The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-03-14
GENERAL STRIKE
OF new ENGLAND
TEXTILES Wanted
Hit at Heart of Bosses,
Is Demand
(Bu q Worker Correspondent.l

FALL RIVER, Mass, (By MaiD -
The year 1924 saw the rise of the
first real movement for organization
of the textile workers under the BAN
ner of the left wing. AS a result of
the general wage-slashing campaign
of the textile barons of this section,
the United Front Committees, under
the leadership of John J. BALKAN, took
the lead in fighting the drive of the
bosses, and although the United Front
Commute, due to technical diff
culties, was late in getting under way,
we were successful in rallying large
and representative group Of textile
workers to our conference in Law
renee, in the summer of 1925,
The policy outlined at Lawrence,
and the enthusiasm of the delegates
present, resulted in the world ia
nous Passaic Strike, which stopped
the wage-cutting campaign of the
bosses and gave us a wider rank
and file appeal for the movement,
thruout the entire country. The
progressives were proven leaders
and organizers, no longer could we
be dubbed dreamers and agitatOrs.
Beginning with the fall Of 1926, and
profiting by the general demoraliza-
ton which had infected all of labor's
organizations in the New England
Textile industry, (reactionary and
progressive alike,) the bosses began
second, general drive to smash the
unions and cut wages-but the work
ers of New England have learned
their lesson, and the Progressive
Committees rallied to the call for ac-
ton.
A general call to action was
sounded and the Fall River Com
mittee, on whom the main work fell,
surprised the bosses and the re-
dictionary leadership by the ex-
tensive and effective agitation they
set up for resistance, through the
general strike.
Immediate Walk-Outs.
Despite the fact that 100000
workers had already accepted the
cut, and that over 40 per cent of
the industry was unemployed, the
workers of Fall River reacted to
the cut with immediate walk-outs
in the Stevens and Davis mills. This
action was as trumpet call to re-
sist for every worker in the in
dustry. In these strikes the pro-
gressive committee was represented,
but had not sufficient forces to
cOunteract the treachery of the A.
F. T. o. Officialdom, who de-
liberately miscOunted the ballots
cast in the council strike meeting.
However the widespread and dis
tribution of 10000 leaflets calling for
a fight and the raising of the pro-
gressive slogan of general STRIKE"
at mass meetings,-again stimulated
the workers into action and the ris-
ing tempo of the strike wave is
demonstrated in the magnificent
spirit shown in the fight in the
Parker Mill and in the fact that Or
ganizers REVERE and Campos have
been driven into adoption of our pro-
gressive program; even to the state
ment: "if you don't like your leaders,
kick them out"
Under the stimulus of the work
in Fall River other local groups have
revived and a general movement
for organization is again making it's
appearance-the workers are re-
spending to our agitation and the
moment is ripe for an Organiza-
tiOnal drive to embrace all New
England.
The main task of the coming con-
ference will be to organize the
widespread sentiment for fight. To
organize the resentment of the
workers against the growing in
justice of enforced unemployment.
To organize and make effective our
slogan of general strike as means
of ending the attack of the boss. To
prepare for the next and greater
Passaic--a strike at the heart of the
New England bosses, on a New
England scale.