The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-02-04


tees in strikes when the bosses to
concentrate aan forces, including the
church and press, over the weekend
in an effort TO trick and intimidate
the workers into deserving the
struggle. The Briggs strikers should
beware Of such maneuvers.
The 10000 strikers are demanding
increased wages, with minimum OF
As cents an hour for women and so
cents for women; the elimination of
dead time" UNPAID time); the aboli-
ton Of the piece-work, bonus and
group insurance" swindIe schemes,
and recognition Of their shop and
committees.
Expose StOoIpigeOn
City and state police and company
serv1eemen are still modified in full
force to break the strike, and prac-
tical martial law prevails. The Auto
Workers Union, which is leading the
struggle, has discovered and exposed a
company stoolpigeon, Mike Kwannack'
who became chairman of the strike
committee. One Of the picket cap
tains, barrow, is coming out for CO.
operation with the police and for dis
persing the picket-line. Other stool
pigeon activities within the leading
strike committee are being exposed by
the union, which is rallying the
strikers to defend themselves against
these attempts of the bosses to break
UP their ranks from within. The
union is calling on the workers TO
elect a new rank and file strike COM
mittee, composed of reliable workers
who have shown their mettle in the
strike.
The strikers mass meeting last
night made a decision to reconstitute
the picket-line and reorganize the
strike leadership. Despite the UMPIRE
cedetned terror, despite the strike
breaking efforts to divide and mislead
the workers being made by the De
partment of Labor agent, Robert M.
Pilkington, and the leaders Of the De
troit Federation of Labor, headed by
Frank x. Martel, the Socialist Party,
with Norman Thomas in the chief
role, and I. w. w, militant picketing
is continuing, and about dozen more
strikers we're arrested yesterday.
How the A. F. Of L. leaders are CO.
operating with the bosses was illu-
strated when Business Agent Charlie
Gold, OF the Plumbers Union local,
sent seven union plumbers to work
on job in the hotel for scabs which
the Briggs company has established
at its plant. This so enraged the
rank and file that at a meeting Of
the union, after a bitter fight on the
floor, the members forced the Of
ficials to withdrew the men from the
scab hotel This shows the strong
feeling of solidarity with the Briggs
strikers among the A. F. of L. rank
and file.
Mass Meeting Tomorrow
A mass meeting Of Briggs strikers
has been called by the Auto Workers
Union for Sunday at 2 p. m. Leading
Briggs strikers will speak, as well as
workers from other auto plants. Other
speakers will be Phil Raymond and
Anthony Gerlack, leaders of the Auto
Workers Union, John Schmies, De-
troit organizer of the Communist
Party, Bill Gebert, Chicago district
organizer of the Party, and Earl
BroWder, secretary of the Party. The
Unemployed Councils are sending
mass delegations to the meeting and
will have a speaker. Farmers Coun-
ellis have also been invited to send
delegates.
BY Labor Research Association.
The Briggs Company is the largest
manufacturer Of automo-
bile bodies, frames, stampings, etc,
and numbers among its customers
Ford, Chrysler, Hudson and Graham
Paige. The Ford Motor Co. is by
far its largest customers. And there
by hangs tale. From making most
of his own parts and accessories be-
fore 1923, Ford changed to having q
large part made by firms specializing
in these various fields In 1880,
Briggs was making 43 per cent Of the
Ford bodies.
The Briggs Company has always
been notorious for the high degree
to which it exploited its workers. The
reason for Ford's change to the
Briggs Company was made apparent
in the Wall Street Journal, April 9,
1892, which said:
"Ford :. is known for his close
figuring in the purchase of parts, and
it was not until 1880 that Briggs was
able to rearrange its facilities so as
to place its Ford business on a more
than nominal profit basis" tOur en-
phasis)
The Wall Street phraseology of this
statement means to workers that
Ford, himself a notorious eXploiter of
labor found it cheaper to have his
bodies made by Briggs.
Why? Because the Briggs firm. spe-
cialists in the line, could eXploi. their
workers to an even higher deg &c on
this kind of work
Horrible Conditions.
simultaneously with Briggs con-
tracts to make Ford bodies and the
Encouragement OF its facilities" in
1880, came horrible tales from Detroit
as to what workers in the Briggs
plants we're fored TO undergo. Work
erS were rehired after 1ayolf5 Tor
wages as low as AZ aud some at IS
cents an hour. Following the bslly-
hoo of the Highland Park plant re-
opening, the whole night shift was
laid off, after having worked only six
hours. Wages we're cut from Is TO so
per cent, Workers on the night shift
found that their wages had even
been cut for the six hours. One wo-
man showed a pay check of Sl,S0 for
the six hours.
Women workers in Briggs were
working the ts-hour night shift.
The older, married women workers
were making as low as $40 a week