The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1941-11-19
UNION SURVIVAL
AT STAKE In
NATL. SHOWDOWN
By ALEXANDER L. CROSBY

NEW YORK (FP) - Battle lines
are formed today for an Armageddor
that may determine the course O
labor for the next decade.
The issue is whether union labor
shall continue to grow in freedom
or be hogtied by the great corpora
lions in readiness for killing when
the inevitable postwar depression en-
CULTS the nation.
On the side of the employers there
is found, as usual, the newspapers, the
radio commentators, the congressman,
and practically every important public
figure from the President Of the o. s.
down to the local parson.
On the side of labor is nobody but
millions of working people, carrying
littel books with multi-colored stamps
representing years of sacrifice to at
tain economic strength equal to that
of the employers.
The stakes are billions of dollars
money that could be used to strength
en- the workers standard of living and
to mitigate the ravages of unemploy-
ment, or to provide fatter coupons
and sleeker yachts for the coming
harvest of war millionaires.
Beyond the immediate question of
how the profiteer's dollar is to be
divided is a more ominous political
ISSUE A strong labor movement
thraft1a ha nf n nUQrq
for notification of social laws, and
would be the greatest obstacle to the
ambitious of fascist-minded Americans
who are more numerous than the
care to say.
The captive mine dispute has be-
come a symbol of the fight. But the
employers would have chosen another
ground If necessary. They had care
fully made all preparations. The de-
tails of their cunning maneuvers may
never be revealed, but the results are
obvious.
The big job was to line up public
opinion, since politicians exhibit all
the symptoms of paralytics until they
get mandate from the people. So,
to turn the non-union section of the
public against union labor, the news
papers and radio commentators
launched a program with the double |
objective of proving that unions are
bad, and that their conduct is un-
patriotic.
Ao avar., namononar raadar knows /
by now, unions are bad because they |
are run by crooks, Communists or
yrants-or a combination of all three. |
They are unpatriotic because they re-
use to be satisfied with niggardly |
wages while corporate profits are
,yramidding as fast as the cost of
living.
The smear job was accompanied by |
IN effort to demonstrate the sweet |
of the employers who
AVE provoked the strikes. 1t seems
hat all the employers want is main
enance of the status quo. The bosses
ay they are willing to abstain from
ny crude union-busting until the
is over. They say nothing
t all about their hope that If the
union shop can be beaten
ow, they will be able to blast union
abor to hell and gone once the next
epression begins.
Certain relevant questions have
cen ignored by the newspapers. No
ditorial writer has tried to explain
ow a war for freedom is advanced by
the freedom the men and
omen who wage 1t.
Government statistics show that !
sickness slows up pro- ;
uctfon 80 times more than strikes.
ickness is largely preventable; but
ou don't read about that in the daily
apers. And no influential newspa- {
er is crusading for congressional &C I
on to deal with the shocking situa- /
on revealed by the draft examina- t
ons: one-half of the nations young
en- unfit for service. a
The employers and their press are I
ot fighting against fascism and pow s
'ty and disease. The enemy is union 4
Dor. Thus The New York Times,
ightiest spokesman Of the anti-labor f
rces, heralded an initial victory on +
ovember Ia with this S-column ban t
sr: House Votes 212-194 to Amend n
eutrality Law After Pledge by ?
oosevelt to Quell Strikes" ii
Between the lines of that 72-point
pc, every employer hopes he is read t
ng an obituary for union labor.