The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-03-02

Laughf1n steel and shop unit in the Byers
Pipe Coal In Pittsburgh proper Jones'
Laughlin Steel shop unit at the meeting took
up concretely the grievances and the issuance
of bulletin and challenged the unit In Indiana
Harbor.
Also, attended a mag meeting held IN one
Of the tent colonies Of the bl2ckMsted Pittsburgh
No. 3 Terminal Mine. This meeting YVES 10 hear
plans for the proposed 10 per cent wsge-cut in
the Pittsburgh Tern1inal Mines, which the q. M.
W. A. has recognized as coal operators receiving
a check-off Of $50 PSF meraber each month
The UM.WA. had been tying It's best ever
since the strike to make the nainers accept the
10 per cent wags-cut. which We we're abls TO pre-
vent At this meeting there were only as pres
ent only 10 Of the employed miners from the
patch" and Is of the blsckligtsd who 1--we In
the tent colony. I talked to one OF the Negro
Party members there and he also raised the
question Of white chauviniNm Of or white Party
members.
Generally speaking, throughout the whole field
around Pittsburgh, the workers have confidence
in the National Miners Union, but because we
did not develop local struggles and becaue Of
the absence Of the Party the miners have
drifted away from the N.M-U. organizatonally.
According 10 the District Organizer Of the
NN.U, there are some 100 locals OF the Ma
but they are all skeletons, according 30 the re-
port, and many of them have today degenersted
into pure renef-collecing agencies in which con-
tinusl tights take place cver vsiiGg The Party
fractions are not funCtcning and m the N-MU.
there are differences among the Party members
themselves
In the steel mills ws have much Less conf
dsnce in the workers because our activities have
been all Of a dernonstratiVe character, mostly in
breaking the terror. There ars only few
nuclei IN the steel mills and In all t1sre only
70 shop nuclei in Pittsburgh altogether. The
Party members and ths workers outside Of Pits
burgh are al enthusiastic in carrying out their
Party tasks. but 1t seems that the organization
of the Party and the Union has not frightened
itself up
One of the most outstanding weaknesses Of the
Party Is the fight against white chauvinisn,
which Is rampant and evidenced everywhere.
The Party members are mostly foreign born.
The only Americans are the Negroes and a few
young white comrades The Y.CL hardly ex-
lists in the coal fields
The Pittsburgh District has II sections, and
strangely, there is no section in Pittsburgh
proper All section organizers are full time func-
tionaries and it is clear that because of the I'M
employment of the large bulk of the member
ship, finances are practically nonresident.
Taking Pittsburgh itself. was until few weeks
ago, comparison Of the old and new. There
is no base OF the District in Pittsburgh where
in contrast to Chicago the outlying sections con-
stitute the minority Of the membership IN
Pittsburgh we find only four street units Of the
Party with two shop units. They are eonstd-
tuted mostly of the old Party elements with
which the strike was conducted There is no
unemployed movement in Pittsburgh except the
little skeleton Council on the North Side which
does not take UP any struggles. Because OF this
Father Coz had a very good base 10 build his
movement. The exposure Of Father CcxAs move
ment, the breaking away Of workers from his
influence was neglected completely
The functionirg Of departments reflected it,