The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-11-14
Mining Conditions in Minnesota
and Wisconsin

month. The average pay is $4.54, the same for
the night shift"
In Crosby on the Cayuna Iron Range, the
mines are working three and four days week.
"They used to have over one thousand men work
ing. Now less than 400 are working and there
are about $50 left there out of work. Last Sat-
turday night one mine closed completely"
Comrade John Miller, district organizer of the
M.O.S.W.IU. reported to the last district con-
vention of the union: 1.-THE miners have to
struggle against the severest blacklist and spy
system. The working conditions have become
worse In the last three months alone the wages
of the miners have been cut from ten to thirty
per cent. In the copper country all wages were
cut ten per cent July 1. The average wage is
less than five dollars a day. In Michigan the
men are forced to work alone in the mine. A
man is taking a great risk. Furthermore this is
breaking even the state laws, for the state law
says that no miner is allowed to work alone
underground. The speed-up is used more and
more. There are dozens of other evils for the
miners The constant fear of losing ones life
by the caving of the mines No ventilation,
poisoned air, ETC."
In this situation of merciless unemployment
wage cuts and speed-up, the only union in the
field is the Mine, Oil and Shelter Workers In
dustrial Union of the Trade Union Unity League.
The union was started somewhat over year
ago. 1t has faced incredible difficulties The
steel and copper trust stool pigeons are trying
to pry into the union and the party. Cases are
frequently reported by members of being ap-
preached with offers of big brides, to betray
their fellow workers. Once the blacklist is i'm
posed the miner is done for in all mines Con-
troll of city and county government with conse
quent control of jobs, police, ETC.. is made full
use of by the steel and copper trust. The rene
gade Halonen group has also been put to good
use by the steel trust, number of party mem
bers active in the miners union in the copper
country have been reported to the boss by the
Halonenites, and placed on the blacklist The
remnants of the once militant !. w. w. in the
mining field are acting as the fascist agents of
the steel trust
The A. F. of L. Farmer-Labor machine Of
Minnesota entirely ignores the problems of the
metal miners In all the years of misery and
struggle endured by the metal miners, the FLIP
AFL machine has never even made gesture
at concerning itself with the fate of the metal
miners. f.e.
The Young Mine Oil and Smelter Workers
Union part of the revolutionary trade union
movement, is the organization which holds out
the only program for the metal miners of the
district, the program of revolutionary struggle,
the program of organization and strike against
wage cuts and speed-up. The work of the M O.
S. w. l. u has many shortcomings and is still
very weak. The old tendency for agitational
tours rather than thorough concentration and
organization, still prevails to too great an ex-
tent The efforts of the union to establish local
unions which will function actively at all times,
concentrating with its leaflets and its organiza-
tional work inside its own mines, acting as per-
nlanently functioning body. have not been sue
cessfu to any extent as yet There is too much
of tendency for the local union to lie dormant
and wait until the field organizer comes along
The work is still spasmodc
The M.OSWIU. is not by any means as vet
mass union, in spite of the terrible effects of
the economic crisis and in spite of the POSSIBLE
tiles for work which this gives in spite of the
vital necessity of a mass union to lead the work.
ers' struggles against these conditions The
union is still too much based upon one nation
atty, the membership still being decisive ma
jority Finnish. The Italians, South Slays. Poles
Russian, etc, hove not been concentrated on
enough. 1t is necessary to develop local organ
lzers from among the miners themselves house,
to house workers. 1t is necessary to concentrate
the forces of the union on decisive mines bring
ing local issues to the fore, and around the
work inside the mines building mine committees
II is necessary to pay more attention to illegal
and semi-legal methods of work It is necessary
to build miners defense corps as fascism is al
ready in evidence in localities like Hancock
These are some of the tasks of the MOSWIU
IN the metal mining area. The miners feel the