The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-06-03
SHOE WORKERS
IN LONG FIGHT
FOR REAL UNION
Brooklyn Bosses Bitter
Enemies of Labor

LllSIIllGS Vi I4dOOI
Time and again the shoe workers
of Brooklyn have been fooled by vari-
GUS brands Of labor takers starting
unions, or getting control of unions
already in existence. There have
been so many unions and so many
failures in contests with the bosses
that widespread pessimism afflicts
the shoe workers. Many of them
think there is no use joining q union
because they have lost hope Of gain
ing anything thereby.
This attitude is easily understood
in view Of the history of the shoe
workers, but it is suicidal to accept
it. Against almost overwhelming
odds the past two years a group Of
determined workers have held to-
gether and strengthened the Shoe
Workers Protective Union, until it is
a real influence in Brooklyn and New
York.
Particularly instructive is the his
tory of the betrayal Of the shoe work.
ers by a fake union organized by the
employers, who hoped thereby to pre-
vent real union springing up.
Busting Up the United"
In 1919 the Shoe Workers Of Brook
Ign, with the exception Of the Good
year operators were organized in the
United Shoe Workers of America,
about 1000 strong.
The Goodyear operators were organ
lied in an independent organization
which had catered to the shoe manu-
facturers for the past 20 years by
using their power to keep the lasters
and other shoe workers unorganized,
even going to the extent of striking
against lasters and refusing to stitch
their shoes when they would join
union.
In 1919 the manufacturers forced a
strike on the "United," and with the
Goodyear Operators" as a nucleus,
organized i union to break the strike.
I The Bosses Fake Union.
This union was called the Amer
lean Shoe Workers Protective Union.
This name was adopted for the pur-
pose OF fooling the Haverhill Shoe
Workers who were organized 1909
in the Shoe Workers Protective
Union. In this they were partially
successful as when they went to that
city for strike-breakers they made
some of them think that it was a
part Of their own union.
The American Union controlled the
workers from that time on in the
factories of the manufacturers asso-
citation. There were many attempts
to organize the shoe workers into
bona fide unions but they all failed
until 1924, when three locals here
who had been in the Amalgamated
joined the Shoe Workers Protective
Union. The Protective" was the
first organization that was ever sue
cessful in winning a strike against
the scabbery Of the american.
One of the first strikes which the
Protective" ever had, the Amer
lean, Immediately through their
president, James A. Grady, signed up
with the firm (Zwier & Grossman)
and tried to fill the shop with scabs.
The Protective" from that time on
has made steady progress up to this
time, having organized about two
thousand workers in the trade and
having agreements with some thirty
manufacturers.
Up to 1928, the manufacturers had
complete control of the American
Union, an attorney sitting in every
meeting Of their Council to advise
and steer them. At this period their
funds were under the control of the
manufacturers as it required the sig
nature of one of the manufacturers
on the checks to draw on their ac-
count.
About this time many shoe work
ers who had formerly refused to
join the organization sent in applica-
tions and became members for the
purpose of trying to wrest the union
from the manufacturers. This con-
tinued until last fall, 1925 when the
militants had become so strong that
they had the same difficulty in
putting over their agreement. The
agreement of year ago last No
vember was the worse that had ever
been signed, taking away every right
that the workers ever had, causing
many revolts to take place which
convinced the manufacturers that
the members could no longer be con-
trolled and that they must rid the
union of the militants.
The Miller Strike.
The fight was started by l. Miller
and Sons discharging fourteen work
ers, including officers and board
members Of the filters union. This
caused a walk-out Of the entire crew
/ Of about 100. Miller told Grady