The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-09-01

WOrkerS cOnlmlCCee is 1OrmeuS gamer
successful May Day demonstration.
the ships to grant a nine hour day.
unstallment ~
IN THE eve of our campaign on
" all the boats, the broadsides and
tunnels were chalked with the
words: Tomorrow come to work
at o'clock" The administration
took it all for some mischief, and
the boatswains swore and made the
men clean the chalked tunnels and
broadsides.
The next morning the shore was
covered with people: tire was no.
body on board but the administra-
ton. The bells we're ringing on all
the ships, summouing the men to
work; but nobody went. They all
hung silently around the quay.
One young fellow came to me and
began to relate elatedly: "They all
came down to the shore at $50 am.
and we're afraid to go on board;
the bells have been ringing all the
time and we have been sitting here
and not stirring. The captain of
the 'Shumsky' came and asked:
Why don't you start work? and we
answered him from the crowd:
Wen start at 7 o'clock He went
back empty handed." =. 80. -.
The administration kept looking
at the crowd gathered together and
wondering what was wrong. At 7
o'clock the "Shumsky" whistle blew,
and we all rushed on the board
and started work.
FINISH WORK
AT 4 O'CLOCK
Before finishing work, all the
tunnels of the ships we're again
chalked with the words: Finish
work at 4 o'clock" The young
workers we're the first to leave
work, and the older men followed
them. The next day the same thing
occurred.
The administration lost its head
and couldn't decide what to do. The
next day the gendarmes visited the
ships, but every one was working
so they went away again.
So it turned out that there was
no strike, and the working day was
shortened. This unusual method
was apparently so unexpected that
the administration failed to take
any steps and so the nine-hour day
came to stay. Afterwards the me-
chanics and captains quite approved
of our action, for their working-day
was shortened too.
Thus we successfully carried thru
our first attack.
ORGANIZATION OF THE
ILLEGAL TRADE UNION
The "bloodless" victory OF the g.
hour day not only gave wings to the
dreams of the youth, but livened
up the older men. They began to
pay more attention to political ar
guments. My authority also rose
considerably among all the workers
on the dredging fleet. My political
talks took a semi-legal mass char
acter, although I continued to ex-
press my ideas in a mild form. I
think my mildness was what i'm
pressed the older men. Our talks
took place during the dinner break,
and SOMETHING'S in the evening.
The state of mind created by our
victory urged me on to the idea of
organizing an illigal trade union.
The workers met this idea with ap-
proval. 1t was impossible at that
time to organize legal trade-lmion,
and I was not SO keen on legaMzing
it, reckoning that I would not be
able to work long, that the gen
darmes would interfere one way
or another, and I was afraid that
a legalized union might be left
without the necessary leadership
and fall into the hands of the
reactionaries, who had melted away
for the time being.
WE dedicated a few meetings to
W the question of the tasks of
trade-umions; we called an illegal
organization meeting of workers
from among the more promising
fellows. We elected a board of d.
rectors, whom we instructed to
work out the rules, obtain a stamp
and generally get hold of all that
was necessary for an illegal trade
union.
Despite all our precautions, fifty
persons entered the trade union.
Considerable means, about 100
rubles, were collected, which there
was really no need to spend. Thus
the trade-union began to function.
But since every trade-union has to
do something, naturally our new
born union began to think of how
it could recommend itself to the
workers. And the members of the
union began to press me for an
answer.
1t should be mentioned that to-
gether with this system of draw
ing in of workers to work on the
dredging-fleet, together with all
their relatives and offspring, there
was complicated graduation of
wages. When I worked out the
wages of a worker Of the lower
categories, discovered that with
all extras it did not exceed
eighteen rubles a month. More
Cvo,. tJ,n co,,dtt;opc of u,o,-L xryara
extramely hard and unhygienic;
even the stokers, whose work was
looked upon as hard labor, had no
overalls or working gloves; there
was no sanitary or medical as