The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-01-23

strated deep discomfort and disillusionnent by
the workers in the reactionary takers who were
on the side of the bosses and called the workers
to return to work They told the workers that
they will later come to an agreement with the
bosses This was a spontaneous strike in spite
of the tremendous opposition Of the reactionary
leaders of their union. The efforts of the lead
ers to guillotine the strike by referring it to
arbitration, due to the active opposition of the
workers, ended in failure.
The strike was carried on with a splendid
spirit, but the Marine Workers industrial Union
did not take serious, active and energetic part
in the struggle. Together With exposing the
strikebreaking role of the national reforn1ist
union with Ryan at its head, the union put some
criticism against the local leadership in Boston
who covered up their strikebreaking role with
pseudo-radical phraseoogy and so-called fight"
against Ryan But this was insufficient. The
M.W.IU. only sent a union organizer there, gave
out few agitational leaflets, and made an eff
fort to make some individual contacts, instead
OF mobilizing the organization for the success
full carrying through of this strike on the basis
of independent leadership and isolation of Ryan
and the local leaders of the refornist union.
Not only its own strength should have been
organized, but also the help of the other revolu-
tionary unions in Boston and the Party should
have been modified for this strike, to organize
mass picketing, election of strike committee
from the ranks of the strikers, and broad agi-
tation campaign for the benefit of the strike,
especially among the Negro workers, and hqui-
dation of the mass strikebreaking which
organized by the bosses with the help of the
strikebreaking leaders of the refornist unions.
But this was not done.
Help Not Given.
ho IN MT a the blame the
leaders of the Marine Workers Industrial Union.
In this the Party and revolutionary unions of
Boston also share the guilt. The fact that
the Lawrence textile strike took away all the at
tention of the Party and Boston revolutionary
unions is no excuse for neglecting the longshore-
mems strike The lessons&of this strike must
be studied brought to the masses and not be
forgotten in the future.
The weakest link in the work of the union Is
the work among the unemployed. There are
about 100000 marine workers in the ranks of the
struggling unemployed. Very little attention is
being paid to working out concrete demands for
this mass of unemployed workers. In Phila-
dephia a group of longshoremen have been kept
together by fighting evctions
In New York, on the initiative OF the union
ans unemployed marine council was organized,
but the work was very isolated and had no mass
crease A clear and concrete program for the
unemployed marine workers is not yet worked
out and popularzed among the broad marine
masses In such cases when the union and the
unemployed councils took the initiative, there
were positive results 1t is enough to remember
the hunger march of 1000 marine workers in
Philadelphia which was carried through very
successfully and modified under its slogans
broad masses of marine workers.
Where Are the Dock Workers?
The biggest shortcoming in the work of the
union is the fact that the dock workers
absolutely out of their scope of activity. AS
result there are absolutely no longshoremen in
the union.
The work among the Negroes is still more ne
elected. This underestimation of the work
among the Negroes showed its results in the
strike of longshoremen in Boston, where the
Negro workers we're being used as strikebreakers
and where the Industrial Union was absolutely
unable to paralyze the plans of the bosses to
break the strike by creating race hatred, by
turning one part OF the workers against the
other, by filling the places Of the workers with
strikebreakers. The union was unable to put
forward against the efforts of the bosses the
united front of the Negro and white workers.
The Negro workers are insufficiently drawn
into the work of the union There are no Negro
workers In leading posts Of the union. There
is no Negro department in the union. In time
Of strikes, no special demands for the Negro
workers are worked out.