The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 6, 1934, Page 5

L Cabins Are Uniting (i Their Forces Into One Fighting Union Pledge To Carry On Fight Until Demands Are Won; Say Independents Must Get per ee NEW YORK.—The Commitiee of 13, representing the four taxicab unions which are leading the great taxi strike, agreed yesterday after- noon to merge their forces into one independent fighting union. The name of the new union is the Cab Drivers Union of Greater New York. Thousands of hackmen, now being recruited into the ranks of the union, pledge that they will not return to work until the 5 cent levy is paid to the drivers in full, and the union is recognized. At Hunts Point Palace, 4,500 strik- ing drivers gathered and enthusias- tically pledged to carry the strike to victory. An attitude of lack of confidence to the LaGuardia-Ernst plan was ex- pressed by all the rank and file driv- ers in the hall, ‘Tremendous applause greeted the remarks of Henry Pearlstein, an old time cab driver, when he said, “We will stay out until’ we win the nickel 100 .per cent—yes, until we win recog- nition of the union.” Another speaker, Alfred Most, rep- resenting the independent men was howled down when he presented a plan whereby the independent own- ers would be allowed to remain on the streets providing they contributed to the strike fund. This proposal was met with cries of “No good! No good!” The independent men’s plan was further rebuked when a rank and file driver took the floor and said, “What are we—dogs? We'll have to wet the independents off the streets.” These remarks were met with loud applause. Tell Independents to Keep Off Streets When the independent men asked TO ALL CABMEN whet they were to do, they were Camouflage! | Off Streets All cabmen, wishing. in- formation regarding strike, can get same by cal*-~ -* the headquarters of the Taxi Workers Union, 80 E. 11th St., 6th floor. told to take their car back to the varage and not bring them out until the nickel is won and the union is recognized. In an attempt to swing the work- ers away from the main issues of | the strike, Norman Thomas, the So- | cialist leader, appeared at the Hunts | Point meeting and told the strikers in a demagogic speech “not to worry about a settlement.” “The settlement will be made,” de- clared Thomas in his quaking preacher voice, but failed to tell the drivers that it is only through unity of all the strikers and militant ac- tion that a successful agreement can be reached. ¢ “You have got to reckon with the public,” said Thomas. The public which the reverend gentleman was referring to is obyiously the cab owners. At another meeting held at Man- hattan Lyceum, strikers roared their approval of the proposal of.the pro- visional strike committee of 13 to carry on the strike until the nickel is won. Harry Cantor, a leader of the Taxi Workers Union, reported for the com- mittee. The workers hailed the amalgamation move of the fouri unions and pledged to build up a mighty fighting union of cabmen. DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1934 Page Five 6 KEEP THEM IN STORAGE UNTIL THE STRIKE IS WON! all demand are won, "Taxi strike pickets at garage seeing to it that no cars leave until 3 Seene at one of the largest garage, showing how effectively the united ranks of the workers can stop the cars from rofling, ¥ THEIR remarkable militancy and organized action, the hackmen now on strike in New York City have shown they can win. Victory is within their reach now, if the ranks remain solid, and if every effort to smash the unity of the strikers is staunchly and flatly rejected. ‘The taxi strikers must not for one instant permit their united, or- ganized struggle to be tampered with by any move of the bozses, working through their politicians, Already various efforts are being made by the cab owners to split the ranks, to start a movement back to work beZore the demands are won. They figure that any trickle back to work will break the morale of the strike and defeat the golden opportunity the hackmen now have to build a powerful organized weapon to insure not ‘Trying to get out on the streets with a fake sign, as a move to break the taxi strike To Fight Ban on Workers Press by Sing Sing Warden Nat'l Committee Organ- izes Writers Delegation To Visit Lawes NEW YORK—In a campaign to force Sing Sing prison authorities to withdraw the ban on working class newspapers and magazines, the Na- tional Committee for the.Defense of Political Prisoners has organized a delegation of writers to call upon Warden Lewis E. Lawes at Sing Sing prison, The delegation’ will be headed by Quincy Howe, editor of “Living Age,” and will include Herman Michaelson, Managing» Editor of the “New Masses,” Sasha Small, editor of “La- bor Defender” and others. “The National Committee has re- cently begun a camnaign for the recognition of the status of political prisoners as such,” said Allan Taub, ._Assostant Secretary of the Commit- . tee, “and it intends» to combat the prison censorship of the labor press.” Malcolm Cowley Joins Protest Protests in the form of telegrams, letters and statements hava been sent by Mr. Howe, Malcolm Cowley, of the editors of the New Republic, the New Masses and the Labor De- fender to Warden Lawes. WALK 25 M™."% A RAY SELLING “DAILT?S” T>coma, Wash. I am writing this in case you did rot geb-my last letter. Sales of the “Daily? are inezeaging fast here, I sometimes walk 25 miles in a day but I enjey*the battle. For 30 years I have fought the bosses and if I live 30 more years, I will give them. all T have. With Kindest regards. c. D. D. Support the German Workers’ Revolution! Attend the concert and affair Feb, 11 at the Bronx Coliseum! Wall St. Monopolies Set Highest Dividend Record Since ‘29 High NEW YORK, Feb. 5.—As a re- sult of the Roosevelt inflationary N.R.A. program, an examination of Wall Street profits reveals that more Wall Street stocks resumed dividend payments during the month of January than in any previous year since 1929, the peak year, it was reported today. During the last four weeks, there were dividend resumptions on 65 stocks, dividend increases on 45 stocks, the highest number since 1929, These dividends followed upon 350 per cent increase in profits compared with last year reported by 400 of the largest Wall Street monopolies. Fur Workers to Hear Report on NRA Hearing only the immediate demands of this strike but their future wage and working conditions. Only by sticking to their demands, depending on their own organized might and struggle can the demands be won. The LaGuardia city government, acting through its mediator, Morris L, Ernst, is interested, as the lawyer Ernst said, “To get the cabs rolling as quickly as possible.” That, without the men having won their demands, is the talk of a strikebreaker. Mayor LaGuardia’s “mediator” has done more the most dire threats against the strikers. He is already raising Hts slogan is: “A cop on every cab if necessary to get the cabs rolling!” . * * « hackmen have already rejected his phony settiement proposition and are sticking for 100 per cent of the nickel tax to go the men, ‘The men, furthermore, know from bitter exp nce of blacklisting, discrimination, and having to meet the boss individually, that this strike must lead to the organized power of ONE unified, independent union. To prevent the men from achieving this goal, the bosses’ news- papers are already spreading the most vicious s s of splits, of violence, of the “public” being injured. They are spreading the v capitalist Propaganda against these striking workers in grder to prepare public sentiment for strikebreaking in the event the LaGuardia outfit is not able to break the strike through “mediation.” The lies of the boss press should be spiked. These vile filthy of the rich parasites who dread any organization of the workers be answered by the sirikers throuzh knitting their ranks more and working in cooperation with all workers for a victory in the sheets should soli strike. Especially the hackmen should be beware of the capitalist politica! maneuvers of the LaGuardia machine. They should beware of becoming the butt end of the political plottings and struggles between the La- Guardia machine and the Tammany fakers. The road to victory for the hackmen lies in their independent action and organization. Solid, United Ranks Will Win the Taxi Strike! Build One Independent Union STATEMENT OF THE NEW YORK COMMITTEE, COMMUNIST PARTY: ! HE Communist Party, and its official organ, the Daily Worker, the only English language working class daily newspaper in the United States is 100 per cent for victory in the hackmen’s strike and is mobilizing all its readers, all of its sympathizers and supporters to battle side by side with the strikers. The Communist Party supports the following demands and will use every effort to help the strikers win them: 1) 19 per cent of the nickels collected by the fieet owners to be returned to the hackmen; 2) the extra nickel om the collector to be turned over to the hackmen in the future; 3) garage committees of hackmen to be elected to distribute the money; 4) No discrimination against Negroes; 5) No settlement’ to be made by the united strike committce without the approval and vote of the men; 6) Recognition of a unite@, independent hackmen’s anion. To win these demands, certain action is now necessary to strengthen the strike and guarantee the best results of organization. A centtal mass meeting of all Strikers should be called to enlarge the strike committee so that all, or nearly all of the garages has its representatives on the strike committee, take the actual steps of mobilizing can vote on the demands, and unify giving the lie to all the talk of split, confusion among the ranks. * . This mass meeting can then the united, independent unicn. It the hackmen around these demands, and all the efforts to sow and spread | psdesele ty we must sound the greatest warning against the LaGuardia bess political trickery and the smooth ways cf Morris L. Ernst, so- called “mediator.” This same Ernst defended the right of the German Fascists (Nazis) to come to this country and speak and act freely, even against the American workers. These Nazis are the ones who destroy strikes in Germany by gunfire and bloodshed. They have workers’ unions, arrested and executed many of their leaders. des royed the This Ernst has not shown himself to be any friend of the ‘workers, but a friend of their enemies, The talk about “safeguarding” much popyecck. The great majority of the “public” workers, tens of thousands of whom have themse the jnterests of the “public” is so the New York s been on strike, or are now preparing for stzike to win wage increases, better conditions and union recognition. Their interest lies with the taxi drivers. The “public” the capitalist press is concerned about is the rich parasites who hate and dread to see any victory of the workers; who especially are repelled et any idea of union organization by the workers. Taxi strikers! rindependent union! the streets! forces, but holding out all together, Keep your ranks, solid and united. Bi one, united Organize for mass picketing to keep the scabs off By sticking together, by rejecting all efforts to, split your the strike will be won and a power- ful union established to safeguard your interests! Workers! Support the taxi drivers strike! Help them win a comple victory and a strong, independent union! Join the Communist Party! 500 Minneapolis RR. Shopmen Organize To Oust Company Union on Soo Line Order Company to Stop) strike by the teaders of those organ!- D. A D | ations and the high initiation fees, eduction of Dues | dues and assessments, The speakers for Yellow Dog | Stressed the importance of action on the part of the shopmen themselves By 0. H. WANGERIN | in this reorganization move. In spite MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.—Rising al- most en masse against the hated Shop Association (a company union) and the domination of System Sec- Arthur Miller, in the past week over 500 shopmen employed at the Shoreham Shop of the Soo Line, in Minneapolis signed cancellation slips serving notice on the company to discontinue deducting further as- sociation dues from their pay checks, thus delivering a staggering blow to the company union on this railroad. The Minneapolis shop employs in the neighborhood of 700 men, 75 per cent of whom have already signed cancellation slips and handed them in to the timekeeper. The newly elected Shoreham Shop Reorganiza- tion Committee expects to bring the remaining few stragglers in line with- in the next few days. Cancellation slips have been forwarded to Fond Du Lac, Wis., Superior, Enderlin, N. at Cooper Union Meet NEW YORK.—The recent action of the National Labor Board which pre- vented the recently concluded agree- ment between ‘the fur bosses and the A. F. of L. from going into effect will be discussed at an important meeting of fur workers called by the Needle Trades Workers’ Industrial Union at Cooper Union Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 5 p.m. A full report of the hearings will be given at the mecting. Of especial importance to the fur workers are the questions regarding the reZerendum proposed to the Na- tional Labor Board by the Industrial Union, the relations with the bosses in the present situation and the stens necessary to maintain union condi- tions in the shops. These and other important questions will be considered at the meeting. Members of the National Labor Board have been invited to attend the meeting to obtain a first hand view of the fur workers’ attitude to ward the A. F. L. : D., and other outside shop points on the system. Shoreham is the largest thop on the Soo and it is expected that outlying shops will follow its lead in the revolt against Miller and the company association. Discuss Reorganization At a mass meeting held at Good Templers Hall in Northeast Minne- apolis Friday evening, Jan. 26th, at which H. Shaw, editor of Unity News, and Organizer Wangerin of the Rail- road Brotherhoods Unity Movement, were the principal speakers, the question of reorganization of the shopmen into an independent bona fide railway labor organization was discussed. Altho most cf the men em- Ployed at the Shoreham shov had previously turned in cancellation Slips, after the meeting 24 workers signed up in the hall. The sentiment oz the shopmen at Shoreham, as indicated by the hun- dreds of cancellation slips sent in, and of the workers in attendance at the meeting, was overwhelmingly in favor of ousting the company union, but at the same time there is strong opposition among a large section of the men against going back into the A. F. of L. Federated Shop Crafts, because of the betrayal.of the wy i the shop to throw out the company of the guarantees supposedly granted by the Emergency Railway Tran portation Act and Coordinator Eas man’s letters, the company unions are still in existence and many com- panies are still deducting dues and defending them. The high-paid off- Cials of the associations are also strenuously opposing any reorganiza- tion. The right of the railroad shop- men to belong to any union they = fit and to select representatives o: their own choice will only be guar- anteed to the extent that the shop- men themselves take the situation into their own hands and organize their own union. They can rely only upon a concerted movement inside union. Unity With Standard Organizations The speakers at the meeting point- ed out that, while reorganizing them- selves into an independent union, it was necessary for the shopmen to join hands with the rank and file of the other unions and as outlined in the program of the Railroad Brother- hoods Unity Movement, work for unity and united action of all organ- izations on, the railroads on the basis of a program to clean house and change the policies as pursued by the present leadership of the stand- ard organizations in order to make it possible for all railroad workers to become united; to secure the re- turn of the 10 per cent wage “deduc- tion” and an increase in wages to meet the rising cost of living due to inflation; protect the workers against lay-offs and speed-up resulting from the coordination plans now being put into effect on the railroads, and work for the enactment by Congress of the Workers) Unemployment Insurance Bill and a National Railroad Retire- ment Pension Bill. This is a program en which all railroad workers can unite, ‘ight Miller, Company Too! For several years ‘discontent has been smouldering inside of the Soo Shop Association. Control of the dummy union has been usurped by System Secretary Miller and a small clique of henchmen. He has succeeded by hook or crook in getting re- Pickets Stopping a Cab Group of hackmen turning back a cab on 10th Street on the first day sf the strike elected year after year and is run- ning the organization to serve his own interests and those of the Soo Line Railroad. Like all company as- sociations, it has never functioned in dhe interests of the workers and is | a weapon in the hands of Miller and the company to terrorize the workers and defeat their efforts to improve conditions. During the past few years many important rules of the agree- ment have been revised against the workers. Grievance committees in the association are unable to do any- thing for the men because of the in- timidation and threats held over them by Miller when a serious effor{ is made to adjust grievances. Feathering His Nest Since the inception of this fake organization in 1923, monthly dues of 50c for mechanics and 25c for laborers have been deducted by the company from the pay checks of the shopmen and turned over to Miller. Some idea of how this gentleman is shopmen to feather his own nest is which ozdinarily is no small item. As @ move to conserve the funds of the association, the System Board some time ago, ordered the downtown office closed and removed to Miller's home, Since then he has been collecting $20.00 a month from the association for “office space” in his basement. |and has employed his daughter as Stenographer at $40.00 per month. Miller's salary and “expense account” totals up to about $350.00 a month, while the men he is supposed to rep- resent got a bare subsistence wage. ‘The ‘Soo Line shopmen are all fed up on Miler and the company uz‘on. They now realize that the who: out- . They fur. hat in oder to secure 2gcegnivicn from the company, restore working rues and improve conditions om the Job, it is necessary to reor- ganize themselves into a bona fide union, controlled by the rank and | file and carry out the program of | Movement to build a united front of | all railroad unions to secure the re- | turn of the 10°per cent cut and gen- eral improvement of conditions jn ‘the rafiroad indusery. TAXI MEN! BLOCK ALL EFFORTS TO SPLIT YOUR RANKS! “LaGuardia Scheme mer Stinks to Heaven.” Says Strike Leader |Hackmen Reject Plan Of Mayor At Hunts Point Palace Meeting zs De HACKMEN’S STRIKE | ,,NEW YORK. — DEMANDS by LaG (1) One hundred per cent of the nickels collected by fleet owners to be returnel! to the hackmen. (2) The extra nickel on the clock | be turned over to the hackmen. (3) Garage Committees of h-ck- men be elected to distribute the money. (4) No settlement to be made by the United Strike Commi © with- out the approval of the men. (5) Recognition of a united in- dependent Hackmer’s Union. (8) No discrimination Negroes, against ,| Taxi Men Reject La Guardia’s Plan; am Orner, m kman, onto the strike ¢ ner Was later elected chair the committee. Continue to Strike (Continued from Pr | back, New York | to put one polic {to give the pr jyou and the b ik | 59 per cent of the bac “Yes,” replied and keep every Ern in @ short speec sroup, 1 gly revealed thé nature of the LaGuardia ng scheme. “You are cutting each others | throats,” di ‘When the jboss mak uu make no jmoney. You g starving. A! jlot of companies have no money; ;Many have Kc r will not give you the through the Cons’ ill cash in on it.” Ernst would give the men only tax due and ne meeting out the fighting arior of led and and constantly of Panken at unnecessary. | 40 per cent of the tax from the day Jot s |the plight of the d | the To End Hard Coal Strike Rank aud File Urges Men to Reject Sell-Out They will have to| until the case would get 40 per| cent of the gross. | Ernst attempted to point out to the driv that this would incr the number of fares and that iders would no doubt, i full fare, a could keep for the Settlement Flatly Refused It is this form of lement that the hackmen flatly refused to ac- cept. | The outstanding demand now put forward by the strikers is the de. (Special to the Daily WILE pecial Worxer) -BARRE, Pa., Fe>. ion Anthracite Miners of P. to discuss the possi! ing the general strike « co. of mand for recognition of the union. 8th, will be held in YM Ernst attempted to point out that toriym or jay ee et pide 4 torium on morn there “is no union,” but the majority 6th. J have decided that they wili not go back ey work without an oraniza- tion, This organization will be the pi : tes ‘iat! unified forces cf the four taxi unions Bosra Jones eee Conciliat-on amalgamated into one indepenient authority to settle miners’ e toxieab union. : The proposal for the un the unions wes first out f Gilbert, organizer of the Taxi ers U; Malone n. Til Hell freezes Over The Executive Board of the new Stating the opinion of the strike Uion is meeting today to determine committee, Samuel Orner, chairman,! Whether they will endorse the latest does not meet with sess Hes d > | tirely too vague. Mae i$ 4 | about recognition of the union, min-| States that this gives the miners all taking the hard earned money of the | indicated by the fact that he receives | $2,700.00 a year salary, plus expenses, | pproval o It is 90 per cent of the men It) says nothing imum hours or minimum wages. We} will stay out until hell freezes over if necessary.” Calls on Telephone | Workers To Join | Communist Party’ (By a Worker Correspondent) NEW YORK.—I read with great interest the letter by a telephone! worker that avpeared in the Jan. 12 issue of the Daily Worker. The worker gave a very clear pic-| ture of the definite class interests and class policy of the N. Y. Tele- phone Co. Yet, in spite of ali the understand- | ing and class-consciousness of this pleasing to Chief Council for the new they have been fighting for. This is the same lawyer that agreed withe the company lawyers to issue an injunction against the miners’ picketing, and was until last summer chief council for the U.M.W. of A. District 1. This move is the res of Father Curran’s trip to Was ington with one hundred thousand signatures on a petition asking the President to give the miners a nen arbitration board. Father Curran said he believes this latest plan was drawn up by Father Haas of the National Labo: Board. Any officers of the new union who endorse this plan, are following the same policy as J. Lewis and Boylan, of the U.M.W. of A., whe have for years used this same Um- pire plan to let the coal operators put over their program, and should | be exposed by the rank and file miners. The rank and file Commit- tee of Action calls on the miners to worker as evidenced by his exeeeding- ly. well-written letter, he states, at use this convention to smash these arbitration plans, and prepare to fit must be blasted wide upon and’ « \che Railroad Brotherhoods Unity} the very beginning, that he is neither fight the operators code that is “a Communist nor a member of any ®bout ready, to prepare for action organization for that matter.” |by uniting the miners of the new , It seems to ms that, having been | Union ani the old union on a pro- a reader of the D. W. for a long time “Tam based on the needs and griev- (as he states) this worker should ces of the miners and their fam- have become convinced of the neces- ‘lies, and not on a demand for an sity of joining some organization. | i™partial arbitration board. It has kcen the consistent aim and the D. W. to bring forward strug*le and to show how Return Tag Day Boxes for Nat’l Convention NEW YORE.A number of co!- lection boxes from the tag days held for the National Convention Against Unemployment have not r to fight for mn is, ino: our domands, inues to nezlect Nor is he ois, if he con joining an organization. getting, fm his reading, the full | yet turk S benefit of instruction the D. W. Rat oun teen oc urgently needed in order to carry ~ through the National Convention without a huge deficit to the Na- tional Committee of the Unem- ployed Councils. All collection boxes must be im- Have your friends, fellow -work- to the Daily Worker. ion for one month ers subserib offers. Trial subser! daily, er for four months of the |] mediately returned to the Fund Saturday ed only 50 vents. || Committee at 20 E. 20th St. This otter exp May 1. F