2 SOCIALIST APPEAL November 27, 1937 Goodyear Accord Imperils Union Layoff of 1600 More Men! Something to Be Thankful for Ends Rubber Sit Down WAR PROSPECTS won ARMAMENT INDUSTRY ST Clo By Widick AKRON, Ohio, Nov. 21. They licked us again, but it the last time. This terse comment by a progressive rubber worker summarized the Sunday meeting of Goodyear Local where the United Rubber Workers official leadership shoved down a betrayal proposal that allows 1, 600 additional layoffs against which a rank and file sit down had been called.
The United Rubber Workers leadership abjectly surrendered to union officialdom. We don want the threat of National Guard to see men laid off but don strike breaking, and agreed to like the counter resolution. It an eight point, government spon isn complete, he said He didn sored program, which gives Good make any clarifying motions. He year further opportunity to break didn explain that he, under the union.
party orders, had approved of the But it took five hours of bitter evacuation of the plants, which argument to defeat the rank and was the basis for the defeat.
file opposition to lay off proIt was the threat of the National posals, which rallied around the Guard action and the realization slogan, All or None. We all that the union leadership wouldn work or nobody does.
fight Goodyear, that swung the The program of the union tide. vote of 1, 492 to 822 anleadership was a clever one. It proved of the union officials was announced to the sit downers agreement.
that a special meeting Sunday The rank and file is willing to would take up the question of stake its life in a struggle against strike action. This and other re the strikebreaking tactics of the ports brought the sit downers out National Guard. Sentiment for of the three plants.
a general strike against the National Guard grew hourly in this Present Offer city while the Goodyear union was meeting.
When the meeting was called to order, John House, Goodyear Need Militant Leaders Local president and leading reactionary, read the labor board But the workers have seen what proposals which the union nego reactionary union leadership does tiating committee and the com when a serious crisis confronts pany had agreed to.
it. The rubber workers remember 703 PEU The agreement allowed for the how the steel workers were belay off of the 1, 600 men who had trayed by their leaders in the been given notices. It established Little Steel strike. That the department seniority while the National Guard had been called rank and file demanded, and the because the o. had asked union needed, factory seniority. for it.
It promised to rehire the workers It takes militant, classon the basis of seniority.
conscious union leadership to It means that the company smash the strike breaking of the (Continued from page 1) every political observer.
policy of getting rid of the mili cops, the Guards, and the other the momentum taken on by the Only by the most wide spread solidarity can organized labor tant unionists by closing down governmental forces of oppres drive in Congress and in AdBehind the People beat back the attack against the key departments has been sanc sion, ministration circles.
Front Mask trades unions and against the tioned by the union! powerful leadership of that Arthur Krock, the authoritaA counter proposal was offer kind doesn exist in Goodyear. tive Washington commentator of Just as the business reces. ly in the past four years.
agreements fought for so bittered from the union floor to the The progressive have been learn the Times, reports that sion shatters the illusion of the Reliance on LaGuardia and to rescind the Tay off orders of experience, such as this Sunday the President (has) accepted the under the system of private own merely disarm and den. oralize effect that the company be forced ing slowly and through painful for the first time since 1933. possibility of industrial planning demagogues of his stripe will a strike would take place.
meeting, the need for genuine idea of aiding industry on its ership of the means of producn the workers and the unleft wing leaders with a program own terms.
Bill Carney, Goodyear unionist of class struggle.
What its own tion, so the very first reaction employed. program of mass and now director in New means is self evident. To of the New Deal administra action, independent of the so callThe sit down over.
The Jersey, amended the counter1, 600 rubber workers join the be sure, Mr. Roosevelt will once tion and Congress to this same ed liberal and progressive politiresolution calling for an immediate strike vote and action, city. The union continues to re Industry are responsible for the feasability of class collabora force upon the local, state and whatever conditions exist. But tion politics for labor. The New Dalrymple Swings Axe treat.
But not for long. just politics. in the same way providing any sensible measure working class misery and starMr. Krock remarks, that will be Deal has proved as incapable of federal governments, is the only way of preventing such scenes of Then Dalrymple, presi There will be more lay offs. as when business was good a of economic security for the cation as have not been seen here dent of the United Rubber Work Goodyear has already indicated few months ago, Mr. Roosevelt masses of the population as capi since the days of Hoover.
ers, leaped to his feet and re that. There will be more sit. said: We planned it this way. talism generally. People Frontbuked Carney and declared his downs. The mood of the rank and In other words, the New Deal ism the policy of backing capiThe new economic crisis is a amending motion out of order. file guarantees that. Meanwhile demagogy will remain unchange talist politicians like Roosevelt, challenge and a text for labor. This meeting wasn called to the progressives are learning ed, but the course itself will veer as a friend of labor has proved Apprehensiveness and discontent take strike action. It unconsti fast.
sharply to the right.
quite as unreliable a means of are growing in its ranks. It is tutional. We can strike. The And when it breaks loose again, National Guard would defeat us. there will be no stopping.
In the meantime, with the expressing the political interests the task of the revolutionists to gain for the ranks a democratic of the working class.
We haven President himself accepting inmoney for a Starving men have nothing to dustry own terms, Congress Events are driving home the expression of their sentiments, strike, Dalrymple shouted. lose but their chains and the appears to be even more anxious lessons of class collaborationist crats and the People Fronter Carney indicated that the very rubber workers are realizing it. to make them its property, too. politics with merciless logic. life of the union was at stake.
who seck to obstruct their miliUnder the general ballyhoo for hard winter, full of miserable That the had won its first great victory in the Goodyear UNSER WORT a move is on foot to repeal the lies ahead of us. Unemployment, revolutionary leadership, the balancing of the budget prospects for the working class, tancy, and to organize them for the counter attack which, under strike of 1936. That either the The attention of comrades undistributed profit tax and the starvation wages, hunger amid alone bring a real solution: the union fought back or it was familiar with the German capital gains tax, the two pet drastic cuts in relief. face the overthrow of the capitalist sysdoomed.
language is called to Unser Rank and filers tore the official grievances of Big Business. The working class, unless it bestirs Wort. the official paper of House Ways and Means Sub itself into reawakened militancy. Item and the establishment of proposal apart. They called it a the German Section of the 4th committee has, in fact, already The campaign of the bosses workers democracy in a system betrayal of union men. For hours International.
taken action to this effect. To must be met head on. The rank of socialized, planned production.
the argument continued. But the Comrades wishing to sub meet this drop in federal revenue, and file in the auto and rubber steady barrage of defeatist proscribe to the paper, or to re the capitalist politicians con industries have given a splendid paganda of the leadership began ceive bundle orders should use trolling the House and the Sen example of their awareness of to take hold.
the following address for com ate can have recourse to only the danger ahead. Only by its munications: ne method: drastic cuts in Stalinists Equivocate Jean Meichler, 14 own, independent strength, only and relief appropriations. That The Stalinist spokesman took 248 Rue des Pyrenees these cuts, along with the repeal by courageous and aggressive acan ambiguous position, one that Paris (200. France of the two taxes on big business, tion can the workers in industry confused the issue and helped the are on their way, is conceded by head off the lay off campaign.
terms is can.