The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-05
BY Burck

our country in the reconstruction
period.
These are the causes of the or
ganizational evolution of the Soviet
trade union movement. This is why
in 1917 we were for concentration,
for Capitalization. During 1890
and later till about 1890, we main
tanned the form of organization
adopted previously. And this is why
beginning with 1881, we adopted
the line of dividing up the trade
unions into smaller units, Of bring
ing certain industrial unions still
closer to the corresponding indus
tries.
Since the inception of the Boil
shevik Party, since the building of
our trade unions, we have fought
for industrial unions. One factory
--one union, this is the slogan
which determines our organizational
line in the trade union movement.
We were for industrial unions, not
for some abstract and schematic
reasons, but because this is the best
means of struggle against the bour-
geoisie. We were for industrial
unions after the victory of the
working class because an industrial
union is the best lever for the
building of the given branch of ma
tional economy, the best lever for
the fulfllment of the general po-
litical tasks confronting the work.
ing class.
Thus, want to emphasize once
more that the structure of the
trade unions IS determined by the
political tasks confronting the
working class, is determined by the
degree and character of the politi-
cal organization of the working
class. This is what the organiza-
tional structure is subjected to. And
it is only if the aims and tasks con-
] fronting the working class are
clearly seen that it will be possible
to understand the organizational
evolution made by the Soviet trade
unions during the II years of prole-
tartan dictatorship.
1 said that the Soviet trade
unions are the largest in the world
And it must be added that in gen.
eral, there are very few large
unions and huge trade union CEN
tiers. There are only two trade
union centers in the world with a
membership exceeding one million
These are the general Trade Union
Congress in England, with mem
bership of 3,294,000 and the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, which has
about three million members. How
many trade union centers with, over
1000 members are. there? These
are the general reformist trade
union centers of Belgium, France
Spain, Czecho- Slovakia and Sweden
Thus we have only five declarations
in the world with the membership
of over 100000. I exclude the fas-
cist trade unions from this list, eX-
clude them because they have 9
specific system of recruitment anc
a oPSSAAAS pOAINC oyoOCiil VI ACS AotA q
ton. The Italian fascists number
about four million members in theil
trade unions. AS to the Germans
they juggle with figures rather free.
! ly Our colleague" DR.. Ley, al
leges that on March 8, 1884, tn,
Labor Front" covered 10 million
workers and employers, and fou
million merchants, artisans, homl
craftsmen and persons of liberia
professions. Thus he considers tina
they have II million trade uniol
members. But these are trad
unions of peculiar type, yol
know. 1t would be useful, perhaps
to have a special talk about them
since the workers are herded b
force into one organization will
the capitalists and do not ente
these unions of their own free viii
(To be concluded tomorrow