The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-01-20
Textile sCurtailment;
Aided By U.T.W. Officials
Cuts Wages One Quartei

burocracy, including the Socil III
Party offlcialdom Of the hosiery uliil
and the Lovestone renegades in 7,
erson, under the demagogic pretenl
Of supporting the 80 hour week I'D
declared itself in complete support 4
the curtailment wage cut. McMahoi
! German and Co. openly ennound
| that they are out to prevent strike
| (the basic weapon which the work
ers have to improve their conditions
and to promote understanding an
cooperative action" between tn
robber textile barons and their robbie
wage slaves. Mcmahon in the Dee
issue of the Textile Worker cal
upon us TO pray to God" to spsi
Roosevelt both mentally and phyN
cally" so that he can effectively pUi
over the manufacturers new stea.
against the workers.
But Mcmahon and Co. did not rell
on prayers alone. They spread illui
sions among the 5000 silk striker.
that national settlement could b
secured through the n. r. A. which
would give a SET weekly wage to sill
weavers and then proceeded to breal
this splendid national strike piece
meal. In both Paterson and Paw.
tucket they tied the workers down
to anti-strike agreements and to &C
tual weekly wages which under tbs
curtailment nets a weaver SIS at the
most. For other crafts the wage is
still lower. The U. S. Bureau Of Labor
Statistics has Just admitted that
workers in silk and rayon received
during a typical week in 1888 wages
Of $l185, which compares with S1e.47
for typical week in 1881.
The workers should now laugh in
derision when Mcmahon becomes
suddenly militant" and proposes a
nationwide struggle Gin words for
the 80 hour week. This is nothing
but sugar coating on the bitter
curtailment pill which the manufac-
turers are showing down the Threats
of the textile workers.
Why the Curtailment?
The manufacturers organ, the
Textile World" (Dec. 1889, blasts
McNGahon's demagogy by presenting
the following reason for the curtail-
ment: IF all the active cotton spin
dies ran the full shifts allowed un-
der the MIRA, the volume of produc-
ton would be more than Is per cent
greater than the annual average for
the 10 years starting in 1921" Hence
the decision for a Is per cent cur
tailment in cotton. Robert Anory,
president of the Nashua Manufac-
turing Co., gleefully declares: "In the
| long run the entire industry cannot
average more than 60 hours a week"
i. e. two 81 hour shifts per week.
MIR. Amory can well afford to be
gleeful since the curtailment is COM
ing out of the hides OF the workers
and will not seriously effect the pro-
fits of the "big shots" His company,
in the midst of the severest econo-
mic crisis has just announced q net
profit of $26S,217 for the year end.
ing Oct 81, 1888. McMahon's mill
fancy" for the 80 hour week is moth
ing more nor less than the curtailY
ment policy of the manufacturers. 4
The Workers Position
Both the Communists among the
textile workers and the National Tex
tile Workers Union favor the 80 hour
week, but are opposed to the wage
cutting features Of the curtailment.
The textile workers Won't ei7 ter
hours without a cent of their pay.
At the very time when Mcmahon
was helping to write and was support
ing the $13 for 40 hours, textile codes
in Washington, the II. II w. U. va
presenting real workers codes callin
for a minimum 30 hour week. tn
key demands presented in the work I
ers codes of the N. t. W. U. for wool,
cotton and silk we're as follows:
"a minimum of 30 hours per week
and maximum of 40 hours per
week. A guarantee of 40 weeks
work a year with minimum wage
of S720 per year, i. e. for unskilled
workers. Unemployed insurance at
the expense of the government and
the employers for the unemployed
and bringing of part time wages at
least up to the $720 minimum"
These still remain among the key
demands in fighting the curtailment.
Organize the Struggle
The Jan. It'll Communist Party tex
tile conference gave first considera-
ton to the struggle against the cur
tailment. We agreed that while the
broadest agitation should be developed
for mot cent off our weekly pay"
"for the guaranteed yearly minimum
wage" ETC., that we should set up
united front committees in the mills
to prepare for strikes and to start
immediate actions, stoppages, DEM
onstrations, etc, against the actual
weekly wages anywhere going below
the $18 minimum. In many places
we can demand that the differences
between the actual wages received and
the $l8 minimum shall be made up
by additions from local relief and
G. w. A. funds
The Conference called for connect
ing up the struggle against the cur
tailment with the struggle against
the other burning grievances inside
the mill against speed-up and stretch
, out, against lay-offs and discrimina,-
tory firing, for posting of piece price
lists, against the special grievances
of the women, Negro and youth
workers, etc.,.
The struggle inside the mills must
be reinforced by and in its turn must
; reinforce the struggle Of the unem-
ployed workers for jobs or cash re-
, lief as the first step towards winning
} federal unemployment insurance. The
, employed textile workers must also