The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-25
By GEORGE E. POWERS.

by 6EOkGE h. PON ERS.
The history of the Architecture
Iron, Bronze and Structural Work.
ers' Union is a history of bitterly
fought general strikes, of almost
yearly occurrence. The workers whose
struggles have built, this, organiza.
ton have had fully their share OF
judges injunetions, Jail. sentences
gangsters' blackjacks and police
mems clubs resorted to by the
bosses in their systematic attempts
to Cypress and enslave the iron and
bronze workers. The present is a
period of energetic preparation for
one Of the most important conflicts
ever engaged in by these battle
( scared veterans.
During the present organization
drive several hundreds of men work
ing in the open shops have joined
the union and from present indica-
tons this response will continue at
an even more rapid pace. An i'm
portant factor in this favorable de-
velopment was the merger of little
more than a year ago of several
large bronze companies into the
General Bronze Corporation, which
now includes the Polachek, Renais-
sance and Tiffany concerns with a
capitalization close to $4,000, 900,
and which already has its tentacles
on several other bronze plants about
to swallow them into the Bronze
Trust. 'i"' -. -n@ ..%s~4 SIS 81
Had to Resist. -..e.--,
Intensified speed-up and wage cuts
soon followed with the result that
the bronze workers, who had been
rather Indifferent to the union for
some time, at last realized that only
thru organized resistance could they
hope to stop the ever sharpening at
tacks of the bosses and improve
their conditions.
This feeling of the bronze work
ers, combined with the aggressive
organization campaign of the union,
brought many Of them into, our
ranks. The good effect however, did
not stop here. The iron workers are
also having their troubles. Young
German iron workers, recently ar
rived, are being forced to slave long
hours for starvation wages by the
bosses, who hope thus to break down
the standards of all the iron and
bronze workers. THE bosses in both
the iron and bronze trade. are hiring
more and more of these young Ger
mans.) At the same time the Allied
Building Metal Industries, linked
with the Iron League, the leading
combine of iron bosses, is conduct
ing an active campaign to force all
the iron bosses either out of bust
ness OF into one big bosses associa-
ton.
War Makers. ss
This combine, of course, is direct
ly connected with the Steel Trust
and Wall Street, and thus figures
prominently in the, aggressive war
preparations now being pushed by
the United States government. This
growing Capitalization of control is
accompanied with more thoro sra
tionalization," more speed-up, longer
hours, lower wages, more unemploy-
ment. The smoldering discomfort Of
the iron workers caused by these
conditions was famed into a bright
err flame by the activities of the
union, leading to further increases
in membership and an energizing
effect upon the workers organiza-
ton as whole.
Asked Affiliation.
The iron and bronze shopmen are
organically part of the building
trades industry, but like many other
groups of workers, are excluded
from the A. F. of L. organization
which make up the Building Trades
Council. The shipments union has
consistently favored for years a
policy of unity with the rest of the
building trades workers. AS part
of s the conditions for this united
action it .hax. repeatedly sought en-
trance into the International Asso-
citation. of Bridge, Ornamental and
Structural Iron Workers, but as yet
has received no definite answer be-
yond .evasions~ and postponements.
This, despite the fact that continued
isolation OF the iron workers is not
only injurious to them, but to all
the outside iron workers as well.
Many of these, whose organization
is affiliated with the International,
are now unemployed due to the we'll
known practice of the open shop
bosses, of forcing the lower paid un-