The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-12
LENIN AND THE TRADE UNIONS

II Editors Note.--Every day until
publication has been completed, the
DAILY WORKER will publish
hnew chapter from the book. Len
in: The Great Strategist of the
Glass War;" by A. Losovsky, secre-
tary Of the Red International of
Labor Unions. The twenty-second
chapter is entitled, "Lenin and the
Trade Unions" ~
The trade union movement also is
very much indebted to Lenin.
First of all because he has determined
the correct place to be occupied by
the trade unions in the class struggle.
He fought very bitterly all those in
the trade unions Of Europe that favored
the existence of the trade unions as
perfectly independent organizations
from the political party Of the prole-
tariats He proved in number Of
cases that this idea of the independ-
ence of the unions from the political
moYementaof, the proletariat in reality
means independence from revolution
airy class politics, that the anarchists
and reformists by preaching the idea
of'the independence of the trade un.
ions are merely serving the inter
ests of the bourgeoisie. ~.
Lenin looked upon the trade unions
as the elementary units Of working
class organization, "as the place
where the masses are trained in or
ganization, in collective management,
and in Communism" He was at one
and the same time opposed to over
estimating as well as under-estimating
the importance of trade unions. He
always insisted upon the necessity Of
taking part in these mass organiza-
lions, irrespective of the nature of
their leadership. In his book 1.-The In
fantile Sickness of Communism" in
the chapter entitled, "Shall revolution
aries Participate in Reactionary Trade
| Unions?" he criticizes very energetic
ally those Communist elements which
at the first onslaught of the reaction
airy bureaucracy become pessimistic
and throw out the slogan Of: "Out of
the trade unions, an immediate split"
Such tactics he designates as: "Un-
pardonable stupidity which is equiv
alent to offering the greatest service
to the bourgeoisie." He says: "We
must work wherever the masses are,
criticize mercilessly the labor aris-
tocracy which is dominated by reform
ism, narrow craft egotism, and the
ideas of bourgeois Imperialism" Lenin
would emphasize time and again that
without the trade unions the Soviet
government could not have maintain
ed itself in power for more than two
weeks. The trade unions are the con-
Meeting link between the masses and
the proletarian vanguard. 1t is only
by our daily activities that we can
convince the masses that it is only we
who are capable of leading them from
capitalism to Communism. aa. e
The development of the revolution
airy trade union movement followed
mat of the Communist movement.
The Russian trade union movement
was to the Red International of Labor
Unions Of the same importance as the
Communist Party of Russia was to
the Communist International. The
Russian trade union movement had
begun developing with particular in
tensity after the October revolution
under the theological and political
leadership OF Lenin.
Lenin followed the development Of
the trade union movement with the
same interest with which he followed
that of the Communist movement. He
would always explain that the Amster-
dam international is the main support
OF the international bourgeiosie, and
aINLC