The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-09-01
FarIey's Human

such problems as wages. In addi-
ton to this, social and sport activi-
ties are well developed by the
company unions. There are base
bal teams, libraries, swimming
pools, tennis courts, etc. Yes, rife
clubs are also organized. So the
company enters into all fields of
activities, drawing the workers into
these activities under the pressure
that refusal of participation in
these activities might mean expul-
sion from the job, and especially
in this period of unemployment, the
workers are not so ready to defy
the powerful trusts.
3. In the departments where cleo
tons Of representatives of the com
pany union councils are taking
place, it is possible to elect revolu-
tionary workers to the company
union council, not for the purpose
OF improving the company unions,
not for the purpose of democratizing
them, bout for the purpose of work
ing toward the destruction of the
company union. Through these
means we are able to and will be
able to undermine, yes, and sooner
and later to smash the company
unions. This work from within does
not replace our correct main ideo-
logical, agitational and organiza-
tional attack upon the company
unions directly by the Communist
Party unions of the Trade Union
Unity League, independent unions
and opposition movement inside of
the ALL. AS a matter of fact,
the struggle against the company
unions gives us an opportunity to
establish the broadest possible
united front in the shops against
the company unions, especially with
the members of the ALL But only
to speak against the company
unions, without working from with
in will cut us off from the workers.
We will drift into passivity instead
Of into activity.
4. The weakness OF our work in
the company unions was and still
is that we don't sufficiently utilize
the struggle against company union
ism for building of the unions of the
T.UUL. or opposition movement
inside of the ALL. NATURALLY de-
pending ON the conditions In a
given factory or Department., and
we are not always skillful enough
and able enough to carry the strug-
gle against the bureaucracy of the
ALL. and exposing it to the work
ers, but the experiences obtained
by us already in a number of steel
and metal shops, where this work
has been developed to some extent,
shows clearly to us that it is abso-
lutely necessary to work within the
company unions for the purpose of
their destruction, with the possibili-
ty of winning over the majority of
the workers, as was demonstrated
in one metal shop in Chicago.
The company unions as yet are
not fascist organizations in the
shops in the sense as we see fascist
organizations in the shops in Italy
and Germany, where they are COM
pletely dominated by the state and
the bosses. We don't have that
situation here. We have the COM
pany unions dominated by the en-
ployers and not yet by the state.
But there is already close working
between the State and the employ
ers in this direction. We see it
clearly in the decisions on the Weir
ton and auto situation, where the
Roosevelt New Deal Government
gave not only objective, but direct
support to the company union. We
must see this clearly, and in work
ing in the company unions we must
strengthen our struggle not only
against the employers, but against
the capitalist state as personif1ed
today by the Roosevelt administra-
ton.