The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-02-13
SteelMenWa ant
AT. Drive
Continued from Page y


dent of the Apollo, Pa, lodge, "be
cause I've been working In the mill
and organizing steel workers al
my life"
Without depending on the Execu-
tive Committee, however, the COM
mittee left Washington saying:
'As we told President Green, VIC
know it will be impossible for thf
Executive Council to make any
realistic plans to organize stee
workers without calling us in, fol-
we are the ones who have built tht
Amalgamsted Association, the only
union that has jurisdiction in the
steel industry. We are going home
to advance the drive we launched
weeks ago to build the Amalga-
mated Association"
Group Make Gains
In addition to placing the organi-
zatien campaign on the agenda OF
the Executive Council, the commit
tee marked two other small achieve
ments here:
l. They placed President Tighe's
expulsion program before the
Council and, thus confronted by
the representatives Of the ma jor-
ity of the membership, both the
Council and President Green
refrained from endorsing Tighe's
stand.
2. The Committee was notified
Of the first break in the ranks of
President Tighe's official family.
One Of the international officers
who formerly supported Tighe
came out publicly against his ex-
pulsion program, the Committee
learned. This happened while
delegates representing rs A. A.
lodges, in the face Of Tighe's
threat of expeIling individuals
and lodges supporting the rank
and file program, held weekend
meetings and endorsed this same
program and specifically con-
demned Tighe'S action.
The Committee pressed upor
Green, both last night and today
their proof that Tighe, who accuses
the membership of acting "uncon.
stitutionally" in holding an organ
ization conference which wa
planned in the presence of six in
ternational officers, himself acted il
direct violation of the constitution
in attempting to expel those par
ticipating in the conference, and il
stationing gangsters at union head
quarters to eject the rank and fller'
last Thursday. In both interviews
the Committee asked Green how thu
Executive Council could attempt t.
organize steel workers without frs
countermanding Tighe'S effort t
throw us out of the window TO
doing just that-organizing." Greer
gave no answer to this.
No Family Row, Says Group
Green told the press last nigh
that he couldn't intervene becauS'
the expulsion action is "a famil.
row." To this the committee re
torted in statement:
I'VE say it is the concern of tn
entire labor movement of the Unitei
States. We recognize that tn
strength Of the Committees posi-
ton now rests upon the support W
have received both from the ma
jority of the steel workers and from
the Central Labor Bodies, through
out the country. This support |
growing"
These supporters, Commute
members said on leaving, will lie
the Executive Council and Presiden
Green hear from them from tn
field. Spsng declared the rank AM
file will bring new members int
the A. A., hold mass meetings, tele
graph the Executive Council AM
otherwise show their determination
that their union shall grow AM
gain the demands of the stee
workers.
Emphasizing that the Council
and Green's assurances of an or
ganization drive in steel reflect tina
they are already acutely aware Q
the strength of the rank and nj
drive, the Committee declared las
night: ut was for this-action t
organize the steel workers-that W
have been mobilizing the lodges an
districts of our union for months
1t was President Tighe's opposite
to this that eliminated in his eX
pulsion threats"
Green told the committee teda
that he would let them know i'm
mediately the decisions OF the Elk
ecutive Council on the steel organ
ization drive.
The full text of the statement is
sued by the steel workers Organiza
tional Committee upon leavln
washington follows:
"The Executive Council is no
doubt familiar by now, that this
whole situation developed because
the membership decided that the
feeble and inadequate attempts
by President Tighe to organize
the steel industry led the mem
bership to position that we de-
cided to undertake the organiza
ton of the industry ourselves, In
practical and energetic man
ner.
This we are doing and this we
are going to do regardless OF what
obstacles are encountered. The
Analgamated Association must be
built into powerful union.
Even had not the insane ac-
tons of Mike Tighe precipitated
the present situation. it was our
intention to come to the Executive
Council on the question Of the
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