PSWC Education Podcast

WZF - American Trade Unionism - Part 1: 10. Organize the Unorganized

Chapter 10 argues that organizing the 25 million unorganized workers constitutes the most urgent task facing American labour, as current unions represent only 3.5 million members out of eligible masses in industries like steel, textiles, and automobiles. The text harshly criticizes AFL leadership for squandering favourable economic conditions, accusing them of being preoccupied with internal politics and "fighting reds" while neglecting industrial organizing. It warns that the current prosperity is temporary and that an impending depression will devastate the labour movement unless it strengthens its position through immediate mass organization. The chapter contends that craft unionism has irretrievably lost worker confidence following failed strikes, insisting that only the promise of industrial unionism achieved through amalgamation can inspire unorganized workers to join. It calls for a vigorous double campaign combining amalgamation of existing unions with a nationwide organization drive, pointing to England's Trade Union Congress as a model for this necessary approach.

WZF - American Trade Unionism - Part 1: 9. The Movement for Amalgamation and a Labor Party

Chapter 9 documents the Trade Union Educational League's "triple drive" advocating for amalgamation, an independent Labor Party, and recognition of the Soviet Union during the early 1920s. The campaign gained substantial traction, with over half of the organized trade union movement supporting at least one of these demands. The movement centered in Chicago, where the Chicago Federation of Labor adopted a resolution calling for industry-wide consolidation of unions, sparking a national "Amalgamation or Annihilation" campaign. Simultaneously, the Labor Party movement experienced a resurgence following the 1920 electoral disappointments, culminating in a July 1923 convention after thousands of local unions endorsed the initiative.

WZF - American Trade Unionism - Part 1: 8. Industrial Unionism

Chapter 8 outlines the Trade Union Educational League's theory that industrial unions develop through an evolutionary process progressing from craft union "isolation" to "federation" and finally to "amalgamation" (full industrial consolidation). The chapter critiques "dual unionism"—the practice of creating separate revolutionary unions—and argues instead for transforming existing craft unions from within by keeping militant workers inside the organized masses. It presents the Amalgamated Clothing Workers not as a product of dual unionism, but as a successful example of militants working within the old United Garment Workers to defeat reactionary leadership before eventually forming an independent organization. The League's program emphasizes establishing a left bloc within existing unions to push for industrial organization, international affiliation with the Red International of Labor Unions, and replacement of bureaucratic leadership with class-conscious militants. This approach rejects sectarian isolation in favour of working within the mass organizations to achieve revolutionary transformation.

WZF - American Trade Unionism - Part 1: 7. Dual Unionism

Foster refutes common explanations blaming immigrants or working class prosperity for American labour's backwardness, identifying dual unionism—radicals abandoning mainstream unions to form separate organizations—as the true cause of the movement's weakness. Foster argues that this policy drained the vital "militant minority" from established unions, leaving them leaderless and stagnant under reactionary control while the dual unions themselves consistently failed and wasted immense revolutionary energy. The catastrophic results included destroyed unions like the Western Federation of Miners and the IWW's collapse, but by 1922, militants had abandoned dual unionism in favour of working within existing unions to revitalize the labour movement.

WZF - American Trade Unionism - Part 1: 6. The Post-War Attack on Labour

During World War I, American trade union bureaucrats embraced full class collaboration, accepting no-strike agreements and aligning with employers, which left unions ill-prepared for the post-war offensive. Following the war, strengthened American imperialism and militant employers launched a ruthless attack on labour between 1919-1922, provoking massive strikes across steel, railroad, mining, and other industries that workers were ultimately unable to win. The result was labour's most catastrophic defeat in history, with unions losing over one million members and being annihilated in key industries, while left-wing calls for industrial unionism and a labour party were systematically crushed by conservative, class-collaborationist leadership.