The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-08-02
CONDITIONS CROW
WORSE EVERY DAY.
IN KANSAS CITY
Company Union Helps
Enslave Workers

working conditions in the packing
houses of Kansas City are growing
worse every day. In the first place
comes the speed-up of labor. One
man is given to do the work of two.
The Packing House Worker" the
shop paper issued by the Workers
/ (Communist) Party units in the
packing houses, reports in its last
issue that in the Armour Co. 70
butchers went up and turned in their
time. These workers are experienced
hands, each working steady for the
last seven or eight years. The rea-
son why they quit is because they
cannot work under the newly insti-
tuted system of speeding up the
men. They leave their jobs at time
when there are hundreds Of men
unemployed and it is so difficult to
get job.
Wages SIS to S23.
The wages of the workers average
from Is to % dollars a week. The
laborers get AZ cents an hour, so if
a laborer works 80 hours week he
makes 81 dollars a week. But be-
cause of the speed-up system the
workers are not given a full weeks
job, some work only 80 hours
week. The treatment of the workers
by the company and it's tools is be-
yond description.
Treated Worse Than Cattle.
The workers are treated even
worse than that of the cattle in the
stock yards. This is no exaggera-
ton. While the company cares for
the lives of the hogs and steers no
consideration is given to the lives
and health of the workers. Recently
a part of the lard cooling building
of the Cudahy Company collapsed
because the building was too old.
Only one worker was killed because
the accident occurred during lunch
time. It is common knowledge that
all the packing house companies fol-
low a policy of using the buildings
until they cave in. This crash is not
the first one.
OF course their conditions are
making the workers realize more
and more that there is no hope for
improvement in the immediate fu-
ture and that the only way the work
ers can better their conditions is
thru organization.
Tho. there is a union in the pack
ing houses, it is not a workers
union, it is a company union, con-
trolled by the bosses agents. The
workers realize this and are
anxiously looking forward towards
the organization of real fighting
workers union.
Communists Support Workers.
So far the Communist Party is the
only organized force that is doing
something to organize the packing
house workers. The Communist
units of the packing houses are is
suing shop papers. These shop
papers are issued monthly and are
distributed not only in Kansas City
but also in all the packing houses
of the Southwest.
The next thing the Communist
Party thru it's paper called the
packing House Worker" is going to
do is issue an appeal to workers to
organize committees in each packing
, house. This must be done. 1t is the
first step in building up real union.
The workers must prepare for it i'm
mediately. They must start organi-
zing right now. In organizing the
packing house workers committees
there will be no discrimination
against the Negro workers.
If the workers ever wish to i'm
prove their conditions it can only
be done thru unity of the Negro and
white workers. The Negro workers
are anxious to organize and the basic
principle of the new organization
will be absolute equality of all work
ers regardless of race, nationality
or creed. Without unity of the Negro
and white workers there can be no
thought of a struggle against the
bosses. Should the white workers
discriminate against the Negroes,
they will simply be doing the thing
the boss wants them to do and that
is split the ranks of the workers and
drive the colored man into a position
where he will be forced to scab.
Workers who wish information or
want to help in this work should APP
ply to the District Office of the
Party which is located at 207 E. 18th
Street, Room l, Kansas City, Kansas.
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