Young Vanguard The Struggle of the Plumbers Helpers National Youth Committee Plan commitee to aid comrade Albert Giotzer. For You to Study Several weeks ago, the national committee of the Communist League of America (Opposition) elected a national youth The Peasants international and the AntiImperialist League In 1927, while carrying on the fight for recognition and affiliation of the plumbers helpers to the United Association of Plumbers and Steam Fitters, a section of the of L, a fight absolutely necessary in their struggle for organization, it was well known that it was led by a militant body with a Left wing program. There is no question that the of bureaucrats were well aware of this. It is one of the main reasons why they did not yield when It came to the question of recognition, The plumbers helpers as a body began to acquaint themselves with the class struggle and the Left wing movement through their own participation in the conflict, through trade union classes, and their own organ, the American Plumbers Helper. Militant Poliey At all the meetings, classes and in all the propaganda carried on within the organization, a definite and set policy was at all times directed towards unity with the plumbers and the rest of the building trades, and affiliation to the mother body of Journeymen. This policy, which was and is correct. was a stepping stone of the organization.
During this period of organization which was carried on by the of much contact was established with the Left wing movement, participation as a mass organization (not as a mere group) at various conferences, not only morally assisting, but also financially at times. One can say that the organization was a milltant one fighting for principles of working class unionism.
With the loss of the strike and mistakes committed by the Young Communist League, the organization began to decline.
When the dwindling away of the forces of the helpers began there was abgolutely nothing done to save an excellent organtzation from decay.
There was a great opportunity to rally the helpers to battle when the day week was instituted in the building trades in August 1929, which meant that the wages of the helpers decreased from 22 to 20 a week, causing many a spontaneous strike which occurred with no effect, because there was no organization to take advantage of such struggles. Admitting that certain factors were not ripe, yet nothing was done by the Left wing group of plumbers helpers within the due to a number of reasons, one of which was the foar of allowing three young Opposition sympathizers, who were active among the helpers, to gain prestige among their fellow workers.
Due to a strike on the job in January 1930, the helpers again started to organize with eight numbers at the outset. This organization, the United Association of Plumbers Helpers, has 160 members today. With the beginning of this new helpers organization, the definite aim was pushed to the foreground by the helpers who were in the last union, to organize the trade, to carry on with the slogans which these workers had learned were correct. series of immediate demands were adopted, calling for a living wage, organization with the adult group. double time for overtime, a chance to learn the trade, etc.
The Appearg The hearing of this revival, set to work by sending in a few ex plumber helpers to capture the organization and model it according to the new period. trade union fight was incorrect at this time, according to them, an Industrial Pipe League was needed; affiliation to the United Association was wrong, to the was right, etc. eto In 1927, the carried on much activity within Right and Left wing unions through the various industrial groups of Left wingers. There is no question that the guidance and participation of the led to many a gain and victory for the workers. Yet the was not known to the plumbers helpers, not a single mention by any of the leading members of the organization was ever made of the and in fact, it did not bother the leaders of the whether there was such an organization of 3, 500 helpers fighting for a union, or not.
Today, it is just the reverse. When the helpers are beginning to organize they must be stamped all over with must accept as gospel truth every word of the self appointed leaders who are giving mis guidance to the Left wing moveyouth representative on to carry on ment, otherwise they are only aiding the youth activity. The national youth commit This announcement is not intended for labor fakers.
tee wherever feasible will form youth com a certain type of practical people. We Union plumbers, with whom the helpmittees or youth sections of the branches mean the kind who always excuse the fact ers must unite, as well as other building of the League. Definite steps are to be that they do not read and study the protrades crafts, still belong to the of taken for the organization of a functioning blems of the working class movement with ad have a craft ideology. Yet by merely faction in the official Wherever the argument that they are too busy dosaying to them, Leave your organization possible, as for example, in New York City, ing practical work. Now, practical work and Join the revolutionary unions, would independent youth activity will be con is the life blood of the revolutionary have no impression whatsoever upon them.
ducted side by side with the struggle movement. But unless it proceeds from a Still, there is considerable opposition against the false policies and leadership of clear understanding of fundamental printo the bureaucratic leaders of these trades the Communist Youth League. Efforts ciples, unless it is motivated by correct unions, who should be combatted with a will be made to expand the Young yan.
theories, it is just so much barrel thumpconcentrated struggle to uphold union con guard as the voice of the Communist Op ing: lots of noise but no content. It 18 ditions and union traditions within the orposition Youth.
our misfortune that this sort of practical ganizations.
At present the committee is working work (in reality, it is highly impractical) Aght for the relief of the unemploy on a statement which is to be issued in its is all too prevalent in the revolutionary ed by shortening hours, by unemployment name to the coming National Convention of movement. So if you are that kind of a benefits, for 100 percent unionization of the This statement will also serve practical person, don listen in on this!
the job, amalgamation and other immediate as a basis for a youth platform for the We started out with a plan. In our demands, will not only bring the plumbers coming conference of our organization. files, we had assembled a pile of material but also the other building workers into Branch secretaries or comrades respon by comrade Trotsky articles, documents, effective struggle for better conditions for sible for youth work, are asked to send in pamphlets and books as tall as your leg.
themselves.
reports of activities to the national youth Their very publication would be one of the The plumbers helpers, if they are to committee (care cf national office. Youth most smashing blows ever dealt to Stalinorganize effectively, must stress these very comrades should also write articles for the ist opportunist and falsification. readthings, connect their struggle for organi Young Vanguard.
ing of them would advance the Communist zation with the every day struggle of the movement immeasurably, for they deal building trades workers and act as pace Help the militant to return to a weekly with the fundamental problems of the Russetters in the fight for militant unionism. by getting subscriptions. Two dollars puts sian and international revolution from the SPRAGUE. you on our mailing list for a year.
Marxist standpoint. They are documents suppressed in the literal sense the word.
But since our paltry income hardly enables us to publish even the Militant, we could not print these works. That where our plan came in. We believed we could get small groups of comrades to sponsor these publications. That is, a group of What is doing with the Peasants In flowed parallel with their intimate block militants would donate the money for a ternational? It was created by the epig with the strikebreakers of the General special fund to print this or that work ones for the special purpose of showing Council of the British Trade Unions, and by Trotsky. And the plan has met with how people who correctly evaluate the that both these amities were tied into a enthusiastic response and has already borne peasantry carry on politics. From the very knot with the Anti mperialiaLeague. fruit. The pamphlet on The Turn in the outset, we considered that the whole conIn the beginning of 1927, Munzenberg, Comintern and the German Situation was trivance is dead and insofar as it is not the impresario of all the rotten and pomp sponsored by six comrades: Harry Milton, dead it is reactionary. At the Sixth Conous performances, called together a con Sol Sarachik, Sylvia Bleeker, Fred Berengress, Bucharin made exouses for the fact gress of the League at Brussels. On this smeier, Peter Keppel and Kurt Ahrens.
that he could not report anything (that is, occasion, the central organ of the Com Their donations enabled us to publish it anything good) about the Peasants Interintern wrote, on February 25, 1927: before anyone else in the world and to national. He extended an invitation to It is no accident that the most acpublish it at a low price.
engage in helping the Peasants Internative, inspiring. and leading role at the Xow we have another work coming off tional to be transformed into a real, live congress was played by the main active the press (it will be ready a week after organization, At the Sixteenth Congress factors in the Chinese revolution: the Chinthis issue of the Militant appears on the of the Communist Party of the Soviet Unese trade unions, the Kuo Min Tang and stands. Four comrades: Max Engel, Philip lon, Molotov, in his report, did not a the People Revolutionary army on the Shulman, Martin Abern and Morris Lewit, much as mention the Peasants Internaone hand, and the representatives of the gave the contributions that are making tional by a single word, just as if it had British proletariat, to whose share fell it possible to publish this booklet et a not existed. Does it mean that there was the central role of blowing up the inpopular price. It is The Strategy of the no success in transforming it into a live tervention on the other hand. Commun.
World Revolution. a masterful analysis of organization? But this was one of the Ist International, 1927, No. 8, page the strategy and tactics of Bolshevism and biggest fruits of anti Trotskyism. No accident! It is no accident that a criticism of the course of the Stalin BuchThe peasantry is the least international at the Brussels conference the inspiring arin leadership since 1923. You will want of all the classes in bourgeois society. to read this 100 page booklet, the manurole was played by Chiang Kai Shek Kuo peasants international is a contradiction script of which had to be smuggled out of Min Tang, and the dear allies of the Anwithin itsell, not a dialectical but a burRussia, because no worker can call himglo Russian Committee!
eaucratic one. An independent internaself informed on the great dispute in the The Anti Imperallst League 18 a retional union of the peasantry outside of movement unless he has read it.
serve kuo Min Tangism on an internationthe national sections of the Comintern is al scale. The liquidation of the League, sell it at 25 cents a copy, and at 18 cents The sponsorship plan enables us to we repeat again either a dead swivel chair as well as of the Peasants International is invention or a hothouse of bourgeois deif you take a bundle of or more (all an unpostponable measure of revolutionmocratic careerism under camouflage. The postpaid. Our editions are ary purification.
limited in Peasants International should be openly number, and you better order quickly.
liquidated, drawing from it all the necesIt the kind of a work that shapes the sary conclusions.
It is worth noting that under the cover contributions of Lenin and Trotsky in the of the Peasants International, work is the The International Secretariat of the early days of the Comintern.
village has been almost completely reduced Left Opposition informs us: And by the way, the plan is catching to zero. At the Sixth Congress, Bucharin On October 19, 1930, a group of former hold! Toronto comrades write in that they was forced to admit: In the peasant dismembers of the Bulgarian Communist another would like to be sponsors for tricts our influence did not grow but raParty (legal and illegal) adopted a resopamphlet, and we don propose to turn lution approving a manifesto issued by a them down. Quite the contrary: we want ther declined, and at that, in France as group of Bulgarian comrades recently, more. We have on hand enough pamphlets well as in Germany. This took place bewhich gives cause we approached the peasantry from Marxist evaluation of the and books to keep our sponsors going for revolutionary labor movement in the couna long time. There Trotsky pamphlet on the viewpoint of the Peasants International, that is astronomically. In reality, try, the situation in the international Com World Unemployment and the Five Year munist movement, and it was transformed into a hunt after the condemning the Plan. a section of which the Militant altheory and practises of the third period.
ready printed (that was only a taste of petty property owner as a property ownThese comrades decided, further, to what to appear. Then there is his great er. The farm laborer and the semi proletwork on The Permanent Revolution rearian peasant were side tracked. As a re constitute themselves into a central Marxist workers group Osvobocently written and being translated now.
sulti the weakening of Communism in the You ve heard Stalinists of all shades fulvillage. Molotov, in his report, passed jdenie. taking as their base the ideas minate against Trotsky permanent revoover the work in the village in complete of the Manifesto of the International lution. but they never told you what the Left Opposition.
theory really looks like! Well, here it is The Anti Imperialist League is only a The resolution also sends its revolua smashing refutation of all the critics translation of the Peasants International tionary greetings to the victims of the of this Marxist theory, and an eye opening into the colonial language. Its conferences bourgeois repression in Bulgaria and all analysis of its relation to Lenin concepand work have had a purely decorative other countries, and to the valiant com tion of the Russian and internatioal revocharacter. Munzenberg illustrated with rades of the Bolshevik Leninist Opposition lution.
Bengal lights the Left careerists of the in the Soviet Union and its leaders, com If you re interested (we don mean Second International and tomorrow exrades Trotsky and Rakovsky.
only groups of the Opposition, but symecutioners of the toiling masses in the garla marks another forward step of the pathizers as well) in our plan to publish colonies. The Bengalese illumination cost The formation of this group in Bul the Marxist literature of the day at popunot a little, and left behind it an acrid Left Opposition in a country where the lar prices, drop us a line and we ll let you odor and smoke under the cover of which collapse of the Centrist leadership has vir know the details. But in the meantime, the careerists, adver andidates tually stripped the movement of its power. don wait a minute to place your orders for executioners were accomplishing their The Bulgarian Opposition group is the secfor deeds.
ond to be constituted in the Balkans, the THE STRATEGY OF THE WORLD Let us not forget that the friendship first being the Left wing group in Greece.
REVOLUTION of the Stalinists for the Kuo Min Tang Our hearty salute and wishes for victory!
by Leon Trotsky.
Opposition Group in Bulgaria movement, as it was shaped by the gifted silence.