Page:William Z. Foster, James P. Cannon and Earl Browder - Trade Unions in America.djvu/21

 (Communist) Party. The socialists have recently shown a disposition to withdraw from the league and join the fight against it. This is not because the league has narrowed its basis, but because the socialist party is turning more to the right and has ceased to offer any opposition to Gompers. Some of the most bitter struggles of the league are being waged today in the socialist-controlled needle trades union. Of course, as a militant organization, it does not want the affiliation of reactionaries who merely wear a socialist mask. But the fundamental basis of the league is the unification of all honest opposition elements on a broad program.

The local organization of the league has two forms: the general group and the industrial groups. All the members of the league in a given locality, regardless of the union they belong to, are brought together in the Local General Group. This group has general supervision of the propaganda work, it arranges public meetings co-ordinates the activities of the various units and stimulates the formation of new ones. The Local Industrial Group consists of trade union members belonging to unions in the same industry, such as the building trades workers, the metal workers, etc. The work of this group is more specific. Its task is to organize all the revolutionary and progressive forces within the given industry for the practical fight in the unions, on questions which specifically relate to their unions, as well as for the genera] slogans of the league. League members in each separate union are naturally organized into a nucleus and carry on a systematic and intensive work within it. These nuclei are formed in all unions, independent as well as A. F. of L.

The Local Industrial Groups are united in the National Industrial Conference. In most of the principal industries already National Industrial Conferences have been held to which have come the delegates from the Local Industrial Groups. The National Industrial Conference plays a role of great importance in the unions of each in-