The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-02

receive the old wage-rate the entire
force was laid off and new men
hired at 80 cents per hour. Not long
after the process was repeated and
new men hired at % cents per hour
t2) Surprise Wage Cuts.-In the
Youngstown Sheet and Tube Com
pany, the largest unit Of the steel
industry in this district where wage
reductions in the past have been an
nouneed through signs long in adj
vance, now the workers receive sur
prise wage cuts.
Only on the very day when the
worker receives the pay envelope does
he know Of the reduction -----
go Close Down and Reopen
The Carnegie Steel Company for the
past year has used the method OF
closing the plant down for a short
period and then calling the men
back TO work. Each worker is indi-
vidually told that wages have been
reduced due to bad times" and that
"if you don't want to work there are
Of unemployed waiting for
your job" This forces the worker
to decide on the spot not knowing the
reaction and decision Of other work
ers to the cut. Once inside the mil
the spy system disciplines and slave
driving is so severe that he cannot
talk to his fellow worker In this
the cut is put over.
az Department Wage cut-Wages
are cut in one department of the mill
and then a campaign is started to
force the cut or its corresponding
percentage of reduction to other de-
partments and finally over the whole
mill
(5) Discrimination Another
method is that of firing white work
ers and replacing them with Negro
workers and lower wages. Or of re-
placing Negro workers with white
workers for the same purpose. Again
we find youth steplacing adults in
order to speed-up production and to
reduce wages or of hiring married
men to replace young or single work
ers for same reason.
80 The Stagger Plan: has low
cred the income of the workers By
dividing up the work during a day
with a few hours per man or Of gang
work on a Job and dividing the in
come" The stagger plan is often q
joint scheme between the municipal
government and the employers OF
keeping a man norninally on the job
thus depriving him of the right to
city relief In many cases he would
be beteer off totally unemployed than
working on the s5agger plan because
his income does not equal unemploy
ment relief
CD The Sliding sScale: In the.
Warren plant of the Republic Steel
the wage-cuts are put over by the
American Federation of Labor
through the sliding scale agreement.
The infamous Amalgamated Asso-
citation sliding scale has a history OF
sliding downwards bringing the wage
level to a starvation point.
(3) Wages In Kind: The Car.
negie Steel Co. and the VS. and Il
have also reduced the wage rate BY .
paying the workers in food, coal ard
clothing from the company owned
stores. Buying the supplies at whole
sale prices but paying the workers
with retail rates of food and clothing
makes O big difference
There is now talk of the steel Trust
issuing script money instead OF
paying the workers in U. S. currency.
Another method to solve the crisis!
This will force the steel workers to
buy everything from the company
stores; place them in constant debt.
and make them lifelong slaves to
the steel trust just as coal miners
of Kentucky and West Virginia are
to the coal companies
Make the new year year OF
struggle against waee-cuts Not
penny Oft wages or reliefl For in
crease in wages and relief For unity
of employed and unemployed against
hunger and wage cutsl Steel workers.
Join the Steel and Metal workers
Industrial Unionl