The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 18, 1926, Page 5

. News and Comment Labor Education Labor and Government Trade Union Politica CLOAKMAKERS CONTINUE WAR ON JOB SHOPS Ten of Foriy’ Thousand Still on Strike .NBW YORK, Noy. 16.—Settlement by striking cloakmakers’ of their four and a half month struggle,,with the Industrial Council of Cloak & Suit Mfgrs. — “inside” manufacturers, — Yeaves about 10,000 strikers still out in the fight against the cloak jobbers, The Intl. Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union estimates in addition that about 7,000 unemployed cloakmakers are added to the strikers; 15,000 are back in settled shops of “independent” manufacturers, If*the terms of sét- tlement reached between the union representatives and inside manufac- turers are approved by the member- ship of each side, the same terms will apply in all settled shops of inde- pendents. Wage increases 6f $4 to $9, about 10 per cent over those recommended by the governor’s advisory commis- sion which spent two years investi- gating the industry, have been grant- ed. Likewise the 44-hour week rec- ommended by the governor’s com- mission has been changed to a 42-hour week for the first two years of the agreement and 40-hours for the last year. The joint labor bureau recom- mended is to be established and the provisions of the old agreement deal- ing with unemployment insurance, Prosanis label and joint board of sani- tary control are to be continued. Discharge Terms. The .most important concession of the union is, granting the manufac- turers the right to discharge 10 per cent of their working forces, annually, provided that the employer has 35 or more working and that he, dismisses no worker who has not been given 82 weeks’ pay for the year. inside manufacturers employing less than 35 may only exercise the discharge right if they do not let out any work, em- ploy no contractors. What the union will gain from the jobbers in the way of recognition of responsibility for conditions in contractors’ shops de- pends on the settlement made. Also the question of limitation of contrac- tors depends on this. The guarantee ‘of 386 weeks work a year ‘is ‘sacrificed, altho inside manufacturers in the as- sociation average about 37» weeks’ work a year. Contractors shops get an average of omly 26-28 weeks work @ year. Cost $2,000,000. ~ The spring sample ‘season’ begins in a week or two so that there will be employment for the most skilled workers fairly quickly. But the bulk of the cloakmakers are not expected to be at work until January when the spring manufacturing season begins in earnest. The fall season has been lost to those not returned to settled shops. The strike is said to have cost the union about $2,000,000. SEND IN A SUB TODAY. Se ee Organized Labor—Trade Union A “INDUSTRIAL FREEDOM” SLOGAN USED BY OPEN SHOP TO RALLY | CONFERENCE AGAINST UNIONISM By ROBERT DUNN, Federated Press. ‘7H must build our redoubts” is the slogan under which the Ameri- can plan-open shop conference is rally- ing its members to its 10th semi- annual session in ‘Dallas, Tex, Nov. 16-17, The words are from an address by Charles Evans Hughes warping against, ‘destructive forces now op- erating thruout the world”—which the open shop conference interprets as bolshevism and labor unionism. The American plan-open shop con- ference is a loose association of em- Ployers’ associations established in 1922. Its headquarters afe in Salt Lake City, Kansas City, San Francisco and Detroit. 'N urging business executives to at- tend the Dallas convention the in- vitation committee promises “it is tho place where you meet’ the men who are on the firing line... . You will be in an open shop city, you will be among your friends, we need you, we want you and we expect you to come.” Attending the conference will be “men who are making real progress in handling the biggest problem now be- fore the American public—the labor problem.” ‘NDER the caption, “Hold High the Torch of Influstrial Freedom,” an inviting booklet tells of American Fed- eration of Labor efforts to war on the open shop. “Day and night without surcease, these enemies of American institutions are striking at the very foundations of our industrial peace, social unity and economic develop- ment. How futile, then, for any man even to attempt to cope with these perilous situations unaided, isolated, alone,” HE invitation committee contains representatives of the Associated Building Employers of Detroit, Mer- chants’ and Manufacturers’. Associa- tion of Los Angéles—already stirred to action by the decision of the A. F. of L. to convene there next autumn; the Open Shop Association of San An- tonio, Texas; Florida Employers’ As- sociation; Employers’ Association of Fort Wayne; Associated: Industries of Seattle; Milwaukee Employers’ Coun- cil, and the local American Plan-Open Shop Association of Little Rock, Ark. These and representatives ‘of some 200 militant anti-union American ’plan bodies will“gather in Dallas to’ con- fer on’ bigger and better tactics ‘for fighting trade unions: r its advice to local “industrial as sociations” the open shop- confer- ence is all for militancy and dis- ciplined organization among emplog ers. It ‘says: “The industrial association must be found fighting where the war is on and not confine itself to some soft quarter of its own selection and pre- dilection.” “The industrial. associa- tion should not consider the commun- ity secure as long as there exists a single closed. shop industry in- that community.” HE same aggressive note, which may well serve as a :battle chal- lenge to the A. Fy of L.; is sounded in the observation that “closed shop conditions must be looked upon as a form of industrial pestilence which must be immediately cleaned up.” Instructions given in the minutes of the May Detroit convention tell how pressure may be brought against em- ;drews, dry chief, is géing to ask con- Ployers reluctant to break with unions: “Financial and building inter- ests should be brought to the point that they will confine their awards to open shop contractors,” EMINISCENT of the A, F. of L. tilt with the Detroit churches are the instructions under presenting the open shop to churches: “Furnish your pastors with Iiterature on the open shop. Meet with your ministerial as- sociatiqn.”” Finally the conferences defines its own function as that of a correlation agency helping local and state employ- ers’ associations in their struggle with unions. “The American plan-open shop conference must be known as a voice of industry for the open shop— as the militant, determined, intelli- gent group that is equipped to fight for, ably represent, the cause.” HE organization is committed to company unions, if necessary to head off real trade unions, and is espe- cially interested in preventing organi- zation of workers in the automobile and motion picture industries. Con- cerning the latter it says: “Every in- dustrial association (meaning its af- filiated bodies) should work to keep the motion picture industry in the open shop ranks.” The Dallas convention will undoubt- edly take up methods for combatting the announced purpose of four big A. F. of L, unions to get the closed union shop in their sections of the movie industry. The convention will also discuss new means of meeting the A. F, of L, campaign in the auto industry and in organization of the unorgan- ized, : Plays for Workers, Is Aim of New Group NEW YORK, Nov, 16. —(FP)—The Biggest Boob in the World, a fantastic labor comedy translated from the Ger- man by Upton Sinclair is the first production announced by the Workers’ Theatre, Karl Wittvogel is author of the play. The play will be given Dec. 4 in the Church of All Nations, New York, and repeated there Dec. 8 and 10 before being taken to various labor halls thruout the city. i The aim of the Workers’ Theatre, according to Michael Gold—editor New Masses and organizer of the group, is to present to American audiences the spirit of labor in drama that will touch closely the life of the, workers. Gold contends that the Amer- ican and European stage is decadent, that it panders to the taste of a small wealthy and effete audience, and there- fore has no great influence in the life of the nation, He plans to model the Workers Theatre somewhat after the newer theatres of Russia, ‘which, ac- cording to the noted British critic Huntley Carter, are now the most vigorous and alive in the world. Wants Whiskey for Medicine. WASHINGTON, Nov. 16,—L, C. An- &ress to permit the manufacture of whiskey in the United States. The whiskey is to be made for medicinal ctivities purposes, to replenish the present stock that will be exhausted within five years, THE: DAYLY WORKER . é Page Fives Policies and Programs “The Trade Union Press Strikes—Injunctions Labor and Imperialism WOLL COMMENDS COOLIDGE FOR SOVIET POLICY A. F. of L. Reactionary Is In Accord Pretending #9. speak for the work- ers, Matthew Woll, reactionary vice- president of the American Federation of Labor, hag gent a letter to Presi- dent Coolidge commending him on hig stand against recognition of the Soviet Union, ag expressed in his Kansas City Armisticé Day spéech, Chambers Prove It. That the workers are in accord with Coolidge’s poliéy is shown by the ac- tions of the’New York and United States chambers of commerce and the A. F, of. L. against Russian recogni- tion, Woll said to Coolidge. Gives an Earfull. Woll devoted 7,000 words, or about seven newspaper columns, to explain to Calvin thé reasons the workers were opposed to recognizing Russia. A large part of the letter was de- voted to attacking Sherwood Hddy, who addressed the A, F. of L, conven- tion at Detroit on Russia. He de- clared that Eddy was “in league with the Communists” to spread Soviet propaganda im the United States, “Folly,” Says Mr. Woll, Mr. Woll informed Coolidge that fu- ture revolutions and internal turmoil in Russia.are certain, and until the time when the Russian government is firmly.established upon a program of international, justice, America would be committing the greatest folly to, offer recognition. Asks for Fair Play from Police in Box Makers’ Union Strike | NEW YORK; Nov. 16.—Fair play to striking » box workers and the removal ‘9fypolicemen from delivery ‘wagons was-fequested of the police department im.a letter sent yesterday to: Police, Commissioner McLaughlin by Fred Cajola, manager of the Paper Box Makers’ Union, The police commissioner's attention was called -to.a recent statement by the manufacturers’ association to the effect that “through concerted asso- ciation efforts the full co-operation of the police department has been se- cured.” The. union maintains that evéry manufacturer has been fur- nished with officers who ride on every delivery wagon,.and prevent the strik- ing union driyers from approaching the strikebreakers “with a view to convincing them that they are doing an injustice to the strikers.” “We beg of you to maintain a neu- tral position,” concludes Mr. Cajiola, “giving our boys the right and oppor- tunity to do their lawful picketing. This can only be achieved by remov- ing the pdicemen drom the wagons.” Send The DAILY WORKER for one month to your shop-mate. 2ND CONFERENCE OF NEW ENGLAND LL DAS CALLED Meeting to Be Held in Boston, Nov. 28 (Special to The Daily Worker) | * BOSTON, Mass., Nov. 16.—The sec: | ond annual conference of the Interna- | tional Labor Defense, New Efgland district, will be held here, Noy. 28, at Franklin Union Hall, 41 Berkeley St. | Delegates will attend from labor un- | ions, working class organizations, and I, L, D. branches from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire, All Urged to Attend, All affiliated and sympathetic organ- izations are urged to send delegates to the conference. The representation will be as follows: two delegates each for all trade unions, co-operatives, fra- ternal societies, and clubs; two dele- gates for each I, L. D. branch; each I, L. D. branch secretary can come as a delegate; former class war prisoners are invited as fraternal delegates, Demonstration of Unity. The aim of the I, L. D, is to make this conference an imposing demon- stration of the unity of all progres- sive elements in the labor movement for the defense and support of perse- cuted workers and their families, and for organized resistance to capitalist persecution in America and thruout the world. Suppression in New England. That ‘action is needed in New Eng- Jand is pointed out by.the call for the conference, which says: “The suppression of the civil rights of the wopkers has assumed such alarming proportions in New England, particularly in Massachusetts, that it demands the immediate consideration of every progressive workers’ organi- zation and of every forward looking in- dividual interested in the progress and development of the labor movement. Facts show that labor speakers have been barred from using public meet- ing places by specific’ orders from lo- cal officials. Cities and towns have shut*their doors tight to these who seek to speak in the interests of la- | bor. “The constitutional right of workers to freedom of speech and assembly has been boldly violated by police and city officials in Boston, Lawrence, Fall River, Lynn, and other places where labor meetings have been interfered with or prohibited, Government de- rartments are being used, not to serve the ends of justice, but rather as a means of establishing a widespread system of espionage over those who are active in the labor movement. Workers active in the struggle against the employers “are prosecuted on trumped-up charges and given long jail sentences. Foreign-born workers are deported to certain death in the lands of the white terror. The funda- mental rights of the workers to free- dom of speech and assembly, to or- ganize to better their conditions— these rights are being ruthlessly as- sailed and trampled under foot.” N. W. Parents’ League to Meet Thursday Night An important meeting of the Par- ents’ League of the Northwest Side will be held Thursday, Nov. 18, at 3301 Le Moyne St. There will be elec- tion of officers, Carl Haessler, chief editor of the Federated Press will speak on “Who controls the schools and why.” By Upton Sinclair (Copyrigat, 19236, by Upton Simciair) And the same thing applied to the movement in its national aspects. The American-Federation of Labor was maintaining a bureau in Washington, for the purpose of combatting the radicals, and this bureau was for practical purposes the same as any pa- triotic society; its function was to collect false statements about Russia from all over the world, and feed them to the American labor press. And of course, if any labor man was defiant, and insisted upon telling the other side, hé would incur the. bitter enmity of this machine, and they would throw him to the wolves There would be a scare story in the capitalist press, telling how the Communists had got possession of the plasterers’ union, or maybe the button workers, and the grand jury was preparing action against a. nest of conspirators, The average labor leader, no matter how honest and sincere, shivered in his. boots when such a club was swung over his head. * Il Also there was Harry Seager and his troubles. Busin College had turned out a class of young men and wom- en, thoroughly trained to typewrite, “All men are created: free and equal,” and also, “Give me liberty or give me death.” And now these young people were going about in the business offices of Angel City, and discovering that nobody wanted employes to typewrite anything of that sort! In plain words these young people were being told that the Seager Business College was a Bolshevik institution, and the business men of the city had been warned not to employ its graduates, Th boycott illegal n Angel City, and if any labor men tried to apply it, they would be whisked into jail in a jiffy. But imagine Harry Seager asking the district attorney to prosecute the heads of the Merchants’ and Manufacturers’ Association, whose campaign contributions had put the district attorney into office! « Bunny went up to Paradise, and there was another bunch of grief. In preparation for the coming struggle over the wage scale, the oil operators were weeding out the “trouble-makers,” which meant the active union men. And now for the first time, Ross Consolidated was following the policy of the rest. Ben Riley, one of the fellows who met in the Rascum cabin, had been told that he was no longer needed. They had too Many men, the foreman had said, but that was a plain lie, because he had taken on half a dozen new men since. No, Ben was a Socialist, and had talked at meetings in Paradise, and distributed Sdcialist papers that showed the mongtrous wastes in the oil industry, and e J The Seager . the world-rivalry for oil which was to cause the next and great ° war. It was Ruth who told Bunny about this; very seriously, with distress in her gentle eyes. “It’s a shame, Bunny, because Ben has got no place to go. And here he’s got a home, and a wife and two little girls.” Bunny was worried too; Dad had promised this kind of thing should not happen! “Can’t you do something about it?” pleaded Ruth. “Well, Ruth, but Ben was a pumper, and that’s in the de- partment of operation, and Dad has only to do with the develop- ment work. He wouldn’t butt in on the superintendent of op- eration,” “But then, ask him to give Ben a job on development work.” “Tl ask him, Ruth, but I know what he’ll say. If he under- took to make jobs for men-that other departments want to get rid of, he’d make bad feeling. You know what a lot of fuss he. makes about good feeling inside the organization.” “Yes, Bunny, but then, what about Ben’s feelings, and all the men?” Ruth persisted, with that surprising force that gentle people sometimes display. Ruth did not understand abstract questions, she had not theories about the “class struggle”; but when it came to a human fact, a grievance, then she was pos- sessed by itwand as determined as Paul. These men who came to the cabin to argue and discuss, they were all her friends, and if they did not get a square deal, sgmething must be done! * So here was Bunny in his old tormenting position watching a fight which he was powerless to stop, or even to mitigate! Ben Riley managed to get work on a ranch; he had to put in twelve hours a day, but all the same, he would come onto the tract at night and distribute his Socialist literature—and of course with a burning sense of bitterness, shared by his frends. f (Continued Tomorrow.) STRIKE STRATEGY By WILLIAM Z. FOSTER ARTICLE XVII ; Unper-Cover Men , American employers make more extensive use of under- cover men than any capitalists in the world. They plant large numbers of detectives and stool pigeons among the workers to betray and defeat them. Those under-cover men constitute a real problem in all important organizing cam- paigns and strikes. Strike strategy must include ways ‘nd means to uncover these traitors and to defeat, their treacherous activities» * é In all sections 6f the labor movement the under-cover men are a deadly influence, but nowhere so much ag in uewly-formed organizations of the unskilled. In established unions the employers, to control the masses, depend largely upon the corrupt and conservative bureau . Bot in new unions and movements of the ‘the employ- ers have to depend upon the under-cover men. Hence, em: ployers flood such new unions with their detectives and try to capture them entire; : In about all the great movements of, the unorganized in American industries under-cover men work their way into | the leading committees. Often the leadership is saturated with spies and detectives. In some cases, as in the I. W. W. a dozen years ago, the rubber strike in Akron, under- cover men actually made up a majority of the leading vuion committees, : . Under-cover men are obstructionists, provocateurs, spies, and disrupters, When many of them are working together in a new union they may engage in all these activi- ties, sithultaneously, but generally they are to be found per- forming one » organized role, the character. of which is dependent on the state of the moyement. The employers carefully fit their policies in the shops to har- 7A; Srranauine a Srrixe Under-cover men appear as obstructionists especially when an organizing campaign is just beginning, .or is just weakly going ahead. ‘Then the employers may find it more advisable to try to choke ont the movement quiétly than to smash it in open struggle. Therefore, they set their stool-pigeons, well-organized and strategically situated, at a policy of systematic obstruetionism. These worthies’ op- pose the honest leaders, spread defeatism among the workers, and block every effort to build or vitalige the moye- ment. In this way many a promising movement has been killed. ; l The employers, to facilitate the slow strangulation of the movement, do mot discharge or otherwise victimize leading workers, fearing thus to galvanize the whole body of workers into action. Under these circumstances, the left wing must militantly expose the harmful tactics. of the detectives. It must fight for the democratization of the leading committees, and upon every possible occasion force these doubtful characters before mass meetings of the rank ‘and file to defend their reactionary policies. When the leading union committée is controlled by under-cover men, ways must be found to crystallize the honest forces in the union and to gradually build a substitute leading body.. Provoking Peematuap Strikes i Where a movement is going ahead effectively and the choking process can not succeed, then the employers may Gecide to kill the union by a premature strike. ‘Then the under-cover men become provocateurS, demanding a strike to.adjust some discharge case or other grievance carefully rigged up by the employers, As strike provocateurs, the under-cover men are especially dangerous. They pretend to be the defenders of the rank and file, But the left wing must learn to keep its head and not allow the workers to be stampeded into hopeless strikes. : In flourishing organization campaigns, such as those in the packing and steel industries in 1917-19, the role of the under-cover men is reduced pretty much to that of the spy: and informer. Then the undercover man must pretend to go along with the movement in order to secure strategic positions and to win some influence over the workers. acpi aie - , Consequently, in the packing and ‘steel industry campaigns, some of the most effective organizers later were discovered to be detectives, In strikes, notably of the unorganized, the under-cover men blossom forth primarily as dirsupters and betraycrs. Especially is this the case in the later, more difficult stages of these struggless They then spread defeatism among the workers. Spreavinc Derratism They head “back-to-work” movements, frame up acts of violence to jail the leaders or discredit the strike, 4nd in numerous other ways seek to break the ranks of the workers. The policy of organized ynder-cover men in an organization of\the workers may vary from time to time. But it is based in the methods most likely to break up the movement in the given circumstances, . Left wing leaders must learn how to combat the menace of the under-cover man. This is not to be done by inagu- rating alarmist spy-hunts such as have occurred in some unions, The best way to approach the problem is by a careful study of the given situation, and to systematically isolate those doubtful individuals who are manifestly carrying out the under-cover policy of the employers. ‘This much can be done to neutralize these traitors and often they can be exposed and driven from the unions, Tue Figur ror Unrry The essence of good leadership in strike situations is to conduct a successful fight to establish and maintain the unity of the strikers in the face of innumerable splitting and disintegrating tendencies. The fighting policy of the em- ployers aganst the workers is well-expressed by the time- honored axiom of all strategists, “Divide and, Conquer.” | And their ways to divide and weaken the workers are many, devious, and difficult to defeat. In the foregoing we have indicated some of the more important of these ways and how to checkmate them, The employers play skilled against unskilled, native workers against foreign-born, whites against blacks, unemployed against employed, adults against youtl, nfen against women. And in all these maneuvers they receive practical (To be continued) ; assistance from the reactionary policies of the present” trade | union bureaucracy. { Metuons or Division The employers seek to demoralize the workers intel- ranks and by cultivating religious prejudices among them. They starve the strikers and their women and children ; they terrorize ‘them with the courts, the army, the police. and various kinds of private thugs. To all these methods they add bribery, in the shape of cash payments to leaders, and of illusory concessions to the workers, such ‘as com. pany unions, welfare systems, temporary wage increases, ete. They plant their provocateurs and detectives. in the ranks of the workers to mislead and betray them. They try to force them back into the mills or shops with “@ifi- zens’ Committees” and “Back-to-Work” organizations, Their i nondescript politicians and go-betweens try to poison. the strikers’ spirit in a hundred insidious ways. In ther quiver the employers have many deadly arrows of disruption to shoot into the ranks of the workers. Unity tHe Primary Task To defeat the employers’ many-phased policy of driving maintain a solid, unbreakable unity of the strikers in spite of all these attacks, is the prime task of working elass And this can be accomplished by intelligent and loyal ap- plication of the general line of strategy above outlined, American capitalism is strong but the workers can tion’ The pressure of capitalist exploitation forces the workers to unite regardless of all obstacles. They tend!to forget their differences and t& see clearly the powerful enemy, who can be defeated only by united action, Tw is workers to rise superior to every difference and weakn: among them. It is a battle for unity and it will.be ¢ se aH 2 sa RE og ” ’ lectually by injecting the poison of patriotism in. their ” wedges between the different. categories of ‘ workers, of starving, terrorizing, demoralizing, and bribing them; to ' strike strategy. Lt is the sine qua non for winning strikes. * thwart-it with correct policies and proletarian determina. | our task to speed up these unifying tendencies, to help the '