MIA > Archive > Earl R. Browder
From International Press Correspondence, Vol. 3 No. 39 [21], 24 May 1923, pp. 366–367.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
Public Domain: Marxists Internet Archive (2020). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source.
During the past year the American revolutionaries in the trade unions have been gathering their forces and clarifying their program, under the leadership of the Trade Union Educational League. Owing to the fact that it was necessary to overcome 30 years of dual unionist education, this process has taken longer than the objective situation would justify. Certainly there was never a labor movement more in need of the rejuvenating influence of an organized left wing than the American unions, choked to death by Gompersism. But in spite of the obstacles, and spite of the influence of the temporary economic revival which has removed some of the pressure on wages and hours, the left wing has succeeded in its appointed task, has brought order out of chaos among the militants, and is now proceeding to the task of setting up the organization machinery which will put its program into effect in tne life of the labor movement.
The two slogans upon which the left wing is concentrating are “Amalgamation of the divided craft unions into solid industrial organizations”, and “An independent Labor Party to combine all the political forces of Labor”. Both of these slogans, issued by the Trade Union Educational League, have been taken up by hundreds of thousands of unionists and are stirring the entire labor movement to its depths.
On the issue of a Labor Party, the League has just finished issuing a referendum ballot to the 35,000 local unions throughout the country. The response has been widespread, covering the entire country over 35 States, and representing more than 40 International Unions. More than 98% of the ballots have been in favor of a Labor Party, with a tremendous majority of them carried unanimously. This is all the more significant as the ballot was accompanied by the Manifesto of the T.U.E.L. on the question, which definitely sets up a revolutionary goal for such a Party.
The Amalgamation slogan has had even wider acceptance. The resolution originally put forth by the League has been endorsed by organizations representing approximately 1,500,000 members. This includes 13 State Federations of Labor, seven International Unions, and scores of city central bodies, not to speak of the thousands of local unions. Ideologically, the rank and file have been won over to these slogans – of that there can be no doubt.
All this has created a panic among the Gompers bureaucrats. Almost every official journal of the large unions is carrying on the most vicious propaganda against the League and its secretary, Wm. Z. Foster. Headed by the American Federationist, organ of Samuel Gompers, which devotes several pages every month to denouncing the League, its Secretary and its program of Amalgamation and a Labor Party, the trade union official press is doing its utmost to rally the rank and file against the new force which is challenging the old leadership. The League is described as “the arm of Lenin in America”, and the workers are frantically warned not to have anything to do with it.
After one year of work under this barrage of official denunciation, the League is stronger than ever. Not being able to check it from the inside, the labor leaders have turned to the Government for assistance, which was promptly forthcoming. The trial of Wm. Z. Foster, one of 32 Communists arrested in the State of Michigan as the result of this great movement, is already known throughout the world. The failure to convict Foster in his first trial was a great blow to the Gompers machine; but now that Ruthenberg has been held to be guilty, they have renewed their promises to send Foster to prison.
The capitalist daily press during all this time has been full of attacks upon Foster and the League. It has also been lavish with advice to Gompers and Co., as to the best method of stopping the “red menace. Thus the Chicago Journal of Commerce said: “The cause of unionism demands the expulsion of every leader of the Foster type”. So far the bureaucracy, feeling the sentiment of the rank and file and fearing the result, has not accepted this advice. It is now, while this is written, feeling its way along this road by threatening to revoke the charters of several city central bodies which have adopted the amalgamation program.
The creation of the left wing groups throughout the various industries, with a program for each fitted closely to the immediate needs of the struggle therein, is now an accomplished fact. The fruits of more than a year’s untiring effort by thousands of militant unionists are to be seen in the fact that well-coordinated bodies are now established in each major industry which are playing a forceful part in the life of the unions.
Today, the left wing has the following International Committees (covering the United States and Canada) which are carrying on intense propaganda and organization work:
International Committee for Amalgamation in the Railroad Industry – International Committee for Amalgamation in the Metal Industry – International Committee of the Needle Trades Section – Trade Union Educational League – General Committee for Amalgamation of All Unions in the Food Industry – General Amalgamation Committee of the Textile Industry – International Committee for Amalgamation in the Printing Trades – International Committee of the Shoe and Leather Industry – International Committee for Amalgamation in the Building Trades – Progressive International Committee of the United Mine Workers of America
Some of these Committees have held Conferences of delegates from all over North America, and others are preparing Conferences for the near future. One of the most important of the latter is the Conference of the Progressive Miners to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 2nd and 3rd. Alex Howat is touring the mining districts organizing the left wing for that Conference which, it is confidently expected, is to mark the beginning of a life-and-death struggle with the bureaucrats.
The Second General Conference of the entire left wing movement has been called by the Trade Union Educational League, to be held in Chicago on September 1st and 2nd. This Conference will be the first at which well-defined organization of the revolutionists in every industry and covering the entire United States and Canada will be represented by tried and true fighters with a program which, based upon the general program of the Red International, will establish revolutionary unionism as a permanent factor in the intimate life of the American working class.
Last updated on 13 October 2021