The Duluth Dock Strike cannot force a real situation be some USUM uy yuu wa thing else merely by bombast and newspa superiority to the workers by deed and per talk work in a day to day struggle against reBesides that, the policy is formulated formism, and other concepts among the incorrectly. Communists can win indepenworkers.
dent leadership of economic struggles of In conclusion, the dock workers went workers as against reformists and syndical back work with the wage cut in effect.
ists when their leadership, demands, Their army is not yet scattered, they are tactics, and organization forms they win the not defeated. The of fared badconfidence of the strikers. This concept is ly. The defeat of the party shook its apmade over simple by the present revision paratus and is making the membership ist leadership of the party which creates think. The party needs a correct Leninist ready made revolutionary unions which policy and a new leadership. Tomorrow it offers the workers for acceptance. The there will be more strikes, larger and fiereworkers, however, do not know that this er. because of temporary defeats. We can union is the best, and after you have the not waste time.
Defend the Scottsboro Boys The dockworkers of the Duluth Superior harbor went back to work on May 15 after an unsuccessful strike to resista wage ent of 13. Last season, this same group of workers successfully stopped a wage cut of 10. Since this strike is one of many defensive struggles being conducted by sections of the working class in Minnesota its lessons are of great value to the revolutionary movement. It is doubly important for all Communist workers because in this struggle the Communist party had a chance to show its leadership and failed because of its incorrect policies.
The Strike Starts Well The strike followed the announcement of reduction in wages from 75 cents to 60 cents for all dock men by the Great Lakes Transit Co. the association of all shippers.
There was splendid response from the men The partial success of the previous season strike was the reason. There was but little scabbing. The strike breakers were imported from other ports. strike committee of twenty five was elected to lead the struggle. Mass picketing was started.
Around six hundred workers were involved.
The Marine Workers Industrial Union and the Communists were popular at the beginning of the strike. To say they had the upper hand would be wrong for a good percentage of the workers were former members and readers of its press.
another group were supporters of the Halonen section in the Finnish workers more ment and as events showed, the weight of influence was with the Wobblies, and reformists. The latter influence was not ideologically represented in any way in particular but by the mass of the strikers being ordinary, democratic minded workers unattached to any organization.
The party, though it had worked all Winter among the dock men and sailors, was unprepared as usual and came late with its full forces into the strike situatlon. At the outset it offered its support and held rousing mass meetings for the strike. It influenced in part the mass picketing and militant conduct of the struggle. Good ran file organizers were brought in. And later the relief stations set up were of a material aid to the strikers.
Individual comrades did valiant work on the picket lines, winning the admiration and attention of the strikers. The distinguished itself by defending the strikers arrested on picket lines. Wherein did the party lose the confidence of the strikers?
In its bankruptcy of policy and tactics and in the personnel of the immediate top leadership of the field of struggle. Ilurwitz and Miller. of the Party and the lost the confidence of the workers. with the result that the field was left open for another leadership and when that was not forthcoming the strikers submitted to the wage reduction. Mechanically executing the program (they don speak of policy in the party any more) of independent leadership by the revolutionary unions the incompetent petty bureaucrats.
Hurwitz and Miller, failed even to win the confidence of the immediate party forces.
let alone the strikers. Under the policy mentioned, the Marine Workers Industrial Union must lead the strike to the exclusion of all other groups. This led to frontal at.
tacks upon the Fof who also had offered assistance and support until the fakers came into confuse the workers and dicker with the company for the men dues. The W. press had tactfully raised the slogan of Solidarity. offered its hall, etc. The strikers interpreted solidarity to mean wity of all forces to win the strike. The feeling itselt incapable of organizing the workers itself, delayed the question of organization, and advised the workers not to organize a union but win the strike. No amount of debates or newsprint could de finitely settle what was in the minds of the leadership of Besides, there is no time for debates of this kind in a strike situation.
The speakers as well as the press begin a systematic campaign of attack upon the as strike breakers, betrayers, etc. The question is put before the workers, to choose which is right, and which is wrong, for the prees counter the party attacks with similar charges of they want your money. politicians. etc. The decisive elements among the strikers already lean towards the W They do not understand the party attack against the as only an attack against the leaders. Their wobbly education tells them that there are no leaders in the so each attack upon the is an attack upon them personally. The result is that the Marine Workers Union and party speakers are chased from the lot, the same day that the party press is announcing to the American workers, and the Comintern especially, that the Communist party and the revolutionary unions are independently leading the dock workers strike in Duluth.
This isolation of the party leaders from the meetings of the strikers almost co incided with the opening of the relief stations where the and workers crganization were feeding the pickets, so contact was retained. The strikers would eat the food and sulk about the attitude toward the The leaders on top continued to attack the too narrow to see the attitude of the strikers. day following one attack the workers almost entirely fell away from the relier station. There was no lesson in this event for the self styled leaders. Of course, under these circumstances there was nothing else to do but slowly and painfully to organize a fraction among the strikers against the leaders, who, due to the peculiarity of this strike were hard to distinguish from the ordinary striker. Why is this?
Absence of Sound Leadership The had no men capable of giving leadership. The of union leaders of the are discredited among the workers here because of their past be trayals. The party failed to win the contidence of the workers in this strike as well as the strike last season. The strike committee was weak, inexperienced and not dominated by any decisive opinion. In the beginning it was influenced by the and the party to conduct a militant struggle. In the latter part of the strike, due to the absence of the party and the indecisiveness of the the strike committee was just as easily influenced by the Mayor Committee for a compromise.
Its leadership can be judged from the fact that it allowed a manager of the shippers to speak to the strike meeting for an hour And a half, after which a vote was to be taken to go back to work. In the same meeting the membership decided to take the vote first and discuss the motion after, The policy that should have been pursued by the Communists should have been the policy of united front between the and W, w, for the successful conduct of the strike to victory against the wage cut, and for the defeat of the of fakers of the under the slogans of Solidarity. Win the Strike The strike was defensive. defeat of the wage cut would have consolidated the work ers ranks and prepared them for further struggle The leaders, if they were not sincere about their slogan solidarity. would have been exposed and made to appear enemies of solidarity to their own followers. The weakness and inde cisiveness of the lenders (editors)
would have been the basis on which, with correct tacties, the superiority of leadership could be established. Thus, in the course of the strike after a victory, the policy of a militant leadership could be established by fact. and not by bluff. Generally, the proposals of the and party to the strikers were correct. mass picketing, large strike committee, sprending of strike to boats. relief and lastly unity. This last can only have one meaning to strikers, and that is solidarity stick together, don scab. It is one of our simplest and most easily understood slogans in strike struggles. In this strike it was the bureaukratie formalist conception of independent leadership and the premature attempt to enforce it that collided with the simple proletarian conception of unity in struggle against the bosses.
The result of this collision was that independent leadership was smashed by the proletarian unity upon a iess developed level of understanding It shows that you (Continued from page 1)
Flynn edition act, and whose defense is tance of these to the defense movement being shamefully neglected by the is self evident. Without them there can be was forcibly ejected from the conference no real united front, no genuine working for taking the floor and speaking for a real class movement. Only an aroused working united front with of locals and the class can save these boys. And the broad Socialist Party included. The bureaucratic est masses of the workers can be rallied praesidium lamely explained to the proonly on broad working class issues. The testing party rank and filers that comrade emphasis must, therefore, be inveſted forth Morgenstern was a visitor and had no right with and a broad united front defense move to speak. This explanation was shamelessment be set a foot.
ly offered to workers who had seen comAn open appeal for a united front must rade Morgenstern ask for the floor and realso immediately be made to the Socialist ceive it. Such is the spectacle to which are treated workers new to the Communist party. This is of course of the utmost immovement. portance. Failure to do so up to now is a grave mistake. No opportunity must be The New York conference, while not was overlooked to expose the hypocrisy of the so rich in drama, was little better.
Socialist party leadership before its rank equally narrow and just as mechanically and file and the whole working class. controlled. Committees with prepared plans In nine weeks the only comment on were instructed to retire and draw up the the case made by its official organ the in plans. The oratory was endless. Discusnocuous New Leader is an editorial on sion by the delegates was limited and was May 23 attacking not the crime against the usual echo of the leadership.
our class but the for its exposure The change in emphasis on the issues of the hypocrisy and sabotage of the Na in the case will make possible a genuine tional Association for the Advancement of united front movement and genuine united Colored People This reactionary editorial front defense conferences. No time must also makes insinuations about the misuse be lost in making this turn about face to of funds by the in the Sacco the correct line. To delay or not to do it Vanzetti case, and promised to make reve is to risk the lives of the nine boys and lations about this case at a later date. to guarantee in advance that whatever the Such is the depravity of the Socialist party outcome of the case to the boys, the party leadership! It is not enough, as the Daily prestige and its influence over the masses Worker did on May 25, to answer these will suffer a serious blow.
slanders with a paragraph of irrele In accomplishing this genuine united about Heywood Broun. The Socialist front movement it is necessary to put forparty must offered a united front and ward the correct slogans. There is now the leadership hammered day in and day too much confusion in the party slogans.
out for their silence, their slander and their The central slogan should be Unite to reactionary attitude, until they stand ex smash the Scottsboro frame up Demand posed before the entire working class for the unconditional release of the nine boys.
what they are traitors to the working The deceptive slogan of a half Negro, halfelass.
white jury should be dropped. The phraseAnother deficiency of the united front mongering slogan Death to lynchers achieved by the party is the attempted ex should be dropped as a third period vesclusion from it of the Left Opposition. But tige Other slogans to support the central the Left Opposition has not been and can slogan should be those which can rally not be excluded. Wherever workers are in broad masses of workers to struggle against motion and wherever the party is engaged lynching, segregation, discriminations, and in struggle there the Lett Opposition will for immediate relief.
be found marching side by side with the The significance of the Scottsboro case workers and the party ranks despite the is great regardless of outcome. The strug.
slander. lies and the bureaucracy of the gle correctly led by the party can strike a party leadership. It is discharging its serious blow against lynching, against the duty in the Scottsboro case. By participat persecution of the Negroes. It can make ing actively in the movement and by piti long step forward toward uniting the lessly criticizing the mistakes made by the Negro and white workers in common strugparty leadership and pointing out the cor gle against the capitalist class. It can rect line, the Opposition will contribute to draw the party closer to the Negro masses, the movement out of all proportion to its and to the whole working class, and greatly size but commensurate with its historic increase its prestige and influence. All the task.
more important and serious are the blunThe absence of delegates from all these ders of the party leadership. All the more organizations makes of the united front important is the task of the Left Opposition defense conferences very narrow united to reveal these blunders and show where fronts of representatives of Negro churchlies the correct line. This the Opposition ex. lodges. etc. and will lo.
party organizations whose delegates appland at the correct moment and are ready to throw every TrotskyIN DEFENSE OF SCOTSBORO ist out of the door. This is exactly what The New York branch the Comhappened at the Philadelphia conference. munist League of America (Opposition is Comrade Morgenstern who, together with holding an open air protest meeting against comrade Goodman will stand trial soon on the planned lynching of the framed up the charge of sedition under the notorious Negro boys of Scottsboro. The meeting takes place on Saturday, June at Sp.
on the corner of 125th Street and Fifth Avenue, with comrade Martin Abern, of the National Committee and others to speak.
All workers are urged to attend.
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