The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-11-17
PONTIAC FACTORIES SHUT DOWN OR
ON PART TIME; JOBLESS FAMILIES
GET 81 PER WEEK TO EXIST ON
Wages Down to Fifty Cents an Hour for
Skilled Machinists
by q Worker Correspondent.


PONTIAC, Mich. The General
Motors divisions, Fisher Body, Pom
tiac plant and Yellow Cab have been
running very slow in 1880 or not
running at all. Wilson Foundry and
Machine Co. is about the same with
the result that unemployment is gen.
eral and the suffering of the work
ing class is something terrible.
The bourgeois press controlled by
the Chambers of Commerce is con-
tinually attempting to placate the
workers making promises of revival
of business in the near future. But
these promises have lost their mean
ing even to those who stand pat with
the bosses. Sure enough it was said,
the plants were going to start off
and go good from the 10th or 18th of
November. But today the pickup"
was postponed another week. So just
one more promise was busted.
Many Bankruptcies
In the meantime there is no work,
no pay checks end no business. Many
businessplaces went bankrupt Thous-
ands of workers not finding work
have left Pontiac Real estate bust
ness went flop and with it building
and allied activities.
Rent dropped to about 40 per cent
of what it was in 1929. Wages for
those who work part time are cut
low. Fifty cents per hour is con-
sidered good wages now even for the
skilled workers, such as metal fin
ishers, carpenters and machine opcr-
ators.
The unSkilled labor and women, if
there is work at all, are paid from
25 cents to 40 cents per hour. Today
at Fishers there were over 500 men
wanting jobs. About so were called
in to be examined and hired. About
that many were sent home as there
was no work for them in the plant
And so the jugglery goes on. Any
thing to make things look better than
they really are and cover up the
rotten conditions of the capitalist
system which is getting more bank
rupt every day in every way.
81 a Week Called Relief
1t is said that over 5000 families
are living in restitution, some of
whom get help from the city of one
dollar a week per capita. That is
hard to get now.
Oakland, county which is providing
funds for the poor out of taxes is
financially embarrassed just for the
present and an official suggestion was
made that the Indignant persons
be shipped to where they came from
So why not freeze them out?
"WeIfare" Schemes
Despite the bourgeois press optim-
ism campaign the economic and in
dustrial machines are having series
of serious troubles all the way from
Ignition to punctures and olowouts
In confusion and irritation resulting
from these troubles the bourgeois
press forgets its happy-smile- good.
time rehearsal and enters field of
so-called welfare promotion schemes.
Then we read of eff y&r nave a job
give a job" 'Clothe a Child Club
and Solving Unemployment by APP
pie Sauce"
lust now the Pontiac Daily Press
is having a wonder of a success with
the "Clothe q Child" campaign. The
names of the poor half-clothed school
children are pouring in faster than
the names of volunteers to clothe
them. All of which indicates a pros.
percts ard happy year and country
economically sound for, those that
can stand it. Next thing we will be-
see r:g is unemployed workers selling
apples to one another to speed pros
petty.
But the workers will not remain
hungry, dociIe and tolerant indefin ..
ite'y. They'll fight for social insuf-
ance, real wages and for workers
system.