The CIO news. (Cumberland, Md.) 1942-????, 1943-05-24
LOOKING AHEAD
By Len De Caux

TNHE real story of the Cleveland Go conference
Il is the humping victory for Philip Murray's
win-the-war policies.
Exploiting labor's real grievances over fixed
wages and uniixed prices, John L. Lewis and his
followers have sought to turn the workers to strike
action, against Roosevelt against the War Labor
Board against any sane anti-infation program, and
generally to switch labor off the victory track.
They Dragged of inroads even into the Clio. But
the Cleveland conference gave CLOS answer. Not
a voice was raised nor vote cast for the Lewis
line. Let the unanimously adopted program speak:
4 X X
Support for the Commander-in-Chief. Tories
and defeatsts in Congress, and Lewis followers in
labor, have sought to direct all discomfort against
Roosevet-thus disruptng national unity for all
out war effort.
But the Go emphatically reafirmed its complete
support of our Commander-in-Chief Most of our
present troubles it noted, are due to Congress
sional and administrative sabotage OF his seven
point ant-nfiation program.
X X X
Labor's No-Strke Pledge. Lewis has broken his
own no-strke pledge, and few followers have
talked of withdrawing theirs. AS result, all labor
is now threatened with the most vicious union-bust-
ing legislation
But the CIO reafirmed its no-strike pledge, with
no strings whatever as an unconditional pledge
to our country and to our fighting men.
1t denounced the ConnallySmth bills as in
suit and a provocation that can only sabotage
morale and productive efficiency.
\ X h
Wages and War Labor Board Both Lewis and
the laborbating torydefeatist crowd have long di-
rected their fire against the War Labor Board, seek
ing to scrap it. The recent stripping of the Boards
y.1a r;rI,%
into their hands.
The CLIO has led the fight to restore these powers
to the Board. 1t has recognition of this basic
need in Sterilization Director Byrnes' recent direc-
tive though this would still leave many gross inc
qualities uncorrected
The CLIO therefore demanded larger powers and
final authority for the Board to remedy inequalities,
without dictaton from Byrnes.
X X \
Inflated Living Costs. Lewis and tory-defeatist
profteers sheer at or sabotage all attempts at i'm
flaton-control. Congress and lax administrators
have played into their hands.
But the CLIO demands action to bring living costs
in reach of wages and to stop imitation It calls for
a roback of all prices to September levels for SUBJ
sides make this possible, for incentive payments
and credits to farmers to increase food production
and for rationing of all necessities
X
Taxes and Manpower. Lewis and his crowd
make demagogic references to war profiteering.
But their anti-Roosevelt line plays the game of the
profteers in opposing a wn-the-war tax program.
The CO. on the other hand supports Roosevelt's
demand for limiting individual net incomes to
$4,000 and dumping the Ruml grab-plan for the
rich
1t demands complete elimination of war profits
above the 1899 level and taxation based on ability
to pay, that will leave low-income groups with
enough for all living necessities.
The CLIO leads the fight against job-freezing
edics that will only freeze substandard wages in
justice and chaos
But while the Lewis crowd makes only disrup-
tive propaganda, the CLIO offers constructive sou-
tion to manpower problems through the democratic
machinery of joint labor-management committees,
and through the total war mobilization proposed in
the Toan-Pepper- Kilgore bills.