The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-19
Thomas on the Wagner Bill


Unabashed by the open declaration of General
johnson to the 1000 bosses who exploit 80 per cent
of the workers under MIRA. codes, that Bill Green
& Co.'S interests were the interests of the most
save-driyiag Bosses the Socialist leaders INSOFAR
ably identity themselves at this critical period OF
rising strike waves with those whose proclaimed
policy is to break strikes.
In the latest issue Of the New Leader, Norman
Thomas under the title Of What to Fight For"
writes:
Socialists trade uniOnists and all friends of
labor and Justice should fight for all they are
worth for. The Wagner Bill to abolish company
unions. This bill be improved with regard to
the composition of the Labor Board and by add
ing projections against any possible drift to the
danger of compulsory arbitration"
Norman Thomas lies outright when he says the
Wagner Bill is to abolish company unions. Senator
Wagner declared in the New York Times that this
is not the intention of his bill In the same article
the Senator highly praised the company unions for
their "discplining' the workers
Wagner, and other Roosevelt Spokesman have
made it clearer than the betrayals of the Austrian
ocial-Democratic leaders, that the sole and main
purpose of the bill is to force compulsory arbitration
in order to stop industrial strife-n short in order
to smash strikes against the coohe conditions i'm
posed by the MIRA. slave codes.
IN VIEW Of the Wanted opposition" to the Wagner
Bill on the part of spokesman for a few of the
big trusts, such steel and auto it would be well
to trace briefly the steps which led to the bill itself
The NRA, through Section Ia. was supposed
to grant the right of the workers to organize Of
their own choosing without being coerced into COM
pany unons Didn't the bosses oppose this section?
Didn't the same U. s. Chamber of Commerce record
its opposition" to Section Ia? But what resulted?
BY the very of Section la the greatest growth
of company unions was fostered Nor was it alone
through Section Ia. We must never forget that
it was Mr.. Green, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Hillman and their
ilk, who granted the auto bosses full sway for COM
pany unions under Section Ia, through the So
called merit clause" in the auto code.
The Wagner Bill seeks to strengthen the Ma
tional Labor Board in dealing with strikes This
appeals to Norman Thomas, who during the strike
wave of last year harangued the workers (aong with
Roosevelt, Green and Johnson NOW IS NOT THE
TIME TO STRIKEr"
AS a result of the National Labor Boards &C
tons 100000 workers had their strikes broken
and were driven into company unions or were given
wage cuts and conditions worse than they had be-
fore.
With such deeds, of course, it is necessary to
strengthen the Labor Board-against the workers
Especially now, when bitter and indignant at these
betrayals the workers are moving into even greater
struggles in the most powerful fortresses of Amer
lean capitalism
THE A. F. of L. of1cialdom hopes to use the
demagogy in the Wagner Bill as a club in order
to force some Of the more intransigent company
union bosses to deal with them as the best and
most flexible strikebreakers. In this respect, the
Socialist leaders identify themselves one hundred
per cent with the very men of whom General john
son said to 1000 bosses:
II would rather deal with Bill Green, John
Lewis, Ed McGrady, Mike Marlborough George
Berry and host of others could name than
with any Frankenstein that you may build up un-
der the guise of company union In fact-take
it from me and wealth Of experience-THEIR
INTERESTS ARE YOUR INTERESTS"
Ex-Judge Jacob Panken, speaking for the So
cialist Party at the Senate Committee hearings on
the Wagner Bill, showed to what lengths these blood
brothers of Otto Bauer are going in order to enmesh
the workers in Roosevelt's strikebreaking program
"I want to say" stated Panken chat for one
would like to see all independent unions under the
banner of the A. F. of L."
Why did he say thisP Does he want unity" of
the workers? Does he want mobilization Of the
workers for fight against the Bosses for strikes
to increase their wages? The Socialist leader Pan
ken badly told the Senators that he desired the
workers brought under the corrodng treachery of
Bill Green and company because that was one of
the best ways of fighting Comnlunism-that is OF
fighting against the most militant and devoted Sec
ton of the workers, leading struggles and exposing
the whole dastardly program Of the New Deal
'%rhe A. F. of L. is the strongest force in this
country opposed to Communism" said Panken
Here we have the Socialist Party leaderships
actual united front the united front with Bill Green
& Co, whose interests are for all time officially
admitted by a man with "a wealth of experience"
to be the interests of the biggest trusts
MEMBERS of the Socialist Party who remember
IVA the shameless demagogy of their leaders in sup
"its success road to socialism, should tear
through the present dangerous support to a bill
which contains than the healthy germs of fas-
cis attacks all labor organizations and especial
ly on the right to strike.
The Wagner Bill first of all is an Injunction
bill. Every socialist worker knows what injunctions
mean. The BILL though cunnngly phrased to ap-
pear as curbng of company unions, leaves all power
and action in the hands Of the National Labor
Board with its Greens, Swopes, DuPonts), and the
federal capitalist courts. 1t is a weapon that
strengthens the capitalist state in strikes-always
relentessy against the interests Of the workers The
vicious penalties of the Wagner Bill, in phrases
directed against worker and boss alike will descend
with lightning and catastrophe speed against all
trade union members and the whole working class.