Part 9

In consequence of The Flying Squadron's heroic battles in the immediate Pittsburgh district the whole campaign was put practically upon a national basis, where it should have been at the start. Almost every steel centre in America was being organized simultaneously. Members were streaming into the co-operating unions by thousands. The entire steel industry was on the move. Perhaps it may be fitting to introduce at this point an official digest of the general report of the number of men organized by the National Committee during the whole campaign. The report covers the period up to January 31, 1920, but almost all of the men were enrolled before the strike started on September 22.

GENERAL REPORT on 250,000 members enrolled by the National Committee for Organizing Iron and Steel Workers during the American Federation of Labor Organizing Campaign in the Steel Industry, from August 1, 1918, until January 31, 1920.

By Localities By Trades

South Chicago 6,616 Blacksmiths 5,699 Chicago Heights 569 Boilermakers 2,097 Misc. Chicago Dist 3,871 Brick & Clay Workers 187 Pittsburgh 8,970 Bricklayers 581 Johnstown 11,846 Coopers 138 Butler 2,519 Electrical Workers 8,481 Monessen & Donora 8,665 Foundry Employees 2,406 New Castle 2,710 Hod Carriers 2,335 Homestead 3,571 Iron, Steel & Tin Wkrs. 70,026 Braddock & Rankin 4,044 Iron Workers 5,829 Clairton 2,970 Machinists 12,406 McKeesport 3,963 Metal Polishers 349 Gary 7,092 M. M. & Smelter Wkrs. 15,223 Indiana Harbor 4,654 Mine Workers 1,538 Joliet 3,497 Moulders 1,382 Milwaukee 681 Pattern Makers - Waukegan 1,212 Plumbers 1,369 DeKalb 332 Quarry Workers 725 Aurora 242 Railway Carmen 5,045 Pullman 4,073 Seamen - Kenosha 585 Sheet Metal Workers 377 Hammond 1,102 Stationary Engineers 2,194 Wheeling Dist. 5,028 Stationary Firemen 5,321 Farrell & Sharon 3,794 Steam Shovelmen 2 Cleveland 17,305 Switchmen 440 Sparrows Point 93 Unclassified 12,552 Brackenridge & Natrona 2,110 East Pittsburgh 146 East Liverpool 50 Warren & Niles 474 Minnesota Dist. 185 Pueblo 3,113 Coatesville 828 Steubenville Dist. 4,108 Birmingham Dist. 1,470 Canton & Massillon 5,705 Vandergrift 1,986 Buffalo & Lackawanna 6,179 Youngstown 19,040 Peoria 984 Decatur 320 ------- ------- Total by Localities 156,702 Total by Trades 156,702

This report includes only those members actually signed up by the National Committee for Organizing Iron and Steel Workers, and from whose initiation fees $1.00 apiece was deducted and forwarded to the general office of the National Committee. It represents approximately 50 to 60 per cent. of the total number of steel workers organized during the campaign, and is minimum in every respect.

The report does not include any of the many thousands of men signed up at Bethlehem, Steelton, Reading, Apollo, New Kensington, Leechburg and many minor points which felt the force of the drive but where the National Committee made no deductions upon initiation fees. In Gary, Joliet, Indiana Harbor, South Chicago and other Chicago District points the National Committee ceased collecting on initiation fees early in 1919, hence this report makes no showing of the thousands of men signed up in that territory during the last few months of the campaign. Likewise, at Coatesville and Sparrows' Point, during only a short space of the campaign were deductions made for the National Committee. Many thousands more men were signed up directly by the multitude of local unions in the steel industry, that were not reported to the National Committee. These do not show in this calculation. Nor do the great number of ex-soldiers who were taken into the unions free of initiation fees--in Johnstown alone 1300 ex-soldier steel workers joined the unions under this arrangement. Of course no accounting is here included for the army of workers in outside industries who became organized as a result of the tremendous impulse given by the steel campaign.

In view of these exceptions it may be conservatively estimated that well over 250,000 steel workers joined the unions notwithstanding the opposition of the Steel Trust, which discharged thousands of its workers, completely suppressed free speech and free assembly in Pennsylvania and used every known tactic to prevent the organization of its employees.

WM. Z. FOSTER, Secretary-Treasurer National Committee for Organizing Iron & Steel Workers.

Certified by Enoch Martin Auditor, District No. 12 United Mine Workers of America.

FOOTNOTES:

Throughout the latter part of the organizing campaign and the first two months of the strike, Mother Jones lent great assistance to the steel workers. This veteran organizer (she testified in court to being 89 years old) of the United Mine Workers labored dauntlessly, going to jail and meeting the hardships and dangers of the work in a manner that would do credit to one half her age.

Relative to this meeting there occurs the following dialogue on page 508 of the report on the Senate Committee's Hearings on the Steel Strike:

Senator Sterling. "Was Mr. Foster here prior to the strike?"

Mr. Diehl (Gen. Manager Duquesne Works, Carnegie Steel Co.). "Yes; he was here trying to hold a meeting, but the meeting was not held."

The Chairman. "What happened to the meeting?"

Mr. Diehl. "Well, we simply prohibited it."

And naturally so. Mr. Diehl and other company officials shut off meetings in the halls and on the lots of their towns just as readily as they would have done had attempts been made to hold them in the mill yards.

Now that the strike is over and spring is again at hand, the unions have resumed the battle for free speech and assembly in Duquesne and promise to fight it to a conclusion.

STORM CLOUDS GATHER

RELIEF DEMANDED--THE AMALGAMATED ASSOCIATION MOVES--A GENERAL MOVEMENT--THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE--GOMPERS' LETTER UNANSWERED--THE STRIKE VOTE--GARY DEFENDS STEEL AUTOCRACY --PRESIDENT WILSON ACTS IN VAIN--THE STRIKE CALL

Surging forward to the accomplishment of the "impossible," the organization of the steel industry, the twenty-four co-operating international unions found themselves in grips with the employers long before they were strong enough to sustain such a contest. It is almost always so with new unions. In their infancy, when their members are weak, undisciplined and inexperienced, and the employers are bitterly hostile and aggressive, is exactly the time when they must establish principles and adjust grievances that would test the strength of the most powerful unions. Inability to do so means dissolution, either through a lost strike or by disintegration. Following in the wake of the newly formed steel workers' unions came a mass of such difficulties requiring immediate settlement. The demand for relief from the evils of long hours, low wages and miserable working conditions was bad enough; but infinitely more serious was the need to take care of the army of men discharged for union membership. Thousands of these walked the streets in the various steel towns clamoring for protection. And the men on the job demanded it for them. Nor could these appeals be ignored. Whether they deemed the occasion propitious or not, the steel workers' unions, on pain of extinction, had to act in defence of their harassed membership.

So bad was the situation by early spring that, lacking other means of relief, local strikes were threatening all over the country. To allow these forlorn-hope walkouts to occur would have meant disintegration and disaster to the whole campaign. They had to be checked at all costs and the movement kept upon a national basis. Therefore, the National Committee for Organizing Iron and Steel Workers called a general conference of delegates of steelworkers' unions of all trades through the entire industry, to take place in Pittsburgh, May 25, 1919. The object was to demonstrate to the rank and file how fast the national movement was developing, to turn their attention to it strongly, and thus hearten them to bear their hardships until it could come to their assistance.

Right in the face of this general movement of all the trades the Amalgamated Association made a bid for separate consideration by the steel companies. By instruction of its convention, President Tighe wrote the following letter to Mr. Gary:

Convention Hall, Louisville, Ky., May 15, 1919 Honorable Elbert H. Gary, Chairman, Executive Officers, United States Steel Corporation, Hoboken, N. J.

Dear Sir:

The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers of North America, in National Convention assembled, have by resolution, instructed the undersigned to address you as Chairman of the Executive Officers of the United States Steel Corporation on a matter which in the opinion of the representatives of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers, is of vital importance to the Corporation you have the honor to represent and to the Amalgamated Association.

As you no doubt are aware, there is a serious disturbing element in the industrial world at the present time, a great spirit of unrest has spread over our common country. It is becoming more and more acute, and there is no telling when or where the storm clouds will break. It is the judgment of the representatives of the Amalgamated Association that it is the patriotic duty of all good citizens to use their every effort to stem the tide of unrest, if possible.

The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers have admitted many thousands of the employees of the United States Steel Corporation into their organization; these members are asking that they be given consideration by the Corporation you are the Honorable Chairman of, in their respective crafts and callings, and also that as law-abiding citizens who desire the privilege of having their representatives meet with the chosen representatives of the Corporation you represent, to jointly confer on questions that mutually concern both.