The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-02-13
The First Prize Winner.
! WEST VIRGINIA
COURTS AGAINST
UNION RKERS
Help National Wooden
Mills Go Open-Shop
The First Prize Winner.
Hy a Worker correspondent

The supreme court OF West Virginia,
sitting, at Charleston, upheld the right
OF the National Wcolen Mills of Park
ersburg to an injunction aginst Local
No. $50, Journeymen Tailor's Union,
thus affirming the action of the Wood
acounty circuit court in overuling the
Aunion's demurrer to the injunction
granted by the lower court. Once more
'the workers OF West Virginia are
shown the uselessness of appealing to-
capitalist courts to uphold any con-
stitutional rights which they are fool
ish enough to think they have, in a
fight with their bosses.
open Shop Drive.
The war made on the local union by
the National Wooden Mill is a part
Of that great wave of open shopism
that is sweeping the country under
our open shop government.
The DAILY WORKER has on many
occasions given publicity to the brave
fight made by the rank and file Of this
union in this long drawn out contest,
Dul a UllGl IGoulu0 VI l1C GdOO WAL
not be out of place here, to show the
odds under which they have labored
to uphold the principles of unionism.
Union Heads Write in Jokers.
On September 16, 1924, the National
Wooden Mills signed a contract with
the local Journeymen Tailors' Union
to run their shops on union basis,
except in case the following contin-
gencies would arise: insolvency, bank
ruptcy, receiyership or liquidation of
the company. Four months after sign
ing this contract while the business
Of the company was apparently run
ming along normally, the union was
notified by the management Of the
mills that the mills would be run on
an open shop basis and any members
wishing to keep employment should
apply to the firm as individuals
A few weeks after the lockout at
meeting of the stockholders the Of
fcials assured the stockholders that
all was serene and they had instituted
q new working condition in the mills.
1t would seem that in asking for an
Injunction few weeks after the lock-
out, to prevent the peaceful picketing
J Of the mills by the union members,
the managers of the mills must have
thought it necessary to mention this
clause in the contract and use it for
a lever to get the injunction (tho it
was absolutely unnecessary in our
courts here), and yet it did not come
to light for year after.
Officials BungIe Strike.
That there has been some bungling
among the leaders Of the union in
this is apparent in their permitting
the National Wooden Mills to thus
shamelessly break their contract with
the union, without at least trying to
make them show whether the con-
tingency they claim had arisen and
this at least let the stockholders in
on the inner workings of the direc-
I torate.
That no such a crisis has arisen is
] shown by the fact that over year
has elapsed and in spite of the fight
put up by the rank and file of the
union the mills are still working full
time and training workers for carry
ing on the shop work. The union
members, 1853 are STILL with the ex-
ception OF four who weakened, hold
ing out against great odds but with
the right kind Of leadership they
would have won victory long ago.