The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-02-27
TAMP A, FLORIDA,
UNIONS HAVE A
LOT TO LEARN
Don't Know Yet What
Unions Are For
BY M. levin

OoHtidl LdDOr COUNCIL, OF Tampa, is
a claw abiding" small and helpless
class collaboration trade union. They
are affiliated with the Tampa Board
Of Trade elsewhere known as the
chamber of commerce).
In their dealings with employers
they appeal in the name of flair
play" and Square DEAL" which they
(by the way) always fail to receive.
A few years ago, A. Geiger. with
the aid of few more who possessed
plain, ordinary, common sense, pro-
posed that the Carpenters Union
call conference of all building
trades unions in Tampa and work out
program whereby all unions would
refuse to work on any Job where
there was strike. This proposal
was not even given thought let alone
action, and received little support
either from the officials or the rank
and file.
AS a result of this, the unions are
in helpless position when it comes
to a fight with the employers. Our
wage scale is the lowest, 80 cents
per hour, and working conditions the
worst in the country. Jobs are quite
often as far as 20 to 80 miles from
Tampa, to which we must carry our
heavy boxes of tools daily There are
no street cars in those country towns
should one want to spend three or
four hours riding to and from work.
There is quite building boom"
going on around Tampa. But none of
it is controlled by any of the building
trades unions, and but few are being
worked on by union labor, not to
speak of having union conditions.
Workmen must find their work in
the open market, competing with one
another for the job, instead of, as
elsewhere, from the union Offices AS
result of this bargaining, particu-
larly during the winter season when
hundreds Of carpenters are coming
from the northern states, even the
miserably low wage of so cents an
hour is being cut to as low as so
cents and sometimes to even 25 cents
an hour. II is quite usual here to find
good union carpenters" from up
north, working for 81 and So a day,
and the union is too weak to do any
thing. A state of chaos exists, the
union scale of 80 cents per hour is
paper scale.
when we came to Tampa we came
into the union and applied for job.
We've done that for weeks long, I'M
till all of our funds were gone, and
what were we to do? We had to get
what we could in order to keep from
starving" is the excuse offered for
working below the scale.
The local carpenters are suffering
too, their wages are being cut daily
Afraid of not getting work, the major
ity of them do not report the cut to
the union offices. thus the vicious
circle is completed.
The situation has reached a stage
where we must fight or starve. The
workers are now in fighting mood. A
lively campaign to strengthen their
ranks, and to organizing the morgan
ICED, has been started, with the pur-
pose in view of presenting demands
to the bosses and striking IL neces-
sary, to enforce them. -s-
A large group of carpenters are urg-
ing that two main demands, namely,
"the union shop" and free transport
alton" shall not be compromised.
Many are in favor Of amalgamation,
and point out, that IL the bricklayers,
plumbers, painters, electricians, etc.
fought as a unit, like the chamber
of commerce, the daily papers. the
courts. and police departments sup
port the bosses, we would win our
demands in short order.
Fifty copies Of the DAILY WORK
Err were distributed by our "a years
young sympathizer. at Joint meeting
OF both carpenters locals, and they
all acclaimed the DAILY WORKER
as the best and only true working
class daily paper.
Those who wanted to read real
working class news from a truly
working class paper, should give their
...k.o.lnttoo, - w n Taudfo 70T