The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-04-12


sridicule by the thousands of work
ers here, as they well know that
Employees Representation" is
only the bunk as long as the com
pany controls the groups.
The Foreman "Takes the Vote"
Each department is allowed to
elect a representative" and this
process Of electing the representa-
tive is done in the following man.
ner: A foreman takes the ballot
box around from one worker to an
other and asks him to write his can
didate on the slip. The foreman in
this case is very suggestive as to
who the workers should vote for.
The worker places the name on the
slip and the foreman looks at it
and places it in the box, accompa-
MED with a 'foreman's smile" that
seemed to say: See the democracy
we give you" The ballots are col
lected and counted without the
supervision of a workers commit
tee.
The whole election is without life,
as The workers don't take the risk
Of giving their opinions. Honest
workers absolutely rebel at being
suggested for Representatives" by
their fellow-workers, because they
know that they will have to betray
the workers at the meetings Bosses
pets and pace-setters are the ones
who get the representation jobs,
that is if the department bosses
O. K. him.
For the Bosses Benefit.
The committee meets at inter
walls and under the jurisdiction of a
leading boss of the plant, Mr. Price,
who is called the management rep
resentative, discuss safety" and
other issues that will benefit the
boss only. Efficiency methods are
recognized by this committee. Just
recently the workers were told that
this committee voted for paying off
the workers with checks instead Of
cash, which meets with the com
plete disapprovsl of every worker.
Another incident is where the
bosses demanded the committee"
to vote for a six-day week instead
Of the seven-day week and this
generous" leaning on the part of
The bosses had a certain object.
Many workers were becoming rebel
lious at the seven-day week, also
there was a lot of lay-off on the
week-ends, when the workers were
too tired to go to work; also de-
creased production meant curtail-
ing the amount Of days work.
Now the company lays off man
if he misses one day of the six and
they tell the worker that your own
representative committee voted for
it. .t
Several weeks ago a representa-
tive pipe-fitter, working in the tin
mills, was fired because he asked
for an increase in wages after
shortening of the working hours
was made. A skilled meter also
lost his job last year because he
wanted to represent the workers.
Join the Metal Workers Industrial
League.
The fallacy is clear to the work
ers of the employees repre-
sentation,' but what should we do
to fight against this fake company
unionism. The present time finds
thousands Of metal workers anxious
for organization, but are at a loss
as to which way to turn. The
American Federation of Labor, that
has proven itself so corrupt, won't
organize steel workers. Similar
misleaders Of the steel workers,
such as the Amalgamated Iron and
Steel Workers Union and the In
ternational Organization of Ma
chinists and international Boiler
Makers Union, have the same cor
rupt policies, dividing the workers
in crafts, nationalities, race, skilled
and unskilled workers, creating the
disorganization of the workers in
stead of the organization. They