The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-07-13

The workers called for
minimum hourly rate of 60
cents for common labor, an
eight hour day and 5 day
week and emphatically reject
ed the steel trusts company
union and the A. F. of L. as
organizations to represent
them. Instead they voted for
a real rank and file union of
all steel workers.
Petitions signed by the workers
making demands on the company
union outfit established in the plant
under the Recovery slavery Code
were presented to the general fore
man who became enraged and at
tempted to destroy them. The
workers at the meeting today de-
manded the return of their petitions.
Meetings in All Departments.
Every department III the Illinois
Steel plant is holding meetings as
the workers recognize the power of
their organized strength to force
better conditions for themselves, In
every department, the workers are
discussing higher wages and shorter
hours and their plans for present.
ing these demands to the company
In the American Sheet and Tin
Plate Co. the workers are demand
ing the withdrawal of their first
wage cut of Is per cent and the return
of all wages lost since the cut was
declared. The workers invited
speaker from the Steel and Metal
Workers Industrial Union to speak
at their picnic on Sunday.
Statement of Steel Union.
Jhon Mellon national secretary of
the Steel and Metal Workers In
dustrial Union made the following
statement on the militant action OF
the Illinois Steel workers and the
growing wave of struggles in the
industry:
Immediately after the formation
Of the company unions in the steel
mills throughout the country, the
National Board of the Steel and
Metal Workers Industrial Union
called on the steel workers to start
at once drawing up petitions, signed
by the steel workers in the depart
ments of the mills demanding i'm
mediate wage-increases and other
local department grievances and de-
mands.
In the Jones and Laughlin mill
in Pittsburgh, this was done few
days after the company union was
formed. The workers asked for
Is per cent wage increase plus the
withdrawal of the 25 per cent cut.
Disruptors among the workers pre-
vented the petition from going to
the company union, and manueyered
to have it sent to president Roose-
welt and Secretary of Labor Perk-
ms. This move directed the strug-
gle away from the local department
and mill situation. The workers
are now on guard to get their pc
titions straight to the company UNI
ion.
A Weapon for the Steel Workers
This tactic of raising the burning
demands of the steel workers Is
now becoming widespread and is one
of the most effective means of ex-
posing the boss controlled company
unions. The contradiction in the
Industrial Recovery slavery Act,
which is supposed to allow the work
ers TO petition the company unions,
gives the steel workers a weapon by
which they can rally thousands
around specific immediate demands.
1t Immediately raises the issue Of
struggle, once demands are rejected
by the company unions
ut gives our union locals In par
ticular a splendid opportunity for
assuming leadership in these strug-
giles that are fast developing in
many centers of the steel and metal
industry. The action of the Illinois
Steel workers in this respect is both
an excellent example of how to mo-
billie the steel workers and how to
raise the burning demands in the
most concrete manner possible. II
Is an object lesson In the method
of exposing the company unions.
with the purpose OF rejecting and
destroying, and replacing the COM
pany unions by real working class
controlled organizations Of struggle.