The daily worker., 1930-05-06
BUILDING THE TRADE UNION
UNITY LEAGUE

erS, the prOGreSSlVeS' IN Jne A. r. OIL L., Ine
social-fascst Musteites and socialist party, are
now pushed forward by the bosses and the
A. F. of L. to rope in the workers, defeat their
struggles and either demoralize them or incor-
porate them in fascist company unions. Wit
ness the strikes at Marion, Elizabethton, /. L.
G. w. U. in New York. Witness the shameful
betrayal of the Illinois miners through Far
rington, Howat Brophy, Fishwick, Hapgood,
Lovestone and the Peabody Coal Co.
The struggle for economic demands of the
workers-of itself and with the leadership of
the Communists-becomes a political strug-
gle-but this struggle must be built up The
struggle against imperialist war, for instance,
cannot become live issue, unless the workers
clearly understand that the same bosses, the
same capitalist government who are their enc
mics at home, send them to foreign countries
to fight against workers who are bounded,
driven and prosecuted by their bosses and their
capitalist government. When the workers un-
derstand this, they see it is struggle all
along the line.
The Economic Demands.
The fight for economic demands and the or
ganzation of this fight becomes our chief
task. This must be organized in an effective
manner, that is, in keeping with the present
stage of capitalist monopolst development.
Craft unions antiquated not only because
they cultivate the craft spirit-spirt of divi-
sion among the workers-but because they
not cope with trusts and open mergers. There
fore industrial unions are mperative-fighting
unions with political outlook, with militant
leadership, with rank and file control-these
are the demands of the hour. With these
unions as their leaders, the workers harassed
and bounded they are, will fight heroically.
The unemployed workers must become in
tegral part of the T. U. U. L. They must be
drawn into the industrial unions and, owing
to the rapid shift of workers from one indus
try to the other, their transfer be facilitated
from one industrial union to the other This
will in an organic manner link up the strug-
gle of the employed and unemployed and lead
to more complete solidarity than at the pres
ent time
To build up such unions is to build not only
the organized power of the workers but also to
develop their political understanding. Failure
to build them-failure because the Party mem-
bership and revolutionary workers do not
derstand their imperativeness, means to stunt
the working class, to prevent the growth of
class conscious mitancy, to prevent the
growth of our Party into a mass Communist
Party-it means to postpone the Proletarian
Revolution.
Our most important task, therefore, is the
building of the Trade Union Unity League and
it's industrial unions. Although individual re-
cruitment is not to be neglected, it is obvious
that different methods are needed by the strug
GLE The T. U. U. L. and industrial unions
will be built in and through struggle.
Nor must this be taken fatalistically-not
waiting for the struggle and then make heroic
efforts to build the unions, but building the
union and building for the struggle at the
same time.
Work in the Shops.
Every worker in shop, mine, factory, office
or store has the opportunity and basis for this
work, by forming shop committee of the
most militant, trustworthy workers in the shop.
This is the basis of the union-the future shop
local. Build up this shop committee with the
consciousness that it does not exist for the
sake of little organization in the shop, but
for leading all the workers of the shop into
struggle for demands. In the struggle, the
union will be built the best militants coming
forward as leaders. Through these struggles,
facing the government in the form of police
sheriffs, injunctons, arrests, ETC., through par
ticipation of the Communists who lead and ex-
plain, the political understanding of the work.
ers is awakened and stimulated and the work.
ers become ripe for and join the Communist
Party.
In forming shop committees and building the
Trade Union Unity League, special attention
must be paid to three categories of workers:
Negroes, women and young workers Millions
of these workers, who formerly were to be
found only by hundreds of thousands, are now
in the industry and are viciousy ex-
plotted than adult white workers
Negro workers can and will be won for the
fight only through and in struggle. JIM
crowed by the government, the bosses and the
A. F. of L., they correctly look with suspicion
upon all white workers. most Of whom still
harbor race antagonism in them as result of
capitalist propaganda and practice.
Women workers, formerly considered unfit
for factory work, are to be numbered by the
millions today and rapidly supplanting
men, Their organism is not suited to the high
speed-up methods of capitalisnl-but the bosses
and their government, which hypocriticaly
talk about american womanhood," want cheap
labor and thus force women and girls through
need to enter the industrial process.
Young Workers and Speed-Up.
Young workers who are more susceptible to
speed-up and changing methods of production
number millions in industry, many below the
illegal age" They are forced by need at home
to enter the shop and work at far lower wages
to the "glory" of American industry.
These three categories of workers are ex-
cellent fighters, as they have proven in all in
dustrial battles Special demands must be put
up for them. They must be drawn into the
shop committees, into leadership in the strug-
gle, without discrimination.
The line is clear the Party is unified, the
conditions for Orpanizat;on opd etr,,ooIo