Though it existed since its origins in Russian famine relief, it was not until 1931 that the Workers International Relief, spurred on by the needs of the Harlan, Kentucky miners’ strike, held its first national convention.
‘Workers International Relief in First National Convention’ from The Daily Worker. Vol. 8 No. 209. August 31, 1931.
364 Delegates at WIR Meet.
Vote to Push Relief for Miners–Plans to Build Strong Organization for Relief–Foster Greets Meeting–15 states, 102 Cities Send Delegates
PITTSBURGH, Pa., Aug. 29. Bringing real credentials in the form of tons of food and large checks amounting to $1,900 for miners’ relief, 364 delegates from 15: states and 102 cities, came long distances to the Workers’ International Relief’s first national convention in Pittsburgh today. Sitting in a hall vividly decorated with slogans painted in solidly blocked white letters on red bunting, ‘‘Relief Based on Solidarity, Not Charity!” and “Build the W.I.R. Into a Permanent Organization!” the delegates planned a program and concrete steps for making the slogans actualities.
In deed the Philadelphia delegation reported that a real beginning in this direction had already been made there. Permanent W.I.R. committees have been established in 12 American Federation of Labor locals as a result of a joint conference held in that city of member organizations of the Penn-Ohio-W. Virginia-Kentucky Striking Miners’ Relief Committee and the W.I.R. last Sunday. Trade Union Unity League affiliations and fraternal organizations have also done this. Another conference promising good results had been held in Boston prior to the convention at which 40 delegates representing 20,000 workers were present. Every delegate today from all 102 cities stressed the tremendous possibilities and great strides already made in the direction of building the W.I.R. into a broad, mass, permanent, dues-paying organization, a powerful weapon in the hands of the working class.
The two outstanding decisions of the convention call for an intensification of relief collection for the striking miners and building the W.I.R. on a solid foundation into a permanent relief organization ready for all emergencies.
Important resolutions, outlining the concrete tasks of the Workers’ International Relief, the resolution on form and program, a special resolution on the campaign for miners’ relief, and resolutions demanding the release of all class-war prisoners were passed unanimously.
The plan for permanent organization of the W.I.R. contemplates:
1. Membership branches in workers’ neighborhoods, of individual, dues paying members.
2. Workers’ International Relief committees in all workers’ organizations.
3. Workers’ International Relief committees in factories, shops, etc.
4. Sympathizers who will not join as active relief workers, to be organized in professional branches pledged to a definite donation yearly and to work among the members of their own profession only.
5. Farmers’ branches.
This means that the Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia-Kentucky Striking Miners’ Relief Committee in the various cities will be turned, as soon as possible without interrupting their work, into permanent branches of the W.I.R.
The strike relief committees set up by the National Miners’ Union and Central Rank and File Strike Committee, of course, continue their work as before, and there is no conflict between their work and the W.I.R. with which the Penn-Ohio is affiliated.
Opening with greetings from the Trade Union Unity League, through William Z. Foster, general secretary, the conference heard successively greetings from the National Miners’ Union, through Frank Borich; the Paterson textile strikers and the National Textile Workers’ Union, through Elias; the Kentucky strikers, through a miner delegate from Harlan County; the International Workers’ Order, the Ukrainian benefit organization; the Daily Worker, through Vern Smith, and the Communist Party, through Carl Price, district organizer at Pittsburgh, and from other organizations. All sounded the keynote of “a big, permanent Workers’ International Relief” as a dues paying organization continuing its work during and between strikes, and preparing between strikes for quick action in the next struggle.
Foster pointed out that the textile and mine strikes are only the first skirmishes in the great struggle developing this fall and winter. Borich stated that the miners know best of all workers the tremendous importance of a powerful relief organization and prophesied that out of this conference would come a mechanism that would help make the great mine strikes victorious.
Elias described the Paterson strikes, the determination of the workers and their hopes in the W.I.R.
The Kentucky delegate outlined the situation in Harlan County, with the union growing in the face of the greatest terror. This delegate is himself being hunted by the coal operators’ deputies and had not slept under a roof for a week before coming to this conference.
Price indicated the importance to the strikers and relief collectors of the present election campaign, among other things, as a chance to strike back at those squires and burgesses who jail the pickets and arrest and prohibit relief collectors.
The other speakers pledged full support of their organizations in the campaign of the Workers’ International Relief.
The two main reports were made by Marcel Scherer, of the national office of the Workers’ International Relief, and by Director Wagenknecht, of the Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia-Kentucky Striking Miners’ Relief Committee.
Scherer told of the organization of the Workers’ International Relief in 1921, under the leadership of Lenin, and of the many campaigns in which it has taken part in the United States, including Passaic, Gastonia, the unemployed hunger marches and the present miners’ strike. He outlined the tactics for collecting during hunger marches, for turning temporary collection committees into permanent W.I.R. branches, for intensifying the relief in the present strike.
“The central task of the W.I.R. is to increase the collections and solidarity movement to support the present miners’ strike,” said Scherer. He also outlined the cultural work of the W.I.R., its movies and workers’ theatres, its rehabilitation work, including camps for children and strikers sickened or wounded in the struggle, etc.
Scherer also described the organizational and propaganda work of the W.I.R., which, first approaching unorganized workers on the basis of relief collections, draws them into the revolutionary unions.
Wagenknecht spoke sharply on the contract between the very good results obtained in this miners’ strike by the miners’ own local relief committees, which labored under every possible obstacle, in some cases collecting food in sacks, on foot and walking many miles without shoe soles to get it, with the relatively small collections made under more favorable circumstances in the big cities. He stated that this was not because there was a less well organized national relief collection in this strike than there was in previous strikes, but because the circumstances required even better organization.
“Because of the crisis, you can only get ten cents from a worker who in former years would give a dollar,” said Wagenknecht, “but now you can find ten workers who will give something where in former years you could find only one.”
The way out is to greatly increase the number of collectors. Wagenknecht gave many practical instructions for developing new corps of collectors, especially by taking the names of sympathizers found in the collection campaign. He emphasized the necessity of setting up headquarters with the name of the W.I.R. on them and an appeal to bring food collections there. He related instances of rank and file pressure in the most reactionary organizations of workers, even semi-fascist organizations, which forced donations from the organization treasury when relief collectors came to speak to the meeting. All workers’ organizations must be visited by relief speakers.
He outlined the organizational forms of the W.I.R. which must be establisher through hard work by the delegates returning from this conference.
A tremendous ovation was given the delegates from Kentucky, a striking miner who told about the vicious terror of the “law” and the great strides the union is making there in membership. Another striking miner from Scotts Run. W. Virginia, told about the impending strike there of 77,000 miners. Commenting on the great need for food and shoes in the coal field, he held up his foot, showing the bottom of his foot through the remnants of a shoe and laughed, “Look at my feet–but you don’t see me quittin’ yet!” He pointed out that the miners in his section, like elsewhere, are practically starving and will need relief desperately almost immediately after they strike to keep alive.
From every strike field in the country, delegates came–Allentown, Pa.; Paterson, N.J.–from far away Kentucky coal fields, Connecticut, Rhode Island textile mills, as well as the nearby Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia strike camps.
Delegate Kuffler from Allentown summed up the attitude of the striker delegates when he said: “We found out what W.I.R. stands for, through experience. First thing we knew, we got fie truckloads of food from the W.I.R. W.I.R. means help coming from one workingman to another working man. We have already started a branch of the W.I.R. in Allentown and we hope, in the very near future, to be able to show our brothers, the striking miners, that we know what solidarity means!”
And from the delegates outside the strike sectors every speech was a pledge to intensify efforts for miners’ relief a thousandfold. Seeing conditions in the strike camps, sitting side by side with strikers, the desperate need for relief struck home.
The best methods for relief work were discussed in detail. From beginning to end, although the hall was overcrowded and about two-score delegates were forced to stand all through the proceedings that lasted from 10 a.m. until 9:15, with short adjournments for meals, the delegates were extremely attentive. It was an unusually spirited, colorful convention, promising real results.
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/1931/v08-n209-NY-aug-31-1931-DW-LOC.pdf
