The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-01-08
SIGMAN CONTROL
THREATENS LOSS.
OF MANY GAINS
Dressmakers of N. Y.
Fear for Future
(spoeIaI to The Daily WORKER

NEW YORK, Jan. o. ne PosStplh-
ty Of losing important rights now Sc
cured to the dressmakers If a new
agreement with the employers Is ne
aotiated by the international instead
of by the proper authorities, the New
York Joint Board, has arisen in the
dress industry.
Since Morris Sigman seized "con-
troll" of the Joint Board and of Local
20 on the excuse that he wished to
''avert a disastrous strike" the en-
ployers have become emboldened to
demand the resembling Of several
hard-won gains; such as the abolish
ment of the guaranteed minimum
wage scale secured in the last agree
ment, the increase of the trial period
from one week to two weeks, and re-
organization.
Would be Bad Blow.
The loss Of the guaranteed mini
mum wage scale would be a serious
blow to the dressmakers, who fought
long to place this responsibility upon
the employers. The announcement OF
Sigman, intimating that the dress
makers could not go on strike what
ever the agreement, has allowed the
employers to feel that entertainments
on the workers rights would not be
fought. In their replies to the request
Of the Joint Board for conference on
renewing the agreement several
weeks ago, they did not dare suggest
such changes.
Support Joint Board.
AT membership meeting of Local
90 held in Webster Hall with an over
flowing meeting in Manhattan Lyce-
um on Tuesday evening, the dress
makers authorized the Joint Board to
take any necessary steps to protect
the rights of the workers to secure an
agreement. The possibility of Sec
ondary understanding" by which Sig
man would ask for renewal of the old
agreement with the understanding
with the employers that the disputed
clauses would not be enforced, was
discussed by leaders. The Joint Board
was given authority by the members
to deal with such a situation.
Ask Slgman Resign.
Resolutions passed in both halls
called for general elections, for the
''union-splitter" Sigman's resignation
as president Of the I. L. G. w. u, for
an immediate referendum on. proper
tional representation to conventions,
and protested the action of Sigman in
expelling Joint Board and local Of
ficials.
In desperate attempts to gain the
support Of the workers, Sigman has
resorted to strong-arm and frame up
methods. Such general condemnation
was excited by the brutal attack from
gangsters upon Joseph DiMola, shop
chairman of the Monroe Dress Shop,
last week, that frame-up designed to
make it appear that the Joint Board
Is sending gangsters to the shops,
was attempted on Tuesday.
Frame-Up. @
Tsidore Morkowitz, organizer, for
the Joint Board, was arrested and
held on $1,000 bail on charges Of as
eault after a fake committee" of
twenty-five strong-arm men had gone
to the Sperber & Kreitman Dress
shop at 104 w. 80 st. and demanded
that the workers attend a "Joint
Board meeting.
The committee Is not known to the
Joint Board and was not sent out by
st. The shop is known as sympathe-
tic to the International, and the inten-
ton evidently was to raise cry in
the. press that the Joint Board was
sending gangsters to terrorize work
ers into attending its meetings. Ac-
cording to workers IN the shop, the
committee created a disturbance, and
when police asked who had sent them,
answered "Moskowitz". Accordingly,
Moskowitz was arrested later In the
day on charges of having led the COM
mittee to the shop. Moskowitz will
bring witnesses to prove that he was
eating breakfast in a restaurant at
the time of the disturbance, and had
nothing to do with the actions of the
committee,
Try to Shift Guilt.
This frame-up is intended to create
the impression that the Joint Board
is using force and strong arm meth
DDS to win the support of the work
ers," declared Louis Hyman, manager
OF the Joint Board. The International
hopes to cover up its own gangster-
ism and terrorism thru such a frame.
up. The Joint Board has never used
force against the workers and never
VIII, and even at this time demands
only referendum to the workers to
decided the Issues. The International,
on the other hand, not only refuses
70 submit the issues to an election
but resorts to gangstarism.v