Free Unions Urge Probe of WFTU
PORTER, JOHN
Free Unions Urge Probe of WFTU By John Porter The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has just published a detailed analysis of the Communist-run World Federation of Trade Unions. The...
...We should find out what is the relationship of the Fur and Leather Workers, the Harry Bridges union, the United Electrical Workers and the Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers to the WFTU...
...The total membership of the Communist-dominated unions, the members of which are also employed in the smelting, fur-and-leather and electrical industries, is estimated to be less than 250,000...
...Such an investigation is particularly essential because of the current WFTU line of "unity" in the international labor movement—the old Communist united-front cry...
...The ICFTU document gives a pertinent answer: "It would be misleading to assume that the WFTU membership is an indication of the actual Communist strength in the various countries...
...2. "The WFTU claims no direct membership in the U.S., but some of the Communist-dominated unions, for example the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union claiming 65,000 members, belong to the WFTU trade departments...
...In less sophisticated areas, where trade-union movements are growing as an answer to modern industrialization, this "unity" cry may win some people over...
...There may be a few skeptics who will ask: Why bother investigating a group of unions whose membership is no more than 250,000 in a country with 16 million organized workers...
...Very often, their clandestine or disguised front organizations are more efficient than organizations working openly...
...What we learn there, through a sound, politically intelligent Congressional investigation, might be useful throughout the democratic world...
...We must dig deep into this underground...
...When as responsible a democratic organization as the ICFTU, which has been combating Communist penetration of free trade-unionism for six years, singles out a bloc of four unions in America as affiliated with the WFTU, it is time to sound the alarm...
...In the light of this, a full-fledged investigation of the WFTU and its activities in this country should be undertaken by the House and Senate Labor Committees, separately or jointly...
...It must be remembered that infiltration of bona fide trade unions and eventual domination of these unions by Communists is one of the means to carry out the directives coming through the WFTU from the Kremlin...
...3. "The Comintern was dissolved after this organization had served its purpose, and, since the Comin-form was also unable to achieve the aims set by the Kremlin, the WFTU is now expected to do the same job but under the disguise of trade-union activity...
...The report makes it quite clear that the WFTU is not a bona fide trade-union organization and points out that: 1. Dues payments to the WFTU by 64 million workers behind the Iron Curtain are used "to a considerable extent for the financing of subversive activities in democratic countries where the WFTU has comparatively few members...
Vol. 37 • August 1954 • No. 32
