The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-01-24
COMP ANY UNION
IN RHODE ISLAND
PUT ON S HELF
Schemes of Crompton
Company Defeated

HOEADTl
ARCTIC, R. I.-"Industrial DEM
oeracy' as interpreted by employers
mas met decisive defeat at the hands
OF unionism in the village of c, omp-
ton, near here. The Crompton Com
pany, manufacturers Of velvets and
corduroys, employing about eleven
hundred workers, after a running
fight with the Amalgamated Textile
Workers of America lasting six
months, has given up its attempt to
establish the company union in its
mills.
John Leach, a professional promo
ter Of the scheme which embodies
sort of replica on q shop scale of
the federal government Of the United
States, who has been on the payroll
OF the Crompton Company for about
six months, has been dismissed. He
had held several meetings of the en-
ployes at which he attempted to have
them vote in favor of the plan,
but each time he was defeated.
Late last fall committee of work
ers was picked to visit certain plants
said to be working under this scheme
and they made a trip at the COM
pany's expense. Despite the fact
that the company made much Of their
reports the workers again turned
down the industrial democracy plan.
Local Pawtuxet Valley, Amalga-
mated Textile Workers, issued a Sc
ries Of leaflets against the scheme,
the main argument being that it
was nothing but a company union,
which would be controlled by the
bosses and their pets; that il the
company really wished to deal fairly
with the workers it would recognize
the union. About go per cent of
the Crompton workers are members
Of the local, with headquarters at
Arctic.
During the past two months the
Company has twice charged that
workers employed in the plant were
practicing sabotage. The first &C.
casion was when a worker cut q
piece of cloth, according to mill off,
cials, and the second when a chunk
Of tar was found in a copper mix
ing kettle in the dye house.
William H. Derrick, general organ
izer for the Amalgamated, who is in
charge In the Pawtuxet Valley, de-
clares that the charges are utterly
unfounded, and that the company is
merely trying to get the workers sus-
picious Of one another. Union mem
bers point out that the finding Of
the chunk Of tar by the foreman be-
fore any damage was done, coupled
with the fact that there is not the
slightest evidence produced to show
that a worker was responsible for
placing it there, would tend to indi-
cate that some over-zealous boss had
"done some detective work"
1--WE regret to see the Crompton
Company taking the attitude of fight
ing its workers." said Organizer Der
rick "The Amalgamated Textile
Workers is ready at any time to
confer with the company and arrive
at satisfactory means Of adjusting
everything that is of mutual concern
to the firm and workers. A reason
ably friendly attitude toward the
workers, who are determined to
maintain their own union, would
smooth out nine-tenths of the diff
culties now confronting the manage
ment of the Crompton mills. We
realize it is hard for textile manu-
facturers to assume such an attitude,
as they have been little czars too
long, but the Crompton Company
officials would display good business
sense in addition to humane senti-
ment if they would get over the old
habit of thinking of themselves as
feudal lords or slave owners"