The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-11-23
T. u. U. l.. BOARD SEES BIG
FIGHT SOON IN MINES.

tCOHJHtHeU JFOW EuYe OHeI
lea is more than just a fight for
the union treasury" reported Will
liam z. Foster, general secretary of
the llegue, and recently returned
from the Illinois state convention
of the National Miners Union. "The
coal operators outside of Illinois are
supporting Lewis, international
president of the U.M.W.A., and
against them, as the agent of the
peculiarly Illinois operators, is the
Fishwick machine of the U.M.W.A.
The fight is very bitter. 1t has
been taken into the courts, injunc-
tons are sought and the operators
are gradually showing their hand as
the real principals behind the Lewis
and Fishwick groups.
''The old progressive elements,
including Howatt, have rallied to
Fishwick."
The miners are rallying in num-
bers to the National Miners Union,
and this fight between the bureau
Gratis in the U.M.W.A. has exposed
both the Lewis and Fishwick groups
in the eyes of the miners.
Struggle Developing.
The miners struggle through the
N.M.U. will start around the local
demands and grievances of the
miners in the various mines. The
National Miners Union will work
to spread the strike, and will keep
in view the demand for the siX-hour
day and five-day week.
A terrific unemployment situation
in the Illinois mines exists, and
grows worse, the board found. About
half the miners are jobless. Many
miners, displaced by the introduction
of machinery, and the speed-up,
went to the auto and steel centers.
Now that the auto factories are dis
charging thousands, these miners
tend to drift back to their home
centers and add to the misery that
will prevail here during winter.
The union will work out a real
campaign for unemployed relief at
tie expense of the state and the
coal operators. 1t may involve
dramatic parads of the unemployed,
marching upon the state capital. 1t
will certainly be the task of the
working miners to force, under the
leadership of the N.M.U., their de-
mands for relief of the unemployed
upon the coal companies.
The N.M.U. was criticised at the
board meeting for having too loose
an organization. The ideal of the
T.U.U.L. is for close knit locals,
with permanent membership and
responsible officials, responsible not
only to the miners who elect them,
but recognizing through regular re-
ports and per capita payments that
they are part Of larger movement.
Delegation to Pittsburgh.
The T.U.U.L. executive board is
sending representatives to the Ma
tional Miners Union national execu-
tive board meeting today and to-
morrow in Pittsburgh. The miners
union board meeting will have the
task of correlating the struggle over
"a vast area, of rallying the miners
on national scale for the six-hour
day and the five-day week, of COM
batting unemployment and forcing
relief from the operators and the
state for the jobless men. 1t will be
urged by the T.U.U.L. to strengthen
and unity its organization.
In the opinion of the T.U,U.L.
national board, the N.M.U. board
must make central points, as the
two most important areas of strug-
gle, of the Illinois and anthracite
districts. A great mobilization of
forces must take place in the anthra-
cite, where the U.M.W.A. contract
expires in Sept, 1880, and ter
rifle struggle is certain, with the