Organize the Unorganized/chapter 4
Chapter IV.
METHODS OF ORGANIZATION.
IN the United States, the task of organizing the workers is an extremely complicated and difficult one. The situation in the industries is not uniform. In industries that are competitive in character, especially where there are established unions or where the workers have a tradition of organization, unions and efforts, to organize them are tolerated; or at least not violently persecuted.
In other industries, where the organization and tradition of unionism are weak, and the employers, highly organized, are applying a militant "open shop" policy, the unions are ruthlessly crushed and attempts to establish them are met with an iron repression. This situation necessitates upon our part two general kinds of organizing work, open and secret. Let us first discuss "open" organization work.
"Open" Organization Campaigns.
It is possible to carry on "open" trade union organization work in many industries such as on various railroads, in half organized northern coal fields, in the unorganized sections of the building, needle, culinary, and printing trades, and in the general mass of small metal and other competitive industries, where the employers are not strongly organized. In such situations are commonly found trade unions, however weak. Wherever "open" trade union organization is possible, the task of the left wing consists, for the most part, in stimulating the existing unions into carrying on open organizational campaigns among the workers by mass meetings, individual solicitation, etc.
To develop this activity of the old unions necessitates a variety of means. Every phase and stage of the movement must be stirred up on the organization question. In every local union the question of organizing the unorganized must be made a burning one, and committees established to unite the workers. Between the local unions of one craft, or among those of several crafts in one industry, joint organization campaigns can be established. The Central Labor Councils can also be stirred into action.
A number of years ago the A. F. of L. used to promote in the various cities what were called "Labor Forward" movements. In these all the unions of a given city rallied for a general organizing campaign, many internationals sending in organizers to assist. Often good work was done. The "Labor Forward" type of movement should be revived. Likewise the International Unions, especially at their conventions, can be energized into making national organizing campaigns in their respective jurisdictions, either alone or in co-operation with related unions.
In all this stimulation of the trade unions it must never be lost sight of, however, that the left wing must lead in the actual work of organizing. Simply to pass resolutions calling for organization, and then to leave the matter to the officialdom, is futile. Their policy is to let such resolutions die a quiet death. They cling desperately to old forms and practices. They have to be crowded into action.
The left wing and the progressives must follow up their resolutions by demanding the formation of large organizing committees through which they can carry on actual work of organization. Such committees must know how to force through the necessary reductions of initiation fees, and to generally remove the many barriers which the reactionary leadership has raised against the organization of their fellow workers. They must also know how to mobilize the full financial resources of the unions and to bring the general membership into the organization work. Such organization committees offer splendid opportunities to bring forward the whole T. U. E. L. program and to mobilize all the progressive elements in the unions against the right wing bureaucracy and the employers.
"Closed" Organization Campaigns.
There are many other indsutries, on the other hand, such as steel, textile, rubber, southern coal fields, on many railroads, etc., etc., where unionism has been eliminated and where "open" organization work is practically impossible because of the terrorism of the employers. In these "closed" industries, we must adopt "secret" or indirect methods of organization.
A most important consideration in these "closed," unorganized industries, is the fact that the left wing must take the initiative in the organizing work, to a far greater extent than in the "open," semi-organized industries. Usually there are no unions at all in the "closed" industries to be stimulated into action and upon whose resources the left wing can draw. The reactionary leaders refuse to tackle these tough industries. Consequently the left wing has to depend primarily upon its own resources and upon its own direct initiative in launching and carrying through the organization campaigns.
In the industries which are "closed" against trade unionism by the terrorism of the employers, our basic method for organizing work must be "secret" or indirect in character. It is true that upon occasion, as in the big organizing campaign among the steel workers in 1918–19, such gigantic efforts can be put forth directly that the workers can be openly mobilized in spite of the most violent opposition by the employers. The left wing must seek to develop such broad, sweeping "open" campaigns. But they are the exception. Most-of the work in these industries will have to be done on a relatively small scale, which means more or less underground."
Company Unions and Workers' Clubs.
For a long time the trade unions have used "secret" methods of organization in such instances. But their efforts have been crude and ineffective, being usually merely the quiet recruitment of members into local unions which are spy ridden, ordinarily dead of dry-rot, of repression by the employers, or through premature strikes. The left wing will have to be far more skilful in "underground" trade union organization. It must utilize the most diverse forms of proletarian organization in order to secure a basis for the establishment of, unions, or for the launching of strike movements which will eventually result in building unions.
One form of organization which must be utilized for this work is the company union. Company unions flourish especially in those industries "closed" to trade unionism. The left wing must carry on a policy of working within these organizations where they have any degree of mass participation, with the ultimate aim of destroying them and building trade unions.
We must raise economic demands of the workers in these organizations in order to expose their nature as instruments of the employers and to crystallize the discontent of the workers. We must participate in the plant elections in order to sharpen and clarify the struggle of the workers against the employers, and to place our men in strategic positions. At the company union conventions, especially on the railroads, the question of trade unionism can be raised effectively.
The experience during the movement of the steel workers, in 1918–19, when many company unions were captured from the employers, as well as the experience among many other groups of workers shows clearly that these organizations can be utilized for the launching of movements among the workers which culminate in the destruction of the company unions and the formation of trade unions.
Another form of organization valuable for organizing in the "closed" industries, is the various workers' clubs and fraternal organizations in the industrial towns. Made up for the most part of unskilled, foreign-language speaking workers, they readily adapt themselves to supporting drives to organize the local industries. Under cover of these clubs general organizational propaganda can be successfully carried on and committees formed to lay the first foundations of trade union organization for the various factories. In the textile industry, particularly in Passaic, Lawrence, etc., their value has been demonstrated. They are to play an important role in the organization of the great masses of workers.
The left wing must follow a policy of establishing such workers' clubs and fraternal organizations and of winning over those already in existence, especially in cities dominated by one or two industries. This does not mean, however, the inauguration of a campaign to use such clubs as organizing instruments generally in the industries where there are unions. Wherever it is possible to organize openly and directly into the trade unions, we must by all means utilize the opportunity.
Shop Nuclei and Shop Committees.
The shop nuclei of the Workers (Communist) Party are an organizational form of great importance in the organization of the unorganized workers. These nuclei, distributed widely through the industries and built upon the basis of the respective factories, will prove invaluable contact points for the starting of broad movements for the launching of strikes and the establishment of trade unions. Their factory papers will arouse and educate the workers, giving voice to their demands, organizing the resistance to the company unions, and generally preparing the ground for trade unionism.
The shop committee movement will also be used very profitably in the organization of the workers in the "closed" industries. Among the unorganized workers this movement consists in the formation of committees, more or less informal, representing the workers, department department and factory by factory. It carries on a struggle for the demands of the workers and for their recruitment into trade unions. In France the shop committee movement among the unorganized workers manifests itself pretty much as an "open" movement. In the United States, however, it will be very largely a semi-"secret" movement in its earlier stages. The-value of the shop committee movement among the unorganized has been demonstrated in the textile industry. In the struggle to organize the unorganized it will play an increasingly important part.
Combining Different Forms.
Under certain circumstances, all these various forms of proletarian organization, such as workers' clubs, fraternal organizations, shop nuclei, shop committees, etc., can be joined together in united front movements, thus uniting all the threads of "underground" organization and facilitating the creation of open trade unions. Even the representatives of company unions should be admitted to such united front committees unless there are special reasons for excluding them.
All these proletarian organizations will play a big part in the organization of the workers in the "closed" industries. They will also. serve to a certain extent in other indutries where the employers are not so hostile but where the workers are simply lethargic. Yet they offer no royal road to organization. Upon occasion the employers will fight them bitterly. They will discharge the workers for militant activities in company unions; they will clean out the shop committee men; they will fire workers for membership in clubs that are Showing a tendency towards trade unionism; they will fill all these institutions with detectives. Nevertheless, we must utilize them. They offer the means for a flank attack against the employers, which is necessary considering the weak forces of organized labor in the "closed" industries.
In its organization work, the left wing must aim to work in the "open." When this cannot be done, we must work "underground." The question of determining just how far we can work in the "open" and how much we will have to use the indirect method, will prove one of the most delicate problems we have to solve in our organization campaigns.
