The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 2, 1934, Page 3

Ritzy N.Y. Hotels Are Dens of Misery for Waiters, Kitchen Help Park Central Waiters Toiled for 50 Cents Per Day SOME GOT NO PAY Secret Agreement WIil Not Change Matters By HARRY RAYMOND NEW YORK —The appalling, medieval conditions under which ~orkers in New York’s great hotels are forced to slave, which led to the strike now sweeping the city, were revealed an. investigation conducted by the Daily Worker yes- terday. In the ritzy New York hostelries, where the idle, rich parasites laze and gorge themselves with fine foods and wines, where the coupon clippers, the play boys and girls of the great White Way revel in extravagant orgies—here, in these dens literally, of ermine and gold, there exists a veri- | table hell for the working class. Every dining room, every banquet hall, every kitchen and service de- partment of every big hotel in New York City comprises a little island of this inferno. The actual truth of conditions in these hotel hells came to light when a group of striking workers told their stories to a Daily Worker reporter. Work Without Pay A story of conditions in the lux- wious Park Central Hotel, as told 8 striking waiter just off the line, gives a fair picture of conditions in hotels throughout city in general, against which the workers are fighting. This watter,| % veteran hotel worker, related how the management forced the waiters ‘@ do two different jobs and then Das Sort no wages whatsoever. ‘An agent sent me to the place,” he said, “and told me that for the first week I would haye to work without wages. I took the job, un- derstanding that the N. R. A. code would give us pay within a week’s time. The head waiter told me the same thing. But no wages came. “All we got was from 50 to 60 cents tips a day, « dollar at the most, The manager kept us over hours. More waiters were hired on this basis and better service was demanded. Then the porters were fired and we were forced to do their work, too. “So we got together, organized a little committee and walked ont in December and forced the boss to sive us 50 cents a day.” When the general strike call was issued all the waiters of the Park Central again walked out in sym- pathy with the cooks and demanded an increase in their own wages. The officials of the Amalgamated Union, through their secret sellout agreement, offered to the hotel bosses—an agreement which calls for no increase in pay or reduction of hours—would herd these Park Central Hotel workers back to their jobs wnder the same old miserable conditions at 30 cents a day. 78 Cents « Day Another waiter from the net department of the Park Central told how Mr. Smith, manager of the de- DETROIT Yaily Worker Affair. Daily Worker Section $ Daily Worker Committee Saturday, February 3, 1934 At WORKERS HALL 5770 Grandy Cor, Hendrie Starts 8:00 P. M. Admission 15c 10™ ANNIVERSARY Daily Worker | CELEBRATIONS Philadelphia: On Feb. 2 ay Girar Manor Hall, 911 W. Girard Ave. Good program arranged. Pittsburgh, Pa. On Feb, 3 at Russian Hali, 1608 Sera St. 5.8. Interesting program. Boston, Mass. On Feb. 10 at Dudley St. Opera House, 113 Dudley St., Roxbury. Clarence Hathaway, Editor Daily Worker, main speaker. Varied program, including Russian Work- | hotels, ers Chorus. Presenting of Daily Worker Banner to Boston District. Adm. 25c. || Final Graft Article on Local 3 Saturday A. 8. Pascual’s third article on the racketeering in Local 3 of the Brotherhood of. Electrical Work- ers will be printed tomorrow. This will be followed by a series of ex- posure articles on graft and gang- Sterism on the waterfront. While New York’s “upper crust” dined at $5 a head in honor of President Roosevelt's birthday, this picket marched outside the Wal- dorf-Astoria Hotel fighting for a living wage. ; partment, paid his waiters the sum of 75 cents per day. “How much did you generaily get from tips?” the waiter was asked. “Well, Mr. Smith got most of that,” he replied. “For instance, a group of \four waiters were given $17 to serve a banquet. Mr. Smith always got the money first. Out of this money we got $1.50 each. Smith got the rest. \He drives a big car on our tip | money.” | On top of this the Park Central waiters must pay 10 cents for each meal, which is split between a porter and a waiters’ “outdishing woman,” who receive no pay. Can't Even Eat Leftovers Any waiter caught eating leftover food from the dining room of the Park Central will be fired by Mr. Lazner, another waiter reported. In- deed, the return slops are much better than the regular waiters’ diet offered by this hotel. “There are three things which hit me the hardest,” daclared a dish- washer from the Waldorf, scene of the recent Roosevelt banquet. “First, the food given to the kitchen help was the worst food I ate in any hotel. All the food we got was leftovers from the kitchen, always a day old,” he said. The Waldorf is infamous among the workers for its terrific speed-up |in the kitchen department. Here a grand |a dish in his hand and be on the |run, otherwise the boss will tell | him to “get the hell out.” One of the worst jobs in the Wal- dorf ig in the ice department, which js three floors underground and al- ways damp and cold. The icemen | have to run to and fro from the cold jice room into the warm dining room. |The icemen don’t last long. They are laid up soon with rheumatism. For this jobs the worker is paid the munificent sum of $12.85 per week. Couldn't See Family “T never got a chance to see my family,” said another waiter from the Park Central. “While I served $1 meals, I hardly got enough to feed my wife and family. Three weeks ago a guest walked out without pay- ing, and I had to pay his bill, $5, out of my own few pennies. That's why Ym on strike.” This waiter belonged to the Amal- gamated Union in 1921, but, he said, “They played me dirty fricks and I tore up my book.” “The Food Workers’ Industrial Union,” he said, “is my idea of | what a union should be.* | 4 room service waiter from the | Hotel Taft told why he was striking: | “I'm striking for the simple reason, ‘first: for better food. I worked from | 6:30 am, until 4 pm. We never got a chance to sit down and eat. We had to eat on the sly, standing up. | During three weeks on this job I lost 12 ” ‘This waiter received $7.50 2 week wages. All the strikers interviewed agreed that only through unity and militant mass action, led by a united general strike committee representing all the val conditions in the New York ete ea | | Tomorrow's article will deal with | conditions in the Hotel Lexington. PHILADELPHIA, PA. TENTH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Friday, February 2nd, Girard Manor Hall At 8:15 P.M. S11 GIRARD AVENUE — Program — CLARENCE HATHAWAY—Editor Daily Worker—Speaker Bella Dorfman—Artef, John Reed Club Freiheit, Gesangs Farein, Oratorio CHICAGO, ILL, “WAR AGAINST THE CENTURIES” TWO GREAT FILMS See the Five-Year Pian. in Action AND Showing Demonetzations in Chicago, Russia, New York, ¢ “BREAD” WILL BE SHOWN AT THE FOLLOWING PLACES: FEB. 4th, Sunday—at 8 P.M. 6 West 44th St. FEB. 7th, Wednesday 538 Wisconsin St. | FEB. 5th, Monday | 1806 8. Racine Ave. FEB. 8th, Thursday | 1118 W, Madison St. — Se! | worker must always have a mop or! strikers, can they destroy the medie~ | | can receive their work permit. DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1934 Pargyf the mass demonstration the garment district in New York wh of left wing needle trades workers in ‘ich protested the jailing of Ben Gold, fur union leader, and demanded the right to join the union of their choice, | the Needle Trades Workers Industri: | om page 2.) to Report at Second | Local Conference \To Adapt the National | Decisions to Local Struggles | CLEVELAND, Ohio, Feb. 1—Re- turning Cleveland delegates from the National Convention Against Unem- |ployment will report back to the workers at the | Conference Against Unemployment, to be held at 1237 Payne Ave., on | Thursday, Feb. 8, at 8 pm. This |conference will adapt the decisions | of the National Convention to the local united front struggle for C. W. A. jobs, against pay cuts and lay- offs, and for a united struggle for the adoption of the Workers’ Unem- | Ployment, Insurance Bill. | Delegates Leave Tonight The 32 delegates from Cleveland to | the National Convention Against Un- | employment, to be held in Washing- ton on Feb. 3, 4 and 5 will leave to- night at 11 o'clock for Washington. | | CLEVELAND.—More than 100 | School children and their parents | demonstrated at the Board of Edu- |cation here Monday for the return of free hot lunches to all school children, for free books and school supplies, warm clothing and shoes, and free medical and dental care. Only a delegation of four, three mothers and one child, were permit- ted in the board room to present these demands, and were only granted five minutes in which to de- | clare their demands. fused to take action on the demands. jin to forcibly remove the four pro- testing delegates. The board mem- bers callously sat by while the police | brutally handled the women and child. | ganized by the Young Pionee: America and the Federation Working Women's Clubs. of of Bvict Jobless from en. 3 W. A. Offices: | RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 1-—A dele- | gation of six C. W. A. and unem- ployed workers were forcibly evicted by detectives yesterday, when they appeared before the local C. W. A. administrator with the workers’ de- mands against the Roosevelt aban- donment of the C. W. A. The work- ers demanded immediate reinstate- ment of all C. W. A. workers who had been laid off by the newest Roosevelt attack upon the workers; ® guaranteed 30-hour week for all C, W. A. workers; no discrimination st Negroes, and cash relief for meeting tonight which will also be a send-off meeting for the Richmond delegates to the National Convention Against Unemployment. ‘Cleveland Delegates! second Cleveland | The board re-/ At this point the police were called | The demonstration was or-! ial Union, (See story on fur situation New “Daily” Press to Be in Use in 3 Weeks NEW YORK—With the motor for the new Daily Worker press installed, the management of the “Daily” announces that the new printing press will be ready for use in about three weeks. Lack of finances has slowed down the installation of the press, but steady progress is being made nevertheless despite additional dif- ficulties encountered, such as the necessity to put in a pump to drain water which spurted up on ing the pit for the new press. e first parts of the press are in process of installation. Williamsburg Meet to Fight High Food Cost NEW YORK.—The Williamsburg Provisional Committee on the High | Cost of Living has issued a call for a conference to be held Sunday, Feb. 4, at 1 pm, at the Y. M. H. A, Broadway and Rodney St., Brooklyn. |The conference will formulate a plan | of action to combat the excessive costs of food, clothing and rents, All workers’ organizations are urged to elect delegates to this conference. Page Three Fur Workers Demonsrae | Observe “Roosevelt’s Tail-Less Blue Eagle” In Action and Join the Communist Party = + Negro Worker Writes “| | Place My Future in the | a Hands of My Party” | | LOS ANGELES, Calif.—To the | editor of the Daily Worker:—I have; | just joined the Communist Party. 1| have been following its activities, | and reading some of its literature, | and I was interested in a general} way. But a few weeks ago I saw the in action, and that is why I) | joined. My sister has nine children, and, her husband is an invalid. They! owned their own home; it was mort-| gaged. When the holder of the/ mortgage threatened to foreclose, | they went to the Home Loan Bank} and met with the usual delays and! buck-passing—perhaps more than the | usual amount, because we are Ne- groes, | Then my sister and her ‘husband ; | Saw_a statement in the newspapers! by President Roosevelt saying that if! | any homeowners were in danger of | losing their homes and were not being | helped by the Home Loan, they! | should wire to him direct. They | wired—three dollars worth. All they | got in reply was that the President could not do anything for them. He} referred them to a Federal attorney | , here—who did nothing. | | So they were put out into the street | in a downpour of rain by the sheriff, all eleven of them and their be-| longings, under @ piece of canvas. | An iceman came by and asked) them what was the matter. Then he! | referred them to 2 Communist Party| | member who lived near there. He | said he would have them back in| their house before midnight. When I returned they were all back in tHe! house with their furniture. My sis-| ter told me about 150 people had! come, built a bonfire, and moved her! back. | My sister is out of the house again, | because instead of listening to the| | advice of the strongest organization | | in the world, the Communist Party, | she lstened to the lies of the Federal| attorney, the justice of the peace, and | Los Angeles judge, whom she felt | handle the case when she was threatened with eviction again. I am placing my future in the hands of! my Party, the Communist Party. i —J. D. Chicago Dist. Pledges 500 New! Members Before Convention | Diseuss 13th Plenum Resolution of Communist International; Establish New District CHICAGO, Ill, Feb. 1—The Dis- |} trict Committee of District 8 com- pleted its two days work Sunday, Jan. | 28. The leadership of the Commu- | nist Party of the District, on the basis of the report of the District Buro, very Plenum Resolution of the E.C.C.I. and of the 18th meeting of the Central Committee. In view of the sharpness of the ob- jective situation internationally and} its maturing features in America, the District Committee very earnestly ap- proached the problem of how we in the industrial citadel of American im- | perial | Work in the basic sheps and trade unions, especially in the A. F. of L., and must conduct a stubborn and fearless struggle against the dema~ gogy of the ruling class and the in- tensified activity of its agents, the A. F. of L. and Socialist Party official- unemployed, women, young and Negro masses, Work for Increase in Party With greatest enthusiasm the Dis- trict Committee accepted the proposal that by the national convention, the Chicago District will increase its membership by 500 and add 10 shop nuclei, The comrades representing | |C.W.A. Workers Union Fight Against Racketeering By CARL REEVE NEW YORK.—The federal govern- ment is attempting to whitewash the fact that graft of C.W.A. officials and A.F.L. leaders permeates the C.W.A. in all sections of the country. Roosevelt is protecting the grafters by prolonged fake “investigations.” Less than ® dozen have been fired and none of the grafters are in jail. Meanwhile the Daily Worker has se- cured additional evidence that proves to the hilt the charge made and evi- dence given in previous articles of this series, that the graft and racket- eering of not only the old party poli- ticians, but also the A. F. of L. offi- clals, 1s an integral part of the func- tioning and administration of the C. W. A, everywhere. ‘The decrees of the Roosevelt gov- ernment, setting up the C.W.A., gave the A. F. of L, officials charge of the hiring of “organized labor.” It was made virtually the law of the Jand that the AFL, officials could dictate as to what skilled workers should be put on the C.W.A. The C.W.A. legalized the racketeering carried on by A, F. of L, officials, ‘The Daily Worker herewith gives | evidence of this A.F.L. racketeering from widely separated sections of the country, Works Permit Costs $5 a Week MJ Akron, Ohio, the officials of | the A, F. of L. union are charging | $5 & week for ail skilled workers who get jobs on the C.W.A. before they This 4 | are subject to the same robbery by Seriously discussed the 13th} the Chicago area of heavy industry, | n, must further intensify the | | struggle against war and fascism, the} dom, and to intensify work among the | fractions and sections, on the basis of| their capacity and the need for in-| creasing the tempo of our work, one! by one pledged quotas which will be} realized. The District Committee aleo} endorses the Dally Worker subscrip- | tion quota for our District. A series of motions were adopied| | which testify to the fact that the lead-| ership in the Chicago District is con- solidated on the line of the Party and the tasks before us. Ths District Con-| vention will open on April 1 at the! | Coliseum. } St. Lonis, New District The District Committee, with great pride, voted to make St. Louis a dis- trict for itself. This is the second area of the Chicago District that has) been developed, through the leader- | ship of the District Buro, to assume independent life as a district of the Party. At the last Convention, Mil- waukee was made a district. | The District Committee instructed | the District Buro to work out a com-} | plete plan of popularization of the resolutions which will include meet- |ings with Buro representatives with j all scetion and major shop nuclei.| imously by all members of the Dis-| ‘trict Committee. i | | | 2 Letters Which Should Spur Recruiting for the Party IHE two letters we publish in the adjoining columns, one from a Negro worker and the other from an Arizona | copper worker, both pledging their adherence to the revolu- tionary party of the workingclass, the Communist Party, will | munist Party and be inspiring to every member of the Party. Both letters show that among wide sections of the workingclass there | ation of Labor un is going on rapid disillusionment with the Roosevelt promises, a realiza- tion of the viclous demagogy and brutal attacks of the. New Deal. Negro worker contrasts the buck-passing, Roosevelt, and the quick, mass action of the Communist Party. The maneuvers of He de- hypocritical clares henceforth he is no longer a passive supporter of the Communist Party, but an active fighter for his party, the Communist Pafty. Out in Bisbee this group of workers (as the letter is reall a joint product) after discussing the Roosevelt regime decide that thelr place is in the Communist Party ranks. Proper steps have been taken to enroll these workers and make them active fighters in our ranks * . ‘HE main lessons to be derived from these letters are that it is pos: now, with the correct and persistent recruitment, to bring numbers of workers into the Party. even where the Party is weak, workers are looking to our Party for leader- ship. le e In many sections of the country Among tens of thousands of workers there are similar, unwritten | letters. By our activity we can put them down in writing in the form of Party membership books, and valuable comrades in our revolutionary | struggles against capitalism. With our new comrades in Bisbee we want to discuss some problems of Communist action in trade unions. They tell us they are members of A. ¥F. of L. unions “which in our opinion is more like a Sunday school than a union.” These workers want some action to improve their con- ditions and say they would welcome an organizer. ' As members of trade unions run by reactionary officials, Communists act as the most militant organizers of the unton members. As Party members our object is to win over the rank and file of the union, and we do this by being the best leaders in all the struggles of the workers. When we become members of the Party we do not withdraw from the rea: tionary trade unions, or do not abandon them because they are “more like a Sunday school.” We organize the rank and file to transform them into real organizations of struggle; carry on a day-to-day fight in the interest of the workers; appear at every union meeting and challenge the policies of the A. F. of L. officialdom, expose them to the rank and file as Part of the Roosevelt regime; prove ourselves to the rank and file as the best leaders of the workers. We do not stop there. We organize a rank and file opposition. In working among the A. F. of L. members we also win them for the Communist Party. ‘When @ worker becomes a member of the Communist Party he does not disassociate himself from his connections with the workers in his organizations and center his activity in the internal life of the Party. As a Party member he intensifies his activity among all workers he comes in contact with, organized and unorganized, broadens his mass activity, | especially organizing groups of workers for struggle. In this way, he be- of the workers. . . | comes a leader of the masses, defeating the efforts of the A. F. of L. bureaucracy to lower wages and smash the fighting spirit and organization | HE A. F. of L. officials talk about “boring from within’ becatise they want to isolate the Communists and make other workers feel that when a worker joins the Communist Party he has interests other and different from the workers jn the union. When as a matter of fact the Group of Arizona Copper Workers Join the Communist Party BISBEE, Ariz.—T. editor of the Daily Worker request of several of my fi s 0, my- self, are dissatisfied i Mr. Roose- velt’s tail-less blue I e these means of asking if Possible for us to become me of the Com- ps to take to procure Party litera We are er: all members of the Am tional of Mine, ™ Workers, in our more like a Sunday union. Of course, line of A. F. of L. munists boring fr burg is hostile to even unions, so if there is chance of an organizer coming down here let me know and I will give him all the assistance I can Thanking you for any informatior you can give on the matter, I beg to remain, yours very truly H.C, Centralia, Ill., Shoe Workers On Strike Rank and File Walk Out, Demand Removal of Boss, Forelady CENTRALIA, Ill, Feb. 1.—Deter- mined to rid themselves of 2 boss and forelady who discriminate against the workers in the distribution of piece work, nearly the entire shop of 450 workers of the Johansen Shoe Co. here came out on strike this week. The strike was called by the rank and file over the head of the busi- ness agent of the Boot and Shoe Union who had ordered the workers back to their jobs without attempt- ing to make any settlement. The strikers are now considering plans for spreading the strike, or- ganizing mass picketing and gaining the aid of other trade unions in the town. The Centralia Trades and Labor Assembly stepped in to help effect a settlement but the workers are warning that several of the com- mitteemen should be watched as they seem to be trying to stop the move- ment to spread the strike. The strikers declare they will not return until Lora Deadmond, fore- lady and C. W. Carlin, boss are re- moved from the factory. The shoe workers should imme- diately elect a broad strike commit- tee from their own ranks, and or- ganize mass picketing gaining the Communist member has no interest separated from his fellow workers, | Support of sympathetic workers’ or- In fact, he is the best fighter for their immediate interest and their | S@nizations and people in the town revolutionary class interests, In preparation for the forthcoming Eighth Party Convention there should be an intensification of the recruiting campaign for the Party. And these two letters can act as an inspiration to all Party members to win new members for our Party. | } | to strengthen and spread the strike. The strikers should clean out of their ranks the scab officials who have | failed to correct the abuses in the factory and now place obstacles in the way of winning their militant struggle. &. P. Laine Benak Unity of CWA Men (By a Worker Correspondent NEW YORK—On Dec. 28 I at- tended a meeting called by the ASs0- | move ciation of Civil Works Employes, held in the Brownsville Labor Lyceum. Eighteen were present, mostly So- cialists, including David Lassar, or- ganizer of the association. When the plans for reorganization were being discussed, I pointed out! that the very grievances expressed by the workers at the meeting made it| League, i | Necessary for all C. W. A. workers to | Lassar has denied that ;thusiasm with which this proopasl | was acepted by the workers, made a| Proposal that action should be put | | off until he was able to get in touch | with the City Organizing Committee | of the Relief Workers’ League, and Planned action on a city-wide scale. Since the workers present trusted | Lassar, and could not see this as a} to prevent immediate action, | they voted his proposal. Yet, to date | he has failed to meet with the executive of the Relief Workers’, | League, nor has he sent anyone to, | meet with them. Although I spoke in the name of the Brownsville Relef Workers’ | of which I am a member, any proposals | Transfer 7 Workers on CWA Job for Protests Against Drunkeness (By a Worker Correspondent) TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—Seven C. W. A. workers here are to be transferred from one project to another because the foreman, Joel Karman, has classed them as “reds” after they had protested riding in # truck driven by a drunken driver. About three weeks ago a drunken truck driver upset a truck in which 23 C. W. A. workers were riding to work at project 660. This truck driver happened to be a good friend of the foreman, in fact, he carried carry on united action. I also pointed | for united action have been made! whiskey to the foreman, which he out that since on the next day the | when two students came to him ask- | Brownsville local of the Relief Work-| ing that these proposals be acted All proposals and the resolution ers’ League was meeting, a commit-| Upon. presented on the basis of the discus-| tee should be elected to meet with a| sion and report, were accepted unan-| similar committee of the League to| intentions of Lassar and other So- pian united action. David Lassar, to counter the en-{ Civil Works Employes. Roosevelt Regime Protects A. F.L. Leaders | These actions clearly reveal < | clalist leaders of the Association of | Ohio, ©.W.A, administration. The Relief Workers Union of C.W.A. workers has demanded of the county Officials of the C.W.A. a public re- pudiation of this practice, but no Tepudiation was forthcoming. In Akron no skilled worker can get a | C.W.A, job without this weekly tribute to the AFL. officials. $50 a Job in Cleveland The price of a C.W.A. job for a painter in Cleveland is $50, paid in “fnitiation fee” to the AF.L. offi- cials. This tribute is supposed to be paid at the rate of $5 a week by the painters. Hundreds have to come across every week. The pro- test of the painters has reduced the installments in some cases to $1 a Week. But this is almost as bad. Ac- plicant failing to have his initiation paid within sixty days from the date of his first receipt (unless sick or out of work) shall forzeit what money he has already paid to the district council.” One painter writes the Daily Worker, “The C.W.A. jobs are going fast, Our jobs won’t last much longer, What then”? If they can’t pay in 60 days, will they even see their money again? It must be emphasized that the $59 charged by. the A.F.L. racketeers is in addition to the dues. The dues come to $2.50 a month more. The painters are taken as an example. All of the skilled trades in Cleveland the AF.L, leaders. Fired for Refusing to Pay ‘When the C.W.A. workers refuse to pay this graft, they are fired and discriminated against by the C.W.A. authorities. Tn Cleveland, 26 workers | on a wall-washing job at Puritas| racketeering is countenanced and protected by the Summit County,/ School, who joined the Wall Washers | cording to the A.F.L. rules, “Any ap- | | dues would be $1.75 a month. He were laid off because they refused to pay tribute to the AFL. grafters, while in “the union of their own choice.” They were told there was no more work, even though they proved that additional work was | available. Before being laid off, these work- ers were divided into two shifts, the Jews in one shift and Gentiles in | another, in an attempt to persecute | them and extort the A.F.L. grait. | Similar discrimination is reported | jin many cities, the C.W.A. officials | backing up the A-F.L. racketeers in fleecing the impoverished unem- | ployed. | Progressive Mine Leaders Get Theirs The Progressive Miners of Illinois | officials, like their brother robbers of the AF.L., are now being deluged) with protests by the miners because the P.M.A, executive board {s charg- ing $2.10 monthly dues to all jobless miners on C.W.A. jobs, and is at- tempting to extort another 10 per cent of the wages of these unem- ployed miners, for “relief work.” The manner in which the rack- eteers of the A.F.L. and P.M.A. lead- ership work was revealed in a meet- ing in Granite City, Tlinois, on Jan. 16. That night the AFL. leaders called a meeting, advertised to “or- ganize the C.W.A. workers.” The chairman of the meeting, a Mr. Pin- kerton, well known A.F.L. leader of Madison County, explained to the several hundred present that the in- itiation fee (for unemployed work- ers, remember) was $3, and that the } | held out as bait that the machinists would get C.W.A, wages of $1.25 an hour, “Mrs. Mathilda Lee, a leader in the women's auxiliaries of the P.M.A.,/ Division of the Relief Workers Union, arore and pointed out thet Pinkerton had not mentioned the common la- borers, whose pay would be 40 cents an hour. The A.F.L. leaders tried to throw this militant worker out of the hall, but the workers present pro- tected her. Finally, some of the AF.L. offi- cials sneaked out of the room and the chairman hastily adjourned the Meeting because Mrs. Lee had ex- posed their graft. fields are now organizing these work- ers for 4 fight for union wages, and against the AF.L. racketeering. Racketeering A. F. of L. in Texas A. F. of L. officials’ racketeering is widespread in the South. In El Paso, Texas, the Carpenters Union (A. F. of L.) charges unemployed workers $25 before they can go to work. One carpenter, laid off from the Southern Pacific shops, went to the C.W.A. headquarters. He was referred to the hall of the Carpenters Union at Five Points. Here he was asked for $26. Being penniless, he couldn't pay it, and therefore put to work on a common laborers job at 40 cents an hour, In this town W. J. Morgan is a C.W.A. committeeman as well as the local leader of the A. F. of L. and publisher of the “Labor Advocate.” When the protest of the workers against Moran's graft got too hot, he tried to confuse them by brazenly issuing a statement, as C.W.A. head, that “unscrupulous politicians” are trying to control the C.W.A. fobs. The “unscrupulous politician” ‘The A. F. of L. officials of El Paso, working together with the C.W.A. machine, forced one bricklayer to! who} | controls the C.W.A. jobs is Moran | himself, at $25 a head for skilled workers, The C.W.A. Pro-/ | tective Unions in the Illinois mining drank on the job. Eight of the work~ ers refused to ride with this driver, and another truck driver was secured. Now, since the foreman cannot get | his “tea” so easily, he is having seven workers transfi¢red to another pro- M. D. | ject, in Sale of CWA Job 2 ¢ : Ls | give them all but $5.50 of his wages|Leeches Take Weekly the first day. He was told if he com-| ig Plained, he would be fired. At the Graft from the Mitchell Brewery project, union members are being fleeced in the Unemployed “kick-back” racket. R. E. McKee is| —_ the most notorious contractor in | town. On every job of his, the work-| ers are forced to hand hack part of their wages, Moran is now trying to extend the) | C.W.A. graft to the common laborers, | who get 40 cents an hour. He is | trying to force them into a “Laborers | Union” (A. F. of L.) so he can rob them as well as the skilled workers. Fagan Defends Pittsburgh Graft | P. T. Fagan, notorious scab leader, | democratic politician who as head of the Pittsburgh district, U.M.W.A. helped break the strike of the coal miners in 1931, comes into the public prints again in Pittsburgh as chair- man of the Pittsburgh Central Labor Union. This time, Fagan comes out with a public defense of the prac- tice of the officials of the building trades unions of Pittsburgh (A. F. of L.) of charging 50 per cent of the} unemployed carpenters wages before | they can get C.W.A. jobs. First Fagan lies, his usual method.| Fagan says that the A. F. of L. unions) charged “part, not half of their} union wages” to C.W.A. workers for) jobs. William J. Kelly, business! manager of the Carpenters district | council has already admitted what, every Pittsburgh worker knows, that) 50 per cent of every week’s wages is) taken away from the C.W.A. skilled | workers in Pittsburgh. Kelly said, “the men are required to agree to pay | one half of their earnings until they) have squared their arrerages, and/ become members in good standing again.” For these unemployed car- penters, this means several rears dues. “For Leaders’ Expenses” Fagan publicily defends this high- way robbery, declaring that the money goes for “humane” work, to “contribute to the expenses of the managers or representatives of the unions.” He claims that it goes also for relief work. But the thousands of building trades workers, a few of whom are now making up their “arrearages” with half their pay, were kicked out of the unions when they became unemployed and had back dues to pay. They lost ail benefits, and became permanently unemployed. The unions did ab- solutely nothing for these unem- ployed building trades workers. The juicy spoils extracted by these leeches from the unemployed workers are not confined to these cities, New York city and most other cities had their leeches in these skilled A. F. of L. unions, as well, The C.W.A. workers are answering this racketeering in increasing num< bers by joining the Relief Unions or~ ganized on the initiative of the Un- employed Councils and fighting against racketeering and against dis- crimination. The rank and file of the A. F. of L. should look into these questions at their local union meet- ings, to do away with these juicy fees and elect rank and‘<ile com- mittees to have charge of the O.W.A. jobs. The ©.W.A. jobs for skilled workers must not be bartered by cor~ rupt union officials, but be controtied by the workers themselves, x