The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 9, 1934, Page 3

Sie * asses Demand Security as Roosevelt Boosts Wagner Bill rhomises BROKEN ational Campaign for Jobless Insurance By CARL REEVE the National Convention gainst Unemployment in Washing- D. C., on Feb. 4, approximately American Federation of Labor unions, five Progressive Min- Locals and a half-dozen city -founcils have indorsed the Workers inemployment and Social Insur- nce Bill (H.R. 7598). The city coun- ils of Canton, O.; Rockford, Ill; dale, O.; Clifton, N. J.; Casey- ile, TI!.; Jamestown, N. ¥.; Minne- polis, Minn.; Milwaukee, Wis; Ta-~ os Bedford, O., Buffalo, en, Ill., with others, mions indorsing the bills in the month are locals of coal niners, steel workers, painters, ics, auto workers, miter fectrical stone-cutters, Numbers mfitters, boiler- | ker, ewelry workers, xi-drive workers, needle orkers, machin: etc. Local i ‘of shoe workers, tool and e trades, food} textile workers | es from the in- | needle ver 1,000 A. FP. of L. local) indorsed the Workers ent and Social Insurance Bill AR . A number of Cen- | tral Labor Unions of the A. F. of L., ‘including Spokane, Wash.; Lincoln, Neb.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Sioux City, Iowa; Albuquerque, N. M.; Behenectady, N. ¥.: Reading, Pa.; thave demanded the passage of the bill. State A. F. of L. organizations /which have indorsed the Workers } Bil include the Montana, Nebraska, Colorado and Iowa State Federa- tions of Labor. Hundreds of thousands of workers {mn the Unemployment Councils and other unemployed: organizations, in ‘the 4.W.A. workers leagues in block and*|neighborhood committees, in frat) nal organizations and mass mee ngs have demanded the pas- gage of the Workers Unemplpoy- ment Insurance Bill. ‘The masses of unemployed work- gts are demanding in increasing numbers, that the present session of must act to grant secur- aty to the 16,000,000 workers and Phetr families who are at present to- class organizations and hun- and thousands of individuals and telegraphing their s demanding action on rorkers Bil. Provisions of Workers’ Bill ‘The Workers Unempployment In- gurance Bill (H.R. 7598) is the only now before Congress which ap- ies to the 16,000.000 workers now unemployed. The Workers is the only bill which calls for payment to all those totally un- ployed, through no fault of their | what it really is. | the | the employer, relief. Thus did Roosevelt break his | campaign pledges. | President Roosevelt has made one) attack after another on the unem-) ployed. He liquidated the C.W.A., he) cut down on direct relief appropri- | ations. He oppposes and refuses to grant unemployment insurance. The Fraudulent Wagner Bill — But now President Roosevelt is afraid of the demand of the masses for security against starvation. He is afraid of the demand of the hun- dreds of thousands and millions of workers for the enactment of the Workers Unemployment Insurance Bill. So Roosevelt is trying to side- track this bill by backing a fraudu- lent “insurance” bill, the Wagner Bill. Mrs. Roosevelt, Federal Relief Director Hopkins, Mrs. Perkins and all of Roosevelt's official family, are boosting ‘the Wagner Bill. They do this in order to hoodwink the work- ers into believing that they are do- ing something for the unemployed. They call this bill an “unemploy- ment insurance” bill, hoping the workers won’t study it and find out | The Wagner Bill is not an unem- ployment insurance bill at all. It provides that the federal govern- ment shall not give a cent for un- employment insurance. What the Wagner Bill does is merely exempt employers from a federal tax, pro- vided that they have contributed to any sort of “state reserves” fund. ‘The Wagner Bill merely transfers the unemployment insurance prob- lem to the states. But it provides that the state shall pass, not un- employment insurance bills, but “reserve” bills. These bills, such as Wisconsin Law, the Steingut Bili in New York State, etc., do not apply to any workers who are to- tally unemployed. They contain anti-strike and “misconduct” clauses which bar any striker or anyone ac- tive in the workers’ organizations, from benefits and get him fired. They are harmful to the employed because they hold the club of firing and loss of “insurance” over the workers now in industry, if they fight against wage cuts or for bet- ter conditions. They do not apply at all to those already unemployed. They leave the fund in the hands of giving him added power over the worker. They do not go into effect for months after passage, . They limit the “insur- ance” even to those in industry to form 10 to 16 weeks, after which the worker gets nothing. The National Campaign The Workers Unemployment In- surance Bill is the only bill before Congress beneficial to the unem- ployed and part time workers. It was introduced by Ernest Lundeen because the rank and file of his own party, the Farmer-Labor Party, and the unemployed workers of his city, Minneapolis, led by the Unemploy- ment Councils, forced him to act. But Lundeen himself has not put up any fight for the papssage of the Workers Bill (H.R. 7598) which Re introduced. The bill is now before the Labor Committee of the House, of which Congressman Connery is chairman. Only the intensifd mass campaign of the workers will force Congress to act favorably on the! Unemployment Insurance Bill. The National Unemployinent Councils have launched a national campaign for the enactment of H.R. 7598. All workers and all working class or- ganizations are urged to act at once of unemployment insurance (as well as sickness, accident and ald age insurance) equal to the average ' wage of the worker in the industry when working. ‘The benefits are to be paid as long tha worker {s unemployed. The ers Bill declares -that. these its must be at least $10 a week, with an additional $3 for every de- it. The Workers Bill contains : clause that no strike or union ac- y can be used as an excuse to deny benefits to the unemployed workers. The Workers Unemployment In- ice Bill is the only bill now be- Congress which calls for un- lpoyment insurance funds to be ed from taxes upon the rich, upon corporations and individuals with incomes over $5,000 a year, and No case any tax on the workers. @ Workers Bill specifically states there must be no discrimination any worker in out of benefits, whether Ne- youth, women or foreign born. ‘The Workers Bill is the only bill be calls for the billions of dol- now appropriated for war prep- tions, to be at once diverted for unemployment insurance fund. insurance funds are to be ad- not by the employer, who use the funds as a club working class acivity, but by workers’ organizations them- Selves. Roosevelt Breaks Promises The Roosevelt wing no stone unturned to to force Congress to pass the Work- ers Bill. Demand of the Roosevelt govern- ment that the campaign pledges be carried out. Demand security for all unemployed workers! one the fraudulent Demand that your local Congress- man act in support of H.R. 7598! Demand the immediate enactment by Congress of the Workers Unem- ployment and Social Insurance Bill! Wkers Committee Enters Unity Move of Chicago Jobless Wagner | INTERESTS ARE YOUR IN- DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 1934 orkers Bill (.k. 59) “Their Interests Your Interests,” hdorsed By 43 AFL 4,000 Bosses Who Cut Workers’ ocals in Past Month com: ~~ He Tells orts Bosses Faced With “Epidemic of Strikes,” by Relating How Government, With Help of A. F. of L. Leaders, Will Quickly Smash Strikes for Higher Wages and Better Con- ditions; Details of Johnson’s Wealth of Experience in Breaking Strikes With A. F. of L. Heads; Why Bill Green & Co. Is Offered in Place of Frankenstein Company By HARRY GANNES / ENERAL Johnson, in his con- | cluding speech to the Washing- ton meeting of 4.000 exploiters who | control the lives of 90 per cent of the workers under codes, openly en- dorsed the A. F. of L. bureaucracy as the best instrument for helping the government and the bosses to} smash strikes. | The chief N.R.A. administrator | addressed the gathering as “Gentle- men in contro] of industry.” And to these gentlemen who squeeze profits out of the toil of the workers, he put forward, amid thunderous ap- plause, the government's strike- breaking program. “We know something about what is toward in this country— the worst epidemic of strikes in our history,” he said. “Why suffer it? Here is a way out. Play the game. Submit to the law and get it over quickly.” As Roosevelt's spokesman on the N.R.A., General Johnson puts for- ward the fact that the whole work- ing class is aroused to struggle, with strikes surging in the most powerful citadels of capitalism, threatening the coolie wage struc- ture set up by the N.R.A. He tells | the bosses they do not have to} stand for it, and if they “play the | game,” the law will get it over| quickly. } He then makes some startling | admissions, in his discussion on company unions. Comfort to the Workers’ Enemies “I want to tell you this for your comfort. I knew your problems. I would rather deal with Bill Green, John Lewis, Ed McGrady, Mike MacDonough, George Berry and a host of others I could name, than with any Frankenstein that you may build up under the guise of a company unfon. “In fact—take it from me and a wealth of experience—THEIR, TERESTS and under the law and in this modern day, it is the best and quickest way to economic peace. Here is one cloud that we can erase from our horizon with one stroke. Let’s do it.”-(Our em- phasis.) Before we delve into the ample strikebreaking experience of Gen~- eral Johnson, in his association with the gentlemen he named, let us touch on the cause for the “epi- demic of strikes” raging throughout the country. The N.R.A., thickly larded with Roosevelt’s, the A. F. of L. leaders’, and the Socialist Party demagogy, has shifted tremendous burdens on the backs of the workers, It has in- tensified monopoly, trust develop- ment, increasing profits. All of this was done at the expense of tre- mendously lowering the workers’ living standards. Unions in Face of Huge Strike Wave of the Morgan-controlled National City Bank, summing up what gains the bosses have made under Roosevelt’s New Deal, and parti- cularly the N.R.A., prints some amazing facts. A survey of 810 in- dustrial corporations shows that in 1933, these companies, with the help of the N.R.A., were able to show profits of $440,000,000. In 1932, the same companies showed a net loss of $45,000,000. The huge profits came from lowering real wages through the N.R.A. codes, through intensified “Their Interests are———Your Interests !”’ BILL GREEN President of the A. F. of L, speed-up, and through raising prices, through inflation, All of these facts are admitted by sources close to the Roosevelt regime. The N. R. A. Consumers’ Advisory Board admitted that liv- ing standards were lowered while profits and prices shot up. They relate in great detail how trusts, cartels (bosses' associations for raising prices) have been strength- ened at the expense of the workers. The very A. F. of L. leadership which Johnson praises as the best friend of the bosses, reported in January that while money wages since April rose 7.5 per cent, prices of food rose 16.7 per cent and prices of clothing rose 27.5 per cent, The American Federationist, A. F. of L. official organ, in January and February admitted that the real wages, the amount of purchasing Power of wages, was definitely low- ered through the N. R. A. codes. For example, the latest bulletin N.R.A. Stimulated Company Unions | Nor was that all. Under the N. R. A. company unions have grown from around 1,000,000 to between 3,000,000 and 5,000,000. The A. F. of L. Executive Council itself ad- mits that company unions, or “em- Ploye representation” plans, in which the company sets up an or- ganization under its domination to “represent the workers” under the N. R. A. has grown to 3,000,000. Ac- cording to a survey made by the Pen and Hammer the number of workers under the domination of company unions and boss-controlled i Section 7-a, which was supposed. to give the workers the right to choose their own organizations, through the help of the A. F. of L. | Jeaders (under the “merit clause in | the auto code, etc.), has forced millions of workers into the op- pressive company unions. Early after the adoption bf the N. promised. the workers an election, they are under the domination of the company unions. This was the major stroke of the A. F. of L. leaders, and the wealth of experi- ence about which General John- son speaks, By the same method Green, Lewis, Hillman and Berry broke the Budd Auto Body strike, the Ford strike in Chester and Edge- water. The A. F. of L, officials smashed the strike of the Phila- delphia transport workers in a similar manner, On the very eve of General Johnson's speech William Green, as well as the local A. F. of L. leaders in Detroit and Flint had co-operated with the National La- bor Board to stop a strike of 37,000 automobile workers in Buick, Hudson and Fisher plants. The National Labor Board, also, stopped the strike of 5,000 street car and utility workers in Mil- waukee, In not one instance where the you the N. R, A. by no means ‘out- laws’ company unions? You have to realize you lose nothing by utiliz- ing the A. F. of L. They will pull you out of a hole that you cannot drag your- Self out of. You have at too reluctant to utilize these fellows when THEIR INTERESTS YOUR INTERESTS!” General Johnson informs the bosses from long experience that the government has utilized these bureaucrats as an official govern- ment apparatus in breaking strikes. From the very nassage of the N. R. A. the Daily Worker pointed out that the A, F. of L. bureaucracy was offering itself to the most powerful strikebreakers in the place of company unions. On June 29, 1933, when the N. R. A. was first adopted, in an article appearing in the Daily Worker, I wrote: “An ambition, long latent, has been stirred anew in the breast of the A. F. of L. leaders by the N. R. A. That is, to become the of- ficial labor agents of the big scab tions, | | j | | unions over to the skillful hands of | | ting record during the crisis is un- officialdom could do much better than the company unions, because achieving the same end desired by the mammoth trusts, they could) more ably allay suspicion. Besides, | there is greater graft possible from two sources (1) from the new cor- Porations which turn their company | the decisive industries. They there- by expect to hold a more powerful weapon againt the growth of class struggle trade unions and against every effort of the workers to stave off over their heads.’ The whole N.R.A. was put over with the help of these labor lieu- tenants. They helped the bosses to write the codes which now smash down the workers’ living standard, In the auto industry, they helped the bosses form company unions by | agreeing to the inclusion of the | “merit clause” which gives the bosses the right to hire and fire every worker on the so-called basis of merit. Originally this meant the establishment of company unions. ‘These words were taken out of the code, but the heart of the company union policy was signed and en- dorsed by the A. F. of L. leaders. the labor leaders whose wage-cut- imveschable by Wall Street. and (2) from the dues of the workers who would have the A. F. of L. leaders as negotiators for them in slashes in real wages. “Thus, the A. F. of L. executives, | 100,000 miners in the bituminous | field went on strike. John L. Lewis, McGrady and William Green, as well as General Johnson and Pre- sident Roosevelt stepped in and told the miners to go back to work and await the coal code. When the |code was passed, the miners came out over 100,000 strong against the code which forbade strikes. This strike was broken piecemeal. Later John L, Lewis made a 1 agreement with the U.S. Steel sub- | sidiary, the H. ©, Frick Coke Co., | without recognition of the U. M. |W. A. for which the men fought, and permitting company unions to exist in the mines. More than that, district agreements were made under the N.R.A. with the coal operators fining miners from $1 to $2_a day if they went on strike. Then came the great Weirton CD tts are Steel Company strike in which Billionaire Banker the smashing blows hovering oF Last August between 75,000 and| Die: Tries Deport |Labor Dep't Jockeys on Revocation of Gardos’ | Citizenship Papers i | WASHINGTON, March 8.— |the House Immigration Co: | considered legislation to tighten th | bars against immigrants, the Dept. Labor yesterda declared {had “no record oth |tion for citizens Emil Gardos, munist labor leader, whose Am can citizenship was revoked J day by a Federal Court di | Milwaukee. | Representative Dies of Tex: | hunting proponent of th tion bills, tried to bu out hearing all opponents. He was restrained only by an announce- wants to speak on them. “No Record” of Gardos The Labor Department said it had no record of an order for deporta- tion of Gardos, nor of any activity on the part of any Labor Depari- ment agent in connection with the prosecution. The decision, declar- ing Gardos’ citizenship invalid on the ground that Gardos couldn’t truthfully take the oath of citizen ship at a time when he was already a Communist, rendered him liable to deportation to fascist Hungary. His case is being appealed to the district federal court. Labor Department spokesmen said the Justice Department must have aided in the prosecution. Inquiries at that department met a promise to look up the matter. Efforts to ques- kins on Gardos’ fundamental rights to political asylum and to join any political party he chose, received the explanation that Perkins “has nothing to say since these matters are in the courts.” (Daily Worker Washington Bureau) | ; reign born Com-|/,,, through the committee today with- > ment that Secretary of State Hult | SY tion Secretary of Labor Frances Per- | Page Three to Stifle Wages Hearing on His ation Bill sound.” Ir ation is ip« an upper-class bear the Jewish mer- posed bill P) Dies vote to bring out the and my bills,” Dies ted in the midst of the hearing eone seconded him. Chainaen stein of the committee, arriv: Representative Focht of Penn la, who recently vainly baited ce Hathaway in the Immi- ion Committee’s Nazi investiga- tion, thundered: “Half my life has |been devoted to immigration cases !and I know enough about them to {act now; you're not in a theatre,” | but no one moved to eject anyone— | as worker witnesses have been eject- ed repeatedly on charges of creating disturbance. Finally, Dies agreed to hear the other witnesses. The com- | mittee then went into executive ses- |sion. Members said later they woulc | hear Hull on Mond Ohio Foundry Men _ Reject Co. Union CLEVELAND.—By 4 decisive vot« | last week the workers of the Ohio | Foundry Company rejected the | company union in favor of a union {of their own choosing. The defeat | of the “inside” union was the most always sensitive to the program of Wall Street in the crisis, see in the industrial act a great advantage in preparing in advance the fas- cization of the unions—drawing them to closer control by the state apparatus of the bosses, closer to 14,000 workers for the first time in 20 years shut down the mills and demanded union recognition and higher wages. Their strike, had it continued, would not only have won these demands, but would have continued to spread until the entire steel and coal industry was tied up with a tremendous victory for the workers, National Labor Board and Weirton Here the National Labor Board stepped in. The A. F. of L, leaders, together with the representatives of the big capitalists on this Board ordered the Weirton steel workers to stop the strike, They promised them an electidh to choose their Own representatives and “collective bargaining” to discuss their de- mands, With the strike effectively broken, all promises were brutally ignored. Here we must divest the A. F. of L. officialdom of their demagogic mask in the Weirton case. These union officials directly participated in putting over thé decision that ended the strike with defeat for the workers, They kept dangling before the workers the National Board promises. After liquidating the strike on the basis of promises, failure to permit the workers to organize and bargain collectively. They do this, not because they pro- Pose to organize or prepare strike struggles to win improvements for the Weirton workers (or others) They come forward in this pose in order to continue the work they began, to continue to be able to act in the role of strikebreaker from @ more advantageous position. What Johnson actually is doing, when he tells the employers it is better to deal with such tried peo- ple, than with the Frankenstein company unions, is to relate to them somewhat as follows: “Mr. Weirton, and other gentlemen who control industry: You do not have to be afraid of these fellows. They will give you exactly the same con- ditions you have imposed on the From | sweeping in the foundry itself, to te leg ag sion Of all aliens | where out of @ total of 175 workers sphere countries under immigration only three voted for the company quota limits is the range of propos- half. .| This determined stand of the ree aes tee ee tion | workers for a union of their own fore the Immigration Committee. ‘They were cheered and praised | Choosing is all the more striking in ‘Tuesday by General Amos W. Fries, | view of the fact that the workers former head of the AEF. Chemical | Were not notified in advance that Warfare Service, on behalf of the| ‘hey were to vote on @ union. American Legion, the American Le-| Following this decision, a meeting i “Nati of all the workers was called to gion Auxillary and the “National decid ‘i ‘ffiliati Sojourners.” A crowd of buxom, be- | 4¢cide on union a sii satined ladies from the super-“Pa- pia aul Pen ot area triotic” societies clapped and shout-| Mich. Waiters Strike; ed approval. } « Faint Criticism Hotel Strike Looms Today apologetic professional. cine Jewish spokesmen made faint criti-; LANSING, Mich. March 8. (B) cism of the bills pending. M. D.| Mail)—Two wedding suppers and Rosenberg declared, on behalf of | a banquet had to be called off and the silk-stocking fraternal organiza- | 600 banqueteers who were dolled up tion of Bnai Brith: “I’m an Ameri-| for the occasion had to retire to can citizen before I am a Jew.” He! their homes when the waiters of the suggested that further limitation of | Tel Aviv Kosher Restaurant walked immigration is “unnecessary.”| Out on strike for their back wages Whereupon Dies, the blustering| The strike was called when Max young Texas chauvinist, inquired,| Klein, manager, refused the de- Well, if immigration is being re-| mand of the Waiters’ Union that stricted anyway, why are you op- | he pay back wages of about $22 a posed to my bills?” Rosenberg said: | man claimed on the basis of a “The United States is in a unique | higher wage scale than that now position among nations and it would | prevailing. be bad political psychology to go| According to union officials down as an exclusion nation.” Ro- | strikes will be declared in a num- senberg also declared he favored a | ber of downtown hotels if improved these leaders then appeared as/ workers with less trouble than you “critics” of the Weirton Steel Com-|have now with your company pany for failure to comply, for | unions.” | A. F. of L. Merge With Government Apparatus The whole participation of the] sions, belie they were hel, A. F, of L. leaders in the adminis-| the saministeetion seas basins employers, now the strikes have taken on a sharper form. The strikes are taking on a more i with peal & s Fi Bs i i | z d 4 : i : : F 5 z i e 8 5 ge ane ef tt i i § é F i RQ AF FF] i i li th fe : zi 3e u BE 3 i 8 | 8 is B 8 F > F. of | leadership for strikebreaking a8 i *e ti i i : i ! | bill to exclude Mexicans. This, Ro- | wage scales are rot granted. working class must be aroused to the sharpest resistance. The A. F. of L. officialdom’s real role, whose interests are the inter- ests of Morgan, Ford, Dupont, Rockefeller, Weirton, etc., must be exposed in every A. F. of L. local and before the whole working class. Against the program of the Roose- | velt government, through its N. R. - | A. in co-operation with the bankers and industrialists, the workers should put forward and fight for | the following program: (1) Demand shorter hours in all industries without weekly pay reductions. (2) Demand wage Increases to meet the rising cost of living. (3) we (1) Against all forms of gov- ernment regulation and control of the trade unions, 8) Defeat the class collabora- tion policies of Green, Lewis & Co, (9) Smash the company unions. (10) For a powerful indepen- dent class trade union movement. DR. JULIUS LITTINSKY 107 BRISTOL STREET Bet. Pitkin and Sutter Aves., Brooklyn PHONE: DICKENS 2-3012 Office Hours: 8-10 A.M., 1-2, 6-3 P.M ae (Classified) MUST sacrifice Fada Radio A. victrola; electric vacuum; | etc. Gramercy 17-2088. portable lamps; rugs | |—— | THEATRE of the Workers School wants share headquarters with other organi zation. Please communicate. Theatre of the Workers School, 35 E. 12th St. Roon 302, Mondays and Pridays, 8:30 p.m | | GARMENT WORKERS WELCOME SHERIDAN VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT (Pormerly Shildkrauts) 285 WEST 36th STREET Between 7th and Sth Avenues New Folding Chairs JOHN KALMUS ©O. Inc. 35 W. 26th St, MUrray HM 4-5447 Office and School Equipment NEW and USED DAILY WORKER GEN- ERAL RED SUNDAY MARCH 11th Report to following headquar- vers for Daily Workers at 11 a.m. South Philadelphia—Kighth & Ritner Sts., 1829 S. Fifth St. 710 Passyunk Ave., 1208 Tasker St. North Philadelphia—1131 N, Pranklin St. 995 N. Fifth St. 135 N. Sixth St, Kensington, Richmond—3039 Salmon St., 2760 Kensington Ave. Strawberry Mansion—2456 N, 30th St., Master St., 3043 Berks St. West Philadelphia—1137 N. {lst St., 1747 N, Wilton St., 434 N, 62nd St. ‘Workers’ Laboratory Theatre New Experimental Theatre, American Youth Club, B’klyn NATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL of League of Workers’ Theatres of U.S. A. NEW YORK FINAL COMPETITION Coney Island Workers’ Club The. Ukrainian Dram Circle Ella May Wiggins Junior Players Young Pioneers in “Strike Me Red” Chairman: John Wexley, Author of “They Shall Not Die” SAT., MARCH 10, 8:30 P.M., FIFTH AN, THE. 28th Street & Broadway Admission: Me, Me, We ami Ft. Lickete at Workers Book Shop, 58 B. U8th St.