The daily worker., 1933-01-25

Devices To Split Up Workers
The unorganized longshoreinen are
forced to work for as little as 45
cents an hour and less. Besides
wage cuts the shipowners have fur
ther worsened the working and lv-
ing conditions of the longshoremen
by speed-up. Smaller gangs and
larger drafts, with loads to the cap
acity limit using unorganized car
gangs in place of union longshore-
men, using the coastwise men against
the deepwater men-the scale for the
| coaStwise is As cents an hour, while
the deepwater is rs cents an hour.
The Speed Up and Young Workers
The young workers are used against
the old workers. They can stand the
speed up more than the old workers
and most of them are unorganized.
| On Mccormack coastwise ships one
man now operates two winches, in
stead of one as before. AT present
80 per cent of all longshoremen are
unemployed and this amount is
steadily increasing. OF those work
ing, so per cent work only one Or
two days week. The speed up is
| throwing more and more out of work.
About so per cent of the Iongshore-
men are Negro workers. The living
conditions Of the Negro are much
worse than that Of the white long
shoremen. They are Disseminated
against in hiring for work. They are
jim Crowed on the docks and ships.
Struggle of the Rank and File
The Marine Workers Industrial
Union and the opposition in the
Local 1116 of the LILA. following its
leadership have played very sig
nifcant part in the struggle Of the
rank and file against the sell-out pol
icy OF Ryan and Co., the increasing
worsened conditions on the Job, and
for the right to its own elected rank
and file leadership.
In spite of these achievements, the
rank and file of 11l6 are temporarily
defeated-forced to take orders from
the old gang leadership they fought
against, and herded into a new local
because of hunger and the neces-
sity of a job Their old charter and
treasury were lost.
Expose Looting of Treasury
Under pressure of the rank and
file of local 1116 a committee was
elected to carry through an investi-
cation of the books and the per
capita tax returns to the Interna-
tional since June 1882.
AS an answer to the demands of
the rank and file, and in order to
cover up the money stolen from the
treasury of local 1l16, Ryan and his
gang. who have for years terrorized
the longshoremen and imposed upon
them Worsened conditions. have,
without asking them a question, dis
banded local 1116.
Ryan's $4,000 and Shipowners
When the rank and file resisted
this treacherous action of Ryan and
Baker, Mr.. Ryan came down to speak
to the longshoremen. He told them
that his salary of 5000 dollars a
year was barely enough for him, as
a labor representative, to represent
them with. That he lived as humbly
as any longshoremen existing on two
days work a week. That due to the
crisis which affected all people-the
shipowners as well as the workers in
the transport industry, alike there
could be no hope of Improvement in
the working and living conditions.
WhitewaShes LooterS
He eVaded any discussion of these
conditions, or of the amount of un-
employment, or of the program Of
the International Longshoremen's
Association for bettering these con-
ditions He fully indorsed the action
of his Philadelphia henchmen, Baker
and Krutsberger. Not only did he
attempt to WhiteWash the looting Of
the treasury of some $4,000 dollars Of
local 1116, but when asked what po-
sition he took on Bakers attack on
the longshoremen by dissolving local
1116, he said plainly, Local 1921 is
the only local on the waterfront,
Take it or leave it,"
Attacks M.WI.U.
He launched an attack upon the
Marine Workers Industrial Union,
stating that they were the cause Of
the whole affair-the loss of the
treasury, the formation of the new
local, the bad conditions on the
waterfront.
But this SANDER came to nothing
in the face of the solidarity of both
Negro and white workers of loGl
ll16. Krutsberger and Baker braniS
ed local 1116 as "a scab local" and
"a Communist Niger Union"
officials Call Police
In the face of the insistent de-
mands of the rank and file. for the
recognition of their old local, their
own leadership, and the return Of
their charter and their firm dis
cipline in the face of the provoca-
tions and lies of Ryan and Co., the
police were finally called in and the
men driven out of the hall.
Smashing Unions for Bosses
1t is in full agreement with the
shipowners that Ryan has played
this trick. His answer clearly shows
that the shipowners and the LILA.
officialdom want no union with rank
and file control. Especially one that
will fight for better conditions.
Their discomfort with the treach-
erous sell-out of Ryan and Baker at
the wage scale conference i'll october
clearly shows this.
For years the rank and file have
worked hard to build up local lll6.
Now Baker and Ryan are smashing