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The railroad operating unions have not only remained aloof from the main stream of the American labor movement, but also have maintained among themselves a craft separatism despite close working relationships and many common occupational interests. Nevertheless, there has been almost continuous pressure, both from within and outside the established organizations, to merge the crafts into a single union. In this article, the authors trace the sources of this pressure, present a historical account of the efforts to unite the engineers' and firemen's organizations, and analyze the factors that have inhibited the success of the amalgamation movement. The article was prepared before the recent vote of the general policy committee of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen to affiliate with the AFL-CIO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialization of the South is bringing thousands of former agricultural workers into the new and expanding factories and fitting them into the regimentation of industrial life. To what extent are southern factories using the personnel practices common in northern plants? This study reports a survey of 600 southern plants in regard to use of selected personnel practices. It also examines the influence of plant size, unionization, existence of a specialized personnel function in management, and type of industry upon the prevalence of selected practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the severe strain imposed upon the nation's supply of skilled workers by the defense mobilization effort, apprenticeship programs assume a role of critical importance. How effective are such programs in supplying industry with skilled craftsmen? In this study of the apprenticeship system in the glass industry, H. Ellsworth Steele describes the program of one of the oldest unions in the United States and endeavors to evaluate its virtues and shortcomings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the decision of the American Flint Glass Workers' Union (AFGWU) to consolidate its skilled and miscellaneous divisions in January 1950. The author argues that the U.S. union attempted to avoid the division found in the flat glass industry but was not able to close the gap between the skilled and miscellaneous workers as easily as the Bottle Blowers. The AFGWU recognized almost from the first that consolidation was essential but insisted that a period of training precede it. The author concludes that in consolidation the divisions sees the path to unity, peace, and prosperity.