The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-16

workers, and to force them away from the indie
pendent unions.
This Roosevelt agreement can be characterized
as the company unionizing Of the A F. of L, and
the other hand, the AFLization of the company
unions But this tack did not work. The present
strikes are ample proof of that.
THEN the Motor Products strike in Detroit threat
L ened to become mass strike,
The A. F. of L. leadership, which was against the
strike having taken place over their heads, pre-
tended to lead the strike in order to break it.
Last Sunday over 1000 workers Overwhelmingly
defeated the proposals Of the Auto Labor Board
Just as the workers in Wisconsin did.
Then President Roosevelt and General johnson
sent their agents. the infamous Ed McGrady to
Detroit with the charge to at all costs break the
strike. On Monday, without notice to the strikers
the A. F. L. leaders selected small group Of
strikers and more trusted people NIcGrady came
to speak to them in the name of the President
and succeeded, at a meeting of $50 out of $500
involved in the strike and lockout to put through
a motion that the workers accept the agreement
which, different from the previous agreement pro-
posed the day before, made it appear that they
gave some further concessions to the workers The
workers were called back to work Tuesday.
Matthew Smith, head of the NJ E. S. A. did
everything possible to help the employers and
the A. F. L. leaders bring the Motor Products
workers back to work, urging its followers in the
Motor Products to accept the settlement the
ground that since the A. F. L. workers have acted
they must do the same thing.
The threat of big strike movement in Detroit,
II, {I, rs,,o Z
the tool and die job shops, still remained. Smith
therefore used every possible maneuver to have
the issues compromised to avoid the strike. But
the pressure of the rank and file, which was
strong enough in the first place TO force the
utimatum to the employers proved itself to be
strong enough to prevent Smiths calling off of
the strike, and the workers are now on strike
with the possibility that this tool and die strike
may again give impetus to the developing of big
strikes in Detroit.
THE present situation in the auto front points
to rising strike struggles against the unbear-
able exploitation Of the Wall Street auto corpora
lions. All present developments, the constantly
farng strike actions, the sentiment of the men,
points to desire Of the workers for unity for
uniting their forces into one powerful fighting
organization.
But this can be achieved only by isolating and
defeating not only the corrupt veteran strike
breakers Of the A F. L. leadership, but also such
leaders as Matthew Smith, who speaks in radical
phrases while he serves the Government and the
employers ut is significant that Smith is
member of the Detroit Regional Board of the N
R. A.
Now is the time for the auto workers to strike
their best blow against their enemy. 1t is the
policy of the Communists, of the Auto Workers
Union, and the left wing opposition in the A.
F. L. and M E. S. A. to drive developments for
ward in the direction of developing strike strug-
giles TO the widest possible areas and the greatest
number of workers, based upon the rank and
file demands of the workers themselves.
1t was largely through the work of the left
wing that the Motor Products strike took place
over the heads of the leaders 1t is true of course
that the left wing was not yet strong enough to
prevent the maneuvers of the last minute picked
and packed meeting at which the Motor Products
strike was settled
Among the important issues before the work
ers now the questions of the Negro workers
who are being Disseminated against; the youth
workers, who, in the raising of the question of
seniority face the danger OF being the victims in
layoffs; and the workers the A. F. L., lead
ership having agreed to a decision limiting the
hiring of women workers, rather than to conduct
the fight for equal pay for equal work These
basic questions must be fought out as essential to
real victory The auto strike struggles must be
carried forward. Proper methods of work can
bring a real victory for the auto workers