One of the country’s oldest–dating to before the Civil War–centers of labor organizing, Massachusetts’ shoe industry was a microcosm with among the the earliest women’s organizations, proto-industrial unions, and Socialist clubs alongside pioneering company union outfits, spying and police systems, and an especially well-developed craft union bureaucracy. A look at that history and how the rank-and-file movement sought to recover from a recent failed revolt.

‘The Progressive Movement in the Massachusetts Shoe and Leather Industry’ from The Daily Worker. Vol. 4 No. 146. July 4, 1927.

THE progressive movement in the shoe and leather industry in Massachusetts is a young movement, but it has already much to its credit.

After the decline of the Knights of Labor the Boot and Shoe Workers Union gained a foothold in Lynn and vicinity. In 1903-05 the shoe makers of Lynn rebelled against the BSWU. As the result of the “revolt” the BS WU was driven out of Lynn. Out of this fight a new union, the United Shoe Workers of America was born. This union during its existence improved the conditions of the Lynn workers.

Lynn was 95% organized, a 44-hour week and five-day week during the summer months were secured. In 1922-23 a serious attempt was made to amalgamate all existing independent unions into one powerful union, the Amalgamated Shoe Workers of America.

Due to the treachery of the leaders in the Shoe Workers Protective Union of Haverhill, Mass., who refused to enter the union, this attempt failed. In 1923-25 the BSWU spent large sums of money to capture Lynn.

In 1925 the BSWU established itself by force in the city of Lynn. What were the methods of the BSWU in gaining control of Lynn? The BSWU knows well that the shoe workers of the country dislike their methods and policies. For two years the BSWU carried on a campaign thru the press and spies in the local.

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HOWEVER, this time the BSWU and the Lynn Shoe Manufacturers Association of Lynn did not reckon with the militancy of the Lynn shoe workers. This “buy and sell” proposition of the BSWU and the shoe manufacturers aroused the fighting spirit of the Lynn shoe workers. A progressive movement to stop the cuts in wages and the lengthening of hours was organized. The joint council of the Lynn shoe workers became the center of the fight. When the bosses, through the so-called shoe agents, appealed to the union for the reduction of wages, the progressives put forward a counter demand for an increase in wages and in certain in- stances threatened the shoe manufacturers with strikes. The shoe manufacturers have learned to fear the resistance of the Lynn shoe workers, although they now had their union, the BSWU.

Seeing that they could not control the Lynn shoe workers, they moved their factories to Boston where they could get 100% protection.

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BOSTON is only ten miles from Lynn and the same union. Still it cost the shoe manufacturers to produce shoes 25 to 35% less than in Lynn. It is true that the BSWU constitution has a provision where it says “if any manufacturer has a union contract, and if this firm moves to another city the highest price for labor shall be paid.” The Lynn council and the six executive boards went to the general office of the BSWU to eliminate this emigration to escape paying state board prices and conditions. The reply of the general office was, “We have no right to interfere with Boston. That is we have local autonomy.” After this remarkable cooperation which the Lynn shoe workers received from their general office, the Lynn progressives realized that the only salvation for the shoe workers of Lynn was to organize the shoe workers of Boston. Consequently a gigantic progressive movement was organized in Boston on the same lines as the one in Lynn. The next move of the Lynn shoe manufacturers was the introduction of the Golden Rule system and individual contracts (yellow dog contract), selling shares and the like. This golden rule, etc., introduction is a very important phenomenon in the shoe industry. It means that a worker must buy a job for not less than a hundred dollars, and sign a contract that he will agree to everything laid down by the committee of the concern. No strikes, no walkouts, overtime, work on holidays, not even thinking of unionization, and surely no organization–this is the meaning of the golden rule system. Would the management find out that a worker even thinks of joining a union, not only would the worker lose his job but also the money paid in for the shares.

The union makes no attempt to stop this golden rule movement. In fact it helps in certain instances to establish the golden rule system. It is a logical thing for the present reactionary leadership of the BSWU as well as that of the Shoe Workers Protective Union to point to the Golden Rule shop conditions as being worse than the conditions in the union shops. In other words the reactionary officialdom is glad to have such an organization as the Golden Rule system and uses the comparison between it and the union shops to maintain themselves in office.

THE tragedy of the twelve thousand Brockton shoe workers is not only a black spot for the shoe and leather workers, but for the entire labor movement. Four years ago, when the Brockton shoe workers revolted against both oppressors, the bosses and the union policy, when they were met with the strong arm of both enemies, both the shoe manufacturer and the union officialdom united for one purpose to crush down the rebellion. With the aid of the courts and the “cossacks” the shoe manufacturers and the officialdom of the BSWU broke the ranks of the Brockton shoe workers. After the defeat the union imposed a fine of twenty-five or more dollars upon each striker. They took away the charters of practically every local and appointed a governing board to supervise the work of the Brockton shoe workers. That means that the Brockton shoe workers were put in local 0. Some of the heads of the governing board are members of the Brockton Chamber of Commerce. It is four years since the strike and the Brockton shoe workers have no say about their working conditions as yet.

Boston was the backbone of reaction. The Boston local has a membership of four thousand and until the recent election there were two unlimited dictators in office for the past fourteen years.

There are reports from the shoe workers of St. Louis and Canada about their conditions, which are similar to ours under the same union. There are about two hundred and ten thousand shoe workers in the country, and two unions in the field, The Shoe Workers Protective Union (independent) and with a membership of about twelve thousand and the Boot and Shoe Workers Union with a member- ship of about forty to forty-five thousand.

A CONFERENCE of representatives from all over the country was held in Boston on Nov. 26, 1926. This was the first real move to bring an end to the present conditions in the shoe and leather industry. A plan for carrying on constructive work in every shoe city was adopted.

After a discussion the conference unanimously adopted a resolution for one mighty union in the shoe and leather industry.

Another important conference was held on June 5th, 1927 in Boston. This conference was a state conference with representatives from each large shoe city. At the conference a lengthy report of the progress made since the last conference was made. It was pointed out that since the last conference in Nov. 1926 cuts in wages were stopped. The biggest feature was the lively discussion by the delegates on how to organize the unorganized. The conference went on record in favor of one powerful union in the shoe and leather industry and the amalgamation of both existing shoe unions into one union. The conference instructed the delegates that when they go back they should organize progressive committees to elect progressive slates to the various local offices. Especially was it pointed out that as the history of the shoe industry shows it was the constant secessions from the recognized unions that destroyed the power of the shoe workers. It was the unanimous opinion that the amalgamation of all the existing shoe and leather unions into one powerful shoe and leather union was imperative.

An executive committee of two from each city was elected to carry on the work. It was decided that this committee publish a monthly bulletin, called the “Progressive Shoe and Leather Bulletin of America.”

The shoe and leather workers are badly paid and work under the worst conditions. The present leadership in both unions is responsible for these conditions. The shoe workers had enough lessons by being divided into various independent unions. Therefore the policy of the progressives is correct and will lead the shoe and leather workers to victory.

The Daily Worker began in 1924 and was published in New York City by the Communist Party US and its predecessor organizations. Among the most long-lasting and important left publications in US history, it had a circulation of 35,000 at its peak. The Daily Worker came from The Ohio Socialist, published by the Left Wing-dominated Socialist Party of Ohio in Cleveland from 1917 to November 1919, when it became became The Toiler, paper of the Communist Labor Party. In December 1921 the above-ground Workers Party of America merged the Toiler with the paper Workers Council to found The Worker, which became The Daily Worker beginning January 13, 1924.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/dailyworker/1927/1927-ny/v04-n146-NY-jul-04-1927-DW-LOC.pdf