The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-12-04
PROPOSE A BLACK
LIST FOR BLDG.
MAINTENANCE MEN
Janitors Must Build
Own Union
(By a Worker Correspondent


NEW YORK.-The Building Ser
vice Employees International Union
"a. F.-of L., Locals 81, 80 and II, in
conjunction with some Tammany
politicians, have been lobbying IL the
city government for the past few
years for an ordinance to license the
100000 or more superintendent or
janitors. The proposed ordinance
would require all janitors of apart
nents or buildings with low pressure
boilers to pay SIS for examination by
a special board as to their fitness,
whether or. not they pass and pay an
additional IS for the certificate.
This board would be called the
Examining Board of Superinten-
dents and Janitors" and would con-
sist Of three members of janitors'
organization, two city officials, a
real estate representative, one from
the department of health and one
from the building department. All
would be appointed by the mayor.
The fees derived from this scheme
would amount to 100000 per year.
There. was hearing on this bill Fri
day, Nov. IA, in City Hall. 1t was
opposed by the real estate interests
and was supported by Miss Agnes
Craig, counsel for the Bronx Council
of Tenants League, who sonsored it
and turned it over to Alderman Cur
ley, and by representatives of the
unions "a. F. of L..
In the past the business agent of
Local II (BronX) went around to
organize janitors, charging $40 for
Initiation fee, claiming that they had
pull with Tammany and that his
union had spent several thousand
dollars graft in order to get this bill,
passed, and as soon as that hap
pened the initiation fee would be
raised to $25 and later to $780, The
superintendent or janitor who works
from in the morning to 10 at night
would have to pay graft to the city
and graft to the A. F. of L. out of his
500 or $3.50 month. The A. F. of
L., with the aid of Tammany, will
attempt to organize those exploited
slaves and sit at the examining
board, with the bosses to determine
what slave is fit to pull garbage. A
regular blacklist indeed. A double
check against all militant activities.
Do the superintsndents and janitor3
believe that they can better thei1
conditions and fight for better wages
and against wage-cuts and evietions
by carrying a. license and by belong
ing to the A. F. of L.? No, you
must join a fighting union that is
not going to charge you 500 to join
but only 81 and is willing to help you
to win better conditions. Such
union is the Building Maintenance
Workers Union, built and controlled
by the rank and file.
In places where there are three or
more workers you must form shop or
building committees and in the one
man houses you must form block
committees and whenever a worker
is fired or is threatened with firing
you must inform all workers in the
building or in the block and try to
pull as many workers out as pos
sible, for if you get wage-cut today
without resisting it, your neighbor is
going to get cut tomorrow. The
American Federation of Labor IS not
interested in your welfare. 1t is a
tool of the bosses and only interested
in collecting high dues and initiation
fees in order to pay fat salaries to
themselves.
For further information write or
call the Building Maintenance Work
ers' Union, l6 w. 2lst ST., New York
City. "A Militant Janitor.