The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-03-25
THE MEETING OF THE T. u.
ILL.NA1"L EXECUTIVE BOARD

and West with special reference to the oil agri-
cultural, metal mining and lumber industries,
and the big unemployment movement. This plan
of concentration will be further elaborated by
the national Buro in later issues of Labor Unity.
The Board devoted much attention to the
growing terror, marked by the rising wave of
lynchings, arrests of militants, raids on strikes
CLawrence). Fish committee deportation pro-
gram, etc. 1t called for the aggressive demand
for the release of the class war prisoners. 1t
greeted the attack of Tom Mooney upon the cor
rupt A. F. of L. leadership and called upon all
workers to make the most militant struggle to
free Mooney.
The Board meeting characterized the present
talk of the A. F. of L. bureaucrats, socialists,
IWW, etc, about the 6-hour day and 5-day week
as so much cleft demagogy" designed to screen
and facilitate the introduction of the stagger
plan of the bosses. 1t Reimbursed the RILU
slogan for the 7-hour day without reduction in
pay Qncuding the 6-hour day for youth and
those employed in hazardous industries).
The assembled delegates greeted the continued
victories of the Swear Plan. They reiterated
this determination to spare no efforts to acquant
American workers with the revolutionary signi-
ficance of these developments and to mobilize
them to defend the Soviet Union against the
growing war attacks
The Board expressed the view that it will
facilitate organization work if the Oil workers
are formed into distinct oil workers industrial
union instead of into merely department of the
National Miners Union, and that the auto work
ers and packing house workers should be SINH
larly organized, consideration of making these
adjustments will be taken up with the miners.
metal workers and food workers national unions
and leagues. ..--
The Board meeting was marked with optimism
and enthusiasm. AT the November meeting of
the National Committee, confronted with rapid
numerical decline and serious weakening of the
position of our organizations, the delegations
frankly realized the situation as highly critical
But at this meeting no one spoke of crisis.
Difficulties are still present in most serious
FORMS Gross errors have been made in strike
strategy, our organization work is still very in
sufficient, the use of partial demands is only
beginning to be understood and trade union dem
ocracy remains at low ebb in our unions. But
much improvement has been made in these var
ious respects. This was clear from the several
reports The decline in membership has been
practically checked, several of the organizations
showing increases A beginning has been made
at Stabilzing the union leadership, finances, etc.
The TUUL has been able to come forward in
leading role in the struggle against unemploy-
ment. 1t has also led several strikes, the most
important Of which was the partially successful
struggle of the Lawrence workers against the
American Wooden Company.
The next several months will be crucial ones
in the building of the TUUL The economic
crisis is deepening. The workers standards are
being Slashed on all sides. The workers are de-
veloping sharper and more intense fighting
spirit. More and more they turn to the TUUL
for leadership. But our organization has many
weaknesses. The price of leadership is that we
learn how to develop the partial demands of
the workers and to establish the elementary
forms, grievance committees, among them, to be-
gin the struggle. The consideration Of these
basic problems was the center Of the recent
Board meeting, the kernel around which all the
other business revolved. Fruitful discussions
were held, correct decisions taken. Now let the
practice reflect these actions by rapidly increas-
ing the organization and leadership of the Trade
Union Unity League.