Voice of action. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1933-1936, 1934-08-10
History of the National Lumber
Workers Union
By James Murphy

so have brother industries III the
most basic and heavy industries
in the u. s. These brother unions
play the same role in fighting
against their bosses as we are
against the lumber barOns.
The economic crisis is the pro
duet of a corrupt system that
has served its purpose and must
go. but the capitalists are using
every method at their command
to bolster up their tOttering
system at the expense of the
American working class.
Workers Must Unite on Demands
Our road out of this situation
is very clear and the time has APP
preached when every worker
must take his stand. The capital
lists of this country, in order to
maintain their power, are trying
to distract the minds of the
workers by whipping up nation
al sentiment. They wish to in
Ivolve the working class in an
other blood bath so as the sur
plus commodities can be destroy
ed and surplus man-pOwer vast
ed in pitting the workers of this
country against the workers of
other countries whose conditions
are no better than ours. Another
world war may break out in
Europe at any moment.
The final aim of the capitalists
| is the destruction of the socialist
society in the Soviet Union.
Al Built by Federal Government
Twenty years ago when the
| Lumber workers were fighting for
the eight hour day and better
working conditions, the federal
government placed thousands of
uniformed scabs in the mills and
camps in the places of striking
workers. The Al association is a
product of that period which
was so effective that it has been
kept alive. Worse conditions are
facing the lumber workers today
than in 1916.
Millions of unemployed are
walking the streets, living like
rats in sewers or Hoovervilles,
dying of starvation. Thousands
of young workers are being con-
scripted into CCC camps while
the government is spending mil
lions for war preparations. Speed
up, stretchOut, systems are be-
ing installed in the mills and
camps while the operators pile
up profits in expectation of war.
This can be stopped only by
the determination of all lumber
workers, regardless of what I'M
ion they belong to, to put up a
united front struggle with the
NLWU for their demands and for
the enactment of such measures
as the Workers Unemployment
and Social Insurance Bill (HR
1888.
In the event of an imperialist
war, the lumber workers will be
able to play their part in turn
ing the conflict into a civil war,
taking away the power from the
parasites who, with government
protection, stole their timber
lands from the people and used
the workers as virtual slaves out
OF whose blood they could coin
profits.
Solidarity is Workers Only
Weapon
Our brothers in the Soviet
Union have shown us the way.
Our allotment now is a life and
death struggle against the at
tacks of the lumber operators.
We must take this weapon that
has been forged out of the past
century of sacrifice and bloody
struggle and make it a much
stronger weapon by swelling the
ranks of the NLWU.
This much we owe not only to
ourselves and to our families but
to the militant lumber workers
who have generously laid down
their lives that such a program
could be realized. Take up the
struggle where they have left it
and go on to establish a society
controlled by the working class
in which there is no more wage
slavery and starvation.