The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 11, 1931, Page 7

DAILY, WORKER, NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1931 od Page Three NSURANCE AND IMMEDIATE CASH RELIEF! organizations. In every: struggle of the workers, we find the full forces of the government, arrests, club- bings, jailings, lynchings, outright killing of the unemployed (Chica- go, Cleveland, etc.) deportations, ete. Every right of the workers won through years of struggle (right to organize, picket, assemble, press, ete.) is being taken~= away. More and more gangsters with the full assistance of the police, are used against the workers in struggle. The TUUL unions must mobilize the en- tire working class. to fight for the rights of the workers, against lynchings, deportations, and dis- crimination against Negro and for- eign born workers. We must organ- ize defense groups to beat back the attacks of the fascist bands and the police attacks against the workers. The TUUL must be in the very center of the struggle initiated by the ILD, and help to build the ILD. At present, we must mobilize all forces for the Harlan-Mooney- ‘ ? Scottsboro campaigns, One of the most important les- sons of our recent strikes is the intense speed and vigor with which the» employing class turns all the powers of the government against our strikes and the intense devel- opment of demagogy to hide this offensive. This requires on our part skillful politicalization of our Struggles by the raising of con- crete political issues growing out of the actual struggle. The need for the politicalization of our strikes is particularly emphasized by our developing orientation to- ward” heavy industries. In these heavy and war industries, every move of the workers to defend even the simplest economic de- mands is met by special activity on the part of the government. This politicalization must be espe- cially directed against the dema- gogy of the Pinchots, Murphys and the social-fascists. Fight Against Imperialist War and for | the Defense of the Soviet Union The bosses are trying to find a way out of the crisis through war and principally through an attack against the Soviet Union, At this moment, we witness the sharpen- ing of the war danger, the mobiliza- tion of all the vassal states ber- dering on the Soviet Union by the imperialists, and the open war steps by Japanese imperialism around the Manchuria attack. The United States is constantly increasing its expenditures for war, while there is not a pefiny tor the unemployed. We must ex- pose the war moves against the Soviet Union, bring before the masses the meaning of the attacks on the Soviet Union, and how this is part of the enslavement of the workers of the United States. While intensifying our agitation against war and for. the defense of the Soviet Union, we must re- . member that only if we take steps to organize the workers in the key industries of war preparation (steel, chemical, marine, railroad, etc.) we will be able to make good -our. pledge to the defense of the Soviet Union. We must give all support in building the Friends of the Soviet. Union. The T. U. Uv. L. unions must also take up the struggle of the masses in the colonial countries exploited by United States imperialisms, give every possible assistance to their struggles, and give more attention to the winning of the masses of these colonial countries in the in- dustries of the United States (Latin-American, Philippines, : etc.). Of particular importance are the Latin-American workers, as the drawing into the revolutionary trade unions of these workers will give a living expression to the soli- darity pact signed by the T.U.U.L. and the Latin-American Federation of Labor and will facilitate the carrying out of our duties to these neighboring countries oppressed by American imperialism. All the enumerated tasks cannot be carried through without a real and decisive turn to work in the shops. The main weakness of the T.U.U.L. unions, its main unpre- paredness to organize the resistance of the workers to the wage-cut offensive, is the lack of contact and organization inside the shops. Without overcoming this weakness, it will be impossible to carry through the task of organizing the workers for struggle, to win the masses still under reformist influ- ence, to build the mass unions of the T.U.U.L. The failure to develop the struggles of the workers in the basic industries is due primarily to the lack of contacts and organ- ized work in these factories. This must be overcome first by reor- ganizing the existing membership ' of the T.U.U.L. unions on a shop basis. But this is not the solution to the problems, since the T.U.U.L. unions have little membership in these basic industries (steel, chemi- | cal, etc.), We must take the first steps to establish. contacts in these factories and organize shop groups of our unions as the basic form ot our unions, At the same time, our groups must take the initiative to organize broad united front com- mittees of action, grievance com- mittees, etc., around the immediate igsues of struggle (wage-cuts, etc.). In many instances it will be pos- sible through the initiative of the individual members of the revolu- tionary unions, or through the in- fluence of the revolutionary press, | to form united front committees of action, even before the establish- | ment of the union groups. But we | must strive at all times to develop the shop groups of the union, side by side with the united front or- gans of struggle, which are broad, loose committees, as the leaders of these united front bodies. We must not confuse the shop groups of our union with shop committees that are the representative committees elected by all the workers in the shops and which can only come into existence when the workers come to the point of open organization and have the power to establish the open existence of the shop committees. Concrete Information for Workers. One of the reasons for our in- ability to establish shop organiza- tions is the failure to give con- crete information to the workers, how to carry on the work inside the shops, how to function with- out creating unnecessary dismis- Sals, etc., because of the failure to take up and solve the questions of how to carry on the work inside the shops. The initial contacts for organization in the shops can be secured not only by a real turn to the factories, the activization of the workers in the large plants in our organizations on the basis of @ program of struggle, but also by the utilization of the unemployed movements, by increasing the work among the unemployed and part- time workers, by the utilization of the tens of thousands of our sym- pathizers through the mass organi- zations and our language press. »# In order to lead the struggle of | neighborhoods (rents, food, evic- tions, ete.), in‘ the ‘unemployment ehens, etc. All, the ‘ unemployed councils have representatives of em- agencies (carfares, etc.), soup kit- | ployed workers. Work in the Reformist Unions There are more than 3,000,000 workers in the A, F, of L. and other reformist unions. These unions are not only in the indus- tries of skilled workers, In the industries where the T.U.U.L unions are strongest (mining, needle, tex- tile) the reformist unions still-have @ membership more than ten times the membership of the T.U.U.L. unions. The influence of the A. F. of L. extends far beyond the or- ganizational strength of these or- ganizations, including workers in industries where even the A. F. of WILLIAM Z. FOSTER Secretary of the Trade Union Unity League L. has practically no organization. At the present time there is grow- ing resistance on the part of the masses in these unions, to the treacherous politics of their offi- | cals, These masses also suffer from unemployment. In the build- ing trades, more than 50 per cent of the A, F, of L. membership is unemployed. In the railroad unions large sections of these workers are unemployed and working part time. All these conditions furnish a basis for and make very urgent that we undertake serious and systematic work in the reformist unions. With- out such work it will be impossible not only to win these millions of masses to our banner -of struggle, but even to organize the struggle of the unorganized workers. Some False Theories. Until recently there had devel- oped on the basis of our failure to carry on work in the reformist unions a number of false theories to the effect that all the workers in the old unions are aristocrats of labor, if not fascists; that it is impossible to work in the old unions, etc, But our feeble be- in recent months have shown that because of the radical- the unemployed, we must create the | ization of the workers in these or- organization of the unemployed. | ganiations, it is now, in spite of These organizations must be or-/| all difficulties, more possible than ganized on the united front basis.| ever to carry on effective work The T.U.U.L. unions must assist in|in the old unions, and that the the building of these organizations | masses readily follow our pro- and work through them. The basic | gram. Because of our failure to form of organization of the unem-| work in the reformist unions, it ployed council is the neighborhood | was possible for the Musteites and council, elected by the workers in| Lovestoneites in a@ number | of the neighborhood; unemployment | unions to take hold of the opposi- agency, soup kitchens, etc. These | tion movement which was veering councils carry on the work from | into our direction, and lead it back day to day, through a real division | to the channels of the A. F. of L. of labor (sub-committee for evic- tions, securing food for children, defense, legal aid, etc.) and con- vene regular meetings of the un- In the case of the needle workers union, where the Lovestoneites had taken hold of the opposition move- ment, we could liquidate their in- employed workers, who pass on the | fluence and take hold of the opposi- reports of the committee, elect and | tion movements when we began to re-elect these committees, etc. The | carry on systematic work in the committee should register the un-/|old unions, and the correct policy employed and the various local or- | of the united front. This work, ganizations decide if they wish to| which must be carried on also have any regular contributions, etc. | within the locals of the reformist The various councils in the neigh- | unions, can only be carried through borhoods of a given city (and in the | successfully if we organize the work larger. cities of a given section) | in the shops to win the members of eleet ‘delegates to a City or Sec-| the reformist unions on concrete tioy: Council of ‘the: Unemployed | struggles, and if we do not capitu- who lead the work in that terri-|}late to legalism and lmit the tory. This form of organization | struggle merely on inner union corresponds to the organization of | questions, but take up and organize the day to day struggle for the|the struggles of these ~masses demands of the unemployed in the | through independent leadership on the basis of the united front from below. Real Work in Old Unions, Without carrying on real work in the old unions, not only in those industries where we have no unions of the T.U.U.L. (railroad, building, etc.), but also in. the re- formist unions that exist parallel to the revolutionary unions (min- ing, textile, marine, needle, etc.), we willmake it possible for the A. F. of L. and the Musteites to main- tain their influence over and_be- tray the struggles of the masses, we will be unable to organize real mass struggles of the workers and build the revolutionary unions. Special attention must be given to work among the unemployed in the ,| Teformist unions. The left wing shall present its program at all con- ferences, conventions, etc. and strive to elect its delegates as well as all elective posts in the organ- izations. United Front Policy of the T.U.U.L. Only through the application of | Special Attention to the Winning of | Various Categories of Workers, | Negro. Women, Youth, etc. Our unions, in order to be able to organize and struggle against the offensive, must pay special at- tention to the work among the various sections of the workers, raising special demands and using methods necessary to win these masses, Until now, the work among the Negro masses, work among the women workers and among the young workers, has been taken up in a formal manner. In order to really appreciate the importance ot this work, and to make serious ef- forts to win these masses, it is necessary to realize the role played by all these masses in the class struggle, The Negro workers have displayed an increasing militancy and willingness to struggle (miners’ strike, unemployment in Chicago, Camp Hill, around the Scottsboro, etc.). This must mean for us the exertion of all our efforts to or- ganize the struggle of these masses, to formulate special demands in the strike struggles, in the struggles of the unemployed, in the interests of these masses. This requires that we mobilize the white workers to struggle for the demands of the Negro masses, against all forms of discrimination with regard to dis< missals from the job, in the hiring of workers, in receiving of unem- ployment benefits, etc. The T.U.U.L. unions must set up live functioning departments and committees of white and Negro workers, for work among the Negro masses and work out concrete programs of action. The unions must check up that these plans do not remain on paper but that they become part of the every- day work of these organizations. To achieve this the Negro depart- ment in the center, which was or- ganized and began to function, shall receive much more attention and asistance. Weaknesses in Negro Work. The greatest weakness of the ‘T.U.U.L, unions in Negro work ts a tendency to confine their activities to the propagation of general slo- gans for equality and general po- litical demands of Negroes, but not to develop concrete demands for the Negroes and to conduct an ac- tive struggle for the Negroes’ econ- omic demands and against all forms of segregation and discrimination on the basis of concrete facts and eases, This is exemplified by the exclusion of Negro women from the women’s auxiliaries and discrimina- tion against Negroes in the dis- tribution of relief (mine strike), failure to defend the grievances of Negro workers in the shops and to develop the solidarity of black and white workers against specific wage- euts directed against . Negroes (needle), failure of the railroad and mharine unions to develop def-. “ ithe united front policy from be- Jow will we be able to develop and lead the struggles of the masses and build our unions, This was demonstrated in the strike of the miners, the textile workers, the needle workers, etc. The T.U.ULL. unions must pay particular atten- tion to the development of the united front organs in the shops, They must take the initiative in. the fight for the united front of the members of the T.U.U.L. unions, the unorganized and the members of the reformist unions, on con- crete programs of action. The T.U.U.L unions must take the initi- ative in the fight for the unity of the workers, showing to the workers how one union in the in- dustry can only. be achieved against the reformist leaders, At the present time, when the T.U.U.L. is growing in influence, the A. F. of L., and particularly its Muste wing, will make any maneuvers in order to maintain its influence over the masses. We must be able to take the initiative and to unmask them before the workers by devel- oping a genuine united front policy, studying all the experiences and suitable forms necessary in a given situation, always remembering that we are for a united front with the masses, directed against the bosses and labor bureaucrats. inite programs of demands for Ne- groes, etc. The women workers constitute 20 per cent of the industrial workers, and in many industries (textile) the decisive sections are playing a more important role in every struggle. But this is not reflected in the membership of women workers in the T.U.U.L. unions (textile), in the drawing in of women workers into the leadership of the unions. This is a reflection of the lack of or- ganized and planned work among the women workers: the failure to raise special demands in Strikes and in the unemployed movement. Only through the regular functioning of the women’s departments and the careful attention to the work among women will we be able to overcome this situation. Under the present conditions of developing struggles, this becomes indispen- sable for the revolutionary unions. The work among the youth is lagging behind the number of young workers in industry, and the ac- tive role that they play in the struggles, This is due to the fact that in most of our unions theré is even a denial of the existence ol youth problems and youth demands, This means in practice @ complete underestimation of the work among the young workers, It means to make it possible for the bosses and their organizations to keep the youth chained to the bosses’ or- ganization, and to make it more difficult to win the youth to our unions. The T.U.U.L. unions must develop the youth departments, in- sist on bringing forward youth de- mands in the shops, etc., and con- sciously promote young workers in leading posts in the organization. Similarly, the T.U.U.L, unions must pay special attention to work among foreign-barn workers, the Latin-American workers, etc. With- out carrying through this special work among these various sections of the American working class, the unions will be unable to properly develop the struggle and grow. The T.U.U.L unions can only grow when they represent and are the fighters for daily interests and needs of the masses, in prep- aration for, during and as a conse- quence of the leadership of the struggle of the masses. But urless together with this, we develop a rea] inner life, correct’ organizationa! forms ,regular meetings, real dem- ocracy, the drawing in of worker: into activity, and overcome tht present formless and bureaucratic empty life of the local organiza- a ge