The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-10
Taxi Men! Defeat All the
Attempts to Break Unity!

as Vigiiant as hawks against the new men
ace that faces them in the form of the
enemies in their own ranks - disrupters
and splitters who now planning to break up the
firm unity of the drivers that welded in the
recent two strikes
These disrupters, wolves in Sleeps clothing, all
of them the Messrs. Samuel Smith, Anxious Most
and Herman Goldstein, leaders Of the Bronx and
Brooklyn locals of the Union have now augmented
their group with three no less worthy gentlemen:
the Reverend Norman Thomas, Judge Jacob Pan
ken of the Socialist Party, and Morris Fenstone
secretary Of the United Hebrew Trades.
The aim of this group is quite clear. It was an
nounced first in the April issue Of the Socialist
Party newspaper, the New Leader, and later in the
capitalist press on April 9: ITO build union free
from Communist elements" union that will take
its place in the ranks Of the American Federation
of Labor"
So here we have the leaders of the Socialist
Party joining the whole tribe of employers, re-
actonaries thugs in the hysterical Red batting"
cry of Drive out the Communists"
Here we have the Socialist leaders, pretending
to be the friends Of the taxi drivers trying to stab
the taxi drivers in the back by breaking their
hard-won unity through the cheap method of a
reactonary red scare" Unity is precious to the
taxi drivers Unity is the mightiest weapon that
the drivers have against the taxi owners. Unity,
rank and file unity, is what can really bring VIC
tory to the drivers
He who makes the first move to split the taxi
drivers ranks is by that very move an enemy and
a to the struggles of the taxi drivers The
Socialist leaders splitters they are giving aid
and comfort to the employers by their splitting
tactics.
AND what is their open purpose in splitting the
n ranks of the Taxi Drivers Union? They answer
in smooth, deceptive phrases-"to build a union
that will take its place in the ranks of the Aner-
can labor movement as part of the American Fed
Grafton Of Labor"
This smooth talk is filled with deadly danger
to the fight of the taxi drivers What are the So
cialst leaders trying to do? They are trying to
hog-tie the fighting taxi drivers to the crushing
paralyzing, corrupt bureaucratic machine of the
upper A. F. Of L. clique, the Greens, the VOLS etc.
There is no more willing bunch of strikebreakers
than this very same clique of SIS 900 to $4,000 a
year A. F. Of L. labor leaders"
Green and his henchman are now trying to
stab the auto strike in the back. Green and his
upper A. F. of L. henchmen have trapped and be-
trayed thousands of workers into going back to
work, filling them with rotten false promises and
then breaking their unity by the special trick of
long. secret negotiations" with the bosses.
Green and his henchmen, into whose tender
hands the Socialist leaders now want to deliver
the taxi strikers spurned the taxi drivers when they
struck, denouncing their courageous fight for de-
cent standards Of living as IAN outlaw strike"
This upper A. F. of L. clique of strike breakers
kicked out the delegation of hackmen that came
10 see them asking for support for their strike
And now the Socialist leaders want to let these
high-paid professional strke-breakers these trade
union racketeers get their treacherous grip in the
taxi drivers union
THEY want union free of Communists" How
happy this makes the bosses! 1t is lust the Com
munists, devoted, loyal and militant fighters for the
day to day interests of the workers the EMPLOYERS
hate and fear most Of ALL And it is the very hatred
OF the bosses for the Communists that confirms the
Communists as the best leaders of the taximen.
Who it who gave the best and finest sup
port to the taxi drivers strike? What paper was
1t that alone gave the truth about the taxi strike
and the struggles Of the hackmen for decent
wages? Who it who alone tore off the mask
of lies and ISLANDERS the New York capitalist press?
Was 1t Green, was it Thomas Panken?
Every taxi who courageously braved all the
lies and brutality Of the capitalist press and New
York police knows the answer. It was the Com
nlln1st Party the Daily Worker that stood side by
side with the taxi men in working class solidarity
1t was the Communists, whom Thomas and Panken
are so eager to drive out" that stood with the
hackmen on the lines Of daily struggle against the
employers It the Communists who fought in
the front ranks with the hacknen. The Communist
Party clasped hands with the taxi men in true
solidarity
Now they want to split off the Bronx and Brook
lyn locals from the Manhattan Is it not clear as
day that this will weaken the fight of the taxi men?
That 1t will play into the hands of the enemies OF
the taxi men?
To break up the present rank and file leadership
and TO accept the A. F. of L. leadership means to
lead the taxi men into the hands of the Green's etc.
who will try to put over on the taxi men what they
are trying on the auto workers of Detroit strike
breaking N R. A. hearing. I means to substitute
class collaboration with the bosses instead of strug-
gle against the Bosses
To accept Judge Panken would be to accept
as leader one who by his tricky maneouvering
got the men in the first taxi strike to go back with
nothing more than handful of empty vague
promises that were never carried out such as the
promise the Scent tax.
The taxi drivers have bazed the way in New
York for the fight against the company union The
re- F. Of L. proposition Of the Socialist leaders would