The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-08-05


''Gompers Said That Pan-American
Federation of Labor Might
Have Life"
"CAMUEL GOMPERS," said Presi-
y dent Green three or four times
during the Washington convention,
"gave his life for the Pan-American
Federation of Labor" While this
statement must be considered little
high pitched to say the least, it is
nevertheless true that Gompers did
lavish much loving care upon it-not
to say money-and that he looked
upon it as one of his favorite invest
mcnts. His expensive attentions
were unrewarded by, success. Thus
far. almost ary way you look at it,
the Pan-American Federation of La
Dor is orc of the greatest failures in
labor history,
THAT it is a failure from an organi-
gational standpoint was demon
strated adequately in the preceding
article. In the present article I shall
try to show that it is a failure from
the standpoint of the everyday needs
of the workers. The basis of my
argument is the fact that thruout Il
nine years since it's first official con-
vention at Laredo, Texas, the Pan
American Federation of Labor has
not grappled seriously with single
practical problem of international
trade-union cooperation in the in
terests of the workers of the Ameri-
cas-.
L. S. and S. A. Workers Must Unite
WITH American capital extending
" it's sway over all the Americas
and with Wall Street interests play.
ing off the workers in this country
/ against the workers in Latin Americe
and vice versa, energetic cooperation
among the various labor movements
of the western hemisphere is a vita
necessity. Every important struggle
in the marine transport Industry, il
the oil industry, in the metal in.
/ dustry, ETC., ETC., makes it plain that
organized labor must be prepared tt
take up the fight on all fronts.
/ Joint strike action, international
agreements, interchangeable unior
cards, international trade-union regu,
lation Of immigration-thes are only
few of the measures that any all.
American federation of labor worthy
of the name would be expected to es.
tablish as primary duty.
WHAT about the "Pan-Americar
" Federation of Labor"
IT has never considered internationa
agreements of any kind, let alone
international strike action. The boy
colt, which has been used effectively
in number of Latin American coun
tries in the past, and which would b.
powerful weapon against U. S
manufacturers who export to Latin
America, has also failed to find favo,
with the Pan-American Federation o.
Labor.
Fake Frey Defeats Union Card
Measure.
ONCE in convention of the Pan
" American Federation of Labor
i (1924), the Mexican delegation intro
duced a resolution calling for inter
change of union cards between mem
bers of the American Federation O
Labor and the Mexican Conferedatiol
of Labor, but John P. Frey at tn
head of the resolution COMMITTEE
promptly slipped in the following
substitute:
"RESOLVED, That the Mexican Con
~ federation of Labor and tn
American Federation of Labor com
municate with their affiliated ma
tional and international unions witt
the object of establishing understand
ings and agreements which will brin,
about the interchange of membership
cards between the unions affiliate,
with the Mexican Confederation o
of Labor and the American Federation
of Labor"
THE substitute was adopted, an,
that is all that has been heard O
the matter from that day to this.
Green Admits Delegates Represent
Nothing.
At the Washington convention jus
Hpassed, one of the three or four La
tin-Americans who represented som
sort Of legitimate labor organizatio-
introduced a resolution dealing wit
trade-union committees to regulat
immigration. This too was immedi
ately side-tracked by the America,
Federation of Labor machine.
THERE was a great deal of word
debate at Washington, but YER
little to indicate that the delegate
were participating in what claimed t
be an international labor convention
Sometimes the thing became almos
farcical. / remember that there wa