The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-01-03
Initiation Fee Is
Juicy Source of
Labor" Graft
BY WILLIAM z. FOSTER.
Continued

Initiation fees are often a source
of rich graft, especially in the build
ing trades where such fees run from
$50 to $500 and higher, and where
there is little or no control exercised
over the unions finances. Various
ways are used to steal initiation fees.
For example, Moretsky, notorious
crook official of the New York Milk
Wagon Drivers, conceived the bright
idea Of collecting the regular $50
initiation fee and then turning only
$25 in to the union, with the ex-
PLANTATION that the applicant was an
eX-service man and as such entitled
to half the regular rate. Thus Mo-
rctsky and his cronies stole many
thousands of dollars. Other business
agents vary the graft by first re-
jecting the applicants at the Exam
lining Boards and then taking them
in for a substantial private consid-
Grafton.
A skilled initiation fee CRATER
was Philip Zausner. Zausner, for
many years secretary of the New
York District Council of Painters,
was an influential figure among
New York socialist labor leaders.
He opposed Brindell and was adver-
tised all over the country by the
socialist party as an honest leader
in a thoroughly corrupt industry.
But some months ago Zausner was
exposed by rank and filters in his
union. 1t was shown that he had
grated in every known form from
both employers and workers. Initia-
ton fees formed a large share of
his illegitimate income. The audi
tors found that in the 10 months pc
Rod $50 names of candidates had
been accepted as members, yet not
one was on the books as having paid
his $75 initiation fee. This deal,
only one of the many that Zausner
put through, netted him and his
cronies $24,750. In many cases he
actually stole $3.50 for a single S75
initiation fee; that is, he would first
pocket the whole $75 fee when it
came in and then later charge off
SIS on the books as having been re-
turned to the new member. The
public accountants engaged to audit
Zausner's books thus reported on the
case:
"We are now in a position to
amend our original estimate that
about 100000 was mis-appropriated
and say in its place that it may
probably reach anywhere between
100000 and 100000 for the period
of Zausner's incumbency. Nothing
was left undone by the officers to
rob the treasury Of the Council in
all sorts of manners and methods,
and as the situation now stands the
dignity and importance of the New
York District Council for the last
few years is simply a huge joke"
The New York socialist press mill
family defended Zausner to the last,
denouncing his accusers. He was
finally defeated for reelection by a
united front movement of the pro-
gressive and left wing elements in
the New York painters local unions.
Many other socialist trade union
leaders have gone the way of Zaus-
ner into corruption.
The ingenuity of the labor takers
in robbing the workers knows no
end. VIM A Hogan, former Interna-
tional treasurer of the Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers and secretary
of Local 3, included in his graft
repertoire the pilfering of dealt,
benefits. Hogan got many members
to go to his lawyer and name him
as beneficiary in case of death. He
was shown to have received the
money when several had died. His
death benefit graft had other angles
also: To raise the money for these
benefits each of the 1000 members
in the local was always assessed so
cents in case of death, or a total
of $4,000. Hogan was unable to ex-
plain to the Lockwood Committee
what became Of the other $1,000
every time $1,000 death claim was
paid. Hogan's clique was succeeded
by the O'Hara crowd. .1z.
To Be Continued "