Solidarity is contagious. Inspired by the silk workers’ strike, Paterson’s butchers organize a union in the local groceries.

‘Winning A Strike’ by W.C. Montross from Labor Age. Vol. 21 No. 5. May, 1932.

SEVERAL months ago the Butchers’ Local at Paterson, following with interest the leadership of the Paterson silk strike by the C.P.L.A. applied to the C.P.L.A. for help in the organization of workers in the meat industry. The campaign as outlined was one of the most ambitious that has ever been projected in times of depression; calling, as it did, for the organization of all workers in the state of New Jersey in the industry. The assignment of the present writer resulted from conferences between the two organizations.

Local No. 454 is composed of workers in the independent packing houses of Paterson; the first step in the building of the new organization was to be organizing the retail meat-cutters of the cities of Paterson and Passaic. A retail organization, because of its contacts with the packing house workers and because of the possibilities of help in the event of a strike against a packing house, was the first aim of the movement.

The Cleaver

The first step was the issuing of a paper, The Cleaver, edited for the retail industry and dealing with the grievances of long hours prevailing in the market-sections of the two cities. In Paterson hours of eighty-five and more a week prevailed and in Passaic more than a hundred hours a week including Sunday mornings. For the first month of The Cleaver’s life absolutely no response was obtained. Then, in one week, fifteen new members enrolled in the new Union. By the end of another month fifteen more had been added. A mass meeting resulted in twelve more and then the campaign began in earnest.

Street meetings in the market-section, appeals to the public through publicity and through talks before other labor organizations figured in the campaign. The labor press, especially the Passaic County Labor Record, a progressive weekly with over six thousand circulation in Passaic County, helped in the preliminary campaign. A request to the Mayor’s Committee for Labor Conciliation, followed by charges of “boycott” made by the Union when the bosses failed to appear, let the public know the drift of the fight.

Events came to a head when the workers of a five shop chain in Paterson, Passaic and Hackensack appealed to the Union to help them resist a wage-cut threatened. When the wage cut was ordered and two men who had been active in the Union were discharged for talking against the cut, the shops were declared on strike and the first strike of the new union took place. Picketing and appeals to the working public resulted in the dropping of business in one shop from three men behind the counters to where one strike-breaker was able to handle the trade comfortably. After the second day of the strike it was found that several more workers were ready to join the strike and these were pulled at various times during the day when trade would otherwise have been at its peak. Incoming deliveries of meat were also held up because members of the Teamsters Union refused to deliver past the pickets. A request from the owner to settle the strike resulted in a complete victory, including a retroactive cancellation of the wage-cut, reinstatement of the men on strike on their old jobs, recognition of the union and a shop committee and a reduction of the working week by twenty hours. Strike-breakers were, of course, discharged, and the working force signed into the Union.

Immediately following the victory of this one chain a concerted drive was made on the other shops and a vote for a general strike was made to force acceptance of the union agreement. The strike was to be called on Friday afternoon; frantic appeals from a hastily thrown together bosses committee resulted in a set of counter proposals which were rejected by the Union on Friday night. After several hours, the agreement was signed without change by all the bosses present.

Lessons of Solidarity

The lesson of solidarity had been taught to the newly organized workers in the first strike, and the complete tie-up was an object lesson to the bosses. Going into the conference with a strike vote gave the negotiators for the Union the confidence in their backing that made a victory possible.

On the Saturday on which the early closing was to start (April 30th), a committee of the Union was on hand in the market-section to observe all shops. The men came out of their shops at the time set and moved on, as a visiting committee, to the few shops which were not yet under agreements. Picketing will be resorted to if necessary to force acceptance of the agreement.

Here, as elsewhere, when the workers are sufficiently determined to cure a rotten situation by united action the thing can be done. Threats by the bosses to “get along with one less man” were shown for what they were. Courageous action by Local No. 454 of the Amalgamated Food Workers when there is all too little courage in the Labor movement may point the way to more action on the part of others. What has been done can be done again.

Labor Age was a left-labor monthly magazine with origins in Socialist Review, journal of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. Published by the Labor Publication Society from 1921-1933 aligned with the League for Industrial Democracy of left-wing trade unionists across industries. During 1929-33 the magazine was affiliated with the Conference for Progressive Labor Action (CPLA) led by A. J. Muste. James Maurer, Harry W. Laidler, and Louis Budenz were also writers. The orientation of the magazine was industrial unionism, planning, nationalization, and was illustrated with photos and cartoons. With its stress on worker education, social unionism and rank and file activism, it is one of the essential journals of the radical US labor socialist movement of its time.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/laborage/v21n05-may-1932-labor-age.pdf