The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-09-10
TUUL PROVIDES
FOR INDUSTRIAL
METAL UNION
Overgaard Provisional
Secretary

tCOUtWueu yIOHt uy6 OEe/
sen, Pa, and Gary, Indiana; from
Bethlehem Steel, Jones and Laugh
lin Steel, Republican Iron and Steel,
Youngstown Shell and Tube 1.-TWO
plants), American Tin Plate, Wheel
ing Corrugated, Andy Melons
Aluminium Co. of America, Thomp-
son Steel, the Harvester Trust,
Brooklyn Navy Yards, Otis Eleva-
tor, Timkin Roller Bearing, Rem
ington Arms, Winchester Arms,
Standard Seamless Tube, Westing-
house Mfg, etc.
Meeting under the Craftsmanship
of Andrew Overgaard, the 50 dele
gates-white and black, men and
women, young and old, from the ire
mendous unorganized shops and
from the old unions, from the East,
the West, the North, the South and
the great industrial centers of
Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, ETC.,
met, discussed their conditions and
their problems, the line of the T. U.
U. L. and the R. I. L.. T., unani-
mously endorsed both and mapped
out a program whereby the entire
industry will eventually be organ
lied into one great fighting union.
A. F. L. Betrayers.
The delegates were unanimous in
declaring that the A. F. of L. had
completely demonstrated it's utter
inability to cope with present-day
naturalization, speed-up and the
resultant unemployment. 1t was
pointed out that, far from even at
tempting to cope with it, the Ma
chinists' Union even went so far as
to keep on its payroll
Captain Otto Beyers, origi-
nator of the Infamous B. & O. class
collaboration plan, who earns his
pay by helping the bosses invent
bigger and better speed-up and ra-
tionalization schemes-bigger and
better ways of exploiting the work.
ers.
The decay Of the A. F. of l.. craft
union policy is further evidenced by
the decline in membership of the
"a unions covering the metal indus
try. The machinists, in the period
of postwar power, numbered $780,
0G0-today they claim $1,000. Boil
ermakers had 270 .o00--today claim
ing $4,000. The Amalgamatcd AS
ISOLATION of Iron, Steel and Tin
Workers, at one time the most pow
erful union in the country, today
claims 1000 members.
Wage Cuts.
"In all the big shops the condi-
tions of the workers are deplorable
and they are completely at the
mercy of the bosses, who reduce
wages at their own will and through
naturalization are able to increase
the productive capacity of the work.
ers more and more from month to
month";" Overgaard pointed out.
"The Metal Workers Industrial
Conference, after a thorough dis
cussion of the situation in the in
dustry, adopted program based
primarily on the organization of
the unorganized," Overgaard said
today, although not neglecting the
work in the old unions, which must
be intensified. The program calls
for an extensive drive to build shop
committees in all the metal and
steel plants on the basis of concrete
demands fitting the needs of the
workers in their everyday strug-
giles against the bosses.
Shop Committees.
"The most important task is the
organization Of shop committees in
the various plants and connect
these committees up with the gen.
eral metal trades groups in various
localities and cities, the general
group to be in constant touch with
the National Metal Workers League
of the 7. U. U. L.
"These shop committees must,
through concentration of demands
and the publication of shop bulletins
voicing these demands, and by the
leadership they give in struggle,
draw the rank and file Of the work.
ers behind them-constantly broad