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SOCIALIST APPEAL September 4, 1937 Maine Shoe Strike and CIO Leadership Chicago Backs Appeal Old line chiefs, methods fail to bring victory Four of in The manufacturers soon got a blanket injuction against the strike as illegal and all the leaders were jailed on contempt charges except Mahan who, when arrest seemed imminent, kept a By Russell Scott safe distance from the masses. The Chicago party is divided forces in the Chicago organiza: The natural reaction of the into two distinct sectons, the Eng tion for one purpose: To attempt Today there is a local of the had so well executed her duties United Shoe Workers of America of officers, she received only 40 strikers at the jailing was one lish section and the foreign lan to save the party organization The Chicago and to activize it.
The Appeal in Lewiston Auburn. But on the votes out of a possible 1200. She of resentment. They wanted to guage branches.
other side of the ledger we read: is an ardent Coughlinite and had demonstrate by surrounding the organization has for many years forces entered branch executives, months of exhausting ben delegate to the Union jail, but on advice of Attorney been one of the weakest sections took over all kinds of posts in struggle, 250, 000 spent the Party national convention. She Raymond Rogers, this form of the Socialist Party notwith the local Party organization, did final result: 500 union members was notorious for her red baiting of demonstration was prohibited standing the fact that the Na almost all the public speaking out of the 6, 000 originally on While on a strike. cost of aproximately threatened to have one of the courts. Rogers was. delegate here. Following the fight with was well on the way toward re.
the building the Socialist Party in 500 per member, to say nothing militant strikers arrested for dis to the Union Party recent the Old Guard and prior of the mood of defeatism which tributing official strike bulletins! National Convention and ran on entry of the Workers Party mem Cook County.
in bers the party was almost non The convention and post. con now characterizes the Maine Shoe Her reason: she thought It was its Coughlinite state ticket workers.
Maine.
existent.
vention period brought a halt to Comunistic literature Notoriously an open shop state, With a paper membership of this development. The determina Over this conglomeration In addition to the injuction, the anywhere between five and eight tion of the reactionary forces. to.
an old whose chambers of commerce in discredited leadership was di manufacturers invoked shoe centers were publicly ad rector Powers Hapgood, vice conspiracy law to arrest all the the Cook County Socialist Party the party forced matters to cheap labor. Maine had twice Executive Committee. Hapgood few were also charged with in. mobilize even a tenth of head.
It is now a well known fact. them for any party work. The that the proposal of the Appea!
before, in 1928 and 1932, success was aware of the past records citing to riot.
English branches were composed Group to Clarity, to establish fully crushed attempts to orga of these bureaucrats and betray The jailed leaders were re lof trade union bureaucrats over political bloc, or at least a work.
nike shoe factories.
ers. Nevertheless, he allowed this placed. But if the previous leader whom the organization exercised ing bloc against the right wing Early in March 1997, the un corrupt and discredited gang to ship was bad, the new was even not the slightest control, stay at concentration, was rejected by daunted shoewerkers of Maine, determine the destiny of 6, 000 worse. There came Charles Mur homes. the banquet activists. them in favor of the gag resoluunable to tolerate conditions any militant shoeworkers. Hapgood dock from Marlborough, Mass. National Office functionaries, 30 tion which it carried with the longer, disgusted with the pas elected to act as conciliator and who had run on the Democratic cial workers, etc.
complete support of the rightsivity and discredited leadership peacemaker among the politicians ticket for Congress in the last The bulk of the membership wing. From then on the fire of of the AFL, impressed by the and in so doing weakened his election. Every strike talk he was in the language branches. Clarity was directed against the militancy of the auto worker position as director of the swoc gave was a campaign speech for These branches are a completely Appeal.
strikes, invited the United Shoe and discredited himself as a So Roosevelt. George Gorham was unknown quantitiy so far as the Workers of America, affiliated cialist trade unionist. He soon another, a vicious red baiter and Party is concerned. They are not committee, two important deciin the July County Central with the CIO, to organize the found himself so busy making still a strong proponet of craft an intimate part of the organiza sions were taken. Firstly, Norman 6000 workers the nineteen peace amongo the big shots uionism. Charles Oldman, close tion as such. Their dues are Sanders, a leading member of factories of Lewiston and Auburn. that he lost touch with the rank to 70 years of age, realized his paid directly to the national of the The rank and file of the United and file and so lost their faith uselessness and begged to be fice. They have their own activi County Labor Secretary, was. Appeal Association and Shoe and Leather Workers and and confidence. It is significant allowed to return to Lynn. And ties which are essentially cul elected to the Executive to All the Shoeworkers Protective As that when Hapgood and the replace Hapgood, John Lewis tural. Politically, these branches the vacancy left by Ben Fisher, sociation, long rival unions, had others were released from jail sent Garfield Lewis of the United are right wing, akin to the Euro who esigned to take over the just repudiated their reactionary recently, only about six strikers Mine Workers. His whole role is pean social democracy, lacking secretary post in Detroit. Se leadership by voting for amal. were outside the jail to greet summed up in repeating his fahowever, their virtues of size and condly a motion calling for.
gamation into the United Shoe them.
vorite phrases: And now, my Workers of America and affilia Meanwhile, the local leadership, friends, when you go to the ballot money. More than that, being referendum on the gag resolution completely dissociated from the was unanimously adopted. The consisting of a group of young box on election day, vote for your party organization as such, not election of Sanders would give tion with the CIO.
militants, rebelled and formed a friends and defeat your enemies. subject to its decisions, cam the Appeal a majority or nearLeaders Hang On progressive bloc within the orga and The greatest president this are majority in the County Executive ever had is Franklin paigns, or discipline, they nizational committee, fighting for country nevertheless represented in the Committee. With a real majority The descredited leadership of mass demonstrations, for strike Delano Roosevelt.
Country Central Committee with in the CCC (the English speak: the unions, however, bulletins, for more effective such a bulk of delegates that ing branches) the Appeal would manoeuvered so that they cons picketing, for enlargement of the tituted the Shoe Workers Orga organizational committee. Mahan Government Help they are in a position to accept, have a majority of the executive nizing Committee of the Cio began a systematic red baiting reject, change, or mutilate any bodies in the Cook County OrIt was now June, after four decision adopted by the County ganization!
under Powers Hapgood. The gen campaign against those local months of strike, the leadership Executive Committee.
eral organizer of the SwOC was leaders, intelligent, militant work hopelessly entangled in legal Fortunately for revolu Clarity and Language William Mahan. Mahan hi ers who couldn be kidded any technicalities, no secondary lead tionary section of the Party, story instructive. Having lost longer.
ership built up, the strikers apat. these delegates were not even Branches an election in his own union, he hetic from lack of activity, and sufficiently interested in the par. Now comes Clarity. but not conspired to sell out a strike his Relief Doled Out funds practically exhausted. Now ty life to have attended meetings without its allies. At the August union was running, to John a savior appeared: the Na of the CCC.
Nolan, head of the rival union. Mahan took complete charge of tional Labor Relations Board. For year and half these delegates some leading members of the Ap.
In a period of a CCC meeting, held on the 16th, This attempted betrayal had re the vital factor of relief. Every months the strikers had been told were never present at such meet peal group were given their first sulted in Mahan suspension dollar which came to aid the to put their faith in the govern ing8. old party members have opportunity to gaze upon the refrom his union. The other party strikers had to pass through his ment. Surely they would get never even seen the overwhelm presentatives of the language to this conspiracy, John No hands! He carried all the cash, justice now, the Jan, is the present secretary of sometimes thousands of dollars was behind them. Daily government ing majority of the leading mem branches. The meeting was pack: the SWOC.
in his coat pockets and simply hearing room was packed with the bers of the language branches! ed with such delegates, rounded up by MacDowell and Trager, for passed the money out according eager, anxious strikers. The out Appeal Works to Save Another FL Type to the merit of the case in his one purpose: to upset all the come: decisions of the July meeting of eyes.
Party Three charges of the union In the midst of setting up new the CCC.
The reaction against Mahan (interference with organization, offices for the merged union came dictatorial methods was so great exisistence of a bloc list, refusal sons responsible for the estab was the consideration of a moThis fact was one of the rea The first action of the meeting the call from Maine. William that the strikers threatened to to bargain collectively were dis lishment of a working bloc be tion introduced by MacDowell, the Mackesy was made chief orga injure him bodily unless he was missed on grounds of insufficient tween the Appeal and Clarity constitutional expert. to rescind nizer. pacifist and opportunist, removed from his position. He evidence.
with a background of training for was finally removed through the all the decisions of the July the priesthood, Mackesy is best organized pressure of locals in The other two charges did not represent a majority of meeting on the ground that the characterized frail demo the New England district which brought by the union (discrimina their employees; meeting was illegally constituted gogue.
threatened to stop financial sup activity, and the company domi meeting of Local 114. the strike were illegal. The motion carried. Be it resolved that at a and therefore all its decisions The second organizer, Paul port of the strike if Mahan con nated nature of a local organiza now in progress be and is hereby in spite of the fight made by the Salvaggio, is an earnest and tinued to handle the money.
tion which appeared after the terminated.
sincere worker with strong While these internal struggles English branches. Sanders was anarchistic leanings, whose fights were taking place, the shoe work strike weakened) were withdrawn, There are definite lessons which then removed from the CEC and with Mahan Co. had been longers were battling all the reac the union fearing adverse ruling the shoeworkers must assimilate: MacDowell elected. The war.
and bitter. His work was ham tionary forces of the state. On The reactionary leftovers animous decision on the referta: The NLRB after two weeks of the trade unions who are jump dum was rescinded to be reoon pered by Mahan, who was afraid of the first things which the local that Salvaggio might outdo him police did was to set up an ar finally ordered an election with ing upon the CIO bandwagon sidered at a future date. There and ran for general organizer of bitrary picket line limit not less the local (company) union on the must be vigorously exposed and decisions were carried after heat the SWIOC at the next convention. than 500 feet from the factory ballot.
fought they are capable of be ed discussion in which ApAs a counter weight to Salvag area. This should have immedia The final blow was the plain trayal only.
peal delegates were physically, gio, one of Mahan cronies, tely called out a mass demonstra tive and apologetic resolution The workers must learn the threatened by the representation Martin Lawless of Lynn, Mass. tion of workers in front of their drawn up by Hapgood and ap strike breaking role of the of the language branches.
pugnacious, red baiter, arrogant, factories, taking advantage of the proved by the swoc as the only and the Roosevelt adminis Naturally, the real reason for and a hard drinker, was made or lack of any state law on picket way to save the face of the tration.
this action by Clarity was not ganizer. His tactics were typi ing. The damper was put on the union: We must point out the rela constitutional. MacDowell quite cally AFL: as long as his striker militant determination. Whereas it is not our pur tionship of the CIO leadership to frankly stated that we do not cutters were out, the strike was to smash this police ruling, when pose to unnecessarily prolong a capitalism. The CIO is a pro want to give the Appeal group won; the rest didn matter.
Mackesy called on the workers condition whereby manufacturers gressive step in trade unionism, majority or near majority in the Along with Lawless went May to obey it and keep the peace of shoes in Lewiston and Auburn but the leadership class colla CEC because we do not know Dauphine, a staurich supporter Later when strikers went over may be unable to reopen their borationist policies, its constant how long they will remain in the of Mahan. May had been busi Mackesy head and broke factories; or their business be red baiting, its bureaucratic ad Party!
ness agent of the Lynn Stichers through this arbitrary line, not permanently injured because of ministration, prove conclusivelty But the Chicago party, as the Local for years previous and one was arrested for the viola their refusal, heretofore, to deal it will act as a brake upon left facts prove, stands solidly with that at a recent election tions.
with us on the ground that we ward moving workers.
the Appeal.
two