The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-09-29
Union Movement

ing funds and giving direct aid to the strikers.
They cannot relegate these functions entirely to
the organizations of workers relief From this
it follows that we must pay special attention to
the organization of permanent strike funds and
to direct all our forces to this work The prob
lem of systematic cultural and educational work
must also occupy corrsepondingly important
position in the everyday work of our revolu-
tionary trade union organizations.
The entire system of work all the methods
must be such as to insure the possibility of the
manifestation of the initiative and independent
action of every member of the union Under the
term of revolutionary trade unions" we under
stand and must understand to be not only the
leading body of the union, the top layer but
the entire membership. Our revolutionary trade
unions will become militant mass trade union
organizations not only when they will recruit
new thousands of workers. but when the entire
mass of members and every member individually
will be drawn into the work of the union when
they will determine the policy of the union
Already the last Plenum of the Trade Union
Unity League stressed the question of the neces-
sity of introducing real trade union democ-
racy into our unions. But this decision has not
been put into life yet However, the carrying
out of this decision is one of the conditions of
svmpathies Of the workers. the activization Of
the broad membership, and the transforming our
trade unions into mass organizations
The difference between our trade unions and
the reactionary trade unions must be the fact
that, at the time when the latter have destroyed
the last remnants Of trade union democracy. are
not calling any membership meetings are not
calling any conventions for years the members
do not participate in the work of the union
do not decide the policies and do r. make de-
cisions for the unions. our revolutionary trade
unions must base their work on the CARRYING
out of trade union democracy of eliminating
bureaucratic methods Of work of activizing the
membership, of having them lay down the pol
icies, and making all decisions for the trade
unions.
1t will only be possible to root out the buxeau-
cratic tendencies to establish a real trade union
democracy, to eliminate the method of COM
handing and ordering and have the trade unions
function normally, when we will have regular
meeting DAYS, when the meeting will be held in
orderly manner when the members of the elect
ed committees will come to the meetings regu-
larlv, when the agendas for the meetings will be
worked out beforehand and will be sent to the
members when all the members of the elected
committees will be supplied with the necessary
material before the meeting which will help
them oriefltate themselves in the questions will
give them the possibility of expressing their
opinion and Of deciding the questions.
Trade union democracy has as its aim the
participation c. the whole membership in the
work of the union, means that not one deci-
sion can or si'0uld be put through without the
knowledge ard preliminary discussion CT the
whole membership. Tt presupposes the encou-
ragement Of initiative and work of the rank and
file members, who must be assigned definite tasks
and the carrying out of the assignments must
be checked up Cases where all the work is
done by the paid functicnary only. who is man
aging the work. when most Of the elected COM
mittees are not assigned any concrete tasks have
no definite fun items are not permeated with
the feeling of responsibility for their work. when
the membership finds out about decisions made
accidentally, when decisions are made without
their participation and knowledge having moth
ing to do with the first principles OF trade union
democracy.
We must carry on a struggle against paper
leadership the lick Of constant contact be-
tween the leadership and the membership, the
lack Of collective leadership in the trade union
the question of building of the YCL. But the