The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-06-18
COMMENT ON WORLD
EVENTS

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NaZi-dominated countries now have
trade union organizations in Great
Britain working in cooperation with
the Bfitish Trades Union Congress-
Tens of thousands of workers eXiled
from their native lands are now men,
bers, says latest reports.
Some information on the setting up
of the uniOns-in-eXile has been given
these columns. Now the movement has
attained strength and Importance
calling for brief account of it's begin
ming and present state.
1t was the summer of 1910 when a
plump, bespectacled young man jumped
on a bicycle and rode almost across
France, always just a few minutes
ahead Of advancing German tanks The
fugitive young man pedalled hundreds
of miles in two weeks.
That was the beginning of the for
eign trade unions in Great Britain, for
the young man was Nj. G. StOlZ, a
Czech labor leader, who is now assist
ant secretary of the International Fed
GRAFTON of Trade Unions The fedora
ton originally had headquarters in
Paris, but when France collapsed he
moved to Les Salbles dOlOnne and the
general secretary, Belgian named
Walter Schevenels, and the staff went
to Limoges.
But as the Germans pounded closer
and closer Stolz fled to England. With
the help of Sir Walter Citrine, British
trade union leader, he was given an
Office in the headquarters Of the British
trade union movement and set to work
to build trades union organizations
among the refugee workers who were
flooding into Britain from half dozen
European states.
The first group of workers to be or
ganiZed in Britain We're the Belgians,
closely followed by the French. In most
countries the union leaders had stayed
behind because they did not want to
leave the workers, but in nearly all
cases there were one or two officials
who could undertake the reOrganiza-
ton.
Each group was organized as minia-
ture Trades Union Congress affiliated
with the International Federation of
Trades Unions. Groups have now been
formed amGng the Belgians, French
Poles, Germans, Austrians and CZechs
while a Spanish group is in process of
formation.
The Belgians have 1000 members
with three full-time officials. The
French 800 with a full-time secretary
who escaped among the wounded
soldiers from Dunkirk-and a clerical
| assistant, and the German and Aus
trian groups 300 and $50 members with
full-time official each.
x x 4
The biggest of all the organizations
| is the Norwegian seamens union with
10000 members, whose president and
many officials escaped. Officers have
been set up in many ports in Britain
and the United States There is also
the Danish section, the Dutch trans
port workers division and a Chinese
seamens union, besides others affiliated
to the groups already mentioned.
The non-British workers pay one
contribution to the British unions fol
purely trade union purposes, another
to their respective national groups fol
administration, propaganda, and relief
Foreign workers are on an absolutely
equal basis with British workers an(
special unemployment exchanges have
been set up for the different national
tiles.
| Everything possible is done to main
tain contact with the workers in the
occupied countries, and to prepare fol
the rebuilding of the trade union move
ment in thOese countries as soon as the
war is over.