The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-05-17
By L. ZOOBOCK.


important changes have taken place IN the
labor movement of Great Britain. The most
important event, of course, is the coming to
power of the second Macdonald government
with its open policy of Imperialism, war prep
aration. capitalist naturalization, arbitration
and wage-cutting. The labor government has
already provided the workers with sufficient
proof of its real social-fascist character. The
cotton dispute stands out as the most classical
example. The social-fascist government forced
100000 workers to accept wage reduction
of 81 per cent; and now comes the Mac
MILAN report, another attempt of the govern
ment to force upon 100000 wooden workers
reduction in wages. Arbitration mas become
an important weapon in the hands of the Ia
Dor government to force upor workers wage
reductions as ore Of the important weapon
for the carrying out of capita, st rationaliza
ticn
In this work of the labor government the
trade union bureaucracy takes the most active
participation At no other time in the history
of the labor movement of Great Britain was
there such complete merging of the trade
unions with the state apparatus. The trade
unions are at present mere agencies of the
Labor" government through the medium OF
which it carries out its policy of naturalization
arbitration and wage-cutting. The acceptance
of the complete capitulation of the trade union
bureaucracy to the employers and the Labor"
government.
@-rv Sell Out Workers.
Arbitration clauses are being at present in
troduced in many agreements. The reactionary
Tailors and Garment Workers Union concluded
an agreement which provides for arbitration
machinery for settlement of all disputes; in
the steel industry and many other trades, sim
liar agreements between the social-fascst
trade union leaders and the employers were
arrived at In brief, the trade union bureau
cracy is lined up with the government and the
employers against the working class.
This combined pressure of the state, en-
p1oyers and trade union apparatus upon the
working class has led to a rapid development
of rfilitancy among the workers. This mill
fancy expressed itself in the rapidly growing
wave of strikes of the strike-breaking bureau
cracy and the police measures of the Labor"
government During the last year strikes have
taken place in the mining, textile, railway
metal working industry, in the shipyards, the
building trades, etc. These strikes are sympto-
matte of the growing rehabilitation of the
masses; they are the expression of the grow
ing revolt of the masses against the govern
ment of capitalist naturalization and its ODE
dent tools, the social-fascist trade union lead
ers.
SIG Organization of Minority Movement.
Under these conditions it is interesting to
examine the organization of the Minority Move
ment, to ascertain why the Minority Move
ment under these favorable conditions failed to
establish itself as the only leader If the "a
dicalized workers in the trade union field
The answer to this serious question is very
simple the leadership of the Minority Move
ment until very recently failed to apply the
new line of the Red International Labor Unions
as laid down in the resolutions of the Fourth
Congress. This failure expressed itself in the
following:
rQ) Failure to reorganize the Minority
Movement on the basis of factory and Pit
Committees.
(2) Inability to initiate strikes which is
the result of the underestimation of the
workers to fight capitalist naturalization.
(3) The continuation of old policies and
tactics which We're, condemned by the RIL.
u, such as legalism, constitutionalsm, "make
the reformist leaders fight" policy, under
estimation of the role of the unorganized,
ETC.
Reorganization.
The problem of recognizing the Minority
Movement on the basis of factory and pit COM
mittees is not a new one. 1t has been raised
many times. The main thesis of the Fourth
Congress Of the R.LL.U. called upon all Sec
tiors to concentrate their activities in the fac
tories, shops, among the masses. Every work
shop, every factory" states the main thesis,
"must become our fort go" The resolution
"On the Tasks of thu Hority Movement"
stated that "there shall the maximum eff
fort to organize the individual membership on
pit, shop or factory group basis, which is
the basic unit of the organization"
Two years have passed since the Fourth
Congress of the RLL.U. was held and very
little was accomplished in this field. Only
recently january. 1930) did the Minority
Movement realize the absolute need of recon
strlcting the Minority Movement on the fac
tory basis thus transforming it into an organ
Ration having its roots in the factories and
able to develop on wide scale the united
front from below in order to mobilize the work
ers IN the factories, organized and unorganized
against the alliance of socia-fascist Labor"
government, the trade union bureaucracy and
the employers.
1t is this organzational weakness of the
Minority Movement that accounts also for an
other fundamental weakness, which is the in
ability to initiate (prepare and call out) and
lead strikes independently. While it is true
that the Minority Movement has made very
serious efforts to lead strikes independently.
Workers! Join the Party of