The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-10-01

owner to break the bona fde trade
unions-the United Mine Workers of
America--and to substitute something
'just as good" in its place.
The coal mine owners, like other
employers of4abor, have tried devious
devices for smashing real labor
unions. In some places and at certain
times they have tried to win the
workers loyalty" thru a process of
welfare" petting They have en-
ployed high-salaried tabor experts"
and personal managers" and Y. M.
c. A. glad hand mit-shakers. They
have attempted to satisfy their work
ers with all sorts of soothing syrup
off the welfare spoon. Aa.s
Now, in common with other EN-.
ployers in America, they are trying
out the company union. Aother means
having failed. the workers having re.
fused to be fooled, they now offer the
company union sell.out scheme. They
come to the worker and make the
most lavish promises They paint
their new toy in the most glittering
and attractive colors. They say in
effect to the workers; .SLook what a
pretty little union I'm giving you
now. Isn't It cute? No dues, no du-
ties, no responsibilities, no strikes.
Nothing to do but work hard! And
yet you get aaanice committee TO.
listen to your grievances If you really
have any. You get all this indus
trial democracy free of charge. You
get more work and a perfect heaven
on earth. And you may call it any
thing you lilze.9 Work council .efFi-
cheney committees, production Joint
conferences. employees representa-
ton It's all yours for the asking, If
you will please go and stay away from
the United Mine Workers of Amer
ica." ~ ac.sas ge 80 soc
Some tall promises the bosses
make. OF course they don't explain
just how all this millennium is to be
achieved. They simply assure the
workers that theuU. M. w. of A. is a
bad, terrible, Bolsheviki, organization
and that thessnew, virgin company
union is a sweat, cheep, satisfactory
and altogether beautiful substitute.
And the worker--H he is solid
ivory from the gcollar up-may be In
clined to- swaloW this applesauce.
However, if he is a, worker of average
intelligence with, a little knowledge. of
labor history he certainly will not fall
for this line of bunk. For among
other things he will know a little
about the origin and development of
the company union.
He viii know, for example, that the
company union has been tried in
American industry now for over 10
years and that one of the first of these
devices ever installed was Matched by
Mr.. John d. Rockefeller In 1915 after
/ the Ludlow massacre OF the coal min
ers on strike in Colorado against the
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Colorado Fuel
and Iron Co. After shooting his work
srs back to theapits and starving their
wives and children, Mr.. Rockefeller
and his son kindly installed the COM
pany union. These workers have been
in bondage ever since.
OTUDIES by impartial persons show
~ that the Rockefeller company
union is without any vestige of eco
nomic powers beautiful automobile
without an enginea They show that
the employee representation PLAN" as
it is called, is nothing but trap to
keep down wages, slash them at will.
and to keep the workers powerless to
protest against. the tyranny of the
company. Within the last few
months workers who protested
against wage cuts and who refused to
work at the reduced scale have been
kicked out Of the employ of the COM
pany. The workers have no security,
no status as equal agents in col
lective bargaining arrangement, no
ability to strike back. They are sim
ply made helpless and defenseless by
the company union. The device dis
arms them and leaves the economic
power in the hands of the company.
This is the heaven Of company union
Tism. saas 4.
Not only among the workers of Col
orado but elsewhere has the company
union, no matter what name It uses
to disguise itself, been shown to be a
snare to trap the workers into wage
cuts and lowered standard of wages
and living. Readers of this article
will remember the strikeoof few Of
the workers on the Hines of the Inter
borough Rapid Transit Company in
New York City in the summer OF 1926.
1t will be recalled how easily the
ranks of these workers were broken
and how easily they were driven back
to their "pits"-Athe underground lines
on which they work. Why were they
SO easily crushed? Because they had
been living under the slavery of the
company union for@1O years. In fact,
this strike was an attempted revolt
\ against the yoke of the company