The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-08-06
Streetcar and Shop Men On
Strike In Havana

high cost of electricity in over SO cities and
towns of Cuba, against the Cha. Guiana de Gas
y Electricity Cuban Gas and Electricity Coz.
These strikes have lasted now in some places
over a month (passive strikes in the MAIN. The
government accepts the statement of the man
ager, Mr.. Gatin, that they cannot reduce the
rates; bars and breaks up demonstrations; and
even nulIfied the action by the authorities of
one town, who had lowered the gas and cleo
tricity rates by official action of their town
council. The strikers will have to face the COM
pany, and the government.
Rising Wave of Struggle in Cuba
The National Workers Confederation Con
federation Nacional Obrera de Cuba) last night
July 31st) in q secret session dhe Centre
Obrero Workers Center, was ordered closed by
the police last night and during August 1st) at
q full meeting, decided to fix definitely the
date of the already agreed upon strike Of "a
hours From number of points in the inter
Tor of the country, came response of solidarity
with the proposed strike. The date definitely
fixed is Tuesday, August 4th, beginning at mid
night of the 3rd. The strike had been originally
called because of the governmental drive against
the workers, closing down Of workers centers ar
rest of leaders on q charge Of military trea-
son" and deportations Additional demands
dealt with unemployment against wage cuts
for the hour day etc. Now, with the out
break Of the street car strike, support to the
strike becomes one of the major objects Of the
"a hour strike
The strike of "A hours comes at D time when
the workers have received repeated wage cuts
There had been no determind stand against
thse cuts This strike of the Street Car Men
can be considered q turning point in the his
tory Of the Cuban working class, in the strug-
gle for immediate demands The period Of
preparation is actually much shorter than III
March, 1880, but the prospect is for a mass turn
out The naturalization of the masses OF Cuban
workers is clearly in evidence. They respond
to the class struggle appeal which the Confed-
eracion is now making to them.
Even the action of the street car men was
brought 10 q head, just when the Confederation
was organizing the masses for the "a hour strike,
which was linked with the struggle against wage
cuts. The Confederation outline Of the cam
paign against the terror was posted on the sta
ton boards for the men to read. The Confed-
eracion instead of drifting along was now TAX
ing hold of things, asserting its leadership The
car men strike was made all the more neces-
sary, because of the huge increase in prices Of
bread and meat. The delegates of the Motor
men and Conductors and Of the Havana Elec-
trio Union had voted in the Confederation for
the "a hour strike Their strike against the wage
cut was the next logical step.
The Confederation has now avoided some
major errors made last year. /. 1t is not form
ing any Conite Conjuntp Omitted Committee
with refornlist leaders, as was done in March
and October, 1880. The leaders Of the Cigar
makers in March. 1880, accepted openly strike
decision but secretly sabotaged it. In october,
one of their leaders made a patriotic speech
accepted a National Flag from Machado as a
pledge of class collaboration and betrayal of the
working class This error was the result of lack
of confidence in the Confederation, lack of faith
that the masses would break with their reform
list leaders and support the revolutionary strug
giles Of the Confederation. The Confederation
is the leader Of the strike preparation for Au-
gust 4th q The demands as already explained
above are not confined to slogans against the
terror. but reflect the every day life of the
masses of workers.
Social Fascists Prepare for Scabbins
The Union Federativa Obrera. led BY the
traitor Juan Arevalo who is making bid for
the job of Labor Secretary in the Cuban Gov
eminent, sinstructs its unions not to strike on
August 1st The Communist Party in it's prep
arations for August list planned street demon
stration, but no strike. In order to weaken the
24-hour strike announced by the Confederation,
the Union Federativa Obrera links it with August
list. The newspapers here played up the possible
August list general strike Of "a hours. Arevalo,
in an article in the Heraldo de Cuba, denounces
the August list Strike as coming from Moscow,
justifies the closing down Of Workers Center
(Centro Obrero) as a center of Communist
agitation" and opposes the street Garments strike,
granting the justice of their demands, but be
fore striking they should exhaust all means of
government intervention and conferences with
the company" Which means they should have
let the wage cut go into effect, while they
wasted their time in conferences. He says the
strike came ''in an unexpected form How the
labor takers hate the timely use of the strike
weaponl His organizations will not take part
in the strikes, because they mean the victim
ization of the working class" The damned hypo-
critet The Union Federatva Obrera has sent
communication to their organizations instruct
ing them not to strike on August LIST. But this
means August 4th as well.
Help Support the Strike!
The strike of the street carmen will undoubt-
edly be bitter one and will last quite a while
1t will be followed by many more bitter struggles
against wage cuts in other industries. The Con-
federation will and is nobilizing the Cuban
working class for this struggle The Comrnu-
mist Party of Cuba is giving every possible sup
port to this struggle. But what of the home
country of American imperialism? What will
the American working class do? The revolu-
tionary proletariat Of the United States must
make up for its previous neglect of the strug-
giles of the revolutionary workers of the colonies
and eni-colonies of American imperialism, and