The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-16
Learn from the
BOxmakers' Strike

aIIer nineteen weeks OF DltJef SLrug-
gle against their exploiters, gone
back to work without a union agree
ment.
The question arises; Why did they
retreat?
In order to answer the question
properly we must review the history
of the paper box workers struggle.
Mostly Youngsters.
The paper box industry in New
York City, employees about 1000
workers, one half are young workers
and children.
For many years the paper box
workers were entirely forgotten and
unnoticed by the labor movement.
The bosses took advantage of thir
division among different nationalities
languages and exploited them severe
ly.
The conditions under which the
paper box workers toll are most I'M
sanitary and injurious to their health.
Statistics show that the health Of
the majority of the paper box box
workers is affected by the nature Of
their work.
Conditions Force Strike.
Day after day conditions of the
workers were getting worse and
worse, reaching stage which even
beasts of burden could not endure.
The class-conscious element among
the paper box workers realized that
the only chance they have of better
ing their conditions is in forming
union, thru which they could demand
human conditions in their shops.
The foundation of a Paper Box
Workers union was laid in 1923 by
this group of class-conscious workers.
They began drive for membership
in the union among the rest of the
paper box workers who as yet were
not awakened to the necessity of or
ganizing themselves.
Fight Dissension.
In addition to the hardships with
which they were confronted in con-
vincing the workers of the import
ance of joining the union in order to
fight the bosses, they also had to
fight an element in their own ranks
which came into the organization
with the purpose of destroying it.
After long and bitter struggle
they succeeded in cleaning up the
union of that undesirable element. A
fighting and militant leadership re-
manned in the union, representing 80
percent of the industry.
Realizing that the organization of
the workers into union and the
growth of the same, is minimizing
their possibilities for the exploita-
ton of the workers the bosses start
ed to employ every method available
to break up the union.
In reply to their mobilization of
anti-union forces, the union issued
call for strike on October 81, 1926.
All Come Out.
A solid mass of over two thousand
workers left the shops at the call of
the union. The following demands
were put up by the strikers.
1-Recognization of the union.
PA forty-four hour week.
3-Better sanitary conditions in
the shops.
"A minimum increase in wages
of five dollars.
In opposition to the picket line or
ganized by the strikers the bosses
lined up the local police department
of the city of New York.
Police Ride In.
A squadron of cossacks of the po-
lice department rode into the picket
line.
Wholesale arrests of the strikers
was another method of breaking the
strike. Dozens Of strikers were ar
rested daily. Bailing out of the strik-
ing men and women cleaned out the
treasury of the union. Though the
left wing of other unions supported
them to their utmost, it was unable
to help great deal, because it was
engaged in bitter struggle Of its
own. Every company car driven by
scabs was decorated by a uniformed
policeman, which prevented the strik-
ers from speaking to the scab driver.
Many other kinds of ammunition
were used by the bosses in order to
break the strike.
Surprise Bosses.
The long struggle put up by the
strikers, which lasted nineteen weeks,
was a very unpleasant thing to the
bosses. They expected to starve the
workers back to work within the first
few days of the strike. The devotion
and milatancy of the leadership, how
ever, made it possible to keep up the
struggle for the length of time.
The loss of the strike is not de-
feat in the general sense Of the word,
because the lessons of the strike are
of great value to the workers. 1t
has been proven to them clearly that
the bosses are uniting all their forces
to fight all workers, and gave them
a better understanding of the neces-
sity Of a stronger organization and
of preparing themselves for the
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