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The Brotherhood Of Timber Workers
The Brotherhood of Timber Workers was founded and organized by Arthur Lee Emerson and Jay Smith in 1910. The constitution of the brotherhood aimed to provide recognition as a union, a true living wage and a real concern for the grievances of 	the workers. The union sought inclusion of men, women, and all races. These ideas was unknown at the time and the union fought constant resistance until it’s dissolution in 1913.

History
The turn of the 20th century saw a massive migration of saw mills to Southern forests as the woodland in the North was completely flattened. The tree land was plentiful and the saw mill business in the South was turned into a year long business. This change from seasonal to full time work brought about the creation of small villages to house the workers and their families. The living conditions in the villages were horrific, because of lack of proper housing, sanitation and safe food preparation. The workers were exploited inside and outside of work. Most workers were paid in company credit and could only be used in company store. If the workers attempted to exchange the credit elsewhere, they were charged conversion fees between 10 and 25 percent. Workers were also taken advantage of in regards to health care and life insurance. Most workers were required to have some type of insurance, which was usually purchased from a private company by the employers and then sold back to the workers at a higher rate. The insurance often did not cover routine problems and workers were charged high deductibles for work related injuries. A New Orleans Daily newspaper stated that every sixteen seconds a worker was injured and every fifteen minutes a worker was killed at a mill. The employers understood that the workforce was plentiful and did not anticipate resistance from the workers, who required the job for survival. These conditions banded workers together and created the necessary space for the foundation of a union.

Early Years
The beginning of the 20th century saw some of the first organized labor movements in the Southern saw mills. In 1903, after the workers missed a second consecutive payday, there was a walkout at a Texan sawmill. The walkout had unintended consequences for the workers, as the employers saw how easy it was replace the workers, because of a plentiful labor force in Southern towns. This allowed the workers to band together even more tightly and brought about the inclusion of blacks into their community. Workers understood that if their movement remained segregated the employers would simply hire black workers who were not apart of the movement. Finally in 1907, after several walkouts affected no change, Arthur Emerson and Jay Smith met together, with about twenty five other men officially founded the Brotherhood of Timber Workers. The brotherhood called for peaceful council with the mill owners, “While demanding out rights, we, at the same time concede that the employer is entitled to, and we promise him, an absolutely square deal…At all times, in all things, we shall be glad to meet and counsel with those who employ us, and by the arts of reason, justice, and persuasion, try to convince them of the righteousness of our cause.” The lumber companies denied any claims made by the Brotherhood and sought to poison their credibility within the community. The Brotherhood was labeled as socialistic, whose only aim was destroying the Southern culture and community as it currently stood. Despite the attempted by the lumber companies the Brotherhood remained intact and was able to continue fighting for workers rights for the next several years.

Strikes
The beginning of 1912 saw several more strikes of Brotherhood workers across Louisiana and Texas. The workers demanded better, more consistent pay and shorter working days. The lumber companies responded to the strikes by blacking listing anyone associated with the Brotherhood of Timber Workers and created yellow-dog contract agreements that required new and existing employees to sign a waiver that they would not associated with the Brotherhood in any way. Failure to abide by this contact would result in immediate dismissal and blacklisting from all Southern saw mills. The goal of the blacklisting was to shut down the union and weaken any further attempts at organization. The Brotherhood realized the importance of finding outside support to strengthen their cause, and in 1912 The Brotherhood of Timber Workers officially joined forces with the Industrial Workers of the World. The Brotherhood was now officially labeled the Southern District of the IWW.

Dissolution of the Union
The newly founded Southern District of the IWW brought with it new complications for the workers in the Southern mills. The previously peaceful approach that The Brotherhood of Timber Workers sought in the south was exchanged for the more militaristic views of the IWW. The violence came to a head in the summer of 1912 as the Brotherhood made plans to convene in Grabow, Louisiana to petition for better working conditions. Upon their arrival at the Galloway Lumber Company the lumber employers had already stationed company gunman at the entrance warning the workers to dismantle and continue on their way. In a blur of action a shot was fired inside the lumber company and the several armed workers fired back. After a short gun battle between the severely outnumbered armed workers and company gunman, four people were killed and over forty were left severely injured. This gun battle became known as the Grabow Riot. Within several days of the incident sixty-five members of the Brotherhood were imprisoned and awaited trial for “murder, accessory and inciting a riot.” After a short trial the members of the Brotherhood were cleared of all charges. The Brotherhood saw this as a victory, but it had an effect on the union. The trial had bankrupted the unions resources. This lack of finances, coupled with the increasing lockout of workers associated with the Brotherhood hampered their effectiveness going into 1913. The Brotherhood also faced new issues after the success of the riot trial. Many members now saw the need for violence in their mission as a way to get their point across more accurately. This led to a fraction in the members who were either for or against the increased violence. Whether just one of these things or a combination of all three, the Brotherhood was dissolved of all effectiveness by the end of 1913. They dismantled as an organization shortly after that.