The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-05-12
BY E. VAFIADES.


ONE Of the Communist Party street nuclei OF
Paterson was concentrating on the Wright
Aeropane factory for about months.
During this period the Party gained the con-
fidence of the workers, because they exposed
the stool-pigeons unsanitary conditions and
especially because it carried on a fight through
its shop paper against the scheme of finger
printing which the company was forced to
withdraw.
When the bosses saw that we were gaining in
fluence they Immediately called the A. F. OF L.
international Association of MachinistS in
order to stop our activity, John j. Connolly ma
tionaI organizer of the L A. M. came to Paterson
and started to call open meetings of the workers
during which they attacked the Communists and
the Metal Trades Industrial League
Wages Are Cut
on November l. $780, a 10 per cent wage cut
was put into effect. The M. T. L l. Immediately
issued leafet calling upon the workers to stop
production and force the company to grant the
workers the regular wages. This leaflet was re-
ceived enthusiastically by the workers The
workers even went as far as pasting this leaflet
on the walls of the factory. The same night the
A. F of L. called a meeting of the workers where
the strike question was taken up. Connoly told
the men not to strike because there were many
unemployed who would take their Jobs gladly.
The M T I. L. connections in the shop were
not aggressive and failed to expose the A. F. OF
L. as agents of the bosses, Connollys wo<ds
passed with no move on the part of the workers
to fight against the cut
Three weeks later the bosses introduced the
bonus and group incentive system which makes
one worker the foreman of the other. The scheme
was as follows: The whole plant would be di-
vided into groups of S, and if anyone in the
group would produce less than so units the whole
group was to receive a Is per cent cut and an
additional Is per cent wage cut if any worker of
the group would produce one scrap out OF 60
units In this way the efficiency engineers who
come from Detroit try to do away with foremen
and have the workers speed each other up in
order to make more millions for the owners
Even the president of the company, G. W.
Vaughn, was forced to admit on the day of the
strike that "the bonus and group incentive sys-
tenn is really a speed-up plan by which the
workers would make more money % by produc-
ing more work"
Strike Against Speed-Up.
This time the workers could not stand the at
tack of the bosses on their standard of living
Many departments went out on a spontaneous
strike $50 walked out. Several departments re-
NAMED in the shop. Agents of the A. F. of L.
took the workers to the A. F. of L. hall and
meeting was held Connoly addressed the meet
ing and told the workers not to get excited, to
go home and sleep over the speed-up scheme.
This was the second time that the fascist lead
ership of the A. F. of L. played its strikebreak-
ing role. Instead of sleeping over it, the next
day the workers stopped all the workers with the
exception of departments which had the most
skilled workers in them. Now, the A. F. of L.
was forced to take leadership, in order to keep
the Communists out of the picture.
A Sell-Out Policy
What was the A. F. of L. policy from the first
day of the strike?
Firstly, they spread the idea among the Strik-
ers that since the plant is a government plant
the government will not accept motors produced
by scabs. and that therefore the strike would end
in days. This at once made the workers pas
sive. They did not prepare themselves for
struggle.
Secondly, they proposed strike committee of
3, to be composed of 2 strikers and Connolly
Thirdly, they prohibited mass picketing. Fourth
ly, they did not accept the floor workers who
went on sympathetic strike. Filthy, they did
not elect grievance committee. Sixthly, no at
tempt was made to call out the rest of the de-
partments. Seventhly no relief committee was
organized. Eighthly, they spread the idea that
they have contacts with high government Off
Gals and that through them they would settle
the strike quickly. Ninthly, that if the strikers
will go with the Communists they would be ar
rested and thrown into Jail Lastly, Connolly
made press statements saying that training new
workers in the difficult work with the costly
and complicated machinery would be great
disadvantage to the bosses"
All this humbug, this desire not to hurt the
company, was presented to the strikers in order
to kill their initiative, their desire to win the
strike.
N T.. /. L. Pressure.
Not until the Metal Trades Workers Indus
trial League issued its leaflets and exposed all