The Potters Herald

Green Urges All AFL Local Unions Affiliate With State, City Groups

The valuable service rendered by the officers and members of state federations of labor and city central bodies during the 1948 political campaign was reflected in the political victory which labor won at the polls at the November 2d election.

These splendid organizations carried on an educational campaign which made clear to all members of the American Federation of Labor and their friends that the workers must, as sovereign citizens, register and vote at the November 2d election. They succeeded in their efforts. A large percentage of labor and labor's friends turned out at the election and voted. They defeated many candidates for re-election to Congress who voted for the Taft-Hartley bill, and elected a large number who pledged their support to the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act. The political complexion of Congress was changed. The voters of the nation voted in favor of the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act. That was made possible because the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act was an issue in the campaign.

Surely such a demonstration of solidarity, of service, and of the value of education, makes it clear that state federations of labor and city central bodies should be made strong, influential and effective. It therefore behooves all representatives of American Federation of Labor organizations to serve in every possible way in an effort to bring about the affiliation of every local union chartered by an international organization with state federations of labor and city central bodies in which they are eligible for membership.

If all eligible local unions are affiliated with state federations of labor and city central bodies, the voice of labor as spoken through these agencies can be made stronger and more influential than ever. The last election emphasized the fact that labor has the votes in industrial centers and industrial cities, necessary to win elections, providing the votes of labor can be placed in the ballot box when elections are held. It is state federations of labor and city central bodies that we must rely upon to get out the votes of labor and labor's friends in industrial sections.

Let us make these agencies strong and influential, effective,

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aggressive and highly educational so that they can serve labor in an even more effective way in the future than they have in the past.

The decision of the Supreme Court upon the constitutionality of anti-labor laws, which was render- ed recently, makes it clear that state federations of labor and city central bodies must redouble their efforts in order to prevent the en- actment of additional antilabor legislation and bring about the re- peal of the little Taft-Hartley laws already on the statute books of a number of states.

This objective can be reached if state federations of labor and city central bodies are made strong; this strength can be developed through the affiliation of every local union which is eligible to membership in state federations of labor and city central bodies. No good reason can be offered for the refusal of a local union eligible to membership, to affiliate with a state federation of labor or a cen- tral body. On the other hand. the economic and legislation welfare of the workers themselves can be served in no better way than through affiliation of local unions with state federations of labor and city central bodies.