The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-11-05
THE UNITED FRONT AND
OUR WORK IN ILLINOIS
COAL FIELDS
BY JACK STACHEL

BY JACK STACHEL
IN the October 20 issue of the Daily Worker
There appeared an article by Comrade Joe
fash under the caption winning the Illinois
Miners for the Program of the NMU." In this
article Comrade fash attempts to explain" and
to answer some criticisms directed against the
line carried through by our comrades in the I'LL
nois coal fields But Comrade fash by his very
answers and explanations has more than con-
firned the criticisms made at the meeting of the
National Committee in Pittsburgh recently to
which his article has reference.
OUR CRITICISMS
What was the main line of the criticisms di-
rected against the mistakes in the Illinois coal
fields? That the comrades were abandoning the
policy of the united front; that they had the
most narrow understanding on how to build the
NM.U.; that they did not realize that the mass
of the miners are inside the U.M.W.A.; that the
way to build the N.M.U. was not TO see only the
dangers of united front at the time when there
exists no NM.U. there; that We can not place
the question of United Front or N.MU.; that
we can not place the question of building the
NMU first and then united front; that the
question must be put the development of the
struggle of the miners, the building of the N.M.U.
in the course of the struggle through the policy
Of the united front and through work inside the
UMWA where the miners at present
organized
OUR POSITION IN ILLINOIS.
What is the situation in the Illinois coal fields?
We must state there exists no N.MU. there. All
miners belong to the U.M.W.A. no matter to
which wing their leaders adhere Walker or
Lewis True not all miners belong to the UNI
WA through their own choice. The check off
system compels them to belong to the U.M.W.A.
if they wish to retain their jobs. But the fact
remains, nevertheless, that they DO belong to
the UMWA On the other hand the miners
have been revolving against this leadership time
and again. 1t was necessary to make many ma
neuvers on the part of the operators and the
UM.W.A leadership in order to keep the miners
cd to the UMWA and to prevent the
growth o. a real militant movement. This took
the SHAPE first in the organization of the HowatJ
union. then through the Edmunson movement
etc Through all these schemes the Walker and
Lewis machines representing different groups of
coal operators succeeded to nisdirect the mill
tant mood of the masses back into the channels
of the UMWA The recent EdmunSon move
ment was nothing more than a Lewis maneuVer.
Why was it possible for these miseaders to be-
head the movement of the miners again and
again? Precisely becaU Sc we were outside the
UMWA and precisely because we either did not
bring forward at all or in the most narrow Sec
tartan manner the united front of the miners.
HOW MUST WE PUT THE QUESTION OF
UNITED FRONT?
With no NMU at all in the Illinois District
our comrades were busy carrying on agitation to
convince the miners that the NMU. is a better
union than the U.M.WA. But this method did
not and can not result in winning the miners.
We must not place the question before the min
ers, our union or the UMWA, our leaders as
against the leaders of the UM.W.A. We must
come before the miners with the united front of
the miners against the bureaucrats. Only by
placing the question in this manner and mobil-
izing the mass of the miners to fight on pro-
gram of struggle expressing their immediate
needs can we unmask the bureaucrats and carry
on a struggle against the offensive of the coal
operators. And certainly we must reject the point
of view of Comrade fash that the reason we. can
not develop the united front is because "the
union CNM.UJ is weak" Precisely this necessi-
tates the development of the united front and
only through the united front policy can this
weakness be overcome.
NO UNITED FRONT WITHOUT WORK IN
THE U.M.W.A.
Can We develop such united front from the
outside? OF course not. The miners are inside
the UMW.A. There exists no NMU. in Illinois
How then can we develop the unity Of the miners
against the bureaucrats? Only by building our
opposition inside the UM.WA. This opposition
Of the miners in the U.M.W.A who are willing to
fight for the program we put forward, a mini
mum program they adopt, which may not be the
full NMU program, is the united front. This
opposition on the basis Of a program must strive
to rally the mass of the miners behind it and to
dislodge the local and District officials who are
the agents of the bosses. This opposition organ
lied in every local together with the organiza-
ton of mine committees in every mine is the
means for the developmnt Of the independent
leadership of the miners. With the bulk OF the
miners inside of the UMWA. any tendency to
build the united front from the outside or to
limit this work merely to developing of the
mine committees will not be possible.
ON THE UNITY COMMITTEES.
On July l6 there was held conference of the
miners in Pittsburgh. The backbone of this con-
ference was the Rank and File Strike Committees
OF the Pittsburgh, Ohio, and West Virginia min
ers then on strike. There were also delegates
from Kentucky, and minority delegates from IL
linois and The Anthracite. A National Unity