The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 8, 1927, Page 5

D Ul, (HE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, TUESDAY, MARCH, 1927 Special Section for International Woman's Day, Tuesday, March 8,| Come to t Woman As a By ROSE He is but a comparatively short time since the general opin ‘es. prevailed that “women’s place is in the home” and if she did enter the field of in- dustry it was but a temporary state until she secured a man to provide for her, Therefore the problem of organizing women workers was con- sidered a hopeless task and was to- tally neglected by the labor move- | ment, The extension of industry, the im- provement of machinery and the simplification of the methods of pro- duction, however, forced an even greater number of women into in- dustrial occupations and sooner or later the attention of the labor moye- ment had to be turned to the ques- tion of organizing women. The 1909 Strike, The strike ne waist and dress- makers of i was the first open} mass revolt, ine first successful or- ganized attempt on the part of wo-| men in New York to assert their} yights as workers, and sounded the signal for the organization of women not oniy in the needle trades but in} the general labor movement. ‘The strike of the waist and dressmakers completely shattered the false idea) of the impossibility of organizing women. Jt was a brilliant manifes- tation of class-consciousness and marked the beginning of women as a factor in the trade union move- ment, Without an organization or organi- | zational experience, without any funds at their disposal, thousands of girls (but strangers in this country) Trade Union Movement Factor in The WORTIS ployer’: || cept my communist greetings on International Women’s Day.” phan The dressmakers played a leading i Sioned, KRUPSKAYA n < role in the internal struggle of the igneq, nS in order. t I. L, G. W. U. in 1925 when for a period of four months they kept vigil abandoned the’ policy of militant | struggle in favor of a policy of) “hearty cooperation with the em-} MOSCOW, USSR, KR Greetings from Krupskaya and Clara Zetkin UPSKAYA: “Speaking at women, I express conviction that no matter what may be the peculiar American, \conditions, the Workers (Communist) Party of America will be able to rally un- der its banner the widest masses of toiling. women of that country and together with them the proletariat of all countries achieve victory over the world.” * * % he Meeting in Central Opera House, a’ Page Five a0 P. Me Tonigh meetings of our working ay MARGAK } 8th of i a lands Wo- en- on the wemen of “all International mn of the awa Tas yea pr¢ “Ao. t the highly develo capitalist countrie: at. their headquarters day and night, CLARA ZETKIN: “Your March eighth meetings must mobilize wide masses Women's Day is Historic. under, most difficult, cireumstances,/| of working and exploited women who together with their children are’ more ||, Since the Socialist Congress at eadquar- » 48 * : * * 4 7 * hie a Yopenhagen in 1910, where Interna- ters from being captured by the Sig-| defenseless victims of greedy capitalism in United States than in other countries |i tional Women's Day was instituted, man machine, then at war with the|} despite formal sex equality. Women masses must help revive glory, old libera- || cach year t en make a eke || tion struggles for national independence and equal rights for all human beings, ||sttonger their demands for political The dressmakers distinguished | rights and the protection of their themselves by offering the most stubborn resistance both against the employers as well as the reactionary | officials, and are today playing al prominent role in the present strug-| gle going on in their union.. By. the admission of Sigman himself the dressmakers are a hard nut to crack. |The women have braved all dangers Demonstrate openly your sympathy with the only state in the world where un- der workers dictatorship, and through construction of socialism complete sex equality and liberty become a reality—Soviet Union the greatest peace and liber- ty state of our epoch. Demonstrate openly your sympathy with the Chinese Revolution. Onward to struggle against hypocrisy which combines liberty and fraternity propaganda with barbarous and cruel deeds Against negroes. ward to struggle against American imperialism. which tries to deceive despoiled lives in home and factory. When the shadow of the world war was loom- ing in 1914 countless numbers of wo- men demonstrate war all jever Europe on & year. In 1917 only the men dared to cel it out on the streets and peace. On- in order to save their union from the|) and enslaved masses, sings hymns of peace whilst they are crushing the Philip- i ai ey ea teas Which has rade common cause with|| Pines under its iron heel, sending cruisers to China and Nicaragua, carrying on a ieee iisa as ARES EF | All revolutionary demands includ- policy of violence in Mexico and Central America and has its greedy hands wher- ever its domination and billionaires’ profits are at stake. | Onward to the International Red United Front. Signed, ing the demands and methods for the politization of working women were dropped from the pr the Second (Socialist) Inter ing the world war onl after at the Intern the bosses to destroy the union built} thru struggle and sacrifice. | Women In Other Industries. What is true of the women dress-! makers is equally true of the mil- linery workers. For years the reac- tionary officials of that union main- | came out in open revolt against_ the unbearable sweat shop conditions in} the waist and dress industry. For) over three months the waistmakers | gave battle to their employers, the | police and hired thugs. Innumerable | were the sacrifices, unsurmountable were the difficulties under which the waistmakers conducted their strike. With shoes and clothing in shreds these pioneers in the cause of labo: spent night and day on the picket line in the bitter cold fighting for their rights to organize a union that would raise them from the status of slaves to that ~of human beings. ; CLARA ZETKIN Conference in Hamburg in 1923, (both tained that the women could ‘not be} Socialist) and later illes in organized; but thru the patient ef-| - 11925 did the Socia introduce forts of a few energetic women a the celebration of Int al Wo- splendid local has ben organized in| . men’s ‘Day. Today, the ists are New York and another local is in the Teein t e QO | } } en maneuvering to keep wor! , wo- process of being organized fin Chi-! ‘ ; men from engaging in the class strug- eago. 4 ad eas BA oR i pe gle and especially o: over to The role of the women in the tex- . ) . Communism. The or ion of an tile strikes and ‘particularly in the | By N. LENIN. | i CLARA ZETKIN International Women’s Committee in recent strike of Passaic has com-| : f the Amsterdam Tr: ion Federa- ‘pees the position of women. No pletely dispelled the old idea that democratic party in the most ad- women’s role in society and has} | id ~ bor is republic in the’ demonstrated women’s ability as a Meise Hal , | tion and the slog of “War against war. . oe dle ‘om which side it comes,” afe indicative of this policy. rp? a | world has done in ten years the hun-! fighter in the cause of labor. It was} gredth part of what we accomplished | the simple, unpolished women, mo- in thi tter in the first year after | thers of families, who .gave battle Oe ee | to the textile barons of Passaic aa aebaie - | forced some of them for the first| We have, literally, left not one) time in the history of the textile in-| Stone standing upon another of the | dustry to recognize the right of edifice of degrading laws Which de- | workers to organize themselves into | nied rights to women, which: okaced | Feminist Organizations. Women and the International Class Struggle 2ET COWL. chie women’s p Wome Party he Women’ men, To this bill, it 1 48-hour women 48-hour bill for working men, in “this of rail- road workers wives’ clubs by the wo- men of the middl alist class. Women—Ur Workers. In recent month e learned of the enormous profits made for the past year by the employing cla: These profits were skinned mostly from the labor of unskilled workers. The great majority of the more th women engaged in th dustries are unskilled wor cording to the report of t Bureau of the U. S. De Labor. Only ubout t se women 8,000,000 Women’s artment of ) per cent of d into the nized con- dition of we means long hours, low er parasi- tical dependence on members of her pro: tion. This unor- ny of women workers, is a source used by the bosses to under- cut the better standard of living wrought out from the bosses by the erganized workers. The Housewife. The wife of the worker is a house- slave. She is an influence upon the life of the husband, indirectly plays an important role in the class striggle. A complaining woman will d sband to ae- | cept the worst kind of conditions from the boss. But the woman who real- izes that is also her fight is a source of strength and courage to her husband. The Communist, International and Women. Since its inception, the Communist International has recognized that ' without’ the participation of the masses of women in the revolution- ary class struggle, the proletariat cannot attain victories. It ‘has always | The growing acuteness of the class struggles and the entering of the workers generally into political ac- ti , has changed the attitude of the ie towards women. Since it ble to keep women away hourg is impos: trade unions. ‘daughters of toil that roused the at- tention of the entire country to the born out of wedlock, etc. Such laws) These sacrifices were not in vain, | After weeks of the most bitter and| determined struggle, which aroused in arms, they braved the cossacks | merous in all civilized countries. We | the admiration of the entire labor | with their gas bombs on the picket | are entitled to feel somewhat Proud | Misery and starvation had} of what we have accomplished in this | movement and will remain a testi-| shameful conditions prevailing in the mills of Passaic. With their babes line. It was’ these horny | formidable obstacles in the way of} |divorce, which penalized children \are still, to the shame of the bour- jgeoisieé and of capitalism, very nu- monial to the fighting spirit of wo-| brought these women "together and | Pespect, taught them the lesson of bea Woman, however, remains a house men workers, the waist and dress| makers emerged victorious, | Union Born in Struggle. , The union was born in struggle and during the eighteen years of its | existence retained its militancy and; remained true to its traditions. The strike of the waistmakers was an event of great importance to the la- bor movement not only because it marked the beginning of the organi- zation of the needle trade workers and broke down the prejudice against women, but mainly because it re- vealed what a constructive force wo- men could be in the labor movement | and the great contribution they would make to the growth and devel- | opment of the movement. | Contrary to the generally accepted theory about the conservatism of wo- | men, the waist and dressmakers’ ynion, of which the majority are wo- men, was always in the front ranks of the progressive labor movement, the first to lend ear.to new ideas and organizational reforms, The waist- makers’ union was the first to extend its activities beyond the narrow limits of the struggle for immediate economic improvements. It intro-| duced the ideal of labor education under the supervision of trade unions and was the first to begin the propa- ganda for the shop delegate system of rank and file control, and for that reason it has been the target for at- tack on the part of the reactionary forces in the American labor move- ment. ‘ Women Reyolt Against Corruption. True to its militant traditions the waist and dressmakers’ union was the first to raise the banner of revolt against the corrupt leadership in the -Meedie trade unions when the latter : 3. 4, For the 48-Hour Bill. Henny, solidarity. slave, as she was before the oppres- The heroic deeds of the women in| sive laws were repealed. She is still the mining districts in support of| engrossed in, and stultified by the their men strikers are a great tri-| petty details, of household manage- | |ment; she is still chained to the! bute to the courage and spirit of de- fiance of these women, to no lesser degree than the Passaic women, Need’ For Militant Women. The activities of the women in the recent boxmakers’ strike in New York | household and engaged in the same | unproductive and __ nerve-destroying ‘labor. The real emancipation of wo- ‘men, real Communism, can only be- | gin when the proletariat, at the helm and the strike of the laundry work-|of the state, leads the fight of the| IMMEDIATE PROGRAM FOR WORKING WOMEN OF THE WORKERS (COMMUNIST) PARTY 1. Win the Women for the Class Struggle. 2. Organize the Working Women. — Equal Pay for Equal Work. Better Housing at Lower Rents, . Law for Leave of Absence With Pay Two Weeks Before o Weeks After Childbirth, Minimum Wage Law for Women Workers. ‘he Abolition of Child Labor. 9.{Government Day Nurseries. More and Better Schools. 11. Abolition of Laws Preventing Dissemination of Scien- tific Knowledge on Birth Control. — 12. School Junches for Workers’ Children. 13. Against War With China, Mexico e7d Nicararua, 14. For the recognition of the Soviet Government, 15. More Sanitary conditions in the workshops. ers are additional proof that women have become a prominent factor in industry and, as such, are beginning to assume their proper place in the trade union movement, They have | demonstrated that not only are they able to fight on the picket line but they have also shown ability along the lines of administrative work. The ‘labor movement of America today, | which has been dragged into the mire of petty politics and is under the domination of a corrupt and self- seeking leadership more closely al- lied to and concerned about the em- ploying class and its interests than the interests of the workers whom they are supposed to represent, is in great. need of the active’ partici- pation of women. It is in need of the sincerity, devotion, fearlessness and spirit of self-sacrifice which is so characteristic of working class wo- men and women active in the trade union movement in particular. The trade union movement offers a broad field for social activity for women which will be of great advan- tage to them and to the labor move- ment in general. Every women work- er who has. the opportunity to assert herself as a factor in the trade union movement should not fail to take ad- vantage of it, ei cute masses against the system of small housekeeping—can only begin with| the transformation to Socialist large- scale economy. ... People’s restaurants, creches, kin- dergartens—these are the modest be- ginnings of a process which, when} fully developed, will emancipate wo- | men and remove sex inequalities ... | These means are not new. They | ‘are—as indeed are all the essential | conceptions of Socialism—created by a highly developed capitalism. But | in capitalist states they remain feither commercial undertakings, with all the inevitable accompaniments of | speculation, profit-snatvhing, fraud, and falsehood, or else the “off- spring” of bourgeois philanthropy,” | | Most Famous Living of workers. There is no doubt that we shall have more institutions of this kind, {and that they are about. to change | their character. Women of the work- ing and peasant classes show a con- siderable ‘amount of organizing tal- ent. out successfully schemes of the ut- }most importance, and that without | /a great display of oratory, without the quarreling and idle talk about plans, systems, ete—those eternal weaknesses of the intellectuals and | of the half-baked “Communists” . ..| Our press does not concern itself | sufficiently with questions affecting the welfare of the people. It does not discuss fully enough how best to es- tablish peoples’ restaurants and ereches, it does not dwell with suffi- cient emphasis on the fact that the saving of labor which naturally re- sults from communal effort and sani- tary improvements not only conduces to the comfort of the people, but frees woman from much of her p: will have to take Jimmy out of school and find him a job. George will have to sell papers to help out. rightly despised by the better kind | ent ‘drudgers to capture and m e the proletarian women in the interests of themselves. By this they also keep working wo- Jmen away from their own (work- ers’) class interests. Hence’ the fo mation of many feminist organiza- from activity, the capitalists decided | Internation Women’s Day. The Communist International de- clares to all women that for the work- ing woman who is doubly enslayed, } there be no solution of her prab- lems by means of reformist, pacifist er feminist movements. Only by par- pressed forward the importance of 1 They have the ability to carry | tions under the direction of bourgeois | ticipating actively in the struggles of é women. v ge his her class can she ever achieve eman- In. England, the Women’s Guild of | ination, eee ee beniees: Ce neg Women who represent one half of r ats et uized bourgeois women and! humanity, suffer trebly under. the Woman Reyvolutionist. miners’ wives to demonstrate for | class rule of the employers. It would pee Sicilia ad caconomle seuyeve i the United | seem that there is every reason for oo States, besides the hundreds of fem- rc the | | Nt ian ise esi them to march at the head of the I thio Leas book, “The Great) inist organizations (many of which liberation thovsoreet of the working ‘Bi pan written in Moscow, June! are listed in the report of the Wo- class. 28. 1919.) men’s Industrial Conference held in| Qnly by becoming active co-work- MILITA US IVES SEND € INGS 10 W Lers in every struggle undertaken by NT HO EW REET the working class can the women | wo ORKING have any hope of bettering their lives. . ME The complete cmancipation of wo- ai N THE WORLD OVER {men can be achieved only by abolish- s : CIC aOR ling this capitalist society by common ‘s On it Tnternebonal Women’s mination to continue to mobilize and | action of both men and women and I ays Marth 8, 1927, we sent greet-| educate the working women for the! establishing a workers’ government. | ings bs our aan gy aes wo-| lass struggle. The task of the Communist women men the world over, and our liberat- a is to lead in the work of o vi ed sisters in the Soviet Union. UNITED COUNCIL OF WORK- to workdag women this. pec i” We pledge ourselves with deter-| ING CLASS HOUSEWIVES. the Communist International. eee "6 7 © el O Lael C Ee OL OL O16 O10 \ y Sg ns) Working Class Women! Organize Along with the Workingmen _ in Struggle Against Exploiters! ~ AlN o=10 1c ORDIOTS= org Detroit Federation of Working Class Women | | | 0&0 01010 0 010 0