The Organizer (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 1934-07-31

              UNITED
LABOR
ACTION
DAILY STRIKE BULLET!
W^W^a1
SMASH THE
CITIZENS
ALLIANCE
TWO TWENTY-FIVE
h£U5i
SOUTH THIRD STREET
Volume 1, No. 16
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, TUESDAY, JULY 31, 1934
Price one cent
PICKETS TO REPORT AT 4 A. M.
Bosses Again
Hiding Behind
The Red Scare
Raise Cry to Duck Real
Strike Issues
Still unable to find any justification for their attitude which anybody
but bosses will accept, Joe Cochran,
chairman of the so-called Employers
Advisory Committee and tool of the
Citizens Alliance, this morning released a new blast against Communism.
The kept press of the city feature
his statement in their noon editions.
All this talk about Communism
precipitated by the bosses Is merely
an effort to avoid the real issues of
the strike. Now they say that "the I
real issue" is that '
"Any settlement so far suggested would be to surrender to
a group of communist leaders
who do not represent our employees, but who do represent
the entering wedge of revolutionary communism. . . The employers are fighting for a principle that for the time outweighs the wage issue. For them
to settle terms without first settling the fundamental issue
would be to sell the city to the
communists."
Every worker knows this line of
talk to be fraudulent. The real issues are two-fold: wage increases
and union recognition. The Citizens
Alliance, which is the power behind
the whole anti-strike and anti-labor
movement in this city, is determined
to smash unionism and is starting
with Local 574, the most active and
energetic Union in Minneapolis. They
want thereafter to go on to other
Unions.
They do not want to grant wage
increases because such a victory
would consolidate first 574 and secondly the whole trade union movement of the city. It is not that they
want to beat Communists, but that
they want to beat labor as a whole.
Talk of principle, of course, will
deceive nobody when it comes from
the mouths of men of the type of
Cochran and the Employers Advisory
Committee. These -exploiters., have
only one principle: ever higher profits for themselves.
Against this Local 574 sets up the
principles of Union independence,
the right of workers to choose their
own leaders without interference
from the bosses, the solidarity of all
workers in the strike struggle despite
political differences, and militant
battle against the exploiting bosses
and their scurvy agents.
In demanding that the bosses keep
their hands off the labor unions ana
make no move to interfere with freedom of the workers to select their
own leaders, the workers of 574 have
won the backing of the C. L. .U.
The present leadership has several
times before the assembled members
offered to resign i£ the members
wished it. In every case the members flatly refused to accept any resignations. The1 bosses do not like
this fact because they have found
out that they, cannot bluff, browbeat
or buy the present leaders. But they
will have to put up with that fact and
get down to the real issues.
|574 to Go On
Fighting For
Right to Live
Olson's Position Unsatisfactory to Committee
LAW
ORDER ?
We Will Not Submit!
TAG DAY
August 4th
Register for Service at
225 South 3rd St.
COME DO YOUR BIT!
The time has come when it should be perfectly clear to every striker, and to every
unionist and workingman in town, how martial
law operates so far as the strike is concerned.
As soon as the National Guard was called
into action, and even before it, Local 574 took
the position that martial law could operate
only in the interests of the bosses and against
the workers. Therefore the Union demanded
and still demands withdrawal of the troops.
Before the National Guard appeared, Local
574 had every firm whose men it called out
on strike, completely shut down. None of their
trucks moved.
Without intervention of troops, settlement
would have been forced on the, bosses. \
The federal mediators proposed a compro-;
mise settlement, endorsed by Governor Olson.
Local 574 accepted the settlement! The bosses!
rejected it. Then martial law was' declared.
What is the situation?   Every day, in increasing numbers, trucks hitherto tied up in,
garages, are given permission to operate with'
scab drivers under military protection.   The'
right of picketing has been infringed uponip
Attempts  have even been made to interfere'
with the freedom of our press.  Piekets have
been arrested; members and sympathizers selling the daily Organizer   have   been  intimidated; the Union is not even allowed to hold^
meetings in front of its headquarters. ,',
Meanwhile, on one flimsy pretext and an-.*
other, the "permit system" which was ex-'
plained as a means of limiting the movement;
of trucks, has revealed itself as a means of ex-:
tending their movement "to normal."
When a truck moves with a professional.;"
scab, that's a move to break the strike.
When a truck moves with the aid of a police!
convoy, that's a move to break the strike.
Yes, and even when a truck moves with a-
"military permit" from the National Guard
and the approval of Governor Olson, it is still,
a move to break the strike!
,In his radio   speech   last  night, Governor
Olson declared that the troops are not here to
side either with the employers or with the; |
strikers. Is that so? We don't believe there is I
such a thing" as "neutrality" in this fight, and
we haven't seen any, either. All we know and v
see, all that anybody knows and sees, is that
the workers' picket cars are stopped—the employers' trucks move with military permits.
The "military permit" system shows itself
in practise as a means of breaking the blockade which tiie strike had effectively established around trucking operations.
The drastic restriction of the right of peaceful picketing shows itself in practise as a means
of preventing independent labor action.
We demanded of Governor Olson that the
troops be withdrawn. This was refused.
We demanded of Governor Olson that our
public meetings in front of the headquarters
be allowed to continue. This was refused.
We demanded of Governor Olson that our
right to picket be restored. This was refused.
Finally, we demanded of Governor Olson
that those trucks bearing military permits shall
be operated only by Union men, working under
the conditions prescribed in the compromise
settlement proposed by the federal mediators
and endorsed by Governor Olson. And even
this has been refused!
In the light of these simple and incontestable facts, is it not perfectly clear that the
military regime instituted in Minneapolis is
working out exclusively for the benefit of the
bosses in their Union-smashing campaign?
It may be objected that the bosses are also
complaining. Yes, but their complaints are of
an entirely different—of an opposite kind. In
essence, what they demahd is a speeding up
of a process which is already in full swing.
We demand a turn in the opposite direction.
Up to now, the situation has appeared somewhat puzzling to many workers, including even
members of our Union. The great majority of
the working people of Minneapolis, including
the men of 574, have placed their confidence
in Governor Olson.
They voted.for and elected him.  Thought
he was their friend.
• , What are they going to think now?
Regardless of any intentions Governor Olson
may have—and they may be of the best—the
course of action he has taken has served but
fae purpose: to aid the bosses and to hamper
and restrict the independent activity of the
workers in their struggle for the right to live
and to enjoy the benefits of Union organization. They cannot forgive that, and they cannot forget it. And what is more, they cannot
submit to it without fighting back.    •
We have the right to strike, to picket, to
assemble, to speak and to write—and nobody
shall take them away from us.
Whoever allows himself to be deprived of
these elementary   rights, is no more than a
fecowavd and a slave.
We intend to fight for our rights to the bit-
;ter end, and we call upon every Union man
.in Minneapolis to show his colors and take his
.place in the fight.
Replying to the latest public statement of Governor Olson, the Strike
Committee of 100, shortly after noon
today issued a public statement expressing its complete dissatisfaction
with the present state of affairs and
with the Governor's latest orders.
The statement of the strike committee reads as follows:
"The statement issued by Governor
Floyd B. Olson to the press this afternoon in reply to the demands made
upon him last night by representatives of Local 574, is absolutely unsatisfactory and unacceptable.
"Martial law was established ostensibly because the employers rejected the compromise settlement
proposed by the Federal mediators
and endorsed by Governor Olson. It
has operated and is operating exclusively in the interests of the employers and against the men who are
fighting for a living wage. This is
an indisputable fact which everybody
has already verified for himself.
"Governor Olson's latest statement
does not in any way alter this state
of- affairs.
"Scab trucks are operating with
Military Permits in ever increasing
number. General Walsh boasted in
yesterday's papers that truck movement is 65 per cent of normal. This
is far from being the case, but It
shows what they are driving at—to
break the strike and drive the men
back to work at starvation wages
and non-union conditions, under
cover of martial law.
"The Union demanded the removal
of the troops.   This was refused.
"The Union demanded the right to
hold its meetings in front of its
Headquarters.  This was refused.
"The Union demanded the right to
picket.   This was denied.   .
"The Union demanded that no permit be issued- for the movement of
trucks involved in the strike, until
the employers agreed to the compromise settlement.   Also denied.
"Finally, the Union demanded last
night that all permits be revoked for
a period of 48 hours, in view of the
wholesale fraud that has been admittedly practiced in obtaining them;
that thereafter, no permits be issued
to any employer unless he secures
men from the Union under the conditions of the Haas-Dunnigan proposal. This has been answered by
Governor Olson with an equivocal
statement which means only one
thing: our legitimate demand is again
denied.
"Despite all his harsh words directed at the employers, Governor
Olson directs all his harsh blows at
the Union and the strike.
"Against this attempt to undermine and break the strike, Local 574
has but one alternative; to fight; in
doing so, we intend to assert every
one of our constitutional rights.
"Local 574 is mobilizing for a
continuation of the fight. Every picket is instructed and every sympathizer and supporter in the labor
movement is requested to attend the
mass mobilization meeting at the Parade grounds at 8 p. m. tonight,
Tuesday, July 31. All pickets and
supporters are urged to report at
strike headquarters, 8th St. and
Third Ave. S., at 4 a. m. tomorrow,
■Wednesday, August 1, for picketing
instructions.
"Union men of Minneapolis! Rally
to the cause of 574! It is your cause
as well as ours."
WORKERS
FRIENDS
MOBILIZATION
TONIGHT AT 8
THE KNOLL
Parade Grounds