The Daily Worker

Leaders Send Back Minneapolis Drivers Under Arbitration

Settlement Includes the Clause Against Discrimination
By Sender Garlin

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 26.—Minneapolis truck drivers, victorious in every battle with police and scabs during their strike, were maneuvered into going back to work without any guarantee that their major demands will be granted. High pressure ballyhoo was used by the leaders to put over this agreement. Every dispute, such as wages, hours, union recognition and discrimination has been turned over to the strikebreaking N. R. A. Regional Labor Board for settlement. A vicious clause tacked on to the agreement practically promises no strikes for one year, and establishes the present wage scale as holding for that period. This action follows the most militant strike in the history of the city—a struggle which brought out 5,000 truckmen and taxi-drivers in addition to 35,000 building trades and other workers who joined in a sympathy walkout.

Took Several Votes

The agreement was put over at a meeting of the strikers held Friday night at their headquarters in a vacant garage in the South Side of the city. When the agreement was first put to an oral vote by leaders of the union, the opposition to the agreement was so great that it was decided to vote on the question by a secret ballot. After this was done, union chieftains, fearing that the men had turned down the settlement proposal, feared to count the ballots and shoved Farmer-Laborite Congressman F. H. Shoemaker to the fore. Shoemaker ignored all the issues of the strike, swung into a windy oration in which he talked about the truckmen "winning 90 per cent of the demands" and told the men to "get what you can while you have the chance."

Shoemaker was followed by a number of other speakers who picked up his fake slogan about "90 per cent of the demands" being won and after explaining away the objections of strikers from the floor, a vote was again taken, and this time the union leaders succeeded in putting over the agreement.

Settlement Terms

The terms of the strike settlement were based on nine points, as follows:

"1. That the strike end and that the workers be rehired without discrimination. 2. That the bosses shall adhere to article 7-A of the N. R. A., which means open shop. 3. That 'all members of the General Drivers and Helpers Union No. 574 in dealing with the employers may be represented by the officers of such union, and no discrimination against representatives shall be made because they are officers or agents of said local Union No. 574.'"

Point 6, which is the crux of the agreement, provides for arbitration by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Regional Labor Board. Point 9 of the agreement calls for the continuation of the present wage scale for a year unless otherwise agreed to.

Gov. Floyd B. Olson, Farmer-Laborite, who has pretended to be a friend of the strikers, called in 3,700 members of the National Guard immediately after strikers had driven hundreds of special deputies from the market. In this fight one of the thugs, a local businessman was killed.

Congressman Shoemaker today told the Daily Worker: "I am responsible for this settlement with the trucking companies. Other officials of the State are trying to steal the credit from me, but they won't get away with it," he said, apparently referring to Gov. Olson.

Communist Party Active

The Communist Party and Trade Union Unity League in Minneapolis supported the strike and picketing in such an energetic fashion that Roy Weir, organizer of the Central Labor Union and Farmer-Labor representative in the Minnesota Legislature, found it necessary to tell a crowd of more than 20,000 workers at a recent meeting: "We appreciate the help of the Unemployed Councils and the Communist Party which have sent in their best fighters in this strike."

The strike, which began on May 15, stopped all trucking and taxi operation. Beer, milk and ice were delivered during the strike as a result of the existence of agreements.

Strikers' Spirit of Solidarity

Last Monday and Tuesday the strikers defeated not only the police but hundreds of hired deputies as well and showed the bosses of Minneapolis that no amount of terrorism would break the strike. Almost at the same time as the strikers were driving the deputies from the market union leaders agreed upon a 24-hour truce with the bosses, and called off all picketing. At the end of the 24 hours, the truce was continued indefinitely, and was in effect at the time the strikers were persuaded to accept the present agreement.

The workers, through their militant strike, and the splendid response of the building trades workers have written a glorious page in the history of American labor. Their ranks remained unbroken even by the brutal terror of the Farmer-Labor Governor Olson's National Guards, and the hundreds of police and fascist bands of "special police" and deputies.

The workers were sent back to work only because of the maneuvers of the union leaders. The companies, however, had to promise no discrimination, such was the spirit of solidarity of the strikers.

It now depends on the workers to remain vigilant and insist upon their demands in the arbitration board and to rely only on the fighting capacity they have displayed in the strike. Unless this is done, they will be robbed of any gains and will suffer new attacks.

The proletarian revolution cannot take place without the forcible destruction of the bourgeois State machine and its replacement by a new machine.—Lenin.