The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-09-08
AS One Air Pilot
To Another


dustry. It produced a proletariat
of its own, like all capitalist pro-
duction does, by exploiting the
worker at the point of production
and concentrating the means of
production in the hands of a few.
AS this process, which is inevitably
the process of monopoly, went on,
it produced, also inevitably, another
/ process. 1t produced within the
workers themselves, by means of
decreasing standards of living, in
creasing insecurity and unemploy-
ment, consciousness of their ex-
ploitation and desire born of their
instinct for Representation, to re-
sist it. This consciousness and this
desire, accompanied by the realiza-
ton that individually the worker
would be impotent to resist his ex-
ploitation, has produced within the
aeronautical industry, among its
highly skilled and war -opagan-
died workers, a new crop of
workers organizations where prac-
ticaly none ever existed before, de-
signed as the instrument to resist
their exploitation in precisely the
only manner that all workers every
where and at all times can-namely,
collectively.
These organizations have sprung
up just lately. Some have sprung
up independently at first, like the
Air Lines Pilots Association, only
to affiliate later with the American
Federation of Labor Some have
sprung up independently and after
aflliating with the A. F. of L., have
later reyolted from it, like the
Hartford group. Some have sprung
up directly under the influence of
the A. F. of L. and have never
escaped it. Others have sprung up
genuinely independently and have
remained so.
But they have all sprung up so
recently that it was not until Just
a short while ago that any attempt
at national organization was ever
made.
An attempt at national organiza-
ton of the aircraft workers was
made at Buffalo, on July End, when
delegates from local organizations
all over the United States met
there in National Convention for
the first time.
The Convention was called by a
so-called Continuing Committee. -
1t seems that certain of the local
organizations had attempted indie
pendently to get something done at
Washington about the codes. In the
course of these isolated attempts
they made cross agreements among
themselves, thus making their at
tempts more of common effort.
They discovered that they were
forced to deal with the National
Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce
(the bosses national union). That
body told them that they could hope
to get an effective hearing only if
they were a national organization.
So the so-called Continuing Com
mittee" was born. It's purpose was,
not only to carry on efforts at code
hearings as best it could, but also
to call a national convention of all
local organizations as soon as pos
sible for the purpose of forming
a National Aeronautical Workers
Union.
The call sent out by the Con
tinuing Committee was couched in
such terms as to make it appear
that one of the main detectives OF
the forthcoming convention would
be to free the aeronautical workers
from the clutches of the A. F. of L
The convention assembled, and nc
sooner had it sat down than one
of the delegates from an A. F. of L
local made a motion that any ma
tional organization resulting from
the convention should affiliate with
the A F.. of L. This caused a ire
mendous outburSt of disapprova.
from the independent delegates
, who naturally felt that a fast one
was trying to be put over on them
The motion was held out of order
Later on, however, the same mo-
ton came up in different man
ner, A motion was made that We
try to affiliate" 1t did not stipu-
late who with. This was passed by
a majority of one vote. and almost
broke up the convention, but wa;
rescinded when the A. F. of l.. dele
gates saw that the Independent;
were just about ready to go home
: and call it day before any ma.
tional organization had been de-
cided upon. A further motion wa
made to table the question of af.
filiation.
Questions of organizational form!
and policies were proceeded to. Al
effort was made to create highly
paid officers, but was defeated. Al
effort was made to require citizen.
ship as qualification for member
ship. This was also defeated.
A skeleton form of national or.
ganization was finally decided
on Ce:ta organizational policies
were finally decided en-. The ques'
ton of afiliation was finally de-
ferred to referendum vote tive
months in the future.
The convention ended with thu
general feeling that something con
structive in the way of create unity
for the aircraft workers had beer
achieved A great many of the In
dependent delegates there were
honest but inexperienced with thu
treachery of the A. F. Of L. leader.
ship. They agreed to empower thu
: Continuing Committee" to carr!