The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 24, 1924, Page 8

The Needle Trades Conventions and 17th, national conventions have been held by three unions in the needle trades. The Internation- al Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (l. L. G. W. U.) held its convention in Boston, May 5th to 17th, It was the seventeenth convention of the union coinciding with the 25th an- niversary of that organization. The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (A. ©. W. of A.) held its sixth biennial convention in Phila- delphia, May 12th to 17th. And the International Fur Workers Union (I. F. W. U.) held its sixth convention in Chicago, May 12th to 17th. Three national conventions of the three most important unions in the garment industry of the United States. An important event in the lives not only of the workers of that industry but of the American labor movement as a whole. For the result of these conventions mark an epoch in the development of the Left Wing in the needle trades section of our labor movement and opens up a new chapter in the struggle for revolution- Bese tre the dates of May 5th The Right Wing had control. of the convention. The “Forward’-Sigman machine was in the majority. But what does this realy mean as far as the state of mind of the rank and file is concerned? Nothing, absolutely jnothing. It was a machine-made ma- jority, arrived at by previous expul- sion of Left Wingers, their disfran- chisement, by removing left wing candidates from the ballots, by un- seating left wing delegates from the convention, by packing it with dele- gates of practically non-existing locals, and by every other dirty trick known in the game of capitalist politics. The. majority that ruled the last convention of the I, L. G. W. U. is as much representative of the rank and file of the union as is the Amer- ican Congress of the oppressed mas- ses of the country, What had this majority to offer to |the union? What plans and. proposals \did this majority submit to the con- vention to strengthen the union, to make more effective its control of the industry, to combat unemployment, and in general-to make the union a better instrument for the struggle against capitalist exploitation? The answer is:. Nothing. On. all From Abstract Propaganda to Leader-| these matters the Right Wing, the ship in the Struggle. : HE above describes the path of} development of the Left Wing in the needle trades unions from its inception up to today. It started) out some six or seven years ago in a small, unassuming and modest way. Here and there an individual or two were preaching industrial unionism to little groups of garment workers, creating converts to the idea and in- stilling a spirit of general restlessness among the more advanced workers of that industry. It was a slow pro- ary unionism in the United States. “Hip, hip, hooray! In a retinue of bums. As Hughes’ morality, Thank God, we’re not the everyday life of the organization. By your daily deeds let every member of the organization know that it is you, the Left Wing, and not the For- ward-Sigman machine that is willing and capable of building a strong, pow- erful union to fight the battles of the masses, And, thirdly, strengthen the Work- ers Party among the membership of the I. L. G., W. U. It should be clear by this time to every progressive trade unionist that the real backbone and only source of inspiration for every progressive move in the unions is the organized Communist movement of America. Hence, the best immediate answer to the attacks of Gompers and his crew in the I. L. G. W. U. is to double and triple the.membership of the Workers Party from among the workers of the needle trades workers. The Convention of the Furriers. "THE convention of the International Fur Workers’ Union was held up Chicago, a city which has only. one small local of the union. The center of the industry is in the East. But the Forward-Kaufman machine, whose bloody hand rules the Furriers’ union, did not dare to hold the convention THE BATTLE CRY OF K STREET, N. W., VOTELESS WASHINGTON. For ‘the little green house on K.’ For there the government comes “And—bootleg booze flows free like the Russian Red, cess. It altogether escaped the mas- We're respectable and well fed. ses. Soon afterwards came the Russian And the best people of the land Revolution, and immediately the whole thing became prevaded with a new spirit and a stronger vitality. The idea of Industrial Unionism preached to the garment workers so consistently and patiently by the few isolated left wingers—this idea took on new flesh and appeared in a more|™ concrete and practical form. Larger |controlling power of the convention groups of garment workers have be-|had nothing to say. Why? Because gun to lend sympathetic ears to the |this Right Wing in the needle trades, left wing propaganda, this fact mark-|the same as the whole Gompers out- ing the beginning of a real broad j|fit, is politically and morally bank- movement against the old- antiquated |rupt.. They have sold their . souls form of trade union organization, |(some of them their bodies too) to But it was only after the formation |the devil of capitalism and can do of the Workers (Communist) Party of |nothing else but pretend and deceive. America and the Trade Union Educa-|They are compelled to shift and blun- tional League that the Left: Wing in|der along from one crisis in the in- the needle trades unions began to|dustry to another, pretending to lead function—at first, slowly and clumsily |the struggle of the workers while in —as a living, creating force in the |reality selling them out to the bosses everyday lives of the garment work-|at every opportune moment. ers. It was no longer abstract propa-| On the other hand, the Left Wing. ganda of the abstract ideal of indus-|Continuing in the line of policy that trial unionism, nor was. it mere agita-| was pursued by it during the last two tion in favor of the Shop Delegates|years, the Left Wing came to the System. These larger organizational | convention fully prepared to tackle aims of the Left Wing became linked every problem confronting the union up with the concrete, day-by-day af-|and the industry. The Left Wing fairs of the union. The very term|program to the convention is a dead- Left-Winger has assumed a new mean-|ly challenge for leadership thrown in ing. A Left Winger is not merely |the teeth of the Forward-Sigman ma- an idealist or a dreamer of rosy|chine, It is also a brilliant indica- dreams, but a practical active trade|tion of the claim of the Left Wing unfonist who knows better than the/that it dnd not the reactionaries are Right Winger how to run a union in|capable of building the union and the interests of the rank and file. leading the struggle of the workers. During the last two years the Left Wing in the needle trades has definite- Loogens fof the tart Wing: ‘ ly established itself as a positive,| THE Right Wing in the 1G. W.U. creative force in the class-struggle| 1 is preparing for war. There can and in the unions of the industry. It}be »o doubt about that. The only not only raised the banner of re-|"se the Right Wing made of the con- volutionary unionism and of the Red |Vention, which cost the rank and file Labor Union International, but it has|tens of thousands of dollars, ~was to also challenged in a practical and im-|Strengthen its machine and facilitate mediate fashion the Right Wing lead-|its fight against the Left Wing. The ership of the union. The three needle |Teactionaries seem to be determined trades conventions just held offer sut-|t0 get rid of the Left Wing even at ficient proof that the Left Wing is|the price of breaking the union. well on its road toward final victory.| From this it follows: First, that the Left Wing in the I. L. G. W. U. The Convention of the I. L. G. W. U.|/ must under no circumstances j CTICALLY and morally the|mit itself to be provoked into action Left Wing had scored at this con-|which will isolate it from the rank Shall reds disrupt the vention a hundred per cent victory. It}and file by the union. The old has established itself beyond the|tactical maxim still holds good: Stay shadow of a doubt as the only force| within the union and fight lead- cay and demoralization. In compari-|ests of the revolutionary class strug- son with this the organizational vic- | gle. tories of the Right Wing fade away| And secondly, continue the policy into total insignificance. active, constructive participation BS Sit at the feet, and right hand Of Doheny and Daugherty . To uphold the family’s sanctity— home? Never! We swear by Teapot Dome!” among. the workers of the industry. It feared “excesses” and perhaps bodi- ly harm. It removed itself, therefore, to Chicago. In the Furriers’ Union, fascism holds full sway. This unio is ruled by a gang of renégades and betrayers whose bloody methods of suppression of the Left Wing were not surpassed even by Mussolini. It was by these methods that the machine -Managed completely to exclude the Left Wing from representation at the convention. And as tothe rank and file, why, Kaufman himself could tell us an in- teresting story. He could remind us of the famous Olgin-Kaufman incident when the membership of the Furriers’ Union in New York City almost to a man stood up in support of Olgin (for- mer editor of the “Freiheit”) and the Left Wing and against Kaufman and the “Forward.” Kaufman could tell us Many more similar truth-revealing stories. But he wouldn’t. For, if he did, his whole seemingly, powerful machine would instantly crumble to pieces. The Left Wing in the Furriers’ union has the majority of the mem- bersip behind it. It has also developed a strong and capab'’e leadership, And were the Left Wing in the other needle trades unions somewhat more advanced, the Furriers’ union would have been by this day already in the ae a ne ne RRA i By Alexander Bittelman hands of a revolutionary leadership. The Fascist-rule in the Furriers’ union merely indicates the fact that the Left Wing is already on the verge of secur- ing control of the union. Difficulties and Temptations of the Left Wing. NE cannot minimize the difficulties under which the Left Wing in the Furriers’ union is working. It is com- mon knowledge that merely to crit- icize actions of the machine is to take one’s life into one’s hands. Couple with this the fact that the Left Wing enjoys the confidence of the majority of the union, and you have a first class case for sending the reactionaries to H.... and forming a new union. We are certain, however, that this will not be done. The leadership of the Left Wing in the Furriers’ union is brave, courageous and capable. It realizes that it is holding a key-posi- tion in the general strategy of the Left, Wing. It is. merely a case of holding. on until the rescuers will reach the field of battle. And, mean- while, increase. your ranks and strengthen the Workers Party. The Cenvention of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers. R the first time the Left Wing in the A. C. W. has come to a con- vention of the union, 89 strong, with a clear-cut, definite program of action. This program was of such a nature as to establish the Left Wing as a definite leading force in the organization which cannot be confused neither with the Right Wing nor with the Center. For there are in the A. C. W. three groupings: Right Wing (Forward machine), Center, (the ad- ministration) and the Left Wing. The last convention was dominated by the forces of the Center. Because of the domination of the Center, generally in the union and also at the convention, the Left Wing in the A. C. W. had a complicated prob- lem to solve. On the one hand, it had to support the Center as against the Right. It goes without saying that whenever it is a case of either Right or Center, the Left Wing will support the Center, at the same time criticiz- ing all its defects and shortcomings. On the other hand, because of the very nature of. the Center (its waver- ing between Right and Left, its shifti- ness and general unreliability, the Left and general unreliability, the Left Wing had the duty of establishing its own identity and independence of ac-, tion. For, it must never be forgotten, that it is only by following consist- ently Left Wing policies, on the eco- nomic and political field, thaf the A. C. W. (the same as the other unions) will become a real effective instru- ment in the revolutionary class strug- gle. In the past the Left Wing in the A. C.. W. did not always manage, be- cause of the difficult situation, to com- bine the support of the Center with the always necessary political inde- rendence, which at times militated very strongly against the successful establishment of the separate identity of the Left Wing. We are glad to say, however, that in the months prior to aml at the con- vention itself the Left Wing succeed- ed in solving its tactical problems beyond all expectations. And if these policies and tactics are consistently carried on in the future, the A. C. W. will very soon become a_ better, stronger and more revolutionary union than it has ever been before. | SPECIAL MEETING Farmer-Labor Convention. Chicago Party Members, Attention! All Union members of party come to ia | WORKERS LYCEUM, 2733 Hirsch Bivd. | | for the purpose of organizing to strenghten Auspices—Local Chicago, Workers Party. MAY 26TH, 8 P.M. June 17th ere