The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-03-23
CHICAGO |. A. NJ.
ORGANIZATION
drive BEGINS
Rank and File Members
on Union Committee
Continued from Page u

NCOuLluu6u lTOm rage ~
proven by the governments analysis
of income tax returns Of corporations
last year. According to these reports
10,168 corporations made net profits
of $1,427 ,495,SSs.
The magnitude of this tremendous
industry can be better understood by
comparison with the figures report
ed by other manufacturing establish.
ments. Such a comparison shows that
the metal manufacturers made more
than one third Of the net profits Of
all the manufacturing corporations.
Ten thousand firms in that branch of
manufacturing made net profits Of
more than so per cent Of the profits
reported by nearly 10000 other cor.
porations engaged in manufacturing
other commodities.
Metal manufacturers made more
than half as much as all the banking
and other financial corporations In
the country and two and one half
times as much as all the railroads.
BY examining the facts it is found
that 1872 big companies or less than
two per cent of the total is enjoying
the cream of the profits. The 1872 cor
porations are tucking away in their
safes net profits of more than one
million dollars and some have report
ed incomes of more than $5,000,000.
The smaller concerns average a
smaller margin of the profits and OF
course the general trend is to con-
solidate the smaller enterprises into
bigger Industrial combines and kill
the small competitors.
The conditions in the open shops
and especially the bigger corporations
are deplorable. Machinists are work
ing from nine to ten hours at q
wage Of from 80 cents to 80 cents an
hour. Specialists are of course worse
off yet In the shops controlled by
the Metal Trades Association reg
ular spy system is maintained in
order to prevent organization.
In the International Harvester Co.
and other similar concerns company
unions have been organized in order
to prevent the influence of real trade
unions. These company unions must
either be destroyed or be made to
| function as trade unions fighting for
| the interests of the workers.
In these great corporations skill is
no longer the predominating factor
and the specialist has taken the
place of the skilled mechanic. The
great number employed in these shops
are unskilled and semi-skilled work
ers such as machine operators,
as for example, punch press, drill
press, screw machine, lathe, milling
machine, etc. The machinists' union
recognizes this fact which is set forth
in the leaflet calling for the tool and
diemakers, machinists, specialists of
all kinds and helpers to join the
union. The initiation fee is also re-
duced to such minimum that every
worker in the shops can afford to
join.
The initiation fee is only $3.50 and
all machine shop workers reading this
article should Immediately make their
application at the Office Of the union,
113 S. Ashland Blvd.
Big Job Ahead.
The problem Of organizing this gil
gantic industry is big task and can
not be accomplished overnight but a
start has been made and if real
mass campaign is carried on and all
unions in the industry would unite
their forces in real organization
drive this would no doubt pave the
way for the amalgamation of all these
unions into one industrial union cap
able of carrying on a real struggle
against these great corporations and
wrest some of these gigantic profits
away from them and ultimately take
over the industry for the benefit OF
the workers in the industry.