The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-08-25
LABOR FIGHTS
open SHOPPERS
IN BELLEVILLE
Organizing to Support
Garment Strikers
BY KARL REEVE
(Staff Writer, Daily Worker)

Council here has modified its
strength, voting to fight the
strike of the girl employees of
the Meyers garment factory
here to a finish, following the
sentence of ninety days in Jail
and two hundred dollars fine
plastered on William Christie
pher, business agent for the
Trades council, by the labor
hating Judge, George Grove.
Almost the entire Chamber of
Commerce heard Judge Grove
sentence Christopher to the jail
term and fourteen others, cited
for defying the anti-picketing
Injunction, to fines of from so
to 200 dollars each. The manu-
facturers were heard to declare
that ''if the Meyers company
puts over the open shop by
means of the courts, we are
going to do it too"
Fighting Organized Bosses.
William Christopher, reporting on
the strike to the meeting of the Trades
Assembly last night, declared: I'VE
are fighting not the Meyers Pants
Company alone, but the organized
Manufacturers Association of Belle
vile. 1t is the opening wedge in a
drive to break organized labor in
Belleville and foist the open shop on
the town"
A meeting was arranged of all the
Trades Assembly officers, together with
the presidents and secretaries of
every local union for Friday night, to
organize the fight against the open
shop drive of the garment shop. This
meeting was ordered by the council to
consider plans for a monster protest
meeting of all trades union members
in the Belleville district, to include ST.
Louis, East ST. Louis. Collinsville,
O'Fallon, and the surrounding towns.
Insurance Co. Renlgs.
The Hoppe Insurance Company was
placed on the unfair list because after
the sentence they refused to go bond
for the men after agreeing to do so.
Pressure from the manufacturers of
the town caused them to deny the
strikers and labor leaders bail.
Twelve of the girl strikers were
present at last nights meeting and
were assured all possible support by
the Trades Assembly. Anita Reisser,
one of the strikers, told the DAILY
WORKER reporter that she has been
working for the Meyers company for
three years, and her salary at the
beginning of the strike was $3.50 a
week.
Martin Sisk, Justice Of the peace
and delegate to the Federation of La
Dor, called on the unions to grant
financial support if the Amalgamated
does not give the girls strike bene-
fits.
Don't Mind Fines.
In spite Of the fines yesterday, the
girls were on the picket line at six
NAAA ~ tuio uOluluEs uOlub CAcCblNC
work and turning every scab away.
was given the floor for ten minutes
and promised that the DAILY WORK
Err viii throw it's columns open to
news Of the strike. told Of the acute
and widespread unemployment, not
only among the Illinois miners, but
thruout the country in all lines of
work. declared, 1.-THE struggle here
against the open shop in the Meyers
pants factory is directly related to
the bitter struggle all over the coun-
try. The capitalists are taking adj
vantage of the industrial crisis to try
to completely destroy the unions and
to institute the open shop.
"You are faced with the RESPONSE
bility Of aggressiyely combating the
open shop drive and the unemploy-
ment crisis, especially at the state
convention OF the Federation of Labor
in Peoria on September s. In the past
year the unions have dwindled in size
and the craft system has proved in
effective.
Calls For Militant Attitude.
There are two attitudes which you
can take at the Peoria convention.
You can either take the listless, pes
simistic attitude that nothing can be
done or you can launch an agrees
sive fight on the anti-union employ
ers. Many things can be done. Reso-
lutions can be introduced in the con-
vention, demanding that the employ
ers pay wages during the unemploy-
ment periods and that work day be
shortened so as to ensure work for all.
Resolutions on the naturalization
of the mines and other Industries can
be introduced which will institute an
aggressive fight on the reactionary
wave which would result from the
pessimistic attitude Of reactionary la
Dor leaders. Amalgamation and Or
ganization OF the non-union workers