Sam Dolgoff

The American Labor Movement: A New Beginning

published in 1980 b Resurgence

Ethics and the Unions - Part 1 Ethics and the Unions - Part 2 The Labor Party Illusion Re olutionary Tendencies in !merican Labor - Part 1 Re olutionary Tendencies in !merican Labor - Part 2 "otes for a Discussion on the Regeneration of the !merican Labor #o ement

!thics and the "nions # $art 1

Ethics are the morals$ the conce%ts$ and ideals &hich &e li e by' The %rogress of a society cannot be measured solely by the e(tent of its technological de elo%ment' Economic realities$ are of course$ fundamentally im%ortant )ut if the ethical alues of a society do not measure u% to its technology$ this ery technology may &ell become an instrument for mass suicide the %aramount %roblem in this atomic age$ is to a ery great e(tent$ an ethical one' *ithin the labour mo ement$ there are$ broadly s%ea+ing$ t&o main tendencies that are as far a%art as t&o &orlds--the &orld of the sla e &ho yearns to be free and the &orld of the master &ho &ants to +ee% him in chains *hat is right for the master is &rong for the sla e' ,ne is conser ati e and o%%ortunistic &hile the other is re olutionary and dynamic' The ethics of the labour bureaucrats are those of the de%ra ed busi-ness community of &hich they consider themsel es a %art' *ith its huge membershi%$ its bulging treasuries and its %olitical influence$ business unionism$ as re%resented by the !-L-.I, is an unhealthy mo ement' Since its officialdom are the de facto masters and not the ser ants of the membershi%$ it is essentially an anti-&or+ing class mo ement' There &as a time &hen the !merican labour mo ement &as ins%ired by a noble$ re olutionary idea/ the emanci%ation of the &or+ers from &age sla ery' Unions &ere ins%ired by the ision of a free$ coo%erati e common&ealth dedicated to the ha%%iness and free creati e de elo%-ment of e ery human being' Labor &as most militant &hen in igorated by these ideals Its ethics &ere those of a re olutionary mo ement stri ing for a better &orld' These ethics and these ideals are as alid today as they &ere yesterday and &ill be tomorro&' The contrast bet&een the re olutionary labour mo ement and the ca%italist defenders of 0business unionism0 becomes a%%arent &hen &e com%are the attitude of the I** and the business unionists The Preamble to the .onstitution of the Industrial *or+ers of the *orld reads/ the &or+ing class and the em%loying class ha e nothing in common the trade unions aid the em%loyers to mislead the &or+er into the belief that the &or+ing class has interests in common &ith the em%loyers the army of %roduction must be organised$ not only for the e eryday struggle &ith the ca%italists$ but also to carry on %ro-duction &hen ca%italism &ill ha e been o erthro&n )y organising industrially &e are forming the ne& society &ithin the shell of the old' The self-identification of the business unionist &ith the rest of the ca%italist system &as affirmed by Samuel 1om%ers$ a founder and 2e(ce%t for one term3 %erennial President of the !-L' In 1456$ 1om%ers declared that 7socialism is economically$ socially and indus-trially &rong - an im%ossibility0 In 1588$ 1om%ers hel%ed found and later became ice-%resident of the "ational .i ic -ederation$ an alliance of labour leaders$ industrialists and ban+ers dedicated to co-o%eration bet&een the &or+ers and their em%loyers for the %reser ation of ca%italism 1om%ers7 successor as President of the !-L$ *illiam 1reen declared in 159:$ that;

the ma<ority of the em%loyers sincerely and honestly &ish to maintain decent &age standards and human conditions of em%loyment ' ' ' they do not &ant the e(%loitation of labour or the consuming %ublic and are influenced in all their dealings by a s%irit of fair dealing and fair %lay ' ' ' This attitude &as reaffirmed in the constitution of the !-L It &as also e(%ressed by Da id Dubins+y$ President of the International Ladies 1arment *or+ers Union 2IL1*U3 2no& deceased3$ &ho told re%orters of the "e& =or+ Times 2>une 5$ 15:? that 7 labour needs ca%italism li+e a fish needs &ater' The !merican labour mo ement as it e(ists today$ is the result of the interaction$ o er many decades$ of business unionism and re o-lutionary unionism' Its ma<or defects stem from the former and its constructi e tendencies come from the latter' It is necessary to e(-amine the re olutionary syndicalist tradition of the !merican labour mo ement$ the better to understand the %ath that must be follo&ed for its regeneration and further %rogress 2"ote the term 0re olu-tionary unionism0 is meant to denote dedicated radicals o%enly com-mitted to the o erthro& of ca%italism and establishment of a free$ classless and stateless society' The term also includes unconscious radicals &hose acts of rebellion--direct economic action$ &ildcat stri+es$ slo&do&ns$ etc'--threaten the stability of the system3' %orrupt "nions The main business before the second con ention of the !-L-.I, 215:?3 &as the e(%ulsion of corru%t unions and ado%tion of a 0.ode of Ethics'0 E ents at the con ention demonstrated that the ery nature of such a mo ement made it inca%able of correcting its organic deficiencies or %erforming e en the fe& constructi e tas+s that it set for itself' There is e ery reason to belie e that the accusations of the Senate In estigating .ommittee$ e(%osing corru%tion in the Teamster7s and other unions$ &ere true' !s far bac+ as 159?$ the Teamsters union$ then under the administration of Dan Tobin$ &as considered one of the most corru%t in the country' It &as the main su%%ort of rac+eteering in the truc+ing$ laundry$ %oultry$ and in the cleaning and dyeing industries' Da e )ec+ 2Teamster %resident at the time of the Senate hearings3 &as trained by Dan Tobin$ &ho a%%ointed him as his successor' )ut the Teamsters &ere not alone in this corru%tion' In 1592$ the !-L admitted that t&enty eight of its .hicago unions &ere controlled by gangsters of the !l .a%one ty%e' ,f the fifteen members of the !-L E(ecuti e )oard in 159?$ si( of them headed admittedly corru%t unions' The colossal corru%tion in the building trades &as common +no&ledge' Rac+eteering and corru%tion &ere greatest in the ery unions$ that in numbers and resources$ constituted the bac+bone of the !-L--the Teamsters and building trades' The Teamsters union &as in the !-L for fifty four years' *ithout its su%%ort no one could sit on the all%o&erful E(ecuti e .ouncil$ nor could 1eorge #eany$ himself a member of the %lumbers building trades union$ ha e become %resident of the !-L' It is inconcei able that #eany &as una&are of these facts' #eany %retended that he &as 0shoc+ed0 by the sco%e of the rac+ets' 2"ote; "or has this changed &ith Lane @ir+land$ #eany7s %ersonally a%%ointed successor'3 ,nly &hen its hand &as forced by the labour-baiting Senate In estigating .ommittee did the !-L-.I, create its 0Ethical Practices .ommittee'0 It should be ob ious that the labour bosses are afraid to do more than scratch the surface' They shrin+ from underta+ing a thorough$ honest in estigation of the !merican labour mo ement$ because such an in estigation &ould %ro e that business unionism is rotten to the core and that the !-L-.I, as a &hole$ must share res%onsibility for the notorious character and conduct of the accused unions'

*hat the .ode of Ethics does ",T mention is more im%ortant than &hat it D,ES' "othing is said about narro&ing the ga% bet&een the s&ollen salaries of many union officials and the lo& &ages of the dues%ayers' "othing is said about the ma+ing of binding$ long term agreements &ith the bosses &ithout a referendum of the membershi%' "othing is said about the %o&er to call or forbid stri+es or the general attitude of 0buddy buddy0 bet&een the bosses of the unions and the bosses of industry' "othing is aid about the endorsement of %olitical candidates or su%%ort of the im%erialist %olicies of the state' It is little &onder that such s%o+esmen of big business as the "e& =or+ Times and The *all Street >ournal enthusiastically %raised the !-L-.I, .ode of Ethics as a model of 0labour statesmanshi%0' This is a ca%italist code' It is unethical for labour$ because its ethics are the ethics of ca%italism' &!thical& Business "nions "ot all !merican unions are totalitarian or infested &ith rac+eteers and other corru%t elements' ! fe& unions such as the International Ty%ogra%hers Union$ can be considered free of this taint' The United !utomobile *or+ers 2U!*3 and the International Ladies 1arment *or+ers Union 2IL1*U3 do not com%are &ith the ty%ogra%hers in this res%ect$ although they do meet the standards set by the !-L-.I, .ode of Ethics' )ut the %roblem is really much dee%er$ since the conce%t held by e en the best leaders of the best unions is not a genuine &or+ing class ethical conce%t' These leaders$ almost &ithout e(ce%tion$ identify themsel es and their interests &ith the business and bureaucratic &orld around them' Erring union leaders ha e often been urged to emulate the alleged high ethical standards of these unions' -or e(am%le$ The "e& =or+ Post 2#ay 1st$ 15:? carried the follo&ing dis%atch; ' ' Lamar$ #issouri The &hite frame house &here President Aarry S' Truman &as born on #ay 4$ 1446$ &as %urchased yesterday by the United !utomobile *or+ers &hich %lans to ma+e it into a shrine'''' The gentleman &ho ga e the order to dro% the first atom bomb in history on defenceless ci ilians/ &ho$ in a sense$ inaugurated the %eriod of greatest danger and insecurity e er +no&n$ is thus honoured by the leadershi% of the U!*B *hat are the ethical im%lications of such e(%enditures of union fundsC ! headline in the ,ctober 15:? issue of The !uto *or+er$ official organ of the U!* reads; ' 'PR,PAET ,- .!PIT!LIS# - )lac+%ool$ England; "e&s%a%ers of e ery shade of o%inion agreed that Reuther had aroused a normally unemotional audience to cheers &ith an e(%osition of the irtues of !merican %ri ate enter%rise in contrast &ith )ritish Socialism' TAE "!TI,"!L !SS,.I!TI," ,- #!"U-!.TURERS #UST )E -L!))ER1!STEDB ' ' ' In the same issue of the !uto *or+er there a%%eared the digest of an article by #onsignor Aiggins &hich had originally been %ublished in a Detroit .atholic %eriodical' In this article$ Aiggins &ent out of his &ay to defend Reuther against the charge that he &as a socialist' Ae demonstrated that Reuther7s %olicy of %eaceful coe(istence bet&een 0management$0 go ernment and labour &as good .atholic labour doctrine' The charge that Reuther &as a socialist is un<ust and Reuther deser es the res%ect of e ery .atholic %riest and layman' !nother e(am%le; In 15:? the "e& =or+ Post %ublished a series of biogra%hical articles on Da id Dubins+y' The fourth article in the series re eals that Dubins+y had been !PP,I"TED Secretary Treasurer of the IL1*U in 1525 and President in 1592$ ha ing held both these %osts e er since' The Post inter ie&er recorded his con ersation &ith Dubins+y on this %oint;

' ' ' I as+ed Dubins+y &hether he &as not troubled$ at least %hiloso%hically$ by such concentration of %o&er' It is characteristic of him that he &as com%letely untroubled' 7Sure7$ he concluded$ 7' ' ' &ith a croo+ed President$ it is good to ha e an inde%endent Secretary Treasurer' )ut in an honest union$ &hat7s the %roblemC7 ' ' ' he had a similar lac+ of an(iety about the ease &ith &hich the 1eneral E(ecuti e )oard can discharge local officials' E ery %aid official$ %rior to assuming his duties$ has to submit resignation to International headDuarters' ,ne need not be a legal e(%ert to see that this %ro ision could easily be used to ictimise a dissident faction of the union ' ' ' 7.an it be misusedC7 7Sure' I concede the %oint' I7m not &orried about my successor' ' '7 E,b iously$ Dubins+y im%lied that he &ould designate his successor and see to it that he &ill abide by his standards'F The alternati es to democratic self-rule - in unions as &ell as society at large - is the dictatorshi% of a minority' E ery leader is a %oten-tial dictator$ and once they get sufficient %o&er$ they &ill not let it sli% from their hands' They build a 0machine0 to hel% them stay in office' "o matter ho& bad a situation may be$ the leaders do not &ant the members to do the house-cleaning$ as they might go 0too far0 and s&ee% TAE# out of office' The relations bet&een the members and their leaders in these centralised business unions is a disru%ted$ unhealthy one' In the beginning$ &hen a union is young$ this may not be noticed/ the seeds of degeneration need time to s%rout and gro&' 1radually$ the union de elo%s something resembling a military-ty%e caste system' !ny organiGation in &hich decisions are made at the to%$ and obeyed by the ran+s belo&$ transmitted through a chain of command$ as in an army$ is essentially totalitarian' It is not a true community of labour$ &hich im%lies an association of eDuals ma+ing decisions and carrying them out <ointly' Union leaders themsel es are neither better nor &orse than other %eo%le' They may ha e the best intentions$ e en idealistic' Reuther$ Dubins+y and so many others &ere once socialists$ but the e(ercise of %o&er o er others corru%ts and erodes their %ersonalities' The original leaders may still retain a modicum of honesty and %rinci%les$ being emotionally attached to the ran+-and-file from &hich they ha e lately emerged' )ut as time goes on they--or in any case their successors--become decisi ely influenced by the com%any they +ee%' They enter into friendly relations &ith the em%loyers and unconsciously absorb the ethics of ca%italist society' Hery fe& indi iduals can resist the tem%tations of %o&er and %restige$ and those fe&$ ne er become good business unionists' !s the original leaders die or retire$ they are succeeded by %rofessional careerists and union %oliticians &ho are %romoted from the lo&er ran+s of the bureaucracy or brought in from the outside' These ne&comers are e en further remo ed from the &or+ers on the <ob and are still more cynical' The %rocess of degeneration continues until it is interru%ted or bro+en by a re olt in the ran+s' These facts$ sur%risingly enough$ &ere confirmed in 15:?$ by a no less high union official than Le&is Aollander$ President of the "e& =or+ .I, and #anager of the >oint )oard of the !malgamated .lothing *or+ers 2deceased3$ a 0%rogressi e0 business union; In many unions there is little sign that the leaders are e en trying to maintain contact &ith the membershi%' Some seem to feel that the union contract and the com%ulsory chec+-offs of union dues ha e made it unnecessary for them to +no& &hat the members &ant and need ' ' ' too many such leaders li e in a &orld a%art$ a &orld in &hich the badges of achie ement are high salaries$ e(%ensi e automobiles$ membershi% in country clubs and other a%%urtenances of &ealth'

This hel%s to e(%lain &hy the attitude of many &or+ers to&ard the leaders of their unions is similar to their attitude to&ards the President in the *hite Aouse$ the 1o ernor of the State$ the #ayor of the .ity or the )oss in the ,ffice' The fact that millions of &or+ers are indifferent to the affairs of their organisations$ &hich in ol e their li elihood$ sho&s ho& dee%ly the corru%tion in our society has %enetrated' )a+unin7s obser ations on these %oints$ though &ritten o er a century ago 214?13$ remain timely; ' ' ' e en the best of men are rendered corru%tible by the tem%tation of %o&er ' ' ha ing con inced themsel es that &hat they li+e$ is &hat the membershi% &ants and needs ' ' ' the leaders become des%ots$ e en &hile deluding themsel es that they are actually &or+ing for the benefit of their ictims' ' ' ' 'this illusion has %articular unfortunate effects on the morality of the leaders themsel es' ' they become %ermanent chiefs &hose %o&er is sanctioned by &hat they falsely regard as their useful ser ices and the length of their tenure in office '' it is clear that the absence of o%%osition and control becomes the source of' ' 'de%ra ity for all indi iduals ested &ith social %o&er ' 'because of their ignorance and ser ile habits ' ' &hen they %atiently endure humiliation ' ' ' the masses themsel es create their o&n e(%loiters 2)a+unin on !narchy$ %' 266$ 26:3' %orruption in "nions Institutionalised corru%tion traces bac+ to abuse of %o&er by business agents or 0&al+ing delegates0 in the 1448s 2mostly in the building and other trades3' These full-time re%resentati es conducted the business of the union in scattered &or+%laces$ &hich shifted as tem%orary <obs &ere com%leted' The business agent %rocessed grie ances$ sa& to it that em%loyers abided by union agreements and did not em%loy non-union &or+ers$ hel%ed organise non-union sho%s$ etc' !ctually$ des%ite claims to the contrary$ the business agent &as not needed' Ae &as a %arasite &ho usur%ed the %o&er of the &or+ers on the <ob' Their sho%-ste&ards on the <ob %erformed the business agents functions far better than he$ &ithout the built-in o%%ortunities for self-enrichment and lust for %o&er &hich the %ost of business agent made %ossible' ,n this %oint$ >ohn Autchison7s 0The Im%erfect Union0 is &orth Duoting; the %osition of the business agent &as inherently %o&erful Ae &as usually the chief e(ecuti e of his local union$ ested &ith considerable %ersonal authority Ae &as an em%loyment agent of his members$ and if his local union &as &ell-organised$ controlled the labour su%%ly of the em%loyers ' ' he &as the chief inter%reter of labour-management agreements' #ost of all$ he &as em%o&ered to call stri+es &ithout see+ing the consent of the members in some cases$ union officials collected stri+e insurance from com%liant or fearful em%loyers in return for labour %eace ' there &ere al&ays em%loyers an(ious to bribe$ and union officials strong enough to e(tort' ' ' In the building trades the corru%t business agent7s machine - re&arding friends and %unishing enemies ruled their res%ecti e local unions in much the same manner as graft-ridden Tammany Aall %oliticians ruled "e& =or+ and other cities' -or e(am%le$ the dominant figure in the "e& =or+ building trades &as Samuel >' Par+s' Par+s &as chief business agent for the Structural *or+ers Union' Until his death$ Par+s remained on the %ayroll of both the union and -uller .onstruction .o' In the case of the Aecla Iron *or+s$ Par+s demanded I2888 graft' *hen Aecla refused$ Par+s called the 1288 &or+ers out on stri+e$ declaring that the stri+ers &ill go bac+ to &or+ ' ' &hen you %ay Sam Par+s I2888 ' ' ' you7 e ne er done anything for the &al+ing delegates ' ' 0

*hen Par+s &as arrested the Aouse Smith7s union %assed a ote of confidence in him and authorised %ayment of I1888 for legal e(%enses' The "e& =or+ .ity .hief of Police bailed him out' Early in the 1458s$ the .hicago Trade and Labor !ssembly &as ta+en o er by a grou% 7 ' ' ' of self-see+ing men &ho made the &ord 7labour leader7 synonymous &ith 7croo+7 and 7grafter7 2Autchison3 *illiam .' Pomeroy$ )usiness agent of the .hicago *aiter7s Union dominated the .hicago -ederation of Labor' In return for bribes he bro+e stri+es' Simon ,7Donnel$ former President of the .hicago )uilding Trades .ouncil$ collected 0stri+e insurance0 from construction com%anies and em%loyed murderers$ sluggers and bomb thro&ers to enforce his demand for money' 1angsters 0Do%ey -ein$0 )uchalter$ and Sha%iro e(torted %rotection money from both the clothing union and em%loyers' The gangsters em%loyed t&o hundred and fifty 0collectors0 and e(torted fi e to ten million dollars a year for 0%rotection'0 >ose%h !' Ryan$ President of the International Longshoremen7s Union 2no& retired3$ e(torted 28J of &or+ers7 &ages in +ic+bac+s as a condition for em%loyment and o%erated a lucrati e loan shar+ing rac+et' !ll this$ and more$ &as done in collusion &ith the em%loyers and %oliticians' In the 1528s and 1598s 1eorge Scalese$ the notorious gangster and rac+eteer - a former %im% - for some time Hice-President of local 2?2 of the Teamsters Union$ infiltrated and in many instances dominated garage and auto &ashers locals$ retail cler+s$ beauty sho% &or+ers$ Italian butchers and laundry &or+ers locals' #a( )loc+$ President of Local 962$ !malgamated #eat .utters and )utcher7s Union and the District .ouncil of "e& =or+ and "e& >ersey$ misa%%ro%riated millions of dollars from &elfare funds' Ae and his brother$ a%%ro%riated I5:$888 to themsel es for annuities and also became %art o&ners of a number of food stores' )loc+ s%ent I:888 of union funds for a &edding gift to his daughter$ I5$9K2 for tri%s to -lorida for himself and his &ife' Ae stole I2K$?K: for 0e(%enses0 &hich he could not account for' The rac+et ridden International Union of ,%erating Engineers$ forced members in t&o locals to +ic+bac+ :J of their &ages in addition to dues' ,nly 6KJ of the 268$888 dues%aying members &ere allo&ed to ote' Autchison remar+s that ' ' ' literally millions dollars anished from the treasury rea%%earing in im%ro ed li ing standards for the big &igs ' *illiam E ' -ay$ the Hice-President of the ,%erating Engineers Union &as <ailed for e(torting I9K:$888 from em%loyers' *hile in <ail he and his &ife recei ed almost I188$888 from the union' Through business deals &ith em%loyers he became &ealthy renting machinery to contractors' The career of *illiam E' #aloney is$ if anything$ e en more lurid than Da e )ec+7s 2rac+eteering President of the Teamster$ follo&ed in office by >ames Aoffa3' Sid Lens7s detailed account of his career is$ in %art$ &ell &orth Duoting; #aloney began his career in .hicago as a %au%er and retired at the age of ?2 under %ressure of the Senate Rac+ets .ommittee and the !-L-.I, Ethical Practices .ode #aloney o&ned a huge estate at El+ 1ro e$ Illinois$ com%lete &ith a colonial house$ s&imming %ools and stables' Ae had at his dis%osal a I9:$888 yacht su%%lied by the union and maintained at a cost of more than I12$888$ three .adillacs and one .hrysler Im%erial and a *ashington a%artment in addition to his o&n mansion$ all %aid for by the union' The union also %aid his dues at the racetrac+s$ ga e him a ariety of other e(%ensi e gifts$ and e en shoes$ shirts$ and ba+ed beansB

#aloney7s &hole history is inter-lin+ed &ith gangsters and gangsterism In his climb to %o&er he &as aided by hoodlums such as 7Three -ingered7 >ac+ *hite$ .harles -ischetti$ 1eorge 0Red0 )ar+er and similar %eo%le' *ith their hel%$ he &as able to form Local 1:8 in .hicago$ terrorise its dissidents and +ee% the Local under his trusteeshi% for t&enty nine years' Those &ho o%%osed him &ere either frightened out of office or +illed 2.risis of !merican Labor$ %' 18:-18K3' 'el(are and $ension )und *ac+et E en the s+etchiest outline of corru%t %ractices in unions must include the rifling of &elfare and %ension funds by unscru%ulous officials in league &ith %rofessional criminals' )oth the Duotes and information on this %oint is gathered from *alter Sheridan7s detailed &or+$ 0The Rise and -all of >ames Aoffa0; L *hen >ames Aoffa$ President of the Teamsters Union &as one of the trustees of the %ension fund$ millions of dollars &ere loaned by the -und for high ris+ entures$ many of &hich culminated in foreclosures' #illions of dollars &ere %oured into hotels and mob controlled gambling casinos in Las Hegas' ,ther under&orld figures %rofited from The -und by recei ing loans themsel es or being cut in on the substantial cash +ic+bac+s that &ere a condition of many loans It &as the biggest slush fund in history$ used by Aoffa as a %o&er ehicle for the benefit of himself$ his associates and the mob' ' Aoffa &as indicted for defrauding the %ension fund of almost t&o million dollars' In collusion &ith !llan Aoffman$ &hose "e& =or+ State insurance license &as re o+ed$ Aoffa shared almost one million dollars in commissions Haughan .onnolly$ a former o&ner of the E erglades Aotel in -lorida$ recei ed a four million dollar loan for the Pension -und for &hich he +ic+ed bac+ ten %ercent to be s%lit bet&een Aoffa and his lieutenant$ Drano&' ! t&enty eight count indictment 2>une 6 15K93 re ealed that Aoffa and others obtained by fraud$ fourteen loans totalling t&enty million dollars$ from &hich they di erted one million dollars for their %ersonal benefit' Legal e(%enses to defend Aoffa &ere %aid by the union' 1angster >ames Diogardia recei ed a I588$888 0loan0 from the Pension -und' The Secretary-Treasurer of the Laundry *or+ers Union$ >immy >ames and other union cheifs$ in collusion &ith insurance bro+er$ Louis Sa%erstein$ embeGGled o er one million dollars in &elfare funds' Aoffa7s %redecessor$ Da e )ec+ arranged a million and a half dollar loan to the -reuhauf Trailer .om%any' -reuhauf reci%rocated by 0loaning0 E+ic+ing bac+F t&o hundred thousand dollars to )ec+$ buying him a boat$ %ro iding him &ith a car and chauffer and %aying for a si( &ee+ tour in Euro%e for )ec+7s niece and her tra elling com%anion' )et&een 15:6 and 15:? Aoffa too+ o er I4:$645 from a Detroit 1ood and *elfare -und and ga e it to the &i es of four teamster officials in <ail for e(tortion$ and another I98$888 for their legal fees I:6$888 &as s%ent to defend 1erald Donnelly of #innea%olis Local :64 con icted of e(tortion and dynamiting' Aoffa used his influence to get a charter in the Aotel and Restaurant Union for Sam -eldman$ a safecrac+er$ after he &as released from <ail' In one &elfare fund$ more than I588$888 disa%%eared &ithout trace' In Teamster Local 45: there &as no money in the &elfare fund e en though I2:8$888 had been collected from em%loyer contributions' United .ulinary$ )ar$ and 1rill Em%loyees$ Local 529$ %aid t&o union administrators almost as much in salaries as in total benefits to members'

L2Postscri%t; >ames Aoffa &as murdered by his former gangster allies because he &anted to reca%ture his lost leadershi% of the Teamster Union'3 %orruption ,n The National Maritime "nion: -oseph %urran. >ose%h .urran$ one of the chief organisers of the "#U in 159K and still 215K53 its only President$ began his career as a boats&ain 2foreman3' ! good s%ea+er$ acti e in the 159K stri+e$ and &ell li+ed by the seamen$ he &as elected President of the "#U by the .ommunist Party$ &hich controlled the ran+-and-file electorate' !fter ten years$ during &hich time .urran faithfully follo&ed the .ommunist Party line 2&ithout &hose su%%ort$ he could not remain in office3$ .urran e(%elled his .ommunist Party allies and amended the constitution of the "#U to read; ' ' ' anyone &ho subscribes to$ su%%orts$ s%onsors$ or other&ise follo&s a course of action demonstrating membershi% in or adherence to the %olicy and %rogram of the .ommunist Party or any other totalitarian or sub ersi e doctrine shall be e(%elled from the "#U ' ' -rom a re ealing e(%osure of .urran by #'!' Haric+$ for t&enty-nine years a member of the "#U$ &e e(tract the follo&ing; - >ose%h .urran may &ell ran+ as the most corru%t figure in the to% labour bureaucracy' - Ais name is he&n in the roc+ of the se en million dollar building and anne( of the >ose%h .urran )uilding 2national office of the "#U3 - .urran o&ns a &inter residence in )oca Raton$ -lorida and a summer residence in Dutchess .ounty$ "e& =or+' - "#U Patrolmen 2business agents3 originally elected by the members are no& a%%ointed by .urran' - The Patrolmen concentrate on collecting dues 2I128 a year3' In addition$ the men are bulldoGed to buy 0fighting fund stam%s0 at fi e dollars for each stam%' The money has been used to %ay ten thousand dollars for a uni ersity banDuet honouring .urran$ %lus another fi e thousand dollars for a schoolroom named after .urran' ,ne hundred dollars a year is e(torted from %ensioners on threat of &ithholding their %ension chec+s' The fi e hundred thousand dollars e(tracted from this source found its &ay into the %oc+ets of the officials' - The leaders of the .urran machine %ar+ their "#U limousines in the building7s underground garage and ta+e a %ri ate ele ator to their lu(uriously decorated offices ' ' ' 2"e& Politics Duarterly$ Summer 15K?3' 2Postscri%t; >ose%h .urran is %resently retired and li ing in his ultra-lu(urious )oca Raton Estate in -lorida'3

!thics and the "nions # $art /

'est %oast Longshoreman0s 1arr Bridges The same issue of "e& Politics carried an article by R'>' Pier%oint re ealing ho& another .ommunist Party stooge$ Aarry )ridges$ of the &est coast International Longshoremen7s and *arehousemen7s Union 2IL*U3 +ee%s his machine in %o&er' Ae created a <ob trust of fa oured 0!0 men$ full members &ho are gi en the best %aying$ easiest <obs in re&ard for su%%orting )ridges/ and class 0)0 men$ &ho in s%ite of the fact that they %ay full union dues and are under the <urisdiction of the union$ are not allo&ed to <oin the unionB They are denied oice and ote and are allo&ed to attend meetings only &hen they are sitting in a segregated section of the meeting hall' If$ and &hen$ they are finally %romoted to full class 0!0 membershi%$ they must first %ro e that they are faithful su%%orters of the )ridges machine' -ohn L. Lewis: Architect o( the %,2 )ecause Le&is &as in the forefront of the struggle for 0industrial unionism0 and %layed a +ey %art in the launching of the .ongress of Industrial ,rganiGations 2.I,3 he is held in great esteem in many 0%rogressi e0 and e en 0radical0 circles' Perha%s the best &ay to e(%ose the true nature of the .I, is to trace the career of its founder$ >ohn L' Le&is$ President of the United #ine *or+ers of !merica 2U#*!3' The %arent union of the U#*! &as the "ational -ederation of #ine Laborers' !s sti%ulated in its constitution 2144:3$ the -ederation consisted of Lodges 2Locals3 and districts &hich igilantly defended their inde%endence from the domination of the "ational ,ffice' Their insistence on autonomy and unity through federation 2free agreement3 &as in +ee%ing &ith the finest libertarian traditions of the !merican Labor #o ement' Le&is7s %redecessors as President of the U#*!$ >ohn #itchell and -ran+ Aayes$ tried to curtail the autonomy of the locals and centraliGe the structure of the union$ but did not &holly succeed' )ut Le&is$ des%ite formidable o%%osition$ succeeded' *hen Le&is became President in 1515 he did a&ay &ith the federalist structure of the union$ rooted out autonomy and self-determination of locals$ centraliGed and too+ com%lete control of the union' 2see #orton S' )aratG/ the Union !nd the .oal Industry$ %' ?K and Saul !lins+y7s ery friendly biogra%hy$ >ohn L' Le&is3' Professor > ')'S' Aardman &rote that; ' ' Le&is made his dri e for %o&er &ithout any concern for the-' #iners7 democratic traditions and indi idual &ays Ae let nothing stand' in the &ay of the authority and %o&er he &as after' Ae tolerated no dissent$ &hether by members or second line leaders$ in the internal life of the union or in the sha%ing of %olicy in union industry relations 2>ohn L ' Le&is; Labor Leader and #an--essay3' Le&is amended the constitution$ gi ing him$ the President$ the full %o&er to amend the constitution and sus%end or remo e any official for insubordination' Ae told the 1566 U#*! .on ention that he &as/ ' ' ' sic+ and tired of these elected officers in some districts$ &hen &e as+ them to do something$ and ha e them tell me 7*hy$ I am autonomous *hat the hell do I care &hether they are autonomous or notC I &ant action' I &ant ser ice' I &ant loyalty' ' ' 2Aardman3' *uling The %,2

Le&is ruled the .I, in the same des%otic manner as he did the U#*!' Ae a%%ointed all members of the .I, ,rganiGing .ommittees' #ost im%ortant %osts &ere filled by his lieutenants from his U#*!' The Steel *or+ers ,rganiGing .ommittee 2S*,.3 &as headed by a ice-%resident of the U#*!$ Phili% #urray' The Pac+ing Aouse ,rganiGing .ommittee by another U#*! official$ Han !' )ittner$ and so on' ,rganiGing .ommittees had no rights &hate er' They &ere not allo&ed to set %olicy$ negotiate contracts$ call stri+es or ote on any substantial issue &ithout the e(%ress a%%ro al of Le&is' Thus$ in 159?$ Le&is a%%ointed Aarry )ridges President of the &est coast Longshoremen7s Union$ to become Director of the *est .oast .I, organiGation &ithout consulting anyone--not e en .I, Hice-President Sidney Aillman' Le&is7 associates learned of the a%%ointment through the ne&s%a%ers' Le&is negotiated contracts behind closed doors$ &ith the cor%orations in the utmost secrecy' This is ho& Le&is negotiated an agreement &ithin #yron .' Taylor$ .hairman of the )oard of Directors of the United States Steel .or%oration Taylor recalls that; for a time ' the secret negotiations seemed to be off' )ut on Sunday morning$ #r Le&is and #r' #urray came to my house and after a short tal+ acce%ted the formula for recognition of the S*,. in %rinci%le' ' Le&is elatedly declared that the 0' ' ' settlement &as made %ossible by the far-seeing ision and industrial statesmanshi% of #yron .' Taylor''''0 The "e& =or+ *orld Telegram 2#arch 6$159?3 re ealed that 0' ' ' t&o financiers closely identified &ith the #organ interests$ said that they had only %raise and admiration for #r' Le&is''''0 -i e years before in the 1592 stri+e$ &hen the members re<ected a %ro%osed agreement by referendum ote$ Le&is$ against the e(%ressed &ill of the stri+ers$ signed a secret agreement &ith the coal o%erators' !nd it &as this cynical disregard for the most elemental %rinci%les of democracy &hich led to the s%lit in the U#*! and the formation of the Progressi e #ine *or+ers' In the forty years of his Presidency 21515-15:53 e ery stri+e &as settled by him in %erson or by orders to his lieutenants' !mplo er#Labor %o#operation: Lewis 3t le In s%ite of the fact that the U#*! &as al&ays an industrial union$ it has a long record of collaboration &ith em%loyers e ery bit as shameful as any of the !-L craft unions' The U#*! &as affiliated to the !-L for many years and its leadershi% &as %ermeated &ith the 0business unionist0 s%irit of 1om%ers' ! fe& e(am%les of the Le&is brand of 0industrial unionism0 In the anthracite stri+e that began Se%tember 1$ 152:$ Le&is demanded the establishment of the chec+off system$ &hich Daniel De Leon gra%hically described; ' ' ' the chec+-off turns the em%loyer into a union officer$ seeing that he chec+s off from the %ay en elo%es$ the dues and assessments and other money obligations of the men to the union$ and turns the same o er to the union treasury the em%loyer is turned into a sort of financial secretary of the union ' ' In return for the chec+-off$ Le&is signed a fi e year no-stri+e agreement$ ignoring the demands of the miners for more &ages and better &or+ing conditions' *hile the anthracite miners &ere on stri+e$ the softcoal bituminous miners--members of the same union--&ere busy digging bituminous coal &hich &as being used as a substitute' )usiness circles reacted enthusiastically to the stri+e settlement' Their organ$ The "e& =or+ Times$ &a(ed lyrical;

' ' ' Stri+es being irtually e(cluded$ the o%erators ha e no ob<ections to the chec+-off/ throughout$ they ha e sho&n a &illingness to strengthen and build u% the union in all its legitimate acti ities'''' The Times also carried the follo&ing dis%atch; ' ' ' Philadel%hia$ -eb' 12--a huge bas+et of roses &as sent tonight to >ohn Lle&elyn Le&is$ President of the United #ine *or+ers$ by mayor *'*' Ingles$ .hairman of the !nthracite ,%erators "egotiating .ommittee' *ith the flo&ers &as a card &hich %ointed out that besides mar+ing the end of the stri+e$ it &as the birthday of the miner7 leader and another great !merican$ !braham Lincoln'''' 2see Eric Aass/ >ohn L' Le&is E(%osed$ Socialist Labor Party %am%hlet3 In his boo+$ The #iners -ight -or !merican Standards 2152:3 Le&is %leaded for 0''' unity bet&een .a%ital and Labor ' '' only a full %artnershi% could sa e our economic system ' ' ' the %olicy of the U#*! ought to ha e the su%%ort of ' ' ' e ery thin+ing business man in !merica ' ' ' broad minded o%erators realiGe that &ere the U#*! to crumble ' ' ' they &ould be re%laced by something far more sinister and radical'''' 0 In the radio address$ Se%t' ?$ 159K$ Le&is re%eated that the labor unions &ere grounded on the right to %ri ate %ro%erty' The .I, is 0 ' ' ' dedicated to the %ro%osition of the right of the in estors to ha e a %rofit on their in estments'''' 0 In >une 1564$ Phili% #urray$ Le&is7 closest associate &ho succeeded him as President of the .I, declared; ' ' ' in fact &e ha e no classes in this country ' ' ' &e are all &or+ers here ' ' ' e en the di ision of &or+ers into management and 7labor7 turns out to be artificial' #anagement in ol ed %lenty of labor$ and labor in ol es considerable management'''' 2article in !merican #agaGine3 %,2 4eceives 'or+ers The .I, came to %o&er by e(%loiting and di erting into safe ca%italist channels$ the massi e stri+e mo ement of the millions of &or+ers in the mid 1598s' Sid Lens obser es that; ' ' ' leaders of both !-L and .I, &ere agreed on the necessity for circumscribing the increased militancy in the basic industries ' ' ' no one in the !-L or the .I, &as under any illusion that Le&is$ Ailiman and Dubins+y &ere out to build a radically ne& +ind of mo ement'''' 2Duoted$ >ohn MerGan in Telos$ Duarterly$ S%ring 15?:3 Sid Lens em%hasiGed that ' ' ' it &as the mood of the ran+-and-file that made %ossible the .I, and unioniGation ' ' ' there &ere only four .I, organiGers in the Detroit area before the sit-do&n stri+es and the sit-do&ns came as a com%lete sur%rise to #urray and Aillman ' ' ' in 1598$ fi e years before the organiGation of the .I,$ the number of s%ontaneous sit-do&n stri+ers &as 1:4$888/ in 1599$ 412 888/ and in 1596$ 1$9:9$K84'''' 2The .risis of !merican Labor$ %' 1413 In regard to the great s%ontaneous sit-do&n stri+es that shut do&n the 1eneral #otors system$ the Aar ard economist >' Raymond *alsh stated flatly that the .I, had certainly not called the stri+es' *ellington Roe$ &ho %artici%ated in the stri+es$ &rote that; ' ' ' the .I, high command ' ' ' tried in ain$ to %re ent the stri+es ' ' ' the %ublic &as led to belie e that Le&is &as the originator of the sit-in stri+es ' ' ' actually Le&is had no more to do &ith the sit-in stri+es than some nati e of Patagonia'''' 2Duoted$ MerGan3 -rances Per+ins$ President Roose elt7s Secretary of Labor &rote; ' ' ' I +no& for a fact that >ohn Le&is and Sidney Aillman and Lee Pressman 2.hief .I, la&yer3 made great efforts to get the men to lea e the %lants'''' 2She also recalls Roose elt7s ad ice to a grou% of business leaders3 you should not be afraid to ha e the .I, organiGe in your factory ' ' ' they don7t &ant to

run your business' =ou &ill %robably get a lot more %roduction and a lot more %eace and ha%%iness if you ha e a good union organiGation and a good contract'''' 2Duoted$ MerGan3 In 159? Le&is assured the em%loyers that 0 ' ' ' a .I, contract is adeDuate %rotection against sit-do&ns$ lie-do&ns$ or any other +ind of stri+e '''' 0 !t the 159: con ention of the !-L$ Le&is and .harles P' Ao&ard 2deceased3$ President of the Ty%ogra%hical Union$ &ho hel%ed organiGe the .I,$ urged the !-L to acce%t organiGation of &or+ers in the mass-%roduction industries into industrial unions' Ao&ard &arned the delegates that; ' ' ' the &or+ers of this country are going to organiGe$ and if they are not %ermitted to organiGe under the banner of the !merican -ederation of Labor$ they are going to organiGe under some other leadershi% !nd if either of these conditions should e entuate$ I submit to you that it &ould be a far more serious %roblem for our go ernment$ for the %eo%le of this country and for the !merican -ederation itself than if our organiGation should be so moulded that &e can organiGe them under the leadershi% of this organiGation'''' Le&is told the con ention; ' ' ' I stand here and %lead for a %olicy ' ' ' that &ill %rotect our form of go ernment against the 2radical3 isms and %hiloso%hies of foreign lands that no& seem to be ram%ant in high and lo& %laces throughout the country'''' !ccording to the organ of big business 2)usiness *ee+-->une ?$ 15:43 the cor%orations acce%ted the .I, brand of 0industrial unionism0 because as a matter of %olicy$ the mass-%roduction industries %refer to bargain &ith a strong international union able to dominate its locals and +ee% them from disru%ting %roduction' !s far bac+ as 152K$ 1erald S&o%e$ President of 1eneral Electric .or%oration$ tried to %ersuade the !-L to organiGe a nation-&ide union of electrical &or+ers on an industrial basis' S&o%e belie ed than an industrial union 0 ''' &ould mean the difference bet&een an organiGation &hich &e can &or+ &ith on a business basis$ and one that &as an endless source of difficulties'''' 0 The difficulties S&o%e had in mind &ere negotiating se%arate contracts &ith different local unions in the same %lant or icinity$ &hose contracts e(%ire and must be renegotiated at different times &hich could %rolong stri+es and halt %roduction indefinitely' The im%lementation of the .I, brand of 0industrial unionism0 necessitated the creation of a highly centraliGed bureaucratic organiGational structure &hich %ractically emasculated control of the union by the membershi%' )a+e &Le(tists& *hile the 0achie ements0 of the self-styled 0leftists0 &ho hel%ed build u% the %ro-ca%italist .I, has been &idely hailed/ their treachery has not been adeDuately e(%osed' To gi e the .I,$ in +ee%ing &ith the times$ a mildly 0radical0 coloration and thus neutraliGe leftist o%%osition$ Le&is %laced thousands of 0%rogressi es0 and 0radicals0 on the %ayroll' Ae e en em%loyed some o%%onents to his U#*! dictatorshi%$ &hom he had e(%elled$ dum%ing them &hen he no longer needed them' Leaders of %rogressi e 0socialistic0 unions 2Sidney Aillman$ Da id Dubins+y$ Leo @rGy+i and others3 also held high %osts in the .I,' !ttracted by Roose elt7s 0&elfare0 state %rogram$ members of the Socialist Party left the %arty en masse to <oin Roose elt7s liberal &ing of the Democratic Party' Aordes of <ob hunters and careerists/ 0%rogressi es$0 socialists$ communist$ etc'$ each for their o&n reasons$ <oined the .I, crusade' In addition to the %o&erful bac+ing of the Roose elt administration$ millions of dollars su%%lied by the miners and other unions &ere %oured into the organiGing cam%aign'

The I**$ the little im%o erished radical grou%s and isolated indi iduals$ &ho fought so aliantly to e(%ose the .I, fraud and u%hold the honor and integrity of the re olutionary labor mo ement &ere sim%ly o er&helmed by the formidable counterre olutionary coalition' 3idne 1illman: Associate Architect o( the %,2 In 1594$ Sidney Aillman$ Hice-President of the .I,$ summed u% his 0%artnershi% bet&een labor and ca%ital0 creed$ &hich he %racticed throughout his long career; ' ' ' .ertainly$ I belie e in collaborating &ith the em%loyersB That is &hat unions are for' I e en belie e in hel%ing an em%loyer function more %roducti ely' -or then$ &e &ill ha e a claim to higher &ages$ shorter hours$ and greater %artici%ation in the benefits of running a smooth industrial machine'''' 2#atthe& >ose%hson/ Sidney Aillman; Statesman of Labor$ %'6953 In 1511$ Aillman &or+ed out a stri+e settlement &ith the clothing manufacturers$ Aart$ Schaffner and #ar($ for the %re ention of stri+es$ by submitting all dis%utes to an arbitration board consisting of the union$ an em%loyer re%resentati e$ and an 0Im%artial .hairman'0 The agreement stressed that; ' ' ' %eaceful collecti e bargaining gro&s out of the &ill to understand$ res%ect$ and %ossibly e en su%%ort the s%ecific interests of the other side'''' 2>ose%hson$ %'K83 The union %ledged that it &ould do e erything in its %o&er$ to increase %roduction$ %romote efficiency$ better machinery$ and e en to s%eed u% %roduction by instituting the infamous 0s%eed-u%0 system' -or this he &as bitterly denounced by the ran+-and-file members of his union$ the !malgamated .lothing *or+ers of !merica 2!.*!3' The union &as &illing to hel% the clothing manufacturers sol e their %roduction %roblems in .hicago$ Rochester$ and else&here$ on the false %rete(t that; ' ' ' a firm and its &or+ers are in the same boat' *or+ers cannot get good &ages unless the em%loyer ma+es a satisfactory %rofit ' ' ' as a result of ad ice by the union$ needless %rocesses on a coat are eliminated/ deficiencies in organiGation are corrected--e en at times--at the S!.RI-I.E ,- S,#E *,R@ERS'''' 2>ose%hson$ my em%hasis$ %' 6K?3 In accordance &ith this %osition the sentence to the %reamble of the !.*! .onstitution$ concerning &or+ing-class control of the system of %roduction &as later eliminated' Aillman had the dubious distinction of formulating both the structure and measures later ado%ted$ in the main$ by the 0"e& Deal0 &elfare state go ernment of President -ran+lin D' Roose elt' Roose elt gras%ed the ad antage of enlisting the ser ices of a man li+e Aillman$ &hose ideas %arallelled his o&n' Aillman became Roose elt7s unofficial ad iser on labor %olicy and unofficial lin+ bet&een his administration and the labor mo ement' !s President of the !.*!$ and later of the .I,$ he e(erted his immense influence for the benefit of the Roose elt administration' In 159?$ the s%reading &a e of sit-do&n stri+es alarmed .ongress$ &hich threatened to in estigate the gro&ing labor trouble' Aillman &as summoned to the *hite Aouse by Roose elt &ho as+ed Aillman to get the .I, to cut do&n the number of stri+es' Aillman assured Roose elt that he &ould do so$ and the threatened in estigation &as called off In 1568 Roose elt reminded Aillman that he e(%ected him to +ee% labor in ste%' Ae also called u%on him to rally Labor7s su%%ort for his election cam%aign' *hen Roose elt launched the "ational Defense !d isory .ouncil$ and during the &ar years$ he %laced Aillman in charge of formulating and %utting into effect the labor %olicies of the go ernment' Ais o er sym%athetic biogra%her$ #atthe& >ose%hson$ sums u% Aillman7s attitude;

' ' ' his a%%roach &as sym%athetic to 7Statism$7 industry and labor must coo%erate closely to carry out Roose elt7s %rogram' If one or the other fails to do so ' ' ' the State through its %o&er of %ersuasion$ or coercion$ if necessary$ must com%el them to do so'''' 2% 96K3 In accordance &ith this %olicy$ Aillman tried to <ustify Roose elt &hen he ordered the army to brea+ the stri+e at the "orth !merican ! iation7s immense Engle&ood$ .alifornia %lant$ dri ing bac+ the %ic+ets &ith fi(ed bayonets' Aillman denounced the stri+ers as; ' ' ' a small band of irres%onsibles &ho defied their o&n auto &or+ers International e(ecuti es in the midst of a &orld &ar'''' 2>ose%hson$ %' :663 1illman And 5ompers *hen t&o hundred and fifty .I, e(ecuti es came to *ashington to denounce the go ernment7s stri+ebrea+ing and other coerci e %olicies$ Le&is$ this time$ rightfully$ bitterly castigated Aillman as; ' ' ' a traitor &ho &as standing at Roose elt7s side &hen he signed the order to send in troo%s ''' to stab labor in the bac+'''' 2>ose%hson Duote$ %':643 Aillman is still re ered by bourgeois historians$ 0enlightened0 ca%italists and 0liberal0 %oliticians as one of the great 0labor statesmen0 and labor leaders of modern times' ! more ob<ecti e assessment of his career &ill identify him as the man &ho hel%ed engineer the regimentation and sub<ugation of the labor mo ement by the all-%o&erful state' Ae &ill be identified as the man &ho hel%ed forge the 0labor front0 of the &elfare state' 1om%ers and the !-L had al&ays been against go ernment interference and regimentation of the labor mo ement$ not because he &as an anarchist$ but for the same reasons as the laisseG-faire 0free enter%rise0 ca%italists/ &hose 0rights0 1om%ers and the !-L &holeheartedly endorsed$ i'e'$ the unham%ered right to e(%loit the &or+ers at &ill' Li+e the 0free enter%risers$0 1om%ers too$ o%%osed go ernmental social-security$ unem%loyment insurance and other &elfare %rograms' Probably$ as his syco%hantic biogra%her$ Phili% Taft$ obser es; ' ' ' because the increased im%ortance of go ernment economic affairs during *orld *ar ,ne and the friendliness of the *ilson administration to&ards organiGed labor$ softened the anti-go ernment attitude of !-L leaders'''' The 0&elfare0 statist Aillman7s conduct during *orld *ar T&o$ did not differ substantially from 1om%ers7 beha ior during *orld *ar ,ne' It could be said--not &ithout reason--that 1om%ers set the e(am%le later follo&ed by Aillman' -or e(am%le; Aillman$ li+e 1om%ers in !ugust 151K$ hel%ed set u% a "ational Defense .ouncil$ in %re%aration for *orld *ar T&o$ and Aillman$ li+e 1om%ers$ became .hairman of the Labor Di ision' Li+e 1om%ers in 151?$ Aillman too$ called a conference of 0management$ labor$ and the %ublic to discuss increased %roduction$ freeGe &ages$ %rohibit stri+es and$ li+e 1om%ers$ also &or+ out an 0'''effecti e &ay of allaying increased s%reading of discontent in industry'''' 0 Li+e 1om%ers$ Aillman too$ ad ocated measures to 0 ' ' ' o%%ose the influence of anti-&ar elements &ithin the labor mo ement'''' 0 2see Phili% Taft/ The !-L In The Time ,f 1om%ers$ %gs' 96:-96K$ 962$ 9:4-9:53 *ise o( &'el(are& 3tatism

The great de%ression of the 1598s mar+ed the colla%se of 0Pri ate Enter%rise0 .a%italism' It also s%ar+ed the s%ontaneous u%risings of the 0sit-in0 stri+es' The &hole system of human e(%loitation &as threatened' The %olitical state sa ed itself$ and all that &as essential to ca%italism$ doing &hat 0%ri ate enter%rise0 could not do' .oncessions &ere made to the &or+ers$ the farmers$ the middle-class$ &hile the %ri ate ca%italists &ere de%ri ed of some of their %o&er' In regulating the relations bet&een the classes$ the state increased its o&n %o&er and the foundations of state-ca%italist 0&elfareism0 &ere laid' The state could not do this alone' It had to o ercome the resistance of old-line ca%italism$ and hence$ needed the coo%eration of a mass labor mo ement able to control the restless &or+ers' The go ernment of -ran+lin Roose elt enacted 0fa orable0 labor legislation and ga e 0%rogressi e0 labor leaders a chance to fill their de%leted treasuries &ith the dues and assessments of the ne&ly organiGed &or+ers' !t first the labor fa+ers of the craft unions &ould not coo%erate' They resisted change because they shared the economic ideas of %ri ate ca%italism' ,n the other hand$ the conser ati e unions could not underta+e an effecti e %rogram of organiGing the unorganiGed because of their antiDuated organic structure and the <urisdictional %roblems it created' ! s%lit too+ %lace and the .I, &as born' Time is a great healer and t&enty years blurred the differences di iding the ri al factions' The .I, &as firmly established and the conser ati es ad<usted themsel es to the fast that 0&elfareism0 &as here to stay' They must li e &ith it$ and those &ho could not &ould be eliminated' )oth cliDues of labor mis-leaders came to see the ad antages of %eaceful co-e(istence' There &as$ after all$ no fundamental differences bet&een them' The .I, admitted craft unions and the !-L gladly acce%ted dues from industrial unions' They &ere as t&o thie es &ho had long fought o er the loot and finally &or+ed out a settlement' The unified !-L-.I, &as the result' Ri al ca%italists also form trusts &hen it %ays them to do so' 1reed and <urisdictional conflicts di ide them but 0enlightened0 self-interest dra&s them together' The 0ethics0 of e(%ediency are fle(ible' The character and function of !merican unions ha e changed greatly' ! state regulated economy needs a state regulated labor mo ement' The go ernment &ill hel% the unions as long as the leaders can assure smooth coo%eration of a docile labor force' The 0&elfare0 state has come to assume e er greater social functions and has inter ened on an e er greater scale in regulation and control of economic and social life' The state regulates and sho&s an increasing tendency to dominate the &hole field of social security$ business$ labor$ cro% and %rice su%%orts$ utilities$ housing$ etc' This %rocess &as e(%anded and accelerated by *orld *ar 2$ the @orean *ar$ 0defense0 s%ending$ foreign aid %rograms and %rosecution of the 0cold &ar0 bet&een the t&o great %o&er blocs -- United States and So iet Union' The bureaucratic administrati e a%%aratus +e%t %ace &ith the e(%ansion of go ernmental%o&er' Indi idual liberty and local initiati e diminished as state domination of society increased' This %rocess continues ine(orably regardless of the %olitical %arty in %o&er' ! similar de elo%ment has been going on in the labor organiGations' !s the unions ha e increased in membershi%$ as they con erted themsel es into <ob trusts and gone into the field of &elfare$ they ha e established a similar system &ithin their o&n domain' The administrati e machinery has gro&n in %ro%ortion' The labor bureaucracy$ by itself or <ointly &ith the em%loyers$ controls many billions of dollars in &elfare funds' These funds are used to reinforce bureaucratic %o&er and render the membershi% e er more de%endent on the leadershi%'

The dictatorshi% of the leaders o er the &or+ers has been further reinforced by the icious %ractice of industry-&ide bargaining on a national scale$ long-term contrasts and the %o&er to disci%line dissident members' >ust as the citiGen7s rights are curtailed by the gro&ing %o&er of the state bureaucracy$ so are the &or+er7s rights curtailed by the e er-greater usur%ation of %o&er by the labor bureaucracy' Sub<ected to the tri%le e(%loitation of the em%loyers$ the state$ and the union dictatorshi%$ the &or+er has e er-less to say about &ages and &or+ing conditions' Instead of fighting for shorter hours and better conditions$ the &or+er is forced to see+ more o ertime$ and both husband and &ife must &or+ outside the home' The merger of the !-L and .I, &as an attem%t to better fit the union structure to the needs of state ca%italist 0&elfareism$0 &hich reDuires a ma(imum centraliGation o er the &or+ing class' ! military commander cannot tolerate <urisdictional dis%utes in the armed forces' The army must be firmly disci%lined' It must obey as a unit' ! regimented labor mo ement is a ci ilian army and <urisdictional ri alry cannot be tolerated' The state dri es to&ard com%lete control of society' This is inherent in its nature--es%ecially in a %eriod of crisis' State ca%italist 0&elfareism0 is e(%loitation streamlined' !-L-.I, unionism is business unionism streamlined' The ground&or+ is being %re%ared for a totalitarian society in the United States and the !-L.I, is already %laying the role of 0labor front0 in the embryonic stee%' *hen this %rocess is com%leted$ as it &ill be if not halted by &or+er7s resistance on a massi e scale$ the unions &ill$ as in Russia$ be turned into mere %u%%ets of the totalitarian state' The !-L-.I, is no& &illing to acce%t 0reasonable0 legislation$ &hich &ill of course$ be enforced by the <udicial and %olice %o&ers of the state' Tyranny is crafty' It ad ances gradually$ but relentlessly' Ste%-byste% the legal %rocess %roceeds$ until labor is bogged do&n in the legal Duic+sand' The dictatorshi% of the state can be im%osed <ust as readily by a 0labor %arty0 or by 0&elfareism'0 The difference &ill in the last analysis be su%erficial' #ono%oly of %o&er has its o&n logic/ its o&n rhythm/ it is not concerned &ith labels' The 3tatist Trap The !merican &or+ers are already beginning to %ay a hea y %rice for allo&ing their misleaders to lure them into the statist tra%' The bait &as 0fa orable0 labor legislation' -irst$ came the 0%ro-labor0 *agner Labor Relations !ct' This &as follo&ed by the 0anti-labor0 Taft-Aartley la&' "o&$ the go ernment is going to enact yet another maGe of la&s &hich &ill finally stra% the labor mo ement into the statist strait<ac+et' Since this essay &as first &ritten o er t&enty years ago$ the gro&ing regimentation of the labor mo ement and its im%act on both the siGe and structure of the union bureaucracy is becoming more and more ob ious' 0*elfare statist0 !A Ras+in labor e(%ert of the "e& =or+ Times$ ta+es note of this de elo%ment' traditionally and in ariable ' ' ' union leadershi% came out of the &or+%lace )ut a Duite different trend has asserted itself ' ' ' e er since -ran+lin D Roose elt7s 0"e& Deal0 %ut a bedroc+ of la& under collecti e bargaining$ union Presidents ha e had to be e(%erts in an e er-e(%anding com%endium of statutes co ering e ery as%ect of union function from minimum &ages to %lant safety' )ut the need for %rofessional +no&ledge does not sto% here' The mushroom of union treasuries &elfare funds$ and community in ol ement$ obliges labor7s men of %o&er to master s+ills in ban+ing$ real estate$ foreign

trade$ economics housing and %olitics'''' !ll big unions ha e built u% siGable staffs of la&yers$ accountants$ and other s%ecialists to assist their %olicy ma+ers in co%ing &ith these res%onsibilities' )y &ay of illustration; the original agreement bet&een the United !uto *or+ers 2U!*3 and 1eneral #otors .or%oration consisted of only "I"E P!R!1R!PAS' ! fe& years ago the contract consisted of T*, AU"DRED P!1ES !"D ,"E TA,US!"D P!R!1R!PAS' "o member could %ossibly unra el the fantastically com%licated terms of the contract' ,nly a highly trained e(%ert in labor la&$ or better yet$ a staff of labor la&yers$ can dra& u% a contract and a oid the legal %itfalls into &hich the union &ould other&ise fail' The President of the !malgamated .lothing *or+ers$ #urry A' -inley$ is a la&yer$ as is the SecretaryTreasurer$ >ohn Shein+man' The President of the International Ladies 1arment *or+ers Union$ Sol .hai+in$ is also a la&yer' The Secretary-Treasurer$ Shelly !%%elton and t&o Hice-Presidents$ Aarold #olisani and *ilbur Daniels are also la&yers' The em%loyers regard these ne& leaders as 0 ' ' ' ery decent men'''' 0 2"e& =or+ Times ne&s item3 Thousands of s%ecially trained officials and their staffs &ho ne er &or+ed in industry$ ha e already been added to the s&elling bureaucracy$ e en further &idening the gulf bet&een the estranged members and the functionaries' !t the same time$ the necessity of dealing &ith %roliferating labor and &elfare regulations multi%lies the contacts bet&een the union functionaries and their fello& bureaucrats in the arious go ernment agencies' )ureaucrats are by training$ %rofession and en ironment authoritarian minded &orshi%%ers of the state' They ha e$ as )a+unin %ut it 0 ''' contracted the fatal habit of obedience'''' 0 They concei e social change only &ithin the limits of the la&s and regulations decreed by the state' They could no more Duestion the omni%otence of the state$ than the Po%e &ould Duestion the e(istence of 1od' 0-ree Enter%rise0 business unions and 0&elfare state0 unions$ &ith their bureaucratic administrati e a%%aratus$ are themsel es miniature states set-u% to enforce the rules and regulations enacted by the leadershi% against members &ho dare re olt against their tyranny'

The Labor $art ,llusion

The cry for a Labor Party is again being heard from all sides' Some of the 3ocialist $art %eo%le are agitating for it' The Trots+yites are currently in fa or of it and E1eorgeF #eany 2no& deceased3$ President of the !-L-.I,$ climbs on and off the band-&agon as the s%irit mo es him or as %olicy considerations dictate' !gitation for a labor %arty is almost as old as the labor mo ement itself "umerous beginnings in this direction ha e at times been made' In 1428$ the 'or+ingmen0s $art in "e& =or+ recei ed K$888 out of 21$888 otes cast$ a higher %ro%ortion than any other inde%endent mo ement has since achie ed' !t times$ the sentiment for a Labor Party has been confined to small radical and liberal grou%s on the fringes of the broader labor mo ement !t other times$ %o&erful coalitions &ith a mass follo&ing$ including unions and farmer7s organiGations$ ha e organiGed large mass mo ements such as the $opulists of the last century and the t&o 0Progressi e Parties0 of Robert La -ollette and Aenry *allace' !t the 159K con ention of the !-L$ 186 delegates$ re%resenting a %o&erful bloc of unions$ small$ and large$ came close to committing the -ederation to &or+ing for the establishment of a Labor Party' Such a %olicy &ould ha e been the re ersal of the traditional %osition &hich called for re&arding our friends and %unishing our enemies$0 among the Re%ublican and Democratic Parties ,ther e(am%les of Labor Party attem%ts ha e been the American Labor $art in "e& =or+ State and the )armer Labor $art in #innesota and surrounding states' In addition to those &ho ha e &anted a distinct %olitical %arty of labor based on the unions$ inde%endent of and in o%%osition to the old line %arties$ there ha e been organiGations such as the 3ocialist $art $ that oscillated bet&een running their o&n candidates and su%%orting ca%italist 0friends of labor0 Des%ite their differences$ all the radical tendencies su%%orting %arliamentary action by the &or+ers base their attitudes on the belief that such action can in some &ay alle iate or cure social ills' Those &ho fa or inde%endent electoral action by labor reason that 0the United States is a democracy in &hich the ma<ority rules' *e$ the &or+ers$ farmers$ and small businessmen$ are the ma<ority of the %eo%le' *e ha e oted for the Re%ublicans and the Democrats and they ha e betrayed us' *e must no& establish a %olitical %arty controlled by oursel es and run our o&n candidates' They &ill surely be elected$ since &e ha e a ma<ority' Then$ the go ernment controlled b us &ill legislate in our fa or0 !t first sight this a%%ears reasonable' *hat could be sim%lerC Ao&e er$ a closer e(amination re eals that this argument is based on fundamental %olitical and economic misconce%tions' The idea of a Labor Party is based on the &ides%read myth that in a democracy the ma<ority rules' This is a myth that must be e(%osed' Leon )lum$ the eminent -rench %olitician$ &hose ast and unsa ory e(%erience Dualifies him as an e(%ert on the sub<ect$ remar+ed that; ' ' ' the %arliamentary regime is a regime of P!RTIES' >ean >acDues Rousseau$ the %hiloso%her of democratic go ernment$ &ould not endorse re%resentati e go ernment as it is %racticed today' In The Social .ontract$ Rousseau &rote that the de%uties of the %eo%le cannot and should not be the %eo%le7s

re%resentati es' ' ' 'they can only be its ser ants' ' ' 'The moment that %eo%le gi e %o&er to their re%resentati es they abdicate their liberty' ' ' The fundamental %rinci%le of EHER= %olitical %arty$ regardless of the form of go ernment$ is the same' H',' @ey$ %rofessor of go ernment at =ale Uni ersity$ in his %enetrating analysis$ Parties$ Politics$ and Pressure 1rou%s has this to say; ' ' 'it is sometimes said that the method by &hich a %arty see+s to gain control of the go ernment is the uniDue characteristic of the %arty or the grou% The !merican %arty uses %eaceful methods of cam%aigning and a%%eal for to gain %o&er$ &hich is said to differentiate it from other factions' ' ' '&hich struggle for %o&er by use of military force' ' ' ' ' ' the theory is ad anced that the modern %arty and the democratic electoral %rocess are but a sublimation$ %erha%s tem%orary$ of the tendency to resort to force to gain control of the go ernment' This theory gi es a clue to the nature of the %arty struggle' The term 0%arty0 is a%%lied eDually to the %eaceful %arties of !merica and the .ommunist Party of Russia$ the "aGi Party of 1ermany$ and the -ascist Party of Italy The methodology of these %arties aries$ but their fundamental ob<ecti e--to %lace and +ee% their leaders in control of the go ernment is the same' ' ' ! ca%italist democracy is a com%etiti e society &here %redatory %ressure grou%s struggle for &ealth and %restige and <oc+ey for %o&er' )ecause such a society lac+s inner cohesion$ it cannot disci%line itself' It needs an organism &hich &ill a%%ease the %ressure grou%s by satisfying some of their demands and %re ent conflicts bet&een them from u%setting the stability of the system' The go ernment %lays this role and in the %rocess enacts more and more la&s' The bureaucratic go erning a%%aratus thus becomes a class in itself &ith interests of its o&n$ and becomes e er-more firmly entrenched as it e(tends its influence' The end result of this %rocess &ill be reached &hen the state assumes o&nershi% andNor control o er the &hole of society establishing state ca%italism$ or if you %refer$ state 0socialism'0 !t this stage in its drift to&ard totalitarianism$ go erning grou%s cannot rule alone' They need the financial and moral su%%ort at any gi en time$ of the most of the influential %o&er grou%s; the financiers$ the labor mo ement$ the farmers$ the %ress$ the .hurch$ as &ell as the military and ci ilian bureaucracies' Des%ite their differences$ all these grou%s and institutions are inter-de%endent and no one of them can stand alone &ithout leaning on the others' Parliamentary democracy$ is at this stage$ the %olitical system &hich safeguards the un<ust economic and social order' The actual rulers in a %arliamentary democracy are the %rofessional %oliticians' In theory they are su%%osed to re%resent the %eo%le$ but in fact they rule o er them' They do not re%resent' They decide' This is &hy Pierre >ose%h Proudhon$ the anarchist thin+er$ said$ 0 ' ' ' Parliament is a +ing &ith K88 heads' ' '0 The %olitical %arties$ or more accurately$ the inner cliDue that controls them$ select the candidates for &hom the %eo%le ote' The candidates e(%ress the &ill of the %arty and not that of the %eo%le' The %latforms of the contending %arties are ad<usted to tric+ the oters into balloting for their candidates' Then the immense machinery of mass hy%notism goes into high gear' The %ress$ the radio$ tele ision and the %ul%it brain&ash the %ublic' The stu%efied oters cast their ballots for candidates they ne er nominated and ne er +ne&$ &hose ery names they forget$ and &hose %latforms they ha e ne er read' The electoral s&indle is o er' The oters go bac+ to &or+ 2or to loo+ for &or+3 and the %oliticians are free to decide the destinies of the millions as they see fit' The democratic system is actually a dictatorshi% %eriodically rene&ed at election time'

Political machines see+ to %er%etuate themsel es by all sorts of tric+s' They sidetrac+$ channeliGe and emasculate the %o%ular &ill' "e& %oliticians try to dis%lace old ones by changing electoral la&s/ &hile entrenched %oliticians defend out&orn electoral systems &hen they feel that the ne& la&s might &ea+en their %ositions and %erha%s e en abolish their sinecures' -or e(am%le; the %oliticians in the big cities are incensed at the %oliticians from the rural areas &ho control many state legislators$ because they dictate to the cities and de%ri e them of re enue' Re%resentation in many state legislatures is not relati e to actual %o%ulation but according to districts or counties' These arrangements &ere made &hen !merica7s %o%ulation &as %redominantly rural' Since then the gro&ing %o%ulation is concentrated in the cities' =et$ re%resentation remains the same' The Painter and Decorator of >une$ 15K8$ in an article titled 0!ll Hotes !re ",T EDual$0 gi es many e(am%les$ such as; ' ' ' fe&er than 988 inhabitants of Union$ .onnecticut$ ha e the same number of re%resentati es in the state7s lo&er house as the city of Aartford$ &ith a %o%ulation of o er 1??$888--gi ing each Union oter the strength of K4: Aartford oters' )usiness grou%s generally defend uneDual re%resentation' They ha e learned that the conser ati e %hiloso%hy of small to&n la&yers and business men is closely in line &ith their o&n ie&s !lso rural legislators may al&ays be counted on to o%%ose the ob<ecti es of organiGed labor'''' ' ' ' such ineDuities are a ma<or factor in !merican %olitics ' ' ' in the South$ %olitical machines ha e used the county-unit system to become self %er%etuating' In many "orthern states$ high city %o%ulations ha e been denied %ro%ortional oice and ote in enacting legislation essential to their sur i al'''' Labor %arties are no more immune to the diseases inherent in the %arliamentary system than are other %olitical %arties' If the ne& Labor Party legislators are elected$ they &ill ha e to 0%lay the game0 according to the established rules and customs' If they are honest$ they &ill soon become cynical and corru%ted and &ill be s&allo&ed u% by the machine' #ost of them$ ho&e er$ &ill find their ne& en ironment to their taste because they ha e already learned to conni e &hen they &ere o%erating as big &heels in their o&n union organiGations' The administration of most labor unions are %atterned after go ernmental forms of %olitical %arliamentary democracy' ! course in the school of labor fa+ery %re%ares the graduates for %artici%ation in munici%al$ state and national go ernment' *hen they ta+e %olitical office$ they &ill not re%resent the union members$ but rather$ the %olitical machine that controls their labor organiGation' )y &ay of illustration$ let us assume that a strong Labor Party in the United States has finally succeeded in electing thousands of local$ state and national officeholders--as has ha%%ened in England$ -rance$ 1ermany and other countries' The history of %arliamentary labor and socialist %arty mo ements in Euro%e gi es us a good idea of &hat is most li+ely to ha%%en to a similar mo ement in the United States ' The record of the Labor 5overnment &hich ruled )ritain from 156: to 15:1 %ro es that it betrayed e ery socialist %rinci%le and iolated nearly all its %re-election %ledges' These betrayals &ere reflected in both its domestic and foreign %olicies' The direction of Labor 1o ernment %olicy &as clearly formulated by a high Labor Party official$ Sir Aartley Sha&cross$ in -ebruary 156K; ' ' ' I ta+e the o%%ortunity of ma+ing it Duite clear that this go ernment li+e any other go ernment as an em%loyer$ &ould feel itself %erfectly free to ta+e disci%linary action that any stri+e situation &hich might de elo% demanded' ' '

The Labor Party had %ledged itself not to use troo%s as stri+ebrea+ers' ,nly si( days after coming to %o&er the Labor 1o ernment ordered troo%s to brea+ the stri+e of the London doc+ &or+ers' This &as re%eated three months later' The go ernment also decreed &age freeGes and com%ulsory arbitration' The %rinci%le behind these domestic %olicies also guided the Labor Party go ernment7s action in foreign and colonial affairs' )efore dro%%ing the atom bombs on "agasa+i and Airoshima in !ugust 156:$ President Truman had obtained the a%%ro al of the )ritish Labor 1o ernment' The military ad entures in 1reece$ Egy%t$ Iran$ Indonesia$ @orea$ and else&here caused an increase in military s%ending from K52 million %ounds in 1564 to 1892 million %ounds in 15:1' ,ne hundred and thirty si( S%anish anti-fascists &ere de%orted into the arms of -ranco to certain im%risonment$ %erha%s torture and death' The Labor go ernment7s defeat in the last general elections &as %rimarily due to the <ustified disa%%ointment to the &or+ers &ith its actions and %olicies &hile in office' In 156:$ !rthur 1reen&ood 2Labor 1o ernment Pri y Seal3 declared; ' ' ' I loo+ around my colleagues and I see landlords$ ca%italists and la&yers' *e are a cross-section of the national life and this is something that has ne er ha%%ened before' ' ' It is im%ossible for any %olitical %arty of 0Labor0 to reach %o&er &ithout concessions to the 0right$0 to the middle class and other grou%ings thereby iolating basic %rinci%les' Labor or Socialist %arties lose their identity and e entually are found to differ only on relati ely minor %oints from the non or anti-labor contenders for %o&er' Labor Partyism is class collaboration in the %olitical field and it is <ust as disastrous for the &or+ing class as class collaboration on the economic field' There is e ery reason to belie e that the same fate &ould befall an !merican Labor Party if one is established' !d ocates of a Labor Party in the United States could %rofit by the lessons of the )ritish Labor Party' In the com%etition for otes$ the original ideals and %rinci%les &ould be forgotten' The thousands of ne& officeholders &ould become a conser ati e force dee%ly imbedded in the established order--married to their careers' They &ould be constrained to establish ra%%ort &ith the business community$ &ith the agricultural interests$ the clergy$ &ith the middle-class &hose su%%ort they &ill need for the enactment of measures ad anced by them in e(change for li+e enactment of legislation ad anced by other %olitical %arties and factions' The Labor Party &ould be s&am%ed by hordes of la&yers$ bourgeois intellectuals$ liberal churchmen$ %oliticians' ,ffice see+ers and other careerists$ &ho &ould infiltrate and alter the character of the Labor Party beyond recognition' The honest &or+ers and radical elements &ould be forced into the bac+ground' ,f 0labor0 only the name &ould remain' The once %roud Labor Party &ould ine itably degenerate into <ust another %arty in the machinery of the state' Such$ in outline has been the fate of %ast Labor Party attem%ts' In 14?1$ the K68$888 member "ational Labor Union$ strongly influenced by #ar(ist ideas$ organiGed a labor %arty 2"ational Reform Party3' Aistorian Ely &rites that the organiGation 0Died of %olitics'0 Though &ritten in 1519 by #orris AiliDuit$ a founder of the Socialist Party$ his assessment confirms our obser ations and remains rele ant; ' ' ' the fate of the Labor Party &as the fate common to all inde%endent %olitical %arties formed by !merican trade unions before and after it' !s soon as it acDuired a%%reciable strength$ it &as in aded by %rofessional %oliticians$ &ho entangled it in alliances &ith %olitical %arties Its %latform &as gradually &atered$ its class character obliterated$ its identity obscured$ and finally it merged into one of the dominant %olitical %arties' ' '

AiliDuit thought that his %arty &ould esca%e the same fate' )ut socialist %arties in Italy$ -rance$ the United States and else&here conclude alliances &ith$ and cam%aign for$ candidates of bourgeois non socialist %arties #atthe& *ohl$ deceased Hice-President of the !-L 2himself a first-rate conni er3 in the debate &ith the labor %arty bloc at the 159K con ention$ in an unguarded moment$ let the cat out of the bag; ' ' ' I ha e &atched these %oliticians in our mo ement' I follo&ed their methods and regardless of ho& they tal+ of their trade union loyalty$ my e(%erience has been that &hen they enter the %olitical arena they begin to tal+ li+e %oliticians$ and ery soon thin+ing li+e %oliticians$ to the desertion of e ery trade union acti ity they %ledged themsel es to become %art of' ' ' The arious factions inside the !merican labor mo ement &ere al&ays shar%ly di ided on the Duestion of %arliamentary action in general and the labor %arty in %articular' There are factions &ho belie e in the class-struggle and also in %arliamentary action' In our o%inion$ tactics must flo& from %rinci%les' The tactic of %arliamentary action is not com%atible &ith the %rinci%le of class struggle' .lass struggle in the economic field is not com%atible &ith class collaboration on the %olitical field' This truth has been am%ly demonstrated throughout the history of the labor mo ement in e ery land' Parliamentary action ser es only to reinforce the institutions res%onsible for social in<ustice--the e(%loitati e economic system and the State' The strength of the labor mo ement lies in its economic %o&er' Labor %roduces all &ealth and %ro ides all the ser ices' ,nly the &or+ers can change the social system fundamentally' To do this$ the &or+ers do not need a labor %arty$ since by their economic %o&er they are in a %osition to achie e the Social Re olution$ the indis%ensable %recondition for human-%rogress' !s long as the means of %roduction are in the hands of the fe& and the many are robbed of the fruits of their labor$ any %artici%ation in the %olitical s+ullduggery &hich has as its sole %ur%ose the maintenance of this system amounts to both tacit and direct su%%ort of the system itself' )y electoral %artici%ation in any form$ radicals actually become accom%lices in the fraud' The !merican labor mo ement today is reactionary' !lmost all the unions are tyrannically controlled by un%rinci%led bureaucrats$ and not a fe&$ by rac+eteers$ &hose ethics are those of the %redatory social system in &hich they o%erate' They %ractice class collaboration and u%hold the doctrine that the interests of the em%loyer and his ictims are identical' This is a secret to no one' In the !ugust 15:4 issue of Harper's Magazine$ Dic+ )runer$ e(-%olitical staff e(ecuti e of the .I,$ &rote; The labor mo ement lac+s its o&n ideas' ,n many of the most fundamental %olitical and social issues$ it is hard to distinguish labor7s %osition from that of the "ational !ssociation of #anufacturers It has ado%ted the mass mar+et conce%t of the big cor%orations$ and its leaders treat the ran+-and-file &ith contem%t' ' ' !ny serious Labor Party that is formed &ill be under the domination of this corru%t$ collaborationist union bureaucracy' The same leaders &ho re%eatedly sold out the &or+ers at the bargaining table &ill re%eat their betrayals in the legislati e bodies' Labor Partyism means class collaboration on the %olitical field' The same disastrous results are ine itable since it in ol es ma+ing concessions to classes &hose interests are diametrically o%%osed to the basic interests of the &or+ing class' Selig Perlman$ the &ell +no&n bourgeois minded labor historian$ in his boo+$ ! Theory of the Labor #o ement &rites;

' ' ' under no circumstances can labor afford to arouse the fears of the great middle class for the safety of %ri ate %ro%erty as a basic institution Labor needs the su%%ort of %ublic o%inion$ meaning$ the middle class$ both rural and urban' ' ' The middle class$ as the name im%lies$ allies itself not only &ith labor legislators$ but also &ith the military faction$ the financial interests$ and other anti-labor %ressure grou%s$ &ho also defend %ri ate %ro%erty and also$ &hen the middle class feels that it has something to gain$ by allying itself &ith these interests' The Labor Party &ill then be forced to su%%ort its tem%orary middle class allies$ for fear of retaliation &hen it needs middle class su%%ort to enact some of its o&n measures' This being the case$ labor is bound to lose &hate er inde%endence and identity it did ha e$ and e entually become <ust as corru%t as the old %arties' Those &ho are beating the drums loudest for the Labor Party are 0radicals0 of arious #ar(ist or %suedomar(ist grou%s' These same %eo%le &ill tell you that they too$ belie e in economic action of the &or+ers and the class-struggle' Some &ill e(%lain that %arliamentary action is necessary to su%%lement and ma+e economic action more effecti e' ,thers$ that it is only a gimmic+ to gain %ublic attention$ or free time on tele ision and radio during the nominating and election %eriod' "othing could be more dangerous to the &or+er7s cause' Electioneering di erts the attention of the &or+ers a&ay from more militant struggles into essentially counter-re olutionary channels' It undermines confidence in their most effecti e &ea%on$ their economic %o&er' In his aluable &or+ !narchoSyndicalism$ Rudolf Roc+er$ deals &ith this %roblem in the follo&ing terms' It is &orth Duoting at length; ' ' ' all the %olitical rights and liberties &hich %eo%le en<oy today$ they do not o&e to the good-&ill of their go ernments$ but to their o&n strength'''' 1reat mass mo ements and &hole re olutions ha e been necessary to &rest these liberties from the ruling classes$ &ho &ould ne er ha e consented to them oluntarily' *A!T IS I#P,RT!"T IS ",T TA!T 1,HER"#E"TS A!HE DE.IDED T, .,".EDE .ERT!I" RI1ATS T, TAE PE,PLE$ )UT *A= TAE= A!D T, D, S,' ' ' ' if !narcho-Syndicalists ne ertheless re<ect %artici%ation in national %arliaments$ it is not because they ha e no sym%athy &ith the %olitical struggles in general$ but because its adherents are of the o%inion that this form of acti ity is the ery &ea+est and most hel%less form$ of the %olitical struggle for the &or+ers' ' ' ' ' ' It is a fact that &hen socialist labor %arties ha e &anted to achie e some %olitical reforms they could not do so by %arliamentary action$ but &ere obliged to rely &holly of the economic fighting %o&er of the &or+ers The %olitical general stri+es in )elgium and S&eden for attainment of uni ersal suffrage are %roof of this and$ in Russia$ it &as the general stri+e of 158: that forced the .Gar to sign the ne& constitution' It &as the recognition of this &hich im%elled the !narcho-Syndicalists to center their acti ity on the socialist education of the masses and the utiliGation of their economic and social %o&er Their method is that of direct action in both the economic and %olitical struggle of the time' ' ' )y direct action they mean any method of the immediate struggle by the &or+ers against economic and %olitical o%%ression !mong these the most outstanding are the stri+e in all its gradations$ from the sim%le &age struggle to the 1eneral Stri+e$ organiGed boycott and all other economic means &hich &or+ers as %roducers ha e in their hands' ' ' *hile the &or+er7s most effecti e &ea%on--direct economic action--is being shar%ly curtailed$ the labor mo ement is sin+ing dee%er and dee%er into the %olitical s&am%' Through its Political !ction .ommittees$ the unions &aste many millions of dollars in %olitical cam%aigns for 0fa orable0 candidates

and lobbying for 0fa orable0 legislation' The "ational AeadDuarters of the !-L-.I, as &ell as most of its affiliated unions are housed in *ashington$ D'.' close to the seats of %o&er; the *hite Aouse$ the legislati e chambers and the go ernmental bureaus' In the com%etition for otes$ %oliticians from the President do&n to the local &ard-heeler in ite candidates to address their gatherings' The labor mo ement is in dee% crisis$ because to a large e(tent$ the membershi% is infected &ith the %arliamentary irus' T1! LAB2* $A*T6 ,LL"3,2N M"3T B! 4,3$!LL!4'

*evolutionar Tendencies in American Labor # $art 1

In his classic analysis$ The I**; ! Study in !merican Syndicalism$ Paul )rissenden Duotes from an editorial in the >une$ 1518 issue of the Industrial *or+er 2official organ of the I**$ Industrial *or+ers of the *orld3 to substantiate his con iction that all 0 ' ' ' the main ideas of modern re olutionary unionism as e(hibited in the I** may be found in the old International *or+ingmen7s !ssociation 2I*#!$ founded 14K63 ' ' ' many items in the %rogram originally drafted by the famous anarchist #ichael )a+unin for the International in 14K4$ &ere ery similar to the 28th century slogans of the I**'''' )rissenden stresses that it is not to be inferred that the ideas of the re olutionary labor mo ement in general and the I** in %articular$ &ere im%orted from Euro%e and grafted on to the !merican unions' The same %rinci%les and tactics gre& out of the li ing e(%erience of !merican &or+ers on !merican soil' They &ere acce%ted because they corres%onded to !merican conditions' The re olutionary libertarian conce%ts of class-struggle$ federalism$ direct economic action$ local autonomy and mutual aid--are all dee%ly rooted in !merican labor traditions' ,ur labor mo ement has a long and honorable record of heroic struggles; The great railroad stri+es of 14??$ the mo ement for the eight hour &or+day &hich culminated in the hanging of the .hicago anarchists and the general stri+e of #ay 1st$ 144K 2no& commemorated throughout the &orld as International Labor Day3$ the Aomestead Steel stri+e in 1452 and the e%ochal battles of The !merican Rail&ay Union in 1456$ the anthracite miners7 stri+e of 1582$ the monumental stri+es under the banner of the I**$ 0)loody Ludlo&0 in 1516$ the great steel&or+er7s stri+e of 1515$ the southern te(tile stri+es in 1525$ the ins%iring 0sit-in0 stri+es in the 1598s--these are milestones on the on&ard march of the &or+ing class' It is these$ and countless other re olts that ha e been res%onsible for all the gains made by labor' -or e(am%le; the great railroad stri+es of 14?? ins%ired Peter @ro%ot+in to &rite t&o articles in the Bulletin of the Jura Federation 2S&itGerland anarcho-syndicalist organ3 from &hich &e e(tract the follo&ing; ' ' ' This mo ement &ill ha e certainly im%ressed %rofoundly the %roletariat of Euro%e and e(cited its admiration' Its s%ontaneity$ its simultaneousness at so many different %oints$ communicating by telegra%h$ the aid gi en by the &or+ers of different trades$ the resolute character of the u%rising from the beginning$ call forth our sym%athies$ Duic+en our ho%es'''' ' ' ' &ould that this flo&ing of noble blood &ill %ro e once again the blindness of those &ho amuse themsel es and the %eo%le &ith the %laythings of %arliamentarianism &hen the %o&der is ready to ta+e fire$ un+no&n to them$ at the least s%ar+'''' Re olutionary unionism and socialist ideas de elo%ed in the course of these struggles' The &or+ers came to realiGe that behind the boss stood the &hole ca%italist system--the courts$ the state$ the army$ the %olice$ the clergy$ the schools and the %ress' They came to realiGe that these institutions must be abolished to be re%laced by a free$ <ust society' #any militants$ understandably %reoccu%ied &ith economic struggles ha e underestimated the im%asse of the dee%er stri ings &hich ins%ire the o%%ressed to re olt' )ehind the struggle for bread lies the cry for <ustice' )ehind the struggle for better &or+ing conditions$ lies the demand for indi idual freedom and

human rights' Solidarity on the <ob and on the %ic+et-line is the economic e(%ression of the inborn feeling for mutual aid' True socialism is much more than an economic doctrine' It is an ethical ideal' It cannot be im%osed from abo e' It gro&s out of the feeling of brotherhood and is forged in the common struggle for noble aims' The direct economic action tendency in the !merican labor mo ement re<ected %arliamentary action in fa or of economic struggle' It re<ected the idea of state control of industry in fa or of &or+er7 selfmanagement and the re%lacement of the state by the economic organiGations of the &or+ers themsel es' Libertarian 3pirit and 3tructure o( !arl American Labor Movement Li+e all genuine %eo%le7s mo ements the unions could be built only in one &ay--from belo&--by the organiGation of the &or+ers on the <ob' Aence the labor mo ement at its ince%tion too+ on$ naturally$ a decentraliGed federated form &ith the autonomous organiGation of the &or+ers in the arious &or+%laces$ localities$ trades and industries bonded together in solidarity for mutual su%%ort' *ithin the local grou%s there &as direct %ersonal contact bet&een the members' Decisions &ere arri ed at by free agreement in o%en discussion' #ost of the organiGational &or+ &as oluntary and the fe& %aid officials recei ed no more than the a erage &age of the &or+ers' Terms of office &ere limited and %aid officials &ere in many cases reDuired to go bac+ to &or+ in %roduction for a definite %eriod before being allo&ed to Dualify for office again' *hether on the union %ayroll or not$ all officials and delegates had to carry out the instructions of the membershi%$ by &hom they could be recalled if they failed to do so' Decisions affecting large grou%s of &or+ers &ere made by referendum ote' "egotiations &ith em%loyers$ calling and settlement of stri+es$ &ere decided by the ran+-and-file &or+ers on the <ob' Terms of the agreement &ere enforced directly by the &or+ers themsel es and grie ances settled$ if necessary$ by means of sit-do&ns$ slo&-do&ns$ boycotts or &hate er other means the &or+ers deemed most effecti e' These$ and other safeguards against usur%ation of %o&er &ere de elo%ed by the &or+ers in the course of their struggles' The gro&th of the labor mo ement corres%onded to the gro&ing need of the &or+ers for solidarity against the bosses and the boss-controlled state &hich o%%osed them at e ery turn' !s local unions multi%lied$ they federated &ith each other to form larger grou%ings$ &hile still retaining their autonomy and freedom of action &ithin their o&n s%heres' It &as realiGed that all trades must coo%erate if stri+es &ere to be effecti e and &or+ers demands achie ed' Inter-city$ state and national federations &ere formed to fill the need for greater coordination in the interests of all the &or+ers' The labor mo ement gre& naturally into a ast inter&o en net&or+ of local communities throughout the country$ e(ercising a gro&ing influence in their res%ecti e areas' !nd this early mo ement did not confine itself solely to immediate economic issues' Aumanity is a social being' .oo%eration$ synonym for solidarity$ is indis%ensable for sur i al and de elo%ment' The mutual-aid functions of the unions e(%anded to +ee% abreast of the gro&ing needs of the members' "either the state nor the em%loyers &ere concerned &ith the &ants or feelings of the human beings &hom they treated as mere commodities' So$ the &or+ers hel%ed themsel es by hel%ing each other$ s%ontaneously and as the need arose' They created a net&or+ of coo%erati e institutions of all +inds; schools$ summer cam%s for children and adults$ homes for the aged$ health and cultural centers$ insurance %lans$ technical education$ housing$ credit associations$ et cetera' !ll these$ and many other essential ser ices &ere %ro ided by the %eo%le themsel es$ long before the go ernment mono%oliGed social ser ices &asting untold billions on a to%-

hea y bureaucratic %arasitical a%%aratus/ long before the labor mo ement &as corru%ted by 0business0 unionism' The im%act of these early unions &as not limited to their o&n members' They also fought bureaucracy$ rac+eteering and the class collaboration of the conser ati e unions$ &hose leaders &ere constantly being e(%osed and &ere forced to ma+e concessions to the o%%osition' , er their heads there hung the e er%resent threat of 0dual unionism'0 !rosion o( Libertarian 3pirit !s these libertarian tendencies e a%orated$ as the unions became 0res%ectable$0 many of them became electioneering agencies for %olitical %arties' ,thers became increasingly centraliGed and$ &ith the crystalliGation of a bureaucratic crust$ the cancer of business unionism too+ o er' Then as a reaction to this$ the libertarian tendency again made itself felt' The &or+ers &ere com%elled to establish ne& organiGations that &ould be more res%onsi e to their needs' -or e(am%le$ it &as the failure of the !-L to organiGe semi and uns+illed &or+ers$ its ca%itulation to the em%loying class and its insistence on creating an aristocracy of s+illed &or+ers$ &hich created an artificial di ision in the ran+s of labor and led to the creation of the I**' In this connection$ #ary @' ,7Sulli an 2&ho in 1452 became the first &oman organiGer of the !-L3 commenting on the great I** La&rence stri+e in 1512 stresses this %oint; ' ' ' "othing &as so conduci e to the organiGation of the I** as the methods used by the three branches of the !-L ' ' ' .atholics$ >e&s$ Protestants and unbelie ers--men and &omen of many races and languages--&ere &or+ing together as human beings &ith a common cause' The !-L alone$ refused to coo%erate ' ' ' as a conseDuence$ the &or+ers came to loo+ u%on the -ederation as a force almost as dangerous to success of their stri+e as the em%loyers themsel es'''' ' ' ' before the stri+e ended the !merican -ederation of Labor organiGations$ by o%enly refusing to gi e hel% to anyone &ho refused to return to &or+$ came to be loo+ed u%on as a tra% designed in the interests of the mill o&ners to catch any &or+ers &ho could be induced to desert their cause'''' "ot&ithstanding their achie ements$ there is no %oint in idealiGing the ran+-and-file as if they &ere infallible' In addition to the massi e o%%osition of the em%loyers and the state$ a great or e en greater obstacle to de elo%ment of re olutionary unionism &as the gullibility and a%athy of the membershi%' 0#other >ones$0 one of the most selfless$ militant figures in the history of !merican labor dedicated most of her long life 2o er ninety &hen she died3 to the organiGation of the miners' She &as also one of the founders of the I**' Aer life s%an co ered the most im%ortant %eriod in the de elo%ment of !merican unionism' In the closing cha%ter of her auto-biogra%hy she sums u% her im%ressions; ' ' ' as l loo+ bac+ o er the long$ long years' I see that in all mo ements for the betterment of men7s li es$ it is the %ioneers &ho bore most of the suffering' *hen these mo ements became %o%ular$ &hen they became established$ others rea%ed the benefits ' ' ' thus it has been &ith the labor mo ement ' ' ' many of our modern leaders ha e &andered far from the thorny %ath of these early crusaders' "e er$ in the early days of the labor struggle &ould you find leaders &ining and dining &ith the aristocracy' The &i es of these early leaders too+ in &ashing to ma+e ends meet ' ' ' they shared the heroism and %ri ation of their husbands' ' ' ' the ran+-and-file ha e let their ser ants become their masters and dictators ''' the &or+ers ha e no& to fight their o&n leaders &ho betray them$ &ho sell them out$ &ho %ut their o&n ad ancement ahead of the &or+ing masses$ &ho ma+e of the ran+-and-file %olitical %a&ns'

The !merican labor mo ement as it e(ists today$ is the result of the interaction$ o er many decades$ of business unionism and the re olutionary libertarian tendencies' Its ma<or defects stem from the former and its constructi e achie ements come from the latter' To better assess the %ath that should be follo&ed for regeneration of the labor mo ement it is necessary to trace$ in broad outline$ the de elo%ment of these constructi e$ %otentially re olutionary tendencies' *evolutionar Tendencies in American Labor: The 18700s The re olutionary-syndicalistic coloration of the early union is a%tly summariGed in this %assage from #ill7s and #ontgomery7s ,rganiGed Labor; ' ' 'The %rinci%le that economic %o&er transcends all other +inds of %o&er found substantiation in the e(%erience of the !merican &or+ers as &ell as in socialist theory$ and the logical deduction from this %rinci%le &as the %rinci%le of economic methods/ &hile decades of alliances bet&een the &age earners and the Eca%italist classesF had engendered the con iction that the &or+ers must ha e their o&n distincti e organiGation$ that the fiction of harmony of economic interests &ith the Eem%loying classF must be sternly re<ected' #oreo er$ organiGation for economic--not %olitical$ or u%lift$ or broadly humanitarian$ or 0educational0--action must be s%ontaneous and oluntary'7 2% ?K3 The labor historians >ohn R' .ommons and #ill7s and #ontgomery indicate the sur%rising sco%e of the mo ement' In the 14987s a federation com%osed of local unions into city councils$ and the affiliation of arious trades into national trade unions &as already far ad anced' !n attem%t &as e en made to federate all labor organiGations into 0,ne )ig Union'0 !s early as 1499$ fifteen trades &ere federated into city councils 2)altimore$ Philadel%hia$ )oston and else&here3' !nd the local federations re%udiated acti e %olitics and concentrated their efforts on economic solidarity' In the 14987s$ Thomas S+idmore$ a self-educated mechanic and a disci%le of Thomas Paine$ %ublished a <ournal$ Friend of Equal Rights$ and a boo+$ Right of #an to Pro%erty' ! ty%ical %assage reads; ' ' ' inasmuch as great &ealth is an instrument &hich is uniformly used to e(tort from others their %ro%erty$ it ought to be ta+en a&ay from its %ossessors ''' as a s&ord or %istol may be &rested from a robber'''' ' ' ' the steam engine is not in<urious to the %oor &hen they can ha e the benefit of it ' ' ' instead of being loo+ed on as a curse$ it could be hailed as a blessing ' ' ' let the %oor lay hold of it and ma+e it their o&n ' ' ' let them also in the same &ay a%%ro%riate the iron foundries$ the cotton factories$ the rolling mills$ houses$ churches$ shi%s$ goods$ steamboats$ trades of agriculture; as is their right' ' ' ' 2Duoted-Phili% -oner$ Aistory of Labor in the United States$ Hol'1$ %'1K53 S+idmore &as not alone in these ie&s' The feeling that not e en election of labor candidates &ould change the situation &as &ides%read' !s far bac+ as 1492 the "e& England !ssociation of -armers$ #echanics and ,ther *or+men antici%ated the I** industrial union %rinci%le of the 0,ne )ig Union'0 -oner declares that the !ssociation 0 ' ' ' made the first attem%t to include all &or+ers in a single association--factory &or+ers$ common laborers$ and s+illed mechanics'''' 0 2%' 18:3 !lthough some grou%s fa ored %etitions and legislati e action$ other im%ortant grou%s ad ocated stri+e action$ including the 1eneral Stri+e' The "e& England !ssociation$ for e(am%le$ urged the unions to accumulate stri+e funds' In 1495 a 1eneral Stri+e shut do&n all "e& England shoe factories 2see -oner$ %' 211$ 2683'

*evolutionar Tendencies: 1880#1890 !ll interested in this to%ic should consult "orman *are7s The Industrial *or+er; 1468-14K8' *e itemiGe his main %oints and summariGe his comments;

The labor mo ement of the 14:8s achie ed the emanci%ation of the &or+ers from the tradition of 0community of interests bet&een em%loyer and em%loyee'0 -ederated trade unionism &as characteriGed by reliance on economic organiGations and trade associations' The e(%erience of !merican labor %receded and; antici%ated socialist theory' "either benefits nor &ages agreements &ould be considered final' They &ould not sto% short of com%lete reorganiGation of the economic system' Labor &ill no longer sell itself to the ca%italists$ but become its o&n em%loyer$ to o&n and en<oy itself the fruits of its labor' The &age system must be abolished and labor &ill be rescued from the domination of ca%italism'

This idea of the antagonistic interests of the &or+ers and their em%loyers &as of slo& gro&th' )ut it is one of the characteristics that di ided the &or+ers and their %oint of ie& from the bourgeois non radical reformers' It &as against their des%otism--%aternalistic or male olent--that the industrial &or+ers &ere in re olt' *are notes that;

' ' ' the !merican &or+er &as not actually o%%osed to machinery' Ae &as o%%osed to the method of introduction for e(%loitati e %ur%oses$ in the hands of a grou% alien to the %roducers' -or e ery %rotest against machine industry$ there can be found a hundred against the ne& %o&er of ca%italist %roduction and its disci%line ' ' ' li+e the other &or+ers of the %eriod$ the factory o%erati es--men and &omen--felt that they &ere losing something of their dignity and inde%endence ' ' 0to find the real s%irit of the times$ E&rites *areF it is necessary to read the labor %a%ers and resolutions of the ne&ly formed &or+ers organiGations'''' 0 -rom the mass of such material &e itemiGe$ a fe& ty%ical e(am%les;

146:; *e see a moneyed aristocracy hanging o er us ' ' ' threatening annihilation to e ery man &ho dares Duestion their right to o%%ress the %oor and the unfortunate''''2The A l$ organ of the Shoema+er7s union3 1462 ' ' ' stri+ers in a mill too+ %ossession of the mill in s%ite of the o%%osition of their conser ati e fello&s and the #ayor' The stri+er7s &i es &ere the most iolent'''' 146: ' ' ' %re%are and ado%t measures ' ' ' to secure the rights and interests of the &or+ers and hasten the accom%lishment of the great industrial re olution ''' the interests of ca%ital and labor are o%%osed ' ' ' the %rofits the ca%italists rea% from the labor of the &or+ers must belong to the &or+ers ' 2resolution of the !e England "or#er's Federation3' 1464 ' ' ' those &ho &or+ in the mills should o&n them ' ' '

$recursor o( A)L -ob Trust "nionism: the 18:0s #ill7s and #ontgomery de%lore the reactionary trend &hich set-in in the 14:8s' They note that there is an im%ressi e difference bet&een the 0%ure and sim%le0 <ob trust unionism of the mid-14:8s and the unionism of the 1498s and 1468s; ' ' ' stri%%ed of uni ersal and glo&ing ideals$ &ithout establishing a single labor %a%er to carry on the a%%eal to the country$ the s+illed trades settled do&n to the cold business of getting more %ay for

themsel es by means of %ermanent and e(clusi e organiGations ' ' ' here begins the se%aration from common$ uns+illed labor$ &hich e entually &as to raise the %ay of s+illed mechanics far abo e the le el of immigrant com%etition 2,rganiGed Labor- Hol'1$ %':?:-:?K3' 4egeneration o( Libertarian "nionism !s indicated in the introduction$ the %attern of the labor mo ement is mar+ed by se ere recurrent setbac+s of the re olutionary tendency' 2!fter %rotracted struggles$ it re-emerges under another form'3 Li%sit$ Tro& and .oleman7s study$ Union Democracy; The Internal Politics of the International Ty%ogra%hical Union 2ITU3 reca%itulated ho& the libertarian structured ran+-and-file unions lost their inde%endence and gradually degenerated into bureaucratic dictatorshi%s' It is &orth Duoting at length; ' ' ' in 14:8 %rinters <oined together to form a national trades organiGation The ITU is the oldest national union in US! ' ' the formation of the national$ and later$ international E.anadianF organiGation did not mean the establishment of a %o&erful central office &ith %o&er o er the local affiliates ' ' for a long time the union &as a loose confederation of coo%erating$ but &holly autonomous locals ' ' ' &hich did not reDuire a central office or field staff'''' ' ' ' no full time officials &ere em%loyed during the first thirty years of the ITUOs e(istence Each local o%erated more or less as an inde%endent entity$ &ith international coo%eration secured through corres%ondence and annual con entions ' ' ' the President of the ITU continued to &or+ at his trade and secured a small honorarium 2&age3 for his ser ices' *ith fe& e(ce%tions$ the President ste%%ed do&n after one year terms ' ' ' organiGation of the ne& locals &as left largely in the hands of the e(isting locals$ &hich &ere assigned res%onsibility for neighboring areas'''' ' ' ' but from the beginning of 1446$ ho&e er$ the character of the national union changed drastically ' ' ' the 1446 con ention hired fulltime national organiGers ' ' ' the official functions and re enues of the ITU increased ra%idly since the international officers continually sought greater control o er organiGing and stri+es'''' ' ' ' by the first decade of the 28th century$ the International E(ecuti e .ouncil had the right to a%%oint an e er gro&ing number of organiGers &ithout sanction$ and could sus%end or other&ise %enaliGe locals &ho &ent on stri+e &ithout %ermission of the international officers ' ' ' the international officers and re%resentati es &ere also authoriGed to ta+e %art in collecti e bargaining$ negotiating on all local le els ' ' ' since stri+es could only be called &ith %ermission of the international officials$ the ITU gradually became a irtual dictatorshi%'''' ' ' ' the administration of &elfare$ union %rinters homes for the sic+ in .olorado$ old age %ensions and mortuary benefits$ etc'$ greatly increased the number of %ersons on the ITU %ayroll$ and contributed greatly to the increase in the %o&er and the %restige of the ITU officers ' ' ' the increasing centraliGation of the ITU &as follo&ed by &ithdra&al from the ITU of thirteen %ressmen7s locals in 1445$ and in the ne(t t&o decades$ the boo+binders$ ty%efounders$ and %hoto engra ers also seceded from the ITU'''' 2%'14$15$ 283 It should be noted also$ that the first 14:8 con ention of the ITU ado%ted a radical %reamble to its constitution &hich read$ in %art; ' ' ' it is useless to disguise the fact that there e(ists a %er%etual antagonism bet&een ca%ital and labor--one stri ing to sell its labor for as much and the other side for as little as they can''''

)y 14?4$ the ITU had deteriorated into a reactionary %ro-ca%italist 0business union'0 Its %resident$ )od&ell$ made this abundantly clear; ' ' ' the &or+ing men desire no di ision of %ro%erty or o erthro& of the social system ' ' ' %rinters ha e no truc+ &ith the communist cutthroats' ' ' '2Duoted--Phili% Taft$ The !-L in the Time of 1om%ers$ % 63 The history of the ITU actually de%icts the tragedy of the !merican labor mo ement from its libertarian beginnings to its ultimate degeneration ' 4istorting 1istor : The %ase o( 'illiam 1. 3 lvis and the Moulder0s "nion *illiam A' Syl is 21425-14K53 one of the most %rominent labor leaders of the .i il *ar %eriod$ des%ite his sincerity and dedication$ does not merit the e(tra agant %raise hea%ed u%on him by #ar(ist and other authoritarian historians' The %ro-communist labor historian Phili% -oner$ deifies Syl is because Syl is obliterated the United -ederation of autonomous locals and reorganiGed the Iron #oulders7 Union into a des%otic 0 ''' centraliGed national organiGation' ' ' 0 The constitutions and by-la&s of the local unions 0 ' ' ' &ere to be sub<ected to the authority of the national organiGation ' ' ' 0 Syl is 0 ' ' ' fought against outla& stri+es e en though #!"= L,.!L LE!DERS ,PP,SED AI# ' ' ' all stri+es must be authoriGed ' ' ' 0 and locals &ho disobeyed &ould get no su%%ort from the nationally controlled treasury' -oner notes &ith e ident satisfaction that 0 ' ' ' no other union had so concerned itself &ith setting u% such a highly +nit ''' centraliGed form of organiGation ''' 0 2my em%hasis3' !ccording to -oner$ centraliGation &as necessary because the loosely organiGed federations of locals had to be disci%lined by a rigid form of organiGation' )ut no one could %ossibly better refute -oner7s arguments that he--unintentionally--does himself$ as the follo&ing collection of Duotes abundantly %ro es; ' ' ' it &as to L,.!L !SSE#)LIES R!TAER TA!" TAE "!TI,"!L TR!DE U"I," that the &or+ers turned for a solution of their %roblems ' ' ' a strong federation of city center labor and trade bodies gre& out of the stri+e mo ements ''' each trade organiGed itself'''' 2my em%hasis3 ' ' ' to the TR!DE !SSE#)LIES goes the honor of being the organiGing centers of the surging union mo ement during the .i il *ar ' ' ' Emy em%hasisF before the end of the &ar the locals constructed a net&or+ e(tending from "e& England to .alifornia to &hich many trade and industrial organiGations created a feeling of coo%eration among &or+ers by aiding any organiGation on stri+e'''' ' ' ' the Rochester Trades !ssembly formed of car%enters$ ty%ogra%hers$ iron moulders$ cutters$ and %ainter7s unions$ set u% an organiGation committee to hel% any trade to organiGe ' ' ' in 14K6 the San -rancisco Trade !ssembly hel%ed the stri+ing iron moulders by going all the &ay do&n to the Panama Isthmus to sto% stri+ebrea+ers'''' ! good illustration of -oner7s authoritarian-statist attitude is his reason for criticiGing 0 ' ' ' the most influential labor %a%er of the .i il *ar era -incher7s Trade Re ie& ' ' ' 0 &hich he greatly admired; ' ' ' its great &ea+ness &as o%%osition against %olitical acti ity on the ground that %olitical action creates a fraternal feeling bet&een t&o antagonistic classes and restrains the &or+ers from asserting and maintaining the rights so essential to themsel es and their families'''' 2all the abo e Duotations on %gs'96K96?$964$9:8$9:13

Ao& -oner$ des%ite his o&n massi e e idence to the contrary could %ossibly reach diametrically o%%osite conclusions is %rimarily due to the inability of #ar(ists$ and #ar(ist sym%athiGers to understand organiGational forms and the nature of order in society' It is their authoritarian-statist orientation that enmeshes them in massi e and insoluble contradictions' The obsession that centraliGation--the mono%oly of %o&er--is an indis%ensable form of order is a dangerous illusion' .entraliGation is an artificial$ im%osed form of organiGation$ born of the lust for %o&er' -ederation is a natural form of organiGation &hich emerged gradually$ out of the constant daily %ractice and e(%erience of li ing together in society' -ederalism is born of the ineluctable interde%endence of man+ind' -ederalism means coordination and self-management through mutual understanding and free agreement' !ll the grou%s and associations belonging to the federation$ en<oy the benefits of unity &hile still e(ercising self-management in their o&n s%heres' .entraliGation s%rings from the com%ulsion to dominate' -ederalism$ on the contrary$ s%rings from the &ill and the necessity for harmony and solidarity' -ederalism means the organiGation of freedom in one of his most stri+ing a%horisms$ the great social thin+er$ Proudhon$ declared; 0Ae &ho says 7freedom7 &ithout saying at the same time$ 7federation$7 says nothing'0 *evolutionar Tendencies: The 1880s Professor Paul )rissenden$ 2The I**; ! Study in !merican Syndicalism3 &rites that; the labor history of the 14?8s and es%ecially the 1448s teems &ith e idence of the radical tem%er in labor organiGations'''' The constitutions of scores of unions 2and of the !-L itself3 reflect$ in arious degrees$ re olutionary tendencies' Thus$ the original 144K constitution of the !-L reads; ' ' ' *hereas a struggle is going on in all nations of the ci iliGed &orld bet&een o%%ressors and o%%ressed in all countries$ a struggle bet&een ca%italist and laborer$ &hich gro&s in intensity from year to year$ and &ill &or+ disastrous results to toiling millions$ if they are not combined for mutual %rotection and benefit'''' The 4eclaration o( $rinciples o( the Metal 'or+ers o( America The Declaration of Princi%les of the #etal *or+ers of !merica is most e(%licit; ''' the entire abolition of the %resent system of society can alone emanci%ate the &or+ers to be re%laced by a ne& system based on coo%erati e organiGation of %roduction in a free society' ,ur organi-Gation should be a school to educate its members for the ne& con-ditions of the ne& society &hen the &or+ers &ill regulate their o&n affairs'''' 2Duoted$ >ustus Ebert7s %am%hlet$ The I** in Theory and Practice3 "orman *are notes that; ' ' ' the reluctance of the labor mo ement to acce%t collecti e bargaining as its ma<or function &as largely due to the fact that it in ol ed an acce%tance of the &age system'''' 2Labor #o ement in the United States; 14K8-145:$ %'1693

*illis and #ontgomery em%hasiGe that ''' failure to recogniGe the bac+ground in socialism of some of the trade union leaders &ould be to ignore one of the real and ital constituents of unionism in the decades after about 1458' 2,rganiGed Labor$ %' :53 !-L leaders !dol%h Strasser--a cigarma+er$ P'>' #c1uire$ a founder of the car%enters union$ and Samuel 1om%ers$ President of the !-L &ere$ among others$ all socialists' In his autobiogra%hy$ Se enty =ears of Life and *or+$ 1om%ers recalls ho&; ' ' ' the cigar ma+ers in the sho%s on the east side of #anhattan$ de elo%ed the %ractice of designating one of their number to read #ar(7s .a%ital or the arious other socialist tracts$ &hile the others &or+ed' I he grou% as a &hole$ contributing the &ages of the reader for the hours lost from &or+'''' The 1448s mar+ed a %rofusion of s%ontaneous u%risings of &or+ers for shorter hours$ more %ay and better &or+ing conditions' In the fi e years bet&een 1441 and 144K$ the number of stri+ers rose from 198$888 to :88$888 and en elo%ed ma<or industrial centers throughout the &hole country' The direct economic action stri+e mo ement too+ on a syndicalistic coloration$ thus rendering many &or+ers rece%ti e to re olutionary ideas' E en the -ederation of ,rganiGed Trades Unions of the United States$ 2founded 14413 forerunner of the !-L$ came to realiGe that; ' ' ' economic action &ould be far more effecti e than a thousand la&s &hose e(ecution de%ends u%on the good &ill of as%iring %oliticians and %sycho%hantic de%artment heads ' ' ' the &or+ers$ in their endea or to reform the %re ailing economic condition must rely on their o&n %o&er e(clusi ely''''

*evolutionar Tendencies in American Labor # $art /

)oundation o( the &Blac+ ,nternational& In the midst of the burgeoning labor mo ement of the 1448s$ the rudimentary re olutionary syndicalist and anarchist grou%s and scattered indi iduals came together$ clarified their ideas$ and e ol ed into a national mo ement' This &as the famous 0)lac+ International0 or International *or+ing Peo%le7s !ssociation--I*P! 2organiGed in Pittsburgh$ 14413' *hile the I*P! had in common &ith re olutionary syndicalism the re%lacement of state by 0 ' ' ' a free society based u%on the coo%erati e organiGation of %roduction$ and the regulation of %ublic affairs by free contracts bet&een autonomous communes and associations ' ' ' 0/ it differed in a ery im%ortant res%ect$ from the 0)a+uninist0 re olutionary anarcho-syndicalist &ing of the 20-irst03 International *or+ingmen7s !ssociation 2I*#!$ founded 14K63 to &hich it has been com%ared' *here the I*#! %ut greatest stress on the economic struggles for shorter &or+ing hours and better &or+ing conditions under ca%italism in %re%aration for the e(%ro%riation of industry and the selfmanagement of the economy by the unions/ the I*P! re<ected stri+es for shorter hours$ increased %ay and better &or+ing conditions as essentially reformist$ ser ing only to %rolong ca%italism' It o er-em%hasiGed 2to the detriment of direct economic action3 armed insurrection and iolence' Re olutionaries li+e the Aaymar+et martyrs$ Parsons$ S%ies$ -ielden and Sch&ab$ themsel es acti e unionists$ soon realiGed that mo ements isolating themsel es from the &or+ers by do&ngrading their economic struggles for immediate im%ro ements are bound to degenerate into im%otent sects' ' ' ' The re olutionary mo ement flourished after it abandoned this suicidal %olicy' !lthough it numbered only about three thousand in .hicago$ the I*P! became$ as Aenry Da id %ut it$ 0 ' ' ' a forceful factor in %re%aring for the great #ay 1st 1eneral Stri+e for the eight hour day ' ' ' 2Aistory of the Aaymar+et !ffair$ %' 1:83' It &as a manifestation of the class struggle and had to be su%%orted' In stressing the crucial im%ortance of direct economic action for immediate im%ro ements$ the re olutionaries accelerated the radicaliGation$ at least to some e(tent$ of the labor mo ement' The re%ercussions of the Aaymar+et tragedy on the de elo%ment of the radical labor mo ement is difficult to gauge--%articularly$ the role of the anarchists' Da id concludes that the I*P! sur i ed intact 0&ith little decrease in %ro%aganda ' ' ' the decade after 144? &itnessed a more acti e$ intelligent$ &ides%read$ discussion of re olutionary doctrines than e er before ' ' ' 0 2%' 6883' In addition to the em%loyers and the state$ the eight-hour-&or+day mo ement had to contend &ith reactionary labor leaders li+e P'#' !rthur$ 1rand .hief of the )rotherhood of Locomoti e Engineers$ &ho to his eternal shame$ o%%osed the eight-hour day mo ement because; ' ' ' t&o hours less &or+ means t&o hours loafing about corners and t&o hours more for drin+'''' The ;nights o( Labor To the e(tent that the @nights of Labor 2founded Philadel%hia3 14K5 contem%lated a 0radical change in industry0 and the abolition of the &age system/ %roclaimed the %rinci%le of industrial unionism and

&elcomed largely uns+illed and semi-s+illed &or+ers$ irres%ecti e of se($ race or nationality$ into its ran+s under the slogan 0!n in<ury to one is the concern to all$0 it could be considered a forerunner of the I**' )ut these sentiments should not be ta+en at face alue' The @nights of Labor$ too$ &as infected &ith the chronic counter-re olutionary$ class collaborationist afflictions &hich$ from its ince%tion$ still %lagues the labor mo ement' Li+e the class collaborationists$ the @nights %ro%osed to achie e their goals$ not by the o erthro& of ca%italism$ but &ithin the confines of the system itself' Stri+es and other forms of direct economic action for more &ages$ shorter hours$ better &or+ing conditions should$ according to the %olicy of the @nights$ 0be a oided &here er %ossible'0 .onflicts should be amicably settled by em%loyers and em%loyees$ and failing that$ by arbitration' Social changes should be made by enacting fa orable legislation$ ia the ballot' Li+e the conser ati e unions$ the @nights maintained that the iniDuities of ca%italism--0free enter%rise0 or state--could be legally corrected by the establishment of &or+er controlled consumers and %roducers coo%erati es' The &or+ers &ould$ in effect$ go into business for themsel es$ out com%ete$ and ho%efully %rice the ca%italists out of business ' !t no time did the coo%erati e mo ement$ from its ince%tion nearly t&o centuries ago today 2&ith membershi% close to four hundred million3$ constitute the slightest threat to the 0establishment'0 ,n the contrary$ munici%al$ state and national go ernments$ and e en the United "ations$ ha e for years encouraged and hea ily subsidiGed all sorts of coo%erati e enter%rises' Under ca%italism$ there is no substantial difference$ in effect$ bet&een such fraudulent 0coo%erati es0 and trusts established by coo%erating ca%italists bent on increasing %rofits ' The %ernicious obsession that the chronic afflictions of ca%italism can be %eacefully corrected &ithout struggles$ imbues the &or+ers &ith a ca%italist mentality' It erodes their re olutionary itality$ and atro%hies the &ill to fight the system' *ith fe& relati ely minor reser ations$ today the %ro%osals of @nights of Labor &ould be enthusiastically endorsed by the liberals$ the 0%rogressi e0 clergy$ and e en the moderate socialists' Terence Po&derly$ 01rand #aster *or+man0 and President of the @nights$ in the follo&ing %ronouncement$ best summariGed the attitude of his organiGation and confirms our obser ations; ' ' ' if the &ages lost in stri+es &ere set aside in a s%ecial fund and in ested in coo%erati e enter%rises$ it &ould be %ossible to amass a sum sufficient to erect sho%s and factories and gi e &or+ to idle brothers ' ' ' but I fail to see lasting good in stri+es ' ' ' a stri+e is a relic of barbarism' ' ' 2Phili% Taft$ The !-L in the Time of 1om%ers$ %'223 The ;nights: Leaders versus *an+#And#)ile The @nights of Labor refused to endorse the eight hour &or+day mo ement' *hile local ran+-and-file assemblies &ere 188J solid &ith the Aaymar+et anarchists$ the official organ of the @nights$ !merican Labor )udget$ a%%lauded the assassination of the Aaymar+et martyrs; ' ' ' Socialism$ anarchism and murder find no defenders in the @nights of Labor' They are the friends of la& and order and are determined that the la&s shall be obeyed'''' Ray 1inger in his biogra%hy of Eugene H' Debs tells that Po&derly and the @night leaders not only urged members not to stri+e$ but actually tried to brea+ stri+es &hen they did ta+e %lace;

' ' ' &hen %ac+inghouse &or+ers com%letely shut do&n the .hicago stoc+ yards$ the conditions indicated that there &as e ery chance of ictory$ Po&derly ordered the stri+ers to return to &or+ ' ' ' the stri+e &as soon bro+en and so &as the @nights of Labor in .hicago'''' 2The )urning .ross$ %'653 The massi e stri+es in the 1448s &ere s%ontaneous u%risings called by the local !ssemblies of the @nights of Labor$ against the orders of the leadershi%$ or &ere grudgingly tolerated &hen the leadershi% could do nothing to sto% them' 2To borro& a sentence from >eremy )recher7s STRI@EB3 0 ' ' ' members &ent on stri+e first and <oined the union later'''' 0 In %reference to the ballot bo($ the ran+-and-file stressed direct economic action--boycotts$ slo&do&ns$ %assi e resistance$ and- in self-defense$ confrontations &ith armed thugs and armed go ernment stri+ebrea+ers' In no other organiGation &as there greater contrast bet&een the reactionary %olicies of the leadershi% and the radical tem%er of the members' Those habitually singing hosannas to the @nights of Labor--and there are far too many--should remember that it &as the 0ordinary0 &or+ers and not their misleaders$ &ho should be credited &ith carrying on the militant tradition of the !merican labor mo ement' Birth Throes o( the ,'' ! tendency$ as the &ord im%lies$ is an im%recise$ ague inclination to mo e in a certain general direction' It is not an organiGation &ith a clearcut ideology and definite %rogram of action' *ith the launching of the I**$ the re olutionary syndicalist tendency$ intermeshed &ith and obscured by other conflicting tendencies and grou%ings$ lost its ambiguous character and became a distinct$ organiGed mo ement' It is only natural that the I** in the %rocess of &or+ing out its clearly defined %rinci%les and tactics$ different and often conflicting conce%ts should emerge' Soon after the first founding con ention of the I** in >une 158:$ irreconcilable differences bet&een o%%osing factions almost &rec+ed the organiGation' The main contro ersy re ol ed around %arliamentary %olitical action ersus direct economic action for the attainment of the coo%erati e common&ealth' Shall the I** remain an e(clusi ely fighting economic mo ement or shall it also endorse and become$ in effect$ an electioneering agency for a 0&or+ers0 %olitical %artyC This &as also the main issue in ol ed in the conflict bet&een the t&o o%%osing conce%ts--state socialism ersus anarcho-syndicalism--&hich &rec+ed the 20first03 International$ as it threatened to &rec+ the I**' The contro ersy &as im%ortant because it$ to a great degree$ sha%ed the character of the modern labor mo ement' The nature of the contro ersy &as clearly s%elled out in Resolution P5$ article ?!$ of the #ar(ist dominated 14?2$ Aague .ongress of the International; ' ' in the struggle against the collecti e %o&er of the %ro%ertied classes$ the &or+ing class cannot act as a class e(ce%t by .,"STlTUTI"1 ITSEL- I"T, ! P,LITI.!L P!RT=$ distinct from$ and o%%osed to all other %olitical %arties'''' ' ' ' the constitution of the &or+ing class into a %olitical %arty is indis%ensable in order to insure the trium%h of the social re olution$ and its ultimate aim$ the abolition of classes ' ' ' TAE .,"QUEST ,P,LITI.!L P,*ER A!S TAERE-,RE )E.,#E TAE 1RE!T DUT= ,- TAE *,R@I"1 .L!SS'''' 2my em%hasis3' The re olutionary members of the I** insisted that the I** must remain an e(clusi ely fighting economic mo ement' ,n the basis of their o&n e(%erience and the lessons of %ast history$ they maintained that it &as im%ossible to unite$ on the basis of their different--often conflicting--racial$ religious$ %olitical$

social and cultural affiliations' The struggle for economic &ell being is the one common interest that unites all the &or+ers' In 1ermany$ England$ -rance and else&here$ 0socialist0 %oliticians and ad enturers infiltrated and e entually dominated the labor mo e-ment' 0 ' ' ' .onstituting the &or+ing class into a %olitical %arty ' ' ' 2#ar(3 drains the re olutionary itality of the &or+ers$ de%ri es them of economic action 2their most effecti e &ea%on3$ rendering them defenseless against the combined onslaughts of their mortal enemies$ the em%loyers and the state' ! strong case can be made for the %ro%osition that 0enlightened0 %olitical action by labor unions for the election of a 0socialist0 go ernment$ or a go ernment that &ill be 0friendly to labor$0 consti-tutes a greater danger to unionism than out-and-out rac+eteering' ,%en corru%tion can be seen and fought$ but the illusion that the state--!"= ST!TE$ can be friendly to labor is hard to dis%el' This %ernicious obsession leads only to the %aralysis of the labor mo e-ment and %a es the &ay for totalitarianism' !ugene 4ebs and the ,'' !lthough Debs$ a founder of the I**$ left the organiGation because it re<ected #ar(7s %olitical %arty %latform$ he must be credited &ith antici%ating the I**7s critiDue of the !-L' Ae sa& the need for re olutionary industrial unionism$ 0The ,ne )ig Union0 of the &or+ing class' Debs7 e(%erience in the )rotherhood of Locomoti e -iremen$ a&o+e in him the necessity to organiGing the unorganiGed and organiGed &or+ers into an all embracing federation of rail&ay &or+ers' The !merican Rail&ay Union 2!RU3 came into being because the reactionary <ob-trust Rail&ay )rotherhoods did not care to organiGe the uns+illed and neglected crafts--carmen$ section hands$ s&itchmen$ etc'--&ho$ according to Debs7 biogra%her Ray 1inger; ' ' ' rushed %ell mell into the !RU so fast that the union officers &ere unable to %ass out charters fast enough to +ee% %ace &ith the flood of a%%lications'''' 2The )ending .ross3 !fter emerging ictorious from the great stri+es against the giant Union Pacific and 1reat "orthern Railroads$ the !RU launched a nation&ide boycott in su%%ort of the stri+ing em%loyees of the Pullman Palase .ar .o' The boycott actually became a stri+e &hen the !RU refused to mo e trains carrying Pullman cars' The stri+e$ &hich ga e e ery e idence of success$ &as brutally crushed by federal troo%s sent by President 1ro er .le eland' Debs &as not at that time a socialist' Ae started out in 14?? as a defender of ca%italism against 0 ' ' ' the la&less$ iolent stri+ers$ and insurrectionists ' ' ' 0 2great 14?? rail&ay stri+es3' Debs cam%aigned to elect .le eland President' It &as the realiGation that the struggle had de elo%ed 0 ' ' ' into a contest bet&een the %roducers and the money %o&er$ &ith the courts against the stri+ers ' ' ' 0 that im%elled Debs to <oin the Socialist Party' !s the Socialist Party7s leading %ro%agandist and %erennial candidate for the %residency$ Debs enthusiastically %roclaimed #ar(7s %olitical %arty formula' Ae ne er realiGed$ as Emma 1oldman %ut it$ in a con ersation &ith him$ that 0Political action is the death +nell of economic action'0 21inger$ %' 1543 Ray 1inger %oints out that Debs left the I** because he strongly disagreed &ith its anarcho-syndicalist orientation' Its 0 ' ' ' radical leaders ' ' ' 0 condemned all go ernment' They thought that socialist %oliticians &ere <ust as %hony as ca%italist %oliticians$ 0 ' ' ' elections &ere a lot of bun+ ' ' ' 0 and belie ed that only the unions should 0 ' ' ' run the country'''' 0

*hen the 1584 con ention of the I** eliminated the %olitical action %hrase from its Preamble to the .onstitution; ' ' ' it &as ine itable that Debs$ &ho insisted on both industrial unions and the socialist %arty as a cornerstone of his social %olicy should resign from the I**'''' Debs did not %ublicly attac+ the I** but ceased %aying dues' Ao&e er$ recent research by historian )ernard >' )rummel sho&s that Debs re ealed his true attitude in a letter &ritten in 1519 to the socialist leader *illiam English *alling; ' ' ' The I** for &hich Aay&ood stands and s%ea+s$ is an anarchist organiGation in all e(ce%t name$ and this is the cause of all the trouble ' ' ' &hen they Ethe I**F cannot dominate you and use you for their o&n %ur%oses they &ill denounce you as a traitor ' ' ' the ery name I** &as often offensi e to the great mass of the &or+ers'''' 2Eugene ' Debs--% 1663 It is ob ious that Debs cannot$ in the true sense of the term$ be considered a founder of the I**' The ,'' and the 'estern )ederation o( Miners <')M= In ie& of the fact that out of :1$888 members of the I** &hen it &as founded in 158:$ 66$888 belonged to the *-#$ the relations bet&een these organiGations need clarification' Labor historian #el in Dubofs+y$ %erha%s unintentionally$ gi es the im%ression that the I**$ in all but name$ &as an e(act re%lica of the *-#; ' ' ' &hat later became the distinguishing traits of the I** ' ' ' the combination of industrial labor solidarity$ %olitical non%artnershi%$ direct action$ and syndicalism of the I** ' ' ' had already been subscribed to by the &estern federation of #iners 2*-#3 and its offs%ring the !merican Labor union in 1589'''' 2*e Shall be !ll$ % ?93 These assertions are accurate only if they a%%ly to the influential syndicalist faction' )ut the *-#$ as a &hole &as ne er a syndicalist organiGation' !fter a brief flirtation--a year or t&o--the *-# seceded from the I**$ %rimarily- because-the I** e(cluded %olitical action and affiliation &ith %olitical %arties from its Preamble and tactical %rograms' #ilitants li+e Saint >ohn$ -ran+- Little and )ill Aay&ood remained in the I**' !lthough Aay&ood &as an acti e member of the7 Socialist Party$ toured the country on its behalf$ and &as its delegate to the International Socialist .ongress in .o%enhagen$ he &as 2as &e ha e seen3 re%rimanded by Debs and other socialist leaders because he associated himself &ith the re olutionary syndicalistic members of the I**' This &as the real reason &hy Aay&ood &as dismissed from the "ational E(ecuti e .ommittee of the Socialist Party' The ictorious right &ing of the *-# cham%ioned electoral action and the %rogram of the Socialist Party' Together &ith the socialists$ the moderate and conser ati e leaders$ &ho also belie ed in electoral %olitics$ dominated the *-#' !t its 145: con ention the *-# endorsed the Po%ulist Party' !t the 158? con ention$ *-# President Ed )oyce 0 ' ' ' demanded from his follo&ers more intelligent and effecti e %olitical action'0 In 1588$ the *-# urged labor to ote for the Debs-Aarriman Socialist Party Presidential and Hice-%residential tic+et' In 1589$ the ne& %resident of the *-#$ .harles #oyer$ 0 ' ' ' %romised to ma+e the *-# a union of

conscious %olitical &or+ers'0 !nd the !merican Labor Union 0 ' ' ' offs%ring of the *-#$ offered its members$ uns&er ing loyalty to socialist %rinci%les and the Socialist Party'0 2Dubofs+y$ %%' :5$ K5$ ?13 *ith Aay&ood7s im%risonment on the false charge that he$ along &ith #oyer and Pettibone$ engineered the murder of Idaho e(-1o ernor Steunenberg$ and left-&ing I** militants %reoccu%ied &ith defense and organiGing efforts$ the anti-syndicalist &ing of the *-# seiGed control of the organiGation entirely' They %lotted to ma+e the second con ention of the *-# the 0 ''' *aterloo of the re olutionists'0 In 1584$ Aay&ood &as fired' )efore *orld *ar ,ne$ the right-&ing$ o%%ortunist President of the *estern -ederation of #iners$ .harles #oyer 2&ho ironically had been a co-defendant in the famous Aay&ood$ #oyer$ Pettibone case3$ dissol ed the organiGation and %ro%elled its remnants into the !-L' It &as renamed the International Union of #ine$ #ill and Smelter *or+ers 2IU##S*3' In the 15987s$ the IU##S* <oined the .I, and fell under the defacto control of the .ommunist Party' Triumph o( *evolutionar "nionism Socialist %oliticians$ officials$ editors and <ournalists$ and most of the leaders of the Socialist Party <oined in bro&n-nosing the !-L and attac+ing the I**' ' ' ' irres%ecti e of their Duarrels and differences$ the *estern -ederation of #iners$ the !-L$ the Socialist Party and their ri als--the Socialist Labor Party--assailed the I** as an aggregate of 7anarchists7 and 7bums'7 ' ' ' 2Dubofs+y$ %'1613 The insufferable #ar(ist bigot$ Daniel De Leon$ the Stalin of the Socialist Labor Party$ tried to ca%ture the I** by methods <ust as re%rehensible as any em%loyed by the .ommunist Party' De Leon; ' ' ' sought to ha e the I** <ournal denied second-class mailing %ri ileges on the basis of the alleged es%ousal of anarchism'''' 2Dubofs+y$ %'1613 De Leon made one last attem%t to ca%ture the I** by %ac+ing its 1584 con ention &ith his stooges' Ais %utsch failed' The %icturesDue singing 0, erall )rigade0 from Portland$ ,regon/ I** militants from other %arts of the &est/ &obblies from all o er the country hoboed to the .hicago con ention' They sa ed the I** from the reformers and %oliticians &ho conni ed to cri%%le the I**' -red Thom%son$ eteran militant$ historian and editor %oints out the significance of the ictory; ' ' ' In one sense this E ictoryF is the true launching of the I**' It is from here on that it e(ists as an organiGation &ith its o&n distincti e character The )re&ery &or+ers &ere not in it or li+ely to be/ the Sherman tendency &as out/ the *estern -ederation &as gone$ and no& the De Leon forces that had alienated so many unionists' The fi e thousand members it had after this 1584 con ention &ere no longer di ergent grou%s trying to li e together but a com%act organiGation of men attached to the I** rather than to something else$ largely rebels &ho had been organiGed by the ne& union$ but &ho had long e(%erience in the struggle &ith the em%loyer$ and many of &hom &ere ery familiar &ith all the fine %oints that radicals argue about' This &as the I** that &as to add something ne& to the !merican labor mo ement' 2The I**; Its -irst Se enty =ears$ %'683'

4iscussion on *egeneration o( the American Labor Movement

There is no genuine labor mo ement in !merica' The class-collaborationist unions$ %art and %arcel of ca%italism and the state$ cannot 2li+e ca%italism itself3 be reformed by 0boring from &ithin'0 The %hony 0leftist0 #ar(ian %arties &ere ne er really re olutionary' -or o%%ortunist reasons of their o&n$ they actually function as the 0labor front0 for the 0&elfare state0 or state 0socialist0 arieties of ca%italism ' Since the decline of the I** to a mere handful of dedicated militants$ de%lores Stanley !rono&itG$ 0 '' ' there is no significant force &ithin the &or+ing class offering a radical alternati e to business unionism ' ' ' 0 2*or+er7s .ontrol$ %' 1883' *hat are the %ossibilities for the regeneration of the labor mo ementC *hat are the %ossibilities for the re-emergence of a re olutionary minority ca%able of %romoting$ to an a%%reciable e(tent$ the radicaliGation of such a mo ementC ,ur remar+s are meant to stimulate fruitful discussion of these ital %roblems$ not %rescribe cure-all formulas' *ebellion in the *an+s The incor%oration of the !merican labor mo ement into the 0labor front0 of the emerging !merican 0&elfare0 ca%italist state$ %lus the alarming e(tent to &hich bureaucracy and corru%tion--all the e ils of ca%italist society--infects the unions$ has had a de astating effect u%on the morale of the anti-totalitarian left' It has undermined the faith in the re olutionary ca%acity of the labor mo ement' Sincere militants$ including many anarchists$ reluctantly re<ecting the labor mo ement as a force for social regeneration$ are no& searching for other alternati es' In rightfully stressing the indis%utable degeneration of the labor mo ement$ the %essimists underestimate or ignore an eDually$ or more im%ortant de elo%ment$ namely$ the s%ontaneous mass re olts of the ran+and-file 0ordinary0 members against the tri%le e(%loitation of the labor bureaucracy$ the em%loyers$ and the regimentation of the state' The myth of the ha%%y$ uncom%laining$ !merican &or+er$ is not sustained by the facts' The re i al of militancy traces bac+ to the re olutionary tradition of the labor mo ement and %articularly to the re olts of the 1598s; a %eriod mar+ed by s%ontaneous 0sit in0 stri+es of the unorganiGed against the em%loyers and the organiGed &or+ers against both the class-collaborationist unions and the ca%italists' 0 ' ' ' the country is full of s%ontaneous ' ' ' &ild-cat stri+es ' ' ' 0 E&rote an acti ist in December 159?F ''' 0&here er one goes$ there are %ic+et lines'''' 0 The number of stri+ers in 1598 &as 1:4$888/ in 1599$ 912$888/ in 1596$ 1$9:9$K88' Serious assessments about the character of the !merican &or+ing class must ta+e these facts into consideration' ' ' ' during the second &orld &ar$ K'? million stri+ers %artici%ated in 16$6?1 stri+es$ far more than there &ere in the .I,7s heyday from 159K to 1595$ and far more than in a com%arable %eriod in U'S' labor history' ''' many of these stri+es &ere unauthoriGed &ildcats &hich im%licitly challenged the leaders of the .I, and their %act &ith ca%ital and the state'''' 2Radical !merica$ >uly-!ugust$ 15?:3 The !-L and the .I,$ including the .ommunist Party led unions$ after the "aGi in asion of Russia$ %atriotically o%%osed all stri+es--often labor struggles altogether' #illions of !-L and .I, industrial &or+ers refused to sus%end the class-struggle during the second &orld &ar' The &or+ers ignored high le el agreements and conducted illegal stri+es'

There &ere 1$469 stri+es in 15:8--more than in 1565$ and more than the big year of the 159? 0sit-ins'0 #ore im%ortantly$ they &ere large national stri+es in ol ing not only &age increases$ but also shorter hours$ better &or+ing conditions$ health and &elfare benefits and Duic+ correction of grie ances' There &ere also unauthoriGed stri+es r against s%eed-u%s &hich %refigured the struggles of recent years' In 15:8$ the United !uto *or+ers Union 2U!*3 signed a fi e year contract &ith 1eneral #otors outla&ing stri+es$ ignoring the demand of the &or+ers to sto% s%eed-u%s and insure Duic+ settlement of com%laints' to force the cor%oration to grant these demands the &or+ers &ere forced to ta+e action outside the union' Se enty %ercent of the &or+ers re%udiated the agreement and staged &ild cat stri+es' The &ild cat stri+e mo ements of 15:9-15:6 &hich s%read to all the cor%orations and all sections of the nation$ finally forced the union to restore the right to stri+e and shorten the duration of the contract' The &or+ers re olted against the betrayals of their officials by 8 thro&ing them out of national and local offices in the Steel&or+ers Union$ Rubber *or+ers Union$ ,il and .hemical *or+ers Union Te(tile *or+ers and Electrical *or+ers Unions$ etc'$ and elected ne& leaders' !lthough the ne& leaders turned to be as bad as the old ones$ it did manifest the e(tent of ran+-and-file resentment' The leaders of the unions are afraid to o%%ose the ran+-and-file directly' Aa ing tried to th&art membershi% initiati e$ and failed$ they ha e %ublicly su%%orted stri+es$ &hile secretly sabotaging them by siding &ith the em%loyers to im%ose labor %eace on the rebellious members' %oal Miners *evolt ,ne of the great achie ements of the s&ee%ing ran+-and-file re olts in the trade unions is the ictorious re olts of the coal miners &hich led to the ousting of the corru%t$ entrenched$ class-collaborationist$ criminal regime of the United #ine *or+ers 2U#*3 des%ot$ Tony )oyle' )oyle &as con icted of %lotting the murder of his ri al$ >ac+ =ablons+i and members of his family' )oyle %ledged that the U#* &ould not abridge the right of mine o&ners to run the mines' Ae did ery little about safety in the mines$ the fatal 0blac+ lung0 disease$ and the right of the miners to correct these$ and other grie ances by local stri+es' The miners resorted to &ild cat stri+es &hich the union could no longer control' -ortune magaGine$ in a long article declared that the miners 0 ''' &ere no longer under union disci%line'''' 0 The &ild cat stri+e in ol ed 62$888 of *est Hirginia7s 66$888 coal miners and thousands of miners in Pennsyl ania$ ,hio$ Hirginia$ @entuc+y and other high %roduction areas' 2-or this and co%ious information on other &ild cat stri+es$ see >eremy )recher7s e(cellent STRI@EB3 The miners ser ed notice on the ne& #iller administration that they &ould not tolerate the dictatorial %rocedures instituted by >ohn L' Le&is and his hand %ic+ed successor$ )oyle' They staged massi e &ild cat stri+es in ol ing o er 188$888 miners for the right to settle local issues by local stri+e &ithout %ermission of their national$ district$ or local bureaucrats' Efforts to end the stri+es led to the 0resignation0 2allegedly for health reasons--actually$ the ouster3 of #iller' $ublic 3ervice 'or+ers 3tri+es There ha e been massi e stri+es e en among %ublic ser ice &or+ers &ho &ere traditionally the least militant and anti-union' Postal &or+ers staged a nation-&ide stri+e in 15?8 not only in iolation of federal anti-stri+e la&s 2an offense %unishable by one and a half years in <ail and a I1$888 fine for each stri+er3$ but also in defiance of their leaders'

Stri+ing teachers in "e& =or+$ "e&ar+$ and other cities$ &ere not afraid to go to <ail for iolation of antistri+e in<unctions' -or e(am%le; The Detroit -ederation of Teachers &as ordered to %ay one million dollars for their si( &ee+ stri+e' The "e& =or+ Teachers local &as fined I26:$888$ and the Philadel%hia Teachers Local I258$888 2"'=' - Times3' The &New Breed o( 'or+ers& The young &or+ers 268J of U!* members are under thirty3 are re olting against the authoritarian$ centraliGed$ bureaucratic structure of modern industry' The young &or+ers feel that they ha e less and less to say about their o&n li es and interests in the &or+%lace as the union officialdom$ in league &ith the em%loyers$ determines the con-ditions under &hich they must labor' The &or+ers demand indi idual freedom on the %oint of %roduction$ in the factories and &or+sho%s in &hich they s%end the best %art of their li es' Douglas -raser$ a ice-%resident of the U!* 2no& its %resident3 com%lains that; these young &or+ers ha e different alues than %eo%le of our generation !nd *alter Reuther$ deceased %resident of the U!* tal+ed about ' ' ' the ne& breed of &or+er in the %lant &ho is less &illing to acce%t the disci%line of the &or+%lace' he is un&illing to acce%t cor%orate decisions'''' In the s%ring of 15?8$ at the .hrysler Detroit %lant$ young &or+ers rebelled$ refusing to &or+ o ertime after fifteen straight days on the <ob' !bsenteeism in the %lants on &ee+days rose from t&o %ercent in 15:8 to fi e %ercent in 15?8' ,n -ridays and Saturdays the absentee rate soared to fifteen %ercent of the &or+ force' !n article &ritten by a re%orter &ho inter ie&ed young &or+ers finds that; ' ' ' the younger generation &hich has already sha+en the cam%us$ is sho&ing signs of restlessness in the %lants of industrial !merica ' ' They are better educated and &ant treatment as eDuals from the bosses on the %lant floor They are not afraid of losing their <obs and often challenge the foremen7s orders ' ' many young &or+ers are calling for immediate changes in &or+ing conditions$ they by%ass their leaders and start &ild cat stri+es' ' ' a steel &or+er recalled that young &or+ers started se eral &ild cat stri+es o er the &ay an em%loyee &as treated by a foreman ' ' they &anted to be !S@ED &hat to do' "ot T,LD to do it' Last month$ young &or+ers led a three day stri+e in a bric+ ma+ing %lant after a foreman disci%lined a &or+er for carelessness in o%erating a life truc+' 2Duoted--)recher$ %' 2K:3 In 15?1$ a &ild cat stri+e almost halted the o%erations of the 1eneral #otors Lordsto&n$ ,hio %lant$ causing it to lose %roduction of thousands of small Hega cars and .he rolet truc+s' #ost of the &or+ers &ere under t&enty fi e years of age$ &ages &ere good' ! ariety of ne& ty%es of %o&er tools and other automatic de ices$ eliminated much of the hea y %hysical labor' .learly$ the rebellion stemmed from something dee%er than the Duestion of &ages' It raised the Duestion &hich %romises to be the ma<or issue in the labor mo ement$ namely$ &or+ers7 demand for a oice in ho&$ and under &hat conditions a <ob is to be done--the issue of &or+ers7 control' In the 15?9 negotiations for a ne& contract$ the union leadershi% &as under considerable %ressure from the U!* members and local leaders to limit the freedom of the em%loyer to ma+e decisions about the s%eed of %roduction$ layoffs$ automation$ etc' )ut the Hice-President of 1eneral #otors$ adamantly insisted on management7s uncontested right to ma+e decisions in areas ' ' ' ital to the success of the business'''' 0 i'e'$ PR,-ITS'

*evolutionar $ossibilities Re olutionary unions cannot %ossible %ro ide the conser ati e &or+er interested only in 0*hat7s in it for meC0 &ith the benefits that a 0legitimate0 union is able to %ro ide; stri+e benefits/ annuities/ health and life insurance/ an adeDuate staff to administer the &elfare %rograms/ a ca%able legal staff to dra& u% contracts and defend the union in the courts/ %lenty of money to %ay for all these and many other ser ices/ a 0res%onsible0 union$ recogniGed and en<oying the res%ect of the em%loyers &ith &hom em%loyers are &illing to sign contracts/ etc' *e must face u% to the un%leasant fact that the conser ati e &age sla e$ afraid to defend his or her rights against the boss and his stooges$ is not going to <oin a tiny$ %o erty stric+en 7 sub ersi e0 union &hom he or she %robably ne er heard of *e ha e neither the resources$ the %ersonnel$ nor the desire to imitate the class-collaborationist unions' *e cannot do so &ithout betraying our %rinci%les and losing our identity' !side from %ractical considerations$ ma+ing it im%ossible to com%ete &ith %o&erfully entrenched unions/ attem%ts to induce conser ati e &or+ers to lea e their unions and <oin ours$ by hy%ocritically diluting %rinci%les$ is a suicidal %olicy &hich$ to a great e(tent$ led to the colla%se of the Euro%ean labor mo ement' Those most li+ely to <oin radical unions are the unconscious rebels &ho are raising hell on the <ob' They are not afraid to lose their <obs' They challenge the authority of their foremen and su%er isors They refuse to &or+ o ertime' To enforce their demands they start &ild cat stri+es in iolation of union rules$ contracts$ and go ernment regulations In the course of their struggles the rebellious &or+ers im%ro ised syndicalist tactics and grass-roots forms of organiGation similar to those &or+ed out by the re olutionary labor mo ement during its de elo%ment The demands of the &ildcatters %ractically du%licate those made by the &or+ers since the ince%tion of industrial ca%italism' They include ;

the right of the &or+ers on the <ob to call and settle stri+es and grie ances all demands and &ays of %utting them into effect must also be decided by the ran+-and-file' slo&do&ns$ 7sit ins0 harassing em%loyers$ su%er isors and foremen and other forms of %assi e resistance' the battle for &or+ers7 control must be fought on the sho% floor' refusal to honor agreements made for them$ &hen such agreements clash &ith the interests of the &or+ers on the <ob'

Today7s rebels are acting in accordance &ith the militant syndicalist traditions of the !merican labor mo ement' )ecause the syndicalist o%%osition is itself a &ild cat mo ement in re olt against the system$ it related best to their o&n e(%erience' Today7s &ildcatters could be most rece%ti e to re olutionary ideas' If the libertarian left$ no& almost e(tinct$ is to become a real force challenging business unionism$ it &ill ha e to go all out to reach them' This is not to im%ly that &e should$ e en if &e can$ foist our o&n ideas u%on the &or+ers' !s Stanley !rono&itG %uts it$ 0 ' ' ' the s%ontaneous re olt &ill ha e to de elo% its o&n collecti e forms of struggle and demands'0 )ut he belie es that 7 ' the labor mo ements of the future ' ' &ill ta+e a re olutionary syndicalist direction' ' ' 0 2see *or+ers 7 .ontrol$ % ' 18: 3 !nother ca%able obser er$ Stanley *eir$ notes that the rebellious &or+ers7 grou%s 0 ' ' ' scattered in thousands of industrial establishments across the country &ho ha e de elo%ed informal underground unions ' 0 constitute a sort of guerrilla mo ement' Ae suggests that the coordination of such &or+-grou%s and %lant committees united in city$ regional and national councils 0 ' ' might be an alternati e to

bureaucracies elected e ery fe& years$ far remo ed from the tribulations and the life of the &or+ers in the factories'''' 2*or+ers7 .ontrol$ % 6K-6?$18:3 4e(iciencies o( 'ild %at Movement *ithout discounting such %ossibilities$ it seems that these s%eculations about the future of the &ild cat mo ement are too o%timistic' They do not sufficiently consider a number of formidable obstacles S%ontaneity--synonym for the s%irit of re olt--is$ of course$ an indis%ensable %rereDuisite for social change' )ut s%ontaneity alone$ is not enough Emotions are fic+le' Po%ular enthusiasm comes and goes$ flares u% suddenly and subsides as Duic+ly as it rises$ lea ing little behind ! most disturbing$ e en tragic$ confirmation of this truth$ is the &ay the miners 2the most militant &ildcatters in !merican labor history3 after$ in effect$ ousting their reform0 leader !rnold #iller$ allo&ed his successor$ Sam .hurch$ to re-institute a dictatorshi% almost as absolute as that e(ercised by )oyle .hurch &as allo&ed to a%%oint his o&n ice-%resident$ double union dues$ increase the organiGing staff from thirty to one hundred and t&enty a%%ointees$ loyal to .hurch -or this$ .hurch &as lauded by such organs of big business as the *all Street >ournal and the mine o&ners' There must be +no&ledge and organiGation' S%ontaneity is not sufficient' S%ontaneity is effecti e only &hen translated into a solid organiGation$ &hich animated by the s%irit of re olt$ is guided by clear and consistent ideas' )a+unin and the re olutionary syndicalists in the -irst International$ stressed the %oint that if s%ontaneity alone; &ere sufficient to liberate %eo%les they &ould ha e freed themsel es long ago since ' s%ontaneity did not %re ent them from acce%ting ' all the religious$ %olitical and economic absurdities of &hich they are the eternal ictims They are ineffectual because they lac+ t&o things--organiGation and +no&ledge ' ' not e en %o erty and degradation are sufficient to generate the Social Re olution I hey may call forth s%oradic local rebellions$ but not great$ &ides%read mass u%risings it is indis%ensable that the %eo%le be ins%ired by a uni ersal ideal ' that they ha e a general idea of their rights$ and a dee% %assionate belief in the alidity of these rights 2)a+unin ,n !narchy$ % 163 The militants are not social re olutionists$ determined to o erthro& ca%italism and build the ne& society' Their attitude to ca%italism and social %roblems in general$ differs in no essential res%ect from the ultraconser ati e or liberal bourgeois ie&s of their leaders--men li+e 1eorge #eany or *alter Reuther 2both deceased3' They see+ only gradual reforms &ithin the unions and &ithin the system' Thus$ the ran+-andfile miners of @ana&ay .ounty$ *est Hirginia$ irulently %atriotic$ demanded elimination of sub ersi e0 literature and teaching of 0sub ersi e0 doctrines in the elementary and high schools It is a(iomatic that neither the rebellious mood of militants$ nor the structure of an organiGation$ ho&e er &ell concei ed$ ma+e it REH,LUTI,"!R= ! labor mo ement is REH,LUTI,"!R= only to the e(tent that the &or+ers feel the need to organiGe themsel es into re olutionary unions dedicated to the abolition of ca%italism and the state$ to ta+e %ossession of the means of %roduction and establish a society self managed by the &or+ers' Lac+ing these re olutionary %ers%ecti es$ rebellious mo ements gradually lose their dynamism and integrate themsel es into the system' The chief function of a re olutionary minority is to 0fan the flames of discontent0 2I** slogan3' Re olutionary ideas cannot be artificially %lanted' *or+ers become rece%ti e &hen these conce%ts are confirmed and reflected through their o&n e(%erience'

&'el(are& "nionism ,nvigorates &Business "nionism& Sid Lens7 contention that 0 ' ' ' the labor mo ement &on im%ortant ne& concessions from management ' ' health and &elfare funds and au(iliary benefits to su%%lement social security ' ' ' 0 is a dangerous illusion 2.risis of !merican Labor$ %' 1243' These are no 0concessions'0 *elfare-%ension benefits are %aid by the &or+ers in the form of 0fringe0 benefits deducted from &ages' -ederal social security benefits are li+e&ise deducted from earnings of the &or+ers in the form of income ta(es' #unici%al$ state and federal income ta(es deducted from %rofits of indi idual business enter%rises and cor%orations are e entually %aid for by consumers--mostly &or+ers--in the form of higher %rices for goods and ser ices' The same holds true for em%loyer financed %ension and &elfare benefits' The administration of %ension-&elfare funds$ &hether controlled e(clusi ely by em%loyers--in most cases <ointly &ith the unions--or by local$ state or federal go ernments$ reached the staggering total of fi e hundred )ILLI," dollarsB In estment of such colossal sums in stoc+s and bonds for business enter%rises turns union trustees and administrators into full-fledged members of the business community' !s such they are more concerned &ith %lacing good in estments than &ith the &elfare of the &or+ers' Thirty )ILLI," dollars are in ested by unions in ","-U"I," cor%orationsB Rif+in and )arber7s e(%ose of the %ension rac+et gi es startling e(am%les of the e(tent and close connection bet&een union in estors and cor%orations; ' ' ' La&rence Smedley of the !-L-.I, Social Security De%artment says$ the traditional ad ersary relationshi% bet&een ca%ital and labor needs to be re-e(amined$ since labor no& o&ns ca%ital 2The "orth &ill Rise !gain Pensions$ Politics and Po&er in the 1548s$ % 1653 ' ' ' irtually acting as o&ners$ unions are calling for re%resentation on the )oard of Directors in 15??$ President Roger D *enthold of local 41 International -ederation of Professional and Technical Engineers %ro%osed that unions become members of the board of Directors in .or%orations in &hich union funds are in ested similar %ro%osals are being made by auto &or+ers and other unions ' EDouglas -raser$ President of the U!* is no& on the .hrysler .or%orations board of DirectorsF 2ibid' % 1K93 )ut this is not all' *e are informed that 0 ' ' almost all %ension-&elfare funds are handed o er for in estment ' ' ' 0 to ban+s$ insurance com%anies and bro+ers$ &ho are %aid a %ercentage of the funds for their ad ice and ser ices' The 188 largest ban+s$ ten big ban+s$ insurance com%anies$ etc'$ control the in estment of three hundred )ILLI," dollars in %ension-&elfare fundsB The money is in ested in cor%orations in &hich the financiers o&n stoc+ or are controlled by them ! ery lucrati e business indeedB ' ' ' >oe S&ire &ho teaches %ension courses at the !-L-.I, Labor Study .enter com%lains that ban+ in estment %eo%le and insurance %eo%le$ gambling &ith the &or+ers money are losing billions of dollars &ith our funds 2Rif+in and )arber--% 182-1893 Public &or+ers %ension funds are actually controlled by %oliticians and eighty %er cent of %ublic %ension fund are in ested in cor%orations controlled by the %oliticians$ or ha e an interest in them The e(tent of this rac+et becomes e en more scandalous &hen &e learn that there are one hundred and t&enty fi e )ILLI," dollars in local and state %ension funds alone 2see Rif+in and )arber$ %' 1253 Rif+in and )arber document the charge that almost one out of e ery t&o &or+ers Dualified to recei e %ensions ne er collect a cent because;

' ' ' li+e insurance com%anies$ %ension %lans &or+ under the %rinci%le that$ &hile e eryone ta+es %art$ fe& &ill collect 2% 12K3 ! fe& e(am%les cited; !fter nine years and ele en months on the <ob$ a Detroit &elder is laid off DELI)ER!TEL= only one month before he Dualified for a %ension' ! te(tile &or+er in 1eorgia$ in<ured after years of faithful labor gets nothing' >ohn Daniel$ a member of .hicago Teamster7s Local ?8:$ &ho &or+ed more than the t&enty years needed to Dualify for his %ension$ &as denied a %ension because he &as laid off for three and a half months thirteen years before 2%' 12:$ 12K$ 1923' ''' many !las+ans$ because of e(treme unem%loyment in the %ost %i%eline era$ find it im%ossible to &or+ the necessary hours needed to Dualify for %ensions !ll the moneys contributed in their behalf &ill be forfeited to the fund ' ' 2Pioneer Alas#a "ee#l$---eb 1:$ 15483 'el(are##$ension 3 stem "ndermines 'or+ers Militanc .ontrol of the &elfare-%ension system by labor and management for the <oint e(%atiation of the &or+ers$ constitutes one of the mainstays of business unionism' It ties the &or+er to his <ob/ ma+es it easier to im%ose disci%line/ curbs re olts and de elo%s a ser ile attitude to&ard the union bureaucracy' -urthermore$ in estment of billions of dollars by the union in stoc+s and bonds of cor%orations$ fosters the con iction that both the unions and the &or+ers ha e a sta+e in the %reser ation of the ca%italist system' There is furthermore$ an affinity bet&een the common bourgeois life-style of the union administrators-almost all of them are non&or+ers--and their em%loyer counter%arts' #anagement of such huge sums and the %ri ileges deri ed therefrom$ naturally s%a&ns a ne&$ %arasitic class of bureaucrats$ far remo ed from the &or+ers; social &or+ers$ la&yers$ economists$ financial e(%erts$ ambitious e(ecuti es and graduates of business schools see+ing careers in the lucrati e$ e(%anding &elfare-%ension field' The em%loyers ha e been able to e(ert a measure of control o er unions by threatening to &ithhold contributions to &elfare-%ension funds$ &ithout &hich the system &ould colla%se' )y threatening to sto% collecting dues for the unions 2the chec+-off03 the em%loyers %ressured the unions to scale do&n their demands and disci%line bal+ing members' Though &ritten in the 1568s$ labor historian Phili% Taft7s remar+s on this sub<ect$ remain rele ant; ' ' ' Iabor beneficiary acti ities &as an effecti e means of de elo%ing disci%line ' ' ' a threat to ta+e action against those indulging in un-authoriGed stri+es has been su%%orted by the ability to inflict considerable %enalties control of union benefits to members has gi en the union officials added %o&er o er locals %o&er that might be abused by unscru%ulous officeholders 2Economics and Problems of Labor--% 2K13 It is for such solid reasons that the re olutionary syndicalists$ including the S%anish "ational .onfederation of Labor 2."T3 and the I**$ ha e adamantly o%%osed the accumulation of ast sums in union treasuries 'or+ers Themselves 3hould ,ndependentl %ontrol Their 2wn $ension#'el(are $lans The %roblem of regenerating the labor mo ement is inse%arable from achie ing inde%endent control by the &or+ers of their o&n &elfare %rograms #utual aid and &elfare arrangements are necessary$ but such

matters should be handled se%arate and a%art from the union as such' *e should demand that &ages$ si%honed off into fringe benefits0 and &elfare0 funds$ be %aid to the &or+ers in .!SA !s a feasible alternati e$ &e should urge &or+ers to finance the establishment of inde%endent coo%erati e societies of all ty%es$ &hich &ill res%ond adeDuately to their needs' Long before the labor mo ement &as corru%ted and the state ste%%ed in$ the &or+ers organiGed a net&or+ of coo%erati e institutions of all +inds schools$ summer cam%s for children and adults$ homes for the aged$ health and cultural centers$ credit associations$ fire$ life$ and health insurance$ technical education$ housing$ etc' *e should encourage the re i al and e(%ansion of such coo%erati es as a realistic alternati e to the 0&elfare0 rac+et ! ty%ical e(am%le is the *or+men7s Sic+ and Death )enefit -und$ described as the 0,ldest Progressi e -raternal Society in the 2United States0 &ith K8$888 members in 9?8 branches in 24 states 2as of 15613 7 free of %rofit ma+ing moti es$ o%erated solely for its members$ this society offers a ariety of features designed to gi e ma(imum %rotection at a minimum cost0 The Society %ro ides sic+ benefits$ medical benefits$ children7s insurance$ life insurance$ hos%ital aid$ youth health insurance$ death benefits$ recreation farms$ and a relief fund' There are literally tens of thousands of such organiGations blan+eting the country$ %ro iding e ery imaginable need Though financially limited$ this mo ement could be enlarged and adeDuately financed to %ro ide all$ if not more$ ser ices no& administered by the state and the bureaucratic unions' This could constitute a realistic alternati e to the horrendous abuses of the establishment0 at a fraction of the cost In this connection )a+unin7s ideas remain cogent' !lthough he &as a strong ad ocate of re olutionary syndicalist %rinci%les$ )a+unin did not deem it %ractical or desirable that society be controlled solely by unions or by any other single agency; the abuse of %o&er is a %er%etual tem%tation$ almost im%ossible to resist' )a+unin maintained that a free society must be a %luralistic society in &hich the e er e(%anding needs of humanity &ill be reflected in an adeDuate ariety of associations ' The decentraliGation of %o&er and &or+ers7 control of their unions is im%ossible unless this %roblem is dealt &ith ,ur critiDue a%%lies &ith eDual force to em%loyees of the biggest em%loyer--the state It a%%lies &ith e en greater force to the social security system under &hich the bul+ of the moneys e(tracted from the blood of the &or+ers in the form of ta(es$ are criminally e(%ended for &ea%ons for &ar$ threatening the e(termination of humanity' Long Term %ontrasts and ,ndustr #'ide Bargaining #any +een students of the labor mo ement$ li+e Stanley !rono&itG$ ha e come to realiGe that; ''' long term contracts$ &hich ha e become standard %ractice in !merican industry$ ha e robbed the ran+and-file of considerable %o&er to deal &ith its %roblems &ithin the frame&or+ of collecti e bargaining *or+ers ha e been forced to act outside of a%%ro ed %rocedures because they +no& instincti ely that the union has become an inadeDuate tool to conduct struggles e en &hen they ha e not yet %ercei ed the union as an outright o%%onent to their interests 2*or+ers7 .ontrol$ %% K9$ K63 Direct agreements$ negotiations and settlements bet&een &or+ers and em%loyers in each %lant &ithout the intercession of any intermediate body--union hierarchy$ arbitration boards$ go ernment agencies$ etc'-automatically e(cludes industry-&ide bargaining !greements must ne er restrict solidarity &ith other &or+ers in stri+es$ boycotts and other forms of direct action' Direct action must be su%%orted in s%ite of the fact that such manifestations are %rohibited in industry-&ide agreements'

3horter 1ours: A $riorit 4emand *ithout in the least do&ngrading struggles for more %ay 2&hich is e entually %assed on to the &or+ers in the form of higher %rices3$ the struggle for shorter &or+ing hours is e en more im%ortant' There has been ludicrously little %rogress in this direction since the great eight-hour-day mo ement in the 14487s' If the eight hour &or+day &as feasible in the 14487s$ a century ago$ the four-hour day$ four day&ee+ is surely long o erdue' This demand$ &hich is really a substantial$ %ermanent gain$ has not been seriously considered by the unions' E en the eight hour &or+day has not yet been attained in industries li+e auto$ steel$ trans%ortation$ etc'$ &here millions &or+ing o ertime actually labor ten and e en t&el e hours daily' , ertime &or+$ e(ce%t in real emergencies$ must be %rohibited' The four-hour-&or+day$ four-day &or+&ee+$ &ill alle iate the %light of the unem%loyed better than the nostrums concocted by legislators and union %oliticians' In this connection$ em%loyed ba+ers 2%erha%s other tradesC3 shared &or+ &ith their unem%loyed fello& &or+ers$ by ta+ing a day or more off from their <obs and allo&ing the unem%loyed to re%lace them for that %eriod' Thus$ the unem%loyed &or+er could earn a%%ro(imately the same &age by &or+ing in different sho%s' !nother custom &as rotation of em%loyment' These tem%orary e(%edients &ould$ of course$ not e en begin to sol e the gra e %roblem of mass unem%loyment' )ut it is %recisely this noble s%irit of mutual aid and solidarity$ &hich is no& so sorely needed to ins%ire the regeneration of the !merican labor mo ement' 'or+ers0 %ontrol The 15K8s &itnessed the gro&th of a tremendous mo ement for &or+ers7 control of industry' The "e&s )ulletin of the reformist International Union of -ood and !llied *or+ers7 !ssociations 2>uly 15K63 %redicted that ' ' ' the demand for &or+ers7 control ' ' ' may &ell become the common ground for ad anced sectors of the labor mo ement'0 There is an enormous literature on this sub<ect' In *estern Euro%e$ the mo ement arose &ith the failure of nationaliGation of industry to change the relationshi% bet&een the &or+er and boss$ of ruler and ruled' In )elgium$ the 1eneral -ederation of *or+ers called a s%ecial congress to consider &or+ers7 control' In -rance$ the second largest union federation demanded democratic socialism and &or+ers7 self-management of industry' Similar demands &ere oiced in Italy$ *est 1ermany$ S&itGerland$ Aolland$ and the Scandina ian countries' In England$ the Institute for *or+ers7 .ontrol--in res%onse to %ressure from the ran+s--&as established in 15K4$ by a congress of ran+ and-file delegates from such %o&erful unions as the Trans%ort and 1eneral *or+ers$ and "ational Union of Public Em%loyees' ,f this once %romising mo ement$ barely a trace remains' Their is no &or+ers7 self-management mo ement' The 0#ar(ist-Leninists0/ the Stalinists/ the Trots+yites$ &ho deify the architects of the Russian totalitarian state 2the e(terminators of the labor mo ement3/ the socialist %oliticians/ the &elfareists/ all echo the slogan for &or+ers7 control' "ot one of them dares raise an irre erent finger against the Aoly !r+ of the State' "ot one of them sho&s the slightest sign of gras%ing the ob ious fact that elimination of the di ision of society bet&een order gi ers and order ta+ers$ ",T ,"L= I" TAE ST!TE$ )UT !T EHER= LEHEL$ IS TAE I"DISPE"S!)LE .,"DITI," -,R TAE RE!LIM!TI," ,- *,R@ERS7 SEL--#!"!1E#E"T; TAE AE!RT !"D S,UL ,- S,.I!LIS#'

American Business "nionists 3abotage 'or+ers0 %ontrol The reactionary !merican unionists$ li+e their allies$ the em%loyers and the state$ are not interested in &or+ers7 control of industry--much less$ &or+ers7 control of their unions' !ny mo e in this direction by the leadershi%$ &as made only &hen they &ere forced to do so by %ressure from belo&' To insure labor %eace$ em%loyers may$ under %ressure$ ma+e concessions in regard to increased &ages and 0fringe benefits0 such as %aid holidays$ acations$ retirement$ su%%lemental unem%loyment insurance and similar matters' )ut the settlement of issues &hich encroach u%on the right of the em%loyers to determine the conduct of %roduction 2curtailing the %o&er of foremen and su%er isors$ %unishing iolations of %lant disci%line$ elimination of un%rofitable %lants or transfer of facilities to lo&-&age areas$ etc' 3 is adamantly re<ected' ,n such matters there is no com%romise' The +ey %ro ision of e ery contract is the unrestricted %rerogati e of management0 to o%erate their enter%rises as they alone see fit' Li+e shorter &or+ing hours$ &idening the area of &or+ers7 control$ is a %riority demand *e re%eat; TAE )!TTLE -,R *,R@ERS7 .,"TR,L *ILL A!HE T, )E -,U1AT ," TAE SA,P -L,,R' ,ndependence and 4ecentrali>ation The greatest %ossible decentraliGation and autonomy of the unions is the indis%ensable %re-condition for the inde%endence of the &or+ers7 organiGations' Integrated "ational and International -ederations--",T .E"TR!LIMED )URE!U.R!.IES--in %roduction$ distribution$ air and surface trans%ortation$ communication$ e(change$ natural resources$ science and technology and other innumerable economic functions are of course indis%ensable' )ut millions$ %erha%s most$ organiGed &or+ers mostly ser ice trades$ ser ing only local areas--cities and suburbs$ to&ns$ illages$ etc'--do not need to be organiGed nationally' Retail$ &holesale and de%artment store &or+ers$ munici%al$ hos%ital$ and other %ublic ser ice &or+ers$ teachers$ laundry &or+ers$ building ser ice and maintenance &or+ers$ construction and re%air trades$ and innumerable other &or+ers ser e only local areas' They don7t ha e to be ruled by national bureaucracies-miniature states--do not ha e to su%%ort hordes of %arasites$ dra&ing inflated salaries and 0e(%ense0 accounts totaling millions of dollars' *or+ers can achie e solidarity and coordinate o%erations through their o&n area federations on a local le el$ and on a national le el$ through direct contact and consultation ia tele%hone and other modern high-s%eed communication and information technology/ em%loying the same facilities used by national and international cor%orations ' $reventing Bureaucrac It is for the sa+e of unions directly controlled by their membershi% that libertarian radicals fought to defend their inde%endence against leaders and cliDues bent on becoming dictators of the unions' It is for such reasons that they sought to halt the gro&th of bureaucracy and des%otism$ by insisting that &ages of officials shall not e(ceed the a erage amount %aid to the &or+ers they re%resent/ that no %aid officials shall remain in office longer than t&o years$ before returning to &or+/ that officials and delegates$ %aid and un%aid$ must at all times be sub<ect to recall if they iolate instructions of the membershi%' )itter e(%erience should con ince the &or+ers ne er to SURRE"DER TAEIR P,*ER to any of their leaders$ no matter &ho these leaders may be/ no matter ho& honest and selfless they may be--or %retend to be'

Libertarians &or+ing in union sho%s should resist all attem%ts of union bureaucrats to Duell ran+-and-file militancy' They should refuse to acce%t %aid %osts or become un%aid a%%ointees of the union bureaucrats and obey their orders' They should ser e the members of the union &ithout %ay by oluntarily underta+ing obligations consistent &ith their %rinci%les' To illustrate ho& libertarian %olicies could be a%%lied to actual situations$ &e Duote the follo&ing e(cer%ts from Blac# %at$ ne&sletter of the I** )oston )ranch$ !%ril 1548; Last &ee+ the loc+ed out em%loyees of Eugene7s Restaurant and Pub$ against our ad ice$ oted to affiliate &ith the Aotel$ Restaurant$ Institutional Em%loyees$ and )artenders Union$ !-L-.I, Unfortunately$ it &ill not be long before they disco er that this affiliation &ill yield them no benefits of any alue but &ill result in their losing the control they formerly had o er their o&n acti ities Ao%efully$ the ne(t time they are in similar circumstances they &ill ha e learned some lessons from their o&n e(%erience'''' ' ' ' the &or+ers had no choice other than to a%%ly direct action techniDues rather than ta+ing the "LR) route 2&hich &ould %robably ha e resulted in their case dying of old age t&o or three years later3 They ha e badly hurt the o&ners in their %oc+etboo+s &here the sting is felt most shar%ly If they can +ee% their %ic+et lines u% and a oid ha ing the Aotel$ Restaurant$ and )artenders7 %iecards sell them out behind their bac+s$ they ha e an e(cellent chance of &inning'''' ' ' ' "LR) U"I," )USTI"1 !"D A,* T, DE-E!T IT ,n -ebruary 24 the 6K: registered nurses &ho are no& em%loyed at the "e&ton-*ellesley Aos%ital oted on &hether or not to be re%resented by the #assachusetts "urses !ssociation Presumably$ the union &on a ma<ority of the otes but it may ta+e years before anyone e er finds out for sure )efore the balloting the hos%ital administration as+ed the "LR) to broaden the bargaining unit to include all other %rofessional em%loyees at the hos%ital in addition to the nurses the )oard then announced that the ballots &ould be im%ounded indefinitely'''' ' ' This amounts to nothing less than union busting by the "LR) ' ' ' if the nurses <ust sit bac+ and ho%e that the )oard &ill e entually count the ballots and certify the union$ they &ill lose for sure' The hos%ital &ill use the inter ening %eriod to fire or harass union militants out of their <obs and re%lace them &ith hand-%ic+ed scissorbills' ' ' ' ' ' The nurses should say; 0To hell &ith the election$ to hell &ith )oard certification$ to hell &ith the &hole "LR) union-busting tra%'0 They should begin to act union on the <ob' If they ha e enough su%%ort to &in a re%resentation election$ they ha e enough su%%ort to go ahead and ma+e their demands to management and get them' This &ould reDuire a different +ind of unionism than the one that relies on the "LR) %rocedure' This &ould reDuire direct action and solidarity'''' )ut if the nurses &ere to choose this alternati e$ they &ould &ind u% &ith a much stronger and more ital union$ one that &ould truly re%resent them$ because it *,ULD )E TAE#'''' Libertarian 2rgani>ation )ureaucratic unions &ill ultimately ha e to be dismantled and re-%laced by close-+nit federations of inde%endent factory and &or+%lace councils UnorganiGed &or+ers$ instead of <oining the !-L-.I, or similar business unions$ should also be encouraged to organiGe themsel es into federations of inde%endent councils' "o single form of organiGation can %ossibly embrace the myriad needs of the &or+ers This is but one of the many forms of organiGation that may be considered The self go erning &or+ers7 associations must be fle(ible enough to e(%eriment &ith ne&$ creati e forms of organiGation$ ado%ting those best suited to their %articular and collecti e needs'

"o form of organiGation$ ho&e er &ell concei ed$ can %ossibly be immune to abuse of %o&er This is a built-in characteristic' The %roblem of abuse of %o&er &ill %robably ne er be fully resol ed; but it #UST )E REDU.ED T, ! #I"I#U# Therein$ lies the ast contrast bet&een libertarian and authoritarian forms of organiGation' Po&er &ill not flo& from the bottom u% or the to% do&n$ for the sim%le reason that there &ill be no to% and there &ill be no bottom' Po&er &ill flo& through the &hole organism$ li+e the circulation of the blood$ constantly re italiGing and rene&ing its cells' The tentati e suggestions for the re i al of the labor mo ement$ outlined abo e$ are by no means adeDuate There are doubtless more that can only be &or+ed out by the &or+ers in the course of their struggles *e are %rimarily concerned &ith the orientation and general direction that should$ in our o%inion$ radically alter the de%lorable character of the !merican labor mo ement The first ste% for the regeneration of the labor mo ement$ is$ as already noted$ the formation of a re olutionary minority mo ement ca%able of %romoting to an a%%reciable e(tent$ the radicaliGation of the labor mo ement ,ur &ea+$ scattered forces$ must be reconstituted on the basis of a clear theoretical and %ractical %rogram of action res%onsi e to the needs and as%irations of the ne& generation of rebels$ u%on &hose shoulders &ill rest the burden of resha%ing the labor mo ement' *e must not be im%atient *e must be %re%ared to &or+ &ithin the conte(t of a long-range %ers%ecti e &hich may ta+e years of dedicated effort before isible %rogress &ill sho& that our struggles ha e not been in ain It is im%erati e that &e launch a &ide-ranging constructi e discussion on better &ays of %romoting the regeneration of re olutionary unionism "one of us ha e all the ans&ers )ut together &e can e(%lore ne& %ossibilities and more effecti e methods than ha e thus far been ad anced' It is ho%ed that the ideas here outlined &ill ser e as the basis for such a discussion'