The daily worker., 1935-01-12


about five thousand, are dressmak-
ers and belong to Local 22, OF which
Charles Zimmerman. the Love5tone-
ite, is manager. This number is
about 20 per cent Of the total mem
bership Of the local.
There are approximately six
thousand Nsgro dreosmakers, men,
befs OF the International Ladies
Garment Workers Union, in New
York City. A number Of them are
pressers, belonging to Local 60, and
some work in the miscellaneous
trades, controlled by the 1L.G.W.U IT,,
but the ma jority of the Negro
needle workers, about FIVE thousand,
are dressmakers and belong to Local
%, OF which Ches. Zimmerman, the
Lovestonite, is manager. This num-
Der is about 20 per cent of the total
membership of the local.
AS far as the Negro pressers, it
is practice in shops to employ
them as helpers to white pressers
at starvation wages. Thus, while
they are members of the Union,
paying the same amount of dues
and taxes as the white pressers,
they are doubly exploited-by the
boss and by another pre5ser who
happens to be ain adherent of the
ruling clique of the local admins
tration. But we wish to deal pri-
marily with the position of the
Negro dressnakers who are MEM
bers OF Local 20.
Scale Of Wages Lower
Most of the Negroes in this local
work in the so-called minority crafts
in the dress shops-fnishsrs, clean
er5, pinkers, floor girls, etc. These
crafts are the lesser skilled, and
their scale OF wages is much lower
than the more skilled crafts such
as the operators. It must be pointed
out that the pinkers and floor girlo
have no scale at all. These crafts
have been excluded from the agree
ment which leaves it to the boss
to determine their wages, hours of
work or their right to the job. The
result Of this is that many of the
Negro pinkers, floor girls and err
rand boys work for as low ss $40
a week, are kept in the shops till
late hours and are fired at the
bosses will. This miserable posi-
ton of the Negro dressmakers in
the trade is no accident. 1t is a
result Of a conscious discrimination
on the part Of the bosses to keep
the Negroes in an inferior position
by preventing them from learning
the more skilled and better paid
crafts.
Because of the fact that the Ne
groes are restricted to the unsSilled
crafts the unemployment amongst
them iS greater thsh amongst the
white dresSmakers. The Union not
having labor bureau to control
and regulate the jobs, these dress
makers arc easy prey to ali sorts
Of racketeer employment agencies,
which charge heavily for giving
them jobs only to be fired after
a couple of days. Many of them
hang around the garment buildings
for days watching fer signs to be
hung up that a f1nisher, pinker or
cleaner is wanted. In mos cases
these jobs turn out to be only tenn
porary to rush out special lot,
and SO on. While it is true, as
the apolegists of the administration,
which calls itself progressive will
claim that in the minority crafts
there are also white workers, these
people cannot deny that: % the
of the minority crafts
dressmakers, especially Local %
members are Negroes; (2) that the
Negroes are consciously prevented
from learning the more skilled
crafts; (S) that the bosses do dis
criminate against the Negroes; and
"a this being the case, there GER
tainly exists q, Negro question in
the dress trade which so fer is
being ignored by the progressive"
How the Union Meets the Negro
Problem
The administration Of the various
locals in the dress trade start from
the proposition that there does not
exist Negro question" The ad-
Of Local %, which is
controlled by the Lovestonites, have
adopted on this question the white
chauvinist theology of the old time
reactionarie5 in the IL.G.W.U.
Their line is to utilize the Negro
dressmakers gogically to ad-
vance the interests of the ruling bu-
reaucracy in the local. Thus, while
the administration will organize
some social and educational activi-
ties in Harlem, the records will not
disclose single instance where any
of the official bodies of the local
have taken UP and tried to solve
some of the economic grievances of
the Negro members. Nor, has the
administration Of Local % taken
the initiative to do away with some
OF the evil practices on this question
INDUCED in by the Pressers Local
60.
On the other hand we will give
examples to prove that the sd-
Of Local 90 has & white
chauvinist position on the Negro
question in our trade.
To begin with, we will cite the
feet that while, as has been pointed
out, the Negro members in Local
% are e. substantial minority they
have only two representatives wisn
voting power, on the Executive
Dntch Communists Win