The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-20
What A. FL. Convention Does
BY Feed Ellis,


the gain in membership during the
year (S,441; the 1927 membership
was 2,S14,407, indicated how SER
iously these resolutions would be
taken. Despite the race wars
threatening even at the time of the
convention, and the large number of
lynchings of Negroes, the conven-
ton refused to move an inch in the
direction of organizing the hundreds
of thousands of Negro workers in
industry. Their attitude toward the
problem was practically the same
as that of the southern white slave
owners.
Despite the fact that two of the
most vicious injunctions in the his
tory of the labor movement had
been handed down just before and
during the convention, injunctions
which outlawed strikes that would
affect interstate commerce land
practically every product made in
the country comes within this cate
gory), the convention simply ex-
pressed its regret and refused to
take any action. The great strike
of 100000 coal miners was not even
mentioned in the report of the
Executive Council, nor was the
Sacco-Vanzetti case. Green had
promised the capitalist press repor-
tiers that this case would not be dis
cussed in the convention, and he
kept his word. This betrayal of
the two outstanding labor events of
the year was to have been expected.
In this atmosphere of trade union
capitalism, class collaboration and
jurisdictional quarrels.
Before the convention opened,
Green had stated that the 5-hour
day was necessitated by increased
production, but that it must be in
PRODUCED very gradually $50 the in
dustries can accommodate themselves
to it." Here as elsewhere his first
interest was always the welfare of
the capitalists. 1t was Frey, how
ever, who introduced the outstand-
ing contribution of the convention
the new wage theory and the elimin-
alton of strikes theory which may
be summed up in what the reac-
tionaries call "the higher strategy
of labor" The Executive Council re-
port advocated that strikes be abol-
ished and that 'facts" rather than
force be resorted to. For this pur-
pose research bureaus were to be
developed so that labor could base
Its peaceful appeals to the employ
ers upon studies of production costs,
profits, etc.
During the last % years real
wages had increased per cent,
whereas productivity had increased
so per cent.
Frey's cure was "the social wage"
which would depend upon the pros
perity of the country. The danger
of increased unemployment due to
over-production would be met by the
employers increasing wages, so that
the purchasing power of the en-
ployed. workers would be increased,
and thus work would be produced
for the unemployed. This magic
was the only solution of the bureau
crazy for the tremendous problems
facing the workers and threatening
to smash the entire labor movement
of the country. One of the old stand
bys of the machine, Andy Furuseth
of the Seamen's Union, was so shock
ed out of his "hard-boiled" COM
placency by the series Of injunc-
tions, that he warned the conven-
ton that inevitably the unions were
being driven to the point where they
would become underground organi-
cations. But the reactionaries blithe-
ly went their way.
Another brilliant idea whereby the
bureaucrats would fool the capital
lists was recommended to the con-
vention by the Executive Council re-
port: In every city the unions were
to organize "a special committee to
be on the watch for new industries
!. .(whichl are constantly devel-