Page:William F. Dunne - The Threat to the Labor Movement (1927).pdf/22



HE constitution committee appointed by President Lewis went thru the constitution from cover to cover and recommended the elimination of every word, clause and sentence which testified to the militancy and class loyalty of the organization.

The object of the machine was to tear out of the pages of the constitution the tradition of struggle which the United Mine Workers have upheld since they first began the battle to rescue the coal miners of this continent from industrial serfdom.

The principal evidence of the utter reaction of the Lewis machine and of the strenuous efforts made by it to throttle all rank and file expression and force adoption of its "efficiency unionism" program, are contained in the following acts:

1. The replacement of the clause in the preamble to the constitution which stated that the workers were entitled to "the fun social value of their product" by the Civic Federation phrase "equitable fruits of their labor."

The preamble is now thoroly respectable.

2. The forcing of an amendment giving officialdom full power to levy and collect assessments of any amount and for any period of time without a referendum vote or any other form of sanction from the membership.

3. The "Americanization" of the United Mine Workers in the best American Legion style by inserting in the constitution a provision prohibiting members who are not American citizens from running for or holding office.

Other unions have put such a provision in their constitution but in the United Mine Workers, where the majority of the membership is foreign-born, this represents the limit of reaction.

It means that there has been set up in this union a little group of members enjoying superprivileges, an official caste which, by accident of birth or fortune, is vested with, the conduct of the union and the sole right to deal with the employers, frame all policies, etc.

The bulk of the membership is left only with the right to pay dues and, if not disfranchised by another provision which will be mentioned later, to vote for the official caste.

4. The insertion of an amendment to the constitution which prohibits, under pain of expulsion, any expression of the rank and file or of minority groups, such as criticism of officials and policies.

Ostensibly this section is directed at the Communists but lit is so worded as to enable the officialdom to outlaw all opposition.

5. The repudiation of the endorsement of a labor party made by former conventions and the substitution of the endorsement of the official American Federation of Labor policy of support of candidates of the capitalist parties.

6. The adoption of a resolution on the recognition of the Soviet Union, repudiating favorable actions of previous conventions in language which