A major piece by Foster on revolutionary tactics in union elections, with a review of the left wing and T.U.E.L. in recent elections among miners, carpenters, the needle trade, metal workers, and others.

‘The Left Wing in Trade Union Elections’ by William Z. Foster from Workers Monthly. Vol. 4 No. 4. February, 1925.

A VERY important phase of Communist tactics in the trade union movement is to actively contest the control of the reactionary bureaucrats. It is not enough to carry on a militant campaign of exposure of these agents of the employers. This must also be followed by an organized fight against them when the time comes for the unions to pick out new sets of officials, whether in conventions or by referendum vote. Passing radical resolutions at conventions and the adoption of advanced policies, while import ant in itself, is not enough. There must be brought about a complete change in the type of officialdom, else these advanced policies are allowed to remain a dead letter.

Within the past year or so the left wing has been coming to a better realization of the necessity to wage a militant fight against the reactionaries in the union elections. Consequently tickets have been put up in a whole row of organizations. In every case such action has provided a splendid opportunity for revolutionary propaganda and organization, and it has developed surprising left wing strength. This tendency is a very future, until eventually there will not be an election in any section of the labor movement without there being in the field a left wing ticket, and without an organized fight being made against the reactionaries. The Trade Union Educational League is now and will continue to be the moving, organizing force in this important struggle.

The Miners’ Election.

When on February 10th, 1923, left wing miners from all over the country gathered together in Pittsburgh, Pa., to map out a program and to establish an organization, a war to the finish was begun upon the Lewis machine and all that it represents. Since then this war has gone through many phases, including the battle to win the great 1922 strike and to prevent its betrayal by Lewis, the struggle for the reinstatement of Alex. Howat, the campaign in support of the fighting miners in Nova Scotia, etc. Its latest phase is the fight against Lewis in the union elections.

Despite Lewis’ violent attempts to outlaw them as a dual union and to expel them not only from the union but also from the industry itself, the revolutionary miners have been able to maintain the Progressive Miners’ International Committee, formed at the now famous Pittsburgh conference. The left wing, at the approach of the union elections, immediately challenged Lewis and his corrupt cronies by putting a ticket in the field against them. The leaders of the ticket were George Voyzey, of Verona, Ill., Arley Staples of Christopher, Ill., and Joseph Nearing of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, candidates for the office of President, Vice-President, and Secretary Treasurer respectively. In addition, candidates were placed in several districts.

The Progressive Miners program covers the points necessary to make the United Mine Workers organization into a revolutionary body. It criticizes Lewis for expelling Tom Myerscough, for betraying the Nova Scotia miners, for destroying all semblance of democracy in the union, and for degrading the U.M.W.A. into a helpless victim of the rapacious mine operator. The program declares for nationalization of the coal mines, the six-hour day and five-day week, protection of the unemployed by the payment of full-time wages by the industry, for an alliance between the miners and railroad workers, against the Dawes international “open shop” plan, for affiliation with the miners of all countries and for unity of the world trade union movement, for amalgamation of the helpless craft unions into modernized industrial organization, for revolutionary political action, for a policy of class struggle as against the present one of class collaboration, for a special convention to give Howat and other expelled militants a fair trial, for organization of the unorganized, for national agreements only, for direct election of all organizers, against dual unionism and secessionism, for recognition of Soviet Russia.

Naturally the Lewis machine has met this attack by the left wing with the customary campaign of violence. In Illinois, Frank Farrington, formerly a bitter enemy of Lewis but now his faithful henchman, realizing that he could not beat the left wing candidate for District President, Hindmarsh, in a fair fight, resorted to the most flagrant corruption. Many thou- sands of fake ballots were poured into the Illinois district. Farrington openly boasted that he would be the next president, regardless of how many voted against him. The district is in an uproar over his Tammany Hall methods. In District 5, Pittsburg, similar methods are being used. In order to get rid of the left wing organization, charges have been placed against Pat Toohey and other local militants. But the corruption of the Lewis machine reached its greatest heights in Kansas, in District 14. Having defeated Lewis signally by forcing his way back in the union in spite of the former’s desperate efforts to keep him out, Howat allowed himself to be nominated for District President. Practically the entire District was behind him. But without the slightest pretext of legality, Lewis arbitrarily ruled him and his colleagues off the ballot. Result more hell in Kansas, and the wholesale writing in of Howat’s name. Howat undoubtedly carried the District by a 90% vote, not all of which was counted. Lewis’ tactics were designed to force Howat into a dual union movement, but Howat was too clever to be caught. He will fight this new case up to the convention. Anyone who knows Howat’s indominable spirit knows that Lewis has a bitter struggle ahead of him.

The miners’ election took place on December 9th. As yet official reports of the outcome have not been published. But anyone at all familiar with past performances of such fakers as Lewis can have no doubt but that these reports will be padded to show an overwhelming victory for Lewis. All the votes necessary for this purpose will be stolen. The left wing in the Miners Federation of Great Britain succeeded in electing their man Cook secretary of that big organization. But such a thing is unthinkable at this time in the Miners Union of this country. The fakers would steal 100,000 votes if necessary to keep themselves in power.

Although Voyzey and most of the other candidates of the left wing are working miners and comparatively unknown to the union at large, they have polled a very heavy vote, if they have not actually defeated the Lewis candidates. This response from the rank and file is due to the flaming discontent of the membership at the policy of betrayal by their officials, one illustration of this discontent being the present outlaw strike in the anthracite coal regions. The fragmentary returns printed below will give an idea of the left wing strength in the election.

To the figures here given should be added about 5,000 Howat votes, all of which also went for the full left wing slate and none of which were counted by Lewis’ tellers. District 26, Nova Scotia, a rebel stronghold, has not yet been heard from.

The Carpenters’ Election.

Of all the unions in the American Federation of Labor about the last one that might be picked as responsive to left wing propaganda is the Carpenters Union. It is “hardboiled” and completely under the sway of the Hutcheson dictatorship. But the striking success of the left wing candidate for International President, Mike Rosen of New York, shows that the discontent of the rank and file is only seeking a favorable outlet. Like Voyzey of the Miners, Rosen was also but little known in the national affairs of the union until he braved the lion’s den by announcing his candidacy against the arch-reactionary and dictator, Hutcheson.

The program of the revolutionary carpenters covers a wide range, including affiliation to the Building Trades Department, abolition of the National Board of Jurisdictional Awards, abolition of speed-up system, for a five-day, forty-hour week to reduce unemployment, uniform agreements for all building trades workers, rank and file endorsements of all agreements, organization of the unorganized, old-age and unemployment benefits to be paid by employers, reinstatement of expelled Communists and right of minorities to express opinions, abolition of autocratic powers of the President, biennial national conventions, election of organizers by rank and file, amalgamation of building trade unions, affiliation with international of building trades workers, independent working class political action, and recognition of Soviet Russia.

In the Carpenters’ election the left wing militants were confronted with a problem which is becoming more and more frequent, the presence of a so-called “progressive” candidate also running in opposition to the administration. In this case it was one Willis Brown. He was merely a stalking horse. He had no program, he offered no improvement over the present corrupt regime. He and his crowd were simply a lot of “outs” trying to become “ins”. The left wing carpenters rightly ignored these budding fakers and went ahead with their own candidate and program. They did not make the same mistake that some of the printing trades militants did who, when they were confronted with a similar situation, made no policy of their own but supported willy nilly reactionary anti-administration candidate, Lynch, in the innocent belief that by so doing they were weakening the forces of reaction in the union.

As in the case of the miners, the official returns from the Carpenters’ election are not in. And it is doubtful if anyone is so guileless as to await their appearance in the hope that they will give a true indication of the way the vote went in the union. Hutcheson, like all the other faker-autocrats in the A.F. of L., will fix up the vote to his own liking and he will defy all criticism. But from returns that have come to hand from unofficial sources it is evident that Rosen

has made a good showing. He carried all the Carpenters’ locals in Detroit by a plurality of 40 votes, a fact which caused Hutcheson to fire all the local organizers in that city. In many Chicago locals Rosen also made a showing-in one, in Maywood, he carried the local by a unanimous vote right after a speech by Jensen, the secretary of the Chicago District Council of Carpenters.

The following fragmentary returns show the left wing strength:

Metal Trades Elections.

A recent trade union election of importance was that in the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers. The left wing played a prominent part. The slate was of a joint character, being made up of Communists and progressives. The Amalgamated Association is one of the most strategically situated unions in the whole labor movement, having jurisdiction as it does over the basic industry. But it is pitifully weak, having a membership of only 11,000 out of a total of 500,000 workers in the steel industry. Its officers are ignorant, cowardly, and corrupt. They betrayed the great steel strike of 1919, and they have worked before and since that historic struggle to prevent the organization of the steel workers. They are loyal aids of the United States Steel Corporation. The first real resistance to these reactionaries developed at the convention about a year ago, when the left wing elements, under the leadership of the T.U.E.L., defeated the Tighe machine on many points.

In the recent election the left wing put up a complete ticket against Tighe’s candidates. Early returns, coming from 14 large locals in principal steel centers, showed a big sweep for the left wing. The vote was, for President, Tighe 728 and Weddell 1,456, and for Secretary Treasurer, Davis 561 and Jennings 1,621. The Tighe machine controlled the election board, however, and by manipulating and padding the vote of the outlying locals, most of which exist only on paper, succeeded in overcoming the lead of the left wing in the big centers. The final results showed that in a vote of 5,000, Tighe defeated Weddell by 1,000, and Davis defeated Jennings by 700. The left wing are challenging this fraud, however, and will make it one of the big issues at the coming convention.

Another metal trades election of importance is that in the International Association of Machinists.

The Johnston administration, by its long record of weakness, incompetency, and corruption, has deeply discredited itself among the membership. Even the official family split, with the result that a wing led by Jack Anderson and William Hannon set out to contest the seats of the Johnston group. The Anderson-Hannon faction make a pretense of progressivism, but it is only on the surface. They are merely a group of “outs” seeking office. Under their guidance the policy of the I.A. of M. would be practically the same as under that of Johnston.

This was conclusively proven when the left wing group proposed to them to make a fight on principle. The left wing offered to join in a united front against the Johnston machine upon the basis of the following propositions, 1), a militant fight against the so-called B. & O. plan, 2) the reinstatement of all expelled left-wingers, 3), an active campaign for amalgamation of the metal trades unions. But the so-called progressives would have none of these propositions, nor would they add any left wingers to their slate. Their plan is to get elected without any pledges to the membership and without proposing any changes in the union’s policy. They are cut from the same cloth as Johnston.

In this situation the left wing placed its own ticket in the field. This is made up of well-known revolutionary machinists of the United States and Canada, including Julius Emme, Tim Buck, A Overgaard, H.S. McIlvaigh, Peter Jensen, John Otis, and others. The platform demands the development of the shop committee system, organization of the unorganized, a policy of class struggle on the economic and political fields, abolition of social discrimination in the union, freedom of expression for minorities, abolition of the B. & O. plan and all other forms of class collaboration, biennial conventions, amalgamation, recognition of Soviet Russia, protection of working youths, and endorsement of the R.I.L.U. movement for world unity of the trade unions.

The machinists’ constitutions provides for primary elections, which are now going on. The two candidates for each office receiving the highest number of endorsements in the present primaries will go on the ballot for the final election. Although the waters are muddied by the presence in the field of the fake Anderson-Hannon progressive ticket, nevertheless the left wing slate will make a good showing. It is quite possible that several of its candidates will beat one or the other of the conservative candidates and thus get on the ballot for the final election. The big task now confronting militant machinists all over the country is to make this happen by giving the left wing slate their heartiest support.

In the Needle Trades.

For a long time the left wing in the needle trades has taken an active part in union elections. But now more than ever. An important movement of this kind is pending in the approaching election to the New York Joint Moard of the Fur Workers. In this union, as in so many others, there is a widespread revolt against the rotten administration, the yellow socialist Kaufmann machine. In the past two years this machine has bitterly harassed the left wing, slugging, expelling, and otherwise victimizing many of them. But now apparently its doom is sealed. It will in all likelihood lose control of the New York Joint Board, which is the heart of the International.

In this election the left wing has set up a united front with the so-called progressives. This is definitely upon the basis of adequate left wing representation on the slate, a fight against the Kaufmann machine, against graft in the union, against gangsterism, for reinstatement of all expelled T.U.E.L. members, etc. The left wing issued a statement clearly stating its position and differentiating it from its progressive allies in the election united front. This combination of the left and center will almost certainly defeat the right wing machine and will have far-reaching effects in the New York needle trades.

Significant and promising development are also taking place in the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union. This organization, first under the Presidency of Schlessinger and now under that of Sigman, both tools of the yellow socialist Vorwaerts, has besmirched its record by a wild and desperate persecution of T.U.E.L. members, expelling large numbers of them. But now a big break has occurred in the controlling machine. The Sigman group are fighting viciously to oust the Heller machine from the New York Joint Board. It is a sharp struggle. The left wing is taking advantage of it to reestablish itself, and with success. It is another case of “When thieves fall out honest men get their due.”

Every issue of the left wing is being pushed, including the big fight against the increase of dues, the reinstatement of expelled and disfranchised members, the right of left wingers to run for union office. Several local elections have taken place in New York. All of these have turned out favorably for the left wing. In locals 38 and 10 the League militants polled about one-third of the total vote. In the strategic local 22, the whole left wing slate for the executive board was elected by a vote of 1,300 against 350 for the Sigman candidates. In the near future an election will be held in the important local 2, which the left wing will probably carry. Sigman’s vicious fight against the left wing has failed; his expulsion policy, the hope of every reactionary in the labor movement, has been wrecked upon the rocks of growing rank and file dis- content and demand for revolutionary leadership.

In the Amalgamated Clothing Workers important events are also brewing. A couple of years ago this organization showed considerable of a left orientation. But recently the administration has turned sharply to the right and is adopting more than ever a policy of class collaboration. This has naturally thrown it into collision with the left wing, which demands a policy of class struggle. Hillman, President of the A.C.W. of A., has been indulging himself in all sorts of threats against the left wing. Some of these were recently made good in part in Chicago, during the local elections.

Last year in the elections the left wing supported the administration. But the policy of the latter was so conservative that the left wing had to make a campaign of its own. The left advocated a more militant policy in every direction. They criticised the present unemployment benefit scheme as altogether inadequate to meet the growing unemployment. They demanded a reduction of hours and issued the slogan of a forty- hour week. They proposed to reduce the speeding up system by proposing week work against piece-work, with a maximum standard of production and a minimum scale of wages.

To give life to these demands the left wing put up a complete ticket of militants committed to these policies. It issued a leaflet sharply criticizing the policies of the ad- ministration. This immediately brought fire from the Levin machine. Several militants were brutally slugged for dis- playing activity in the elections. In the midst of this situation Levin managed to coax and intimidate 14 supposed left wingers to repudiate the leaflet. Those of them who were members of the Workers Party were suspended and are now under charges. Despite this situation, the left wing ticket polled a heavy vote. Aronberg, candidate for General Manager of the Joint Board, received 3,374 votes, or 26 per cent of the total ballots cast.

Other Union Elections.

The left wing is constantly becoming more active in the election of officials of the various central labor councils. In Buffalo a full ticket has been put up, likewise in Minneapolis. The situation in Minneapolis is especially interesting and important. That town, long a radical stronghold, is now the scene of one of the bitterest attacks ever made upon the left wing in the American labor movement. It began over a year ago when Gompers forced the Trades and Labor Assembly to humiliate itself by signing an agreement providing for the tacit repudiation of revolutionary features of Gompersian trade unionism. Not satisfied with this, the A. F. of L. machine is now carrying on a vicious war to exterminate every vestige of Communism from the Trade and Labor Assembly. If the attempt is successful in Minneapolis, no doubt the same tactics will be followed elsewhere.

At a meeting on November 21st, Organizer Paul W. Smith, a typical A. F. of L. faker, opened the new attack of the left wing by demanding of the Minneapolis Trades and Labor Assembly that it, upon pain of having its charter revoked, enter into an agreement with the American Federation of Labor not to seat as delegates any known members of the Workers Party. This scandalous demand, which not only violates the autonomy of the various international unions but also runs counter to 50 years of American trade union practice, was meekly accepted by the one-time militant Assembly. Cramer and other delegates, who parade themselves as progressives, made no fight against it. It was followed by the exclusion of C A. Hathaway, Workers Party District Organizer and unanimously elected delegate from Machinists Lodge No. 91. Soon afterward charges, ridiculous in character, were preferred against O.R. Votaw and J. F. Emme, the latter being the left wing candidate for President of the International Association of Machinists, and they were unseated. Next went Dan W. Stevens and William Mauseth, militants of many years standing in the Minneapolis labor movement.

The left wing is mapping out a vigorous local and national fight against these outrageous proceedings. Part of this fight consists in the placing of a left wing ticket against the reactionaries in the approaching Assembly elections. The left wing election program demands the immediate launching of a widespread local campaign of organization of a council of the unemployed, a city-wide fight of all trades for increases in wages and against wage reductions and lengthening of the working day, active support of the pending child labor amendment, transformation of the local labor movement, no expulsion of delegates because of their political views, adoption of a policy of class struggle on the economic and political fields, fight against all criminal syndicalism laws, and the beginning of a policy of forming united fronts with all working class organizations willing to fight for this program.

The struggle in Minneapolis, in its election and all other phases, is of paramount interest to the labor movement at large and to the left wing in particular. It evidences the desperation of the reactionaries. Unable to stem the tide of revolutionary protest against their contemptible policies of class collaboration, they have to proceed to extremes of violence. But they will not succeed, provided the left wing is awake. It must make a national issue of this fight. The masses of the rank and file will revolt against such tyranny. The T.U.E.L. must inform them of what is going on and organize their discontent into effective protest.

A final election campaign that may be mentioned is that in the Industrial Workers of the World. Or more properly perhaps, this is a question of legislating by referendum. The I.W.W. is an organization that has gone almost mad over democracy, with the result that it has succeeded only in paralyzing itself. It multiplies foolish “rank and file” control measures until it is unable to move hand or foot. This is well illustrated in the present referendum that is being taken upon the proceedings of the recent special convention called to consider the serious split confronting the organization. Experience teaches that the best way for a labor union to do business is through a fairly large and representative rank and file convention with full power to act. But the I.W.W., ignoring this experience, goes to the absurd extreme of submitting even the most rival matters to the full convention, which lasts interminably, and then referring these to a general vote of the whole membership.

Regarding the bulky and unbelievably cumbersome referendum now before the rank and file, the Red International Affiliation Committee has taken a definite stand. It refuses to endorse either of the two candidates for General Secretary-Treasurer until they state what they stand for; it condemns the folly of submitting 78 questions to a referendum; it demands real rank and file conventions with power to act; it opposes the many measures which propose to still further decentralize the already too decentralized organization; it fights the nonsense of allowing officers to serve only one term; it opposes the amendments opening the door for expulsion of members for their political opinions; it demands the expulsion of the injunctionites; it demands the affiliation of the I.W.W. to the R.I.L.U., etc. etc. It calls upon all revolutionary elements in the I.W.W. to rally to the Communist conception of unionism and the class struggle.

During the past year the Trade Union Educational League has made substantial headway. More and more it wins the leadership over the discontented masses in the unions. More and more it brings home to the left wing the necessity of throughgoing organization and militant action in order to defeat the reactionary bureaucrats. The above mentioned elections in the Miners, Carpenters, Steel Workers, Machinists, Fur Workers, Ladies Garment Workers, Amalgamated Clothing Workers, central labor councils, and I.W.W. are only a few indications of these truths. But much as has been done, still only a beginning has been made.

We must more than ever take advantage of union elections to bring our Communist message to the rank and file and to make breaches in the fortifications of the reactionaries. The time must and will approach when in every election, whether local or national, the organized trade union reactionaries will find themselves confronted by a disciplined, determined, and thoroughly united left wing.

The Workers Monthly began publishing in 1924 as a merger of the ‘Liberator’, the Trade Union Educational League magazine ‘Labor Herald’, and Friends of Soviet Russia’s monthly ‘Soviet Russia Pictorial’ as an explicitly Party publication. In 1927 Workers Monthly ceased and the Communist Party began publishing The Communist as its theoretical magazine. Editors included Earl Browder and Max Bedacht as the magazine continued the Liberator’s use of graphics and art.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/culture/pubs/wm/1925/v4n04-feb-1925.pdf