The Daily Worker

Cloak Bosses Try New York Unsuccessful Discharge of Paraders; Strikes Grip Shops.

(Special to The Daily Worker)

NEW YORK CITY, August 23.—As a result of Thursday's stoppage of 35,000 workers in the cloak and dress industry in this city, about 40 shops discharged individual workers on Friday morning and all the other workers in the shops came out in protest. According to the Joint Committee of Action, the employers, with the approval of the Joint Board, took advantage of this stoppage to discharge some of their higher paid workers and planned to replace them with new and lower paid people. However, 15 of these shops have already reinstated their workers and it is believed that most of the others will be adjusted by Monday night. In those shops refusing to take back their workers a strike will be declared; but little difficulty is anticipated by the Joint Committee of Action because the stoppage has demonstrated that this group has the power to tie up the entire industry if it should decide to do so.

Hyman Estimates 35,000 Out.

"There can be no further question that we have the vast majority of the membership of our union with us in our fight against the corrupt officials," Louis Hyman, chairman of the Joint Committee of Action, said today.

"President Sigman says that 10,900 members answered our call and stopped work. Such a statement is ridiculous. No one can issue any absolute figures for there was no actual count.

"Originally we engaged halls to accommodate 20,000 people. These were filled to capacity, others were hired and also crowded, and many workers never got into any meeting at all. According to the reports we have received today from all sources, we estimate at least 35,000 stopped work.

"For the purpose of minimizing whatever figures we might give out in this connection, President Sigman has for several days been talking of the 70,000 or 80,000 cloak and dressmakers in this city. The truth is there are only about 50,000 affiliated with the New York joint board, and this included the workers in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Brownsville, Jersey and suburbs of New York. Whenever the expenses of the joint board are apportioned—and they are always apportioned on a per capita basis—the official membership is 50,000.

"President Sigman's further statement that we have 25,000 unemployed in our union today would mean that one-half of the members are out of work. How could this be possible at this time which is considered the peak of the fall season in our industry? Even in slack seasons we never have such a percentage of unemployment as anyone connected with the industry knows well.

"All these misleading figures are issued in an effort to prove that the joint board still has the allegiance of the members of our union; but President Sigman realizes, just as well as we do, that the majority of the workers are strongly supporting the Joint Committee of Action and stand with them in all their demands."