The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-06-09
Starve NOW!''
By L. BRAKEMAN
Building Trades Secretary0

fNi, ST the most important tasks confront
" ing the Party in this period is the activiza-
ton of the Party members in the campaign
to organize the unorganzed well as build
ing T.U.UL. groups as the leader of the strug
gle in the old unions. How true this formula
ton is can only be exemplifed very definitely
especially in relation to the comrades of the
building trades. Out of fraction of 500 Par
ty members in N. Y. only SO to 60 come to
meetings when they called upon, while the
rest of them do not know what our policies are
nor do the workers with whom these comrades
come in contact know anything from them
far as our campaigns are concerned 1t is
very bad situation when we. have Communist
contacts in 10 building trades locals of. the A.
F. of L. and not even in one tenth of these
locals did we make any attempt to come out
with a program of the TU.U.L. for these
workers.
Is it possible to build the Party and the
T.U.U.L. on such activity as we witness from
the comrades of the building trades? Not only
would we not be in position to build up any
sort of movement amongst these workers but
to my estimation it would lead to great
amount of confusion and disorganization if
these comrades would attempt to organize, be-
cause they are away from the Party, away
from the meetings of the T.U.U.L. and
result of that they do not understand the Party
line and therefore could not organize correctly
and in line with the policy of the Party and
the TU.U.L.
The Building Trades and the Crisis.
What is the situation in the building trades
at the present time and what our pros
poets to. organize the unorganized as well as
building up effective T.U>U.L groups in these
locals of the A. F. of L.?
The crisis of unemployment that is becoming
greater from day to day has hit the building
trades to such an extent that more than half
of the building trades workers are idle and
have been for the last year so.
Wages are being reduced the speed up is
being increased. Union control is being elimin-
ated day after day. The prosperity inheritance
that has been attached to the building trades
workers in the past is now only a shadow.
In view of this crisis and the ills that fol-
low it (speed up, cutting of wages, etc. the
opportunities for us to organize have increased
tremendously. The workers are Disguised, they
are beginning to lose the little confidence that
they did have in their leadership. Hundreds
of them are dropping out from the unions
Do we, as Communists have something to
learn from these facts? Is it necessary to
adopt more concrete line for our work in
these locals? The tasks are clear We must
utilize this mass discomfort of the building
trades workers. With these facts in mind we
must bring forward the main task and that is
building the T.U.U.L.
Fight Inactivity.
Are we utilizing this discomfort among the
building trades workers for our purpose? Are
we basing our activity on these lines? No.
The very fact that at the present time, almost
year after the Cleveland convention of the
T.U.U.L, we cannot show anything concrete
as to where we have made any inroads or have
broadened the base for our revolutionary
tivities. Of course, there are some small eX-
ceptions. What is the reason for this mac
tivity? What is the reason why we are not
making use of this situation? The basic rea-
son, to my opinion, is the lack of clarity on
we are also ready in the building trades Elk
listing as well as existed conditions must always
he alxa int iLn,.nt L.,