The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-07-18
CALL NATIONAL
CONVENTION TO
MEET IN FALL
A. F. L. Record Shows
Consistent Betrayal
by a Worker Correspondent

By q WOffeT correspondent
PHILADELPHIA (By Mail) At
the present time, the textile work
ers are faced with wage cuts,
speed-up, unemployment, and a
vicious open-shop offensive of the
employers The tapestry carpet
weavers in Philadelphia received a
Is per cent. cut in wages. A few
months ago, the Wilton carpet
workers were handed a 10 per cent.
reduction in wages by the well or
ganized association of carpet manu-
facturers of Philadelphia. The hos
iery workers have seen similar cuts
in their pay envelopes. All through
the industry the workers are re-
ceiving a starvation wage, working
two, three and four days a week
But the greed for profits of the
bosses knows no bounds. Knowing
that nine-tenths of the textile work
ers are unorganized, and that the
one-tenth that are organized are led
by trade union officials who have
no intention of carrying on a
struggle against the tixtile barons,
the mill owners carry on their at
tack upon the standards of Icing of
the workers without check.
A. F. of L. Takers Do Nothing.
In the face of this situation, the
labor takers of the A. F. of L., the
United Textile Workers of America,
have done absolutely nothing to or
ganize the textile workers for
struggle against the attack of the
bosses. The policy of these Off
Gals is to crawl before the mill
owners, to Cooperate" with them,
to speed up the workers more, and
serve as the efficiency agents of the
employers for producing more
profits, and thereby gaining the
friendship of the mill barons, and
the support of their own group in
terests.
On April % and 20, the United
Textile Workers officials had a
conference in Knitters' Hall to dis
cuss Remedy for the Textile In
dustry." At this conference the Of
ficialdom Of the United Textile
Workers received enthusiastically
Mayor Mackey, who has helped the
employers to effectively smash the
strike of the Fetterolf carpet work
ers, and Mr.. Blum, the representa-
tive of the Textile Manufacturers
Association. The remedy" arrived
at by these labor misleaders was to
elect a committee to cooperate
with the bosses, and jointly to work
for higher tariff on upholstery
fabrics.
Not a word was mentioned by
these good friends of the employers
about organizing the $4,000 unor-
ganized textile workers of Philadel-
phia. Not a word was mentioned
about fighting the speed-up, or
fighting for a shorter work-week, a
40-hour week, in order to mitigate
the unemployment situation. Not a
word was mentioned about unem-
ployment relief Not a word was
mentioned about leading the work.
ers in a mass struggle against the
mill barons as the only remedy for
the textile industry. No! The re-
dictionary leaders of the United Tex
tile Workers dare openly to talk of
cooperation with the same gang of
cut-throat capitalists, who have
fired out workers wholesale from
their mills for daring to join
union and fight against wage cuts.
Wilton Carpet Men Organized.
When the wage cut of 10 per cent.
was imposed on the Wilton carpet
workers of Philadelphia a few
months ago, the carpet workers i'm
mediately began to organize, de-
termined to make a fight against
the cut. By general strike of the
5000 Wilton carpet workers of
Philadelphia, and a determined,
militant mass struggle, the carpet
mills could be closed, the attack Of
the employers could be beaten back.
The misleaders of the United Tex
/ tile Workers of America on the
contrary, worked frantically to pre-
vent any widespread struggle.
Sporadic and spontaneous strikes of
the creeler boys in Hardwick and
Magees, and in Holmes were beaten
back An isolated little strike in the
Develin carpet mill was broken with
the aid of the police. No steps were
taken to call out the workers for an
organized struggle against the wage
cut.
The Wilton Carpet Manufacturers
Association then stepped in, and
provoked strike in the carpet plant
of Fetteroff, the president of the as
ISOLATION, by firing all the workers
who had Joined the union. The be-
trayal and mismanagement of this
strike, by the UTW officials is q
painful story. Entirely insufficient
relief was raised. The strike, con.
Quoted in mill with only 1875 work.
ers, and with the employer backed
up by the whole manufacturers as
sociation, could only be won by
mass struggle. The UTW leader
ship exerted all it's pressure to keer
the workers in the other mills from
coming out. When the injunction