CLOSED SHOP VERSUS OPEN SHOP.

This article compares the merits of closed shop with the open shop method of unionization. Obtaining membership in an open union is analogous to securing citizenship papers in a democracy. In both no groups are excluded except those whose members cannot attain the standards set for the entire organization. In each case individuals are excluded whose past conduct has been inimical to the welfare of the group. And in both the democracy and the open union qualified applicants for membership are admitted as soon as they satisfy the minimum requirements of admission. The closed union shop maintained by the open union has many supporters among economists and other members of the so-called third party to industrial disputes. The author believes that because of the use of the terms open shop and closed shop is misleading and is not accurately descriptive of industrial relations in modern industry, the terms should be eliminated from economic discussions. As substitute terms the public should adopt union shop to describe the establishment in which the union is a party to the wage bargain and non-union shop to describe the establishment which refuses to deal with labor organizations. The closed union shop would then correspond to what is now called the closed shop. While to avoid the confusion which arises under the present use of the term open shop, three terms would be used, open union shop, open non-union shop, and closed non-union shop, according to the degree of recognition given the union by the employer and the extent of his efforts to keep union members out of his establishment.