But the
industry as a whole never again came so near to embracing the idea of a
joint co-partnership between organized capital and labor as in 1900.
(4) _The Employers' Reaction_
With the disruption of the agreement systems in the machinery producing
and foundry industries, the idea of collective bargaining and union
recognition suffered a setback; and the employers' uneasiness, which had
already steadily been feeding on the unions' mounting pressure for
control, now increased materially. As long, however, as business
remained prosperous and a rising demand for labor favored the unions,
most of the agreements were permitted to continue. Therefore, it was not
until the industrial depression of 1907-1908 had freed the employers'
hands that agreements were disrupted wholesale. In 1905 the Structural
Erectors' Association discontinued its agreements with the Structural
Iron Workers' Union, causing a dispute which continued over many years.
In the course of this dispute the union replied to the victorious
assaults of the employers by tactics of violence and murder, which
culminated in the fatal explosion in the _Los Angeles Times_ Building in
1911.
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