The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-05
By A. LOZOVSKY

Red International of Labor Unions)
nm world scale the Soviet trade
" union movement is unique in its
way because it is a trade union
movement of the land of prole-
tartan dictatorship. This important
fact determines both the qualita-
tive and quantitative character of
our trade union movement. There
is not a single country in the world
which does not have varied trade
unions, differing in their political
as we'll as trade content. Side by
side with revolutionary unions there
are reformist, fascist, there are
Christian, democratic, liberal and
other unions. 1t is only in the
Soviet Union that there exists a
unified revolutionary trade union
movement, led by the Communist
Party. The Soviet trade union
movement has grown so large
numerically because it is a trade
union movement of the victorious
proletariat, engaged in building So
cialism. The organizational changes
which we, the Soviet trade union
lists, had to introduce in our trade
union movement in the course of
the II years of the proletarian die
tatorship, have always been deter
mined by the basic political tasks
confronting the working class of
the U. S. S. R.
1 remember the first period of
the organization of trade unions
following the February Revolution,
when at the Third Trade Union
Conference held in June, 1917, the
l-Russian trade union movement
first took form. Our trade unions
were most variegated as to their
structure. A fierce political Strug-
gle was going on inside the Soviet
Trade Union movement. At the
Third Trade Union Conference the
Mensheviks and the Social-Reyolu-
tionaries we're in the majority, but
we, proceeding along the line OF
rapid concentration of the trade
union movement, in a very short
time won the majority in this
movement.
Why did the Bolshevik Party
march under the slogan of concen-
tration and centraliza ion of the
trade union movement? We were
advancing toward the October Rev.
olution. 1t was necessary to con-
centrate huge masses of the prole-
tariat and trade unions in order to
help the Bolsheviks overthrow the
bourgeoisie, in order to help it
establish the dictatorship of the
prcletariat. Thus the first period
was a period of concentration and
Capitalization of the trade union
movement.
AT er the working class of our
country had conquered, We pro-
ceeded for a long time along this
/ path Of concentration and CEN
tralization of the trade union move
ment. 1 remember that at the
third trade union Congress, at
which I reported on the organiza-
ticnal question, we set up 81 trade
unions, although in the preliminary
discussion the plan was 10 form
only IA or Is trade unions. What
political reasons compelled us
directly after the October Revolu-
ton, to adopt the line of such con-
centration? 1t must be remem-
/ bered that the Civil War played an
exceptionally great part in scatter
ing the urban proletariat. A largs
number of the most advanced anc
conscious workers from the big cen
ters went to the front. The prole-
tartan stratum was not very large
generally speaking. And, therefore
in order to place every trade union
under the control Of the proletariar
section, to prevent employees, ano
| other elements who were hostile to-