Montana labor news., 1950-06-08
ORGANIZED LABOR IS GETTING TIRED
PRETTY PROMISES BUT

ne ~ "'I P,rv walk hand in hand and sleep in the
same bed. These people say that ClOPAC is SIMPLY a w'nk OF
the Democratic Party.
marriage between organized labor and the Democratic rarty.
1t is true that they have been seen keeping company rom nm
to time. but there has been no actua pact 'o'''"' " "0"
And furthermore. if the Democratic Party keeps treating
organized labor as it has in the past ,ew mon' n. IT 'w 10
To put it bluntly. organized labor is getting plenty disguised
with the Democratic Party. Speaking tor the On workers
Iotl Union (CIO) at least. we can say that W e have founo
the Democratic Party long on promises and sweet talk ana Ter
nbly short on bringing home the bacon.
Let us itemize the promises and the deliveries OF n Demo
cratic Party since the workinemeh IN LII '"""e'' p' "
power again in 1913:
The Democratic Party promised to repeal TaftHartley.
With a clear majority in both houses oil Congresses inc De"'o
Gratis failed to do this.
The Democratic Party promised to pass fair employment
practices legislation. 1t has failed to do so. In tact . ne
publican Senators voted to stop the hlibuster and take up
FEPC a few days ago. while only 10 Democrats so voted: And
the Democrats have p more members in the Senate than DO
the Republicans.
Democratic members of the House and the Senate. including
House Speaker Sam Rayburn, rammed through the INFAMOUS
Kerr bill to raise natural gas prices President lruman' Tor
iunately, had the courage to veto this one.
The Senate has not yet passed the improved Social Security
law. even though the lndusrialists re now in favor OF it
The Democrats sold out Is cents and several millions OF
people short in the minimum wage law They settled tor -
cents instead of a dollar and excluded millions OF people
The Democrats blocked the removal Of the infamous Robert
Denham from his dictatorial power in NLRB. And we can
no, forge, tina. Pre.iden, Truman first appointed Denhsm and
in so doing brought shame to the government OF the United
States.
The Democrats have done nothing about The Brannan farm
plan instead they have allowed the present crazy-qult farm
rlan to remain on the books The Democrats have not even
had the nerve to talk openly about National Health Insurance.
Offhand. W e can recall two good measures passed by the
Congress-the Housing Bill and til eOleo Tax Repeal. Very
good, as far as they go.
A GOOD many labor people voted for Democrats two years
ago-yes. and worked hard for hcm-because Of the good
party platform.
But apparently the platform is ~ window dressing to the
party bigwigs.
Democratic Senator Ed. {. Johnson, in a recent Jackson
Jefferson Day Dinner, said bluntly thai platforms dom mean
anything.
Well. Senator, we in labor consider a platform a promise
and we don like people who break promises We have a habit
Of tossing out on their behinds our union officers who break
promises and we will endeavor to do the same to public officers.
Recently a state Democratic chairman said to a PAC re
preventative: We are otworrying about the labor vote. Labor
has nowhere else to go except to the Democratic Party.
You may be mistaken. Mr. Chairman!
From all over the nation, ,undswell OF complaints against
the Democratic Party is coming from rankra and tile union
members to the headquarters of Oil Workers Ind. Union and
TO the union newspaper.
In essence, these complaints say: The Democratic Party
is kidding US; the Demo leaders m talking sweet, and delivering
nothing.
Sometimes the Demo leaders do not even talk sweet. They
pick their candidates and tell labor to take EN- and like EN-,
without asking labor what w want in the way of candidates.
SO what is organized labor going to do about the failure
of the Democratic Party to deliver the goods?
Mainly, we are going to pay less and less attention to party
labels and more and more to the individual candidate.
We are going to endorse and work for those individuals who
look best. regardless Of party affiliations.
Eventually. one party or the other-or a new party as yet
prborn-wilI come to realize that the powerful labor vote can
make or break a political party.
We mean to do no hollow chestbeating. Frankly, the labor
vote has not yet been IS well modified in the past as it should
be and it probably will not be in 1850
But year by year. the labor vote is being better modified.
The power and the unity of the labor vote is growing year
by year. The time will come when it will be decisive.
And let it be perfectly clear to the Democratic Party that this
vote will not necessarily be modified behind that party.
When the budding maiden that is labor political has bios
Toned into a fully mature beauty, she will not be waiting pa
'iently in the moonlight for Mr. Democrat to come along.
No. she has had her share OF broken dates and she may
be out seeing the sights with some other felow-playing a little
hard to get.
international Oil Workers