The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-12-07
Reviewed by
MARGARET COWL

MARGARET COWL
In a brilliant article, in the form
Of questions and answers, Comrade
o. Piatnisky, one Of the leaders of
the Communist International, helps
solve many difficult problems facing
us in our trade union policy. His
article, Problems of the Interna-
tional Trade Union Movement"
published in The Communist In
ternationaP magazine No. % tout
tomorrow, gives answers to burn
ing questions which confront the
working class today in the United
States. The article is published in
the section for discussion of ques-
tons for the forthcoming Seventh
Congress of the Comintern.
When our Party recently empha-
sized its main policy in trade union
work to be that of building the
rank nd-flle opposition within the
A. F. Of L. unions, it raised ques-
ton in the minds of many of us:
How should we proceed with the
united front tactic in the trade
unions, a tactic which involves
unity in an organizational sense,
differing from unity of action on
certain specific demands?
Comrade Piatnitsky gives q clear
answer to this question. He en-
phasizes that it is necessary to
carry on work in the factories to
explain to the workers, organized
as well as unorganized, the need
for the united front and unity of
trade union organizations. He points
out the changes which have taken
place in the working class and in
the labor movement since the Sixth
World Congress of the G. I. 1929
which makes it necessary to make
our tactics more concrete, to mod
ify them somewhat and improve the
methods of work. This, however,
does not mean that the tactic of
the united front from below is re-
jected.
"The united front from below has
always been, and still remains, the
fundamental form of the united
front" emphasizes Comrade Plat
nitsky.
Reading this article, one sees
clearly the guiding principles in the
application of our united front pol
icy at the present stage of the
struggle.
What does the united front bring
to the workers? What is the plat
form for creating a united front
trade union movement? How should
the question of united trade union
movement be raised in countries
where Red trade unions exist (such
as in the USA0?
How shall we approach the ques-
ton of recruiting into the reformist
trade unions? Should the opposi-
ton in the trade unions be built up
as an organization with a member
ship and so on) or as broader, less
definitely shaped movement?
Every Party member and every
militant worker should be able to
answer and apply the problems
raised in all of the above mentioned
questions. Comrade Piatnitsky am
swers these and many other i'm
portant questions in his character
istically clear and direct manner.
Every trade union opposition
should order bundle of THE G. L"
No. q to sell to workers as a way
of getting them to join the oppo-
sition. Every militant worker should
use Piatnitsky's answers on trade
union problems as reference and
a guide in his or her work.
For Soviet Power
Wherein lies the root of the idea
of the united front?
How can we connect our daily
work with the idea of the struggle
for Soviet Power in the ranks of the
working class?
Answers to these questions are
found in the editorial, For Soviet