Steel Adventure

Steel is the great, historic U. S. industry that Labor has never been able to organize. For the past eight months two factions within the American Federation of Labor--President William Green's conservative craft unionists and United Mine Worker John Llewellyn Lewis' progressive industrial unionists--have been at deadlock over the question of Labor's future form of organization, and Labor's future leadership. It was agreed that the man who maneuvered himself into position for the first dash over Steel's frontier would have a heavy advantage over his opponent, the chance of tapping the valuable support of 500,000 workers. It was also agreed that the vehicle for the dash was unimpressive little (7,000 members) Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers.

Beginning last November, John Lewis has welded nine A. F. of L. industrial unions, representing a third of the Federation's numerical strength, into the Committee for Industrial Organization. C. I. O.'s program is to let existent craft unions die on the vine, henceforth take into the A. F. of L. only industrial unions. A. F. of L.'s Executive Council issued last Janu ary the first of two orders commanding C. I. O. to disband. Miner Lewis impudently replied in March by offering to put up $500,000 if the A. F. of L. would put up $1,000,000 more to organize Steel along industrial lines. In effect, President Green agreed if Amalgamated would re spect craft organization. A set of illegitimate quintuplets could hardly have been more embarrassing to Amalgamated's reactionary old President Michael Francis Tighe. For 17 of his 78 years this onetime steel puddler has kept his tight little specialists' sodality of labor aristocrats in satisfied somnolence. A great&good friend of William Green and thoroughly in accord with conservative union principles, he was sincerely alarmed when the Blue Eagle hatched him some 100,000 members in 1933-34, was not comfortable until he had squeezed out most of the progressive young rank&filers. Of late, however, old Mike Tighe has spent more&more time brooding by his fireside, leaving direction of the union to artful Secretary-Treasurer Louis ("Shorty") Leonard. Last month delegates to Amalgamated's annual Convention at Canonsburg, Pa. made quite clear their disrespect for Tighe's leadership by voting 2-to-1 for industrial unionism, but reserved control of the organization drive by ignoring President Lewis' cash offer. Vainly hoping to settle the question without offending either side, a committee of Amalgamated officials last week junketed to Coshocton, Ohio to see William Green. Finding that he was unwilling to compromise with C. I. O. and unable to contribute any money, the committee requested a conference with Lewis. Telegraphed he from Washington: "May I suggest that it will be a complete waste of time for all concerned for your committee to attend this meeting unless you are prepared to carry out the instructions imposed upon your officers by the recent Canonsburg convention. The policy of fluttering procrastination followed by your board is already responsible for the loss of some weeks of time and must be abandoned. ... If you do not yet know your own mind, please stay at home."

Three days later Amalgamated's committee accepted bullnecked, bull-tempered John L. Lewis' money and program, gave him and his committee full control of the drive on Steel. Outbluffed and outfought, William Green dropped his belligerent manner, softly purred: "It has been quite evident . . . that those in charge of ... the Committee for Industrial Organization were determined to experiment. . . . Having embarked upon an adventure ... all interests will have an opportunity to learn of the virtue, validity and success of said plan. All will await with interest the final outcome of this new organization drive of the Committee for Industrial Organization."

Thoroughly delighted with Green's right-about-face and determined to make the most of his victory, Lewis shook up a few metaphors and replied:

"Dear Bill:

"I overlook the inane ineptitude of your statement. . . . Perchance you were agitated and distraught. ... It is inconceivable that you intend doing what your statement implies, i. e. to sit with the women under an awning on the hilltop while the steel workers in the valley struggle in the dust and agony of industrial warfare. ... It is known to you that your shipmates on the [A. F. of L.] Executive Council are even now planning to slit your political throat and scuttle your offi- cial ship. . . . Why not forego such com-pany and return home to the [Miners'] union that suckled you. ... An honored seat at the council table awaits you."

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