The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-26

future we can expect an increase in
unemployment which will raise the
number Of unemployed even beyond
the peak Of last winter.
This prediction which is based on
the actual figures that are available
is already receiving added strength
in the fact that in the South num-
Der of mills have laid off workers
or shut down completely.
AS the number Of strikes rose, and,
"A especially when confronted with
! the strike Of six thousand min
ers in Pennsylvania, the gov
eminent showed its cards very
quickly and dacreed that there be
no more strikes. The National Ar
bitration Board was set up to pre-
vent strikes and to arbitrate all dis
putes. VIM Green, the President of
/ the American Federation of Labor
and the other A. F. L. leaders Joined
with the employers and with the
government in calling upon the
workers not TO strike. The ALL.
leaders endorsed the mo strike"
policy of the NRA administration.
But this did not prevent strikes
either. Since then tens of thousands
Of workers struck The government
in each case attempted to end the
strikes through arbitration. They
rartiallv succeeded in this thanks to
the policy Of the ALL. leadership.
Thus the MIRA was already used
| to break the strikes of the miners,
he hosiery workers, the shoe work.
ers, Of Boston and now the New York
dress strike. In the case Of the dress
strike the bosses were compelled to
make certain concessions and to tell
the workers on what basis they are
Going back to work This despite the
fact that the hearings on the dress
code were to open one day after
the settlement of the strike The
bosses and the Whslen NRA admit
nistration in New York City could not
get the dressmakers go back to work
on a temporary agreement as was
the case with the miners. This was
due to the fact that both the Needle
TT rs Workers Industrial Union
and the left opposition within the
International Ladies Garment Work
ers Union was on the Job, modifying
the workers against any such tenn
porery agreements.
The paper concessions will Of
course have to be made good in the
shops And here again the Needle
Trades Workers Industrial Union
and the left opposition are taking
steps to assure this.
In the cage of the miners because
Of the weak position Of the NMU.
in the strike, because Of the non
existence of the United Mine Work
ers Of America opposition the workers
were fooled back to work on mere
promises. But even the miners did
not rush back to work upon the
pronouncsments Of President Roose-
welt. Thu miners remained out for
days and in some cases for more than
week before they returned. And
to elect their own checkweighman.
only after thew were given the right
Here we see that despite the NRA,
despite the mo strike" edicts Of the
government supported by the ALL.
leaders, the workers are resorting to
tie w7apon of the s'rike as a means
CT defending and improving their
wages and working conditions.
The unions affiliated to the
Trade Unicn Unity League have
in thc past weeks led many thous-
erds Of workers in strike, and de-
nlonstrated the ability of the work
ers under militant leadership to
win better conditions. Strikes under
the leadership of the unions affili-
ated to the T.U.UL. have or are
taking place among the miners of
Utah and New Mexico, the agricul-
tural workers of California, the shoe
wc-'Ier5 of New York, the metal
workers of New York, the steel and
metal workers of Buffalo, Cleveland,
Massachusetts,, Connecticut, Pitts
burgh, st. Louis and Chicago. Doz-
ems of other industries have been
affected by strikes led by the TUUL
unions. In many of these strikes
the workers beat back the arbitra-
ticn proposals and won improved
condition., recognition of their un-
ion or shon committee through di-
rect negotiations with the en-
ployerS.
THERE is growing fear among the
capitalists that despite the no
strike edicts the workers are striking.
They fear that once the workers re-
alize that they are striking notwith-
standing the mo strike" edicts, that
this will generally weaken the con-
fidence and fear of the workers in
all the laws enacted by the capitalists
to keep down the workers. No wonder
then that the conservative Pitts
burgh Post Gazette" when con-
fronted by the fact that the miners
continue to strike, despite the Presi-
dents agreement with operators and
the U.M.W.A. officials. fastened to
explain editorially that the workers
right to strike was never taken away.
This they claimed was their under
standing of the mo strike" provisions
under the code All that is meant, the
paper argued. was an appeal to com
mon sense" merely an appeal that
strikes be used as last resort after
all other means have been exhausted.
Naturally the government has not
used all its forces and resources to
enforce this no-strike provision, altho
Utmost everywhere the police. the
ate troopers and even National
Guard in some cases was used in an
effort to break the strikes. But as
the trike movement rises, the bosses,
though fearing to arouse the workers,
the government will be used more
freely as an open strikebreaker thru
the use of the armed forces. Only
the organized strength Of the workers