Work party

“ The most that a working-class party could do, even if its politicians remained honest, would be to form a strong faction in the legislatures which might, by combining its vote with one side or another, win certain political or economic palliatives.
But what the working-class can do, when once they grow into a solidified organization, is to show the possessing class, through a sudden cessation of all work, that the whole social structure rests on them; that the possessions of the others are absolutely worthless to them without the workers' activity; ”

“ The one hope of the workman is a strong Labour Party.... The Labour Member has nothing but his service to give in return for support. Perhaps he is dependent on his fellows for his maintenance until Payment of Members is secured. ”

“ Thus far labor has sought to elect to office in this country men more or less friendly to labor in the older political parties. The Conference for Progressive Political Action, formed in February, 1922, as a result of a call of the machinists, railroad brotherhoods, etc., may later develop a powerful national Labor Party. ”

“ Labor Party in Parliament.—That this conference is in favor of establishing a distinct labor group in Parliament, who shall have their own whips and agree upon their policy, which must embrace a readiness to coöperate with any party which for the time being may be engaged in promoting legislation in the direct interest of labor, and be equally ready to associate themselves with any party in opposing measures having an opposite tendency; and, further, members of the labor group shall not oppose any candidate whose candidature is being promoted by one of our affiliated societies. ”

“ Collective bargaining on the part of labor unions and capital makes it possible for employers to know just what the workers think on matters of common interest. Is collective bargaining between host and guest so impossible, then?
Take, for example, the matter of arising in the morning. Of course, where there is a large house-party the problem is a simple one, for you can always hear the others pattering about and brushing their teeth. You can regulate your own arising by the number of people who seem to be astir. But if you are the only guest there is apt to be a frightful misunderstanding. ”

“ Is not self-interest the ruling passion in the human heart? Then how should any party be so true to Labour and so diligent in Labour's service as a Labour Party would be?
What is a Trade Union? It is a combination of workers to defend their own interests from the encroachments of the employers.
Well, a Labour Party is a combination of workers to defend their own interests from the encroachments of the employers, or their representatives in Parliament and on Municipal bodies. ”

“ They were looked upon first as a joke, and then, when the Workingmen's Party began to reveal its earnestness and strength, as an insolent challenge to constituted authority, to wealth and superiority, and as a menace to society. ”

“ The One Big Union, therefore, seeks to organize the wage worker, not according to craft, but according to industry; according to class and class needs. We, therefore, call upon all workers to organize irrespective of nationality, sex, or craft into a workers' organization, so that we may be enabled to more successfully carry on the everyday fight over wages, hours of work, etc., and prepare ourselves for the day when production for profit shall be replaced by production for use. ”

“ We will act against sexual harassment in the workplace. We will honor the work ethic -- by expanding the earned income tax credit so no one with children at home who works full-time is still in poverty; by fighting on the side of family farmers to ensure they get a fair price for their hard work; by working to sustain rural communities; by making work more valuable than welfare; and by supporting the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively without fear of intimidation or permanent replacement during labor disputes. ”

“ Even strike at your old associates and your own party if you will and when you can, without harming causes you hold dear. But for the duty of this hour, consider if there is not a common meeting-ground and instant necessity for union in a rational effort to avert present perils. ”

“ The surprising and encouraging result of such association is the announcement that the new Labour Party is today publicly thrown open to all workers, both by hand and by brain, with the object of securing for these the full fruits of their industry. ”

“ The Labor Party To-day.—The Independent Labor Party has been throughout its history avowedly socialistic. It has sought and obtained the adherence of thousands of laboring men, some of whom are, and some of whom are not, socialists. But its character is too radical to attract the mass of trade-union members and alongside it there has grown up a larger and broader organization known simply as the Labor Party. ”

“ To make our society one again, Democrats will restore America's founding values of family, community and common purpose.
We believe in the American people. We will challenge all Americans to give something back to their country. And they will be enriched in return, for when individuals assume responsibility, they acquire dignity. When people go to work, they rediscover a pride that was lost. When absent parents pay child support, they restore a connection they and their children need. When students work harder, they discover they can learn as well as any on earth. ”

“ The representation of the workers. Industrial Democracy.—In some large industrial concerns representation has already been given to the workers. They are permitted and encouraged to select a committee 394from among themselves whose function it is to take up with the management, in an official way, all questions of wages, hours of labor, discipline, and conditions of work. In case of disagreement between the committee and the management impartial arbiters are called in. Thus the employees are given a fair share in the settlement of all matters affecting their work and welfare. ”

“ But one of the happiest experiences that ever came to us in those long, dreary days, was to be allowed to become a member of the 'Working Party.' It was composed of twenty men, and all the prisoners who had any strength left were always eager to join it. ”

“ This principle of a progressive participation of labor in management, forces the frankest "recognition" that every party concerned must be taken (through its representatives) into the inner councils. This involves a publicity of business method and conditions which labor and the public now demand. The suspicions of the public are nearly as aggressive as those of labor. ”

“ Motived by the same desire, our American labor-unions are demanding, and steadily gaining, an increasing share in the actual direction of industry. Joint control by boards composed of representatives of employers, employees, and the general public is, to an ever-increasing extent, determining the conditions of employment, wage standards, work standards, hours of labor, choice and conduct of foremen, and many other matters of vital importance to the wage-earners. ”

“ The employers recognized that it was necessary to institute workers representation in each industry and enterprise, and they accepted the creation of the Councils, in which both employers and workers would be represented, which would discuss questions of work and wage, which would supervise the execution of collective bargains and which would serve as an intermediary between the workers and the bosses. ”

“ The workingmen of our country, too, are waking up to the game that is being played on them. A workingman's party, the Socialist party, is in the field. This party is run by workingmen. It is not like the old parties. It is honest and open about what it wants. You know right where it stands.
We want to get higher wages and lower hours. We want to give all the help we can to the labor unions. We want government pensions for old and worn-out workers. We want the government to pay sick and accident insurance to workingmen. ”

“ Trades-unions, coöperative societies, industrial congresses, and lastly, that herculean infant, the Labor Reform Party, are extending themselves all over the countries we have just named, and particularly over the United States. They are daily gaining strength and influence. Politicians are thinking how to obtain the favor of this party, at the least cost to their popularity among other partisans. ”

“ The conference above referred to also provided for the appointment by the president of the Civic Federation of a national committee of twenty-five or more who should be invited to carry on the work of agitation for arbitration and conciliation in all labor disputes. The sub-committees of the industrial division are conducting investigations of the sweat-shop evil, the child-labor problem, and complaints of the waiters' union; they are also trying to break up a system which permits saloon-keepers to dictate the employment of waiters in restaurants. ”

“ The first great step, which is of primary importance in every country first entering the movement, is always THE CONSTITUTION OF THE WORKERS AS AN INDEPENDENT POLITICAL PARTY NO MATTER OF WHAT KIND, SO LONG AS IT IS ONLY A DISTINCT WORKERS' PARTY ... ”

“ We will continue to help those who cannot help themselves. We will offer people on welfare a new social contract. We'll invest in education and job training, and provide the child care and health care they need to go to work and achieve long-term self- sufficiency. We will give them the help they need to make the transition from welfare to work, and require people who can work to go to work within two years in available jobs either in the private sector or in community service to meet unmet needs. ”

“ Among these we may note a growing spirit of conciliation and of sympathy with the claims of labour, shown particularly in the friendly and courteous reception accorded to the newly founded Labour Party. In the ruling and possessing classes we may observe an increasing recognition of the necessity to make substantial concessions to the needs and aspirations of the workers. ”

“ The Labour Party will function the more effectively, and be able to accomplish its allotted task, as its foundation—the Trade Union movement—becomes established and strengthened, and the more comprehensive will be its effects. ”

“ We end on a note of warning^ The object and purpose of the workers, organised vocationally hi Trade Unions and Professional Associations, and politically in the Labour Party, is no mere increase of wages or reduction of hours. ”

“ The feudal parliament passes an Act to compel labourers, under penalties, to work at the old rates. This Act is followed by a train of similar Acts, limiting wages and fixing in the employers' interest the hours of work, which, in the pages of imaginative writers, figure as noble attempts made by legislators of a golden age to regulate the relations between employer and employed on some higher principle than that of contract. ”

“ There will a party arise having these objects in view, and it need not be predicted that such a party, once organized, will begin a new era in the history of governments, for sufficient comprehension of what the future will be exists to make this a foregone conclusion. The Labor Party should make itself that party. ”

“ It is to their personal interest to keep the workers of the country divided into a thousand different organizations, so that a thousand different sets of officials will be required; so that a thousand sets of officials may draw salary from the scant wages of the working class. You may be told that the reason I am in favor of a new union is that I am a discredited labor leader and that I am trying to create a new job for myself. ”

“ The organization and policy of the contemporary labor union being what they are, cases will occasionally and even frequently occur in which the non-union laborer will represent the protest of an individual against injurious restrictions imposed by the union upon his opportunities and his work. ”

“ He then started a party of his own, which he called the Original Workingman’s party but which became known as the Agrarian party. The majority endeavored to rectify their position in the community by an address to the people. ”

“ Labor.—Through this committee the Alliance will seek to aid labor reforms, to encourage the arbitration of labor difficulties, to establish labor bureaus, form working-girls' clubs, encourage cooperative housekeeping for self-supporting girls, oppose the sweating evil and child-labor, and demonstrate to workingmen the desire of the churches to serve them in every legitimate way. ”

“ Given a solid organisation of labour, and the same of employers numerically—still the balance of the chances in a wear-and-tear and struggling policy will he on the side of the party who is the best ammunitioned and272 provisioned. ”

“ Labor combines into its unions, capital into partnerships, associations, corporations, and trusts. A group-struggle is the result, in which the individuals, as individuals, play no part. The Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, for instance, serves notice on the Master Builders’ Association that it demands an increase of the wage of its members from $3.50 a day to $4, and a Saturday half-holiday without pay. ”

“ One or two active members of the rank and file of a local union, expressing their opinions at meetings or as delegates debating on the floor of district or national conventions, can do an immense amount of good, unappreciated it is true, but still worth while. And who can be more influential in arousing interest in workers' education, cooperative stores, labor papers, than active men working at their trades? ”