The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-08-19
By ANDREW OvERGAARDE.

THE economic Crisis III the Oilteu NVa'eo l"
especially felt in the steel industry and re-
sulting naturally in the parallel effect IN All
related industries, automobile, ETC. In the
metal industry, comprising between four and a
half and five million workers, conditions and
standards of living have reached point where
workers are actually working and starving at
the same time.
Wage cuts, cuts in piece work rates. are the
orders of the day and in most steel mills the
speed-up is reaching beyond human endurance
Wages in steel mills in Western Pennsylvania
are as low as 27-36-40 cents an hour for COM
mon labor and the skilled workers have had
their wages cut as well.
Machinists who used to earn 81 an hour or
more are working for as low as so cents an
hour in many steel plants. In all steel cor
porations the policy of even giving the usual
notice of a wage cut has been abolished and
the workers just simply receive so much less
in the pay envelope.
Workers Paying For Crisis.
In the Westinghouse plant in East Pitts
burgh, the so-called shop committee OF the
company union was discussing the problem OF
deductions of wages without even telling the
men for what purpose. Many of the workers
were protesting, according to the minutes OF
the company union. The works manager
stated very boldly "that it is the policy of
the Westinghouse Corporation not to specify
these deductions" In other words these pow
erful corporations are forcing the workers to
paw their fake insurance, sports clubs, etc.,
and if they protest their jobs will be gone.
In the McKeesport Tin Plate Co. the work
ers have to pay the foremen petty graft of
50 to So a week in order to get steady mills.
At the Byers plant in Ambridge the rates
have been cut to 40 cents an hour; at the same
time the workers are cheated out of 81 or So
a week. In many steel and metal manufac-
turing plants wages and piece work rates
have been cut as high as 100 per cent since
Hoover started the prosperity" campaign
More Naturalization.
The employers are continuing their ration
alization campaign with still greater tempo
The Westinghouse Co. is thus spending
S15O0OO0 on its new engineering laboratory
in East Pittsburgh The Aluminium Co. Can
drew Mellon) of New Kensington is complet-
ing new research laboratory out of a $685.,
100000 expansion fund for 1880. Over $780,,
100000 is being spent by the steel corpora
tions of Allegheny Valley for labor displacing
machinery, while not a penny for social in
surance for the workers.
The steel and metal workers, however, are
not accepting these cuts and conditions with
out struggle. In spite of the fact that Mike
Tighe and the takers of the A. F. of L. are
gamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin
Workers Union averaging 20 per cent, steel
workers are beginning to organize into the
Metal Workers Industrial League and pre-
pairing for struggle against wage cuts, the
speed-up system and for work or wages.
The recent strike in Flint involving $4,000
workers in spite of our mistakes and or
ganizational weaknesses proved that the per-
spectives for immediate struggles in the auto
mobile, steel and metal industries as a whole
were correct. Recently department strikes
broke out in the Sparrows Point plant of the
Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and if our shop
organization were little bit stronger, it
would no doubt have developed into general
strike in the entire plant and this would have
given great impetus to national strike in
the steel industry.
Metal Workers Organizing.
The experience of the Metal Workers League
shows that the workers are ready to join the
revolutionary unions and leagues of the T. u.
v. L. Steel workers throughout the country
Gre signing up daily. Metal workers, auto
workers, airplane workers, workers in ammuni-
lion factories are anxious to join.
In the Farchild Airplane Corporation of
Long Island 10 workers have organized shop
group and more workers are coming in. In
the Jones e. Laughn plant in Woodlawn a
group of workers being organized and
another group of workers whom we have
never had contact with recently took up COL
lection of $23 and sent it to our National Of
flee. This is the hell hole where our comrades,
lima, Resetar and Muselin, were convicted