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GUIDE TO GOOD READING

Bonoski tells real ey behind
union organization of Ford plant

IN HIS Brother Bill McKie,
Philip Bonoski tells a story that
every trade unionist should read.
It is the story of the building of
the union in the giant Ford plant
and the part played by rank-and-
file Communists, militant work-
ers and the hundreds of name-
less ones. who worked under-
ground to smash the worst, anti-
union corporation in the U-S.

Bill McKie, known as Mr. Auto
in Detroit, arrived in that city
in 1927, on a visit from Scotland.
The visit became a permanent
stay and Bill became a crusader,
to organize Ford.

‘There was no union there ea
men were frightened when he
talked about building one. So
were the AFL bureaucrats he
went to see. Organize a few
skilled craftsmen, yes. But Ford
as a whole, no! Ford was Am-
erican free enterprise at its best

. paid the highest wages . . .
had an army of company police,
spies and plain-gangsters .. .
couldn’t be organized. That’s
what they told Bill But Bill
had faith in the workers and be-
gan to look for others who had
the same idea as himself.

Through the New York Daily
Worker and shop papers put out
by Communists and militant
workers, Bill found the union, an

- affiliate of the Trade Union Edu-

cational League, headed by Wil-
liam Z. Foster, now chairman of
the U.S. Communist party.

In 1927-28, Ford laid off al-
most his entire working staff of
60,000, and then took them back,
at lower wages, to work on a
faster assembly line. Then came
the crash and the depression.
Ford’s staff was cut from 122,000
to 37,000, but Bill was one of the
lucky ones. He still had a job.

When Ford Service Police fir-
ed on a peaceful demonstration
in front of the River Rouge plant
on March 7, 1932, four men were
killed; including two members of

QUARTERLY REVIEWED

{2

the Young Communist League.
Bill sneaked away from work to
take part in that demonstration.
A few days later, 70,000 march-
ed behind the coffins, to be join-
ed by 30.000 more in Grand
Circus Park. Bill, by. this time
56 years of age. listened to the
speeches, and made a vow he
would never give up till Ford
was organized.

In 1933 came the strike of
15,000 workers in plants, making
parts for Ford. Bill took an
active part in this strike, work-
ing almost around the. clock.
There was no job for him at
Ford because of the shutdown.
When the strike was lost through
a combination of spies, disrupt-
ors. newspaper and government
pressure and police clubs. Bill
was not down-hearted. “We
closed down .Ford. We have lost
a fight, but Ford was closed
down.”

In 1934 Bill was fired because
of an unsigned article in the
New York Daily Worker and
blacklisted in the auto industry.
He volunteered as an organizer
for the union and went to work
at $10 a week.

* tee ee or.

IN 1936, Walter Reuther came
back from the Soviet Union with
his brother Victor. Walter was
starry-eyed, all aglow with the
new vision he had seen in the
‘Soviet Union. He was sure so-
cialism in the U.S.; was just
around the corner.

With Bill’s help, he joined the
union and was a delegate a few
months later to the conference
that established the United Auto-
mobile Workers of America, CIO.
Walter was on the way up ‘and:
was using the Communists.

~ local.

Later, when it suited his pur-
pose, he made a liar of himself
by saying just the opposite to
what he had said in 1936.

In 1937, Bill thought Walter
was too ambitious, and wanted
to oppose him for president of
the 30,000-strong West Side
Only Bill could have beat-
en him. but he ‘listened to the
counsel of. others and_ stood
aside, in the interests of unity.
Bill had joined the Communist
party in 1935 and he had only
one thought: to serve the inter-
ests of the workers.

A short time later. Reuther
began firing ‘Communists and
militants and Bill got the axe.
Walter began to pad the staff
with “yes” men and college so-
cialists. . He was a Communist to
Communists, a Socialist to Social-
ists and a “labor statesman” to
big business. This was the road
to betrayal.

Bill went on tour, selling but-
tons and the book, The Flivver
King, by Upton Sinclair, in or-
der to raise money to organize
Ford. Out of this, he was allow-
ed $10 to $15 a week.

A working coalition of left
and centre, under John L. Lewis,
was giving direction to the CIO.
By 1941, the membership had
reached 7,000,000 and it was
time to tackle Ford.

General Motors surrendered
and then Chrysler. Organizers
came to Detroit and the strategy
was mapped out. But the way
had been cleared by Bill and
countless underground workers,
black and white, native and for-
eign born.

When the big strike finally
took place, it was the workers
who called it. Reuther. Frank-
ensteen, Thomas and Addes; the
union’s national leaders, were
against it. It was Bill McKie who
“organized a solid barricade of
cars, bumper to bumper, all the
way around the huge Ford prop-

Fourth issue shows: growth of
New Frontiers as cultural force

THE SUN breaks through be-
tween the grimy buildings and
plays about the heads of the four
children posing for the camera
in a lively, friendly group. The
little girl hanging on the necks
of her friends, gives you a: wel-
come grin from under the untidy
mop of hair . . . Everything in
the picture’ builds the story of

_ heat on the brick walls, paper

and dust on the sidewalk, the
city children’s summer. “Near

the Gasworks,” the cover photo

by Helene Wasser for the cur-
rent issue of New Frontiers is a
fitting introduction. to the con-
tents of this magazine, which con-
tains much fine reading and art
work of a‘high and sensitive
quality. oe

Here is a blending of material
which is likely to hold the read-
ers’ interest from start to. finish,
whether it is the story of the new

teacher in the northern ranching

settlement in Saskatchewan,
passing her test with honors at
the community dance, and feel-

“ing the warmth and love of the

people among whom she _ has
come to live and work; or in the
story of the six musicians dis-
missed from the Toronto Symph-
ony Orchestra when they were

unable to obtain border crossing
_eards for the U.S., whose valiant

fight for reinstatement has rous-
ed thousands of Canadians to
speak for and defend the sover-
eignty of our cultural life.

You can read with pride the
speech given by the French play-
wright, Jean-Paul Sartre, to the
recent Congress of Peoples for
Peace in Vienna, and enjoy the
rhythmic fantasy of Grey Girl’s
Gallop, a poem by a Prince Ed-
ward Island worker, wherein he
describes the “passionate rout”
of galloping which a trotting
grey mare goes in for when she
kicks over the traces and breaks
free of her driver. Carl Rix, who
has given us the illustrations to
this poem, has interpreted the
“wild white vision” of the gallop-
ing horse, with joyousness and
poetry.

There is an ‘exciting centre
section on Canadian sculpture,
including a figure of Louis Riel
by J. B. Cote, standing, his arms
at his hips, his face determined
and thoughtful. These examples
of our sculptural achievement
and heritage are well chosen and
well. shown.

* * 1

IN THE FIELD of music, there
are two articles which can be
read in conjunction; one a
thoughtful account of some of
our Canadian composers and

description of our musical scene;
the other Sergei Prokofiev writ-
ing on the Purpose of Music in
which he speaks of the composer
whe is first and foremost a citi-
zen “so that his art may con-
sciously extol human life and
lead man to a radiant future.”
New Frontiers has also given us,
the words and music of the
haunting song of the exiled Pat-
riot, Un Canadien Errant.

* * Ke

THERE ARE two comments on
the back cover which are worthy
of note. Two supporters are
writing to the magazine.
says “You are giving the people
of Canada a voice.” ~~.) che

other says “I hate to sell them
before I read one, but people
wanted them right away. I can
always sell New Frontiers.” This
issue of New Frontiers (available
at the People’s Cooperative Book-
store, 337 West Pender Street,

Vancouver, price 40 cents) is cer-
tainly giving a voice to the Can- —

ada of peace, friendship and de-
mocracy, and I am sure that

many more readers will decide >
to become supporters and help.

to sell the magazine amongst
their friends and acquaintances,
atfer reading it—J.O.

One >

A United Auto Workers‘ organizer attacked by Ford thugs during
the campaign to organize Ford’s giant Detroit plant in 1941.

erty. Ten days after the strike
began, Ford threw in-the towel.
_ It was a proud day for Bill,
seven years after he was dis-
missed, when he returned to
work in the plant. The workers
elected him to office as soon as
they could and he became the
best known and most respected
trade union member in. Detroit.
* * x

IN 1950, at 74 years of age,

Bill retired on a pension of $90

‘a month, but he didn’t stop

fighting. When Reuther, under
a cloak of false patriotism, took
advantage of the war hysteria to
get rid of his opposition, Bill
wrote a letter to Ford workers:
“Why has Local 600 been singled
out at the present time for the
attack launched against us by the
Ford Motor Company, the Un-
American Committee and the of-
ficers of the International
Union?”

This letter exsinined why Reu-

_ther had placed the Ford local

under an administration — to
silence opposition to his phoney

five-year escalator agreement —
and what the workers had to do

to fight back. As soon as the

workers had the chance, they
held an election and voted in
their own slate, not the Reuther
slate. This was a great victory
for the workers and a great trib-

- ute to Bill McKie and the many

builders like him, Communists

and non-Communists.
Next time you hear a work

mate talk about the Communists

using the union for their own
Purposes, ask him to read Bro

ther Bill McKie (obtainable i0

Vancouver at the People’s Coop:

erative Bookstore, 337 West Pen:

der Street, price $1.65). Books

like this help a worker to realize

who are the best trade unionists

and who are,the enemies of labor

within the ranks. They will show

him, by example from life, that :
the working class needs unity

and that red-baiting is a weapoD
of the capitalist class, designed
to split, divide and- destroy the
fighting capacity of the working
class— JACK PHILLIPS.

—— A

He Sang

Long play 33 1/3

/

The U.S. State Department said Paul Robeson
couldn’t leave his country to sing to Canadians

He sang at'the Peace Sy to many thousands!
’ AND AGAIN
He will sing and speak for you on the records
of that concert produced by the International.
Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers! .

OBTAINABLE NOW FROM:
International Union of Mine, Mill

and Smelter Workers ;
111 DUNSMUIR ST.

Three record album 78 __ $6. No. desired 1
PLUS SHIPPING CHARGES AND TAX

For Us! |

And Now
He Sings
Again

‘

_ VANCOUVER | \

$5 No. desired oe

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — MARCH 27, 1953 — PAGE