The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-05-08
',ulO SUPREME
~ ~~A AAAa'sM
Sor DnAMnc
.ON ILLEGAL
Smashing Blow Aimed
at Garments Union
Especial to The Daily worker)

CLEVELAND, May g. The Ohio
supreme court delivered one Of the
most telling blows ever directed at
the trade unions when 1t handed down
decision declaring the closed shop
illegal in the case Of the Cleveland
Railway company against its union
lied employees.
The case has been in the courts for
almost year. About that time an ar
bitration committee handed down a
wage award which the company re-
fused to accept, on the ground that
one of the arbitrators was favorable
to the workers. The men immediate
ly took a strike vote. Then the repub-
lican party convention was held and
fake labor leaders advised the I'M
ion to call of the strike for the time
being.
Offered Five Cents.
The company offered the union an
increase of five cents an hour and
when the men turned this offer down,
the company declared an open shop.
The president Of the union secured an
injunction preventing the company
from declaring an open shop and the
company bulletin announcing the scab
shop was held in allegiance until a
few days ago when the supreme court
decision was handed down.
No sooner had the open shop de-
cision reached President John ]. STAN
ley Of the street car company than he
had couriers on their way to all car
barns posting up the open shop an
nouncements and notice that each
man would receive a five-cent an hour
increase in wages. Stanley declared
that he would no longer recognize
the union representatives but would
deal with individual employees.
Would Not Break Laws.
Stanley will not consider any sug-
gestions to make another agreement,
he told reporters. With mock sin
certify he said: You mustn't ask
me to make any agreements when the
courts have said plainly that am
forbidden to do so. l know you would
not ask me to do anything illegal"
Strikebreakers are being assembled
at all the car barns and guards are
ueing posted all around the company's
properties. Heavy wire armor for
the cars, thousands of wooden clubs,
barricades for the barns, mess halls
and bunk houses for strikebreakers,
have been in readiness for more than
one year.
The supreme court decision is con-
sidered the most drastic ever handed
down by capitalist court in the Unit
ed States. 1t means that:
No public utility enjoying a mon
opoly of it's field can make closed
shop union contract with any kind
of labor.
Closed shop union contracts are
contrary to public policy on the
ground that they might bar from en-
ployment individuals not wanting to
join a union.
The Takers crawIed.
Radicals point out that the crawfish-
ing of the labor takers to the capital
lists, did not mollify the latter's
bitter hatred against organized labor.
A Workers Party leader in Cleveland
declared that had the streetcar en-
ployes of Cleveland struck when they
threatened to do so last June, when
the republican party convention was
in session, they would have compelled
the company to surrender" He con-
tinued THE workers have again
learned to their cost that the capital
list courts are tools of the employing
class. The workers only salvation lies
in their trade union and political class
organizations"
International officials of the street
Garments union are expected in Cleve-
land.