davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
How the l. w. O. Cares for
the Health OF Its Members

paid q certain amount per member
whether that member Is ever sick OF
not. Our doctors are not paid BY the
visit. II Is therefore directly in the
interest Of the doctor 10 ours the
patient as quickly as possible. Third,
the doctor values the good win OF the
organizations; he therefore tries 70
avoid any possible complaints that
may discredit him; consequently he
gives our members the best possible
treatment.
A good example Of the advantages
OF belonging 10 our medical depart
ment Is a report made some tins ago
By g member Of Our Slovsk branch
zoos. He reported that his child was
quite sick and received daily doctors
attention for several weeks. The en-
tire cost Of curing the child was Just
a couple Of dollars for medicines His
friends child was down at the same
time with the same silment; but this
friend had TO spend over $50 Ia do
tors visits TO the child. Aside from
that, our members child was much
sooner given the proper medicine and
not allowed to reach the same stage
Of the illness as the other child.
Our Medical Department. has also
special arrangements with specialists,
whereby our members may be treated
by specialists in most Of the common
diseases for a charge OF $3.50 and
$3.50 the first visit and s. and IS Al
all subsequent visits; these same spe-
cialists ordinarily charge up to SIS a
visit. In the case of the eye specialist
all subsequent visits are only q.
Also operations ordinarily costing
hundreds Of dollars are arranged ct
a minimum cost, making II possible
for our members to get the service Of
expert surgeons whom otherwise they
could never afford to visit.
Another advantage in our specialist
department is the following: IT is
well known fact that ordinary prac-
titioners in recommending specialists
to patients receive "rake-off" from
these specialists. Even If there we're
such tendencies on the part of our
doctors such practice is made impos.
sible BY the fact that our doctors are
LLCk aAkONEA ~ 4C|gAAAAAAgAlA W 1NA
members any but our own specialists.
who receive a minimum fee from our
members
The New York medical department
has ON It's staff over forty doctors.
surgeons and specialists in various
sections of the city where our mem
bers live. The medical department
in New York has nov 8 membership
Of over $500.
1t IS our task TO build and extend
our medical department and to make
1t Of er-incressing service 10 our
members Our medical department.
must be utilized as an important fac
tor in drawing In new members. II
must be made clear to the Yorkf~
that membership and It's lecs1.I
partment does not cost Us raes
workers average expe fpoiluA'
doctors bills alone. This S4eef
the members of the Intern
Workers Order can get life insurance.
weekly sick benefits, funeral and
cemetery benefit and doctors services
for himsh and family, for less than
the ordinary doctor bills for himself
and family.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06

To solve this problem the Interna-
tional Workers Order, in agreement
with the leadership Of the Trade
Union Unity League, has established
special insurance option open only
to members Of trade unions who de-
sire to join all their eligible members
to the Order. This insurance avoids
the difficulties of direct insurance OF
its members by the union. 1t sup
plies protection at q minimum cost
and at the same time does not as
sumo the burden of thfs protection.
The insurance provided in these
options can be secured at a minimum
Of dues. Two options are provided
for, one with an average dues Of 10
cents per week for the members, and
another with an average dues Of IS
cents per week. These dues are to
be added to the regular union dues.
They are to be collected with the reg
ular union dues. This provision is
meant to stabilize the dues payments
Of the union.
The two options provided are as
follows:
Option I, a life insurance Of $500
for each eligible member CT the union
at an approximate weekly dues pay
ment of 10 cents.
Option 2, a life insurance of $3.50
and sick benefit of 81 per week, at
an approximate weekly dues payment
Of Is cents per eligible member.
The joining Of it's members to the
T. w. o. by any union on the basis
Of one or the other Of these options
will constitute these members as 3
branch of the l. w. o.; they will par
ticipate in the orgarfzational life Of
the Order, will elect delegates to con-
ventions, vote in referendums and be
an integral part Of the organization.
The capitalist crisis has accent
uated the insecurity Of the workers.
1t has increased the need fer some
protection for them. It has increased
the desire for some protection on
their part. The institution of some
sort of benefit feature by unions is
therefore most important question.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
The International Workers
Order and Trade Unions

THE need for some protection and
4 the fact that with the absence
Of social insurance the only other
source Of such protection is mutual
insurance, has led the American
workers to introduce mutual insr-
ance features In most Of their or
carnations. Mutual insurance has
also penetrated the trade union move
nent. There 1t has become q reac-
5ionary influence.
Trade unions are basic class Strug-
lie organizations. They are organ
ized to fight for the solution of the
most basic problems Of the workers.
The workers efforts to keep their
wages at a rate to guarantee them
their lives require constant vigilance
and struggle.
In these struggles the boss hiss on
his side the whole apparatus Of the
State-the policemen, the judge, the
law and the jailer; in serious cases,
even the army and navy are at the
boss's disposal. A fighting trade
union, therefore, is always subject to
pressure; it is always facing per-
secution. Its struggles are always a
very serious drain on its treasury.
All of these facts and factors make
a trade union an undesirable ad-
ninistrator of insurance funds. Where
the trade union function and the
administration of insurance funds
are combined, there is an unavoidable
constant danger for these funds.
The agents of the bourgeoiSie in
the trade union movement utilize this
danger. They paint 1t in the blacklist
colors in order to prevent the work.
ers from entering any struggles. They
persuade them that in order to save
the insurance funds, they have to
sacrifice the chances OF improvement
Of their conditions through struggle.
It is clear, therefore, that COM
binat.on Of a fighting union and a
mutual benefit society is an undesir-
able conlaination. Yet the workers
need nc protection of mutual in
surance. They look for it. They de-
lnand it.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06

u Supplying its membership with
: maximum Of mutual aid at min
mum Of cost to them,
D Educating its membership to q
clear understanding Of the reasons
why they need such aid and why
the workers, who are the economic
ally most important members OF So
ciety are at the same time the eco
nomically most miserably provided
for.
% Becoming gathering basin for
the masses Of American workers
wherein the practice Of proletarian
frateznAlsm win make them more
and more class conscious.
The International Workers Order
is fulfilling these tasks.
It has a most effective system Of
mutual benefits, the cost Of which to
the membership can hardly be
matched BY any other fraternsl or
ganization.
II Is an active factor in the sszug-
gle for social insurance.
1t stimulates educational activities
in its branches to raise the under
standing of its members.
It organizes children and young
workers and organizes their organ
national life and activity with the
view to make them conscious nght-
ers in the class struggle.
Thus the International Workers
Order holds an important sector Of
the battlefront Of the class struggle.
In this endeavor it deserves the sup
port Of the broad masses Of the
workers.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
BY q. GORDON

THE underlying principle which the
International Workers Order is
based upon is that of mutual aid and
insurance for its working class mem
bers. The necessity for mutual aid
grows out Of the workers insecure
economic condition in capitalist So
ciety.
These conditions Of unemployment
and sickness, the total absence Of eco
nonlic security, affect the working
class children even more keenly. The
fear of the parent Of falling Ill, Of be-
ing disabled, of sudden death, leaving
ones children uncared for and neg
Iected, is very real and harassing
fear for the workers. Such conditions
are part of the causes for more than
a quarter OF million children be-
tween the ages of twelve and nineteen
wandering shelterless and hungry on
freigIlts. roads and fields. The saEle
conditions are responsible for child
undernomishment, for child exploita-
ton and other evils from which the
working class child suffers under cap
itahsm.
Yet even these conditions of child
misery are exploited by capitalism for
profit ends. Fraternal and insurance
companies are formed which extract
from the parents and their children
their hard earned pennies by charg-
ing very high rates.
The Children's Section Of the TWO.
is & workers children's organization
It aims at organizing all working class
children as a part Of the Pioneer
movement. 1t accepts into its branches
all children, Negro and white. 1t offers
insurance rates accessible to all work
ers parents. Within its short time OF
existence the Junior Section has or
ganized nearly 100 branches. Tt pos
sesses an approximate membership OF
more than 5000 children.
Though based on the principle Of
mutual aid, the Junior Section, IN
common with the whole Order. trains
the children to understand that only
under q working class government can
they become socially and economically
secure.
The children are therefore given
activities permeated with the ideas
and interests of working class con-
seriousness. Their activities are organ
lied within circles such as: Debating
Dramatics, Mechanics areplane max
ing, Music, Singing, Sports, etc.
The Children's Section Of the .WO
mobilizes It's members for the strug-
giles OF the children for free hot
lunches, free shoes, clothing and
school supplies In the public schools
Everyday struggles cS ths woxsanS
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
BY MAX BEDACHF

Tux American masses are keenly
conscious OF their economic In
security. Any interruption Of their
chance to find or to fill a job cuts of
their income Sickness, disability,
unemployment, old age stop the only
source Of income Of the workers, their
wages. Without wages they cannot
maintain themselves and their de-
pendents.
There are no adequate social insti-
tutions to help the workers in such
emergencies. There Is no lnemploy-
ment insurance; there are no uniyer-
sal old age pensions; there is no uni
versal sick and disability insurance
for the workers. In other words, q
sorely needed social insurance sys-
tenn does not exist.
Efforts for Mutual InSHranee
To meet the emergency Of inter-
ruptions in the chances of earning q
living the American workers are max
ing many efforts for mutual insur-
ance. Every workers organization at
one time or another considered the
establishment of some form of mutual
benefits. The benefit such mutual aid
provides cannot adequately solve the
problem Of the workers economic In
security. An effective solution is only
possible through a universal social
insurance. Yet efforts for mutual aid
can relieve the worst OF the pressure.
Mutual insurance, If organized and
practiced from a standpoint of work
erS' interests, can also show the work.
ers the way to fundamental solution
Of the problem.
II is this latter fact that brought
so many bourgeois mutual aid or
CARNATIONS, so many fraternal orders,
into existence. The bourgeoisie has
no objection to the workers trying to
ease their SufferingS caused by capt.
talism, as long as the workers them
selves bear the burden of such ef-
forts. But when such efforts tend to
open the workers eyes to the real
causes Of their suffering, when such
efforts show them the way out, then
the bourgeoisie Strenuously objects.
The sufferings of the workers are the
profits Of the bourgeoiSie. While the
bourgeoisie might be willing to accept
profits without causing sufferings to
the masses if that were possible, they
will never consent to the liquidation
Of the suffering Of the masses st the
expense Of their profits.
The bourgeois fraternal orders
therefore perform the task OF pre-
venting the workers from thinking
about their economic insecurity. II the
workers would think about this in
security, they would see that capital
list exploitation is responsible for it,
They would become conscious that
social insurance IS needed. They
would learn the Importance and value
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
Declaration Of Principles
BY DAVE GREEN

TIE International Workers Order
l as mutual aid organization aims
to serve the needs and interests of
all sections of the working class, both
adult and youth and children. The
international Workers Order has a
Youth Section which serves the spe-
cial needs and interests of the work
ing and student youth. This Youth
Section today numbers a membership
Of 1000 with branches throughout
The country.
The insecurity OF the working
class is by no means limited to adult
workers. The young workers ex-
perience this insecurity in it's sharp
est form. The working youth re-
ceiVes the lowest of wages; 1t is the
easiest victim Of speed-up and longer
working hours, and it Is discrim-
mated against In every possible form.
Especially Is this true with the masses
Of Negro youth. The last to be hired
and the first to be fired, Is the lot
Of the working youth under cap
italisin.
In such situation the youth are
faced with these questions. What
protection have I in time of sick
ness? Where can I get medical at
tention? What would do if I con-
tracted the dreaded disease of tuber-
culosis? All these are unpleasant
questions; but they are problems that
confront the working youth and
which must be met squarely. The
Youth Section Of the Two. is or
ganized to help the young workers
TO meet these problems.
Through membership in the Youth
Section young worker can protect
himself or herself with sick benefits
ranging from 81 to So week, with
tuberculosis benefits, and with in
surance ranging from 500 to $4,000
In many cities medical care can be
obtained and in New York City den
tai care. All at a minimum OF dues
payments taking into consideration
the extremely low wages of the
working youth.
Young workers and students, in adj
dition to their special mutal-aid
needs, have other desires which the
Youth Section helps to satisfy. The
youth want to build themselves up
physically, the youth want social life,
ne youth want to educate them
selves in the problems of the working
ass. All of these desires the Youth
ton incorporates in its program.
very young worker and student is
rested in sports. Outside of betlg
,Tspaper sportsmen," that is, read
Tng about sports in the newspapers,
cry little opportunity IA given US,
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
The Program and Aims
of Int'l Workers Order

TzE International Workers Order Is
q mutual benefit society. It's pur-
pose is clearly defined In its declara-
ton Of principle which reads:
Declaration Of Principles
The International Workers Order
70 workers organization for mutual
aA6. II provides its members with
sick, disability and death benefits as
veil IS with medical aid and other
forms Of help. It accepts members
irrespective Of eek, nationality, color,
creed OF political beliefs.
''Ths I. W. o. recognizes that the
need for mutual help 70 workers grows
out Of their insecure economic posi-
ton In capitalist society. The worker
6spends on wages for . living. Yet
he cannot get wages when unem-
pIoyed, when sick, when too old. or
otherwise disabled. Capitalism tells
him, you must work II you want 10
live, but It does not guarantee him
work. It refuses him work when he
gets old. 1t does not guarantee him
means Of life when he is sick or dis
abled. In such cases 1t leaves him to
beg, and at the same time it declares
begging morally degrading and legal
~ irnpermiSsible.
'"The I. w. o. recognizes that these
conditions cannot be met merely by
organizing mutual aid. The workers
must meet them by fighting for a
change In these conditions. They
must meet them by fighting for q full
measure Of social insurance such as
the workers political rIile has es-
tabkshed for itself in the Soviet
Union. They must meet them by
fighting for decent wages to enable
them to maintain themselves and
their dependents in vigor and health.
They muGt meet them by fighting
against unsafe and unsanitary con-
ditionS In the mills, mines and fac
tories. They must meet them by
lighting for o condition In which the
lMe and welfare Of the worker, instead
Of the profits of the CAPITALISTS is
the case now-will be the guiding
principle Of government policies. Such
change in policy can be brought
about only under the political rule Of
the workers and farmers themselves.
Recognizing this, the I. W. O., in
addition to its major function Of
providing mutual aid for all Of its
members, pledges itself to mobilize its
members, for participation in and for
the support of all struggles involving
these issues. 1t will organize agita-
ton and cultural activities among
its members with a view to creating
amongst them an understanding of
the needs Of these struggles to break
Gown amongst them illusory barriers
OF race, creed and color, to estab-
llsh among them the practice Of class
solidarity and to develop in them
working class consciousness, and fin
ely, to win them for the struggle
for workers and farmers govern
rent in America"
What Declaration Means
This declaration of principle puts
upon the I. w. o. the burden Of
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
BY SADIE DoROsHKIN

WITH the absence Of social insur-
ance, adequate medical care Is
practically beyond the reach Of a
worker and his family, Even in
prosperity" days masses Of lower
paid workers could not afford to pay
two or three dollars for each visit
Of a doctor. The public clinics we're
always crowded with these workers
and their children, who waited for
hours for their chance to be treated
Today, during the crisis, the number
Of workers forced to these clinics has
increased manifold. Masses Of work
ers who before could scrape together
the needed dollars or borrow them 70
get private care by doctor, dread
ing the public clinic with its un-
trained, UNDERMINED staff Of doc
tors, with its degrading, eondescend-
ing Charity treatment Of patients
now are forced into them. Many
hospitals are closing, trained nurses
and doctors are unemployed because
their hospitals have lost their trade
OF paying patients. These patients
now flock to the oYercrowded city
hospitals and dispensary clinics in
stead
But it Is now, more than ever, that
workers need medical care AS a re-
suit Of unemployment and the lower
ing Of the living standards, worse
living and working conditions, less
and cheaper quality food, workers sno
their children are more slIspectible tc
sickness. So, when the workers need
this care most they are least able tc
get it.
1t is this problem which the Medical
Department Of the international
Workers order tries to solve for It's
membership. In the large cities the
| I. w. o. has made arrangements with
doctors whereby las In New York;
for Csc per month for a member ano
his family, or 22c per month for a
single member, doctors services car
be received as many times as neces-
Sary between 8 o'clock in the morning
and in the evening every day. This
means that for dues payment Of
$500 a year TO the Medical Depart
ment, the member and his family
get doctors service free all year. Even
in the clinics there is an admission
charge OF Csc or SOC, and if one i:
forced to go to the clinic several times
year, this service for one person
costs practically as much as mem
bership in the Medical Department
Of the Order costs for the whole
family.
The medical profession is highly
commercialized. The doctors are in
for business, for making money. The
more visits the doctor makes to q
patient, the more money he collects
| Therefore it is not always the aim Of
the doctor to cure his patient very
quickly. Especially in less important
sicknesses, experiences with doctor:
have shown that they do not imme-
diately prescribe effective medicines
thus making room for number Of
unnecessary visits. Such practice /;
made Impossible in our medical de-
partment. First, the doctors chosen
for our medical staff are very care
fully chosen and very well recon-.
mended. Second, our doctors art
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
BOURGEOIS Us. PROLETARIAN FRATERNALISM

in the workers of a determination to
fight against tho capitalist cause OF
their insecurity. In the bourgeois fra
ternal movement the workers are
taught to look up to heaven, to forget
the miseries of the capitalist world
They are taught to pray for help so
as not to get the idea to fight and to
help themselves. They are drilled in
a practice Of ''fraternalism' with their
exploiters, so as not to develop the
idea Of proletarian fraternslism
against exploitation and exploiters.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06
N proIetsrian solidarity.

Of proletsrian solidarity.
To prevent the workers from
learning these things out of their
practice of mutual help, the bour-
geois fraternal orders base their func-
tons not ON efforts to relieve the
economic insecurity of the workers,
They rather base them on some bour-
geois illusion, on religion, on patriot
ism, on nationalisrn, on mysticism.
On that basis the bourgeois leader
ship Of such fraternal orders sue
ceeds in preventing the development
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-06

For detailed information regard
ing membership, etc, into the
TWO, write to International
Workers Order, so Fifth Ave, New
York.