The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-07

IN The ulOIlbN OF GCpbCLlHCA live
thousand pocketbook workers, I'M
der the leadership Of the Interna-
tionaI Pocketoook Workers Union,
went out on strike for a 36-hour
week, wage increases, and other i'm
provements in their conditions.
This strike, which lasted for a
period Of close to four weeks, was
terminated with only partial gains
for the workers. One thousand
workers, whose employers moved out
of town are still on strike, fighting
for their jobs, and improved condi-
tionS.
The strike Of the pocketbook
workers was one of the important
strikes in New York City, and has
very many valuable lessons for the
workers from the point Of view Of
the role played by the oficialdom
and Of the role Of the left-wing.
In this article, we want to re-
view the development that led up to
the strike and the role Of the off,
cialdom. In a subsequent article,
we will deal with the question Of
the united front, and some of the
weaknesses Of the left-wing, which
participated in the united front,
and in the strike leadership.
The Pockethook workers is one
Of the old established unions that
has exercised control over the ma
jor part Of the industry, and for
many years was in eontractual re-
lations with the employers. The
agreement in the industry expired
during the early summer months.
Discuss New Demands
The workers began to discuss the
new demands to be presented to the
employers for the new agreement,
However, instead Of mobilizing the
workers for these demands, the
right wing officials Of the union took
no steps to prepare the workers to
fight for the new demands. They
permitted weeks to pass between
the expiration Of the agreement and
calling Of the strike. This gave the
employers an opportunity to pre-
pare themselves for battle against
the workers. AS a result of this de-
lay, the workers, for the first time
in many years, worked without any
official agreement.
The employers unquestionably
took advantage Of this situation
making attacks on the conditions
of the workers inside the shops
This situation, for which the off,
cialdom Of the right wing was
mainly responsible, also tended to
weaken the position of the union in
the eyes Of the employers, and en-
couraged them to fight against the
demands Of the workers.
The workers realized the danger
Of entering the season without an
agreement and began to press for
action. They formulated their de-
mands and presented them to the
employers. Again the officials, I'M
der the leadership Of the stern Gold
man administrators, dragged on the
negotiations until the season was in
full swing, when they finally came
with an agreement giving up the
36-hour week and the demand of
wage increases, proposing, instead,
the acceptance of the 3712 hour
week, and an increase in wages to
take place in February.
An Overwhelming Vote
The workers, by an overwhelming
vote Of 1900 to rs, voted down this
settlement. They forced the resig-
nation Of almost all the officials
and decided on strike action. Among
those who did not resign was
Mr.. Goldman, against whom the crit
icism Of the workers was Just as
sharp as against the other officials.
After the rejection Of the proposed
agreement, the strike was called.
The resigned officials did not hes