The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-09-06
INSTALLMENT 81

split up into officers and men, and
where the capitalists want to bride
one part of the working class with
titles and uniforms to use them
against the other part"
THE men all went back to the mess
room. Some of the German crew
were sitting there already, drinking
tea and eating biscuits, which was
now also served to the "Amerikanski"
seamen. One OF the German seamen
asked to what extent the Russian
seamen we're organized.
zone hundred per cent" answered
the Russian.
Another German asked if the sec
ond mate was in the same union as
the coalpassers and sailors.
Eyes, we have one union for all
marine workers. And each member
has as much to say as the next. On
board there is the ships committee
which governs working conditions,
etc. AS secretary of this committee,
we might elect mate, or steward
ess, or coalpasser- on
the personal character
The Germans took the excursion
seriously. They also asked all pos
sible questions. One asked whether a
seaman could be discharged.
1.-THE freedom to dismiss workers,
such as exists in capitalist countries,
does not exist here. An employer
here is permitted to fire workers only
in exceptional cases, such as if a
worker commits a crime, or is abso-
lutely unable to do the work. Even
in the latter case, the worker must
be given IL days notice, or IL days
pay. Where an employer wants to
cut down his working staff because
through better machinery he doesn't
need so many hands, he has to pay
the discharged workers three months
advance wages"
Here Shorty broke in and demand
ed who the employers in the Soviet
Union were if everybody worked for
the government.
ITO begin with, there are still small
private employers, such as peasants,
shop owners, people employing house
help, etc. But most workers work for
state trusts, or state farms, etc. We
seamen, for instance, work mostly for
Sovtorgflot, which is the state mer-
chant marine. Our union makes a
contract with Sovtorgflot as to wages,
working agreements, number of jobs,
ETC., and the same applies to the
unions of other industries"
Further" continued the Russian,
members of factory or ship commit
tees cannot be fired at all unless the
trade union agrees to it. Nor can
single or pregnant women be fired,
or office help, or ex-service men, ex-
Cept in rare cases."
"Geez, everybody here must have
jobs them deduced Eddie.
THE second mate laughed. Eyes,
they have, and our biggest wish
is that We had couple of million
more workers to take the untitled
jobs. We now have over 100000
workers as compared with 100000
three years ago. In your United
States, for instance, there are today
forty per cent less men at work than
there were three years ago. All our
workers get social benefits. When they
are sick, old, or otherwise incapaci-
tated they and their families are sup
ported to the end of their lives. That
means not only food and clothing, but
opportunities for education, good
housing, etc.
What Stanley couldn't see was that
with the large population of the So
Wet Union, they should be SO short
of labor.
1.-THE fact is that compared with
other European countries the Soviet
Union is underpopulated," answered
the Russian. He pointed to the map
Look how big the Soviet Union is:
one-sixth Of the globe-far bigger
than the rest of Europe Yet we have
only 100 million people! And a very
small percentage are as yet highly
qualified industrial workers."
The mates face broke into smiles.
Gunnar had been closely watching
him the whole time. Gunnar consid-
cred the Club delegate as smooth
talker-a professional propagandist-
but this seaman, whose face was lined
with years of hard work appealed
to him.
There were hardly any more ques-
tions and as it was too dark to con-
tinue the inspection of the lifeboats,
ETC., the men took their leave. On the
way back to the Utah, Gunnar re-
marked to the fellows
What that Tovarisch was telling
us was the Pravda, all right"
CONTINUED TOMORROW