The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-07-30
Food WOrkers Industrial Union Builds
Local in Big Ne,U York Biscuit Plant

distributed in several thousand
copies that same day, was well re-
ceived A detail of fifteen police, sta
toned in front of the plant, ever
since the union began its organi-
zation campaign, were unsuccessful
in preventing the distribution, in
spite of the fact that one member
of the union was brutally attacked
and arrested.
A decision on the part of the
fired men to compel the Regional
Labor Board to enforce the prom
ises that had been continuously
made about the right to organize
into any union that the workers
chose, brought committee to its
offices to demand an immediate
hearing. A hearing was promised
by Ben Golden, Executive Secretary
Of the Board, and set for July Path.
The workers, realizing from past
experience the role of the MIRA.
and its refusal to enforce even its
own decisions, were not content
with merely waiting for the hearing,
but set Immediately to work to pre-
pare the workers in the factory for
sympathetic actions in defense of
those that were fired, and also to
break through the terror that had
been increased since the firing took
place.
....w?-would tn Aforom
Union Men Threatened
Every effort on the part of the
union to find meeting places or
offices on the area around the fac
tory were unsuccessful. Long Island
City, the location of the plant,
J closed all of its meeting halls and
empty office buildings to the union.
Union officials were threatened with
physical harm If they continued
their efforts around the plant.
Meetings were called daily inside
the plant by the company officials,
where in spite of the terror not
more than 100 workers could be
modified. At these meetings, vi
cious SANDER was hurled against
the union, as always raising the
red scare and the DOGGY of Com
muniSm.
The red scare would have taken
root amongst the workers, had not
the union counteracted the prop
uganda of the bosses, with steady
stream of leaflets. Efforts to build
up company union inside the
plant failed misersbly because of
the militancy of the workers, who
refused even to come to the meet
ings called together by the COM
pany.
Refused To Hear Workers
At first the stand of the COM
pany officials was to refuse to heed
the request of the Regional Labor
Board to appear at the hearing. But
after week packed solid with daily
activities on the part of the union
and the fired workers, the company
changed its position and announced
its intentions to be present.
The day of the hearing before
the board finally rolled around. At
this juncture q new element
stepped into the picture. Mahoney,
well known general organizer for
the American Federation of Labor,
using practically the same tactics of
the company by raising the red
scare, and by promises that through
his connections he would be able to
do far more to gain reinstatement
for the workers than the Food
Workers Industrial Union could do,
had prevailed upon some of the
weaker elements among the COM
mittee to sign affidavits or state
ments granting Mahoney the right
TO represent them at the hearing
and to exclude the Industrial Union.
A sharp and immediate exposure