The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-09-15

OF the Bakery and Confectionery
Workers International Union Of Amer
lea has adjourned with all Of the dele
gates impressed with the necessity for
increasing the pace of the fight against
the Ward Bread trust.
The general executive board in its
statement to the membership Of the
union as to the results Of the conven-
ton does not hesitate to place the
combat with the Ward octopus as the
most important matter under consider
alton.
The joint report to the convention
Of the international executive officials
and the general executive board de-
votes most Of its space to considera-
ton Of the long struggle with Ward,
and with his subsidiary concerns. 1t
recites the fact that for at least eight
years before 1917, the union carried
on an organizing and publicity cam
paign against this greatest baking
corporation, and with some measure
of success, for the plants in Chicago
and Newark were unfonized, though
the rest Of Wards bakeries were open
shop.
Ward Once UnIonlzed.
The union reached its peak of
growth during the war years and
those Immediately following, and
brought such pressure on Ward that
his whole system, plants in almost
every large city east of the Mississippi
was unionized, and this condition
lasted until the open shop drive in all
industries encouraged the constantly
growing corporation to throw off its
contractural relations with the Bakery
and Confectionery workers.
The failure of the local unions in
the international to concentrate their
negotiating power In the hands of the
executive board, or of the interna-
tional officials, helped the company in
this effort to bring in the open shop.
Ward Goes scab.
After minor skirmishing, the entire
Ward system was declared open shop
by its managers in 1923, and in spite
Of bitterly fought local strikes, which
the International aided to the best of
It's ability It has maintained scab con-
ditions and wages appreciably lower
than the union scale until the present.
The bakers wage scale varies in
different parts Of the country but Chi
cago may be taken as a typical ex-
ample. In Chicago the union shops
use expert journeymen bakers, and
pay $40 per week for eight hours work
per day. Wards plants here pay their
slaves who do the baking about $2S
per week, but not on a weekly basis.
They pay from 80 to IS cents per
hour, and no pay for hours not work
ed. The worker never knows when he
comes on shift how much of a day
he is going to get out of it.
Furthermore, he comes to work I'M
der the Ward plan, which is modi-
fed Taylor system for speeding the
worker by running the mixing ma
chimes faster, shifting the rate of pay
according to production, and working
overtime during the Friday rush
period up to seventeen or eighteen
hours day instead Of placing extra
men on the crew.
Tell The World.
AS the Ward trust has become more
and more Of a monopoly, the union
has resorted more and more to pub
licity as a weapon against 1t. The
monopoly feature not only works to
prevent unionizing of independent
shops drawn into the circle Of influ-
ence of the Ward outfit, but it Injuries
the public Of which the bakers form
a part with adulterated bread, poison
GUS food put on sale by such a strong
capitalistic power that 1t is above the
law.
The Bakers and Confectionery work
ers convention approved of publicity
campaign to expose thru local unions
and declarations the use OF plaster of
paris and other bleaching agents in
Wards bread.
Pamphlets and circulars, posters
and articles are to be used. Interna-
tional Secretary Chas. Holman is in
charge of the drive and the convention
appointed a committee to cooperate