The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-12-04
Union

the strikers forced to fight the bosses, but as
long as they remained in the Associated
Silk Workers union they were faced, in the
very midst of the struggle, with the most
vicious opposition on the part of the reaction
airy officials at the head of the union. Con-
fronted with a situation where their officials
were merely a sector of the mill owners fight
against the strike there was no alternative.
They had to submit to open and fragrant be-
trayal or fight the official clique.
The present open betrayal of the official
dom was by no means sudden development.
They have always been of hesitant vacllla-
ting, right wing character. The Associated
Union was composed of two departmental
broadsilk, comprising the great mass OF
workers, and the hatband and ribbon depart
ment, comprising small, well-paid group
which constituted the aristocracy of the in
dustry The officials were from the second
group and in every great strike during the
past few years have only half-heartedly sup
ported the broadsilk workers. Under the
leadership of Hoelscher they looked upon any
vestige of militancy as abhorrent. Their con-
ception of unionism was to enter into gentle
manly discussions with the bosses. They
came to consider that they had special in
terests in the industry that were likely to
be endangered by the horribly exploited,
poorly paid broadsilk workers. The officials
deliberately played the better paid group
against the masses in the industry.
Characteristic of the attitude of the AS
ISOLATED leadership was their recent effort to
stampede the membership into the company
unionized United Textile Workers Union. In
that conspiracy they were assisted by A. j.
Music dean of Brookwood Labor College Tie
attempt of these officials to join the treacher-
Gus United clearly indicates their affinity
with that strike-breaking outfit. Fortunately
they were defeated by the membership, and
forced to approve, at least in words, the
broadsilk strike.
But no sooner had the strike been called
than the officials began retreat and pro-
ceeded to sign fake settlements in an effort
to weaken and finally liquidate the struggle
in favor of the mill owners. Resistance to
this policy on the part of the strike COM
mittee was met by the officials of the AS
sociated with an attempt to dissolve the
strike committee and the Inauguration of
policy of expulsion.
When the broadsiIk strikers arranged
meeting to discuss the strike policy and to
make the strike more effective, the AS
socated officials came out openly in de-
nunciation of the move and aided the mill
owners by shouting that the move was Ill
legal" They even INDUCED in the work of
plain provocateurs by endeavoring to have
the hall owner cancel the contract for the
meeting.
The strikers, convinced of the duplicity of
the reactionary officials, and face to face
with the employers in bitter struggle, re-
sponded quickly to the proposition for afflla-
ton with the new National Textile Workers
Union. This decision is reputation
by the strikers of the attempt of the re-
dictionary officials to divide and defeat the
workers in the Paterson silk mills.
The better paid workers in the hatband
and ribbon section of the industry should also
rise in revolt against the dastardly attempt
to separate them from the great mass OF
poorly paid workers and should join the ranks
of the new national union and help build it
into a weapon that will defeat the wage cuts
and the speed-up.
All authorities on the economic condition
of the silk industry are unanimously OF the
opinion that the mills must run full blast Tor
the next few months in order to supply the
spring demand
Of particular interest to broadsilk workers
is the announcement in yesterdays Wall
Street Journal that:
"Irterest in the silk market has now en-
trey switched to spring and mills on the
whole are running full on goods for the COM
ing season. Most orders are being placed for
delivery after January L. The outlook is good
for large volume next spring, particularly
in printed dress goods on which the whole in
dustry now seems to be concentrating
It is further emphasized by all observers
that buying over the past few months has
pretty well cleaned out the jobbers' supplies
and that the coming months will see heavy
demands upon the whole silk industry in
order to be able to supply the spring market
the early part of the year. Under such con-
ditions drive can be made in all silk centers
in order to establish the union generally