South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-09-01
GLASS STRUGGLE
LOOMS In RUSSIA
New Economic Policies De-
veloP Strike, Wage Fights
and Arbitration.
BY ANNA LOUISE STRONG
n 8 San Cnrr..srnnlIer.f

MOSCOW, Aug. 81. THE old
GAS struggl0 begins again In Mos
COW. now that We have the new
economic policy" said MelnichanslSl.
chairman Of the Moscow Trade IN
ions. The man sitting IN that
chair a. you entered was a factory
boss. and I was telling him how 20
erbitrate his troubles with his un-
ion
AS long as me government ran
the Industries and the workers ran
the government there wasn't any
ciass struggle. But now We have Il
all again-division OF interest. col
lsctive bargaining. wage scales. ar
bitration. even strikes and picket
ing"
Just Ike the United states7" 4
asked. for I knew that Msinichan-
slsi-under the simpler name
George Hfeschsr-had lived and
worked SIX years In New York as q
member OF the brotherhood or Met
al Workers. Re knows unions In
america and Russia also. Now
re cts IN Moscow, IN the beautiful
building which was once a noble
mans club and is now the Hall OF
Uni0nS. / passed through rooms
upholstered IN silk and velvet 20
reach his simple. comfortable Of
fce. as brisk and businesslike as
anything you find IN the United
States.
Americans AID Unions.
\ Russia has THOUSANDS Of these
returned Americans" and she owes
- 49, In
american IDEAS OF efiicisncy-Ameri-
can organization. American speed.
They are organizing Russia's indus
try. labor unions anc oven parts Of
Russia's government. You can tell
them when you meet them by their
easy decision and orderly punctual-
ity.
mot Ike the OH United States
quite" smiled MelnichansH. I'm
the United States we always expect
ed the government TO take the side
of the bosses. But a lot OF things
we strike for there are settled here
by law already. Eight-hOur day
the factory Inspector can put a man
an Jail who violates that He does
SO every little while. We have
safety regulations and working con-
ditions and minimum wage estab-
1.shed by law. But OF course. we
have to have a bigger wage than
that bare minimum, which will
scarcely buy bread-so there our
contests start-mOstly over wage
scales.
when a strike occurs-well, of
course, IN government industries
these things get settled by arbltra-
ton, though arbitration Is volun-
tary, not compulsory. But IN the
private shops we have some
strikes. Last one rem ember was
in a Woodworking shop. and the
boss brought IN some scabs. Not
professional scabs. for there are
no such creatures in Russia, but
simple village boys who didn't
know a thing about labor Organiza-
ton. Our picl1sts simply went over
20 them and explained what the
long to convince those boys. When
the strike was settled the boss had
20 pay US the eight days wages we
lost I'm striking"
Organization Differs.
Are your unions organized the
same way as in America ?" 1 asked.
I'VE have Industrial unions here
instead OF craft unions, II that Is
what you mean. Instead OF the hun
drod OF unions there were IN New
York there are only twenty-one In
Moscow province, with eight hun
dred thousand members. The tex
tile workers lead. with over hun
bred thousand"
THAT wasn't what I meant" 1
said. we hear outside that mem
bership in unions IS compulsory
and that unions are governed from
above-in short, that you are a
sort OF labor army"
"Tha unions are governed by
their mem bers." said Melnichanskl.
and m eu1b ership II voluntary. L
has never been what you could
really call compulsory IL the sense
Of a decree compelling men 10 join.
IN fact. we even used 10 have
'oleanlngs' TO set rid OF mombers
who we're not real workers. Lots OF
bourgeois joined the unions TO get
The privileges Of workers and had
TO be weeded out every little
while"
How about unemployment" ]
asked IN closing.
Lots Of 1t in Moscow" said Mel
uichanslzi, from dem mobilization, re-
organization OF industry and the