Excerpt from The Closed Shop in American Trade Unions The primary aim of the present study is to set forth the facts concerning the closed shop. It is proposed, first, to trace the manner in which the closed-shop rule developed among the early trade societies in America, and to disclose the motives which led to its incorporation into trade-union policy. Secondly, the history of the closed-shop movement will be set forth. The relative importance attached to the enforcement of the closed shop at various stages in our industrial development and the efforts which employers have made to check its operation will be shown. Next, the forms of the closed shop as they exist in various unions will be described. This analysis will make clear what the closed shop is and how far exclusion from employment is involved in its working. The manner in which the closed shop is established and the methods by which it is enforced will then engage our attention. When the closed shop has thus been described in detail, it will be possible in succeeding chapters to study its value as a trade-union device and its economic import. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.