The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-04-10
Party Life
The Role of Fractions in Mass
Organizations

ONE of the main shortcomings in the work of
our Party seems to be at the present moment
the inability to place our fractions in the mass
organizations, particularly the T. U, U. L. and
the reformist unions, on a leading capacity.
We find today that in most of the reformist
unions such as the building trades, our fractions
do not seem to understand how to lead the work
of the Party and the revolutionary opposition.
In some cases we have functioning T. U. U. L.
groups within these locals but the comrades have
a tendency to substitute the opposition groups
for the fractions. This shows that our comrades
within these organizations do not understand
properly the basic difference between the two.
Substituting one for the other means in the long
run to eliminate the Party from these organiza-
tons.
The growing unemployment especially in the
building trades and the discomfort on the part
of the broad membership of these unions as
result of the unwillngness and inability of the
leadership of these unions to organize struggles
against the bosses on the basis of the wage cut
and the murderous speed-up, places before our
fractions very important task-in fact the most
important task that our fractions were ever faced
with. and that is to utilize and direct this mass
discomfort of the workers to the channels of the
T. U. U. L. Unfortunately this is not done.
There are many convincing examples ON hand
to prove that where we have carried on some
campaign on the basis of concrete trade issues,
the workers were ready to support us and many
of them joined our opposition groups within
these locals and turned out to be much more
active than some of the Party members.
We had cases where the non-Party workers
stated openly at the meetings of the T. U. U. L.
groups that they are losing confidence in our
ability to organize the work simply because we
were unable to place the Party membership at
the head of these organizations In many in
stances non-Party workers volunteered to visit
Party members to find out why they don't at
tend local union meetings and also the group
meetings. 1t went on to such an extent that
non-Party workers placed on charges the Party
workers for their indifference to the campaigns
of the union. (Blumkin case in the Bricklayers'
Union.)
Another serious shortening is the fact that
our units and sections in spite of the repeated
demands by the district to check up on the
Trade Union Work of the comrades do not carry
out this decision. In many cases unit and Sec
ton buros refuse to release comrades from sec
ton work SO as to give these comrades sufficient
time to work in the T. u. U. L. In the fractions
of the building trades there are from 300 to 400
Party members of which only 20 per cent to 30
per cent are members of the T. U. U. L. and
smaller per cent of these do active work in the
union and r. U. q. I.
The new section committees must place on the
order of business the checking up Of the COM
rades. Too many comrades as a result of the in
efficiency the part of the units to check up
on them spend their time in organizations of
lesser Importance and pay no attention to the
work of the union.
The section conventions must create efficient
departments in the sections to properly check
up and direct the work of the comrades in the
work Of the Party and especially trade union
activity. We are long past the stage where COM
rades can put up all kinds Of alibis why this
or that and something else At the present time
the workers in the reactionary unions are NOV
ing and 1t is up to the fractions Of the Party in
these unions to be able to lead these workers
into the channels Of the revolutionary move
ment
Only through the everyday struggles of the
workers and our participation in these struggles
will we be able to build the Party and the
T. U. U. L.
L. BRAKEMAN.
Organizer of Building Trades.