The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-10-18
LORDS IN
BIG new MERCER
NMU Calls Werkers to
Fight Open Shop Drive
(ContinNed from Pqae Onel

Continued from Page One)
goes into hundreds of millions of
dollars. These companies control
"some of the richest ore mines in
the Lake Superior regions, thus in
surfing them adequate supply Of iron
ore for the next rs years."
All Exploit Miners.
"All of them own coal mines in
Bractically all mining fields. 1t is
limited in til papers that these COM
panies merged into veritable trust,
will be IN a position to command
better terms from the United States
Steel in case they decide to join it;
and it is limited that this is the OBJ
jective in view. Thus will be formed
a monopolistic empire in one of the
country's war industries.
The Trade Unions.
Some of these companies recog-
nize some of the A. F. L. craft union.
Some had agreements with U. M.
w. A. But since the loss Of the 1927
strike, the U. M. W. A. has not a
member in their mines. All the
companies are bitter union busters,
and any miner who dares, even in
the mildest words, to comment on
the wages or the work conditions is
Immediately discharged. The same
applies to the mills. Few of the
mills recognize some skilled crafts.
What Is the A. F. L. Doing?
The A. F. L. and its affiliated
unions have played the game of
Support our friends" the coal,
steel, etc. barons and betrayed all
the strikes in the steel industry. The
unions that still exist are numeri-
cally very weak, and live only
through the help of the bosses. All
indications are that even these weak
unions will be smashed.
Merger and the Workers.
The merger has as its first func-
ton to efficiently run the mills of
these concerns, to eliminate waste,
loss Of space, replace worn out ma
chinery, and introduce up-to-date
machinery" 1t will "give the
merged concerns greater capacity
of production, possibility of buying
the most modern machinery; make
it possible to scrape the un-econ-
omical plants and develop the eco
nomical plants to the 1ull Of their
capacity" 1t will give them-if
not equal-at least advantageous
footing in their fights for markets"
The boosters admit to the workers
it will mean the speed up and ra-
tionalization lay off and unemploy-
ment, lower wages and ever-increas-
ing danger of war. When these
companies start to fight for the
markets, their first step will be to
cut the wages of the workers. The
wages of the miners have been cut
below the 1917 mark, and the steel
workers practically the same.
Miners Must Act
The miners, say N. M. U. officials
under the leadership Of the National
Miners Union, are organizing the
men working in the mines. Locals
Of the U. M. U. are organized in
practically all of the mines of this
new trust. The membership in
these locals is ever on the increase,
with new forces coming in at a
steady rate. In the steel mills there
are shop committees, but not in such
numbers as could make on open
fight against wage cuts, or for bet
ter wages and working conditions.
This must be remedied. ALL THE
MILITANT STEEL WORKERS
MUST IMMEDIATELY WRIEE
90 THE TUUL, 2 WEST 18TH ST.,
NEW YORK, OR DISTRICT COM
MITTEES OF THE TUUL, OR IT'S
METAL, DEPARTMENT.
Locals of the Metal Trades must
be organized and linked up to the
general T U. U. l.. city locals. Tho
militants in the mining and iron ore
industries must get in touch with
national or district office Of the n.
NJ. u, Pittsburgh, and organize
locals OF the N. M. U.