The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-11-08

news of the past week was the gage
of battle thrown down to the Amalga-
mated Association of Street and
Electric Railways Employees by the
traction companies of New York and
Brooklyn and it's acceptance by the
American Federation of Labor.
AS the news has been covered COM
pletely by The DAILY WORKER it
is not necessary to go into all the de-
tails of the various happenings from
the firing of the BIN. T. workers to
the announcement that the Amalga-
mated would fight back and refuse
to be dictated to by the traction trust
Of the city.
Suffice it to say'that the stage was
set, unwittingly it is true, for a grand
battle between the two opposing
forces and optimistic people were
hoping that the injunction question so
much talked about by the A. F. of
L. officialdom fought to a finish once
and for all
In no other state has legal and
public sympathy for labor gone so
far in the matter of injunctions than
they have in New York So it looked
as if the traction barons had played
into the hands Of the union organic
ers when they applied for an injunc-
ton to restrain the labor agitators.
The time, the conditions and the
pronounced unpopularity of the trac-
ton lords or thieves all played into
the hands of Coleman, Shea and the
Amalgamated Union agents and or
ganizers.
1t is regrettable that the union Of
ficials do not care to follow up their
splendid advantages. Besides raising
the question of the right to organize
the BIN T. and the l. R. T. workers
the officials of the A. F. of L. in
Greater New York not directly con-
nected with the Amalgamated Union
criminally neglected to use their po-
litical power to force the traction com
panies to come to terms with labor.
They could have. got the health au-
thorieties to make life miserable for
Hedley and company. They could ir
ritate the traction barons by inces-
SAINT demands for more men to keep
the trains and the stations on the
elevated and subway lines clean and
sanitary In these and in many other
instances union organizers could
keep up steady barrage of poison
gas on Frank Hedley and his aides
until he surrendered.
But instead Of using the politicians
the union officers allowed the poll
ticians exploit them and make CAPT
tai without giving anything in re-
turn. The jazz hound mayor, Jimmy
Walker and the champion con man
Governor AL Smith who owe a great
deal to the labor union officials of
New York, are now getting ready to
put the skids under Coleman and
Shea, the Amalgamated organizers
and leave them stranded.
In the matter of the July 26 agree
ment, that the union men SO often
refer to and which has been fatty
and bluntly denied by the B. M. T.
officials, Mayor Walker is most eva
sive. Although repeatedly questioned
Walker neither affirms nor denies the
union contention Had he come out
in the open and said: Eyes; the trac-
ton officials did so agree to let Mes
srs. Coleman and Shea organize the
workers regardless of the standing of
the company union" it would mean
much to the Amalgamated But no,
| Walker is evasive. Al Smith, who
has the A. F. of L. endorsement for
the presidency of the United States
in his vest pocket and who is undoubt-
eddy the most powerful politician in
the state of New York could by a
word give incalculable aid to the
union organizers. But like jazz hound
Jimmy Walker he lodges and twists
and squirms out of the question. One
is evasively noisy: the other is eva
sively silent. Both are all set for
| sell out.
We now learn that Mahon, the big
chief of the Amalgamted has gone
back to Detroit and will not return
to the city until President Green of
the A. F. of L. arrives and just what
either of these gentlemen can do to
ease the traction situation other than
to pledge the support of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor in the legal
battles that may be fought as re-
suit of the injunction application by
the traction bandits, is HSrd to see.
/
The moral effect of their eloquent
resolutions none will deny but it does
appear to trained and vetern OBJ
server that the time for high sound
ing phrases and long-winded disser-
tations on the U. S. constitution has
about ended and the time for action
| has arrived.
The A. r. of L. in one Of its Of
ficial publications says "the company
Z. lze...l GgNIy,lI l..