The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-02-01

Inc central slogan OF our Party
is for Unemployment and Social IN
surance at the expense of the gov
eminent and employers. But we
have never conducted an organized
consistent struggle for unemployment
insurance. By our everyday actiV-
ity, we showed that we did not be-
lieve we could win unemployment in
surance. In the Chicago District
we conducted struggle against evic-
tons, for more relief, etc. But there
was never any consistent struggle or
agitation that ALL unemployed were
entitled to relief. Our struggles were
centered only around those who were
entitled to relief according to the
standards of the relief authorities.
Therefore, in practice we admitted
aside from our National and State
Hunger Marches for Unemployment
Insurance. that those who were not
paupers were not entitled to relief
much less unemployment insurance.
In Chicago in january, 1888, there
were $4,000 unemployed, but only
$4,000 on relief. Our struggles were
centered around $4,000, mainly fam
lily heads. The 725,000 were left to
shift for themselves.
Action Started
Roosevelt's g. w. A. job scheme
was intended to divert the struggle
for unemployment insurance. But at
the same time the N. R. A. and C..
W. A. aroused the illusion in the
masses that there were jobs for all,
The workers started spontaneous
struggles for jobs.
Of the $4,000 who applied for jobs
in Chicago, only $4,000 or so were
on relief. Over 100000 workers in
Chicago, alone, whom we never before
brought into motion, were brought
into motion by Roosevelt's dema-
gogy.
We discussed this in our Party
Section Committee and decided to
utilize the spontaneous action of the
workers in order to develop the
struggle of the unemployed for jobs
or relief, particularly those who
registered for jobs but got neither
jobs or relief. Our formerly strong
unemployed movement had entirely
disappeared. We had to start all
over again.
There was a mass response to our
slogan of jobs or relief for ALL I'M
employed workers. But we made the
mistake Of trying to organize an I'M
employed local of the C. w. A.
Workers Union. This weakened the
movement. We learned by our mis-
take, however, and organized Sec
ond committee near large metal
shop-our point of concentration.
Here we came forward boldly in our
attack on Roosevelt's war program.
We took the names of all those who
were unemployed but not on relief
and an action committee was elected
in order to get these workers either
jobs or relief. One hundred and
sixty-one gave in their names at the
first meeting.
The committee is unaffiliated
There are no cards, ETC., although
the question OF utilization with the
unemployed committee Is starting to
come up. The committee is called
the ARCHER Highlands Neighborhood
Committee"
In five days of continued action,
the committee has grown to 26.
We visited two G. w. A. offices.
In one the workers were told that
100000 had been given jobs-50,O00
of whom had been on relief; that
there was no discrimination for jobs,
but that no more were to be hired.
They were sent to a second office, a
special complaint station. Here che
workers were told that they had
just being sent here for a stall-that
only $1,000 had been employed and
$4,000 on relief. That only 5000
who were not ex-service men and
not on relief had been given jobs;
that there was discrimination in Civ