The Daily Worker

Railroaders, Fight Wage-Cut!

A CONFERENCE of the general chairmen of five railway craft unions, representing, or better said-misrepresenting-some 375,000 railway workers is meeting in Chicago.

Clearly the rank and file of the workers, angered at their officials' lackadaisical acceptance, year after year, of worse conditions for the workers, especially the terrific speed-up resulting in wide unemployment, are trying to force their officials to act in their defense against the railroad companies.

A forlorn hope. For through all the discussions so far reported in the capitalist press, whether of the "26 day month" or the "six-hour day," proposals deliberately made to appear complicated in order to befuddle the rank and file, one fact stands out:

The general chairmen's conference, the incurable traitors at the top of these unions, the union bureaucracy, is making not the slightest effort to defend the interests of the workers, but is trying to carry out the policy of the railroad companies to "relieve" unemployment at the expense of the employed-while the companies keep up paying dividends on billions of watered stock.

To make a pretense, the companies at the same time of the conference, are releasing a flood of bunk about what they have done to maintain employment, and "pledge" in soulful words that they will continue doing so"as far as is practicable!"

But in essence, the program of the companies, and of their agents in the leadership of the railway unions is to strive to lay all the burden of the crisis on the workers, and by the schemes proposed in the Chicago conference, to pretend to aid the unemployed railway workers by forcing what amounts to a wage cut on the employed.

Against this program, the rank and file of the workers, both organized and unorganized, must act, swiftly and decisively. They must reject all schemes to make them bear the burden in any form. They can only do so, however, by electing their own rank and file action committees, breaking down the stupid barriers of craft separation between all the "brotherhoods" and uniting as one to throw down the challenge of general strike action against the railroad barons around demands which will embrace every worker from the unorganized gandy-dancer to the engineer that pulls the crack passenger trains.

It is no time for fooling with treacherous officials who must be forthwith and vigorously kicked out of all leadership. It is time to fight wage cuts, and the only way to do so is to unite all railway workers, employed and unemployed, for common strike action!

Defend your wage scales! Organize for action! Prepare for strike!