The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-12-11
(Continued)


In addition, number of grievous
annoyances caused by the mill own
ers make the lives of the mill girls
intolerable. A source of one of the
worst annoyances is the punishment
system. There are punishments for
faults in the texture, punishments
for the washing of hands, punish
ments for singing, for every minute
of lost time, etc. Payment of wait
ing rates should also be extended,
so that during the conversion of the
looms from one pattern to another
flat rates should be paid.
1t is no wonder that the textile
workers have responded to the in
human conditions, the brutal lock-
outs and the contemplated wage re-
duction of 12.5 per cent on the part
of the mill owners with fight last
ing several weeks. The workers de-
manded a Is per cent increase in
wages over existing flat rates and
piece rates, abolition of the piece
rate Disparity, six days of holiday,
etc.
Women Start Strike Wave.
The first movement of the big
strike wave originated among the
women. In the throstle spinning
section of the Spinnerei A. G. Mum
ich- Gladbach the mill girls resorted
to passive resistance as protest
against the wage reduction of 10
pfennig. Thereupon, the manage
ment tried in vain to drive the
women out of the mill with the
batons of the police. AS result
of the subsequent fight put up by
the mill girls, the mill owners were
obliged to withdraw the wage cut
and the contemplated penal mea-
sures, and large portion of the
non-union mill girls Immediately
joined the union. Later on, when
the strike wave spread all over the
textile district of the left bank OF
the Rhine, the mill girls also took
part in the demonstrations. At g
meeting at Munich Gladbach, where.
by the police were melted against
the demonstrators, boy and mil
girl were injured.
Reformists Sell Out Strike.
With the help of the reformists
the mill owners then succeeded il
bringing the fight to termination
The arbitration award, which pro
vided for insignificant advances fol
hardly 5 per cent of the mill work
ers, was declared binding by the ar
bitrator, DIR. Joetten, counsel of the
supreme court. And the father o.
his thought, of this declaration o.
validity, is the same Wissell, the
social-democratic minister Of labor
who also declared the 54-hour weel
binding for 100000 textile worker!
and rejected the arbitration aware
in the mems clothing trade, which
granted an IL per cent wage ad
vance. The reformist leaders of thu
German textile union never before
suffered such a defeat as that a
the meeting of shop stewards Of tn
lockout district. Here they callet
upon the workers to accept the ar
bitration award and agree with tn,
union advisory council, which con
fronted the shop stewards with fait
accomplis, for it had accepted tn,
award, and to call off the move
ment.
In spite of this, the fight wa
i'throttled, for of the $4,000 work
ers, 10000 were unorganized an,
the remaining $4,000 were split VI
into three unions free, Christian
and Hirsch-Dunker); but in thi
fight in particular an intense radi
calization was apparent. e
Communists Force City Aid.
As regards the support of tn
striking workers, it was again tn
Communists who procured munich
pal support for the strikers. Fo
instance, the town of Munich Glad
bach resolved to contract loan 0
100000 marks for the financing o
their support, and in Rheydt, too,