The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-29
The A. F. of L. as a Police Force
for Capitalism

1--WE believe the restriction against entry
of aliens into the United States should be
more rigid in character. though tempered
with humane considerations, and applicable
to all aliens. 49,.
1--WE must insist that no rule, order
proclamation practice procedure be per-
mitted by any department of the govern
ment that will evade avoid make diff
emit the enforcement of the immigration
laws and that every precautiOn be taken and
all possible support be rendered in the
fOrcement of these laws"
The above words are from the declaration
adopted by the convention of the American
Federation of Labor at New Orleans. The
gentlemen in charge of the convention de-
clare in the name of the American working
class that the worst enemies Of the workers
should increase the already czar-like tyranny
under which workers, born in other countries,
are sorted out and for the most part excluded
from entry into this country.
Even at this time, when the A. F. of L.
bureaucrats are using their best hypocrisy
to aid the American imperalists in corrupt
ing and subverting the labor movements of
Latin American countries, they do not hest
tate to demand that workers of Mexico, Cen
trail and South America, the West Indies and
the Philippines be excluded from the right to
enter the United States. Even the coming
across the border of few thousand Can
adam workers at Windsor Canada, on daily
rips to their jobs in Detroit arouses the
police instincts of these Pinkerton bureau
Gratis.
Of course Mr. Green and the other rich
gentlemen in the Labor" business do not say
4 word against the free entry of foreigners
of the wealthy classes. 1t is only against the
right of workers that they ask that the
heavy hand of capitalist government be made
heavier.
What is the reason? Green and the other
gilt-edged flunkeys who stand above the
working class as overseers while claiming to
be the labor movement would give the reason
that the restriction of immigration has the
purpose of protecting American standards
of living" But casual glance at the records
of these bureaucrats makes one ask whether
the protection of the standards of. living Of
workers ever is a real motive of any of these
bureaucrats? In the textile fields we have
Just gotten through watching Batty, Binns,
VOL, Green and their like, assisted by the
socialist party, help the mill owners to beat
the textile workers in long, hard-fought
strike, and to lower their wages. In the
needle trades, every effort to raise the STAN
dard of living of the workers or to prevent
it's decrease has been met with the most
merciless attack by the Sigmans and Hill
mans, backed by Green, Woll and Co., who
invariably fight to impose every possible
handicap upon the workers, from piece-work
to yellow-dog contracts. And last but not
least we have just seen John L. Lewis and
his bureaucracy in the A. F. of L., backed by
Green, the mine operators and the police
working with strikebreakers, guns and court
actions to break the miners strike and to
force the mine-workers to labor for less than
the Jacksonville scale.
Surely something is more precious to these
scab Labor leaders" than the American
standard" of wages
Is it, perhaps, that they think by exclud-
ing foreigners" from the mines, mills and
factories they can better organize the work
ers? But in every industrial country IN the
world the workers are vastly better organ
lied than in the United States! Not more