The daily worker., 1934-01-30
Steel Co.
Attacks Health by
SayingOnH Heat
by a Group of Steel Worker
Correspondentsl

CANTON, Ohio.-LeWie Klngaman,
a floor sweeper and cleaner working
in the Berger plant. was found with
his wife and five children in a starv-
ing condition.
Lewie has been employed by the
Republic Steel Co. for the last six
years. Two weeks before Christmas
he took sick. After an investigation
it was found that the family was in
desperate circumstances Lewie and
his family were living in a one-room
garage bungalow, no coal in the
house, nothing to eat, and not enough
bed covering to keep warm.
Workers in the mill, hearing Of the
desperate situation that their fellow
worker was in, took up a collection
and raised S38 for the family. Some
donated clothing and other things for
the children.
The lousiest thing that we ever
saw here in the Berger plant was
the cutting down on steam for heat
ing during the cold spell at the holi-
L
or four below zero outside and inside
the company has hundreds and thou
sands OF dollars tied up in heating
plants and no steam to put in the
pipes, the bosses saving coal and cut
ting down expenses for themselves,
while on the other hand raising them
for the workers in the forms of colds,
sickness, exposure and torture. We
howled plenty for heat but the
policy Of the bosses was, work in the
cold or go home.
No wonder Fellow Worker Lewie is
home sick, flat on his back and his
family in a starving condition. The
conditions that we are forced to work
under in the plant are enough TO
make the strongest of us sick, and
Lewie working on his part-time job,
making at most S12 or $14 a week
and trying to support a family of
seven. It just can't be done. This
is just one example Of a family try
ing to live on the starvation wages
paid under the MIRA. steel code that
was drawn up by the steel bosses and
is supported by the American Fed
eration of Labor and the Amalga-
mated Association of Iron Steel and
Tin Workers (A.A)
The workers In the plant showed
fine spirit of cooperation by rails
the $38 for Fellow Worker Klinga-
man and his family. But we must
not allow this to continue. This $3G
came right out Of the hides of the
workers. The bosses didn't give one
cent Of it, and We certainly can't af-
ford to take over the responsibility
Of providing food, clothing, fuel and
shelter for our fellow workers when
they get sick, laid off, ETC., cut OF
our meager wages. This responsibility
must be taken over by the bosses and
the government in the form of Un-
employment and Social Insurance
paid at their expense and not taken
out Of the starvation wages we re-
ceive.
The Berger plant Of the Republic
Steel in Canton is organized by the
a. r., but they take absolutely no
action of any kind. We freeze in the
mill No action. Fellow Worker
Lewie and his family starve. No ac-
ton. What are we paying these in
itiation fee and dues collecting ban
dts our money for.
Fellow workers. we will never get
anything depending on these bloated
labor takers who receive salaries
amounting to thousands of dollars a
year, who spend more for cigars than
We get in wages. To better our con
diJions We will have to organize griev-
ance committees on the job, that viii
take up every grievance that we have
and act on it, BY joining the SteeI
and Metal Workers Industrial Union
fighting organization controlled by
the rank and file members.