The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-05-04
Describes Some of
The Evils of the
WOrkaway System
StOwaways Also Used
by ShipOwners to
Keep Wages Low
BY Seaman Worker Correspondent

! NEW YORK; joined the IS.
Hanley of the Meyerhauser Line, in
drydock at Portland. Ore. She was
renewing the propeller, as the old
one got damaged by an old tree
stump in the Columbia River,
The chief mate explained to me
that the articles we're full, due to
the fact that when the carpenters
quit a man who came through the
office as a workaway had to be
signed on as an ordinary seaman,
making an extraordinary seaman in
the crew, and he could not sign any
more men on the articles until the
ship got in to Seattle. He told me
I could be sure of signing on the
articles as a carpenter at $50 a
month and that, as he had written
to carpenter friend of his who
lives in Brooklyn to meet the ship
there, I would have at least
months wages by the time I reached
the east coast, aEs@.ssflat if I agreed
to get off the articles in Brooklyn,
I could have the job.
was, of course, surprised to be
presented with an offer of a Job as
carpenter. I expected to be offered
workaway job as a seaman; either
ABB. or ordinary seaman. My plan
had been to accept the latter to
Seattle in order to create an atmos-
phere among the crew which would
help to put stop to the workaway
system of forced labor at sea.
AS it is 36 hours from Portland
to Seattle, I could refuse to work
Even If I had to act alone on board,
our organization, the Marine Work
ers' Industrial Union would be on
the job in both ports. I feel that
1 acted individually. perhaps too
much. My plan did not carry
through, showing that I was wrong
in attempting to do this without
being sure was right.
A Rich Mans Son
I managed to contact the pro-
scouting attorneys son. He is a
college graduate but his papa
shipped him out to scab on us, be-
cause the boy drank too much booze
and wrecked few cars, and some
of the town as well.
He refused to sign off in Seattle.
AS there is a difference between $35
a month for ordinary seamen and
$50 for carpenter, / demanded
that I be paid out at carpenters
wages, as the payroll had already
saved this money since Mansfield
had signed on, and I packed my
tools to quit. The mate put me on
the payroll and promised that 1
would be signed on in Everett for
sure. He said that he would put
Mansfield off in his home port.
A Stowaway
I stayed on the job and went to
Everett Some argument with the
mate I was on the payroll till we
reached Longview, Wash. The skip
per signed me on in this port. The
mate forced a young, ordinary sea-
man to get off in Pedro, Cal, his
home town. Well, an addition again
to the crew. A young man wanting
to get to the east coast slowed away
on this ship in Frisco. He was
found after we got out to sea. Sup
posed to put him off in Pedro also.
but did not. He had to work his
way. I talked to him as much as
I could, but he was young and
thought he was doing no harm.
I hope the shore workers will stop
slowing away, like this, as they have
to work for no pay and accept
whatever conditions are given them
such as sleeping on deck, or worse
at times. 1t prevents us quite lot
from being able to win our demands
for full manning of crews. The
stowaway, however, acknowledged
he was wrong in taking a job in
this way and he will not do so again.
They signed him on the articles af-
ter we got through the canal at the
rate of Csc a month.
The Marine Act is violated con-
tinually by its sponsors, the ship
owners. The plan of the boatswain
and mate was to force most of the
seamen off the ship in the first port
on the East Coast (Boston) by
giving the ones they do not, like the
meanest kind of work, until they
will agree to get off. The bo'sun
boosted he could do this to get a
crew of his friends in Boston.
One of the foulest plans ever
heard of, was to force these seamen
to paint the fan-tail out with a
spraying gun, while we were in the
tropics. Death, or at least, terrible
sickness, would be the result. I in
formed the men as soon as I met
them alone. Results were; that the
whole crew became aroused. Those
who were the marked men did not
paint this hell-hole, the fan-tail, but
the bosun and one of the favorites
had to paint it instead, and on turns
go down in the fan-tail While still
in the coz climate I see him hold
ing the job as bo'sn, but also doing
a Seaman's job-painting shipping,
etc.-doing his job and seaman's
Job for one pay. Another form of
working away to hold a job. The
mates all do likewise That is why
the big ships run with small crews.
The bos'n and his picked day gang
worked one half hour each dinner
hour-worked night and day with
practically no time back.
A wiper in the black gang
slipped off ladder in the engine
room, Charles Dean by name; he
complained of pains in his testicles
where he was hurt in this accident.
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