The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-02-07
BY L. ANDREWS

4lIc luuSOl NON41Sy SSEbLOu Dl bIG
New Jersey district has experiences
both good and bad in its task to carry
out the Open Letter. OF special value
is the work CT the Party in the
Bayonne Radiator strike.
The main issues in the plant which
gave rise to the strike situation were
the cutting of the working week to
four days, and the demand of the
workers for higher wages. The Party
began its work late. Not until the
very eve of the strike did we become
aware of the unrest existing among
the workers. Not until a day before
the strike did the Party take the mi
tiative and call an open mass meeting.
The existence of a company union in
the plant further aroused the indig-
nation of the workers. The answer
of the company to the demands for
mu.ated by the mass meeting under
the leadership of the Party and the
industrial union, was the announce
ment Of lockout. Strike was de-
clared, all of the LOO employed in
the plant walking out.
The company union delegates were
able to take control Of the movement
and convinced the strikers to accept
the American Federation of Labor
because no revolutionary organization
existed in the shop previous to the
strike. These misleaders of the COM
pany union tried to bring forward
the argument that whereas the A. F.
of L. was legal organization recog-
nized by the bosses, the Steel and
Metal Workers Industrial Union was
too militant and would not be rec
ognized because it was led by Com
munists.
Work Of Party Wins Strikers
Confidence
Continuing to carry on independent
activity, the Party watched every
move in the strike, and worked out its
tactics on the basis of the develop
ments. When the company and the
A. F. of L. tried to break the strike by
accusing the Communists of splitting
the ranks of the workers, our reply
was an exposure of the treacherouS
tactics of the strike leadership-the
failure to organize mass picketing, the
lack of rank and file control of the
strike, and the discarding of the con-
crete demands against speedup. When
the N. r. A. he'd up negotiations with
the excuse that half Of the strikers
supported the Industrial union and
the other half the A. F. of L., an
open communication was sent to all
the strikers and the A. F. Of L. local
leaders, proposing the organization of
an independent union. These local
misleaders were silent, but at the
same time made an agreement with
the city government to remove even
the small number of picketS remain
ing at the plant. This open betrayal
was exposed by the Party not only in
words, but several mass picket lines
were organized which broug n t
militant features into the strike. Two
strikers were arrested on one Of these
occasions, and by bringing in the IN
ternationa Labor Defense, the revolu-
tionary leadership was strengthened.
AS a result of this work, the strikers
were released.
shop Nucleus is Organized
From the very start, the question Of
recruiting into the Party was made a
necessity. Shortly after the strike
started, a shop nucleus was set UP.
Thru individual agitation and mass
work this nucleus has grown. Forty
eight strikers have joined the Com
munist Party nucleus to date. A mass
gathering was held under the aus
pieces of the Party for the special pur-
pose of mobilizing support for the
strike. At every meeting of strikers
the Party program is explained, and
the strike connected with the struggle
against capitalism as a whole. We
showed the workers that no struggle
can be successful from the viewpoint
of the workingclass as a whole with
cut the leadership of the Communist
Party.