The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-09-29
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last few years about two hundred
thousand members have been lost to
the union Entire districts, such as
West Virginia, Kentucky Maryland,
Tennessee, Alabama and Colorado
have been destroyed by the attacks
Of the operators, and in certain
bituminous fields, as western and cen
trail Pennsylvania and parts Of Ohio,
the Union is slowly crumbling.
The United Mine Workers Must Be
Saved.
Old methods of organizing, which
have failed, must give place to new
Local and District strikes, which were
successful fifteen or twenty years ago,
when we we're lighting small coal
operators, are frequently failures to-
day, when we are opposed by gigantic
corporations having scores of mines
scattered in various Districts.
Our great losses have been in the
last four years.
A hundred thousand new members
were IN the Union at the end Of the
national strike Of 1922. These were
the miners in Somerset county, Pa,
and the big coke fields and other
regions that saved the national fight
by joining forces with the Union.
Most of these newly organized men
were striking against big companies,
having mines in older organized dis
tricts as well. At the Cleveland con-
ference some Of us insisted that these
men be protected, and that no con-
tract be signed with any of these
companies for any of their mines I'M
less all their mines were included.
But this policy was rejected. These
companies were permitted to sign up
in other fields while continuing to
evict families, use gunner and i'm
port scabs in the coke fields and
Somerset.
will make this point clear by the
case of the Consolidation Coal Co.,
which is typical Of others. The Con-
solidation in 1922 had approximately
40 mines in northern West Virginia.
others in Maryland and seven or
eight in Somerset county, besides
additional mines in Kentucky. The
company agreed to sign up for West
Virginia only, and the National Union
accepted this proposal over the pro-
tests Of the Pennsylvania union min
ers. The West Virginia men went
back to work under the policy Of the
National Union.
In Maryland and Pennsylvania
strikes for Union recognition con-
tinued, but were of no use. With coal
coming from 40 mines in West
Virginia, the Consolidation did not
care how long the other states struck.
The company filled orders with West
Virginia coal and used its West Vir-
ginia profits to ship strikebreakers
and gunner into Maryland and Penn
sylvania.
Finally the Maryland and Somerset
rikes were lost And then Consolida-
IN broke with the Union in West
rirginia and used Maryland and
somerset county coal to crush the
trike that resulted. The company is
low a hundred per cent scab. Ten
million tons year without a union
contract.
Bethlehem Mines Corporation. Hill
nan Coal & Coke and other big con-
Germs were allowed to split the work
ers and destroy the Union in the same
way. The Peabody Coal Co. is doing
it now.
The policy that lost these many
members to the Union was a "baek-
ward step" Of the most disastrous ma
ture. The men abandoned to the open
shop were forced to accept wage re-
auctions. And this meant cheap scab
coal coming into the northern mar
1ets, which meant wholesale unem-
ployment in the northern fields.
I give these facts not in a spirit of
destructive criticism, but because we
must recognize past mistakes if we
wish to have a constructive policy in
the future.
The policies we must adopt, need
hardly say, do not include wage reduc-
tons. There have been enough wage
reduitions-for the men / spoke Of
under the old policy. Wage reductions
offer no solution, but lead only to
further misery and degradation.
What must we do to save the
Union?
FIRST, ORGANIZE THE UNoR-
CANNED.
This can be done.
1t can be done by active field work
Frs who will give their entire energies
10 the job.
1t cannot be done by political gum.
shoers who sit around wasting time