The Daily Worker Newspaper, September 20, 1930, Page 3

DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 19: * Piece Work, |Men! Organize Shop Committees of the Metal Trades | Workers Industrial League for Fight } Daily Worker: | jthe lowest rate out. eed-up System Nets Workers Injuries | and Starvation Wages SUN SHIP NEVER PAYS THE PROMISED FARE TO RIVETERS FROMOTHER CITIES: PAY LOW. Chester, Pa, 1 A couple of months ago the Sun Ship and Drydock Co. was adver- tising for riveters all over the United States and still they claimed they couldn’t get enough riveters for the very reason Sun Ship pays Piece Work System. | With this piece work system introduced some of the riveters make | as low as $1.50 and $2.00 a day. | Ship that if you did not make out -| NEWARK JOBLESS TALK AGTION AS SKY PILOTS SINC Pie in the Sky Stuff Not for Hungry Stomachs | (By a Worker Corresnondent.) | NEWARK, N. J.—With no further food or shelter as the attendant miseries of the jobless existence which is theirs as a result of being ‘lable, when they did work, under the peedup rules of the bosses, to pro- luce more than the wages paid were ble to buy back, hundreds of New- k’s unemployed workers are press- ng for action. Realizing that the “Homes” (the ‘ity parks) which they have occu- ied up to now will soon be unten- ble because of the steady approach ff Winter and .wanting to have omething done before the frost be- fens to bite, these workers gather ‘in groups to discuss the economic srisis and the cause of it all. Into ‘heir group discussions they draw che passerby and succeed in winning } sew supporters for the Workers social Insurance Bill as well as for he Party, TUUL, ILD and the mani- fold activities. “Militant” Park. = / This has gone on night after it until Newark’s centrally lo- ited Military Park is becoming bet- known as “Militant” park. As worker puts it, They enter the / without knowledge of Com- ‘munism and leave with Plenty. On some nights of the week and always ‘on Sundays, there gathers a small ‘band of fanatical religionists with » (s bandbox organ whose praying and ymn singing fails to interest the Jungry unemployed even as a form entertainment. This group of old fogeys, of which ie greater number were of the attleaxe” type, began to squirm en they found that their prayers ind hymns were just rolling into pace and that the crowds in evi- lence were not listening to them but | things that meant more than rayers, ) “Service” First an old “Gazette” and then a yozo so old that he might have spread manure for George Washing- n.in his time came to demand that he discussions cease and that all nd sundry listen to the “service.” ut they were not serving meals or were they giving “addresses” hat offered a good bed for the night ‘0 the demands were ignored and a cop was sent for. John Law came ut could do nothing that would compel anyone to listen. Suddenly a bellowing creature ponging on anyone he could grab ll his life and who sought to prove that this was a manifestation of ‘God’s will,” began to tell of the \Mevastating work of the devil who ent his agents to take away those yho came to listen to the message in fact they demanded that some- hing should be done about it, But, while those hymn singing creatures continued to look skyward watching for the opening of the ‘Pearly gates,” the workers, realiz- ng that it won’t be long before the ndertaker will get the most of them nyhow, decided to laugh it all off nd continued with the preparation for struggle for bread, for “Work x Wages.” Want Food Now. The workers want their pie now ind not in the sky. For this reason y rally to the slogans and call of he revolutionary movement. They are joining the party and the auxil- iary organizations and are satisfied to let others pray or be damned hile they get ready for the fray. Elevator Men Strike Against a Wage Cut NEW YORK.—Twelve elevator operators at the Lefcourt Bldg., 1412 Broadway,*went out on strike Monday when their $25 wages was eut to $2.50. Six of them returnea later. The wage cut, according to information given to the Daily Worker, is general throughout the ‘building, for all workers. Demand the release of Fos- ter, Minor, Amter and Ray- d, in prison for fighting unemployment insurance, | ; hose words told that he had been | There used to be days in the Sun on piece work the company would give you a regular day’s pay, that is, the riveters $5.00; holder on, $4.00 and heaters, $3.50 and the passer boys, $2.50. But the Sur Ship says them days are over, you get what you make now. Men come n from all over the country and the company promises |to pay their fare back inside of thirty days. After fifteen days they supposed to pay half of the fare and fifteen the end of the month. But in the majority of cases the company does not pay anything at all inside of a month back he gets fired and no fare. and they pay half of the certain fare toa few men and the other half they claim they will pay next nueverday or the day before, Eight Cents a Day. I know ‘some passer boys who made no more than eight cents a} day under this system. the reason | they made eight cents: they pay| you three cents per rivet-per gang | and then you get a pick-up job where you have to move from place to place, and there are a} couple of hours wasted in moving the scaffolds for which we do not get paid. Then on top of that the | riveter’s gun breaks down, or any | kind of a breakdown that holds the gang up when you are working piece work you do not get paid for it. That is the result of the piece work system in Sun Ship. Another Gyp Scheme. They give the gangs a schedule of prices, then when the gang| work their heads off in order to| make up for the previous day | (where they made eight or nine | cents) the company has a sur-| prise for the whole gang. | “You have turned in too much work,” they say, and they then) cut the prices. For instance: if the riveter turned in $25.00 worth of work for the gang the company cuts that price schedule down to $20.00 (and this is for a gang of four men), : Laying Off. They are laying off all the gangs that can’t keep up with the speed-up system the way the boss- es want them to. They have some of the riveters standing up on their heads riveting. Young Workers. | The heater boys only get 42| cents an hour and the passer boys | get 32 cents, which is not very much for work they put in, and then with the piece work system introduced they do not make the regular day’s pay—that is, 32 and 42 cents an hour. and when the passer boys get an advancement | to become a heater boy, which pays ten cents more an hour, they do not get their 42 cents because the boss (Mr. Wilson) does not change their buttons for two or three months, Many Accidents. A couple of weeks ago a young | workers had his arm burned with a red hot rivet. So in the morning he wanted to pass rivets for the day, so Mr. Paul (the foreman) says to him, “What the hell do you think this is, a cemetery?” (This place is certainly a slaught- erhouse as the dispensary testifies every day bysthe number of work- ers—200 or 300 in line every day | for treatment for some accident | or another.—Editor.) Just a couple of days ago an adult worker fell and hurt his back. He went to the dispensary and there he saw a line of 200. So he asked the nurse could he be taken care of immediately. So the nurse told him, “You are no better than the rest, get into | line.” Of course this worker seuld not lose that much time. He went back to work with a sore back. The doctor demanded he stand in line, But standing in line meant | he would make nothing that day! besides getting injuries on chis | back. | Many times when the heaters and passers come in to work in the morning they must wait until 11 o'clock. Then the boss comes around and tells them that there is no gang for them today, so that | |*sev ean wo home, They are told! the same thing four or five times | a week, The United States government of the bosses gives contracts to the Sun Ship, New’ York Ship, ete., and cut down on the Navy Yard workers who get better wages, and | conditions. They use these com- panies to cut wages of building | | their boats for their wars. There is speed-up at the Sun Ship and | lay-offs at the Philadelphia Navy | Yard. —J. N. SUN SHIP YOUNG | WORKER. | Photo Ewing Galloway A worker correspondent tells of the killing speed-up and the miserably rival robber imperialists. Py . | pf s ii 8 8 k Ns y g Si 8 U. 8. so if the worker asks or his fare |!” wages in the Sun Ship and Drydock Co. The Sun Ship gets U | government war boat contracts, in preparation for the war the imperial- But sometimes accidents happen| ists are now rapidly brewing against the Soviet Union and against their Above photo shows riveter and holder-on at work at the Morse Dry Dock and Repair Co., Brooklyn. NEGRO WORKER, S. P, SHOPMAN, JOINS 6, P. IN ELECTION DRIVE Southern Pacifie Laying Off Many Workers; Other Departments on 3-Day Basis; Workers Seeking Way to Fight Such Conditions Comrade Editor: I am a Negro worker employed in the Southern Pacific Shops in| Oakland, Cal. Oakland. Sunday I was visited by a member of the Communist Party who was trying to get signatures for the Communist Party in Due to the trickery of the Primary Law in state I was unable to sign, but I did purchase some literature. he only place for all workers, ~~ oor Negro is the ranks of the Com- Election Campaign. now thoroughly convinced that t! Crisis Hits Building Men | Hard; Many Carpenters Roam Streets Jobless Brooklyn, N. Y. Daily Worker: | | munist Party. my friends to do likewise. The man who called on me told me the necessity of workers send- ing in news of the shops to the I was born and raised on a car- | You to tell you how conditions are penter’s bench, followed the line for| where I am employed. 40 years and therefore interested in | what is what in the building trades. | Can you tell me when one picks | cally closed down with only the! up a paper and finds one help |foremen working. Layoffs are tak-| wanted ad for a carpenter and 31/ing place every week. Those carpenter inserting ads in the situ-/ the job are only working ation column? What percentage of departments three days carpenters are out of work? The carpenter, the aristocrat of the trade, with a scale of wages of $66 for a 5 day week is glad today he gets a day’s work for half of the scale, As individuals they are alright. All know wherein the salvation lie: but as groups they are hard to or- ganize. | I believe that not more than 30 per cent of all the carpenters in the ci belong to the A. F. of L. —Y. L. Strike Against Double Time in Warner Offica)| collarbone broken NEW YORK.—Quict organization | and a progressive strike against overtime, speed-up, etc., is reported | at Warner Bros. offices here. The film magnate recently fired 500 em-| the b ployes. Those retained have found | that in. many cases one stenog-| rapher or bookkeeper is supposed} to do two men’s work, and that there are many cases where a girl the | do not this | result. I am | work on Sundays and holidays. white | H.D. BOB SHIRT CO, -— STOOL DESPISED Fight Workers’ Effort to Organize Into Union Frackville, Pa. ly Worker: stool pigeon in the stockroom makes conditions miserable for all concerned in the new building of the H. D. Bob Shirt Co., here. He was responsible for the dis- charge of a number of boys on ac- count of his squealing to the boss. He is chicken-hearted and fears his job. He works Sundays and holidays and expects all others to do likew or he will make it mean for them Works on Labor Day. | The men wanted Labor Day off, they all united together and told the boss they were not coming out; they had Labor Day off. They knew the boss couldn’t very well fire eight boys from one department dur- ing the rush season. But the chicken-hearted stool pi- geon came out and worked half a day to keep in the good graces, Is Heartily Despised. The stockroom stool pigeon is de pised by all the employees in h department, including the bosses. His name is on the lips of many girl employees, for his slander and squealing. For keeping him posted the boss | ave him a raise while old reliable | hands failed because they would not | tell all they knew, but they are re- | spected and admired by their fellow workers, not despised and looked down on, Fights Union. This stool pigeon discourages a union. Some time ago the felloy talked about a union for better |wages and shorter hours but the stool pigeon told thé boss. The boss | threatened to fire the men unless | they abandoned the idea. This factory, not unlike other fac- tories, is a shining example of lay- | offs, speed-up and wage cuts. { 9 Hour Day. | The boys work nine hours a day |for eight dollars a week. They also | Work overtime until 9:30 and 10:00 | at night for 16 cents an hour. Many get their proper rest as a Along with this they must In the midst of these conditions |the bosses and other overpaid offi- I am going to apply | cials are enjoying huge salaries, for membership and am urging all | The men and boys should build shop committees in every depart- ment. —H. B. Bob Representative. Daily Worker. So I am oa MUSICIAN STRIKE \ t Many Layoffs on S. P. Line. The mill department is practi- on a The average pay in the store de- partment for <. half a month, after hospital deductions, “union dues,” ete. (company union, of is less than $25.00 Seniority Means Nothing. Seniority means little when it comes to a layoff. The man draw- ing most pay is the one fired as a rule, There was a scab who helped break the strike some years course), | | musicians, ity ago laid off. The workers do not | |feel heartbroken over him but it| |shows the bosses have no use for | their finks when they can no lon er use them. A Philipino worker who had his was sent back to work before it was well. He could not stand the work and is g- now back in the hospital. That shows what a fake the work- men’s compensation is. It is for josses and not the workers, Besides there is a hospital fee de- ducted from our checks every month, Workers Dissatisfieds There is a new machine here for reports at 9 a. m., toils until after} unloading lumber. It does as much midnight, and is still expected to report fresh ard fit for work the next day at 9. In no such case is anything extra paid for these in- human hours. work in 40 minutes as four men could do in a day and a half. That means more lay-offs. I am busy talking to workers I inow. They are all dissatisfied HERCULES MOTOR WORKERS GET BIG WAGE CUTS; WANT STRIKE Reduction Given Department by Department to Fore- stall Immediate Action Canton, Ohio. Comrades: The workers in Hercules Mo- tor Co. here are militant follow- ing the announcement of a 40 per cent wage cut on hour and piece work rates all along the line, made effective September 1. The workers were told of the cuts by department foremen on different days to forestall uni- fied action against them, and also were not told until Septem- | ber 5 and thereafter, Wage Scale of 20 Years Ago. Workers were told that the wage standard of 20 years ago’ is to be adopted. This company in May was working on a large rush order for the Soviet Union, working the men overtime, nights and Sundays. Some of the men refused to work that pace. These latter have lately been the first laid off. Of a former payroll of 900, only 300 are now working. Her- cules profits for the first six months of 1930 were $543,823 which shows that if every work- er worked full time, he piled up $604 surplus for the bosses. Big Reductions, The gear department has cut from $4.20 per 100 pieces to $2.35; fly wheel department from 15 cents a wheel to 8 cents; water pump shafts, 8% cents to 4 cents; bayonet guages, from 1 cent to 6 cents, connecting and grinding from 3 cents to 2 cents | for each. Cuts are actually more | than 40 per cent. Some workers want strike. A { AGAINST LAYOFFS in many Movie Operators Consider- week. | ing Sympathy Strike PHILADELPHIA. — Philadelphia | musi | edict of the Fox and Stanley-War- {ner Bros. chains of movie theatres, | turning out more than half of them | to join the throngs of jobless. Be- | cause of canned sound facilities, | Fox has cut forces from 40 to 20 and Stanley-Warner from 200 to 86. The musicians, who are not asking for better pay or hours, simply want last year’s con- tract renewed. Since the companies refused to re-employ the men dis- | placed by sound apparatus pending negotiations, the union regards it practically a lockout. Motion picture operators are con- sidering coming out in sympathy. They hold the key position, as the theatres could not carry on smoothly without them. Short talk- ing an dsinging sketches are now being used to replace numbers for- | merly furnished by musicians. The union is fighting cutting of forces by movie theatres in Wash- ington, St. Louis, Detroit, Memphis, Pittsburgh and Montreal. Inde- pendent theatres in Philadelphia are not affected. with conditions and many are I will write you later and keep you posted n job news 5S. P. SHOP WORKER. | Marine Workers | Page, Sept.27 | A special page of worker correspondence from work-| ers in the marine industry, | seamen, longshoremen, dock- workers, etc., will appear in the Saturday, September 27 issue of the Daily Worker. These letters will be ac- companied by special photos of the marine industry, Seaport cities should place a bundle order of the Daily Worker for this issue. i metal workers organizer is call- ing a meeting tomorrow. If res- | ponse is good, will take strike | yote. If poor response will call another meeting for some later date. Conditions in Canton. rotten everywhere —Rk. R. cians are striking against an | ready to fight back. I am new in| this fight but I am in it to stay. | i ped into th street besse are ‘ourts working overtime in throwing job- | less workers out of their homes, | Vote Communist to fight evic tions the Workers’ Unem: PHILA, JOBLESS FORGED 10 SLEEP ON SIDEWALKS | Magistrate Makes Workers Pay Landlord and Fines | Philadelphia, Pa. | Daily Wo: er: On this infamous city of Quaker |fakery, the home of the constitu- | tion and the liberty bell, worse than |slavery prevails. At least slaves get something to eat and a place to sleep, while capitalist slaves, the workers, when out of work and with- |out money starve and sleep on the |parks and the street. j Jobless Have No Roofs. | I happened to pass under the | Broad street station bridge while it was raining early yesterday morn- | ning and I saw many workers sleep- ing on the sidewalks. Recently a magistrate gave me a good lesson about class justice that exists in the |capitalist courts and I want to con- gratulate the Daily Worker for try- {ing to organize the workers and tear down the capitalist system. | Boss Magistrate. | Just because I did not give him {written notice altho I gave him ver- bal notice, which I thought was just }as good, my former landlord took me in front of a magistrate because I refused to pay him a nextra rent | of fifty dollars for I had a month to |month lease. I went in front of the |magistrate with two witnesses who | were present when I told the landlord jof my decision to vacate if he did not put a bathtub in the house. The magistrate did not eve at the | witness. He simply said, “Fifty and the costs.” This made me under- |stand that judges are the tools of jthe rich. To me the only hope is a Soviet Government. loo! —E. Boss Politicians Live | Well While the Jobless | | Starve From Hunger! Philadelphia, Pa. | Daily Worker: | With the coming elections, it |would be a good thing to look into | ithe kind of government that we| |have now, city governments esp tally. |there are one hundred and eighty- | jeci- | pay-roll. A few days ago Council- | }man Hadley, of Philadelphia, sent | jeut word for all instructors to re- port to his office. | Only eighty-two (82) reported. | Where was the other hundred? Who | is putting the money that is sup-| posed to be paid to that hundred ‘men, into their pockets? No one but the capitalist politicians. We jmust do away with that kind of| government, and the only way to do it is to get a wor’ers’ and farmers’ government. Vote Communist. —Philadelphia Worker. VOTE COMMUNIST! Republican Thugs Think Valor in Face o: Stamford, Conn, | Daily Worker: The bosses of Stamford trie | block our election rally, | The press refused to print any notices of meetings, also refused to print a list of the Communist | candidates in the coming elections. | Arrest Workers. Two comrades were arrested for distributing of leaflets, advertising the election campaign, A gang of young organized by the | to d to ists were republican club break up the meeting. A strong workers defense corps discouraged an attack so all they jcould do was to blow automobile jhorns in an attempt to drown out jthe speaker's voice. In spite of this opposition 15 | workers were present at the meet: |“the 59 rulers of America.” | intellectual and spiritual rulers. BOSSES, FEARING “COMMUNISTS TRY TO BLOCK RALLY CAMPAIGN Page Three FRISCO AF OF L FAKERS FOR ANTI- LABOR BOSS POLITICIAN ayor Rolph Has His Polic re Slug Strikers and Break Up Workers, Meetings Hearst Papers Sob Over “Poor” Dog While Thousands of Jobless Workers Starve Daily Worker: While the hungry workers are San Jose, Cal. tramping the streets in a weary search for work or a handout, Mr. Hearst, master of yellow journalism and forgeries, has the following tot cisco Examiner of September 10th. “Gypsy,” New York waterfront New Year’s e taken the little waif abroad his sh to his home here. It is tragic to think of the death of the little animal, but it is com- forting to think of the tenderness which brought her all the way from New York to San Francisco that she might live happily.” Also Mayor Rolph of San Fran- ico, republican candidate for gov- shows his in the] 's by keeping himself in the lim ht marching at the head of the admission day parade. Rolph has fooled many of the workers| into voting for him at the prima-| ernor wo! res by posing as the “friend of | labor.” 1 Rolph Has A. F. of L. Support. | In this h y helped by the| A. F. of | The A. F. of L. in San Fran-| cisco is supporting Rolph in spite| of the fact that Mooney and Bil- lings were framed under his ad- | ministration and that Rolph’s pol- ice break up strikes and beat and jail unemployed workers, and Com- munists, | Canners’ Wages Low. Here in San Jose, where workers are getting from 25 cents to 40 cents per hour in the caneries, and women and young girls are work- | ing at piece work where they make sometimes as low as 40 cents a | day, where Anderson and Barn- grover, food machinery manufac- turers, who normally employ 800} to 1,000 men have practically shut | | down, employing only a dozen or |so men. The Communist Party is | actively organizing the workers. Militant Sentiment. The sentiment of the workers | here is very favorable. The Yetta | Stromberg branch of the I. L. D. was recently formed and now has| about 50 members, | Last week a street nucleus of | the Communist Party was formed and six workers joined the Party. We are making an energetic ef-| fort to put our comrades William Simons, Edgar Owens and Oscar | Erickson on the ballot for gover- |mor, secretary of state and lieuten- | | ant governor, respectively as work-| |ers candidates opposing the bosses | | politicians and exposing their rot- tenes and bankruptcy, | —. H. DICKSON. Prof. Has List of Twenty- Five Dope Peddlers of | the Ruling “Fifty-Ni San Francisco, Cal. | Dear Comrades: | Former Ambassador James W. | erard recently compiled a list of | G a) Prof. Robert E. Rogers, of Mas: achusetts, compiled a list of “the e poses their own insane system of We see that the ruling cl: soc They admit that the econ- | pends on only 50 millionaires and | two swimming instructors on the| that the worker’s mind is confused |4°Wn our tools. and poisoned by only 25 dope ped-| dlers. | So long as we must live under the capitalist dictatorship the “Daily Worker” is a splendid weapon to| combat boss ideology and to stim-| ulate mental revolution. When suf- ficient number of workers are class | conscious the economical revolution | will be an easy task. —P. G. | Demand the release of Fos-' ter, Minor. Amter and Ray-| mond, in prison for fightine | for unemployment insurance. GROWTH OF CONN. Discretion Better Part of f Defense Corps | ing. Three workers joined the | Party. | | Connections Made. | | Many connections were made! jfor the ANLC. The | collection was | $2.70. The comrades on the elec- | tion tour are satisfied with the) response of the workers at this meeting, but were disappointed| when we learned that the Stam- | ford and South Norwalk comrades have not yet settled down to the| |task of getting signatures, | | If this apathy of our comrades! |is not overcome at once we will) jnot have a Communist ticket on j the ballot in Connecticut. The! workers and farmers of Connec- ticut will be denied a chance to! | vote Communist. | —R. S. KLING, Candidate for Governer. n San Francisco the other day. ching editorial in the San Fran- an obscure little dog found shivering on a barge on the ve of 1928, was killed by a motor- Capt. Robert KE. Judson had ip, the Columbia, and brought her | Milwaukee Negro | | Workers Show Real | Sympathy to C. P.} Milwaukee, Wis. Daily Worker: We are struggling very hard here to put the candi- dates of the Communist Par- ty on the ballot and I find the masses of the colored race in real good sympathy with the Communist Party. There is dificulty though in approaching some of them. They say they have been fooled so much and so long untii they do not know which way to go. So I am! really playing my part as far as I know and do intend to continue to work hard for the Party. If every Party member does his task we will not have any trouble in getting the necessary number of sig- natures that is needed. POSTMEN SHOULD VOTE COMMUNIST Laborer Sees Need for Struggle, Not Begging Brooklyn, N. Y. Daily Worker: The “Guidon” came late with sur- prising news that Congressman Sproul did not move to cut our wages. Mr. Walter Gayhar wants to make us feel good. In reality it means that Congress is attempting to cut bur wages. To cut the wages of people who went to that war to make the world safe for democrary and for the reward of being shell shocked and wounded we lead a hand to mouth existence, pulling the dirty sacks made by conscript labor in the dirty cells of U. S. prisons, Vote Communist We call upon every laborer to re- venge upon the hypocrites in Con- gress, revenge by voting the Com- munist ticket in all congressional, senatorial and governors election. Support the Communist election campaign. Send your contributions, no matter how little you can give, to the Communist groups in every city. Fight! Don’t Beg! No more will we go begging a few dollars’ pay from Congress and Senate. In our struggle against speed-up and long hours and wage cuts we will make our ally the Com- munist Party of the U.S.A. and the In the City of Philadelphia, omical problem of the worker de-|'¢Volutionary American labor move- ment. Our weapon will be laying And we call also upon the post office clerks and let- ter carriers to help us in our strug- gle as they did in the previous struggles. So remember, vote Com- munist. —N. Y. Post Office Laborer. Workers Will Battle On Stronger Says a Worker in Verse Buffalo, N. Y. Dear Editor: Just a little bum poetry with all true sincerity, EVER NEARER They say that you and | are free, but laugh behind our backs They split our heads and knock us cold, and rob us of our jack, But never fear, their end is near, no more we take their bull, Like cornered rats, they'll run like hell, but they will pay in full. u Tho we're not armed, we're not alarmed, We'll take their raps like men, But the day will come v ‘en we pack a gun Then we shall meet again. mm Ain't they tough, can't they get rough, When we have but bare hands, But that’s alright, they'll see a fight When our Red Army boldly stands. Iv Let’s give a Revolution Yell, and one big husky cheer Are we discouraged, down-heart- ed, no! The Reds Are Drawing Near One and all we'll answer the call, us workers will see it through We're ready to stand, ready to fall, for red (not) white and blue. An , Ex-Serviceman, VOTE COMMUNIST! FeOereert anes