In Justice

Front-paged by the august New York Times one day last week was a story about an editorial in Justice, house organ of David Dubinsky's International Ladies Garment Workers Union. The Garment Workers have had plenty of good publicity this winter from their Labor Stage musical revue Pins and Needles but the Justice editorial was in dead earnest. Profoundly regretting the breakdown of the A. F. of L.C. I. O. peace negotiations, the editorial declared:

"The disappointment over this failure will be felt more keenly in view of the fact that a practical approach to peace was deemed to have been in sight only a short while ago. . . . Given the will and an unbiased handling, these problems, it seemed, could be settled by diligent application within a reasonable time. . . ."

Pointing out that A. F. of L. was ready to compromise on the question of industrial unionism for mass production industries and had even agreed tentatively to a curb on the powers of its executive committee, the editorial went on to say that the ''amazing thing" was that the "logical and workable solution" of the remaining difficulties was "completely tossed out of the window." This proposal was to set up joint subcommittees to settle the jurisdictional claims of rival C. I. O. & A. F. of L. unions, subsequently allowing the original C. I. 0. unions to return to A. F. of L. as a group. "Such an approach, it seems to us. could not have been stigmatized by any right thinking person as 'treason' or 'desertion' by either side." In other words, the Garment Workers placed responsibility for the breakdown of the peace negotiations squarely on the head of John L. Lewis.

Such sentiments coming, officially sanctioned, from one of the original C-. I. 0. unions were of prime Labor significance. With John Lewis' United Mine WTorkers and Sidney Hillman's Amalgamated Clothing Workers, the Garment Workers Union was one of C. I. O.'s principal pillars. Its cash support alone has run to some $300,000.

Just as significant to C. I. 0. as its financial support has been the Garment Workers contribution in manpower. In 1926 when a disastrous strike cost the union some $3,500,000, the only solvent local was David Dubinsky's. He was made president of the international union in 1932, after the death of famed Ben Schlesinger. Under the New Deal membership has jumped from 40,000 to 260,000.

The Union owns a $500,000 non-profit vacation resort in Pennsylvania's Pocono Hills. Some 25,000 members are enrolled in union classes, learning everything from trade union tactics to ballroom dancing. The Union goes in for sports, clubs, pageants, dramatics, music--and politics. For the Garment Workers Union is one of the twin pillars of the American Labor Party, which holds the balance of power in New York State politics. Labor Party chairman is Luigi Antonini, president of the world's biggest local, Garment Workers No. 89 with 42,000 members.

The American Labor Party has also suffered lately from the C. I. 0. dissension. For its other party pillar is Sidney Hillman's Amalgamated Clothing Workers. And between Sidney Hillman and David Dubinsky there is no lost love, although at the C. I. 0. convention last October the two leaders of the needle trades made a brave effort to demonstrate harmony. No strong man like Sidney Hillman or John Lewis but considered by many a better trade unionist than either, David Dubinsky wants no C. I. O. dictatorship.. Whether David Dubinsky will go so far as to withdraw from C. I. 0. remains to be seen. But the conclusion of the Justice editorial left little doubt that the Garment Workers were prepared for drastic action:

"In the fight for this cardinal issue [of industrial unionism] our union has done its share wholeheartedly and loyally. We had to face costly attacks upon us in many places because we are par of the C. I. O., and we gladly paid the price. But our members had a right to hope and to expect that when peace appeared realizable or possible it should and would be consummated. . . ."

Several days later Advance, mouthpiece of Sidney Hillman's Amalgamated Clothing Workers, came out with a full-page editorial which pointedly ignored the Justice editorial, laid full responsibility for failure of peace negotiations on the A. F. of L. Editorialized Mr. Hillman: "It takes two to make a bargain. One of the two, the A. F. of L., so far has proved unwilling to recede from the untenable position which it took in 1935."

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