The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-10-21
A Story Of Silk
Stockings
By N. CARROLL.


of the United Textile Workers Union.
This cut affects approximately $4,000 workers,
who have been working two to three days week
Tor the past years. the majority being young
girls making from Sc to $35 and the men, skilled
knitters, getting from $50 to $50 weekly. This
cut is embodied in the agreement signed with
the Manufacturers Association which was Or
ganized by the leaders of the A. F. F. r. H. W.
The leadership of the union has posed for
years as progressive" Its leaders are Socialists
anarchists and are under the influence
of Muste-ism
1t was necessary for them to give good ex-
for this cut and this is it: THAT the non-uniou
mills, being compelled to compete with the
union mills under the new scale, will them
selves have to cut wages, and thus force the
non-union workers out on strike"
This is remarkable strategyI
But the national leadership, Emil Rieye Smith.
John Edeman, Carl Holderrnan (notor;ous ey.
Scab himself and at present chief strikebreaker
from the United Textile Workers. reckoned
without their membership. Local after local came
out on strike aaginst the agreement, telling the
A. +. F. H. W. to go to he'll Then the leaders of
Griat union worked out new game in which the
strikers were the goats
Expert Sailing
In this game, the local officials and the shon
committees became the central players. First
they stalled OH the declaration OF STRIKE" and
spent days discussing, arguing voting. talking
blowing off steam, in clear effort to democrat
lie the strikers In Dover, N. j. they took FIVE
strike votes. Holderman went from local to To-
cal, urging the workers to return to work and
was booed and heckled chiefly bv the vouno
strikers, who wanted a real strike No orpani-
zauon was set up; the old shop committees
representing the organized workers the knitters
or about one-third of the entire shop became
the strike committees" in only isolated cases
with the addition of or more girls No picket
INES were organized, and no relief Only daily
meetings for talk and more talk
Compromise Talk"
From the beginning group of local officials
nave been propagandizing for "a comprise of
1879 per cent Wage-cut, in place Of the SO per
cent" This despite the fact that Gotham made
quarter of million dollars in months of
1881, 10 per cent increase over 1880: despite
the fact that other hosiery companies report in
creased business in 1884, and this is the pro
holiday season
Then the strikers went to READING Pa where
the great Berkshire mills are located in picket
line 5000 strong. They encircled the plant and
who should be at thew head but the scab Carl
HOIderman!
Is it surprising that the Berkshire workers. al
ready working under rotten conditions refused
to come out and join hands with union whose
agreement provides for 1880 per cent cut now,
and more to come later, and whose picket leader
is such strike breaker az this Holderman?
1t isn't surprising
Yet, when one department 100 footers came
out against 10 per cent cut, they found the
picket line down at the park, being urged by
the leaders to go back home
Finally, it was Governor Pinchot's friendly"
murderers, the state troopers who the AFFHW
officials said would "help the strike" who dis
persed the great picket line without meeting any
resistance, and made an agreement with the
leaders to cut the picket to Isl And now workers
say they believe the leaders themselves called
the troopers.
The Philadelphia members of the union also
failed to come out Bulldozed by their national
leadership, dstrusting the hypocriticaI local Of
ficials remembering unemployment, and many
previous disastrous strikes they voted 1855 to
AGO to stay at work. But when they were told
last week to come North to scab, they tore up
their union books. And when New Jersey strik-
ers threatened to come to Philadelphia to picket
the UNION mills, Smith, the national organizer
warned: you come to Philadelphia, and you'll
find plenty of police waiting for you'll"
Openly Strike Breaking
The local officials openly played back
llCO The ndIlQS OF Cne O1IlClaldom OF the
union and the bosses. When Gotham NJ "
plant advertised for scabs on Oct. 3-4, picket
line of IL was placed at the shop, and dozen
| girl strikers went into the plant. The rest OF
| the strikers were taken to a meeting!
| The National Textile Workers Union from
| the first day Of the strike, warned the hosiery
workers of the game of the national and local
officiadom of the A.F.F.F.HW N r. w. u
members were met by the officials with violent
measures to prevent the strikers from hearing
the program of the N. r. w. u, which included
RANK AND FILE STRIKE COMMITTEES
MASS PICKET LINES, EXPULSION OF ALL
THE WAGE-CUTTERS, from national down to
local officials, and ORGANIZED SPREADING
OF THE STRIKE
| Today these workers are back at work, with
| the wage-cut and with their dues checked off
by the bosses-35 cents weekly for the girls, so
| cents weekly for the men-the concession Of
| graft the union leaders got in return for put
ting through the cut. The hosiery workers have
learned many lessons about the officialdom OF
the A. F. of L. and the Muste-ites.
The fight is not over. More struggles will
take place when the workers taste the starva-
| ton in store for them. The National Textile
| Workers Union calls upon the hosiery workers
| to REFUSE TO PAY THE CHECK-OFF! Build
| up progressive groups in every local under the
leadership Of the N.T.W.U.I Join the National
Textile Workers Union, the only union which
can and will lead the strikes Of the textile work.
| ers; the union which is controlled by the rank
and Ella and uI,nca is fiohf ovo;,ct ty,o