The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-01-07

of the local when We realize that
by voting into Office the entire slate
of the Blue Ticket the member
ship endorsed the program on which
these workers ran.
This program is a complete re-
quotation Of the policies pursued by
the top leaders of the Federation
and their representatives in 802,
who follow in the footsteps Of Will
lam Green and company. The re-
suits Of the election prove that the
rank and file rejects the attack of
Green and his followers in the A. F.
of NJ. against all militant workers
in the A. F. of L. through his no
torious letter to affiliated unions
on August 10, demanding the eX-
pulsion of Communists.
Officials Blocked Strike
Faced with the growing radical
ization, militancy and the readiness
to struggle on the part of the work
ers, the top officials of the A. F. of
L. blocked whatever strike action
they could. Where they couldn't,
they placed themselves at the head
of these struggles with the outright
aim to betray the workers.
To further check this militancy
they tried to divide the ranks Of
the workers by working hand in
glove with the open agents Of the
bosses in raising the red scare.
It is interesting to note that one
of the outstanding supporters of
this red scare at the fifty-fouTth
convention of the A. F. Of L. in
San Francisco, was Chauncey A.
Weaver, one of the International
officers of the American Federation
of Musicians and member of the
Executive Committee. The fact that
he was the only official of the A.
F. of M. who spoke on the question
and that Joseph N. Weber, president
of the Federation, present at the
convention. did not find it neces-
sary to disaSsociate himself from
the views expressed by Weaver, is
only additional proof that Weber
and the rest Of the A. F. Of M. off,
Gals agreed with him.
Green's letter was repudiated by
large number of local unions
throughout the country. Large sec
lions of the rank and file and many
local leaders of A. F. of L. unions
refused to act on the order of the
Executive Council.
In his speech, Weaver greeted the
time when Green's order was is
sued as an encouraging, thrill
ing. inspirational hour through the
ranks of organized labor. ..
He contends that the vast ma
jority Of the membership of A. F.
of L. unions support the policies
pursued by the top officials of the
"A. F. Of L. and their direct repre-
.sentatives in some Of the local
unions.
The best answer to Weaver's
speech was given by the membership
of the largest local of his own union,
the New York Local 802 of the A. F.
of M The elections were a complete
reputation of the program pursued
fby Weber, Weaver and the rest OF
the Executive Committee Of the A.
F. OF NJ. With the largest vote ever
polled in the history of the local in
which more than $500 votes were
cast, the membership voted into
office the complete united member
ship "BluC Ticket" slate.
The Blue Ticket represented a
united front Of the rank and file Of
the union in opposition to tine COR
rupt administration of the local and
Included the Committee of Fifteen
who carried on the fight for local
'adtonomC for years and Whose ex-
.pulsion from the union on Sc otem-
Der 9th was stayed by a court or
der on the 29th of October.
This was the first time in IA years
that the membership had an OPP
'portunity to vote for its officers,
the Executive and Trial Boards,
with the exception of the Pres
ident, Edward Caravan, who is the
the organization. He will remain
in Office for the next two years with
a salary of $4,000 a year.
This right to vote was the culmi-
nation of ID years of struggle for To-
scal autonomy. 1t was only after a
bitter fight of long standing, whole
sale explosions and discrimination
against the leaders of this struggle
that the Executive Committee Of
the International A F. of M. at Its
June convention, was forced at last
to grant this local autonomy.
In addition to retaining Caravan
as its appointee the Executive Com
mittee of the A. F.. of NJ. attached
.other strings to this grant of local
autonomy. Among these the Ex-
'ecutive Committee, the local officials,
-sent out a referendum in August
1894 on the question as to whether
."CommuniStic" pcopa ganda or
Communists" shall be permitted in
the union. This referendum was
sent out without the knowledge or
-consent of the membership.
While Weaver refers to this ref
serendum as proof of reputation of
Communism and Communists by
the membership, the results of the
poll were to date as yet not an
snounced.
Space does not permit us to go
into the history of the splendid
struggle conducted by the rank and
file Of the union It will suffice to
present the program around which
the membership of the local rallied
in defeating the rule of the Execu-
tive Committee through its APP
pointees headed by King Edward"
Caravan
The demands and the pledges
Contained in the program put forth