The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-15


with their poisonous atmosphere. All
the energy of the organization, all
its resources were directed in fighting
the rank and file of the membership.
No wonder that the jobbing system
and the open shop flourished and be-
came firmly entrenched in the dress
industry. The struggle Of 1925
brought great havoc to the dress in
dustry. Due to the general disor-
ganized condition the dressmakers
suffered even more than the cloak
makers.
Rebuilding the Union.
When the left wing administration
came into power we found but a shell
of an organization. The number OF
union shops had dwindled down to
about half. Union conditions and
standards in the shops were COM
pletely broken down. The forty-hour
week existed only on paper. The first
and most difficult task of the new
administration was to gather the
shattered fragments of the union and
begin building it anew. To accom-
push this task it required not only
the utmost devotion on the part Of
me oIAcers but the most active CO.
operation OF the membership.
In the course of one year we sue
ceeued N repairing most OF the dam
age done to our organization during
the internal war; We formed organ
ization committees in which nun
dreds of workers participated, and
thru the activities Of our organiza-
tion department We unionized close to
six hundred shops. This gain in the
numDor OF shops made up tor the
normal loss as well as the loss suf-
Tered during the struggle. We re-
gained close to five Thousand mem
0srs who haG dropped out Of the
union. We cleared cur organization
from the menace Of gangsterism and
brought home to the workers the
ldea mat the industry can only be or
gsnized thru the collective efforts of
the union members. And most Of all
we awakened new hope and conf
donce in the ability of the union to
defend the interests of the workers.
The Change lakes i'lace.
Our union meetings, which had for
years been the place where every
free expression Of opinion was sup
pressed, became place where the
members discussed union affairs with
their elected officers and together
worked out plans as to how best to
improve conditions in the industry.
The union offices, which had Tor
years been a stronghold Of the union
bureaucracy and the chosen few of
their supporters where the average
member met the unresponsive gaze Of
the union officials, became a place
where members gathered to exchange
views Of the happenings Of the day
and give their services to the union
in whatever capacity they were need
ed. The union officers, who had for
years acted as the bosses of the
members, were now regarded by
them as their representatives.
With the approach of negotiations
for the new agreement the office be-
gan to hum with lie and activity.
1T every shop meeting and at every
local meeting the question Of organi-
cation WORK was on the first order
Of the day. All preparations were
made for an organization campaign
on a large scale which would bring
the great mass of unofganized work
ers within the folds of the union.
New Attack is Planned.
But, alas, we We're too engrossed
in the plans for organization work
to observe the new attack that was
being planned on our organization.
On the eve of the renewal of the
agreement, when conferences with
the employers had practically been
arranged, came the new expulsion or
der issued by Sigman and the gener-
al executive board. The cloakmakers
were expelled because they called
what Sigman now terms an illegal
strike altho he himself had been
part of that strike for twenty weeks.
The dressmakers on the other hand
were expelled because they might
have called a strike if they had not
been expelled. Sigman's expulsion or
der stated specifically that he was
prompted TO expel the dress locals so
as to save the dressmakers from an
unnecessary strike. Yes, Sigman did
save the dressmakers from a strike
at the price of bringing back the
open shop in the dress industry.
The signing Of the scab agreement
with the dress contractors is an act
of the blacklist treachery committed
by Sigman and his henchmen against
the dressmakers. From the very
first day that Sigman began his war
of destruction in our union, he under
took a widespread publicity campaign
that the dressmakers do not want TO
strike, thus openly encouraging the
bosses to put forth the most impos-
sible demands to the workers. In
the role Of an open agent Of the
bosses, he repeatedly exposed the
union as being in a state of complete
helplessness and in no position to Of
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