The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-05-29
NAT ROSS


BIRMINGHAM, Ala peculiar
feature of the Birmingham area
where 5000 ore miners are striking
is that the steel corporations, head
ed by the Tennessee Coal, Iron and
Railroad Company GUS. SteeD, own
all the ore mines and the main coal
mines, in addition to the steel mills.
This feature establishes at the outset
a common bond between the steel
workers and the coal and ore min
ers, who together form the decisive
working class force in this area.
The Strike Demands
The two outstanding demands in
the strikes in the steel, coal, laun-
dry, textile and other industries have
been: ID Recognition Of the A. F..
Of L, union; % For higher wages.
The demand for higher wages was
part Of the whole struggle against
the slave differential wage rates es-
tablished for the South by the MIRA.
During the first week Of the coal
strike in April, which closed every
mine in Alabama, the demands of
the miners for union recognition
and against the differential, found
a unanimous echo among the ore
miners and steel men. AS long as
the steel mills could run with the
stored up coal Of their captive mines.
the coal miners could never win a
real victory.
In this situation which stirred the
masses to their depths, the Commu-
mist Party boldly called on the ore
miners and steel workers to prepare
to strike for their own immediate
demands, and to support the brave
fight of their brother coal miners.
This ringing appeal Of the Party
found universal echo among the
ore miners and steel workers. Strike
talk was in the air. Even a general
strike was feared. The ore miners
and steel workers were raring to go.
How Officials Split Strike
So strong was the pressure of the
ore miners for strike, especially since
they recognized that they we're stor-
ing up ore for the steel corporations
just like the coal miners had done
previously, that the officials of the
International Union of Mine, Mill
and Smelter Workers, which had
completely organized the ore fields,
set May 4th as the strike date unless
their demands for union recognition
and higher wages were met.
The officials made this declaration
the last week in April. In the mean
time Bill Mitch, District President
of the United Mine Workers of Ala
bama, used this situation to come to
an agreement with the steel and coal
corporations. The coal miners were
forced back to work without recogni-
ton of the union, and in some cases
with actual wage decreases, with
the Tel. miners going back last
as the ore miners came out on strike
The most glazing example of this
was seen when the Republic Steel
workers. organized in the same union
as the ore miners, went on strike
the latter part Of April.
This was the first breach in the
steel industry since the 1919 strike
in Birmingham.
1t was the first answer of the Biz
mingham steel workers to the Party
slogan for spreading the strike. On
this same day Mitch called a hurried
meeting of the coal miners of the
Republic Steel, forcing them back
to work At the same time the Party
called on the Republic coal miners
to stick with their Republic Steel
brothers, and urging the Republic
ore miners to strike.
Response to Party Call
The next day the steel strikers Of
Republic picketed the Republic coal
mine and shut it down, despite the
sell-out agreement signed by Mitch
day before. Tt was then that Mitch