The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-08-15
Ten Years of Red International
OF Labor Unions

and the Conciliators in the Comintern and IN
the r. l. L. U. was repealed.
The Rights in the R. |. L. U. reckoned very
much on the former rght-opportunst leader
ship of the Central Council of the trade unions
of the Soviet Union, some leaders of which,
at the Fourth Congress of the r. |. l.. Up
formed a united front with the Rights in the
C. P. of Germany But the trade union move
ment of the Soviet Union did not prove IA
vorable environment for the growth of right
opportunist tendencies The right opportunlst
leadership was removed from the Soviet trade
unions. which meant at the same time severe
blow to all right groupings in the Comintern
and in the R. |. l.. U.
The decision of the Ninth E. c. G.. l. Plenum
and of the Fourth r |. l.. U. Congress mas
now no longer any open opponent IN the Il. l.
l., u There are Right tendencies; there Is
also sabotage of the line of the K. 1. l.. U.
and of the Comintern (this was to be seen IN
the factory council elections in Germany;
but these opportunistic tendencies are SUD-
iected to a sharp fire from all sections OF the
Comintern and of the r. !. L. U. Does this,
perchance, mean that the Right deviation is
already defeated, that it has already dlsap-
peared? No, it still exists, and in many coun-
tries even in an organized form (trance). IL
is g great danger, for the essence of the Right
ocracy under the plea that the social demo-
cratic party is also workers party and that
the social democrats are misguided brothers."
In the course of the fight waged by the
Comintern and the R. l. L. U. for the line of
"Class against Glass;" for the independent
leadership of economic struggles, in the fight
against the least attempt to find a middle path
between Communism and reformism, Left
sectarian tendencies made their appearance IN
the r. |. l.. u, involving the danger OF
estrangement from the masses. The essence
of this Left" tendency consists in Jumping
together the social fascist leaders and the
workers who follow them; in not knowing how
to work-often not wishing to work-in the
reformist trade unions for the realization OF
the united front from below; it consists IN
employing methods of command and of setting
up LEFT" slogans permanent general strike,
armed strike and such like which merely re-
main on paper.
Before the r. |. L. u. there now stands the
question of the fight on two fronts, the ques-
ton of the fight for the correct Communist
policy in the trade union movement, against
Right opportunism as the chief danger, and
against Left" sectarianism.
The r. L. l.. u. would not have arisen, nor
would it have been able to acquire any con-
siderable influence over the masses if it had
not received constant theological, political and
organizationsl aid from the Communist In
ternational. This leading role of the Comm
tern has found expression during the whole of
the ten years existence of the r. !. L. u, not
only on the occasion of working out the main
line of the international revolutionary trade
union movement, but also in the practical
carrying out of this line. The R. l. l.. U. en-
phasizes the leading role of the Comintern
not only in its decisions but this leading role
is realized in actual practice in the fights
against the enemies of the working class.
The r. !. L. U. unites great number of va
rious organizations; to it there belong trade
union declarations as well as minorties, illegal
and semi-legal trade unions. But the variety
of the forms is no hindrance to the unity Of
the political line, to the unity of the tactics
which determined in the international rev.
dictionary trade union movement by the role
of the Comintern as leader.
From the historical standpoint ten years
is but short time. But for the organization
this time is quite sufficient in order to show
in actual fact what it really represents. The
r. ]. l.. U. has shown in practice that it is
world organization, in spite of the many
weaknesses and shortcomings which have ex-
listed in its work and which will form the sub
ject of discussion at the Fifth r. ]. L. u
Congress.
The most important of these faults are: the
tagging behind the mass movement, and the
disproportion between political influence and
the organzational consolidation of this influ.
ence. But in spite of these faults, in spite of
the many failings inspite of the fact that
in number of countries the followers of the
r. /. l.. U. have not yet learned how economic
struggles must be conducted, have not yet