The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-05-24

class Farmer-Labor Party in the
United States, an effort worthy of the
full energies Of every Party member.
In noting the excellent development
of our Party, it is well to state that
the Workers Party really began to
grow and assume influence when it
started seriously and earnestly to
work within the unions, and when it,
at the same time, freed itself from the
separatist or dual notions held by
some members. 1t is imperative that
we always call upon our membership
to get more and more into the general
work of the trade unions in order to
carry on the work of transforming
the existing trade unions into organ
izations of the class struggle and into
revolutionary unions. Because Of old
dual union conceptions, not by any
means yet entirely removed; because
of strong opposition against those car
rying out the T. U. q. L. program by
the reactionary union leaders, lending
false strength to dual union thought;
and because Of Party activity in other
fields, we are always in danger of
losing sight Of or neglecting trade
union work.
NUR Labor Party campaign is the
~ Party's biggest campaign today.
We are Tin politics" with vengeance.
Anti-parliamentary notions are OBJ
viously removed as a whole from Party
thought. One form of Leftism is evil
IDENTITY corrected. 1t cannot by any
means be said that there is too much
emphasis on parliamentary activity or
general political activity, such as the
Labor Party campaign. Yet it may be
said that there is neglect on the part
of many of our members in trade
union fields. If our members are not
opposed to trade union activity in
theory, and we do not believe they
are, they are opposed, some of them,
in practice. They either do not attend
their union meetings, or, when they do
attend, they do nothing there. A Labor
Party, unless made and supported by
the trade unions, would have no per-
manent basis. It would be no real
Labor Party. 1t would not be able
to Withstand the organizational or
propagandistic opposition of the CAPT
talist parties.
N reference to the Labor Party ques-
ton, Comrade Foster in his Party
convention industrial report declared,
'Inasmuch as the Labor Party, in so
far as it represents the industrial
workers, rests directly upon the trade
unions and draws its conventions and
other legislative bodies out of their
ranks, the extent to which we will
have power and influence in the grow
ing Labor Party movement will de-
pend entirely upon the strength and
grip we have in the trade unions" AS
in the case of the Labor Party, so in
the rest of the trade union work.
Hence, in our campaign for a class
Farmer-Labor Party, to insure its sue
cess, our members must take a far
greater part in union work than even
before.
THE economic problems, trade
! union agreements, strengthening of
the unions, amalgamation, all these
and more, must be taken up actively
by the militant unionist and Party
members, and explained in the unions.
If we would win the leadership of the
masses in the trade unions from the
fake labor leaders, and those labelling
themselves progressives, our members
must be in the trade unions fighting
on every issue affecting trade union
work and development and thus prov
ing our right to leadership of the trade
union movement. In Minneapolis, for
instance, the trade union movement
is progressive or perhaps even radical.
The normal leadership of the trade
unions is regarded as progressive and
radical. 1t is doubly necessary that
there our Party members shall be
active in the trade unions to make
clear our stand and differences be-