The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-05-07
Millinery Local 43 Appeals to
b. S. Workers to Aid It's Fight

Continued from Page OneJ
shock off their responsibilities to-
wards our local and instead began
to prepare to break up the local en-
tirely.
Facts Speak for Themselves.
Within a period of two years our
rank and file committee accomplish
ed far better results than were ever
recorded by the International of
ficials. What the entire paid staff
of the International officials could
not accomplish in sixteen years, our
rank and file committees succeeded
in accomplishing in a comparatively
short time. In the few years of left
wing leadership our local became the
second largest local of the Cloth Hat,
Cap and Millinery International
Union and the largest local of or
gained women workers in the Uni
ted States. Our membership in
creased to nearly four thousand. The
working hours were reduced from
so to Al. The wages were increased
and the general working conditions
were greatly improved. We created
a collective spirit among the trim
mers and have succeeded in enlisting
the active participation of the rank
and file in the organization of the
unorganized. We have raised the
theological level of our membership
for militant unionism and the class
struggle. We established an educa-
tional institution consisting of lee
lures, courses, shop educational con-
ferences dealing with the specific
problems of the women workers in
our industry and the problems of
the working class generally. Our
outlook was bright. Our membership
continued to grow and We're on the
road to became the largest local in
our international. Our organization
drives aginst the open shops were
very successful. The numerous
strikes and stoprages conducted by
US during the past to years re-
suited in unionizing hundreds of
open shops, enforcing union condi-
tons therein, and improving the gen.
eral condition of our members. There
was no doubt but that the energetic
organization activities of our class
conscious and sincere leaders as well
as our rank and file committees
would have resulted in even greater
achievements.
Right Wingers Destroy Union.
About May 1927, the International
officialdom began an attack against
our local and the crucifixion of our
members. In violation of the con-
stitution, in defiance of the explicit
instructions of our last convention
and against the interest of the Cap
and millinery workers, our Interna-
tional officials, in a most dictatorial
manner, issued decree ordering our
local to dissolve and our members
to submit to the fascist rule of the
corrupt socialist clique which DOM
mates the millinery local "a. What
made our International officials is
sue such an order to our local?
What constituted our guilt? No
charges were preferred against US.
No trial was given US. Our Interna-
tional officials violated the funda-
mental principles of the constitu-
ton, cynically laughed at the pro-
tests of our members and proceeded
with their union-smashing activities
Right Wing Officials Lead Attack
Against Workers.
In the interest of all the cap and
millinery workers, our local demand
ed at all conventions that all locals
Of the Millinery Union be amalga-
mated. When we failed in this, Lo-
cal 43 demanded from the 1927 con-
vention the establishment Of Joint
Board of all millinery locals in New
York as a preliminary step towards
complete amalgamation. The con-
vention so decided and explicitly in
structed the General Executive
Board to establish a Joint Board.
Instead of carrying out the decision
of the convention, which Local 43