The Daily Worker Newspaper, December 24, 1925, Page 4

a _ SEASONS! Page Four The Life and Struggles‘of the Young Workers | |Much Progress That We Are Making Discrimination Against Young Miners a1 THE DAILY mWORKER ONMOUTH, Ill—The reactionary bfficialdom of the United Mine Workers’ Union are shamefully ne- glecting the interests and grievances of the young miners in Illinois. It would seem that with close to 90 of- ficial employes on the payroll of U. M. W. of A. in District No. 12, and when $135,800 is expended every three months for the salaries and expenses of these union officials that the griev- ances of the coal miner would be swiftly adjusted and that justice quickly rendered. But this is not so. The young miner if he has a grievance with the coal company must wait from six months to one year before’ it is finally settled. The case of the young miner who was employed at the Silver Colliery company Mine No. 2, Ed- wards, Ill, is only one of many in- stances: This young miner was employed at this mine as a trapper-boy and while} the mine was in partial operation last} May and his services were not re- quired as a trapper-boy, the company boss instead of giving this young miner some light job in the mine, gave him a job pushing empty cars and loaded cars of coal on the bot- tom. This is the hardest kind of work and it requires a man with a strong back to perform this work in the mines. Of course, the trapper-boy was not strong enuf to perform this kind of work and so the boss fired him. A few days after this, the services of a trapper-boy was required again, but Young Workers Str (HE strike in the bake oven depart- ment of the Edison Electric Ap- pliance company, at 52nd and 19th St., in Chicago, has been on for about two weeks now. The men are on strike over the low wages and. are demand- ing recognition of the union. The department which is on strike is separated from the main plant and the workers in the main plant know little about what is going on, since the only information they get are lies from the company about why the men P are on strike. After using every possible method instead of giving the job to the trap- sonal friend of the boss. The trapper-boy d@manded that he be placed back in his former position since he was taken away from there by the company. This the company refused to do. Then the trapper-boy started his fight against the coa pany. First he took his case to the }mine comittee; but no results, then | the subdistrict, but no results, then to the district’ board member and the district executive board, but no satis- faction again; finally his case was set- tled in the joint group board. The trapper-boy after vigorously fighting for seven months and the case going thru five courts of the Mine Work- ers’ Union, the union officials were forced to act ‘by placing the trapper- boy in his former position’ and com- pensation: paid for all the time ‘lost. The trapper-boy in a letter to the writer relates: “Our members are suf- fering greatly over the delay in handling grievances of the coal min- ers and some relief must be offered to them. I believe that we should do away with one’ or two courts in the organization ‘so that we will be able to get a decision without so much de- lay, and also to’relieve the member- ship of the burden of paying more of- ficers than is necessary. We have too many of these labor fakers who do nothing but lay around swell ho- tels and frame-up on the progressive miners.”—Joseph Angelo. ike at Edison Plant workers who make up the biggest part of the department at the present time. Now these same young workers, get- ting,such low wages and working un- der such rotten conditions, will be made use of by the company in their effort to force*down the wages in the bake oven department and when they try to break the strike of those work- ers who won’t put up with any worse conditions. ® This reduction of wages and speed- up by the company, would not happen if the workers had some organization and if the young workers were also in order to break the strike the com- pany is now planning to move the tryout department (No. 51) to the building at 19th and 52nd where the strike is on. This department will be moved during Christmas week layoff. In the department which is being moved, there are many young work- ers, the majority of those in the de- department which is being moved be- ing between the ages of 16 and 19. The company hopes to use these young workers as strikebreakers, since these young workers are alreafly working for very low wages. A year ago the wages in the tryout depart- ment were 70 cents an hour, but since January, 1925, with the help of the fake bonus system the wages have been reduced to approximately 35 and 44 cents an hour. At the same time that the wages of these young work- ers were reduced, the work was speeded up a great deal and they were expected to work overtime. When these reductions occured the majority of the older workers quit, when they were replaced by the young organized with the older workers so that the bosses could not use them to help force down the wages of the old- er workers.—Young Worker Corre- spondent, Chicago Young Workers Will Hold Liebknecht Memorial Celebration The Young Workers (Communist) League of Chicago is arranging a Liebknecht memorial meeting to be held Friday, evening, Jan. 8, at 8 o’clock at the Northwest Hall, corner North and Western Aves, Max Schact- man, member of the national execut- ive committee of the Young Workers (Communist) League, Sam Darcy, na- tional secretary of the Young Workers (Communist) League and Earl Brow- der, director research department of the Workers (Communist) Party will speak, An interesting and fitting program has been arranged for the occasion. The You N Eastern Ohio, the majority of the young workers are employed in the coal mines. While the profits of the coal operators are increasing the con- ditions of the coal miners are becom- ing’ worse. ng Workers’ Conference in East Ohio Western Federation of Miners, many years ago, when a similar move of the bosses was executed. Discrimination Against Youth. In addition to the general misery of the miners as a whole, the young miners are employed at such jobs as The coal operators are gradually moving the base of operations to the unorganized fields, in an attempt to break the union and destroy its influ- ence. Unless the miners’ union acts, similar results will take place with trappers, couplers, greasers, slate pickers, ete: This work requires ability to move fast. Accidents are prevalent. Wages in many cases are lower than the adults. A speed up system is prevalent. Discrimination takes place against the young miner per-boy, the job was given to a eo | workers, both young and old, on the | | By SAM DARCY. N the occasion of our trade union | month it is fitting that the mem- {bership hear a report of our activi- com-| ties during the past two months, Lack of External Work. The league has taken some tremen- }dous strides forward put the awk- wardness with which there were ac- | complished only served to bring out | more clearly the things that we must correct in order to make our progress faster and surer. After the convention was over two dangerous tendencies manifested |themselves within the league: On the one hand many comrades took the at- titude that they had fought a hard | battle and were entitled to rest while on the other hand many did not real- ize that the fight was over and that the organization must immediately get down to work. Both these atti- tudes caused the temporary continua- tion of the same condition (the lack of external work) that existed before the convnetion had opened. Unity Established. With the co-operation and under the leadership of the Y. C. I. much has been done to liquidate this situation. On the national committee the leader- ship is not only consolidated into a solid block behind the C, E. C. of the party and for the carrying out of the decisions of the last national conven- tion of the league have taken actual steps to make this unity, not one based on resolutions merely but on the actual carrying out of real mass work. In the districts this development has in a large sense reflected the activities of the N. E.C. After the tour of the national organizer the attitude of the membership which was dangerously apathetic began to take a more opti- mistic turn. Apathy of Districts. _ With the exception of Philadelphia practically every other district has established unity, and by this time is working hard carrying out the decis- ions of the last national convention. Buffalo, Cleveland and the Twin Cities sub-districts have not as yet learned to respond to the decisions and in- structions of the national office. This lack of discipline is a hangover of the factional fight, when every district did more or less as they pleased accord- ing to which fraction they were part of. The districts generally have this fault but it is outstanding in the three mentioned. Our comrades must learn to respond more quickly than they are now doing. The general increase in the activities is however in a large measure solving this problem, Mass Work. The first step towards real mass work in the conference in eastern Ohio We are sending organizers from every section of the mining country into the field and are turning every energy towards making this a success. We are of course faced not only with the external opposition in such work but also with the lack of facilities, fi- nances, etc, But despite all these dffi- culties the conference is making splendid advances and we expect real Mass representation of young workers, "| have specially young miners, there. On nother part of this page is a detailed ‘eport of this work. Progress in ‘Cistritcs. In five of our eleven districts we succeeded in establishing full time district organizers, In two oth- ers we have part time D. O.'s while in three others the,D. O.’s do their work in spare time gnjy. In at least one of these districts, we expect to establish a full time}, 0. by the end of January. In the, Los Angeles dis- trict we have- Comrade Schneiderman on tour thru the distyict rebuilding the league and taking up all the organiza- tional problems with them. Re-organization. Reorganization is almost completed. The N. EB. C, is continually getting out material on the ‘methods of work under the new form.‘It is a bit early to state as yet just what the results of reorganization are but we are sure that it has been accomplished with practically no loss. of membership while in many places ‘there were ac- and Some That We Are Not ' reaus will at their next few sessions be instructed to take up the question of work among the foreign-speaking youth. If the ‘league is to co-operate ‘n these campaigns it must have more help—both financial and in the matter of getting quick response from the local units. We suggest that the units discuss this report and take measures to increase their efficiency. This report is extremely sketchy and quite inadequate. A more detail- ed report will be issued at the end of the year in conjunction with our financial report. Section for new fedtures every week. This is a good issue to give to your fellow worker, Watch~the Saturday Magazine| Beta Young Workers’ League of St. | Paul, recently started circulating |a mimeographed shop paper in the | printing plant of Le F. Dow Printing |company. This shop employs a large number of young workers and ‘is one | of the worst exploiters: in the city. The boys start to work at $10 per week and the girls start at as low as $7.68 per week. This is even in vio- {ldtion of the state minimum wage law. | The work is of a hard character and | the boss is ever driving us, telling us that we are two days behind in our work. However, it makes no differ- ence how much harder we work, we are always “two days behind” accord- ing to the slave driving foreman. When you start-work you are, prom- ised a raise in pay to $16 per week, but after you have been there a year you are lucky if you receive $12 per tual gains. Our comrades must not rest with the reorganization, They must push on. Their work in the fac- tories must bring résults if they fol- low the correct lines. Close study of our programs should be made and the work should be greatly intensified on this basis. Fractions. We are yet having difficulty with our Y. W. L. fractions in the trade unions. In some places—Boston, New York, Pittsburgh—these are beginning to funetion, Elsewhere no serious starts have been made,- We are send- ing out material on the organization of fractions. Our industrial depart- ment is closely co-operating with every unit which: is doing any work and pushing the work elsewhere. Our local comrades must co-operate to a greater degree in this work with the national office, 4 Lack of Finances. There is one great difficulty in our work. That is finances. Our build the league fund netted’‘us but $1,800. At the same time “Very little money j;came in on dues, literature, etc. The result is that we have tremendous possibilities for work' hut no money to carry it on with. Our organizers in the anthracite are priétically withouty funds even for fares) We are being held up on the senditig’in of organiz- ers into eastern @hio. “Our new pamphlet cannot betaken from the printers until we raise $300 to pay for it. The Young Worker and the Young Comrade is alWays late in com- ing off the press because we have not the funds to pay for it. A financial statement will be issiied to the units on Jan. 1. Our comrades will then see the seriousness of the situation. Unless we can get help quickly we; may be forced to turn the Young Worker into a monthly, This would be a tremendous blow at us. The dis- tricts must push “the subscription drive, the new pamphlet, dues and the remittances on their debt if we are to survive this crisis. Party Drive for League. The party is undertaking a mem- bership.drive among their members in our behalf. The foreign language bu-| Nate Young Communist Internation- al has proclaimed December, Eco- nomic-Trade Union Month, thruout the world. The aim is to concentrate all the energies and activities of each league upon this phase of activity, which is one of the most effective me- thods of reaching the working class youth. Recently, a great many young workers’ delegations have toured the Soviet Union, being the guests of the Russian young workers. These are now returning to their respective countries and are reporting favorable upon the conditions of the young workers in the Soviet Union. This broadcasting of the authentic knowl- edge of the conditions of the young workers of Soviet Russia, is being well utilized by the various Young Communist Leagues, where a decided contrast can be made between work- ‘ing class Russia and the rest of the capitalist world. HE Young Communist Leagues are especially concentrating upon pop- ularzing world trade unity; unity of the youth and adult-workers; union- ization of the working class youth; removal of all barriers against the youth in the unions and equality of rights. Economic-Trade. Union Month in America, among other things, implies the following: 1. Active participation in all the struggles of the working class youth. In the present anthracite strike the league has been active in distributing thousands of leaflets. Small meetings and many contacts have been gained. This is only a ne. We should be the leading infltfence and spirit of the young miners in the strike. The small beginning the league made in the textile strike in New Jersey is also important. However, each of taese struggles must become the means of increasing the prestige and organizational strength of the Young Workers’ League. A concrete example of successful mass activity was the participation of the league in the recent spontaneous coke workers’ strike in Pennsylvania. 2. Initiation of factory campaigns and industrial campaigns. Again we UCH a situation demands that the young miners together with the rest of ‘the young workers of the Conference, to ‘discuss their immedi- at@ conditions and adopt the neces- sary measures and demands of the young miners and young workers in general. Unity Yotng and Old. Such a conference will strengthen the workers’ movement as a whole, by making the young workers an ef- fective part of the entire working class movement. Workers Must Act as a Class. N spite of all the assertions of the politicians of the country that we are in a period of prosperity, workers, both young and old, know that this extends only to the bosses and not to the workers. The anthra- cite coal miners who are on strik fora slight increase in wages; the textile workers who have suffered many cuts in wages; the “clothing workers who have put up a determin- ed fight against wage cuts; the two million unemployed workers who were unemployed thruout 1924 and the experience of the miners in the bituminous fields, where for several years they have been suffering from priods of unemployment. Starvation and misery is rampant amongst the soft coal miners in Pennsylvania, Ohio and W, Virginia. This concerted drive of the bosses upon the workers; the use of militia and injunctions in time of strikes to defeat the workers; | the unorganized conditions of the workers while the bosses are\ well or- ganized, demands the strengthening of the ‘workers’ ranks, greater and |more effective unionization of the economic fleld—the combining of all of labors’ forces on the political | into an effective class political party sine labor party. . i f Need For a Young Workers’ Confer-) ence, Eastern Ohio and vicinity district, gather together in a. Young Workers’ With such conditions prevailing in Eastern Ohio, a call has already been issued for an- all-inclusive Young Workers’ Conference to be held in Bellaire in the latter part of Febru- ary, 1926. For the ext two months the young workers and especially the young miners will be eagerly discuss- ing the conference sand the demands being popularized for adoption by the conference. Some of these demands are as follows: y For All Young Workers. 1. A six-hour day, five-day week, with no night work,or overtime. Ex- ception to be madg,only in case of St. Paul in Factory Campaign week. When you ask for a raise, the first time you get a promise, is the way we are treated. The shop is entirely unorganized, That is to say the workers are unor- ganized but the bosses are well or- ganized. They are organized five times over, belonging to the St. Paul Citizens’ association, the Minneapolis Civic and Commerce association, the Citizens’ Alliance, the St. Paul Typo- thetae and several others too numer- ous to mention. vie The Young Workers League is pop- ularizing the following demands; ae 1. Equal pay for equal work, 2. "No compulsory overtime. 4. Two weeks paid vacation each year. Already three shop bulletins have been ‘issued and the response is ex- cellent—Young Worker Correspond- ent. Economic Trade Union Month- see a revival during BE. T. U. M. of factory campaigns in various cities. Since the league is reorganized much greater stress: must be laid, not on factory campaigns as they were con- ducted in the past, but upon a steady, everyday, factory activity. From time to time local or district campaigns on certain basic branches of industry must be made. A start is being made in this respect in New York, St. Paul, Chicago and other centers. 3. Initiating and calling working youth conferences.—This will be found to be an effective method of gaining contact with the young workers. Thru such campaigns we rally young work- ers from the shops and mines on the basis of our concrete practical de- mands which we must formulate and popularize. The first steps being made in this direction are the two young workers’ conferences, which are already under way during this month, in Bastern Ohio and New York City. From these first conferences j we will gradually stretch out and em- brace every larger mass of young workers under the influence ‘of the Young Workers’ League. 4. Unionization cf the young workers.—The great majority of the young workers are unorganized and are thus a dangéfs to ‘the\standard of living of the adult. workers. It is not the fault of the young workers that they work for lower wages and in cases, longer hours than the adult. Many unions still pursue the policy of not organizing the young workers, dis- criminations being common. HE league must be the driving force in breaking down such bar- What It Means riers. A prerequisite for unioniza- tion of the young workers, is the unionization of all the Y. W. L. mem; bers. This has been undertaken en- _ ergetically during this month and by. January 1, every Y. W. L. member must be in the unions. 5. Organization of youth fractions, —It is only thru the organized ef- forts of the young Communists that we can effectively carry on our strug- gle on behalf of the youth. This has been a weak point in league activity. During this month, Y. W. L. fractions are being organized systematically in every union, thru. meetings being called and definite plans for activity being laid out. These Y. W, L, frac- tions are separate but work in close co-operation with the party fractions. - They are not the same as T. U. E. L. groups, asthe T. U. EB, L. groups should be broader units, embracing outside workers, while the Y. W. L. fraction is limited to the Y. W. L. members, who lay out our strategy for activity within the union and to win and work for the support the widest masses in our proposals. : The slogans of the league during Economic-Trade Union Month are: “Every Y. W. L. member a Union Member.” “In every Union, a Y. W, L, Frac- tion.” “Unionization of the Youth.” These are being energetically pro- pagated, The entire league is turn- ing toward mass work. The unified efforts of the league membership is bringing concrete results.—John Will- jamson. ae RUTHENBERG AND CANNON TO SPEAK AT CHICAGO Y. W.L. HE question of world trade union MEMBERSHIP MEET unity will be discussed at a member- ship meeting of the Young Workers League in Chicago on Christmas Day,. Friday, Dec. 25, 1925, at Workers’ Home, 1902 W. Division St., at 3 p. m. Comrade Jam the international situation, Comrade P. Cannon will speak on this question, in connection with C. E. Ruthenberg will also speak at this meeting on the united front activity of the party in connection with the campaign for a labor party and the defense of the Soviet Union. All mem- bers of the league and the party as well as young and old workers who are non-members are also invited to be present. } emergencies in mines, said emergency to be understood as when mine would be unable to work the next day. Over- time must be paid at time and half rate, 2, BHstablishment of work school for young workers, to be financed by bosses and supervised by unions, 3. Two weeks’ vacation with pay each year for all young workers un- der 18 years of age. For All Young Miners. 1, AN tracks, roadways and man- holes:to be kept clean; timbering and wiring to be kept in shape to avoid accidents. No loader to be responsible forthis work but it ‘should be done by day men. 2. Equal wages for _ trappers, couplers, greasers, car cleans or slate pickers, to cerrespond with adult company hands, either inside or out- side. 3. Under 21 years of ago, initiation fee and dues in U, M. W. A., to be one- half, with full rights and benefits. 4. Abolition of the tonnage sys- tem and institution of ‘straight day wages and weekly pay. 5. A minimum wage of $7.50 for all workers in the mines, if thru no cause of their own, they do not re- ceive a full day’s work. — 6. Abolition of the automatic pen- alty clause. ‘ ey’ ty 7. Wash houses and individual towels to be supplied free ‘by com- pany. 8. Provision by company of pit clothes whenever necessary. By John Williamson 9, Unemployment benefits to be’ paid during shutdowns, prevailing union wages from special fund to be establishéd by setting aside part of profits of coal operators, this fund to be supervised by local union of U.— M. W. A. 3 10. Two rooms for two miners im machine work in room and pillar. ‘11. Men to be transported to and from work when entry is over one- half mile long. ‘ : 12, All tools, powder and émple-° free by the company. General Demands. 1, Free the Moundsville prisoners: and Dominick Ventureta. 2. For a Labor Party. — 3. For World Trade Union Unity. ments necessary shall be furnished } If you # ask a second time, you get fired: This - oot a i