The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1919-09-26
THE CIGARMAKERS'
BIG STRIKE GROWS
Their International Condemns
It, But A, F, Of L, En-
dOrSeS Il

OFTEN one does more harm to
himself than even his worst enemy
would do. This may well he applied
to the position the trust, the Ha-
vana American Cigar Company, put
itself into.
For about six years in succession.
prior to the beginning of the pres
ent struggle, the Cigar Makers Of
the Havana American Cigar Com
pany, in their Chicago branch,
were organized. A shop collector,
elected by the people of that shop,
collected the due for the union
every payday in the shop Nothing
was said by the firm as to interfere
with the collection Of dues or the
organization of the Cigar Makers.
The people working for the trust
were always underpaid, in compar-
ison with the prices paid for max
| ing the same cigars in other shops,
and were forced from time to time,
/ to strike for months to gain a slight
increase. Among the various brands
! produced by the American Havana
| Cigar Co., a subsidiary of the big
trust, the American Tobacco CO.,
is the LA PREFERENTIAL" brand,
which is made in New York and
Chicago. Always, in order to eff
feet some improvement in prices or
! conditions in the Chicago branch, it
WIS necessary to call the people of
the New York branch out in sym
/ pathy with the demands of Chi
cago, or vice versa.
The trust was compelled to yield
in every case where New York and
Chicago were united, and the re-
suit was; A VICTORY FOR THE
| CIGAR MAKERS.
This time it was the trust that
made the first move. On December
DIST, 1918, the manager of the
Chicago branch issued an "UKASE"
to the foreman not to permit the
collection of dues in the shop any
longer, and the first one that will
violate his order is to be discharg-
ed Immediately. The shop collect
Ors, who had orders from the Union
and the Cigar Makers, to continue
collecting dues were fired on that
same date, and the people, about
500, men and women, all walked
out in protest against the action Of
the firm taking away from the
workers the right to be organized.
The Cigar Makers, being on the
defensive, decided this time to de-
fend themselves right" The prin-
ciple involved: THE right of the
workers to organize, is too sacred
and too valuable for the worker
not to put up a fight-to-a-finish for
it. Chicago Cigar Makers got busy
and took out the people working in
New York for the same firm, max
ing the same cigars, on strike, in
order to fight unitedly for the
right to be organized" When the
people of New York (73rd Street
shop struck, the other trust shops
followed. The Cigar Makers of all
the Independent factories thought
this an opportune time to make a
general strike for organization and
for standardized universal bill Of
prices, and they walked out.
About 10000 men and women
are involved in this historic strug
gle of the Cigar Makers, for human
rights and conditions in New York,
and the New York strike has de
yeloped so, that it has spread and
embraced the States of New Jer-
sey. Pennsylvania, Massachusetts,
Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin and
Michigan. Indiana is also about to
enter the ring,
Altogether, about 100000 Cigar
Makers, so per cent of them unOr-
ganized, are fighting a life-and-
death battle for the right to be or
ganized, for a standardized scale of
wages, for human and sanitary con-
ditions.
The Cigar Makers International
Union did not approve the strikes,
and it was, therefore left to the
striking masses themselves, to pro-
vide themselves with organization
and financial means, In other
words, the strikers had to become
their own leaders and supply their
own support.
The strikers rely greatly on or
ganized labor everywhere to assist
them both morally and financially
to carry this battle to a successful
end.
Samuel GOmpers, President of