Scene of so many class battles, Paterson, New Jersey sees another strike, this time with the intervention of the T.U.E.L.’s new National Textile Workers Union.

‘Another Paterson Strike’ by Gertrude Mueller from Labor Unity. Vol. 2 No. 11. December, 1928.

What was the situation in Paterson at the beginning of the strike on October 10, 1928? Wage-cuts had been coming thick and fast all Summer. Hours began increasing until working two-shifts was not uncommon. Speed-up affected every craft.

For over a year an eight-hour day conference had been carried on under the leadership of the Associated Textile Workers in which A.F. of L. locals in Paterson participated. This movement, together with the steadily increasing hours of work, began popularising the 8-hour day slogan, and when the strike atmosphere began developing, it was the eight-hour day which became the chief slogan at issue.

The strike for the eight-hour day, wage increases and union recognition was called for Oct. 10 without previous preparation. A left wing motion to postpone in order to prepare to set up strike machinery was defeated under the leadership of the officials. The latter were made up of rank reactionaries of the type of Matthews, Yanarelli and the majority of the members of the joint board, and of Hoelscher, the centrist, a man of narrow bureaucratic outlook, the secretary-treasurer of the Union. None of these officials believed in the strike. None of them believed the workers would respond, and they made no preparations for a large-scale continued strike. They assured the workers beforehand that it would be a short strike. They made no efforts to psychologize the workers into a real fight for solidarity. One whole department of the union—the ribbon workers—did not vote to strike, and the officials did nothing to explain to the workers in that department that the strike would affect their own conditions as well. A further division within the organisation took place when groups in the broad silk department which voted to strike, one section of the workers, refused to go out. These were the Jacquard workers, who are more highly skilled than the others they were the chief victims of the 1924 strike, and hesitate now to come to the aid of the broad silk workers for fear of being left behind again. Nothing was done by the officials of the union to make these workers see where their proletarian duty lay. Nothing was done to reassure them. And so another section of the workers remained inside the shops.

Many illusions prevailing in the organisations help the officials in their policies of misleading the workers and conducting typical A.F. of L. methods, one of these is the illusions about democracy.

Why aren’t the Jacquard workers forced to come out—because they voted to stay in—to interfere there, even though the winning of the strike depend” ed on it, would never do. A centralised machinery for conducting the strike? Heaven forbid—that means dictatorship—Mussolinism! Even though the winning of the strike depends on a functioning centralised machinery. Spread the strike? What for? We’ll win and then well tackle the unorganised crafts and unorganised shops—even though these latter are used by the boss as a lever against the strikers. Pay any attention to outside silk centers? Why Paterson is the Silk City—organise that first and then tackle the problem nationally! Organise the “auxiliary crafts”? Get the weavers first and the rest will follow—call the strike on a weavers’ schedule and then fix up the schedule for the rest of the crafts during the course of the strike—three weeks after the strike begins.

The Left Wing

At the beginning of the strike the left wing was not crystallised—the whole union was supposed to have been left wing. But the conduct of the strike by the officials began calling forth the opposition, first of the Communists, then a gradually growing periphery until the real left wing crystallised. The fundamental reactionary policy of the officials and right wing elements, including the S.L.P., S.P. and disillusioned I.W.W. elements which have not come over to the Communists, became exposed.

What was the policy of the left wing, which attracted such mass adherence among the strikers?

1. Organization of the unorganized—spread the strike.

2. Militancy in fighting—refuse to be cowed by the police.

3. A real strike emphasising all the crafts.

4. Mass picketing.

5. Cooperation with the National Textile Workers Union and spreading the idea of the need of establishing a real national union in order to maintain the union in action and hold whatever gains are made as well as winning the strike.

6. Centralize strike machinery with full power to the Strike Committee. Quick establishment of relief machinery calling in the Workers Relief in spite of the view of being “outsiders” even on the question of relief.

7. Organization of the Youth.

This left wing policy serving as a basis by which to expose the officials as reactionaries as well as expose the policy of Hoelscher who is responsible with the other reactionaries about whom many of the members had illusions because a real test of their policies had not been made in struggle. The officials carried out their policy of getting rid of the strike as quickly as possible, quick settlements were made. The strike was called on Wednesday and the settlements were made on Friday and the workers went back on Monday. No check up was made whether the settlements were real or fake settlements. The workers would have to shift for themselves. The “back to work” psychology created these settlements and lack of preparation of the strike worked against the spread of the strike.

The left wing fought militantly and insistently for their policies and against that of the officials. They succeeded in creating some militant picketing and win a growing adherence. The left wing was a minority in the strike committee and finally forced the policies to be taken up at the membership meeting. After their policies were voted down in the Strike Committee.

In the general membership meeting held on November 2, the left wing secured a majority vote on their report against that of the officials. Workers of all nationalities gave support to the left wing. Even a section of the ribbon workers gave support to the policies of the left wing. But the officials blocked the final count and prevented the motion of the endorsement from being adopted. The issue was yet to be fought out and a meeting of the broad silk department embracing the striking workers was called for ten days later. In the mean time, as a result of desertion from the right wing and of the inability of the right wing to mobilise its supporters the left wing got a majority in the strike committee. Accepting the last membership meeting as a mandate despite the failure of the officialdom to count the vote, they began a policy of cooperation with the National Textile Workers Union, called a parade to demonstrate the power of the union for mobilization to win the strike, began to check up the fake settlements, in order to establish union conditions in the shop. The officialdom began to sabotage the decisions and prepared for the adoption of desperate tactics in view of the fact that the masses were rallying around the left wing. At the membership meeting held on November 13th they packed the meeting. Despite that, the left wing elected its chairman against that of the right wing. When the strike committee was about to report they began to break up the meeting. They beat up workers who were supporters of the left wing and Hoelscher called in the police to adjourn the meeting.

The Joint Board then expelled the strike committee and appointed a committee of their own, the names of which have not yet been made known. They are going the full way of the A.F. of L. bureaucratic officials and on a course typical of the Greens, Sigmans and Beckermans. At this moment of writing the issue between the strike committee and the joint board is being fought out, with the masses rallying more and more around the left wing as they have seen that the criticisms and policies of the left wing are correct. The officials will of course adopt expulsion policies from the union.

The left wing is organized in the Trade Union Educational League and is fighting to win the shops and the workers for its policies to oust the officialdom and establish the left wing policies and leadership in the Associated.

The National Textile Workers Union has been a big issue in the strike. From the outset it offered cooperation with the strike committee. It proposed joint efforts to organise the dye workers, the most bitterly exploited craft workers in Paterson. The dye workers produce 80% of the dye finishing in the country. Its proposals rejected, the National Textile Workers Union proceeded with the organization of the dye workers and the left wing blocked the policy of the officialdom to openly fight the National Textile Workers Union in the dye workers campaign. The N.T.W.U. became more and more popular among the workers. The silk workers recognize that the officials are incompetent that the craft form and the local character of the Associated cannot establish union conditions in the shops. The silk workers look forward to the N.T.W.U. as a means of organizing them into a union that will overcome their desperate situation in the industry.

The National Textile Workers Union is intensifying its campaign among the dye workers and has extended its policy to include the bigger shops. At the same time it is making efforts in other parts oi the country. The Trade Union Educational League has succeeded in pointing out to the workers the need for a national textile workers union, a national organization of all textile workers.

The policy of the left wing, now the T.U.E.L., throughout the strike has brought results. It has crystallized the workers into a definite left wing organization, the T.U.E.L., and has gained the adherence of the workers for the left wing. It has established a militant spirit where passivity and pessimism prevailed before. It has given confidence to the workers that they can fight and with correct leadership can win against the bosses.

The struggle in the shops is assuming the forms of the struggle in the needle trades and miners. With a correct militant policy the struggle will result in defeating Hoelscher and the reactionary officialdom, which looks to affiliating the Associated to the United Textile Workers and will result in the establishing in Paterson, of an organization, as a part of the National Textile Workers Union.

Labor Unity was the monthly journal of the Trade Union Educational League (TUEL), which sought to radically transform existing unions, and from 1929, the Trade Union Unity League which sought to challenge them with new “red unions.” The Leagues were industrial union organizations of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and the American affiliate to the Red International of Labor Unions. The TUUL was wound up with the Third Period and the beginning of the Popular Front era in 1935.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/labor-unity/v2n11-w30-dec-1928-TUUL-labor-unity.pdf