The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-10-29
Unemployment Insurance
Versus Boss Charity
BY A. yERBLIN

The Chicago Chamber of Commerce, the cap
italst press of Chicago, the city government,
the preachers, the A. F. of L. leaders, and host
of other minor capitalist lackeys are falling all
over themselves to relieve" distress amongst the
unemployed workers Campaigns are being or
ganized, appeals for help are broadcast-all in
the name of charity for the suffering poor.
Peculiar, is it not? When the Communist Par
ty and the Trade Union Unity League demand
social insurance for the unemployed, when they
ask that every unemployed worker be given a
minimum of twenty-five dollars week. then
the capitalist masters and their American Fed
Grafton of Labor leaders raise their voices IN
strenuous opposition on the ground that uneIn-
ployrnent insurance is the same as the dole sys-
tenn and the dole system is charity And of
course in the eyes of the wealthy bosses and
well-fed labor leaders, it would be degrading
for the starving American workers to accept
charity
Bosses Charity OK With Bosses
But when the Salvation Army and other char
liable institutions of the bosses go out to collect
pennies for the purpose of giving coffee and"
to those out of work, there is nothing degrading.
That deserves the support of all charitable and
high minded Christians
1t is all very simple To give an unemployed
resorted to such measures if the American Fed
Grafton of Labor had entered the strike 1t would
mean the restaurant bosses frankly say, that
lower conditions could be established for the
workers in the industry. But since it was mill
tant union bent upon establishing decent con-
ditons the Restaurant Owners Association raised
a fund of hundreds of dollars and used the
police and courts against the strikers In this
connection the Restaurant Man" says:
Had the organization sponsoring the strike
hcen a tfahl fiafi apbf
effected peace, but here a group with
affiliation with the American Federation of
Labor and with apparently no aim except to
intimidate the operators into recognizing the
gangs leaders and accepting their terms for
employment conditions. And these conditions
were of nature that caused several owners
to decide to close up shop rather than comply,
while the majority of the others decided to
fight to finish even If reduced to their last
dollar"
Bosses Lose Million
The workers continued to fight despite the
injunction, the opinion of the Supreme Court.
and Paragraph 600. Eventually in some shops
at least better conditions were established The
bosses bewailed the fact in their official organ
that it cost sixty New York operators total
of million dollars over period Of about two
months because New York State laws are lenient
with pickets.' They proposed that picketing
should be made "a felony with penitentiary
term as a penalty and for this they are now
actively campaigning,
They have the support of Tammany Hall and
the republican party and such outstanding re-
publican and democratic politicians as Judge
Aaron J. Levy, Bronx capitalist politician and
Supreme Court Justice, Henry L. Sherman. Nor
man Thomas and the Socialist party are doing
their best to help these bosses by campaigning
for more efficient police force and by assigning
the lawyers in their ranks to obtain injunctions
| for the American Federation of Labor against
striking workers was the in the Food
| Workers strike in the Bronx when Steve Katons
was murdered by the police, under an injunction
| obtained by Charles Solomon.
1t is clear that there is no use appealing to
| courts for justice. The answer of the workers
| must be on the one hand to mobilize such forces
| in open violation of injunctions and Paragraph
600 as will break its utility to the bosses and
on the other hand to give energetic support and
| votes to the Communist ticket as will serve
notice to strikebreaking judges and legislatures
of the determination of the working class to es-
tablish its right to fight for better conditions