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*% New National Maritime Union Strengthens Cause of Progress - By Roy Hudson For the first time in its history the powerful United Fruit Line has agreed to recognize the right of it's seamen to organize and tiate union agreements. This victory over the notoriously open-shop United Fruit Company also marks the birth af a militant progressive union, the National Maritime Union, The outcome of the recent United Frult strike shows the correctness of the steps taken by the Eastern and Gulf sailors and stewards in forming the National Maritime Union. As members of the Inter- bationa!l Seamen’s Union they had been deprived of all rights to de- termine who should represent them and how their union should be conducted. They formed the National Mari- time Union in order to maintain their organized strength and use it to secure recognition of their elected representatives, to conclude union agreements and improve ‘wages and conditions. The United Fruit settlement shows that seamen, united into a powerful National Maritime achieve these sims. SAME FACTORS AS IN CIO The same factors that brought about the birth of the Committee for Industrial Organization also made necessary the formation of the. National Maritime Union. These factors are and were the un- democratic policies of the A. ¥F. af L.. reactionaries, their failure io organize the unorganized, their blind hatred of everything pro- gressive and their opposition to in- dustrial unionism. Truly the record of the interna- tionel officials of the ISU and of the Executive Council of the A. F. of L shows that they have been the enemles of unity and progress. They have destroyed democracy in the I8U. They openly recruited acabs to break the historic seamen’s strikes. They refused to recognize the officials democratically elected by the membership. These labor parasites, during months of negotiations, refused to agree that honest democratic elections be conducted. They _ blocked the National Labor Rela- _ tions Board from conducting . elections to deflermine the collec- i five bergaining agents of the seamen. . On Monday ‘they socqred an Union, can, /Step tor Labor U, a injunctton raining the elected officials of the Marine Cooks and Stewards Unien from function- ing as such. The effect of this injunction is to prevent the mem- bership ao the anion from democratically determininy ‘ho shall represent them and wow their union shall be run. The membership of the Sailors Union are confronted with the same threat, GAINS JEOPARDIZED Thus every gain and right of the seamen is jeopardized. Their gains are many. The tens of thousands of seamen are united behind the officials they democratically elected. Through their organized action, the seamen have forced practically every major steamship company to and deal with their elected representative. Under the leadership of Joe Curran, Blackie Meyers, Jones, Jerry King and their other elected officials, the seamen have improved conditions, increased wages, organized the unorganized, and forced the United Fruit to deal with the union. The policies of the repudiated officials and the effect of the in- Junction would wipe these things all out by robbing the seamen of their democratic rights, ensleving them to admitted strikebreakers and weakening their organized strength. : The seamen are determined to continue their march forward Denied their democratic rights in the LS.U., they had no other al- ternative bat to constitute them- selves as the National Maritime Union for the purpose of estab. Hshing democratic or; n through which they ie ie ee et 1 «4 hton- Unity Couveatig SoS as Need to Pushing Many Gains tion of their elected representa- tives and conclude union agree- ments. In STEONGER POSITION United in the National Mari- time Union, the tens of thousands of Eastern and Gulf seamen, who have condscted such « splendid, persistent fight, will be in a stronger position to defend their own interests, to cooperate with thelr brother marine unions, and to help in the formation of a na- Honal maritime federation, Certainly the formation of the National Maritime Union strength- ens the fight for a united national seamen’s union. The undemocratic policies of 18.U, and A, F. of L. re- nity TH . - i ; . 1 actionaries has destroyed all sem- |' blance of a national organization of the seamen. Further, these bu- Treucrats no longer represent any- one. Certainly the seamen can ex- pect little from these people in re- storing a national seamen’s union. Only through the convening of a national unity convention by the district ynions in the East Gulf and Pacific will it be pos- sible to hammer out a program and policy that will agsin unite ‘a0 seamen into one national union. The consolidation of the new shion of the Eastern and Gulf milors and stewards will make such a convention realiz- able. 4nd the members of the Na- Honsl Meritime Union are pledged te support such a policy. ‘The National ritime Union ts also correct in Stating that such a unity convention is of -vital im- portance in order that the seamen can nationally determine their at- titude towards the C.LO. This be- comes an important question espe- clally in view of the refusal, over a Jong period of time, of the A. ¥. of L. Executive Council, to recognize and protect the democratic rights of the membership of the 1.5.0. The unification of the Eastern and Gulf sailors and stewards in: the National Maritime Union will strengthen the cause of progress and the fight for a united trade union movement. For this reason all progressive movement should give tional Maritime Union support. DAILY WORKER -*2* 5? REZ BPooRdev BAYS Ef-'"f SSC7 forces in the labor / 7) Na- cir fullest’ (7) e ad d o I