The history and development of the Committee on industrial organization in the United States.

A period of depression is a period of unrest for every class of people. The capitalist in his attempt to cut down expenses often arouses the enmity of labor, sometimes rightly, sometimes wrongly. Labor in its attempt to obtain what it considers fair wages, hours, and living conditions must necessarily organize. Separately, like a twig the workingman is weak, but collectively, like the bunch of sticks, labor can not easily be broken. The present great depression has hastened the growth of the Committee on Industrial Organization, commonly called the C.I.O. Briefly the C.I.O. is a labor organization, seeking to insure a better deal for labor through a policy of collective bargaining with the employer. It is an all inclusive organization with members from light and heavy industry, crafts and trades, all under the capable leadership of John L. Lewis. It is the purpose of this paper to present an impatial study of the Committee on Industrial Organization, its benefits to labor, and its effects on industry and government. Before presenting such a study, however, it is best to turn back briefly to the beginnings of organized labor in the United States, and thus obtain a background for the birth and growth of the C.I.O. [...