The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-26
By JOHN Z. sPIvAK

TULSA, Okla. - Oil field
and refinery workers are or
ganizing themselves through
out the state in instructive
rebellion a gainst company
unions being started by the major
oil companies.
Since many oil workers we're
originally drawn from other indus
tries during the OF boom DAYS. they
know Of union activities and to
them the American Federation Of
Labor Is synonymous with unioniza-
ton, so after they organize them
selves they. literally throw them
selves into the A. F. of L. lap beg
ging to De chartered.
AS Judge @. Sd Warren, presi-
dent Of the State Federation OF
Labm expressed it, The only way
l csn account for this demand of
the oil field workers to be chart
cred is the stupidity Of the oil COM
paries. They brought it on them
selves by trying to organize COM
pany unions. The companies got
scared Of the collective bargaining
provision in the NRA and thought
they'd beat union organizers to it.
These men hadn't been talking
union until this happened. They
we're too glad to get a job and a
little work. But when they saw
what the companies were doing
they Just got to talking among
themselves, organized groups and
asked us TO charter them"
The American Federation of
Labor is accepting them, but out
side of opening the door when the
workers threaten to batter it down
with their local, they are doing lit
tie or nothing to foster the organi-
rational spirit. Wildcat Williams
(of whose activities more later, the
International representative of the
International Association of Oil
Field, Gas Well and Refinery Work
ers of America, goes to address the
locals meetings whenever called
upon but there is no organizational
activity directed by him. He is too
busy keeping down the unem-
ployed so they won't go radical
as he explained to me.
Many oil workers, however, hav-
ing been members of an A. F. of
L. union before they drifted into
the oil territories, object to the
spirit and policies yet are in the
main fearful of forming or joining
"a radical union" with the result
that they are joining Wildcats or
ganization, though protesting bit
terly against its ineffectiveness.
There is considerable dissatisfac-
ton among the various locals at the
unions failure to enforce even the
code requirements and to insisting
that the workers get at least liv-
ing wage scale, which most of them
are not getting now.
The whole feeling about the oil
field area is much like a boom
period, Right now it is booming
union activity but not directed nor
controlled
Directly and indirectly there are
about 100000 persons normally en-
ployed in the Oklahoma oil fields.
Out of this 100000 some 10000 are
in the clerical, sales and other
branches of the industry. In 1917
1918, the oil workers were fairly
well organized and getting good
wages" in the main and in a num-
Der of cases as high as SIS to S18
a day Unskilled labor averaged
S125 a month. But these were dur
ing the war boom days when high
wages were common throughout the
country.
But shortly after the war, partly
due to the high wages the workers
were getting and partly to the in
difference of the union officials to
keep them together, the locals be-
gan to disintegrate Gradually the
only ones left in the organization
we're virtually the machinists. There