union has 

 a mailing list for its Journal, and the address of every mem- 

 ber is here recorded. Benefit payments are entered on a 

 member's card. Members moving from one local union to 

 another and attempting to draw more benefits than the legal 

 provision are thus detected. In case an excessive morbidity 

 is noted in any locality the matter is investigated. The 

 same system is employed by the Molders.^^ 



It may be well in closing this account to point out some 

 of the advantages of beneficiary features to the union. As 

 stated before, the real reason for their inauguration was 

 the need of the members and the desire to meet this need. 

 In addition to the individual benefits derived, however, there 

 are certain general advantages to the system. 



The effect of the benefit system upon the Association may 

 be summarized as follows : ( i ) It tends to attract new mem- 

 bers, and to make the membership more stable. While this 

 cannot be proved, it is the settled opinion of the union lead- 

 ers. In 1909 Secretary Williams said : " Our beneficiary 

 features have now passed the experimental stage, and are 

 fixtures that are destined to add strength and stability to 

 our membership. It is my firm opinion that, had these 

 features been added a number of years past, our numerical 

 standing would be much stronger than it is at the present 

 time." (2) If the fact that benefits serve to increase the 

 membership is doubtful, certainly they are a factor in re- 

 taining members, once they join. Naturally a member is 

 slow to drop his membership when at the same time he gives 

 up his right to valuable and increasing benefits. (3) The 

 presence of a large reserve fund, although it increases the 

 probability of aggressive action, nevertheless is an incentive 

 to conservative action. A union without funds, like a man 

 without property, is inclined to be radical. Lastly, (4) the 

 disciplinary power of the union over its members is 

 strengthened by the use of benefit features. It is a club to 



"Kennedy, p. 115. 



