The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-26

| out mourning any expenses for strug-
gle to improve conditions. All of
which has resulted that most of these
unions are degenerating into rackets
for the benefit of the officials with
the workers getting more and more
! convinced that they cannot derive
any benefit whatsoever from these
organizations.
This situation is particularly char
acteriStic OF the A. F. of L. official
dom adhering to Tammany Hall
which controls the building trades
unions, and to the needle trade Of
ficials of the A. F. Of L. and the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers adj
herring to the socialist party.
Lose Membership Rights.
The unemployed members Of these
unions are being deprived in whole
sale Of their rights as union men be-
cause of inability to pay the dues
and assessments and are dropping
out wholesale. The same is true in
a slighter degree with the part en-
ployed workers. The orientatiOn of
the A. F. of L. officials is more and
more to maintain their favorites on
steady jobs and get rid of the
Troublesome unemployed and part
employed members.
In spite of the mass unemployment
Of the members of the A. F. OF L.,
the officials Of these unions refuse
10 support any struggle or measures
III behalf OF the unemployed such as
unemployment insurance. adequate
Immediate relief from the city and
state government, abolition Of favor
tiam in the distribution of available
Jobs. exemption from dues and as
easements for the unemployed. etc.
The reaction among the members
Of the A. F. of L. towards this rapid
decline Of the standards of living
and the corruption of the officials
Of the organization they have built
up as result of years of struggle,
s one of increasing militancy TO free
themselves Of these rackets on the
one hand and on the other individ-
ual quitting of these unions en- massa
! his has given rise to the develop
mcnt CT all kinds of spontaneous op-
position movements. electrical work
erS. bakers, etc. some partly organ-
Ized others remaining unorganized.
This spontaneous opposition ex-
pressed Itself particularly in the mass
endorsement of The rank and file
A. F. Of L. Committee for Unen-
p.oyment Insurance and Relief. and
facilitated the rise Of new unions in
several trades formerly monopolized
by the A. F. of L. In such trades
where the workers have a strong ira
dition of class struggle and class edu-
cation the organized opposition has
developed into an organized mass
movement, such as the needle trades,
painters, carpenters. etc. Even the
highest paid workers with a long
tradition Of class peace like the
printers are swinging into line as a
mass opposition to the wage cutting
policy and corruption of the class
collaboration unions.
Actual and Nominal Wages.
A situation has developed in most
Of the trades under control of the
A. F. Of L. which has resulted in
their being absolutely no relation be-
tween the conditions stipulated and
al,egedly agreed to by the bosses
and embedded in the collective agree
ments and the actual pay hours of
work, etc, under which the workers
work in the shops.
In the building trades where the
official scales Of pay vary from S12
to Sl4 the actual pay received varies
in most cases from SO to SO a day.
In the needle trades similar condi-
tionS prevail where week work Is
supposed to exist according to the
agreement, piece work actually pre-
walls in the shops.
Similar discrepancies between what
is on paper and what is in reality,
prevails as to hours, extra paw for
overtime, etc, i'll several other trades.
At the same time if worker dares
to inform the office OF the union Of
this bootlegging, he is likely to be
fined for working below the scale
and even taken off the Job.
Thus we have a condition where
union protection completely disap-
pears and where the officialdom of
the A. F, of i. becomes a hindrance
not only as far as fighting for the
enforcement of the conditions stipu-
lated in the agreements but for any
improvements whatsoever.
Character of the Opposition.
The opposition movement in New
York has developed greatly in the
last IL months and it can be truly
said it is a far bigger movement
than it was in 1925 or 1927 and in
some respects even better organized.
Il has mass character in trades
which before had never been pene-
trated and : spreading out at a far
more rapid upo than before. There
is more mill ,ancy and steadiness.
Another outstanding characteristic is
that it is truly rank and file move
ment not corrupted by any alliances
with the local tools of the big labor
takers. In New York City this move
ment follows essentially the line of