Denver labor bulletin., 1918-10-05
STEEL WORKERS
FLOCK TO UNION
tcontinu.d from r.s. op.l

that the great mass of the workers in
the mills had left their native lands TO
get away from the iron hand that had
for years held them by the throat:
that they had come to America be
cause they had always looked to this
country as refuge when they could
throw off the yoke of oppression and
secure the measure of freedom and
liberty for which America has always
been famed.
He pointed out that they had simply
exchanged masters. as the iron hand
Of the corporations now at their throat
not only dominated the lives of the
workers, their wives and their children,
but also the lives OF their childrens'
children yet unborn.
Concession Forced by Labor.
He then took up the question Of the
eight-hour day and pointed out the
fact that this concession was granted
by the steel corporation under duress
in the hope that it would act as
check on organization. but he felt that
the workers were too well informed
by this time to be taken in by any
such palpable trick, as this eonces-
sion would never have been made had
the corporation not been knocked from
its sense Of security by the great or
ganization wave that was fast en-
guling the entire country, and he
warned the workers that unless they
were in "A position to hold this con-
cession after the present critical sit
uation had passed with the closing of
the war, the corporation could take IL
from them just as easily as they
granted IL.
He also called attention to the fact
that nothing had been mentioned in
Mr.. Gary's announcement as to pay
for overtime, and brought the vast
audience to its feet when he stated
that just as soon as the workers were
fully organized they would demand
and secure time and one-half for all
time over eight hours and double time
for Sundays and holidays.
Organize Other Districts.
At Joliet the same spirit prevails
as in Gary, and at the mass meeting
held there on Sunday afternoon over
a thousand steel workers enrolled
themselves under the banner of or
ganized labor, while in Indiana Har-
Dor, South Chicago and other points
in the Calumet field the workers are
not only joining at the mass meetings,
but are flocking to local headquarters
every day with the result that il is
now only a matter of n short while be-
fore every worker in the steel indus
try in the Calumet district will be or
ganized.
In Cleveland, where n meeting was
held last Friday evening for the pur-
pose of forming a local organization
committee, representatives Of thirty
trades attended, formed permanent
organization and, among other things,
placed an assessment of S25 on each
organization represented to start the
ball rolling. and "a sub-committce of
the national committee will be in
Cleveland this evening to arrange for
series of mass meetings mt that
point. The committee will then go on
to Pittsburg, where meeting has
been called for Saturday evening.
To Form Steel Councils.
After organization work has pro-
gressed sufficiently steel workers coun-
ellis Will be formed in all steel ccnters.
and these various councils will send
delegates to national council TO be
chartered by the American Federation
of Labor.
The work of organization, altho
hardly begun. has reached such pro-
portions that il is now gathering force
from its own momentum and is sweep
ing over the country like prairie fire,
which will not be stopped until the
last defenses of the giant corpora
tions have been swept aside and the
rights Of the workers recognized.