The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-12-04
Misleaders in
the American
Labor Unions
By WILLIAM z. FOSTER

y
high price for the treachery and
venality of their leaders. Prior to
1904 they had an organization. 1t
was then led by Mike Donnelly. The
union won a big strike in Chicago
in 1904, but unwisely allowed itself
This was completely lost and the
union crushed all over the country.
One of the basic causes of the de-
feat was the fact that the Chicago
local unions had been organized in
two separate councils, the mechan-
ical trades and the packing trades.
This facilitated the treachery of the
leadership. When the crisis came
these councils split from each other,
the mechanical trades scabbing on
the packing trades. This completely
demoralized the strike.
For 13 terrible years the packing
house workers remained without or
ganization. They were at the mercy
of the packers, who reduced them
to a state of slavery hardly equalled
in any other industry. The half
dead Amalgamated Meat Cutters
and Butcher Workmen's Union did
nothing for them. Led by such
Composites as Dennis Lane, who is
reputed to he heavily interested fl
nancially in the packing business, it
contented itself with organizing a
few butcher shops and small pack
ing plants. The reactionary leader
ship were incapable as well as I'M
willing to tackle the great packing
industry.
Finally, in 1917, the Chicago Fed
Grafton of Labor, upon motion of
the writer, began a campaign to
unionize the stockyards. The But
cher Workmen's Union was literally
forced to join it. Great success at
tended the campaign. Soon not only
the Chicago packing houses, but
those all over the country, were or
ganized solidly. The union lined up d.
the 100000 workers in the national
industry. The 8-hour day, big wage
increases, and radical changes in
working conditions, were estab-
lished. The clearinghouse workers
began to lift their heads after the
long period of non-unionism.
When the 1917 movement was be-
gun it was decided and agreed that
the great mistake of 1904, the build
ing of two stockyard councils in
Chicago, should be avoided. 1t was
recognized that to repeat this error
would threaten the life of the or
ganization. Hence the Stockyards
Labor Council was organized to in
clude all the trades. But this pro-
gressive organization, which really
led the entire movement, was al
most from the first attacked by the
black reactionaries at the head of
the Butcher Workmen.. They assail-
ed it from all sides, demanding the
formation of a separate packing
trades council. They. put a dozen
organizers to work agitating the
idea. The workers, knowing its de-,
structiveness, revolted against it.
But the Butcher Workmen officials
despite all, established their packing
trades council in July, 1919, in Chi
cago.
This broke the clearinghouse
union. Only 1000 of the $4,000 or
ganized workers affiliated to the
new council. The rest stuck to the
Stockyards Labor Council. These
were then expelled from the Butcher
| Workmen and the A. F. of L. Reac-
tionary organizers from other inter-
national unions then demanded that
their locals break with the Stock
yards Labor Council. Finally such
chaos developed that there were
three councils, the Stockyards Labor
Council, the Packing Trades Coun-
ell, and the Mechanical Trades Coun-
Gil. Besides, there were several
unions entirely unaffiliated. The
Chicago Federation of Labor pro-
tested against this outrageous split
ting of the clearinghouse workers
and fought to prevent it. But Comp
ers supported Lane, a typical bench
man, and told the Chicago Fedora
ton of Labor to take it's hands off.
The packers, profiting by this
situation, moved to destroy the union
outright. In the fall of 1920 they l
instituted company unions in their
plants. Then they made a general
wage cut. The weakened union de-
clared a national strike on Dec. 5.
But the takers had done their work
too we'll. The unions fighting power
was gone. On Jan. 81, the lost strike
was called off. The workers sur
rendered Internationally. Their
promising union was completely
wrecked.
Today, led by the packers agent,
Lane, the weak and decrepit Butcher
Workmen's Union confines itself to
organizing workers in petty butcher
shops. 1t leaves the clearinghouse
workers to the mercy of the rapa-
cious Packing Trust.
OLD, JOBLESS, TAKES LIFE