The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-02


THE Feb. ID Cleveland District
Plenum. upon thorough exami-
nation Of the concentration work in
youngstown since the unsuccessful
Republic clippers strike Oct. is,
found that for three and a half
months there had been a total col
lapse of the concentration work Not
only was the reorganization Of the
union inside Republic not carried
out, but no serious sustained efforts
in that direction had been made.
There had been no mass campaign
against the mass layoffs in Novem-
Der. During that period not single
union leaflet had been issued in Re
public. There had been no sale OF
the union paper or the Daily
Worker at the gate. Not union
mass meeting was held in Youngs-
town for three months. The Party
units which were supposed TO con-
centrate on Republic were not con-
centrabing, had received no direc-
tiYeS from the Section Bureau COR
union fraction) for concentration
work. In fact no planned work was
carried on by the units, the frac-
tions in the mass organizations, the
union or the section leadership. The
Republic shop unit hadn't had
full meeting m months. The Party
organizer had been crininally ire
sponsible politically, organization
ally and financially, and yet up to
two weeks before the Plenun not a
member of the section committee
had come forward demanding his
immediate removal. The union
leadership had been "buSy" doing
everything except concentrating on
Republic and building the union.
The result Yves a decline in the
union throughout the district, a de-
cline in the Party, general atrnos-
phere Of Generalization in the
Party ranks and no faith in the
leadership on the part of the rank
and file comrades.
The reasons for this seandalous
situation were, in brief: % an OPP
poTtunist surrender before the ter
ror and difficulties following the
lost strike; cd AN opportunist
drifting with the current ('driven
by events") as a substitute for
planned work and strict Bolshevik
cheekup; 80 bureaucratic methods
of work on the part of the leader
ship Shown especially by failure to
draw into the leading work more OF
the local comrades due to lack of
faith in the ability of the Party
membership given proper leader
ship and assistance, to change the
situation.
The Plenum took necessarily
sharp measures, removing the Party
section organizer and voting for his
expulsion, and giving the Party
fraction leader in the union until
the District Convention to make q
change in the situation or be re-
moved.
ok weeks have gone by. What are
~ the results? There has been a
definite Improvement in the work.
definite, though insufficient turn
from the miserable pre-Plenum sit
uation in Youngstown. The Party
units are more stabilized, four new
units have been organized. In the
process of controlling" the mem
bership several former members
have been won back into the Party.
One new mill unit has been orga-
nized. Recruiting of employed mill
workers has put us on the point of
organizing two new mill units in
Youngstown, one shop unit in a
large metal plant outside of
Youngstown with possibilities of
immediate organization of new
mill unit in another town in the
section. The Daily Worker sub drive
has netted 106 subs to date March
20). Twenty six new members have
been recruited into the Party. A
YCL. unit has finally been estab-
lished and is doing some good work