The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-07-24
After the Betrayal

NOW that the San Francisco general
" strike is broken, strangled by the COM
bined trickery of the N. R. A. officials
and treachery of the top leaders Of the
Frisco Labor Council, the air resounds
with estate shouts of the ruling class.
81 told you So" say editors of the capt.
talist newspapers.
The general strike is useless" declare leaders
of the A. F. of L. Councils, aping General Johnsons
radio speech of a week ago.
But are general strikes useless? Indeed they
are not.
The workers of the Frisco unions applied the cor
rect strategy when they backed the maritime strike
with a general walkout. And the strike could nave
been won if the Vandeleurs, Caseys and Kidwens
who voted for the infamous back-to-work resolu-
ton had been driven from the union ranks and had
the workers continued the strike under demo-
cratically elected rank and file leadership
With the labor takers ousted from the unions,
with the Frisco Labor under militant leadership the
general strike could have forced victory for every
demand of the maritime workers The effectiveness
of the strike during its early days before the reac-
tionares got the upper hand the complete tying up
of all transport and the sympathetic attitude that
the majority of the people held toward the strik-
ers-aI this proves conclusively that the strikers
were well on their way to victory before the re-
treat was ordered by vandeeur and Company
The strike was not lost. 1t was betrayed.
What better proof that the A. F. L. leaders stood
on the side of the employers, the troops and Vigi-
lantes need be presented than Joseph P Ryan's
telegram to Mayor Rossi, which was published in
the San Francisco News, July 20?
"As one good pal to another, wish 1 were
with you" wired Ryan to ROssi. ut will come
out all right"
And behind the whole betrayal move was Will
liam Green president of the A. F. L.
In statement issued to the press on July 9th,
Green revealed clearly that he was backing the
treachery of his assistants on the West Coast He
disavowed the entire movement in Frisco THE
American Federation of Labor is not directly in
volved" he said despite the fact that the majority
of the strikers were A. F. L. members in good stand
ing
It was the rank and file that forced the strike
The top leaders of the A. F. L. were only involved
in the work of betraying the strike.
But the breaking of the general strike does not
defeat the fighting spirit of the workers. 1t does
not defeat their class solidarity. The demands of
the workers remain to be fought for and won.
The general strike in San Francisco, although be-
trayed and broken, will teach the working class of
America tremendous lessons 1t is of the STEP
ping stones in the gigantic rising wave of class
struggle which is sweeping the country and will
tinue to spread from industry to industry, smash
ing down the barriers of the N. R. A. and the mis-
leaders in the unions.
AMERICAN Labor history proves that the betrayal
of one great strike will not halt the class strug
gle.
The general strike in Seattle in February, 1919
was the prelude to one of the greatest strike
in the history of the U. S. A. In 1919 following the
Seattle strike there was the great steel strike, the
strike of the miners the packing house strike, the
strike of the railroad shopmen Nearly five million
workers struck after the so-called defeat of the
Seattle general strike.
After the great general strike of 1877, there
two epic years of labor struggles in the U. S. A,
which lead to great gains for the working class. 1t
during these years that great trade union
movement was built in America
The American working class is again enter
ing into period of tremendous struggle against
capitalism. Minneapolis and San Francisco are the
starting points
These struggles will spread further into marine
into coal STEEL textile automobile with the les
sons of the Frisco betrayal implanted deeply in the
workers minds
And as the struggles spread the necessity of GUST
ing the labor misleaderS lackeys of the N. r. A.
strikebreakng machine, from the unions will be-
come more clear.
Rank and file control of the unions, with firm
sure-footed Communist guidance and leadership will
assure success to the mounting strikes and strlg-
gles
Every Communist must see clearly his duty:
to link his work closely with the struggles in
the A. F. L. unions to penetrate the A. F. L. locals
and lead the fight against the employers and the
N. R. A. on one hand, and the reactionary leaders
the other.