Existing comment:
Conclusion:
The split resulted in 4 years of bitter internal struggle. During that time, both factions printed their own versions of The Electrical Worker and held conventions in 1911 in the same city as the same time. Members were forced to divide their allegiance. Samuel Gompers, founder and President of the AFL, offered to help through mediation. Frustrated by Reid's refusal to compromise, he eventually sided with McNulty in 1910.
An end to the struggle came through court action. In 1912, a lawsuit was filed against Reid on the grounds that the 1908 convention was illegitimate. According to the IBEW Constitution, an insufficient number of local unions were present to cast the votes to remove McNulty. This allegation had haunted the secessionists since the convention. When Judge Phillips favored McNulty, rebel local unions immediately began to re-affiliate. Reid appealed the case to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1913, but it resulted in the same ruling. The secession movement was officially over.
McNulty immediately published a peace accord, inviting all members and local unions to rejoin with no repercussions. More than a hundred local unions ultimately returned, and the IBEW was once again one union of hearts and minds. |