The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-04-23
MINERS WAGES RISING
IN SOVIET UNION AS
THEY FALL IN i. S. A.
Fine New Homes Being Built Contrast With
Miserable Company Shacks in America
Speed-Up in American Mines, Unemployment,
Long Hours-All Unknown Now in Russia

On April 20, the clay the Associated
Press "a strictly capitalist institu-
tom carried news from the Soviet
Union that wages Of miners and rail
road workers were increased by ap-
proximately 6 per cent, that no I'M
employment at all exists, the same
press agency recorded that 1000
American miners were striking for
the rigllt-not to more wages, but
merely the questionable privilege of
starving equally. The Philadelphia
and Reading Coal Co. in eastern
Pennsylvania had proposed a week
before to close down some more of
its mines and leave the men who
were working in them to simply
starye to death, along with their FAM
lies.
All the miners in that district
struck for the chance to equalize the
work let it be divided, provide one
or two days work for each miner
instead of two or three for part of
them and none for the others.
Many American mines are closed
altogether. Tens of thousands of
miners in the United States are
hungry, have had no income for
months and even for periods of one
or two years.
AS for wage increases! On that
day word was received that 2,70O
miners of the Pittston Coal Co, near
Wilkes Barre. Pa, had been out of
work altogether in two collierieS of
the company for months, that 1900
miners of another colliery of that
company had worked only 10 days
this year and that the company pro-
posed wage-cuts of from $249 to
over SIS day for them.
go Per Cent Cuts.
Wages of American miners have
fallen off so to 60 per cent on the
average during the last two years.
Half of them get no wages at all.
Even of the cut wages, most of them
get an average of one to three days
work a week
With this goes an increase in the
United States of gang labor on ma
chimes, under a furious speed-up, of
swindling in the weights of coal, of
increase in the amount of labor
which has to be done without any
pay at all. A strike of over 10000
miners employed by the Glen Alden
Coal Co, has just been betrayed by
the United Mine Workers-the strike
was precipitated by the addition of
an extra hour per day of unpaid la
Dor to the task of some of the work.
ers in one of that companys mines.
Which Is "FOrced?"
And what are conditions like in
the Soviet Union, which Hamilton
Fish and all the capitalist press
scribblers call a country of forced
labor" ''underpaid labor with which
free American labor cannot COM
pete" etc? ...
G. F. Guenther, coal mining engi-
neer just back from some time in
the Soviet Union, made a speech at
the Cooperative Club in the Fort
Pitt Hotel, Pittsburgh, recently He
said:
Great strides have been made to-
ward completing the Five Year Plan.
The Russian people have been we'll
paid for the efforts and sacrifices
they have made. Thatched roof cot
tages are being replaced by modern
brick and tile dwellings. Club houses
have been constructed'in every COM
munity Their mining villages would
do credit TO this country. The living
conditions are better than ever be-
fore in Russian history"
SiX-Hour Day.
From other observers it develops
(see Labor and Coal" by Ann