The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-10-19
Speed-Up Carried on by
Playing One Worker
Against the Other
By a Railroad Worker Corre-
spondent

ClNCINNAIA, Ohto.-My local
union, Brotherhood Of Railroad
Trainmen, 148, represents the con-
ditionS in all of our railroad unions.
We are not one day further adj
vanced in organization than we
were % years ago. In fact we are
losing ground rapidly. I place all
blame on those labor leaders, takers,
who have raised the red scare and
injected capitalist poison into the
minds Of our little local officials,
patting them on the head with
grand lodge serum, influence, false
power, personal gain, and to hell
with the rank and file that pays
the freight.
We are in one hell Of a condition
The speed-up is terrible and if q
worker gets hurt in our terminal
the little petty officials jump up
and down and say, ITS your own
carelessness."
The small frogs, yard masters, are
being run ragged by the train mas
tiers and their assistants. They in
turn get run ragged by the superin-
tendent and his assistant. All this
steam pops off on us workers. The
boys that do the work must keep
one foot in the air at all times.
Every new Gay brings more ter
rible working conditions. Speed up,
speed up, try not to get hurt.
They call yard crews for every
hour in the day or night. On my
particular railroad, New York Cen
trial, we have three yard masters
for one engine, and that one engine
and crew is hook and drag prop
osition from start to finish. These
yard masters check cars, cut off
cars, couple cars, bleed cars, throw
switches, ride cars, and do many
chores that is the duty of the yard
men. These yard masters forget
that they are workers.
The clerks and shopmen in our
yard are just as bad off as we
Switchmen. They forget also that
they are workers and call the men
at all different hours The shop
crafts on my road are made to take
one hour lunch time off, another
man works in his place and takes his
hour. They are allowed only seven
hours per day pay, six days per
week.
In each craft, the conditions be-
come worse and worse with each
new day The B. of L. E. brothers
want more membership but con-
tinue to cry, 'I want more mileage.
I'll double the road" The roadmen
are just like the engineers, Il want
more mileage. The firemen and
brakemen can go to hell, cut EN-
off, they did not leave the pillow
soon enough" That is what we get
from the organizations that we
helped to build. Unemployment and
the things that go with it.
These same brothers do not realize
that their own selfishness is burn
ing out their own bodies and minds
with their own speed-up.
Note: The picture given by this
worker of the speed-up of one
group Of railroad workers while
firing others is typical of condi-
tons all over the country. 1t is
the policy of the railroads to pre-
serve their profits at the expense
OF the workers by making the
workers divide their work among
enc another, speeding them up
and reducing their weekly pay en-
velopes. The Brotherhood off
Gals do not combat these activities
and the propaganda of the rail-
roads, but justify these wage-cut-
ting practices.
However, it is the task of rail-
road workers not to be taken in
by railroad propaganda which is
designed to make one group of
railroad workers fight against an
other, but to unite all railroad
workers for shorter working hours
and increased rates of weekly pay.
This is one of the detectives of
the Railroad Unity Movement.