The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-06-09
TOWARD Revolutionary Mass WO,R

IF we say we are the leaders of the workers
and yet stay away from them. we commit the
crime of isolation Isolation, commonly speak
ing, is staying away from the workers and fall
ing to organize them and letting them starye
to death without a struggle to eat and live.
And, when we, the leaders of the workers, is
olate ourselves from the workers, we make our
selves criminals of isolation and are at the
same time pussy-footing the class struggle.
Isolation ard Pussy Footery Exposed
Here in Birmingham we had the opportunity
again to criticize ourselves severely in our fail
ure to work among the workers exploited by
the Red Cross Several hundred white and Ne
gro workers are working on Red Cross jobs for
small and measly amounts of food in place Of
pay. These workers are given the "blue tickets
instead of the original white slips" With
the white slips the workers can get their
groceries where they choose. but with the "blue
slips they can get their groceries only from the
Red Cross stores supply houses from which
they receive whatever rotten stuff the Red Cross
bosses choose to give them.
The Negro workers are working under armed
foremen and superintendent, are cursed and
ordered around as if they were dogs The white
workers are driven in the heat beloved at by
the overbearing foremen. They are also receiv-
ing their "blue tickets with which they cash
in and get their canned goods and other refused
goods just as the Negroes get. The groceries
obtained won't last week
These workers are indignant at these condi-
tons The indignation of these workers was
expressed few weeks ago when a group of Ne
gro workers who were receiving their groceries
from one of the downtown supply stores, be-
came mad at the clerk, when he threw their
food to them and abused them When the Ne
nYO uy0rx thrnur t1,n ef,t hooir 49,.
started raising hell. and dared the Red Cross
to cut their groceries off, the "rot squad" was
Immediately called but the workers raised hell
right on. No arrests were made The COPS
tried to be mice"
White and Negro Workers Fight Together
Shortly after that a group of white workers
beat up a foreman, and at the same time white
and Negro workers are whispering to one an
other about getting together and march on the
Red Cross and City Hall--the white workers are
expressing their regret for not marching with
the Negroes to the City Hall on May 10.
Now, we will view the ugly face of isolation
and opportunism
Previous to the date on which the Negro work
ers threatened to fight in the supply store, we
had not made one single step toward organiz-
ing the Red Cross workers by electng special
committees TO organize Red Cross workers
Grievance Communicative underestimated the
Importance of preparing these workers for
strike. In fact, we did not see them in par
ticular, but after the workers attracted our at
tention to the fact that they were not salts
fled with their conditions on the jobs and at
tempted to develop some kind of struggle de-
spite our remote distance from them, at last
we elected committees to go on the jobs and
speak to the workers, find out what their griev-.
ances are, and to organize them to put up
Ac
were able to hold mass meeting at which an
proximately $50 white and Negro workers were
present-Red Cross workers were the majority
But can we say, that we ourselves took the
initiative to organize and lead these workers:
No. Not by long shot, Then why did we
move to action? Because we were forced to-
We were SO "self-initisted.' We were sitting