The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-07-09
Continued from page u

Cdlly I6SlSlS Lu6 luFlldllOuS VI Lu6
business agent. The liberty loving
freeman" who remains loyal" to the
company ~ because the economic
chains bind him to the job.
TT takes little imagination to under
4 stand the blessing of the individual
contract as enjoyed by the workers in
the 33 locals of the Brotherhood on
the l. r. T. What happened in 1925
when the wage agreement" was sign
ed between the General Committee
and the corporation was only a repeti-
ton of preceding years. AS reported
in the New York Times of July %,
1926 under the headline; Inter
borough Defers Wage Raise For a
Year." we read:
mo increase in the wages of In
terborough Rapid Transit company
employees will be granted for at
least another year. An agreement
to that effect was reached in a con-
ference lasting little more than a
half-hour yesterday, between Off
olaIs of the company and represen-
tatlves of the employees organlza-
tlon."
1t took just 80 minutes for the COM
pany union committee to sell out to
the company for another IL months!
Company unions are widely praised by
employers for their speed and eff
cheney in surrendering the workers
interests. The story continues:
"a renewal for a year Of the exist
ing wage scales was voted unani-
mously the employees giving as their
reason for their acquiescence their
recognition of the company's pres
ent financial condition and the i'm
probability of it's improvement I'M
der a five-cent fare"
VERY considerable indeed. Workers
who are bound by yellow dog
contract had better talk that way or
be fired. Moreover it's good propa-
ganda for a fare increase when COM
pany puppets express themselves that
way. Let's have a fare increase.
Then perhaps the company will some
day reward us say half cent an hour
for our cooperation in selling the fare
increase to the subway rats who now
pay only a nickel. The story goes on
to tell us how the General Committee
had gone into solemn session with Mr..
Hedley, president and general man.
ager of the company, and had agreed
that another year of low wages was
acceptable.
60 it had happened year after year.
- Until 1926. When 1t happened
again. But this time something
slipped. One local out of the 49,,
Local No. of the company Brother
hood composed of subway motormen
and switchmen, decided it was thru
with this game. The first rumble of
discomfort came on May 20 when a
committee from this local protested
against a company order requiring
them to do more work for the same
pay. The committee called a meeting
of the workers and strike vote was
taken. The company promptly can
celled its order and the workers in
turn deferred their demands for a
wage increase. The fighting spirit of
the workers, however, had been stir
red by the effect of their stand. And
for the first time some honest words
were spoken about the company
union. One New York tabloid news
paper reported that:
"some of the speeches reflected an
ugly mood toward President HedIey
who was accused of trying to con-
troll his personally conducted" COM
nlttee whose activities are supposed
to be in behalf of the men. Several
speakers pointed out that this COM
mittee would no longer be permitted
to function toward delay in meeting
Just demands Of lnterborough work
ers."
A usual the company union acted
n as a postponing process for the
company, and an instrument with
which to delay and dissipate the de-
mand for better conditions on the part
of the workers.
Apparently the eyes of the workers,
at least in Local No. Z, were opening
rapidly. For now we find them at the
beginning of July sending in wage de-
mands to the management, refusing to
accept another wage sell-out by the
general committee, Withdrawing in a
body from the company union, form
ing an Independent union-The Con-
solidated Railway Workers of Greater
New York-and threatening to strike
unless their demands are considered
by the company.
WHATEVER happens to the de-
w mands, the strike, or the new
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