Hubbard is often thought of as a fair boss, ahead of his time with benefits and consideration for his employees. However, this consideration did not extend to labor unions, which were in their formative days.
According to Freeman Champney, author of Art & Glory, the Story of Elbert Hubbard, around 1907, the Typographical Union put the Roycroft publishing enterprise on its unfair list. At the time, this action did not really affect business much, and Hubbard was not even aware of it until a businessman who purchased advertising in the Philistine wrote to say that as a union man, he would have to discontinue his advertising.
Hubbard then wrote several anti-union pieces for the Philistine and even went so far as to find evidence against this “good union man.” He found out that one of this businessman's suppliers - of a material available no where else - was a non-union shop and Elbert announced this information to the public via a full page in the Fra.
This anti-union stance combined with his “Message to Garcia” missive further enhanced Hubbard’s position with big business.
- Sue
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