The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-08
To the Toltng Women in Factories, Farms and Homes
NRA Brought More
Slavery to Women
W orkers in L. S. A.
Women Joined in Strikes Against Blue Eagle
Misery and Discrimination Codes

I wages, which will further bring
down the standards Of living OF
al workers.
Let us look into the N. r. A and
what 1t means TO women.
Wages
In all Of the Industrial Codes IN
der the N. r. A. there is discrimina-
ton against women. One quarter or
| twenty-five per cent Of all Of the
codes allow lower wages for women.
The Negro women are receiving
thirty per cent less than the white
women. OF the two million wage
earning Negro women the majority
are servants. In New York seventy
two per cent are domestics. For
these exploited workers no code at
all has been set. Hundreds and
! thousands OF these work for four or
five cents an hour and in many
cases without any pay whatsoever
The minimum wage Of twelve 20
fourteen dollars a week has become
the maximum, while at the same
time the cost Of living through in
fiation has risen sky high. The
dollar buys only sixty cents worth.
Unemployment
In spite Of the ballyhoo Of the
N. r. A., the C. W. A. jobs, etc, there
are still sixteen million unemployed
workers. Three million Of these arc
women. Hundreds Of thousands Of
these are wandering the streets
without shelter or food. Single
women are given practically no re
lief. The additional year Of starva-
ton of the Roosevelt administration
has further broken down the health
Of the women and their dependents.
According to the American Journal
Of Medicine over six million children
in the q. S. A. art now under
nolrished. Ten million school chill
dren are defective in health. Child
mortality, death OF women at child
birth. has increased MANIFOLD. Many
women turn to prostitution to keep
from starvation.
HOURS
No special provisions have been
made in the codes to make WorK
easier for women. On the con
trary. the neagre labor laws which
have existed before the n. r. a.
have been wiped out under pretense
of unfair competition by states,
Women in the textile, clothing
metal, food, shoe industry, work as
many as sixty and seventy hours
a week. Night work for women
has been re-estabhshed in Mass
achusetts.s For women workers
night work is the greatest curse.
It destroys their vitality and health
making it much harder to carry on
the double duties Of factory and
home.
TRADE UNIONS AND STRIKES
The right OF the workers to or
ganize into unions and to strike
guaranteed" by the N. r. A. has
been interpreted by Roosevelt, VII
liam Green and Frances Perkins
as something unnecessary, because
the Government will take care OF
the workers welfare. Roosevelt in
a speech over the radio stated: Tine
workers Of this country have rights
under this law which cannot be
taken away from them, but on the
other hand no aggression is now
necessary TO obtain these rights
The government legally sanctions
the Open Shop and the formation
of company unions as exemplihed
by the clause in the N. R. A.:
mo employee and no one seek
ing employment shall be required
as a condition of employment TO
Join any organization Or to refrain
from joining labor organization
Of his own choosing"
The bosses pounced upon this
clause and began drive for the
organization OF company unions to
be used against the workers.
The U. s. Government knew very
well that in order to put across the
N. r. A. and the initiation 20 icy
the women who make I'D ninety
per cent Of the consumers had to be
won over. Towards this end, special
patriotic appeals we're made by
General johnson, Frances Perkins,
Mrs. Roosevelt and many others.
The great boom of the N. R. A. st
first startled the working class ,wo-
men. They were willing to give
the New Deal a try-out However,
eight months OF the N. r. A. made
the working women realize that the
N. R. A. was not intended to help
them, but was rather an instru~
rnent to keep them from struggle.
Women in Strikes
In spite Of the N. r. A.. the wo-
men did fight back ana struck
against their misery in the shops
by the hundreds Of thousands. The
strike wave since the N. r. A. has
been greater than in any year since
1919. In these strikes the women
workers played most important
role Over 100000 factory women
struck for improving their cofldi-
tions. Tens of thousands Of wo-
men. wives Of workers in steel, coal
and auto, joined their men on, the
picket lines against the N. r. a.
A few days ago hearings on the
N. r. A. were held in Washington,
D. c. An examination" was made
by the government on how the ex
pertinent was working out. Now we
are told that the blessings OF the
N. r. A. are to remain with us
President Roosevelt declared the
N. r. A. to be a permanent feature
in the New Deal.
Working class women, carry
further the struggle against the n.
F. A. and the entire Roosevelt
program OF fascism and war. Weld
an iron chain Of unity between the
Negro and white men and women
workers in the fight for equal pay
for equal work, against discrinahla-
| tim Of I'll cnr+s nrniilsf the Iairln