The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-02-04
Kenslpgton Textile Situation and
Tasks OF 7. i. U.L.

strike. They came to the T. T. w and told them
to lead them in the strike
The bosses of the hosiery industry and textile
industry generally are determined to drive the
wages of the workers down as low as possible
Their policy is to smash the unions, since it
had to lead strikes under the pressure of the
workers. But the officials are not ready to give
up their comfortable positions, therefore they
do not come out openly for, the acceptance OF
these wage cuts but try to convince the workers
always to accept lower wage cuts and to show
that they are not completely on the bosses side
are leading strikes against their own WILL
These wage cuts are taking place only 10
months after the heroic struggle of the workers
of the Aberle MILL where one workers was killed
and scores we're injured in the fight with the
police and scabs Though that strike was lost,
the workers still remember it and this same
spirit exists in Kensington today.
AS the wage cuts spread so do the strikes
spread also and there are possibilities that we
might face general strike in the industry
In order to avert such calamity to them,
the officials of the American Federation of Full
Fashioned Hosiery Workers are beginning to de-
wise different schemes One of them is the re-
turn to the old system of one loom instead of
the two loom system that is in operation now
This scheme if put in effect they claim will
also reduce the number of unemployed. This,
however, is ridiculous because there is not much
work now anyhow and if that proposal were
adopted then the bosses would be able to oper-
ate with their present number of workers At
the same time this is also scheme which would
reduce the wages of the workers not by Is per
cent but by 40 to SO per cent.
Here we can see the face of the Musteites I'M
masked, fully supporting the bosses schemes of
the spread-oEcr system. The officials are
heading in the direction of the biggest sell-out
that has ever taken place in the textile industry
in Philadelphia
In this situation the T. U u L. has the best
possibilities to establish itself as The leader of
the textile workers in Kensington However in
order to do that it is necessary to bring into
action the new methods and tactics as worked
out at the last Congress of the Red International
of Labor Unions and the T. U. u L. Plenum.
Let no one entertain the idea that we can
step in and take over a strike of the nature of
upholstery textile workers through the distribu-
ton of few leaflets and talking to the work.
ers outside of the hail.
Though it is correct to do these things in order
to build up left wing group on the inside, and
advance the program of the T. u U. L. in that
manner our task today Is to concentrate on
one or two mills and try to get them to strike
lHSI SpTedu Tie SCT1ke. his is possible ana
necessary both in the upholstery textile mills
and even more in the hosiery industry which
is more than half unorganized
The hosiery workers do not 20 to the U. T. w
because they like them but because they do not
know of anyone else This was the case of the
Franklin mill.
What is necessary today. is to put in enough
and proper forces into Kensington More are
needed in order to carry on the work While
concentrating OH building UP groups inside of
the a. F. of L. unions VIC must concentrate
mainly upon the organization and development
II INDEPENDENT strikes in unorgsnized mills
When the workers sec the difference between
the T. U. U l.. strike leadership and the methods
of the A. F. of L. VIC will be much nearer our
goal