The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-03-12
Gary Steel Workers Are
EnslaUed IN Trusts Cit,

forces, for the buildings are in a
strategic position to mount machine
guns with effective range of the en-
tire front mill gates.
Cheating Schemes.
Cheating workers of their wages
is the common practice through real
estate and credit association
schemes.
While credit selling and real
estate schemes are the general ex-
plotting game everywhere, in Gary
they have reached a point where the
miserable pay that the worker does
get goes into the bags of business
promoters" who work hand in hand
with the employers and company
heads. During the last five or six
years various development plans"
we're engineered by real estate op-
orators, the result of which is that
hundreds of the workers have lost
what little they did save by shorten
ing the dinner pail, many lost homes,
while others have been placed in
hopeless debt. Il believe this marks
phase of the breakdown of the
credit system.)
Conditions in the Shops.
While the Gary mills are operat-
ing at approximately 80 per cent
for Illinois Steel Co., so per cent for
American Sheet & Tin Plate Works
and 20 per cent for National Tube
Works, there are hundreds of unem-
ployed workers at the gates every
day. Many of the workers from
the eastern cities and from rufa.
districts have spent their last penny
to come here, only to find them
selves part of the already swelled
ranks of unemployed.
In the shops the bosses shift and
push the men at will and beside be-
ing driven like mules the workers
are forced to contribute every
month or so to the company's "wel-
fare" organizations. This welfare
association" with its various sport
and supposed benefit to the work
ers) is in reality nothing but an at
tempt toward collaboration and a
company union scheme designed to
throw sand into the eyes Of work
ers. The funds are received under
pressure of losing a job if the dona-
ton is refused, and the bosses make
no pretense, but actually tell the
men either to contribute or lose their
jobs.
The method used by the employ
ers is usually a roundabout way.
namely, by arranging games, such
as baseball and basketball. For such
events tickets are distributed TO
each departmental foreman with
srecific instructions feven without
instructions the bosses are only tuo
willing to act as a driving Aediuml
that every man must purchase q
ticket. If any worker refuses, his
name and check number are turned
into the office. The said worker is
either put on some other worse job
or eventually UNDER some pretext
or other fired.
Forc,i to Support "Red Cross"
Several months ago Red Cross
(better said capitalist cross) drive
was instituted throughout the Gary
mills, and every worker was actu-
ally forced to give minimum Of
25 cents. No excuse nor explana-
ton was accepted. In this game, a
membership card was issued to each
worker and delivered either by the
"shop flunkey" or boss, and on the
payday workers were told to re-
port to the bosses office and there
were simply told they owed speci-
fled sum for Red Cross.
Extort Money.
B side the demoniacal driving of
men through naturalization and
speed-up ENTHUSIASTICALLY at the
National Tube Works and Tin Plate
Works, the job buying and paying