The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-21
Zimmerman Guilty
of Many Betrayals
of the Dressnakers

pose OF building up a machine.
While Zimmerman was busy fight
ing the militant left wing, many
hundreds Of complaints by their
own admission 1900, of the dress
makers, dealing especially with the
minimum scale, were criminally ne
elected.
At the same time, in secret con-
ferences with the bosses and the
Code Authority, Zimmerman and
his friend Hickman officially agreed
to return to the bosses the most
important gains the dressmskers
won in the strike. The minimum
scale provision in the agreement
was modified by including: a. Sub
normslity" which comedies to the
bosses that not all dressmakers are
entitled to earn the minimum scale;
the strict enforcement Of the IS
hour week was modified by allowing
overtime to certain sections Of the
dressnakerS; the promise for "limi-
tation Of contractors" was com
pletely laid aside and fake imi-
tation adopted in its stead. Thus
while the bosses were themselves
breaking the agreement. the Love
Stonites in harmony with the other
bureaucrats, officially agreed to it.
Zimmerman Betrays the Negro
DressmakeFs
The dress bosses. in their drive
to bring back the sweat shop, made
its severest attacks upon the dress
makers Of the minority crafts,
finishers, cleaners, examiners, pink
ers and diapers The biggest num-
Der of complaints which came into
the union Office were from the
above crafts. A very large num-
Der of dressmakers Of these crafts
are Negroes. Here we see how the
old capitalist method Of making
special attacks upon the Negro
workers, and splitting them away
from the white workers was being
practiced by the dress bosses. What
was the duty Of the union in this
situation? Before everything else
it was necessary to recognize the
special Negro problem in this case.
In addition to taking up a deter
mined fight in the defense of both
Negro and white dressmakers. What
did Zimmerman and his LoYeSton-
ties do? True to their white chau-
whist position that the Loveston-
ties hold on the Negro question
generally, the Lovestonite admin
istration of Local % refused to get
excited about it.
The betrayal of the Negro dress
makers began with the signing of
the agreement itself. The pinkers,
most Of whom are Negroes were
entirely excluded from the agree
ment. The boss was given free
hand to employ non union pinkers,
pay them as much as he pleases
and fire them at will. Thus. when
a Negro pinker was discharged in
the Aston Dress Shop. Skulnick, a
Lovestonite business agent. stated
that the union cannot defend her.
W AlGAACfC4 b1lC LJS4b w Liz AJIUllD
raised the special problems of the
Negroes in our union, demanded
the appointment of Negro business
agents, ETC., the Lovestonite white
chauyinists answered the Left Wing
with shouts Of race hatred and
"HitleriSm."
In this manner, instead of using
the full strength OF the union in
defense Of the Negro dressmakers,
the union machinery is being used
to cover up Che bosses attacks
against them. This is outright be-
trayal of the Negroes and puts the
Lovestonites in the same pail with
the bosses who Cypress the Negroes
as a national minority.
Zimmerman Part and Parcel of Re
dictionary Machine
The main role of the Loveston-
ties in the trade unions is to cover
up the old time A. F. of L. reac-
tionaries of the type of Green, VOL