The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-10-02
On the Carrying Out of the
18th Plenum Decisions
BETTER PREPARATION OF THE PARTY FOR STRIKE
STRUGGLES

bringing the Party before the workers at the
strike meetings, exemplified the Party attitude
The election campaign to date has been discon-
nected from the strike so that the new mem
bers must be considered as coming to the Party
not because of earnest efforts made but be-
cause they were merely waiting to get in
The Party at the beginning and even before
the strike began was completely absorbed into
tn strike The Party machinery was liquidated
The section committee did not meet The lead
ing Party members did no Party work during
the strike, no recruiting, etc Every Party mem
Der became worker in the strike until the
District took drastic steps to correct the situa-
ton, although only with partial results. (The
District continually pointed out the defects in
the strike, together with the comrades, making
decisions for their correction, but with meagre
reSults) This was not only one of the serious
weaknesses of the strike, but helped materially
to weaken it still more, owing to the demagogy
of the Lovestoneites, who made Paterson their
campaign and hunting ground, not hesitating to
speak of their brand of Communism" to at
tack and SANDER the Communist Party and at
the same time to march in parade, each car
ry1ng u S. flag! On Labor Day, Gitlow spoke
on one platform with Mayor Hinchcliffe-a
unity fest! Had the Party played an indie
pendent role, had recruiting begun at once, had
efforts been made to build shop nuclei among
the strikers the strike would have been much
stronger, the Lovestonetes would have been
completely defeated and the union would have
been built up even more strongly.
Quite naturally when the whole machinery did
not function as Party machinery, when Party
members were not continually reminded and
checked up on their Party duties when units
and the section committee did not function, no
1aaderSh1 uoc
members came to the fore, but with the usual
shortcoming of our work when strikes take
place and forces are thrown ill., these forces
monopolized the leadership and not only were
no new forces consciously developed, but they
were forced back The second prerequisite for
a successful strike is the building of the Party,
the building of units of the Party among the
strikers in particular shops, so that nuclei will
be established in the shops when the workers
return, and the development of new forces takes
place for the Party and for the union The
Party has the task of politicalizing the strike,
that Is, OF connecting up the developments in
the strike with all political events of generaIz-
ing the experiences of the strike and of inter
preting these experiences in terms of the class
struggle, so that the theology of the workers is
broadened and deepened and they see in the
Communist Party their leader in the struggle
Third prerequisite: that the Party plays an in
dependent role, thus becoming in fact the leader
OF the workers as Party, in their struggles
Thus and only thus, will the workers learn that
not individuals, good brave leaders with good
policy, but the Party as Party leads them in
the struggle.
The failure in this respect of the Paterson
comrades must be remedied The situation in
Paterson allows of splendid recruitment for the
Party. The workers respond to the call of the
Party. The recent meeting of the union which
was attended by about 600 workers, at which
the strike was discussed, but the questions all
related to the Party, the role of Gitlow g. Co.,
and the response to the answers given show:
ID The underestimation of the Paterson COM
rades of the willingness of the workers to join
the Party
% The seriousness of their failure to recruit
for the Party during the strike, and thus estab-
fish the Party in the shops for the coming
struggles, which will inevitably come in a short
time, owing to attempts of the bosses to take
of the new general wage cutting cam
paign that has been inaugurated.
90 The necessity of building shop nuclei land
in the, buildings containing number of small
shops, OF building nuclei for centering the Party
in the shops. This the District Committee ne
elected in the past and must Immediately rectify.
"a The building of strong, functioning sec
ton committee, functioning units, with good
buros;
60 The necessity of the Party members in the
of the union remembering that they
have dual function-that of building the union
and also the Party, both before, during and after
the strike.