The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 30, 1926, Page 5

_—— ecasme x OW Organized Labor—Tradée Union Activities News and Comment Labor Education Labor and Government Trade’ Union Politics COMPANY UNION DEMANDS RAISE OF MILL OWNERS Amoskeag Headed for a Serious Conflict (Speclal to The Dally Worker) MANCHESTER, Sept..28—(FP) — Amoskeag Mills Workers’ Congress or company union asks 10 per cent wage increases for the 14000 cotton and: woolen textile workers, and re- jects the company’s. proposals - for wagé reductions, Two hundred ,and fifty delegates from all departments of the mills were in session. Sliding Scale Slides Downhill, The company’s plan, as set.forth by Agent Parker Straw, calls for a slid- ing scale of wage cuts to be based on reductions in the prices of goods sold. Whenever a Jarge order was booked at prices below those regularly quoted the management was to go before'the company union and confer on the ad- visability of lowering wages suffici- ently to get the new business—with- out sacrifice on the part of the com- pany. Company Union, Took Wage Cut, Wage agreements expire October 1. Last year wages were unchanged but October 1924 there was a 10 per cent. cut. At that time Agent Straw de- manded 20 per cent off but.a compro- mise of 10 per cent with the company union was finally secured, The United. Textile Workers’ union then asserted that this 10 per cent cut was not ac- cepted by the rank and file of the workers but by petty bosses in the Workers’ Congress. — Real Union May Return, Trade union organizers sea in the company union wage demands hope for the return of a real trade union. They base this on the’ knowledge that the company union cannot deliver the goods in the way of wages,—that its machinery is too closely related to the management to permit it to be used to wrest concessions of such an important nature as a substantial wage increaso, Why oe . And that the company union dele- gates who yield to the pressure from the rank and file of the workers by making the 10 per cent wage demand will not ba able to explain their re- fusal to act when the management says nothing doing. ‘The United Tex- tile Workers’ Union was well repre- sented in the plant until the defeat of the long 1922'strike wiped it out there. Youthful Cloak Model, Out of Work, Suicide NEW YORK, Sept. 28.—Dorothy Smith, 23, of Holden, Mass., a cloak model out of work, fled to the win- dow of a fourth-floor apartment today and leaped to the brick-paved yard. She was found, dying, 2 She jumped, she said, when three men entered the room where she was sitting with a friend. It was the apartment of Francis Murphy, 22, a broker. SHIRTMAKERS FIND A STRIKE WINS DEMANDS AND BEATS WAGE GUTS NEW YORK, Sept. 28, —(FP)— Nearly 1,000 men’s shirt makers returned to work In Inside and In- dependent shops which settled with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union almost as soon as a strike was called. Independent shops are required to put $500 bond guarantee that non-union workers will not be used, Contractors havé been de- manding 15% wage cuts, WCFL Radio Program Chicago Federation of Labor radio broadcasting station WCFL is on the sir with regular programs, It is broadcasting on a 491.5 wave length from the Municipal Pier, TONIGHT, . C to 6:30—Fable Lady—Stories for hildren. i ag oy awrence, le nt "Hickey and Yohneon: nee UNITED . at park, BY AUTO,. WORKERS’ PRESS PICNIC LoS ANGELES, CAL, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1926, at ROSE HILL PARK Good Amusements, Sports and Games, Leave your luneh home. We will serve a plate lunch 2 and refreshments, DIRDOTIONS: Take Red Sierra Vista car (Main Btreet Station), stops IPASSAIC STRIKERS FIGHTING COMPANY UNIONISM TO A FINISH By ROBERT. W. DUNN. HE Botany Mills of Passaic offered ' their workers nothing new when they called the scabs into the mill yard and proposed the company union as the ‘solution of the present strike. It will be remembered that several months ago, early in the strike, a state- ment signed by all the mills appeared as an advertisment “in the local capi- talist papers. This statement was also a proposal for “works councils” or some form ‘of “employe representa- tion”—in other’ words, a company union, } At the time this offer was made the workers laughed at it. They refused to yield an inch in their désire to have a real labor union instead of a boss- controlled company union, They waved their union’ cards aloft and shouted down the company’s proposi- tion. They did the same when the Botany came forward again with this old offer. HE. workers in Pagsaic have had a taste ofthe company union, This explains theirrefusal to be tricked by it now. Since 1919,-when the workers organized/in the Amalgamated Textile Workers of America were disorgan- ized by the use-of the spy system and the. blackHst, the company union has been in operation at the Forstmann & Huffmann plants. It has been a farce from the beginning. The workers have been permitted to elect represen- tatives to an “assembly” which meets four times a year to consider such questions and grievances as the com- pany’s personal manager, Mr, Rein- hold, allows them to discuss, Dozens of affidavits made -by the striking Forstmann & Huffmann workers attest to the ‘hypocrisy and insincerity. of the plan. It has proved a’ mere snare to further enslave the workers. It did not solve any of the workers’ prob- lems, as is evidenced by the fact that the Forstmann workers joined the strike and have been among the best fighters. Neither has the company union broken the strike, altho some of the company suckers on the assembly have done all they.could to help the company persuade the workers to re- turn to the mills.and to the tyranny of the company union, RSTMANN & HUFFMANN CoO. is not the only textile corcern in America that has tried the company union game. Some of the biggest cot- ton corporations in New England, such ab the Amobkeag Maatitdctuting’ Co. of Manchester, N. H., and the Pacific Mills of Lawrence, Mass., have in- stalled this instrument for the purpose of keeping their workers out of a real labor union. As a matter of fact the defeat of the United Textile Workers of the A. F. of L. organization that formerly controlled the Amoskeag workers is due in large part to the in- troduction “ofthe company union. The Pacific Mills also ®ut in a company union in order to liquidaté the labor union sentiment among their em- ployes. In both*cases the company union has been @ means of introduc- ing wage cuts, speed-up systems and longer hours. Knowing this experience of the com- pany union in such textile mills, the Passaic workers have put on an ag- gressive resistance to every proposal that a company union be instituted as a “solution” of the labor problem in that city. The company union is thoroly discredited here and the work- ers are so enraged against it that they would prefer no union at all to such a deceitful and insidious device. HE Botany's talk about having deal- ings only. with its own workers and about their “freedom to organize in a union” is regarded as the last gasp of pure open-shoppism. This statement of the Botany was of course ineited by the resolution of the Pas- saic workers to join the United Tex- tile Workers, which the Botany man- agers had indicated they might recog- nize. The Botany did not think the Passaic workers had enough intelli- gence to get into the A. F. of L. But as soon as they discovered their in- tentions to join the U, T. W. they hur- ried to make this 100 pet. open shop declaration concerning the company union, In this stand the Botany had the backing of all the national em- ployers’ organizations that have been trying to crush this strike from the start, the open shop department of the National Association of Manufactur- ers, the National Security League and the other “patriotic” associations as well as the local Citizens’ Committee and other strike-breaking agencies, OWEVER, a certain sentiment among the decent citizens is re- flecting itself even in the local capi- talist press. This sentiment sees the Botany’ going too far in refusing to deal with the A. F. of L. It calls the Botany “Prussians” and other harsh names, which they, of, course, deny. Whether this sentiment will grow dur- ing the next few days remains to be seen. Whether it will help the work- erg to make the Botany change its mind’fs also a matter for the next few days to decide. If the police, at the behest-of the Botany, break out into further orgies of violence, the position of the strikers and their éupporters will be greatly strengthened and they may draw in other elements of sup- port in,addition to the so-called Slavic committee and all of the A. F. of L. unions?! * {1ATEVER the next few days or Weeks may bring about, the work- ers of Passaic are determined that their_lines will not be broken when they are on the very eve of victory. The relief stations must be kept open, their bread tickets must continue, their babies’ must continue to get the milk that the labor movement can provide, It is the duty of every worker who reads these Imes to double his en- ergies on behalf of the Passaic strik- ers who are battling valiantly against the company union. The struggle of Passaic is the company union against the labor union. Bread and money will make certain a victory for rea] unionism, | Charch Seeks to Fight Calles Thru A. F. of L. (Continue from Page 1) the fact that a good many of the labor leaders of the American Federation of Labor are catholics, Attack or Desertion. Thru the A. F. of L., therefore, the church ‘is aiming to exert added in- fluence against the anti-clerical Mexi- can Federation of Labor and the Cal- {les government, This will bring the question into thé foreground at the A. F.'of L, 46th annual convention to fmeet at Detroit on Oct. 4, and if the church has its way that convention will take “a standsopenly against the Calles government, reversing its rqs- olution of approval at the last con- vention-at Atlantic City, or as a sec- ond. choice, stating its, “neutrality”— which is deserting the Mexican Fed- eration of Labor in the struggle, Catholic leaders were recently in conference in Baltimore and Wash- ington @ ing the line of action to be taken to influence if not control the A. F. of L.’ convention, Catholics Among the Bureaucracy. At the top of the A. F. of L. is the bureaucracy, Among the big bureau- crate, the church counts @ surprising number: James Duncan of the Gran- ite Cutters, Matthew ‘Woll of the Photo Engravers; Frank Duffy, Jacob Fischer, Martin F, Ryan and James P. Noonan A ire of the executive council. niel Tobin is treasurer, James O'Connell of the Metal Trades department, All catholics, as well as are many lesser figures, Woll Feare for Monroe Doctrine. 4 these there fs a division on ther to take an openly hostile Tlokets, incl, dancing, 60c stand or desert the Mexican federation by a gesture of “neutrality.” Duncan favors an open break. Woll is more cautious. He is treasurer of the Pan- American Federation of Labor and is afraid of destroying his policy of sub- jugating the Latin American move- ment which he aptly calls, “A Monroe Doctrine for the working class.” In the current issue of the “Amer- ican Photo-Engraver,” official organ of the Photo Engravers’ Union, Woll has this to say about the Mexican controversy: / Advises Mexican Labor te Desert Callies. “American labor will do well to ex- tend a helping hand: First, by pre moting the spirit of toleration here as well as in Mexico, and second, by counselling Mexican labor that the way to success is not by the appeal to blind passion, religous perjudice or by the force of government, but by the gaining of the good-will and co-opera- tion of the people at large.” In the above Woll plainly says that while we cannot be violent about our support of the catholic church, ft is our duty to tell the Mexican Federa- tion of Labor to quit supporting the government and “the force of govern- ment” in that government's effort to make the catholic church obey the law. N A Disguised Attack, From indications given out at the time the A, F. of L. executive council met at Montreal to deliberate its re port to the coming convention, this disguised attack, this desertion of Mexican labor, will be the way out ai the bureaucracy at the conven- n, Labor in all other Latin American countries is behind that of Mexico in ite fight against clerical despotism. Even Santo Iglesias of Porto Rico, tho & sort of adopted momber of the re- actionary A, F. of L, bureaucracy and one of the two secretaries of the Pan- American Federation of Labor, is antl- clerical*and backs Luis N, Morones, outstanding leader of Mexican labor and inister of the Calles govern- TFC E ( (Continued tomorrow) —~ Vuucies and Programs The Trade Union Press Strikes—Injunctions Labor and Imperialism SHOE WORKERS’ CONVENTION IN BITTER FIGHT Left Wing Hits Hard at Reactionaries By HERBERT BENJAMIN. BUFFALO, N. Y., Sept. 28. — A bit- ter struggle is being waged in the first convention of the Shoe Workers’ Protective Union since “ts merger with the United Boot and Shoe Work- ers over the expulsion policy and in- competency of the president and sec- retary-treasurer. Delegates from the largest locals of the organization, particularly those of Haverhill and New York, are making a determined effort to reinstate P. Pascal Cosgrove, organizer of the New York district of the organization, who was notified just two days before the convention opened that he has been deprived. of membership rights. Simi- larly, a hard fight is looming for the reinstatement of David Bancroft of Haverhill, Mass. Shows Up’ Nolan’s Report. A minority report was presented by the committee charged with the duty of reporting on the president's report. In a scathing six-page statement, the committee showed that the organiza- tion, far from making -progress under the present. administration, has’ lost every strike outside of New York and many members and locals, The state- ment showed that these losses were due to the wrong policies advocated and practiced by the president and secretary. An especially bitter attack was made against the class-collaboration schemes which the president in his report recommended, Class Collaboration Scored. Delegates from Haverhill and New York point ont that the interests of the workers are being sacrificed and that they are robbed of their fighting spirit by the ‘president and secretary, who seek to*curry favor with the port of the pfesident, wherein he is compelled to ‘admit that “subsequent events prove that the membership exercised better judgment” than he when they réfused to accept the “peace pact” offered by the bosses of Haverhill. ' But in the same report the presi- dent goes on to boast of a joint field day participated in by the Employers’ Association, thé chamber of commerce and civic organizations as a means of establishing “good will” between the employers and their exploited slaves. This he regards as a great achieve- ment and is, in fact, the only achieve- ment of which his report boasts. Expulsions Ald the Bosses. The expulsion of Cosgrove is an effort to eliminate a man who repre- sents the workers who oppose these policies of collaboration between the bosses and union officials. It comes on the heels of an election in which the workers launched @ “sticker” cam- paign to elect Cosgrove against Fitz- gerald, the present secretary-treas- urer. Fitzgerald incidentally was never elected to this office, but was appointed on the resignation of the regularly elected secretary-treasurer. David Bancroft, the other expelled member, was, nine years business agent of the wood-heel makers of Haverhill, He built up this organiza- tion from 83 to over 1,000 members. His expulsion by the general council was the result of his support of the insistent demand by the rank and file of his local, t the administration take steps to organize the craft in other cities, ¢ charter of this local was revo! by the administration and was not ed till after Ban- croft was expelled. Despite the fact that he was ex- pelled the members of his local elected him by'@n overwhelming ma- jority, also in a “sticker” campaign, to continue to serve as their business agent. But the administration went to court to ire an injunction to aoe Attetition is called to the re- Unfortunately, ‘the opposition failed | employers of petty craft questions, ‘This is util- ized by the machine, which has good prospects of coming out the victor. eee Cosgrove Wine Floor for Appeal. BUFFALA, N, Y,, Sept. 28. — Dele- / | THE DAILY WORKER WORKING WOMEN CONSIDER DRIVE FOR LABOR PARTY Successful Conference at Waukegan, Ill. (Special to The Dally Worker) WAUKEGAN, IHl—The Seventh In- terstate Conference of the Women's Trade Union League and auxiliary or- ganizations closed its work here af- ter a three-day session, Sixty delegates representing 18 lo- cal unions, eight women’s auxiliary organizations, two state federations, | (Miinois and Wisconsin), two city or- ganizations (Milwaukee and Chicago) and a delegate from the joint board of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union of Chicago, were pres- ent during the conference, Urge Organization Drive. The conference adopted resolutions calling for an organization campaign to organize the unorganized women and for the building of relief organ- izations in time of strikes by the par ticipating organizations. The first day’s session was given over to the reports of the various or- ganizations participating in the con- ference. On the second day, Tom Tippet, of the United Mine Workers | of America made a report on work-| ers’ education which was followed by a lively discussion, The evening ses-| sion of the same day, the Milwaukee Women’s Trade Union League pre- sented the one-act play “Bread” show- ing the situation of the miners, Seek Reduction in Hours, | The legislative committee submit-| ted a report made by Miss Agnes| Nestor on the work of the Women’s Trade Union League during the last By Uplon Sinclair (Copyright, 1926, by Uptom Sinclair) For two days Ruth waited on tenter-hooks, holding her breath every time the phone rang; and at last there was the voice of Jake Coffey—Bunny answered, and he turned from the receiver right quick, saying, “Telegram from Congressman Leathers, the War Department reports that Paul is at Irkutsk and well.” Ruth gave a cry—she was standing by the dining table, and she grabbed at it and missed, and went swaying, and Bunny had to drop the receiver and catch her. And there she was, by golly, white and cold and senseless, they had to lay her out on the floor and sprinkle water on her face. And when she came to, all she could do was to cry and cry like a baby. Pres- ently Bunny remembered the telephone receiver hanging, and went and apologized to Mr. Coffey and thanked him and it was all Bunny could do to keep his own voice straight; the truth was, he and Dad had been more worried about Paul than they were willing to admit. After Ruth was able to sit up and smile, Dad said, “Irkutsk, where is that?” And the girl said at once, “It’s on Lake Baikal, in the middle of Siberia.” Said Dad, “Hello, where did you git your geography?” It turned out there was an old atlas among Paul’s books, and Ruth had the Siberia part clean by heart—the names of every station on the Trans-Siberian Railway—Omsk, Tomsk, Tobolsk—Dad thought it was funny and made her say them off—by golly, if there had been a time-table attached, she’d have known when the night-freight was due at Vladivostok. She knew the physical geography of the country, the races which inhabited it, the flora and fauna and principal commercial inter- ests, furs, lumber, wheat, dairy products. The only trouble was, her information was twenty years out of date! So now, what was she going to do but take the stage to Roseville that afternoon, and in the ¥ibrary she would find a big new atlas, and maybe books on the subject. Bunny year in support of legislation in the interests of the workers, The enactment of a law, now chal- | lenged as to its constitutionality, by | |the Illinois state legislature limiting | the use of the injunction and the ef-| fort to amend the law governing the hours worked by women, to. reduce| these from ten to eight, were the chief points of this report, | At the Saturday afternoon’s ses- sion, the conference was turned into | an institute of organization and Lil- Nan Herstein, of the Chicago Teach- ters’ Union, opened the discussion with }@ speech showing the need of organ- \ization work among the women work- ers, Recommendations made during | the discussion of this report were re- | ferred to the committée on organiza-| tion of which Anna E. David of the Chicago Millinery. Workers’ Union was the secretary, The organization cOmmittee at the Sunday session, submitted the follow- ing two resolutions which were adopted unanimously: Resolution on Organizing the ‘ Women Workers. Whereas, there are fn every city and community thousands of women workers, who, because they are unorganized, are compelled to accept low wages and sub- mit to bad working conditions, and Whereas, the position of these women workers could be materially improved on their organization in trade unions, an Whereas, it is necessary, in, order to organize these women workers, that there be a center to tonduct the initial agita- tion to- interest these workers in the trade union organization, now therefore be it Resolved, that this convention recom- mends to its affiliated organizations the setting up in each city a committee made up of representatives of W. T. U. L. and the Women’s Auxiliaries and representa- tives.of trade union workers to initiate a campaign of organization among the women workers, and be it further Resolved, that the W. T. U. L. should take the initiative in forming such a com- mittee and should seek the endorsement of the central labor body in each city for such a committee. said he’d drive her; so he did, and they found an atlas with a picture of Irkutsk, a public square with some buildings, churches or mosques or whatever they were called, with round domes go- ing to a point on top; there was snow on the ground and sledges with big high harness up over the horses’ necks. It was dreadful cold there, Ruth said, Paul wasn’t used to such weather; but Bunny laughed and told her not to worry about that, Paul would have plenty to wear, this was the best taken care of army in his- tory, and so long as they had the railroad open, nobody would suffer. But that was not enough for Ruth, what she wanted was for | Paul to come home. Surely, now that the war was over, he ought to be on the way! But Bunny said she’d have to make up her mind to wait, because an armistice wasn’t the same as a peace, there was a lot of negotiating to be done, and the army would sit tight meantime. But when peace was declared, then surely | Paul would come back, because we certainly weren’t going on running the Trans-Siberian Railway after the war was over. | Bunny said that with a laugh, meaning it to be funny, and Ruth smiled, because it sounded funny to her; so innocent they were of the intricacies of world diplomacy, these two babes in the Cali- fornia woods! XI Bunny spent a week hunting quail with Dad, or wandering over the hillsjby himself, thinking things over. At last he sat down to have it out. “Dad, I’m afraid you’re going to be disap- pointed in me, but this is the truth—I want to go to college.” “College! Gosh, son, what’s that for?” There was a look of amazement on Dad’s face, but he was an old hypocrite, he knew perfectly well that Bunny was thinking about college, and had thought about it a lot himself. “T just don’t feel I've got enough education, Dad.” “What is it you want to know?” “Well, that’s something you can’t say; you don’t know just what you'll get till you’ve got it. But I have a feeling, I want to know more about things.” Dad looked forlorn—pitifully, but quite innocently and un- intentionally. “It means you jist ain’t interested in oil.” “Well, no, Dad, that’s not quite fair.’ I can study for a while and then come back to the business.” But Dad knew better than that. “No, son, if you go to col- lege, you'll get so high up above us oil fellers, you won’t know we're here, If you want to be an oil man, the thing to study is Resolution on Organization of Relief Committee. whenever the workers are & on strike, immediate hard- juffer = for the strikers Jn ‘Whereas, forced to ships and and their families, Whereas, many strikes thru which the workers fight for a higher standard of living for themselves and their families are lost because the employers starve the then pees into submission, and therefore Resolved, that this conference recom- mend the establishment by the W. T. U, L. of a relief committee to gather funds and mobilize other forms of support in time of strikes for the strikers and their dependents. Ida Rothstein of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers supported the adoption of these resolutions in a speech showing the need of activities of this character by the participating organizations, Refer “For a Labor Party Resolution” to Executive Committee. Anna E. David, of the Chicago Mil- linery Workers’ Union, presented the following resolution endorsing the formation of a Labor Party at the final session of the conference, Resolution for Labor Party, that whenevat the werkere: mene re higher wages and better conditions, the use the police, courts and in- Pee Cal are bs irect confic = | dead politically ae well aa fades ally, Wheréas, = cratic hay High rg Soeecs, “cane involving the interests of the workers t they are instruments of the em- “ onal sag teak nie eeeetion declares the workers tina the topnaia sgtion, by fo instructs its are” _ = mot for the foundation of a labor Considerable discussion developed on this resolution, An effort was made to have the resolution with- drawn but the sponsors of the resolu- tion refused to do this, and finally, a motion by Mrs, Carrie Alexander, re- presenting the Chicago Federation of Labor, to refer the résolution to the respective Hxecuttve, Committees of the Women’s Trade’ Union Leagues oil.” “Well, Dad, the truth is, I’m really too young to know what I want to be. If I wanted to do something else, surely we’ve got money enough—” “It’s not the money, son, it’s the —I like to have you with me—” “I don’t mean to go away,” “There’s plenty of colleges around And we can come up for week-ends and holidays, the same as always. I’m not going to lose my interest in Paradise, Dad, but I really won't be happy to buckle down to business until I've had a chance to learn more.” Dad had to give way to that. There was that curious war in his own mind, a mingling of respect for knowletige, of awe in the presence of cultured people, along with fear of “notions” that Bunny might get, strange flights of “idealism” that would make him unfit'to be the heir and custodian of twenty million dollars worth of Ross Consolidated. (To Be Continued.) job. You know how I feel Bunny hastened to put in. here, and I can live at home. ¢ BROOKLYN, N. Y., ATTENTION! © CO-OPERATIVE BAKERY Meat Market Restaurant IN THE SERVICE OF THE CONSUMER. Bakery deliveries made to your home. FINNISH CO-OPERATIVE TRADING ASSOCIATION, Ine. (Workers organized as consumers) 4301 8th Avenue Brooklyn, N. Y. The Best Place to Buy Your CARPETS LINOLEUM RUGS FURNITURE ’ Is at Comrade f OSCAR I. BARKUN’S 4 STORES 2635 W. North Avenue, ~ Phone Humboldt 4983 2408 W. North Avenue, Phone Seeley 5500 1618 W. Chicago Avenue, Phone Humboldt 6941 1600 W. Roosevelt Road, Phone Monr