The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-17
OFFICE UNION
BANS FREIHEIT
OFFICE STAFF
Officials Refuse to Or
ganize Big News Shop

Freiheit office workers cannot join
the Office Workers Union. This is
the edict of Ernest BONN, secretary
of the union, revealed today in the
publication Of correspondence be-
tween the workers in the Freiheit Of
flee and the union.
Freiheit is the only Jewish work
ers' daily newspaper in New York
City, and that is regarded the real
reason behind the action of the Of
ficialdom Of the union, which takes
orders attentively from Hugh Frayne,
local representative OF the A. f. Of J..
hierarchy and Matthew Vol, leader
Of the reactionary union-disrupters
in the A. +. of l..
The relationship between Freiheit
and the Office Workers Union is an
interesting one. The office staff was
the only unorganized section of the
entire treiheit staff until November
1925. When workers asked the
Ereiheit manager why the office
workers were not in the union, he
answered that the union never came
to organize them. The manager i'm
mediately communicated with the
union.
On March %, 1926 the manager
wrote to the union informing them
of the actual conditions. The secre-
tary came and took list of the
workers and their wages. But the
office remained unorganized. On May
10 the manager wrote again. The
secretary came again and asked for
one more weeks time. But the week
turned into a month, and the office
remained non-union.
In answer TO the above, the presi-
dent of the union offered the Freiheit
staff the right to pay dues to the
union without the elementary privi-
leges Of coming to union meetings
and partaking in the union activities.
Needless to say such proposition was
voted down by the staff. 1t was con-
sidered an insult.
But this did not close the matter.
The office staff remained morgan
lied until two ambitious union men,
bers came to the Freiheit and stated
that they would use their influence
in convincing the president of the
union that the office staff should be
organized. They were given the
names and salaries of each member.
Before the staff was unionized the
secretary stated that he was in favor
of organizing the Freiheit but the
president of the union and his fol-
lowers were not.
The secretary's position seemed TO
have won. The ambitious girls in
fluence was convincing. The Frei-
heit office staff was initiated on the
union floor, without single objec-
ton, at the November, 1926 meeting.
"Hooray", the Freiheit staff felt
like telling the world. But they re-
membered the pledge made to the two
young office workers nat they would
give no publicity to the fact that the
Freiheit was unionized. And they
kept their promise. No publicity
and all was we'll until
Tn January 10, 15z' each Office
worker received a registered-receipt-
requested letter with q check cover
ing initiation fees and dues. The let
ter read:
Greeting: Since your appearance
before the membership committee Of
this union, additional information has
been brought for the committee
showing that contrary to the impress
sion you created there, you are OPP
posed to the principles of trade
unionism as sanctioned by the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor. We there
fore, return the money you have paid
on account of initiation fees and
dues, enclosed. Very truly yours,
(signed) Ernest Bohm, secretary.