A = _ o Bl The Red Labor ? Sfill International n m 9 g o 1 ? FACILI 3 =^= THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES ib/ Thejled Labor International J3o£ 5 ', /^s£* Published by THE VOICE of LABOR November, 1981 Workers of the World Unite ! Resolutions and Decisions OF THE First International Congress of Revolu- tionary Trade and Industrial Unions The American Labor Union Educational Society. 483 CONTENTS Introduction by International Secretary 3 1. Manifesto issued to Workers of the World 11 2. Resolution on the report of the Provisional Council of the R. L. U. 1 16 3. Resolution on the Relationship between the R. L. U. I. and the C. 1 17 4. Resolution on Italian question 19 5. Resolution on Tactics 21 6. Resolution on Workers' Control 44 7. Resolution on Shop Committees 52 6. Resolution on Organization 55 9. Constitution of R. L. U. I 72 10. Resolution on Women's Question 80 11. Resolution on Unemployment 81 12. Resolution on Victims of the War 85 13. Resolution on the Labor Movement in the Near and Far Eastern Countries and the Colonies.. 86 14. Appeal against White Terror 87 15. Manifesto to the Workers of the United King- dom 92 16. Appeal to Spanish Pro'etariat 94 17. Greetings to Russian people 96 Introduction. The resolutions we now submit to the attention of the reader are the results of the fortnight's labors of the first International Congress of Revolutionary Labor Unions. Only eteven months ago the Provisional Coun- cil of Labor Unions was established which aimed to oppose the ideas of a revolutionary dass struggle and social revolution to the conception of the class collabora- tion. These eleven months were a period of a gathering of forces and decentralized agitation. During that period considerable minorities were forming and shaping themselves in ah countries which declared themselves resolutely and sharply against the policy of the old trade unions. The revolutionary labor union movement was a very variegated one ; there was no unity of program ; no unity of tactics. There was a great variety of ten- dencies, ideas, disunited in their understanding of the paths leading to social revolution and of the problems before the working class of the present epoch, the only connecting link between them being the common hatred for the exploiters. This natural variety of forms created by the pecularities of the labor movement in each country at a period when the movement begins to define and oppose itself to the old trade union move- ment, was of course unavoidable. But this variety which is undoubtedly preventing unity of action had to be out- lived. One general and obligatory line of action had therefore to be defined and worked out. The first Inter- national Congress of the Revolutionary Labor Unions has fully acquitted itse^ of the task of gathering the revolutionary disintegrated forces, of adopting one com- mon line of action and of creating a solid foundation for a rapid organization of the revolutionary classes. Perusing attentively the minutes and resolutions of the first congress, we see how the coUective thought of the revolutionary unions' has molded itse'f after long and heated debates, after struggle and mutual concessions. The resolutions found below are the crystalized expe- rience of the labor movement of all countries. The bal- ance sheet of a whole epoch in the trade union move- 8R9TJ19 ment had been summed up at the congress, the pre-war and post-war pages of history turned over and concrete revolutionary inferences from the positive and negative experience of the working class were drawn by the congress. We regard the resolutions on the relations between the Communist International and the Red International of Labor Unions as indicating, undoubtedly, the entire direction of the International Labor Union movement. The congress could not and did not silently pass this question. Before the first congress of the Revolutionary Labor Unions the Communist movement and the Communist International were a revolu tionary fact. Despite the "independent" frame of mind of many of the delegates, whatever their prejudices against politics, political parties, facts are stubborn things and the congress had to say: "Will the revolutionary unions go hand in hand with the Com- munist International or with some other force in their struggle against capitalism?" The congress had to decide as to whether there existed some other revolutionary class force which is following the same path as the Red International of Labor Unions? And here the resolution adopted while declaring for the inde- pendent organization of the Red International of Labor Unions, emphasizes the absolute necessity for unity of action and close co-operation for the struggle. The congress logically bases this view on the concentration of the forces of the bourgeoisie, pointing to the fact that the bourgeoisie had long since succeeded in unifying and rallying its political and economic organizations for joint struggle. The demands of the struggle, the crea- tion of a united front for the revolutionary onslaught compels not only the majority of the congress, but the revolutionary syndicalist minority, which defends feverishly the independence of the trade union move- ment, to recognize the absolute necessity for establish- ing closest possible connections with the III Communist International as the vanguard of the world labor move- ment on the basis of mutual representation on both executive organs of joint sessions, etc. ; to recognize that the connections must bear an organized and busi- ness character and find expression in joint preparatory work for and in most complete co-operation in revolu- tionary activities on a national and international scale ; to recognize the extreme desirability for each country to establish practical connections between the Red labor unions and the Communist party so as to carry out the instructions of both Internationals. The decision on the relations with the III Com- munist International predetermined a)l further de- cisions of the congress and the discussions which sprang later only completed the already developed and ex- pressed views of the basic questions. The question of relations between the Communist International and the International of Labor Unions solves only one part of the problem of co-ordination of action ; of close co-operation, etc. ; there is still to be decided and defined precisely the special tasks before the revolutionary labor movement of the world. The aim is to overthrow capitalism and to establish the dic- tatorship of the pro^tariat. The majority agreed on this point; nine-tenths of the syndicalists, taught by the experience of war and revolution, declared them- selves for the dictatorship of the proletariat, under- standing it, true enough, in their own syndicaUst way. Great differences arose when the congress had to define the concrete problems of the struggle in each individual country and the slogans upon which the attention of the working masses had to be concentrated. Here first of all we had to determine the very methods of struggle. The debates became quite heated on the question whether we must strive to destroy the old unions or to conquer them. Those who stood for the principle of splitting them were a mere handful at the congress. For them the old reformist unions were the center of vices, where the revolutionary saints have no place, and therefore they thought it necessary to put the smashing of such unions as the basis of revolution- ary tactics. On this question the congress took a definite stand both in the resolution on tactics and in the reso- lution on tho question of organization. "Not smashing, but conquei ing the unions," this is what the first con- gress said, and this was said almost unanimously with the exception of a few confusionists who try to clothe their pessimism and lack of force in theoretical garb. In a special paragraph called "the methods of struggle," the congress draws the attention to the ne- cessity for elastic tactics in the struggle, both defensive and offensive. "There are no absolutely infallible methods of struggle," says the congress, "everything changes in accordance with time, place and circumstances. The partisans of the Red Labor Union International must be not only model revolutionists, but also models of sus- tained power and attitude as well as of levelheaded- ness. The whole secret of success lies in the systematic, well-planned and energetic preparation of every action, of every movement of masses. Rapidity and implaca- bility of action should combine with a thoughtful and detailed study of conditions, as well as of the extent of organization of the hostile forces. In the class struggle, as well as at the battle front, it is necessary to be able not only to attack, but also to retreat in or- derly and compact formation. Both in defensive and offensive action we should always keep in view one thing: to have with us the sympathy of the large pro- letarian masses and to carefully consider the entire social-political situation in which the struggle is going on." This relativity of methods and means of struggle is emphasized in another part of the theses on tactics, where it is said that we should not think that offensive action is the best means of battle under all circum- stances and conditions. Our tactics should be flexible and should take into account all the difficulties. Special attention was given at the congress to the question about the Italian Confederation of Labor. The resolution adopted after a thorough discussion of this question, clearly and strongly worded, declares against the double-fronted position occupied by the Italian Con- federation. There are unions and whole national trade union federations which cannot at all understand that the Amsterdam International and the Red Ineterna- tional do not represent and express the aspirations of the same identical class, that the Amsterdam Interna- tional, in spite of the fact that it is headed by working men, is essentially an anti-labor and anti-proletarian or- ganization, and that our problem under these condi- tions is not to reconcile what is irreconcilab'e and wor- ship both God and the devil, but to take a definite stand and say with whom the given trade union center is marching, with the Red International or with the Ye 1 - low one. It is just this failure to understand the differ- ence between the two internationals, the great gulf sep- arating them, which is peculiar to the leaders of the Italian Confederation of Labor. The congress, there- fore having discussed in detail the statement made by the official representatives of the confederation, adopted a special resolution in which the congress laid particular stress on its own basic stand and the way it under- stands the problems of the revolutionary movement. This resolution is not aimed against the Italian unions, the congress perfectly understood that the Italian pro- letariat and its unions, though technically not with us, are essentially with the Red Labor Union International. This fact was emphasized in the resolution, by means of which the congress expressed its confidence that the Italian proletariat will very soon take its place of honor among the revolutionary unions of all countries. The congress paid special attention to the working out of a program of action which fully coincides with the one adopted by the Third Congress of the Commun- ist International. This practical platform should be- come the guide for militant action of each union. Thh program of action embodies the cumulative experience of the labor movement for the last few decades, in which account is taken of all that the war and the revo- lution have brought us. Only that union will be a real organic part of the Red Labor Union International which will carry out this program of action, not in words but in deeds. LThis program starts from the fun- damental premise that it is necessary to carry on a direct, straight revolutionary mass war against capital- ism, and the entire program is built upon this basis. All questions touched upon in this program, all slogans formulated by it, all this can be carried out or realized only when we have 'mass revolutionary action and a direct onslaught against the bourgeoisie. The basic idea permeating the entire program is just this direct revolutionary action of the masses. This program should not only be read but studied and carried out ; it should'serve as a means for militant training and organization of the masses. The logical conclusion to be drawn from the resolution on tactics is embodied in the resolutions and theses on the question of organization, together with the consti- tution, which, in its organization formulas, embodies the basic line traced by the congress. The question of organization, especially at the Constituent Congress, is utterly complex, as we are confronted with a tremend- ous variety of labor movements; moreover, not only whole organizations, but even parts of organizations were represented at this congress. This circumstance made it difficult to solve the question of organization and to work out a uniform plan. Nevertheless the con- gress traced a clear line of organization ; made sugges- tions on the basic questions of constructive organiza- tion work; brought to the foreground the slogan of organizing unions by industries and creating shop com- mittees as a basis for industrial unions ; put the ques- tion of conquering the old unions on a practical basis ; gave a number of concrete directions for each country in the field of organization work ; declared itself against organizing nationalist unions; gave the slogan for con- solidating expelled unions; defined its stand on the question of female labor and the work among the youth; worked out the conditions of admission to the Red International, and finally worked out a detailed con- stitution, on the basis of which the present Red Union International is built. Besides these fundamental questions the congress paid great attention to te problem of workers' control. Workers' control, at a given stage of develop- ment of the social struggle, is a thoroughly practical slogan for workers of all countries. In this respect a great deal of experience has been accumulated of late. It is of course very evident, that Russia in this respect has the greatest experience and it is not surprising that the Russian experience, practically tried in some coun- tries, was made the basis of the resolution on the ques- tion. The congress did not satisfy itself with merely putting the question to the front, but gave a concrete form to it, drew the workers' attention as to how work- ers' control has to be shaped, the methods of approach- ing it, and gave a practical program of action in this matter. We can consider the resolution on this subject exhaustive. All the other resolutions, accepted by the congress, for instance, of victims of the war, unemploy- ment, woman in industry and labor unions, etc. — all express the same thought; the task of revo- lutionary trade unions is to organize the masses politi- cally and upon the ground of daily struggle for an offen- sive against capitalism. This aim was in the minds of 8 the congress all through its labors. The congress has discussed it from all sides, beginning with the reso- lution on the report of the International Council of Labor Unions and ending with the appeals, issued by the congress to the International proletariat in general and to that of a number of countries in particular. The resolution referring to the labor movement in the v -- far and near eastern countries and the colonies is worth mentioning. We must bear in mind that within recent years the labor movement in these countries has made great progress and that simultaneously a general deep fermentation is going on in colonies exploited by Euro- \/" pean capitalism. The movement there has a double character; a national revolutionary one, quite often act- ing under the slogan of race hatred, and a proletarian one, against foreign and domestic exploiters. The con- gress pointed out, as it was correctly stated by the rep- resentative from Java, the necessity of transforming race hatred and of raising the consciousness of the ex- ploited masses to the level of revolutionary class struggle and of the social revolution. By carefully reading all resolutions and studying them the rank and file member of a labor union as well as the leader of labor organizations will find an answer to all questions that agitate him at the present time. The congress has fixed its line of action. It brought out the concrete watchwords, forms of organization, has united all the varieties of the revolutionary wing of the labor movement, including those who have always been a stumbling block in the process of organization. The fact that after the disintegration of international or- ganizations, after the greatest collapse in history of the old labor unions, after all the demoralization caused in the ranks of the workers by the policy of co-operation of-classes, that after all this it was possible to gather the representatives of 17,000,000 of workers, to unite them in common understanding of the problems, to form them into militant columns for war against capi- talism — this fact has greatest significance. The con- gress has built a solid, unshakeable foundation of real international labor % union organization. Against the international of conciliation is put up the international of struggle, against the international of inaction — the 9 international of revolutionary attack, against the yellow Amsterdam International — the Red International. The Red International is finally organized and now the questions raised by the constituent congress of revolutionary labor unions will be discussed in all coun- tries. The congress did not hide anything. It did not follow the example of the Amsterdam International and did not attempt to cover up any disagreements. It held that for the struggle it is necessary first of all to have clearness and then unity and thorough organization. \i The participants in the congress have made mutually all possible concessions. But these concessions were made after long and passionate discussions and explana- tion by each, of his particular viewpoint, and finally- all came together upon the common platform ; social revo- lution, dictatorship of the proletariat and the c^sest '^-organic co-operation with the Communist Internationa 1 . It is difficult to estimate at present the full signi- ficance of this first congress. The fruits of its labor and the effect of the adopted resolutions will begin to mani- fest themselves in a few months. But even now one can say that great historical work was accomplished in Mos- cow. The scattered revolutionary labor unions have come together. They have definitely established their world center, have worked out methods and means of, struggle and now, with tenfold increased energy, will get down to work. This is the great universal his- torical significance of the First International Congress of Revolutionary Labor Unions and of the decisions adopted by it. A. Losovsky. Moscow, July 20, 1921. 10 Manifesto of the Congress to the Workers of the World The criminal war started by the capitalist government of Europe and America which had shaken the founda- tions of the old world has come to an end. The mons- trous aftermath of the horrible crime committed against humanity is revealed in a.l its amplitude. True, ten millions murdered are buried ; their corpses do not disturb the peace of those who condemned them to death. But there are yet eleven mil] ions of wounded and crippled, on the bodies of which the capitalists have acknowledged, by the machine guns, bayonets and bul- lets, their unprecedented crime. The blockade is over. With the signing of the so- called "Peace of Versailles," the dissipation, on the battlefields, of the people's wealth created with the sweat and blood of the proletariat, appears to have also ended. But who can count how many more years of suffering, degradation, starvation and destitution will be the price the toiling masses of all countries will have to pay for the destroyed wealth, estimated at many bil- lions. The war is over, but in all countries there is still a greater number of soldiers under arms than before the war, the expenses on armaments in all the impoverished countries are also greater than before the war. Human- ity came out of the war not only diminished by ten millions of people, but also greatly impoverished and ruined. And in addition to this, after a short and specu- lative revival of trade and industry, the world is passing through a most terrible, and unheard of industrial crisis ; the price of the imperialist war. Not on'y did the war break down the productive forces of world capitalism but tore to pieces the economic ties thanks to which the equilibrium between the capitalist sections of national economy existed before the war. The capitalists of industrial countries headed by \America are unable to sell their products owing to the absence of markets. Impoverished countries cannot buy them, the workers have not the means to buy the necessary products. 11 • The result is the extraordinary wave of unem- ployment in every country and a horrible waste of pro- ductive forces. Ten millions of able bodied workingmen are thrown out on the streets in all countries of the world; the machines are at a standstill and deterior- ating, billions worth of goods rot in the storehouses or are deliberately destroyed by the capitalists, in order not to sell them cheaper to the consumers ; millions of men and women are thrown into the clutches of hunger and suffering. And at the same time capital is making a ferocious attack against those of the workers whom it graciously permits to stay in its factories. In all coun- tries wages are cut down, conditions of labor are ren- dered worse and the squeezing of sweat and blood out of the workers has reached a climax. Sustained by the power of the capitalist government, army, police, hired press, courts, religious hirelings and its lackeys of the yellow Amsterdam International, the capitalists feel sure of their domination. What is to be done ? Brothers and comrades of the workingclass, you who follow the Amsterdam Federation of Unions, and the old union leaders ! The constituent congress of Red Labor Unions appeals to you, in the name of many mil- lions of organized revolutionary workers of all coun- tries, with whom are working in the same shops, and with whom you will be together — we are quite sure — in the final struggle; the Congress appeals to you to ask yourselves this questions. To answer it look around, without trusting to words but only to deeds and facts, and see what your leaders of the Amsterdam Inter- national have done and what they are still doing. When the world war started they, together with the leaders of the Second International, called upon you to go obediently into the barracks and on the battlefields. During the war they appealed to you for civil peace, to refrain from strikes, to supernatural sacrifices in the name of the war. Louder even than the capitalists themselves and the corrupted press, did they yell about the recompense that is awaiting you after the war. Is this your recompense, when the capitalists pay all their pledges by cutting prices, terrible lockouts, by closing up factories, unemployment, violence of police and organization of bands of sluggers and scabs ? Only the vanquished have to pay. And who then is van- 12 Viished, defeated, fooled, subdued — if not the working class ? What are the Amsterdam leaders doing? These alleged defenders of the working class? Do they de- mand, together with the working class, that the cap- italists shall pay up? No. These people don't intend to speak on this question; by instructions from capital they repeat to the workers one and the same thing; work with all your might to rebuild the ruins of the war. But if the fakers keep quiet, it means the fooled must speak. Let them express their will, let the indignant cry of the proletariat call out one single watchword, down with the yellow Amsterdam In- ternational ! Down with the domination of the bour- geoisie ! Capital is attacking, keeping in reserve a huge army of unemployed. Step by step it takes away all the conquests of the past period. By a stubborn struggle must the proletariat resist every inch of its position. What are the merits of the Amsterdam International in this economic struggle of the working class ? Did it successfully lead you in your struggle? That is the question to which every organized worker, even if he is educated to an understanding of the cause of social- ism and the revolution, must receive a clear and con- cise reply in the name of his immediate needs. Up to now the Amsterdam International either surrendered the working class to capital without fighting or by its cowardly tactics assured one defeat after another. The history of the last heroic strike of the English miners clearly illustrates how the trade union leaders betrayed the working masses when repell- ing the attacks of capitalism. Instead of moving to the support of the attacked miners new forces of the or- ganized proletariat and by a solid united front crush the enemy, these leaders refrained from the struggle and at the decisive moment kept back the proletarian reserves, thus giving the capitalists a chance to destroy the working class bit by bit. Up till now, as long as the majority of the organized workers in the trade unions were led by Gompers, Jou- haux and Henderson, it could not be otherwise. We are engaged in an epoch of merciless and terrible class struggle. And those of the leaders, who are afraid of strikes, who are scared of their developments, who want 13 "Xj to spare capital, who are afraid for the fate of capitalist industry more than the capitalists themselves — these leaders who dare not and don't want to lead the working class to victory, will inevitably betray the working class. All your savings gathered by long years of privation will be wasted in unsucessful strikes, because of the treacherous tactics of the yellow leaders. These leaders are only able to do the things they did during i the period of peaceful development of capitalism, i. e., 'to sell the labor power on behalf of their unions. At a period when the working class was in need of fighting leaders these labor traders have always sold the work- ers for the price offered by the Morgans, Stinnes and Creusot. All the leaders of the Amsterdam Interna- tional who are putting obstacles in the way of the pro- letariat striving by a united front to defend its right against the attempt of the exploiters, are nothing else but an international organization of scabs. Every day the number of cases increase when isolated groups of workers, unwilling to wait until they will be betrayed, chaotically go in for strikes and revolutionary struggle. Subject to their faithful class instincts they break the discipline imposed upon them by the traitors, break the discipline of capital and keep up the sacred right of every proletarian unwilling to surrender to the enemy without struggle. But to get rid of the yellow treacherous leaders who seh the cause of the working class, the International Congress of Red Trade Unions calls upon all the workers still attached to Amsterdam to drive away whenever and wherever they can the bureaucrats and traitors standing at the head of the yellow unions and join in an organized manner the In- ternational of the revolutionary unions. Two-fifths of the organized workers of the world have already joined the Red International of Labor Unions. The time has come when the international army of labor must unite ximder the red banner of the proletarian revolution. N. In the ferocious struggle between labor and capital raging all over the world, the bourgeoise is acting in a more organized, more conscious, and more decisive man- ner than the proletariat. And nowhere did the skill and superiority of the bourgeoisie reveal itself so ob- viously than in the possibility of keeping in bond and subjection the many millions of workers with the hands of the working class itself, by the help of those of its 14 leaders who like knaves stab the proletariat in the back and don't let them throw off their shoulders the capital- ist superstructure. If the capitalist order still exists, if the capitalist class is still able, at the most critical moment, when the war ended and demobilization began, to keep in power and still defeat the working class in skirmish fighting, this is due to the heroes of Amsterdam and the second international. But everything has an end. The workers throughout the world are becoming more con- vinced that capitalism is not all powerful, that the power of capital is solely due to their own weakness, their disorganization in the struggle, and their endur- ance. A new epoch of glorious struggles has begun, when the proletariat becomes worthy of better leaders than the scabs of Amsterdam. The new leaders will know how to defend the proletarian trenches and will take the offensive. The Red International of Revolu- tionary Labor Unions will very soon have the over- whelming majority of the working class all over the world and then the proletariat of all countries will pre- sent the capitalist class its bill and demand full and im- mediate payment. Workers all the world over ! The First International Congress of Revolutionary Labor Unions gathered on that bit of the globe which was wrenched by the Rus- sian proletariat from the hands of capital, in the name of the millions of crippled and murdered in the criminal war, in the name of the sufferings of the working class gone through under the dictatorship of capital, in the name of the victims of the bourgeoisie terror, in the name of your defeats suffered under the leadership of the yellow traitors, in the name of the future victories under the revolutionary banner of the Red Labor Union International and lastly in the name of the Rus- sian working class steadfastly keeping up all alone, for the fourth year, the Red flag over the land of the Soviets and waiting for help from its comrades beyond the frontiers — we are calling upon you to join our ranks, we call you to the last and decisive battle. Workers of the world unite! Long live the Proletarian Revolution ! Long live the Dictatorship of the Proletariat ! Long live the International Soviet Republic! Long live Communism! 15 . . II. Resolution Upon the report of Com. Rosmer on the activitiy of the Provisional Council of Red Trade and Industrial Unions for the past year. Upon hearing the report of the International Council of Labor Unions presented by Com. Rosmer, the first International Congress of Labor Unions recognizes that: 1. The creation of the International Council of Revo- lutionary class conscious labor unions answers to the immediate needs of the revolutionary working masses in their struggle against capitalism. 2. That from its inception the International Council pursued a right policy in regard to the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, bringing forth against it the proletar- ian dictatorship; 3. That the International Council has thus correctly estimated the role of the Amsterdam International Fed- eration, connected with the labor bureau of the League of Nations, carrying on a determined and merciless fight against it ; 4. That during the eleven months of its existence, the International Council has, under most difficult condi- tions, made a fair effort of propaganda to bring into life its fundamental aims ; 5. That the affiliation to the International Council of millions of workers in forty-two different countries bears evidence of the great attractive power of the council and of its watchwords and proves most vividly the importance of the task it has performed. Taking the above into consideration, the congress re- solves : 1. To approve the report as presented by Com. Ros- mer as well as the line of action pursued by the Inter- national Council against the harmful and dangerous cry, opposed to the interests of the revolutionary work- ing class movement, viz.: that of destroying the old, mass trade unions. 16 III. Resolution on the Question of Relations Between the Red Labor Union International and the Communist International (On the report of Comrades Rosmer and Tom Mann.) Whereas, The struggle between labor and capital in all capitalist countries has assumed, as a result of the world war and crisis, an exceptionally acute, implacable and decisive character. Whereas, In the process of its every-day struggle the laboring masses realize ever more clearly the necessity of eliminating the bourgeoisie from administration of industry and consequently from political power. Whereas, The abqve result can be obtained solely by establishing of the dictatorship of the proletariat and a comunist system, Whereas in the struggle to preserve the bourgeois dictatorship, all the capitalist ruling classes have al- ready succeeded in consolidating and concentrating to a high degree their national and international organiza- tions, political as well as economic in a solid front of all the bourgeois forces, both defensive and offensive, against the onrush of the proletariat, Whereas, The logic of the modern class struggle de- mands the greater consolidation of the proletarian forces and the revolutionary struggle and consequently means that there must be the closest contact and or- ganic connection between the different forms of the revolutionary labor movement and primarily between the Third Communist International and the Red Labor Union International it is also desirable that every effort should be made, in the national field, towards the es- tablishment of simi'iar relations between the Communist parties and the Red International of Labor Unions ; Therefore the congress resolves : 1. To take all steps uniting together in the most energetic manner all the labor unions in one united fighting organization with one direct International cen- ter — the Red International of Labor Unions. 2. To establish the closest possible contact with the Third Communist International as the vanguard of the 17 revolutionary labor movement in all the parts of the world on the basis of joint representation at both execu- tive committees, joint conferences, etc. 3. That the above connection should have an organic and business character and be expressed in the joint preparation of pre-revolutionary action on a national and international scale. 4. That it is imperative for every country to strive towards uniting the revolutionary labor union organiza- tions and the establishment of the closest contact be- tween the Red labor unions and the Communist parties for the carrying out of the decisions of both congresses. 18 IV. Resolution on the Italian Question. Having heard the explanation of the representatives of the Italian Confederation of Labor, Bianchi and Azzi- mondi, and after discussion of same, the First Interna- tional Congress of Revolutionary Labor Unions de- clares : 1. The Italian Confederation of Labor which signed the agreement with the All-Russian Council of Trade Unions and other organizations for the formation of the Red International, has done absolutely nothing during the eleven months for the consolidation of the created organization. Instead of attempting to strengthen the newly created international organization of revolutionary unions opposed to the yellow Amsterdam International, the General Confederation of Labor of Italy participated in the Amsterdam International, maintaining its con- nection with the leaders of the said organization. The Italian Confederation of Labor even went so far as to attend the London congress of the Amsterdam Interna- tional with a decisive vote and did not cast its vote against the resolution carried against the Red Interna- tional of Labor Unions. 2. Instead of weakening its ties with the Amsterdam International the General Confederation of Labor of Italy,, on the contrary, made them stronger by applying in April to the Amsterdam International for help in its strugg^ with the Fascisti. 3. The congress of the General Confederation of Labor at Livorno decided "to take part without reser- vation in the creation of the Red International in ac- cordance with the decisions which will be taken at the congress of trade unions in Moscow." In spite of such a decision the Italian Confederation of Labor sends its delegates only for the purpose of information. Thus the confederation deems it possible to take part in the congress of the Amsterdam International with a decis- ive vote and sends to the congress of the organization which the Livorno convention decided to join without 19 reservations, delegates for purposes of information only. 4. At the last moment, in order to delay the con- gress, the General Confederation of Labor attempted to postpone it by proposing to transfer it to Reval or Stockholm under the pretext that greater convenience in the verification of credentials of the arriving dele- gates would be available there. 5. Stating all the above facts, the First International Congress of Revolutionary Labor Unions considers: that the Italian proletariat is not to blame for such a detrimental duplicity, harmful to the proletariat itself and to the interests of the world-wide revolution ; that the entire responsibility for this seesaw policy lies with the leading elements of the General Confederation of Labor who endeavor to keep the Italian proletariat aloof from the revolutionary unions of all countries. Such a situation, when the general trade union cen- tral organization of the country does lip-service to the Red Labor Union International but de facto belongs to the Amsterdam International, can no longer be toler- ated. The first congress of the Revolutionary Labor Unions, therefore, requests the revolutionary prole- tariat of Italy, all local unions, labor exchanges and na- tional federations to state their position on the question as to what organization the revolutionary unions of Italy will join — the International of revolutionary struggle or the International standing for class co- operation. Will they go hand in hand with those who stand for the social revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, or with the bourgeoise — with the Red International of Labor Unions or with the Amsterdam International. This congress feels quite sure that the revolutionary proletariat of Italy will very soon make their choice and, even before the next International congress, the Italian General Confederation of Labor will take its place which the Italian proletariat fully deserves among the revo- lutionary unions. 20 RESOLUTION ON THE QUESTION OF TACTICS (Upon report of Comrade Losovsky.) 1. The General Situation of the Struggle r 1. The problems and tactics of the trade unions are determined by the conditions and intensity of the class struggle on an international and national scale. As a starting point we must take the irrefutable fact, that modern society has entered upon a stage of decompo- sition and of breaking up of the old capitalistic relations and bonds and, faces ultimate collapse. The symptoms of this decay are revealed by the enormously grown na- tional indebtedness ; temporary prosperity in some branches of industry rapidly followed by a sharp indus- trial crisis; by the wars still being fought, on many fronts by the economic instability in many of the oldest capitalistic countries of Europe ; by the atrocious indus- trial crisis raging throughout the world ; by the enor- mous growth of unemployment ; by slackening of agri- culture; by the mountains of goods piled up in some countries while at the same time there is a total lack of commodities in others ; by the inevitability of new wars for the extraction of conditions of labor, and finally by the absolute impossibility of re-establishing economic stability and political and social equilibrium by the nor- mal methods of capitalistic exploitation. 2. On the background of ths growing economic crisis and the unparalleled devastations caused by the long years of war, the social struggle grows sharper in all countries, acquiring a severity never yet seen. Strikes of unusual size are breaking out in one country after another, the proletariat attempts by means of them to maintain its position against the assault of capital. But the proletariat is conducting its struggle in scat- tered, js^latejd_£roup,s thus condemning its best or- ganized ranks to a total defeat and destruction. 3. The struggle of the working class and its organi- zation is complicated by the fact that the bourgeoise has availed itself in full of the lessons of the war and the revolution — and is strenuously creating and strengthening its organization for the material destruc- 21 tion of the revolutionary movement. There is not a single bourgeois country which besides the usual, nor- mal organizations for repression (such as the army, po.ice, department of justice, etc.) has not created new organizations, voluntary bodies of representatives of the ruling classes for the armed suppression and pre- vention of the uprising of the rebellious workers. 4. In this struggle against the increasing dissatis- faction among the masses, the bourgeoise presents a united front, throwing into this fight the whole of its economic organizations. It realizes perfectly that only the highest degree of unity and concentration of forces, centralized organization, and the normal and material support of its state machinery and the creation of spe- cial militant organizations can save it from defeat or at least put off the approaching social revolution. The bourgeoise never separates politics from economics. ^ 5. The problems of the unions in the period of peace- ful organic development of capitalist society consisted ^in raising through mass organizations the standard of living among the workers, in improving the conditions of labor, and, relying upon the gains already obtained, in gradually moving forward towards the realization of socialist society. The reformist unions consider a slow and gradual transition from capitalism to socialism pos- sible by means of the transformation of the bourgeois democracy into a socialist democracy. The revolution- ary umons old that without the overthrow of capital- ism by force the working class cannot abolish the sys- tem of wage s'avery. 6. The revolutionarv unions alwavs aimed at the consolidation, the disciplining and training of the mass as their basic tasks. This problem is especia^y impor- tant in the present period of disintegration of capitalist society. The labor union is the school and the workshop of communism. Its problem is to prepare the workers for the overthrow of the capitalist system. The main question consists in how and on which basis of the everyday struggle this preparation and conso'i- dation of the masses will take place. The problems must be put before the working class and how to or- ganize its everyday struggle and link it up with the general problems of the working class bringing it up to the ultimate grapple with its class enemy. The con- 22 ditions of this struggle have become considerably com- plicated at the present time. The interrelations of its many e^ments are entirely different than they were before the war or during the war. Threfore the task of the unions is different and the methods and means of struggle must also be differ- ent. 2. The Labor Unions Before the War 7. During the latter half of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century there were three main groups of labor union movements: Anglo-Saxon ( trade unionism ) ; German-Austrian (social democratic reformism) ; French-Spanish (revo- lutionary syndicalism) . These three groups in the in- ternational labor movement differed from one another in method as well as in character. They presented three different ideologies and programs of action. 8. The basic feature of Anglo-Saxon trade unionism was the narrow craftism and political neutrality with regard to socialist parties, concentrating its entire at- tention upon the immediate concrete problems of the day; trade unionism accepted the social struggle only from the narrow point of view of craft unionism, and from this angle they aproached the solution of all the economic and social problems. The trade union move- ment included chiefly the aristocracy of the working class. The verj" philosophy of trade unionism is the philosophy of labor aristrocracy. Capital and labor were considered by the theoretical and practical exponents of trade unionism not as two deadly class enemies but as two factors of mutually supplementing each other. They contended that the development of society entirely depends upon the har- mony between capital and labor and the just distribu- tion among them of the social and public wealth. 9. The German-Austrian trade union movement which appeared later than the Anglo-Saxon type, hav- ing formed under different circumstances, had from the start been invested with socialist ideas. The social democrats of Germany and Austria stood at the very cradle of the trade union movement, thus transmitting to it the social democratic spirit. But the social demo- cratic program and tactics in regard to the trade union movement have assumed a character of reformist 23 socialism. The trade unions of Germany were the cradle of reformism, the very substance of which may be reduced to the following : they advocate gradual and peaceful development through democracy to socialism; they obscure working class interests; they fear revo- lution and white terror hoping at the same time that the development of democratic forms would automati- cally bring about socialism without any revolutions or social conflicts. With reference to the purely trade union field their intentions are to keep them out of the political and revolutionary struggle; they advocate neutrality towards revolutionary socialism and are closely bound with reformist socialism. Apart from that, they extremely overestimate the benefit of collec- tive bargaining and the system of conciliation boards. In this manner they expect to establish such social rela- tions, under which the workers would enjoy in the poli- tical and economic domains equal rights- with the capi- talists, while the system of exploitation is maintained. 10. Revolutionary syndicalism which developed as a reaction against the opportunism of the French Socialist party had as its basis a certain number of revolution- ary points. It advanced the idea of direct action, im- mediate struggle of the masses, advocated the general strike, and forcible overthrow of capitalism ; conducted anti-militarist agitation and propaganda and created the anti-government theory. It also created a theory according to which the trade unions are the only organi- zations which will bring about the revolution and will themselves build up the socialist society. The theoreticians of revolutionary syndicalism pre- tended that it is the synthesis of Proudhonism and Marxism. 11. Revolutionary syndicalism has brought to light a number of ideas — and this has been its merit — which placed it high above all the other forms of the labor union movement and brought it into close contact with revolutionary pressure of the masses upon capital and revolutionary pressure of the masses upon caapital and state, abolition of capitalism, propaganda of the social revolution — all this must be placed to the credit of the revolutionary syndicalists and gives the positive side of revolutionary syndicalism. On the other hand we find in syndicalism the principle of independence and neu- trality towards all political parties, including the poli- 24 tical party of the proletariat, the negation even of pro- letarian state, the overestimation of the general strike and a wrong attitude towards the palliative demands of the workers. Economics and politics are two different things for the revolutionary syndicalists, although it is quite clear that "politics is nothing but concentrated economics." These latter ideas, in spite of their seem- ing revolutionary character, are as a matter of fact, being made use of by the bourgeoise, although the latter has never made any difference, in its own fighting, be- tween politics and economics. 12. The labor union movement grew up and took shape chiefly during the period of peaceful, organic de- velopment of capitalist society and it therefore pos- sessed the features, which permitted the bourgeoise to utilize it, especially during the war, for the benefit of its class interests. These peculiar features — the narrow craft unionism, the exclusiveness of the trade unions, the fight of some unions against women's labor, deep devotion to the Fatherland and national industry, etc. — found their maximum expression during the war, when class inter- ests clashed with national interests. 3. The Labor Unions During the War 13. The world war resulting from the antagonism of national zest of capitalists, demonstrated to the full ex- tent the influence of the bourgeoise upon the working ^ass and its organizations. The trade unions in most of the largest countries of Europe, immediately on the declaration of war ceased to exist as militant class or- ganizations and turned at once into military imperial- ists organizations, whose task consisted only in assist- ing the government and bourgeoise, to smash its com- petitors for the world market by joint efforts and at any cost. The old alignments of the trade union movement have disappeared. The leaders of labor unions of every coun- try, with very few exceptions, despite the fact that they were fighting on the opposite sides of the firing line, have found a common language* with their own bour- geoise; the interests of the national bourgeoise tri- umphed over the class interests. 14. The period of the world war was a period of moral decay of the labor unions in all capitalist coun- 25 tries. The overwhelming majority of the leaders of the trade union movement were the agents of the govern- ment. They take upon themselves the function of smother- ing all attempts of revolutionary protest ; they repeat- edly sanction measures which render the conditions of labor worse, to please the capitalists, the leaders have many times sanctioned the imprisonment of the work- ers in the factories; they permitted the privileges gained by years of struggle to be annulled. In short they executed submissively all the commands of the ruling classes. 15. The opposition to war and the movements of masses that grew out of it were nipped in the bud pri- marily by the very leaders of the old trade union move- ment. The fear of revolution which for many years had kept back the ruling classes from war and military ad- ventures had disappeared, for not only the bourgeoise, but the workers, organized in trade unions, were against the revolution. This conversion of the leaders- of the trade union movement into watch dogs of capi- taMsm is the greatest moral victory of the ruling class and at the same time the greatest defeat of the work- ing class during the world war. 16. The nationalist activities of the trade union lead- ers caused deep dissensions in the masses. Instead of the gospel of class struggle and class solidarity, the only appeal of the leaders, to the. working class, which was heard for years was that of urging the workers to strain all their forces against their national foe, the ap- peal for the defense of fatherland, for their sacred unity of the classes. This treacherous work carried on with the support of the bourgeois press and the financial aid of the government was the principal reason of the prolongation of the war and of the innumerable human sacrifices, which the working class was compelled to make as a result of the international slaughter. The war was the manifestation of the unparalleled* bankruptcy of all the three forms of the labor union movement. The leaders of the trade unions of England and America, of Germany and Austria, and the revo- 26 lutionary syndicalists of France rallied on the platform of the betrayal of the interests of the working class. 5. The Labor Unions After the War 17. The postwar policy of the labor union leaders in various countries had the same basic features as their policy in time of war. It consisted in the prolongation of the "sacred unity" of classes concluded during the war. in tending to subject the interests of the working masses to the interests of the re-establishment of the capitalist economic order. 18. In France this policy assumed a most disgusting character because its advocates are the revolutionary syndicalists of yesterday, anti-statists and anti-militar- ists. The leaders of the General Confederation of Labor are strenuous'y striving for the honor of sitting in the committees which are preparing the Versailles Peace Treaty. They take the initiative of making the Ger- man workers pay to France indemnities for the losses inflicted by the war, of breaking up the revolutionary strike movement. Side by side with the government and the bourgeoise they are fighting against even the idea cf social revolution. Thev nroclaim the principle of the reconstruction of capitalism unon the basis of collaboration of all the vital forces "of present day society," the workprs, the bosses and the government renresentatives. This policy inside the countrv leads the bourgeoisie to Greater arrop-anre. corrupts the pro- letarian consciousness, and leads to the disappointment of the masses in revolutionarv slogans and appeals. The more the General Confederation of Labor is subjected and denendent on the bourgeoise, the more it cries about "independence" and "automony" of the labor union movement, with regards to communism, refer- ring to the "Charte d'Amiens." 19. On the basis of this unheard of treachery and shameless betrayal of the elementary revolutionary and class princip^s, a strong movement has grown up in France which expressed itse^ in the organization of the central committee of revolutionary syndicates. The revolutionarv opposition has already consoli- dated about half of the members of the General Con- 27 federation of Labor but in spite of its numerical growth it is weak because of insufficient internal unity. The entire opposition is united in its struggle against both obvious and secret treachery of the interests of the working class. But while the opposition is conduct- ing this struggle and is even gaining victory, owing to its single front, still it has not yet made quite clear the concrete proWems, the program and its militant slogans. The opposition consisting of anarchists, revo- lutionary syndicalists and communists, proclaims the slogan: "Back to the Amiens Charter." This slogan is already therefore insufficient, as the majority of the General Confederation of Labor is also referring to the Amiens Charter. 20. The Amiens Charter, which was the result of the workers' protest against the opportunism of the social- ist parties, cannot be considered as a basis of activities not only because it was written fifteen years ago, before the war and the revolution, but chiefly because it did not even at that period answer all the questions that stood before the working class. The world war, the disintegration of capitalism, the revolution, all taken together, absolutely dictate to the minority of the General Confederation of Labor of France, not to stay within the frame of the antiquated Amiens Charter, but to draft a new charter in accord- ance with the new circumstances. 21. The leaders of the German labor unions have played after the war essentially the part of saviors of the German bourgeoise and the German military clique. The revolution of 1918 has so much scared the Ger- man bourgeoise that it turned to the trade union move- ment for protection against the transformation of the bourgeois revolution into a social revolution. The leaders of the labor unions have concluded an agreement with the German bourgeoise for creation of labor conciliation boards composed of equal numbers of workers and employers, on which the entire post-war activities of the German trade union movement are based. The principle applied to discussion of social re- forms was the basis of the agreement. The result of this class co-operation philosophy was the economic and political domination of the bourgeoise. Breaking down revolutionary movement of the masses by the 28 active aid of the labor unions was the consequence of this agreement. The leaders of the German labor unions forgetting the working class interests, have taken up the work of restoration of capitalism, and have even not stopped supporting the bloody reprisals against the working class. 22. This counter-revolutionary part played by the trade union bureaucracy which, thanks to the misery caused by the war, became the leader of many millions of working people, had caused big protests among the workers. This protest inside the labor union movement has found its expression in the formation of opposition nuclei of Communist groups within the unions which, spreading like network all over Germany, have assumed the character of a mass movement. The hopeless view on trade unions found its expres- sion in the slogan "smash the trade unions," which is contrary to the working class interests of the social revolution. Besides the opposition in the old trade unions, there are a few groups outside of them (Free Labor Union of Gelsenkirchen, General Labor Union, Syndicalist Union). Each of these bodies is working its own way, without conducting any * co-ordinated struggle against the capitalists and their supporters from the ranks of trade unions. To these groups have been added the expelled unions, since the trade union bureaucracy, being terrified by the growth of the opposition within the old labor union movement and of the Communist nuclei have started to expel from the centralized union branches, districts and locals in a body as well as separate individuals. 23. The trade unions of England immediately after the war, began to carry on a stubborn struggle to im- prove the conditions of labor and retain the position they conquered. The great strikes of the coal miners and other trades show the strength and obstinacy of the English prole- tariat in the struggle. The period after the war has shown to what extent certain leaders in the labor move- ment in England are connected with the bourgeoise. Each clash, each great conflict, has met with resist- 29 ance first of all inside the organization itself, as well as in other labor unions. These peculiarities of the English labor union move- ment accompanied by unquestionable growth of revo- lutionary, though vaguely understood, ideas are very characteristic. The English labor movement in com- parison to the pre-war period has undoubtedly made a great step forward. 24. During the war the Shop Stewards' and Work- ers' Committees sprang up which became comparatively very effective during the years 1917 and 1918, after that time they lost their former influence, though the recognition of the necessity of a revolutionary struggle and revolutionary ideas generally have grown to a considerable degree among the masses of England. The weakness of the opposition elements of England is due to the fact that they did not co-ordinate their work among the masses. The unity of all these revolutionary elements could be accomplished by the widening and deenening of the activity of the shop stewards and workers' committees. The problem under such conditions is not to take individual prominent members from the mass of work- ers, from the unions in order to create certain extra — union organizations, but to see to it that most con- scious, revolutionary active elements should work or- ganically in the very thick of the working class ; in the factories and shops, in the lowest nuclei of the unions, striving to secure responsible, leading positions in the labor union movement from top to bottom. OnV such a method — systematic, unremitting and steady work — can bring real and permanent results in a country with as gigantic a labor movement, saturated with old traditions and conservatism, as the English labor union movement is. 25. In America, as. in no other country, the labor unions and their leading elements play the part of direct agents of capital. For Gompers and his clique, who are at the head of the American Federation of Labor, even the Amsterdam International is considered too revolutionary and they find it impossible to par- ticipate in it on account of its "excessive revolution- ism." The A. F. of L. puts all its hopes in the righteous- 30 ness of the bourgeoisie and refuses to listen to the feasi- bility of a revolutionary struggle for a new order. This is the most typical, classical example of merg- ing of the leaders of the labor movement with the bour- geoise and the American millionaires is the main rea- son why these Gompersites talk so much and so loud about autonomy and independence in the labor union movement. The A. F. of L. serves as a most reliable tool in the hands of the bourgeoisie for suppressing the revolu- tionary movement. But it, too, is drawn into the strug- gle, for the bourgeoise is not satisfied with its devotion — the capitalists want to extract from the A. F. of L. greater benefits than they have done so far. And if the A. F. of L. does not yet enter the struggle itself, then separate detachments of it, local organiza- tions, are getting more and more into conflicts with capital and machinery of the state. If not in point of organization then in point of ideas they are more and more receding from the basic principles upon which the A. F. of L. rests. 26. The Industrial Workers of the World, an inde- pendent organization in America, is too weak to take the place of the old labor unions. The I. W. W. have a purely anarchistic prejudice against poHtics and poli- tical action, being divided into supporters and oppon- ents of such a cardinal question as proletarian dictator- ship. Besides these two organizations there are inde- pendent unions, only formally independent of the A. F. of L. ; many of them are independent in their ideological turn of thoughts as well as in practice of their counter- revo'utionary leaders. Therefore the question of creat- ing revolutionary cells and groups inside the American Federation of Labor and the independent unions is of vital importance. There is no other way by which one could gain the working mass in America, than to lead a systematic struggle within the unions. 27. In Italy the circumstances are very peculiar. A great majority of the Italian proletariat accepts the revolutionary struggle and the dictatorship of the pro- letariat. The leaders of the general Confederation of Labor have no faith in revolutionary methods and are nearer in their theory and practice to opportunism than to revolutionary socialism. Alongside with the Gen- eral Confederation of Labor exists the Syndicalist 31 Union — and independent unions which, contrary to those of America, are saturated with a deep revolu- tionary, communist spirit. They practically accept the program of the Third International and the Interna- tional of Revolutionary Trade and Industrial Unions. 28. In the rest of the European countries and in America the labor movement has moved swiftly for- ward. Inside of many old unions, in many countries, there have been formed important opposition minori- ties (Czecho-Slovakia, Poland, etc.), in other coun- tries (Bulgaria, Jugoslavia, Norway, etc.), the major- ity is in favor of the social revolution and of the dic- tatorship of the proletariat. This peculiar state of the labor movement in all countries shows the deep sig- nificance of the change the working masses have un- dergone. The lessons of the war and the Russian revolution were not lost for the large masses. The revolutionizing of the unions is a result of the objec- tive development of events. The aim of the leaders of the Red Labor Unions is to facilitate the process of crystalization of this consciousness and the organiza- tion of this growng elemental revolutionary movement for a decisive battle against the bourgeoise for the workers' dictatorship. 5. Neutrality, Independence and Socialism 29. Socialism has ceased to be merely a matter of theoretical discussion; it is a practical question of the day. Therefore each labor organization must take a definite stand on the subject. The failure to answer the imperative class requirements makes the labor or- ganization a passive onlooker in the present class strug- gle, in other words such an attitude indirectly assists the enemy. Each union must decide which way to turn — to opportunism or to the revolutionary socialism, that is communism. Herein lies the fault of neutrality and "independence." 30. The aims of the revolutionary unions are the destruction of capitalism and the establisment of a socialist order. The proletarian revolutionary party, the Communist party, is aiming toward the same goal. Because the aim and the basic methods of struggle are the same, the political and economic organization of the proletariat cannot exist side by side without crossing one another in the struggle. Their daily strug- 32 gle is interwoven. No single campaign can be carried through with any degree of success, without mutual aid and ever-increasing contact. Isolated action is foredoomed to failure and defeat. 31. The revolutionary trade unions, therefore, were always opposed to that idea of neutrality and the in- dependence of the trade unions from the revolutionary party of the proletariat. They knew that such ideas were only a cloak for the scheme hatched by bourgeois reformers who devided the economic struggle of the proletariat from the political struggle with the object of weakening and corrupting the working masses. Poli- tical neutrality and independence of trade unions from revolutionary socialism always has been, and still is, the motto brought forward by the most backward sec- tions of the labor movement of all countries. During the last few years, the closer were the ties binding the trade union leaders of all countries to the League of Nations, and the more these leaders are being controlled by the bourgeoise of their respective countries, the louder and stauncher has become their championsip of the idea of independence of the trade union from the Communist International. This idea must, therefore, be decidely and totally rejected. 32. The task of the trade unions is to fight the neutralists' views and mentality which bring decay and corruption into the labor ranks and organizations. Any trade union drops its neutrality and independence to the extent, it participates in the social struggle and fight against capitalism and capitalist domination. The present situation imperatively dictates that the revolutionary unions and the communist party should act together in fighting for the social revolution and for the distatorship of the proletariat. But such con- certed action is the best practical refutation of the thoroughly worn out and purely theoretical view upon neutrality and independence — a doctrine that has never been carried out in actual practice. 33. Under present conditions, every economic strug- gle inevitably takes political significance. The struggle itself under such conditions, whatever the numerical strength of the workers involved in a given country may be, can be really revolutionary and be carried out with the greatest benefit for the working class as a whole, only when the revolutionary trade 33 unions will march shoulder to shoulder in the closest co-operation and unity with the communist party of the given country. The theory and practice of splitting the struggle of the working class into two independent halves is utterly detrimental, especially at the present moment. Every mass action requires the utmost concentration of forces, which is possible only when the entire revo- lutionary energies of the working class are strained to the utmost, i. e., when all its revolutionary and com- munist elements are brought into play. Independent revolutionary action by the communist party and the revolutionary red unions is foredoomed to failure and ruin. That is why unity of action, organic connection of Communist Parties and trade unions, is a necessary requisite for the successful struggle against Capitalism. VL The Amsterdam International 34. The anti-class war policy of the trade-unions of the belligerent countries caused the break-down of all the international connections that had existed prior to the war, such as the International Secretariat headed by Legien, as well as all the independent international federations (of textile workers, metai workers, etc.). They broke up — according to their respective locations — into pro-Ally and pro-German units. 35. The general misery bred by the war, stronger class antagonism, insecurity, uncertainty about] to- morrow, growing unemployment, and utter disappoint- ment with the results of the war, acted as a great impelling force in driving the masses into the trade- unions. The war brought to the surface the lowest strata of workers, aroused them, made them distrust their own individual efforts, and forced the most back- ward worker to do some hard thinking on the causes and the consequences of the disaster which all mankind is now living through. The feeling of international solidarity, so long repressed during the war, awoke with new force in the working masses that had been torn up by the war into national units ; this new feeling called for the rebuilding of the international connec- tions, the necessity for which is instinctively felt even by the most backward sections of the working class. 36. Hence the efforts of the bankrupt leaders of the 34 trade-unions in taking the initiative in rebuilding the International and getting at the helm of the movement. Having attempted to create a trade-union International of the Entente type (Leeds, 1916), the leaders of the Entente unions began, immediately after the war, to "restore" the international connections by taking part in some of the labor commissions organized for the purpose of working out supplementary articles to the Versailles Treaty. In this way they have sealed, on an international scale, the treacherous work which they had carried on within their respective bourgeois countries. 37. The victory of "democracy" in the international slaughter was signalized by creating the Labor Bureau as a part of the League of Nations, which represents te highest revelation of the idea of peaceful develop- ment and class collaboration. This Bureau, made up of six labor leaders, six employers, and six representa- tives of bourgeois governments has for its object not only to study the struggle, but also to steer this strug- gle along the channels of peaceful development and amicable solution of the conflicts between Labor and Capital. 38. In Berne (February, 1919), and in Amsterdam (July, 1919) the trade-union International was formally restored. This International is the continuation of the nationalistic policy on an International scale. The new International began its work by declaring itself in favor of the International Labor Bureau and tightly connected its leaders with the world imperialism. Its program is peaceful development, co-operation of classes, gradual growing into socialism, and the deadly fear and hatred of the revolutionary movement of the masses. 39. Such international treason of those who for many years have been selling the workers of their countries, wholesale and retail, was quite natural and logical, but this was in full contradiction with the fundamental interests of the home^ss proletariat. We see that simultaneously with the creation of this inter- national bulwark of the bourgeoisie a movement of protest again the line of war imperialism is growing in all directions and in all countries. This protest, rendered more acute by the growing socialist struggle, had not at first its own international central organiza- 35 tion. Such a center was created at the initiative of the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions in July, 1920, represented by the International Trade Union Council. The birth of this center for revolutionary trade unionism is the starting point for an implacable war within the bounds of the trade union movement of the world carried under the slogan: "Moscow or Amsterdam." Cleavage within the old organizations is proceeding at a rapid rate in proportion to the economic crisis growing more intense and the prospects for peaceful development growing more hopeless for the proletariat. 40. The very fact of the appearance of the Red Trade Union International gave a tremendous impetus to the ceaseless growth of the number of those who side with the Red International. This fact, and the formation of various groups in the trade union move- ment of the world on one side, and the constant decay of the Amsterdam combine on the other hand, puts before the revolutionary trade unions of all countries the question of the future methods of organization of their own forces, as well as of the methods to be used in attacking international capital and the ye-low leaders who are at the head of the Amsterdam Trade Union Combine. VII. Methods of Struggle. 41. The Revolutionary Unions will be able to defeat the old leaders only when the revolutionary and the most class-conscious elements will not consent to detach themselves for a moment from the masses and their daily needs and hopes. The work must be carried on the battle ground of the conflicts by which the masses are deeply stirred. The contemptuous and haughty attitude towards the daily struggle for the material interests of the union members will detach the van- guard from the masses and create a gulf between them and the compact columns of the proletarian army. Therefore the swift response to the daily struggle and ability to utilize it from the standpoint of our final revolutionary aim is, in conjunction with the general trade union struggle for the proletarian dictatorship, the most important question of union tactics. 42. The basis for enlarging our influence must lie within the economic struggle. Questions of wages, 36 of securing relief for the war victims, social insurance, unemployment, women and child labor, sanitary con- ditions in industrial establishments, high prices, the housing question, etc., taxation, mobilization, colonial schemes, financial combinations — all these must be utilized as daily material for organization and militant socialist education. The adherents to the Red Trade Union International must in no case remain out of the labor organizations, must not influence the workers from the outside. Our task is to work insistently and systematically within the trade unions, giving the large labor masses practical lessons in the revolutionary spirit, self-sacrifice and communism. It is necessary to conduct a systematic and stubborn propaganda among the workers in factories,; work- shops and concerns generally, getting them interested in the Red International of Trade Unions. This same question — for or against Moscow — must be raised within the reformist unions ; for this purpose the fol- lowers of the Red International of Trade Unions must make use of all the union meetings, congresses and conferences, opposing in practice and struggle, revo- lutionary socialism against reformism and class-co- operation. 43. We shall be able to conquer the masses, and consequently the trade unions only on condition that in the attack or resistance we will be at the head in the first ranks of the working class. This standpoint shall in no case be construed that a call to action under any and all circumstances is advisable. The supporters of the Red Trade Union International must not only be model revolutionists, but also models of sustained action and coolheadedness. The whole gist of success consist in the systematic, efficient and stubborn pre- paration of every move, of every mass action ; rapidity and sureness of action must go hand in hand with a detailed study of each situation and its conditions, as well as of the organized strength of the enemy forces. In class struggles, as well as in battles at the front, we should not only know how to attack, but also how to retreat in orderly and compact formation. Both in offensive and defensive warfare it is always necessary to have the sympathy of the large proletarian masses and the entire social and political atmosphere in which the struggle takes place. 37 VIII. Program of Action 44. Departing from the above stated principles, the conditions of the international trade union movement, the economic crisis, the acuteness of the class struggle, the growing social conflicts and the necessity of leading the trade unions towards the social revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat — the first International Congress of Trade and Industrial Unions adopted the following program of action : 45. The fundamental policy of the Trade Unions is the direct action of the revolutionary masses and of their organizations against Capital. All conquests of the workers are in direct proportion to the degree of revolutionary pressure they have exerted. By direct action it is understood every form of immediate pres- sure of the workers upon the employers and the State, such as: boycott, strikes, street uprisings, demonstra- tions, seizure of factories, violent resistance against the removal of goods from factories and stores, and other revolutionary activity leading the working class to the overthrow of Capitalism and consolidating the working class in the Struggle for Socialism. The task of the revolutionary class-conscious Trade Unions con- sists in transforming all the expressions of struggle into an instrument for the social revolution of the working class and its militant training for the social revo^tion and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. 46. The last years of the struggle have shown with a peculiar vividness the inability for strictly trade union organizations,, to meet the situation. The fact that the workers in one concern belong to different craft unions weakens their efficiency in the struggle. It is necessarv — and this should be the starting point of an implacable struggle to pass from a strictly trade union organization to an organization along the indus- trial lines. "All the workers emploved in one concern must belong to the same union — this is the militant motto regarding the structure of the organization. The fusion of rented unions into one union should be effected in a revolutionary way, putting this question directly before the members of the union in the fac- 38 tories and industries, as well as before district, regional bodies and national conventions. 47. Each factory and each shop should become a citadel of the revolution. Old forms of communication between rank and file members and the union itself such as money collectors, representatives, proxies and others are insufficient ; it is necessary to strive towards the building up of the union on the basis of shop-com- mittees. This committee must be elected by the work- ers engaged in the given factory, independently of the union they belong to and the political creed they profess. The task imposed upon the supporters of the Red International of Labor Unions is to draw all the workers of a given concern into the election of their representative body. The attempt to elect the shop committees exclusively among adherents of the same party, casting aside the non-party rank and file workers, should be severely condemned. This would be only a nucleus and not a factory committee. The revolution- ary workers should influence, through these nuclei, Commitees of action and through their rank and file members, the general meetings and the elected Shop- Committee. 48. The first question to be put before the workers in the shop committee — is the maintenance of the workers discharged on account of unemployment, at the expense of the bosses of the given branch of in- dustry. Workers should not be permitted to be thrown out on the streets without the employers being in the least concerned with the further existence of the dis- charged workers. The owner must be compelled to pay full wages to the unemployed. This should be put before the unemployed, and especially to the workers engaged in the factories explaining to them at the same time that the problem of unemployment is not to be solved within the capitalist regime, and that the only way to abolish unemployment is the social revolu- tion and the dictatorship of the proletariat. 49. The closing down of concerns and shortening of the working hours are the most efficient means with the help of which the bougeoisie compels the workers to accept lower wages, longer hours, and the abolition of collective bargaining. Lockouts take a more and more definite form of direct action on the part of the employers against the organized workers. Therefore 39 the trade unions must carry on a fight against the closing down of factories and for the right of the work- ers to investigate the causes of such shutting down. For this purpose special committees should be organ- ized with regard to the control of fuel, raw material and orders, for the purpose of verifying the available amount of raw material, necessary for production, as well as the financial resources of the concerns in the banks. Especially elected controlling commissions must investigate in the most careful manner the financial correlation existing between the given factory and other factories for which purpose it is necessary to place before the workers as the timely practical prob- lem, the putting of an end to the secrecy of business transactions. 50. One of the ways of battling against the closing of concerns for the purpose of the reduction of wages and lowering of the standard of life, should be the taking over of the factories and mills by the workers and the proceeding with production by themselves de- spite the owners will. Owing to the lack of goods, it is highly important that production should continue and the workers should therefore oppose the premeditated closing down of fac- tories and mills. In connection with local conditions and the condition of production, the political situation, the tension of the class struggle — the seizure of the enterprises may and should be followed by other meth- ods of pressure upon capital. On taking hold of the concern the management of the same should be given to shop committee representatives and the union dele- gates specially appointed for the purpose. 51. The economic struggle should follow the slogan of "increase in wages, the improvement of labor con- ditions and the defense of the fundamental interests for the workers." The exhaustion of the working class during the period of the war must be compensated by an increase in wages and the improvement of the labor conditions. The reference of capitalists to foreign com- petition should by no means be taken into considera- tion: the revolutionary trade unions are bound to ap- proach the question of wages and labor conditions not from the point of view of competition between rapacious capitalists of different nations, but solely from that of the preservation and the defense of the working power. 40 52. The employers are making use of any means in their power to bring about a split in the ranks of the labor movement. They have fully made use of women's labor during the war and continue to use this cheap labor power for the purpose of cutting down men's wages. Instead of fighting the employers, the workers insist, in a number of countries, upon the removing of women from industry and expelling them from the unions. This policy should be met with decided resist- • ance from the revolutionary unions, which must fight for equality of labor conditions for both sexes and for equal pay under similar conditions of work. 53. When the tactics of wage reduction are resorted to by the capitalist class during an economic crisis, the problem of the revolutionary trade unions consists in defeating wage reduction in capitalist industries, in order not to be defeated piecemeal. The workers engaged in the basic industries such as mining, railroad, gas concerns and others, should make their struggle simultaneously, in order that the struggle against the onslaughts of capital should touch the very nerve of the economic organism. It is necessary to have recourse to every means of resistance, from the intermittent strike up to a general strike embracing the key industries on a national scale. Such efficiently appropriated actions might become a strong weapon against the reactionary bourgeoisie of all countries. The trade unions must attentively follow the world situation selecting the most favorable oppor- tunity for their economic attack, without forgetting for a single moment that any action on an international scale can only be possible by the creation of true revo- lutionary class-conscious international trade unions having nothing in common with the Amsterdam Inter- tional. 54. The belief in the sanctity of collective bargain- ing propagated by the opportunists of all countries must be met with a resolute and decided resistance on the part of the revolutionary trade union movement. Collective bargaining is nothing more than an armistice. The owner always violates these collective contracts whenever the slightest opportunity presents itself. The respect toward collective bargains only proves that bourgeoisie conceptions are deeply rooted in the- minds of the leaders of the working class.- The 41 revolutionary trade unions without, as a rule, reject- ing collective bargains must realize their relative value and clearly define methods which will abolish these contracts when it proves to be profitable to the work- ing class. Therefore, every large strike should not only be well prepared but, simultaneously with its declaration, special forces should be organized to prevent scabbing and to counteract provocative moves on the part of white-guard organizations, encouraged by the bour-, geoisie and the government. The Facisti in Italy, the Technical Aid in Germany, the civil white guard organ- izations consisting of ex-commissioned and non-com- missioned officers in France and in England — all these, identical their aims though different in form of organ- ization, pursue the policy of disorganizing and fore- stalling all activities of the workers, with the purpose not only to replace the strikers by scabs, but to destroy their organizations and to kill the leaders of the labor movement. Under these conditions the organization of special strike militia and special self-defense detach- ments is a question of life and death to the workers. 56. These militant organizations should not only resist the attacks of the employers and the strike- breaking organizations, but take the initiative by stop- ping all freight and goods on their way to and from the factory ; in such cases the transport workers should play a specially prominent part; the transportation of freight which is their duty to stop can easily be accom- plished — by the unanimous support of all the workers of a given locality. 57. All the economic warfare of the working class in the next period should center around the slogan "Control of Industry." This control must be effected without waiting until the governments and the ruling classes have started a fake control. We must conduct a stubborn war against all attempts on the part of the ruling classes and reformists to create labor associa- tions in which labor and capital co-operate, or control commissions shared jointly by workers and employers. This control of industry must be brought about by direct action; only then will this control give definite results. The revolutionary trade unions must come out with determination against the tricks and fraudulent schemes paraded as "socialization" by the leaders of 4? the old trade unions and with the co-operation of the ruling classes. All the talk on the part of these gen- tlemen about peaceful nationalization have for their so'e object to sidetrack the workers from revolution- ary work for the social revolution. 58. To divert the attention of the workers from their immediate revolutionary task and to awaken in them petty bourgeois aspirations, the capitalists and reformists are bringing forward the idea of profit sharing, i. e., to return to the workers a really insig- nificant part of the surplus value produced by them. This plan of corrupting the workers should be met with severe and merciless criticism. Not "profit-sharing," but "to do away with capitalist profit" — this is the slogan of the revolutionary trade unions. 59. In order to paralyze and nullify the fighting force of the working class, the bourgeois governments militarize, under pretext of defending the vital inter- ests of protecting the national welfare, separate con- cerns and even whole branches of industry. Under the cover of preventing, as far as possible, economic crisis, they introduced, in the interests of capital, ob- ligatory courts of arbitration and conflict commissions. Still in the interests of capital, some countries intro- duced the direct tax on earnings with a view of throw- ing the weight of the war wholly on the shoulders of the working class, the tax-collectors being the employ- ers themselves. It is incumbent upon the trade unions to lead against these state measures, exclusively serv- ing the interests of the capitalist class, a ruthless and merciless battle. 60. While conducting the fight for the improvement of the conditions of labor, raising the standard of life of the masses, and establishing workers' control over industry, we should always keep in mind that it is im- possible to solve all these problems within the frame of the capitalist system. For this reason the revolu- tionary trade unions, while gradually forcing conces- sions from the ruling classes, compelling them to enact social legislation, should put before the working masses a clear-cut idea, that only the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of the dictatorship of the pro- letariat can solve the social question. For this reason not a single case of mass action, not a single small conflict should pass, from this point of view, without 43 leaving a deep mark. It is the duty of the revolutionary trade unions to explain these conflicts to the workers, leading the rank and file always toward the idea of the necessity and the inevitability of the social revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat. VI. Resolutions on Workers' Control 1. The analysis of modern economic conditions irre- futably proves, that the productive forces of society are in sharp and insolvable contradiction with the prevail- ing industrial and ownership relations. Pending the world war this contradiction was evident only to the most advanced proletarian elements. However, the acuteness of the post-war world crisis, equally affecting the victorious, the vanquished and the neutral coun- tries brought home this lesson to the large proletarian masses. The endless war, despite the treaty of Ver- sailles ; the general and cronic crisis, despite the ab- solute necessity of restoring industry, have put society as a whole, and particularly the proletariat of the whole world, face to face with the burning question of its further existence. With the first attempt to solve this question it becomes absolutely clear, that the above mentioned contradictions have now reached such a de- gree, that the bourgeoisie having up to the present directed industry as a class, now becomes its disor- ganizer; i. e., not only does not the bourgeoisie assist any more its development, but on the contrary puts obstacles in its way, and becomes a fetter on pro- duction. The working class is the first to feel very keenly the unbearable burden of this contradiction, because it is more than any other class tied up with production in great industrial centers, shops and factories; and also because the above stated contradiction leads to whole- sale slaughter of the workers on the battlefields, or to mass starvation in the periods of unemployment. This is why the necessity to define the role of the bourgeoisie in the present organization of industry, and to determine how it fulfills its task; and as a result of this, the reorganization of the whole system of pro- duction by the workers themselves in their own inter- ests,, first arises in the minds of the working class. Such -a necessity, which really means a prologue to 44 the unifying of the contradictions of the capitalist system by violent action, i. e., social revolution, takes in fact the form of workers' control over production. 2. This primitive stage of workers control reveals itself in sporadic attempts of the workers of each con- cern to supervise the work, the supply, and condition of the machinery of production, to determine whether the closing of the factory, or the curtailing of produc- tion are really based upon necessity and are not a result of mischievous intention of the owner. But very soon the workers get convinced, that supervision and control alone are not sufficient to prevent the capitalist from disorganizing the work in the factories. The system of artificially curtailing production or completely closing their factories, adopted by the capitalists of different countries, shows very well the limitations of this form of control. Equally insufficient are the spasmodic attempts made by workers of some concerns to continue production at all costs, even against the will of the factory owner. In such casual attempts, as in Russia after the March revolution, or not very long ago in Italy, Germany, England and other countries, the basic feature of the new position of the working class in industry manifests itself. , From the position of a passive and exploited force, which till now was con- sidered as a machine or its appendage, the working class rises to the position of pioneer of the idea of organization of production, to the position of the direct inheritor of the bourgeoisie, which now, on account of its class interests, has become the disorganizer of production. 3. To the old type trade unions, whose activity was limited to the fight for but slight improvments under the existing capitalist system, such a change in the minds of the working masses causes an indis- putable blow. Tied together through its bureaucracy with the bourgeois apparatus, and entirely dependent upon it, the old trade unions are powerless to grasp the new problem of production put before the working class, or to find a practical solution for it. This is why with particular force and rapidity new organizations are now growing up which, still using the weapon of the old trade unions — the strike — for revolutionary purposes, already strive to take over industry. The activity of the shop committees is now not limited only 45 to the strike, but is mainly expressed in taking over some functions of the "factory owner, especially in the branches of supplying the factory with raw materials, fuel and later with financial means, or the confiscation of factories sabotaged or left by the owners. This is the reason why at this state of the workers central the bourgeoisie and its apologists — the leaders of the old trade unions make the fiercest attempt to oppose to the revolutionary workers' control, the so-called "industrial democracy," mixed commissions of factory owners and workers, profit sharing schemes and other "democratic" tricks based on the theory of "equal" rights between labor and capital on condition of leav- ing the means of production in the private ownership of the bourgeoisie. This ideal of "equality" carefully cultivated by the English trade unions, which received its final expression at the 10th Congress of trade unions in Germany (1919) and which still dominates the French General Confederation of Labor, is in prac- tice but an attempt to fool the working class through the distortion of the meaning of revolutionary workers' control; to turn it aside from the immediate revolu- tionary problems to the entirely outlived bourgeois ideas of the yellow International of trade unions. 4. Of the same significance are the attempts of the yerow leaders of trade unions to oppose "government ownership," to the revolutionary workers' control. The bourgeoisie is supporting them, because it cleverly uses the principle of the pseudo-socialization in its own class interests. They willingly obscure the fact that government ownership doesn't at all mean national ownership, but only the transition of produc- tion from private management of a group of class representatives to the management by the entire class. The theory of state control consists in an administra- tion composed of e^cted representatives either of .the government and the workers or of the owners, the government, and the workers. The representatives of the government were always considered as represent- ing the entire population, and workers as representa- tives of a class. Here the falsity of the democratic principle of control reveals itself as utterly unacceptable to the revolutionary workers because their idea of workers' control actually means the negation of modern government, which is but a weapon of the 46 bourgeoisie, and so they reject the democratic principle and advocate instead the principle of the workers' state expressing the real needs of the toilers. The workers' control is antagonistic to bourgeois nation- alization of industry or state ownership. Any attempt in favor of combining state ownership with workers' control, while actually conserving the power of admin- istration of industry in the hands of the bourgeoisie, will result only in putting the responsibility on the working class. On the other hand, such attempts to reconcile the irreconcilable may bring about the disin- tegration of the new revolutionary nucleus of the trade union movement in the shops which is very dangerous on account of the tendencies of the union bureaucracy to profit by their weakness and lack of co-ordination in their activity and subject them to their disintegrat- ing influence. 5. Not less dangerous is the pseudo-revolutionary opinion, widely spread among the workers of different countries, that the proletariat can reach positive results of control even before the overthrow of the capitalist state. The sad experience of the Italian workers' control, betrayed by the treacherous leaders of the proletariat, has emphatically proved the sheer nonsense of this opinion, and revolutionary workers in different countries must avoid the repetition of such experiments. It is particularly important to keep in view in this connection that the application of workers control in its fullest expression is impossible unless it include the financial function as well as technical super- vision. Only the full application of financial control reveals to the workers the fundamental basis of the capitalist system. In the process of financial control the workers learn in practice the dependence of their factory upon the banks and national and international financial trusts. The disclosure of the commercial, industrial, and particularly financial secrets gives the proletariat an exact picture of the prime source of the overwhelming sabotage on the part of the bour- geoisie. It reveal the main lever of the system of lockouts, curtailing of production by establishing short time work and other methods artificially bringing 47 about unemployment, cutting wages, disruption of labor organizations, etc. 6. The struggle for financial control leads the work- ing class to the immediate and decisive clash with the bourgeoisie whose political power is to a certain extent based on financial power. At this stage, control inevit- ably takes an evident political aspect and requires political leadership. Meanwhile the increasingly fre- quent cases of seizure of factories, and at the same time impossibility of managing them without dispos- ing of the financial apparatus, clearly puts before the workers the timely problem of getting hold of the financial system and, through it, of the whole industry. At this stage of workers' control the contradiction stated in the first chapter resolves itself into the struggle for power between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, i. e., in the social revolution. In the process of this struggle, the duration of which is determined by the level of organization and culture of the bourgeoisie in each country, there is no more question of controlling the factory owner in order to paralyze his "evil intentions," to break his sabotaging activities, or to continue production, at all costs, etc., but the question before the proletariat now is to take away the industry from the capitalists, to take over as a class in its own hands and under its own responsi- bility the management of the industrial resources of the country. At this movement the workers' control develops into a militant attempt of the working class to direct the organization of production, in factories, shops, mines and railroads not only in its own interest, or some separate groups of the working class, but for the benefit of the whole proletariat of a given country. 7. The victory of the proletariat is inevitable because the bourgeoisie can not longer hold the indus- try. This brings the proletariat to the difficult task of state reconstruction amid very adverse conditions, primarily because the preliminary stages of workers, control were necessarily destructive of the industrial machinery. To hold power over production in such a situation on the morrow after the revolution becomes a particularly difficult task. The sabotage of the bour- geoisie and its obsequious flatterers, concealed until now, becomes open and systematic. The factories, shops, government institutions, schools and univers- 48 ities are left without directing staffs. Not only must the working class physically defend the revolution, but also give its best workers to the task of adminis- tration. In such a moment the role of mass organiza- tions, including not only the advance guard of the proletariat (the communist party), but the large sec- tions of neutrals, assumes a very important and almost decisive significance. But the economic organizations of the proletariat could find their way in the very heart of the working class only through the creation of nuclei in each factory and in each workship. This is why the question of relationship between the trade unions and shop committees is now of the utmost im- portance. Experience has shown that shop committees are of great value, especially where the trade unions are either weak or captured by opportunistic leadership. But the work of shop committees must not be localized, otherwise it will easily be paralyzed or sidetracked by the bourgeoisie. The advance guard of the working class must direct the work of shop 1 committees in nation-wide channels. This shows that the machinery of the trade union centers must be employed to get control of the shop committees and turn them into a mighty weapon of mass control and ownership of production. 8. But the unions can assume this work only under two conditions: (1) when their structure changes from craft lines to industrial, permitting to unite all the workers and employees of any branch of industry around a definite problem of production ; (2) when, in opposition to the yellow counter-revolution trade-union bureaucracy in each industry, there is created a firm and determined revolutionary nucleus to counteract the corrupting policies of the bureaucracy, and to retain the organized masses in the factories on the path of revolutionary struggle for control over production and permanent management of industry. In their vigorous fight against Amsterdam, attempt- ing to turn the revolutionary aspirations of the pro- letariat in the channel of futile and fruitless control within the limits and interests of the capitalist sys- tem, the Red unions must pay soecial attention to the practice of workers' control, which is the best prelimi- nary school for the proletariat striving to take power in its own hands, The logical conclusion of it is that 49 preliminary to the social revolution the slogan of workers' control must be put on the order of business of every gathering of workers, not only with the object of revolutionizing them, but to give them the political and economic education necessary for the immediate future. Upon this preparation depends the duration of the political proletarian rule after the social revolution, because the social revolution and the upholding of the proletarian power are determined by the preparation and the ability of the proletariat to conquer and submit to its will the mechanism of production, i. e., whether it will be able to solve not only politically but also economically the basic contradiction mentioned in the first chapter. This task can easily be achieved by a suitable preparation, primarily because the worker gradually learns to manage the factory ; then he clearly sees the correlation between different branches of industry and learns to supervise them on a large national scale. Thus, after the social revolution, when he inevitably has to proceed with the nationalization of the whole financial system, industrial transport and important sources of raw material, etc., the proletarian government will have enough workers capable not only of fighting for the social revolution, but building on the inherited ground a new socialist commonwealth, new organs of distribution and management of industry. At this stage the workers' control assumes the form of participation of the trade unions in the shaping of new economic organs and management of production through the latter, i. e., it transforms itself into one of the organs of economic reconstruction and control of the working class through the Soviets and the economic organs. General Conclusions 1. The workers' control is the necessary school in the work of preparation of the large masses for the proletarian revolution. 2. Workers' control must be the war cry for the workers of every capitalist country, and must be util- ized as a weapon to disclose the financial and com- mercial secrets. 3. Workers' control must be largely used for the reconstruction of the outlived trade unions on the basis 50 of industries, the former becoming harmful for the workers' revolutionary movement. 5. Workers' control is distinct from bourgeois schemes of "mixed committees" nationalization, etc., and to the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie it opposes the dictatorship of the proletariat. 6. When establishing any form of workers' control or seizure of concerns great attention must be given to the necessity of attracting the most backward pro- letarian masses to the discussion of the issues at stake. At the same time a careful selection of the more capable workers must be made, during the process of workers' control with the view of preparing them for the leading position in the task of organizing industry. 7. For the efficient functioning of the workers' con- trol in each locality, it is necessary that the trade unions direct the work of the factory committees, while the trade unions must coordinate and combine the work of the local control committees of the same industry in such a manner as to avoid any attempt to create "factory patriotism" on the ground of local- ized control. 8. For the guidance of the work of the factory committees the trade unions must from the outset issue special instructions, discussing the questions of workers' control, carry on a propaganda in the daily press and in factories not only by explaining the neces- sity of workers' control, but also giving detailed re- ports of the results of workers' control in different concerns, call for that purpose joint meetings, con- ferences, etc. 9. With a view of carrying out these aims in unions which do not accept the principles of the Red International of Trade Unions, it is necessary to organize strong revolutionary nuclei which will lay special stress on the reconstruction of the unions on an industrial basis and will keep the revolutionary character of the struggle for workers' control. 51 VII. Resolution on Shop Committees 1. For the purpose of carrying out the above stated tasks (resolution on workers' control), the Shop Com- mittees must be built along determined lines. A ques- tion arises whether the Shop Committees ought to be organized within or outside the labor unions. In Ger- many and England wide labor circles were of the opin- ion that Shop Committees must be organized outside of the unions, that they shall take over the craft unions and entirely dismiss them. This opinion holds that the form of craft organization is inadaptable to the needs of the struggle, but should they be reorgan- ized along the industrial lines they might, together with the Shop Committees, become able to cope with the problems. 2. The Shop Committees cannot take the place of the trade unions. Only in the course of the struggle can they go beyond the limits of the separate shops, factories and unite on the basis of separate industries, creating a common machinery for carrying on the struggle. Hence trade unions have already become central organs of the struggle, although they do not embrace such a great number of workers as the Shop Commit- tees could do, representing free organizations acces- sible to all the workers of a given concern. The divi- sion of functions of the Shop Committees and trade unions must result from the historical development of the social revolution. The trade unions organize the workers for an increase of wages or shortening of working hours on a national and state-wide scale. The Shop Committees, being organized for the purpose of controlling industry, embracing the workers of a given concern, and their struggle will only gradually assume a national and state-wide scale. In so far as the rank and file of the trade unions will succeed in combatting the counter-revolutionary tendencies of their bureaucracy and transform the unions into revolutionary bodies, the Shop Commit- 52 tees will become the nuclei of the trade unions in the shops. 3. The organization of the Shop Committees by separate industries and their utilization for the imme- diate struggle for the working class interests cannot but influence the modern structure of the trade unions. The activities of the Shop Committees shatter the old forms of the trade unions built on the craft principle and hasten their transformation into unions organized by industries. 4. By turning the trade unions and Shop Commit- tees into a powerful weapon for the social revolution, the revolutionary workers are thus preparing these mass organizations for the great task which they will have to face after the establishment of the dictator- ship of the proletariat, the task of becoming the bul- wark of the new organization of the economic life on the basis of Socialist principles. Trade unions reconstructed on the industrial basis and supported by the Shop Committees will familiar- ize the workers with the industrial problems, will pre- pare the more experienced among them for the man- agement of the concerns and effect control over the technical experts. Thus, under the general direction of the workers' government in co-operation with other economic organizations of the workers, the trade unions will carry out the fundamental principles of a Socialist commonwealth. The concrete tasks before the Shop Committees are as follows: 1. To draw the unemployed into the process of production, for the fulfillment of which, task it is necessary (a) to clearly determine the potentialities of production, to take into account the available sup- plies of raw and accessory materials in production and take them under control; (b) to shift the available labor force into such branches of industry in which a shortage of hands is felt; (c) to secure sufficient aid to the unemployed on the owners' account until they resume work; (d) to establish connections with the distributive organizations in order to get acquainted with the exact necessities of the working masses and conform production to these needs. 2. The organization of the distribution of fuel in order to secure regular work in the concerns and an 53 adequate standard of living for the workers — i. e. : to organize a systematic supply of fuel for the different concerns as well as the households of the workers. 3. The suspension of all unproductive work, espe- cially the manufacturing of arms, ammunition and articles of luxury. 4. The establishment of control over transport in order to prevent overtaxing transport by unproduct- ive shipping: (a) transport of war materials; (b) ex- port of capital ; (c) export of equipment of closed concerns ; (d) export of foodstuffs for purposes of speculation. First of all, provision should be made for the supply of food and articles of mass consumption: raw materia], fuel and accessory materials necessary in production; the conveyance of the working popu- lation to the place of work should be likewise pro- vided for. 5. The establishment of financial control in order to make possible the valuation of capital and cash on hand in concerns; of control over banking and other financial operations, and generally of control over banks. 6. The establishment of control over the supply and distribution of foodstuffs: by establishing com- munications between the toiling population of the town and the country. Special attention should be paid to the organization of mutual exchange between town and country of agricultural and factory goods. 7. The organization of control and the fixing of prices on agricultural and factory products which the toiling population is in need of. 8. The establishment of control over export and import: (a) in the first place preference must be given to the import of commodities necessary for the work- ing mass and to the maintenance of production; (b) the import of luxury should be prohibited; (c) the export abroad of foodstuffs and capital, as well as ar- ticles necessary for local production should be likewise prohibited. 54 VIII. Resolutions on the Organization Question (On the Report of Com. Losovsky) 1. General Considerations 1. The present world situation puts before the working class new problems. The world wide economic crisis involving a disastrous drop in wholesale prices, and a market glutted with goods face to face with an actual famine for such goods ; the bourgeois starting a policy of aggressive warfare against the working class by stubborn effort attempting to reduce its wages and hurl the workers back to where they stood scores of years ago on one side and the masses getting more and more embittered on the other side, the inertia of the old trade unions with their wornout methods — all this compels the revolutionary trade unions to work out new programs and tactics. The decay of capitalism calls for new methods of carrying the class struggle. The trade unions must adopt a policy of aggressive economic actions not only for repelling the capitalist offensive but for taking the offensive itself. 2. The pending social battles and especially those which the working class will have to conduct in the future will impose upon the revolutionary trade unions a tremendous amount of work both in preparing the social revolution, especially during the revolution itself and after seizing the means of production, trans- port and exchange and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. The unions will be able to carry out this tremendous work only when they readjust their ranks and day by day prepare the unions in a sys- tematic and organized manner for their future func- tions as organizers of production, acting at the same time as the basis of proletarian rule. 3. Under such conditions the question of methods and ways of building up the organizations of labor be- come especially important and significant. The gist of this question amounts to this — namely: to create an organization at once flexible, and mobile, tightly welded with the masses which should, under all conditions of the struggle, both in triumph and defeat, have an in* 55 disputable authoritative sway over the wide masses. The entire work of organization should be steered in such a way that the mass responds whenever the or- ganization calls upon it for action, and what is even more important, that unsuccessful action does not drive the masses into a listless, apathetic frame of mind and make them turn their backs to the union. 4. Pursuing these aims the union must concentrate its attention primarily on the work of making their members more class conscious, welded closer together and more disciplined. The work of securing a higher level of class consciousness and closer unity of the membership can be successful only if carried on in con- nection and on the ground of their daily battles under the prevailing conditions. The only kind of organiza- tion which will really be effective is the one which will closely unite the rank and file with their union and will train a staff of tireless and self-sacrificing fighters. These fighters will adapt forms of organization to the needs of the social struggle and to the extent of the consolidation of the enemy. They will also teach the lesson to look upon their organization not as an aim in itself but as a means for realizing the aim. II. Unions Organized by Trade or Industry 5. The trade unions were originally intended sim- ply as organs for the protection of the working class against capitalist exportation, and by. the force of development of the complicated methods of capitalist exportation had to change their tactics and methods of fight. The narrow limits of the trade union groups which had for their aims mere "benevolence" become more and more inadequate in their struggle with con- centrated capitalism. The exigencies of mutual aid are replaced by a stren- uous economic struggle, requiring the reconstruction of the union from narrow craftism into industrial unionism. 6. Notwithstanding the severe rebukes and the acuteness of class struggle the working class in its forms of organization is far behind the employers. The concentration of power, the centralization of lead- ership and uniformity of plans is systematically accom- plished by the capitalists in their organizations and by their state machinery in western Europe and America. The organized expression of the power of -the bour- 56 geois, regardless of the strong mutual competition which exists, consists in its organizations formed either by industies or by branches of industry, owners of metal works, metallurgical mine owners, etc. The organizations of employers, in their strategical attacks upon the workers, operate with the, entire factory, and not with separate groups in each respect- ive factory. If they do deal with separate groups of workers, it is with the purpose to divide the workers and antagonize them. 7. At the same time the principle of craft unionism has not been fully dismissed. In England, Germany, France and America, in one industry, different craft unions very often competing between themselves may be found. This tends to weaken the struggle of the workers, who instead of coming in as a single solid front, come in small groups. The chief problem of organization consists in pass- ing from the system of craft unionism to industrial. The slogan "One Union for One Industry" should be- come the slogan of the militant revolutionary unions. All workers of a machine shop, regardless of their occupations or qualifications, beginning with a me- chanic and ending with a laborer, all belong to the union of metal workers. All workers of the textile factory, beginning from a weaver, mechanic, labor, etc., all should belong to the unions of textile workers. By such a system of organization the employers would be faced with a strong, united mass of workers, of all the workers of the same industry, instead of separate isolated groups. III. Shop Committees 8. The gathering of the revolutionary forces in the trade union movement must proceed under the ban- ner of organization of shop committees. The Shop Committees must be elected by all the workers of a given concern, independently of their political or re- ligious creeds. The attempt to create shop commit- tees at meetings of fellow party members, as prac- ticed in Germany by the General Workers' Union, is on!y a caricature and discredits the very idea of the organization in the eyes of the large working masses. As a matter of fact under the false name of Shop 57 Committees, the General Workers' Union established its party fractional nucleus: this, of course, is within the rights of any organization, but there is no need to give such high sounding names to these nuclei. 9. The question of the creation of Shop Committees should on no account be delayed until the calling of regular conventions of the unions. The organization of Shop Committees must be advocated and applied everywhere, regardless of any preconceived idea. The organization of a Shop Committee, whatever the union it originates from may be, cannot remain a passive witness of the growing crisis ; it must take up and de- cide the big questions concerning its enterprise. Until the creation of a powerful network of Shop Commit- tees is assured, later developing into the nucleus of a union, the old connection of the union with the masses remains (proxies, collectors, delegates, etc.). 10. The organization of Shop Committees must proceed side by side with the creation of subordinate control committees. It is necessary to teach the work- ers by means of special control committees to keep careful watch upon current events in and outside the concern. The system of permanent or special control committees must be widely applied. Every branch shop activity beginning with accidents, sanitary con- ditions, as well as the activity of the government and municipal institutions, must be objects of interest for the control committee. It would be desirable to organ- ize the control committees by trade unions as well as by districts so as to draw the workers from the narrow frames of their concern. 11. The revolutionary trade unions should not re- fuse to make use of the mixed organizations with limited power created by the bourgeois government in place of real Shop Committees. The German, Italian and Austrian bourgeois wish to confine the Shop Com- mittee movement to legal activity. It was a great mistake our comrades made when they refused to participate in the e^ction of the Shop Committee and adopted this name for groups of disciples they have created. The revolutionary trade unions should not miss any opportunitv to utilize the legal institutions for the purpose of disrupting them. The task of the revolutionary unions consists in the breaking up of legal forms, in the filling of the Shop Committees with 58 revolutionary activity and by their every day sys- tematic and obstinate work transform the organiza- tions created by the government into a weapon of revolution. To penetrate such organizations for the sake of bursting them from within, such is the task of the followers of the Red International of Labor Unions. The boycott advocated in some countries even with the best of intentions cannot be accepted as a wise policy. Such a policy is evidence of an underestimation of the working masses and an overestimating of the legal limits of the law. IV. The Conquest of the Old Trade Unions 12. The counter-revolutionary part played, at the present time, by the trade union bureaucracy; the strangling of the revolutionary movement of the work- ing class awakened in certain sections of the revolu- tionary proletariat in all countries the thought of leav- ing the unions and the creation of new purely revolu- tionary unions. This is the origin of the watchword "Destroy the Unions" and "Out of the Unions" which met with a rather favorable reception among that section of the revolutionary elements who were rather despairing and in a pessimistic mood, having lost con- fidence in the masses. This policy of breaking off from the unions by the revolutionary elements, thanks to which the great masses are abandoned to the influ- ence of the reactionary leadership, plays into the hands of the counter-revolutionary bureaucracy and must be resolutely and categorically rejected. Not to destroy, but to conquer the unions — i. e., the great mass of workers who are still in the old trade unions — this should be our rallying point in the development of the revolutionary struggle. 13. Meeting half way ,the slogan "Out of the Unions," the trade union bureaucracy of all countries began to expel the leading elements of the revolution- ary trade union movement. This rendered stiH more acute the pessimistic mood and strengthened the slo- gan "Out of the Unions." But it would be a great error on the part of the supporters of the Red Inter- national if, being drawn into this provocation, they were to abandon the trade union movement and con- fine themseVes in little revolutionary unions. The workers expelled from the unions should not be 59 disintegrated. They must remain organized on the same plane as they were before the exclusion, acting always as a definite, legal part of the union which had expelled them. .By no means should they play into the hands of the trade union bureaucracy and facili- tate it in the struggle against the ever-increasing revolutionary spirit of the masses. 14. Our policy with respect to old trade unions should take into consideration that, at the actual mo- ment, they embrace many millions of workers. The task of the revolutionary elements in the trade unions does not consist in wresting from the unions the best and class conscious workers in order to create small organizations. Their task should be to revolutionize the unions, to transform them into a weapon of social revolution by means of the everyday struggle in favor of all the revolutionary demands put forward by the workers within the old trade unions. Every kind of organizing work should develop along the lines of fight- ing the treachery and slackness of the trade union bureaucracy in the struggle for the everyday inter- ests of the workers. To conquer the unions means to conquer the masses, and these can only be conquered by a systematically obstinate work, setting against the policy of class collaboration that of our steady revolutionary line of action. The slogan "Out of the Unions" prevents us from conquering the masses to our cause and retards the advance of the social revo- lution. 15. It would be similarly erroneous to consider the organization of trade unions as an aim in itself. They are but only the means to an end. By rejecting the motto "Out of the Unions" we must resolutely declare ourselves against the fettish of organization and the watchword "Unity at Any Cost and Under All Circum- stances." The conquest of the unions does not imply the seizure of the union cashbook or of its property, out the conquest of its members. The difference is easily forgotten and the union is often confused with its office, its cash and its officials. This "trade union machinery" standpoint should encounter a resolute op- position on the part of the revolutionary class con- scious unions. The revolutionary trade unions are against the split. They stand for unity, but they do 60 not fear the split. This should be brought home to every one of us. V. Problems of Organization in the Principal Countries 16. The practical organization problems of the fol- lowers of the Red Labor Union International are dif- ferent in each country. Though the principles are the same, still their practical applications change accord- ing to the distinctive peculiarities of each country and the form of its labor organizations. The labor move- ment is an organic product of the industrial, social and economic development of a given country. Hence the differences in the construction of the unions, forms and methods of their struggle. The sooner the trade unions change from pure and simple craft organiza- tions into revolutionary c!ass conscious unions, the sooner they will reach one form of organization and one method of fighting. To hasten this process is the main problem of the followers of the Red Labor Inter- national. 17. In Italy the labor organizations are divided, nevertheless the presence of a revolutionary prole- tariat in the ranks of the General Confederation of Labor does not excuse at all the action of the railroad transport workers and the Syndicalists Union who re- fused to enter into one general proletarian organiza- tion. The reformistic efforts of the leaders could be counteracted only when all the revolutionary unions would combine into one pro^tarian organization. The field is ripe for the creation of such a unification and thereby the followers of the Red Labor Union Interna- tional must enter the General Confederation of Labor and fight for and defend the revolutionary position. 18. In England, irrespective of a powerful labor movement, which is undergoing a radical change, there are attempts at creatine: new organizations of the I. W. W., or "One Big Union" type. Such attempts should be absolutely and sharply condemned. It is up to the revolutionary labor men in England to remain inside those gigantic unions and fight for the accept- ance of the principles of the Red Labor Union Inter- national. To wrest out tens of thousands of revolu- tionary workers and form new independent organiza- tions is a crime against the working class of England 61 and the whole world. Hence all the organizations which are in accord with the Red Trade Union Interna- tional must concentrate all their efforts for the pur- pose of winning over the unions one by one, consoli- date their ranks, not wasting time on the selected few, "the top," who are not in touch with the masses. 19. In the United States of America, where we have the reactionary American Federation of Labor, some independent unions, the I. W. W. and others, the prin- ciples of staying within the old unions is prevailing here too. The members of the I. W. W. should join their respective trade unions and spread their propa- ganda among them explaining the working class prob- lems. The longer they keep themselves aloof from the American Federation of Labor, the greater will be the sufferings and the harder will be the process of ad- vancement of the unorganized workers there. The in- dependent unions which favor the Red Labor Union International should co-ordinate their activities, and come to an understanding with those labor council which officially belong to the American Federation of Labor, but agree with our tactics. Co-ordination and unity of action among the local organizations of the American Federation of Labor and the I. W. W. favor- ing the Red International should also be established. 20. In France the revolutionary minoritv of the General Confederation of Labor took the correct stand in condemning the Council of the Rhone Estuarv Unions for leaving the Confederation. The counnest of the unions in France is proceeding ranidlv and there is no ground for forming seoarate organ i nations. The Congress therefore recommends the small organiza- tion, bearing the name of "International Confedera- tion of Workers," to dissolve its own organization and join the General Confederation of Labor and fi>ht side by side with the revolutionary minority against the pernicious nolicy of Messrs. Jouhaux, Merheim & Co. 21. In Spain, especially in connection with the reac- tion raging there, it is imperative that the economic organizations form a single unit. The unitv which was already fairlv imder wav was blocked bv the reformist leaders of the General Labor Union. In spite of these reformist leaders, such unitv must be put forward as the fighting task of the moment, and carried out over the heads of its opponents. The second task before us 62 in Spain is to form industrial unions on a national scale (metal workers, textile workers, etc.) which were destroyed on account of wrong interpretations of the federalist idea. The lack of industrial organizations is a very strong drag on the struggle of the working class before, during and especially after the social revolu- tion. The Communist groups working within the general union must compose a single block with the National Confederation of Labor in Spain for a co-ordinated defensive and offensive action. What concerns the unions split away from the central reformist organ- izations and accepting the standpoint of the Red Inter- national of Labor Unions, those must in the shortest possible time affiliate with the National Confederation of Labor. 22. More complex and confused is the situation in Germany. Here the working masses are organized in independent unions. Syndicalists had never had any influence. As a result of the treacherous betrayal of the trade union bureaucracy, after the November events, many new unions have been organized. One of them, the "Independent Workers' Union of Gensel- kirchen," the "General Workers' Union," the "Free Union of Agricultural Workers," the "Union of Mental and Manual Workers." All these organizations remain unimportant whether in regard to their membership or economic and political influence on the events in Ger- many. The principles of these unions are not quite clear because of their slogan of smashing at all costs the old unions. They bring only confusion in the ranks of the revolutionary workers, weaken their fight- ing power directed against the trade union bureauc- racy. 23. Revolutionary elements in the trade unions have organized within these organizations strong groups and are leading an efficient struggle against the trade union bureaucracy. The bureaucracy an- swered their action by wholesale expulsion of the revo- lutionary leaders in local groups and of the general organization. The expelled groups of members must not stay iso^ted. They must unite and establish close connections with the revolutionary factions of the for- mer membership so as not to be useless in the struggle for the revolutionizing of the trade unions. Other 63 organizations favoring the Red International of Trade Unions must lead a decisive campaign under the slogan "Down with the Treacherous Trade Union Bureauc- racy Destroying the Unionist." They should not drive out of the old centralized independent unions new cate- gories of workers. 24. In all other countries the work should go on in accordance with the principles outlined above. The nearest approach to the victory of the Red Labor Union International has been made in Czecho-Slovakia and Poland. In these two countries there is a powerful Communist movement. The task before those who are against Amsterdam is to wrest the general trade union center of their respective countries from the Amsterdam organization within the shortest possible time. We can recommend, in a general way, that, within three months, as soon as the resolutions and decisions of the First Congress of the Revolutionary Labor Unions are published, the question of Moscow versus Amsterdam should be voted on by every union in every country. VI. The International Organization by Trades and by Industries 25. International organizations of individual trade unions started to appear in the latter part of the Nine- teenth Century. At the beginning of the war there were already approximately thirty international labor organizations. The character of. these organizations was in every case alike. They were loosely linked together national organ- izations, coming together with the purpose of adopt- ing unanimous resolutions, knowing beforehand that the elected central organ will not accomplish any other work, except gathering statistical data and informative material. Those were not organizations for the inter- national class struggle, but for mutual information. With very rare exceptions, there isn't a single demon- stration to the credit of these organizations, except the collection of funds during some big strikes, etc. 26. The war has destroyed these organizations and the working class at the cessation of the drawn out slaughter found it necessary to re-establish the broken links. The same people who for a long period tried to prove the inability of keeping the international or- 64 ganizations intact and that no proletarian solidarity was possible during the war have appeared again on the arena. Reformism and politics is the trademark of all these organizations. They have shaped themselves not on a program of revolutionary action but on social peace and harmony, and their aim is not to fight united against international capital, but simply to inform one another of the current events in each country. 27. The Red International from its formation rec- ognized the necessity of having the revolutionary unions remain within the former international organ- izations of separate trades or industries for the pur- pose of capturing them. But as soon as the Amster- dam international began to realize the danger of revo- lutionizing the spirit of the class conscious unions, it undertook a series of measures by which recognition of the Amsterdam international becomes a primal condi- tion for affiliating any union with its separate inter- national trade union organization. By this decision as well as by many others the Amsterdam international has taken the initiative for the break-up of the labor movement, expelling from the organizations all those who have pledged their moral solidarity with the in- ternational of revolutionary action and class struggle. 28. These decisions force the revolutionary trade unions expelled from their international organization to unite for counter action. Having no intention to leave the international unions, and create new organizations until all means of resistance within the old unions, that will lead to unity, are exhausted; the first congress of revolution- ary labor unions recommends to all the revolutionary class conscious unions who recognize the necessity of the dictatorship of the proletariat to gather all their forces and organize them by industry or by trade inter- national committees of propaganda for the purpose of bringing together the split revolutionary elements. These international committees of propaganda must conduct their work in all countries upon the principle accepted by the First Congress of Red Labor Unions, and agitate among the masses the inevitability of the class struggle and the absurdity of bourgeois illusions of a world peace. 29. It is up to the propaganda committees not only to agitate for revolutionary class struggle and the dic- 65 tatorship of the proletariat, but also to expose the intrigues of the Amsterdamers, who in order to save themselves are bringing disintegration in the ranks of the labor movement. The committees on propaganda take the initiative to issue calls for councils and con- ferences, publishing the necessary literature, collect funds, inform the revolutionary unions of the current events in their trade, give early information about strikes and conflicts, fight against scabbing, in other words introduce into life true principle of revolutionary class struggle. 30. Each international committee of propaganda is connected with the Red Labor International, through its representative, who are on the Central Council of the Red International with a consultative voice. All international committees perform their duties with the close participation and under continual control of the Central Council of the Red International. Conferences and congresses that may be called together by the In- ternational Propaganda Committees should take place after preliminary consultation with the Central Coun- cil of the Red International. 31. Unions expelled from the international organ- izations must not remain dispersed. If they have not yet joined the corresponding International Propaganda Committee they should then do so at once and place before the International Propaganda Committee the question of constituting an international organization in their trade or industry. In case of expulsion of a number of unions, the Inter- national Propaganda Committee may, by special deci- sion of the Red International, be transformed into an Organization Bureau, for the calling of a congress of the revolutionary trade unions involved and the crea- tion of an international organization, to counteract the work done by those who, following the orders from Amsterdam, are expelling unions from their corre- sponding international trade or industrial organiza- tions. VII. National Unions 32. The influence of the bourgeois ideology upon the proletarian masses is yet so strong that we still have in many countries trade unions uniting workmen of the same nationality. Thus, in Czecho-Slovakia 66 separate unions exist for Checho-Slovak workers, and others for German workers only. In Poland, where until recently the unions corresponded to different party groupings, the amalgamation of the communist trade unions with those under the influence of the Polish Socialist Party had already taken place. But these unions have still kept their national character. Thus, alongside with class trade unions we have Jewish trade unions, with their special central body. In America we find unions consisting exclusively of negroes, owing to the old trade unions refusing admis- sion to colored workers. This survival of old prejudices should be most energetically and actively fought against by the adherents of the Red International of Labor Unions. The fusion of nationalist trade unions with the other unions of the country must be the prac- tical watchword in the struggle for unity of the eco- nomic organizations of the working c'ass. National prejudices must be destroyed once for all. VIII. Exclusion of Unions 33. The activities of the Amsterdam International and of national organizations affiliated to it, have been leading, for the last few months, a serried attack against the revolutionary unions. Knowing that its last days have arrived, the yellow Amsterdam Inter- national proclaims the motto "Revolutionists and Com- munists Out of the Unions." This offensive on the part of the Amsterdamers must be met locally with a most decisive and determined set-back under the banner. "Down With the Splitters! Long Live the Unity of the Labor Union Movement." Under no cir- cumstances should we aid Amsterdam by voluntarily leaving the unions: this would have played into the hands of the Amsterdamers, and would have been much too unprofitable for the left wing of the labor movement . 34. The expulsion of separate groups and of local sections, is usually accompanied by the centra) organ- ization forming new units aspiring to split the unity of the local revolutionary organization. In order to smash up the local revolutionary trade union the Amster- damers enter into secret relations with the employ- rs who in their turn, begin their attacks against the workers. As the subscriptions for the strike funds are in the hands of the central administration of the union, 67 the local revolutionary section is thus left at the mercy of the employers. 35. This monstrous treachery must be met with a resolute attack from two quarters. On the one hand, all the forces of the revolutionary unions and of the Communist Party must be directed towards the strug- gle against this treachery, disclosing the open as well as the secret agreements between the leaders of the trade unions and the enemies of the working class. Without leaving the unions it is necessary to do every- thing in one's power to organize as soon as possible the expelled unions, according to their trades and to create a national centre of expelled unions which would lead, according to the powers given to it by the local branches of the union, the fight against the destroyers of the iabor movement, requesting the readmission into the union of the expelled organizations. IX. The Labor Press 36. The creation of a revolutionary trade union press should become one of the most important prob- lems in the organization of trade unions. The old trade unions possess a widely spread press with its own traditions. It is necessary to create in each country a leading organ and a series of papers for each indus- try. The most serious attention should be paid on the part of the adherents of the Red International of Labor Unions to the creation of a good press. Following step by step the activities of the leading elements of any one union, exposing their inactivity, passiveness, wavering and hesitation in the every day struggle, taking not of all the weak points of the Amsterdam leaders the centra 1 ] organ of this or that industry should be able to bring home to the non-party masses that the Amsterdamers, besides betraying the interests of the working class in questions of general politics, always take, in their every day practical work, touching the vital interests of the working classes, a position which is entirely in contradiction not only with the interests of the working class as a whole, but even with the interests of this or that group of workers. X. Organization of the Women in the Trade Unions. 37. The followers of the Red International of Labor Unions must pay special attention to the organization of the women workers into the revolutionary trade 68 union movement. No separate organizations for women shall be created. The proletariat is unique, and as a class must build its organizations, disregarding the sex of the toilers, but according to industries. The women workers as the most backward category of toilers are more exploited t,han the men, the reformist unions following the course of least resistance are establishing their wages not in regard to the qualifica- tion or productivity, but according to the sex of the workers. When any crisis breaks out, the conservative unions take the initative of firing the women first. It is a very harmful anti-class policy of the old trade unions and must be met with stubborn resistance. The working woman is our fellow in exploitation and our aim consists in making her an active fighter for the social revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat. Only these unions merit to be members of the Red International of Labor Unions, which in the question of labor have freed themselves from the old prejudices and have taken upon themselves the defense and safe- guard of women labor, having before them the same aim: increase the army of social revolution by new and tireless fighters from the midst of the exploited and oppressed women workers. XL Work Among the Youth 38. The revolutionary trade unions must pay par- ticular attention to the education of the young mem- bers of their union. The old unions — in so far as they dealt with the young generation — did sov. from the standpoint of the technical education of skilled workers, while the revolutionary trade unions must carry the center of gravity of their work only to their com- munist education. There are at present organized in all the countries of the world over a million of young proletarians within the youths' societies. The trade unions must be most attentive to their young members, bearing in mind that it is upon the shoulders of the growing generation that will fall the actual carrying out of the social revolution as well as its results. To conquer the young generation, to educate it, to raise its consciousness to the inevitability of the social revolution and of the dictatorship of the proletariat, to make every one of them a conscious fighter in the forthcoming ruthless social battles — this is the impera- 69 tive duty of all the adherents of the Red International of Labor Unions. XII. Conditions of Affiliation to the Red Trade Union International 39. In order that the revolutionary trade unions should be able to succeed in solving the\ aforesaid problems on a national and international scale, the following two conditions are necessary: A united understanding of the problems of the Red Interna- tional! can fulfill its requirements only when it is based on clearness, and each union joining the revolutionary International is informed of its duties and require- ments and to what exent they are to be performed. 40. The Red International of Labor Unions has been created in order to put in opposition td the ambigious and bourgeois program of the yellow Amsterdam International a clear platform in revolu- tionary action. It is therefore clear that membership in the Red International is possible when certain obli- gations are fulfilled, without which the members may become as formal and inactive as is the case with our opponents. 41. The first condition is, therefore, the recognition and and fulfilment of the principles of revolutionary class strugg'e; this means that only those trade unions can become members of the Red International which carry on the struggle against the system based on classes and against all forms of class co-operation ; only those who combat, not by words but by deeds, the theory of social peace and the efforts to solve the social question by harmonious co-operation with the ruling classes ; the revolutionary class-struggle is the basis of the Red Internationa 1 !. 42. The revolutionary class-struggle must always be conducted with the constant aim in view of over- throwing capitalism and establishing the power of the toilers, i. e., the dictatorship of the proletariat. In order to bring about the social revolution and destroy class antagonism, the working class has to be organ- ized solidly and must create the means for its struggle, otherwise it will be defeated during the first days of the revolution. We must oppose the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie by the concentrated power of the work- ing class which realizes class aims and tasks. The rec- 70 ognition of the dictatorship of the proletariat is the second consideration to be reckoned with. 43. At the first period of the existence of the Red International, in the period of organization, there were cases of simultaneous affiliations of different unions to both Internationals. An end should be put to such "double allegiance." Breaking with the Amsterdam International is for the general labor union centres a prerequisite for the affiliation with the Red Interna- tional*, because such a simultaneous affiliation with two mutually antagonistic organizations is inadmissible in theory and extremely detrimental in practice. In the countries where the general trade union centres belong to the Amsterdam International, separate unions, fed- erations or national minorities may be^ng to the Red International and at the same time remain within the old trade union organizations. 44. The fourth condition for joining the Red Inter- national consists in the unity of action on the part of ajl the organizations affiliated with it in each country. If, as a transitional measure, we could allow the exist- ence of several organizations affiliated with the Red International, it would only be on condition of their having concerted defensive and offensive action against the bourgeoisie. This condition is absolutely essential, as, otherwise, it might happen, as was the case in the March days in Germany, that some organizations belonging to the Red Internationa 1 , carrying on) an armed fight against the bourgeoisie, while others attack our comrades in the rear. 45. An international organization is only then properly established when its decisions are carried out by corresponding organizations in all countries. The experience of international organizations before, and especially during the war shows that many organiza- tions do not consider the decisions adopted by inter- national congresses as binding on the national organ- izations. But the Red International cannot endorse their standpoint and therefore establishes the neces- sity of international proletarian discipline — i. e., that separate national organizations must abide by the de- cisions of the Internationa' Congresses and Confer- ences. 71 CONSTITUTION OF THE RED INTERNATIONAL OF LABOR UNIONS. The class struggle has now reached such a degree of development and acuteness that the working class, in order to successfully conduct and complete its strug- gle for emancipation, must fight as a solid revolution- ary class power, not only on a national but also on an international scale, against the bourgeoisie, who de- spite the severe competition on the world market, is closely united in its hatred of the proletarian revolu- tion and solidly welded against the slightest attempt of the proletariat to free itself from exploitation. Since the exploitation is international, the fight against it must have an international character. All interna- tionals of labor unions, which existed up to the pres- ent moment, at best were but international statistical bureaus for mutual information. The International Secretariat of Labor Unions before the war was merely an information agency, it did not pursue any militant class aims. The Amsterdam International of Labor Unions is even less fit to deal with the issues at hand than its predecessor. The first was but an informa- tion office, the latter occupies itself with politics of the worst kind, with antiproletarian, bourgeois politics. It sets forth the idea of class co-operation, social peace and peaceful transition from capitalism to socialism. In its essence it is an international of counteraction to the struggle for emancipation of the working class. Against this international of impotence, confusion, sub- servience to the bourgeoisie, such as the Amsterdam International is, we must oppose — an international of revolutionary vigor, of class activity — an international which together with the Communist International will organize the working class for the overthrow of capi- ta'ism, the destruction of the bourgeois state and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat; an international which will seize all the means of pro- duction and establish the Communist commonwealth. Such a militant labor union international can be built up only by revolutionary class unions, conscious of the purpose and methods of the defensive and offen- 72 sive struggle against the class enemy. The problem history has put before the revolutionary unions re- quires the utmost concentration of power, unexampled intensity and the greatest self-sacrifice of the con- scious vanguard elements of the working class. I. Name The international congress of revolutionary, class- conscious trade and industrial unions, which unites the revolutionary labor union organizations of all countries, decides to create a permanent international organization under the name: The Red International of Labor Unions. II. Aims and Purpose The Red International of Labor Unions has for its aims: (1) To organize the large working mass in the whole world for the overthrow of capitalism, the eman- cipation of the toilers from oppression and exporta- tion and the establishment of the socialist common- wealth. (2) To carry on a wide agitation and propaganda of the principles of revolutionary class struggle, social revolution, the dictatorship of the proletariat and revo- lutionary mass action for the purpose of overthrowing the capitalist system and the bourgeois state. (3) To fight against the corruptive ulcer, gnawing at the vitals of the world labor union movement, of compromising with the bourgeoisie against the ideals of class co-operation and social peace and the absurd hopes for a peaceable transition from capitalism to socialism. (4) To unite the revolutionary class elements oil the world labor union movement and carry on decisive battle against The International Bureau of Labor at- tached to the League of Nations and against the Amsterdam International Federation of Trade Unions, which by their program and tactics are but the bul- wark of the worM bourgeoisie. (5) To coordinate and regulate the struggle of the working class in all countries and organize interna- tional demonstrations each time, when the situation demands them. (6) To take the initiative of international cam- paigns about prominent events of class struggle, to 73 open subscription Jjsts for the benefit of strikers in great social conflicts, etc. III. Membership Any revolutionary economic class organization is eligible to membership in the Red International of Labor Unions if it accepts the following conditions : (1) Endorsement of the principles of revolutionary class struggle. (2) Application of these principles in its dafy struggle with capitalism and the bourgeois state. (3) Recognition of the necessity of the overthrow of capitalism through the social revolution and the es- tablishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat for the transition period. (4) Recognition and submission to the interna- tional proletarian discipline. (5) Recognition and application of the decisions of the Constituent Congress of the Red International of Labor Unions. (6) The rupture with the Amsterdam yellow Inter- national. (7) United action with all the revolutionary organ- izations and the Communist Party of the country in alj defensive and offensive activities against the bourgeoisie. IV. International Congresses. The International Congress of Revolutionary Class Trade and Industrial Unions is the supreme organ of the Red International of Labor Unions. Congresses take place as often as possible — at least once a year. They determine the general principles, program, tactics and statutes ; elect the directing organ and decide all the questions connected with the orientation of the Red International of Labor Unions. Extraordinary congresses are called by the decisions of the Executive Bureau or at the demand of organizations representing no less than one-third of the members of the Red Internationa 1 ! of Labor Unions. All trade and industrial unions which accept the pro- gram and are following the directions of the Red Inter- national of Labor Unions have the right to send dele- gates to the congresses. The representation is distributed as follows: Every national organization of trade or industrial 74 unions, having less than 10,000 members, receives one consultative voice on the congress ; national organiza- tions having from 10,000 to 25,000 members send one delegate with a deciding vote; from 25,000 to 100,000 members, two delegates with deciding votes ; from 100,000 to 250,000, four delegates with deciding votes ; from 250,000 to 500,000, six delegates, and for each additional 500,000 members one delegate with a de- ciding vote is added. International revolutionary class organizations by trades or industries have the right to two deciding votes each. Organized minorities in countries have the same rep- resentation, but all the organizations of a given coun- try affiliated with the Red International of Labor Unions make up a single delegation, inside of which the votes are divided proportionally to the member- ship of the respective organizations. Organized minor- ities and factions have representation on the congress only in the case when the general labor union organ- ization of that country is not affiliated with the Red International of Labor Unions. V. Organs of the Red International of Labor Unions The Red International of Labor Unions has two or- gans — the Central Council and the Executive Bureau. Central Council. — The Central Council is composed as follows: England. United States, Germany, Italy, Spain, Czecho-Slovakia, Poland and France have two representatives each ; Russia has four ; all other coun- tries having more than 25,000 have one representative with a deciding vote ; countries having less than 25,000 have one representative with a consulting voice. Inter- national organizations by trades or industries have one representative with a consuming voice. The Central Council directs all the work of the Red International of Labor Unions from congress to con- gress ; makes all decisions necessitated by the circum- stances; represents the Red International of Labor Unions before the whole world; acts in its name; gath- ers in its hands a}\ the materials and documents related to the International Labor Movement; manages all funds including the International Fund of Mi itant Solidarity ; publishes papers and magazines in different languages; in short, is the organ invested with the 75 power to direct the work between the world con- gresses. The Central Council meets at least twice a year, dealing mostly with the clearing of questions of prin- ciples and leaving all current work to the Executive Bureau. The Executive Bureau. — The Executive Bureau con- sists of seven members e'ected by the Central Council, including two members of the country where the head- quarters of the Red International of Labor Unions is located. The Executive Bureau directs all the current affairs of the Red International of Labor Unions. It regulates the work of the departments and sections; publishes the official organs of the Red International of Labor Unions; represents the Red International of Labor Unions and the Central Council wherever and when- ever it is necessary ; and prepares all the questions for the sessions of the Central Council. The Executive Bureau meets at least once a week. VI. Unity of Action and Unity of Organization Minorities of general labor unions and of national centers affiliated with the Red International and sepa- rate organizations affiliated with it must coordinate" all their actions. In case in a given country the gen- eral federation of all unions affiliates with the Red In- ternational, no other separate organizations can affiliate with it. The revolutionary organizations endorsing the stand of the Red International must join the gen- eral labor union organization of their country. VII. Funds The funds of the Red International are composed of regular dues paid by the national organizations affili- ated with it and of special contributions. The quota of the payments is established as follows: At least 1 per cent of the total income of the organizations which receive into their central treasury 50 per cent of more of the membership dues ; at least 2 per cent from those organizations receiving into their central treas- ury 25 per cent to 50 per cent of the membership dues ; at least 3 per cent from those organizations receiving from 10 per cent to 25 per cent of the membership dues, and at least 5 per cent from those organizations receiving less than 10 per cent of the membership dues. 76 Until the creation of the necessary fund, all financial means wiU be furnished by the general labor organiza- tion of the country where the headquarters of the Red International of Labor Unions is located. VIII. The International Fund of Militant Solidarity For the purpose of supporting the militant revolu- tionary struggle of the workers in different countries the Congress decides to establish an International Fund of Militant Solidarity. This fund is composed of special receipts and spe- cial collections and transfer to it of sums from the general fund. Fifty per cent of slA the income of the Red International of Labor Unions are turned over directly to the International Fund of Militant Solidar- ity. This fund is disbursed at the disposal of the Executive Bureau, which gives regular accounts about the disbursements to the Central Council. IX. Connections with International Trade and Industrial Organizations The Red International of Labor Unions admits to membership not only general labor union organiza- tions by countries, but also international organizations by trades and industries. The Executive Bureau shall) create a special section of trade and industrial organizations for the purpose of serving the needs of separate industrial organiza- tions and establishing closest possible connections with them. International trade and industrial organizations establish their connection with the Red International of Labor Unions through their special representatives at the International Congresses. X. Relations with the Communist International To establish c'ose and unbreakable connections be- tween the Red International of Labor Unions and the Third Communist International, the Central Council: (1) Sends three representatives to the Executive Committee of the Communist International with de- ciding votes and vice versa. (2) Organizes joint sessions with the Executive Committee of the Communist International for the dis- cussion of the most important issues of the interna- tional labor movement, and for the organization of com- mon action. (3) Issues, when it is warranted by the events, joint appeals with the Communist International. 77 XL Relations with the International of Revolutionary Cooperatives For the purpose of coordinated action and mutual information the Central Council of the Red Interna- tional of Labor Unions sends a representative with a consulting vote to the executive organ of the Interna- tional of Revolutionary Cooperatives, as soon as it will definitely constitute itself. XII. Expulsion from Membership Organizations affiliated with the Red International of Labor Unions which by their action have violated the decisions of the congresses or do not obey the decisions of the Central Council can be expelled by the decision of the Central Council, on condition that the motion of expulsion must be carried by not less than a two-thirds vote. In case the violation is done by the central organs of a given organization the Central Council of the Red International of Labor Unions must ca7 upon the membership of that organization to consider, in a special conference or congress, the dispute at issue between their leading organ and thd Red Interna- tional of Labor Unions. The question of expulsion is taken up by the Central Council only after the con- ference or convention of that organization had reached a decision on the question at issue. The expelled or- ganization has the right to appeal from the decision of the Central Council to the next international congress, which may endorse or annul the expulsion. XIII. Internal Structure The Red International of Labor Unions designated to direct the struggle of the proletariat and to inform its members of the situation in different countries must adapt its apparatus to the work it must perform. For this purpose the Central Council develops its apparatus by creating such sections and departments as shall be necessary. For the normal conduct of affairs and close contact of the Red International of Labor Unions with the labor union organizations of different countries, the Red International must establish monthly reports of all the organizations affiliated with it and periodical trips to the most important countries by the mem- 78 bers of the Central Council, especially in connection with the arising of big economic conflicts. XIV. Magazine, Bulletin and Information The Red International of Labor Unions is publish- ing its official organ in four languages (French, Ger- man, English and Russian) and a bulletin in the same languages. Besides those two organs for systematic information and ideological leadership, the Central Council of the Red International shall) turn their atten- tion to the system of circular letters and visiting trips to organizations. XV. Auditing Committee The Central Council of the Red International of Labor Unions elects an Auditing Committee of three, which supervises the correct expenditure of funds and gives periodical reports to the congresses. XVI. Location of the Red International of Labor Unions The permanent location of the Red International of Labor Unions is decided by the congress. The time and place of the congress are designated by the Cen- tral Council. 79 Resolution on the Women's Question The constituent congress of the Red Labor Inter- nationa^ agreeing with Comrade Sturm's paper on women in production and in trade unions, declares: Wherever capitalism rules or gets a firm foothold, ever larger masses of women are forced to work for a living. Women are now in ever greater numbers engaged in all branches of industry and professional work, which only recently have been closed to women. During the war the work of women assumed tremen- dous proportions, and in spite of the temporary set- back after the war under the influence of the world's economic crisis, the social and the economic tenden- cies making for the increase of the work of women, have forged ahead. Although in many branches of industry women predominate or, at least, are of very extensive and decisive importance, although in some individual labor bodies women compose the majority of the membership, they take only a smafl part in the work of trade unions, and in some countries the participation of women in the trade union movement is hardly perceptible. The energetic and wide participation of women work- ers in the revolutionary struggle of the trade unions for the overthrow of capitalism is, however, of the highest importance and of absolute necessity. The joint work of men and women within the union and on behalf of the union is the most successful method, through the depth and crystallization of their class- consciousness of drawing the women workers into active participation in that struggle. It follows from the above stated facts that : 1. We must pay the greatest attention to gathering and training the women under the banner of the Red Trade Union International. AH means of agitation and organization must be utfiized for this purpose. 2. We must insist upon the necessity of having women workers and employees, etc., take an active part in all kinds and forms of trade union life and activity, and attracting them to perform all trade 80 union functions (shop committees, agitation and wage- rate committees, executive committees, etc.). 3. The Red Trade Union members must energet- ically fight the efforts of the capitalist employers aided by the governments to increase their profits and strengthen and maintain their exploiting industry by utilizing the cheap and unorganized women. It is, therefore, their duty, every time when wages are be- ing fixed in wage scale agreements, and the relief of the unemployed, to come out for placing women work- ers on an equal footing with men workers in the same line of work. They must further exert their untiring efforts for improving the conditions of work for women engaged in industry. They must put up a decisive fight against the weakening of the legislation for the protection of women workers and take up the fight for having these laws thoroughly perfected and made more comprehensive, special attention being given to the protection of pregnant women, lying-in women, and of maternity. 4. The Red Trade Union members must put up an insistent, energetic fight against all the efforts and attempts on the part of the craft unions affiliated with the Amsterdam Internationa!), at forcing women out of industrial emp'oyment in favor of men. They should brand and fight all attempts of these organ- izations working in concert with the employers to win small advantages for men workers at the cost of neglecting the interests of women workers. The Constituent Congress of the Red Labor Inter- national declares that the realization of the above de- mands will mean a step forward in solving the prob- lem of drawing the widest masses of women into the revolutionary fight for the overthrow of capitalism. XI. Resolution on the Question of Unemployment 1. The crisis now experienced by the entire capital- ist world is not a typical industrial crisis. The world war, the predatory peace terms, the cessation of regu- lar exchange of goods on the world market, have v brought about conditions under which not only the \ conflicts and clashes of the usual kind peculiar to the capitalist system were clearly brought out in individ- ual countries, but new conflicts embracing the who 1 — wor!d have come to the surface. The accumulation of 81 finished goods and products of consumption in some countries on one hand, and the almost total lack of these products, on the other; the large amounts of raw material rotting in some countries and the ciosed factories and workshops owing to lack of these raw materials in other countries. It is impossible to estab- lish the regular utilization of the means and forces of production of all countries under capitalism. The growing of unemployment which dooms an ever in- creasing number of working masses to starvation and death — the same masses who have just returned from the battle front — can be eliminated* only after the overthrow of the bourgeois power. For this reason the First International Congress of Red Trade and Industrial Unions sees in the growth of unemployment the symptoms of the approaching final destruction of the capitalist system. 2. This Congress points out to the workers of all countries that all the measures and energies resorted to by the capitalists and the bourgeois governments in ~^N connection with unemployment are not directed' to lead out of this deadlock but intend to retain the domination of the bourgeoisie and safeguard its prof- its. For this purpose they are now resorting to inten- tional curtailment of production which has already ^-s^ shrunk to a great extent, thus further increasing the ' number unemployed. In this way they cut the wage, weaken the militant energy of the labor organizations, and doom the working masses to starvation and hunger. 3. Unemployment menaces every worker, therefore the struggle against the conditions, bringing about un- employment, is a question of life and death not only for the unemployed but also for those who are still employed. 4. The bourgeoisie is trying, by means of unem- ployment, to split the ranks of the working class. It tries to pit the unemployed against their comrades who are still employed, and those who are still work- ing against the unemployed. The most important task before the revolutionary trade unions is, therefore, to prevent these evi*s of pauperization, splits and the decay of the militant energy of the proletariat by rallying in one solid fighting front, with a single fight- ing aim, both the employed and the unemployed, unit- 82 ing them through the agency of special committees. The Congress, however, warns against the formation of special unemployment organizations independent of the Red Trade Unions. 5. Together with the bourgeoisie the reformist trade union officials try to sidetrack the attention of the proletariat, not letting it understand the tre- mendous imminence of the danger. Both of them try, by means of various insurance funds and other petty reforms, to arouse in the workers the belief that the existence of the proletariat may be assured even with- in the frame of the capitalist system. In opposition to this the revolutionary trade unions forcefully em- phasize the standpoint, that the question of unemploy- ment in the modern capitU'ist society is not only unsolvable but cannot be soothed for a somewhat lengthy period of time. Not in concert witlt the employers, but fighting them; not by peaceful capitalist measures, but in an open class warfare ; not with the help of the bourgeois state, but through its complete destruction and the establishment of the proletarian dictatorship — can the question of unemployment be solved. 6. The Congress of the Red Labor Unions main- tains that pending the present crisis of unemployment we cannot T imit the measures of relieving the unem- ployed and starving workers to those possible within the conditions of the capitalist order. The workers are hungry — we demand bread for them. They lack clothes and fuel. We insist that they and the workers of the ruined-by-the-war countries should be supplied with them from the scattered-all-over-the-world store- houses, bursting with goods that can find no market. We cannot allow the reduction of wages, although the prices of articles of the first necessity should begin to drop. The worker who has not yet been thrown out from the shop and the unemployed worker should not consent to accept a mere charity which he is now offered. Their earnings must not be lowered, and the re'ief of the unemployed must be equal to the total pay. The war has decreased the supplies needed by man- kind, while the needs of the people have grown. We 83 demand that all closed shops and business enterprises should be opened and the workers re-employed. 7. The problem before the revolutionary factions in the trade unions affiliated with the Amsterdam unions insistently demand all possible energy and determina- tion in favor of these demands for the unemployed. All the efforts on the part of the trade union officials to put the unemployed in the position of "citizens of the second order" should be given a decided setback. It is highly important that the proletarians still em- ployed should clearly realize that their interests and those of the unemployed are identical. The aim of the minority factions belonging to the Amsterdam unions consist in the stubborn and energetic defense of these demands. Where, under the pressure of the masses, the trade union officials accept the demands of the un- employed, it is the duty of the revolutionary opposi- tion to call upon the masses for the immediate reaMza- tion of these demands, even over the heads of the leaders. 8. The bourgeoisie wants to fortify its position at the expense of the lives of millions of workers. It will oppose the frenziest resistance to the just demands of the working class. This resistance can be over- come only by the united efforts of the workers of all countries. Mass meetings and demonstrations uniting not only the workers but comprising the workers of the whole world should be organized by the Red Trade Unions. In so far as the proletariat becomes victorious, it wili be confronted with new problems, and primarily with the problem of control over production, and then of its management. The workers should be prepared for this. At the same time, they must also be ready for a series of clashes with the bourgeois power, to armed warfare for establishing proletarian dictator- ship and to the organization of production on the basis of socialized property. 9. The First International Congress of Red Labor Unions calls upon the working men and women of the whole world: "Unite! Get ready for the decisive struggle!" The Congress says to the unemployed: "You were the first victims of the struggle — be the advance guard in the attack. But don't forget, that you can win only by attacking in serried ranks with 84 the rest of the workers, defending the interests of the entire working (.lass." The workers at the bench must not hope to escape the lot of the unemployed. The fight of their unemployed brothers must be the fight of all workers, and the Red Trade Unions must resort to all measures directing the fight of the unemployed under the banner of the unions and that fighting de- tachments should consist both of the unemployed and of their com rat lis who are still employed. XII. Resolution on the Question of War Victims The question of war victims is a part of the social problem of the present time which can only be solved by the social revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat. If the war victims refuse to be satisfied with charity from the hands of their capitalist masters and wish to free themselves from the position that humiliates man's dignity, their duty must be to take part in the struggle of the revolutionary proletariat. To act upon the minds of millions of victims of the war in this direction and to free them from the in- fluence of the reformist organizations of the disabled as well as from the influence of the branch of the dis- ab'ed of the International Labor Bureau at Geneva, must be considered as one of the mostt important objects of the Red International of Labor Unions. The Congress, therefore, resolves: 1. To enter into communication with the Interna- tional Council of Disabled Soldiers who agree to the above point of view, and whose objective is the educa- tion of its members in the spirit of the class struggle against capitalism, and against wars brought about by capitalism. 2. To organize departments dealing with questions of war victims in the General Secretariat of the Red International of Trade Unions as well as at the Gen- eral Councils of Trade Unions in separate countries affiliated with the Red International. The trade unions affiliated with the Red Interna- tional express their willingness to support the victims of the war in their fight for better conditions within the capitalist state and to call upon those who are not entirely unfit for work in factories to participate with other workers in complete solidarity in the com- 85 ing struggle for the Social Revolution and the dic- tatorship of the proletariat. XIII. Resolution on the Labor Movement in the Near and Far Eastern Countries and the Colonies During the last years a tremendous growth of the trade union movement is observed in the Near and Far Eastern countries and colonies. The growth of the labor organizations is due on the one hand to the growth of capitalism in the backward countries of the world, and on the other, to the calamities that fell upon those countries in connection with the catastrophe which humanity now endures. The countries of the Near and Far East, exploited by the world capitalism, as all colonies in general, live through an epoch when the revolutionary move- ment is at its full bloom and develops under two ban- ners: under the banner of national emancipation from the yoke of the world imperia'iism and under that of direct struggle of the workers against foreign and home exploiters. The Red Trade Unions of all countries must pay par- ticular attention to the growth of the revolutionary labor movement in the Eastern countries, fully realiz- ing that only the growing labor movement in these countries will be a pledge of their emancipation from the oppression of world imperialism. The Red Trade Unions must render their brotherly aid to the workers of the co\onies exploited by the bourgeoisie of the countries to which they are sub- jected and strive to establish close relations with them and lend a moral and material support to the revolu- tionary labor movement. It must be kept in view that scores of millions of workers struggle in these countries which are awaken- ing to a new Communist life and the revolutionary trade unions would have committed a great error if they were to pass without notice this fact in the his- tory of humanity. The might of the European and American bour- geoisie up to now found its main support in the Near and Far Eastern countries and the colonies. The or- ganization of the exploited masses in these countries, the creation of the new revolutionary unions, their unifi- cation, the development of their class consciousness to the absolute necessity of the social revolution — all 86 this will be not only an immediate help to the ex- ploited workers bu1 will also be the best means for a struggle against the imperialist bourgeoisie of the corresponding count lies. This is why the Congress entrusts all revolutionary unions and particularly the Council of the Red Inter- national of Trade Unions to follow with particular attention and care the movement now spreading in the Near and Par Eastern countries, to support the movement and do everything in its power to unite in one fraternal family the organized workers in the advanced capitalist countries as well as in the Near and Far Eastern countries and colonies. The Congress calls upon the workers of Turkey, India, Korea, China, Egypt, and other countries, ex- ploited by the world capital, to enter into the brotherly family of the Red Trade Unions in order to overthrow by their combined efforts the world domination of the bourgeoisie and on its ruins create an industrial brotherhood of the toiling and oppressed. XIV. Appeal Against the White Terror Comrades, the Congress notes with deepest indigna- tion the prevailing oppression, enslavement, torture and brutality to which the advance guard fighters for the emancipation of the workers are being subjected in all capitalist countries. News reaches us from different parts of the world that hundreds and thousands of our comrades are be- ing thrown into prisons, are subjected to unheard of brutalities and are perishing from white guard bullets. Our international plunderers are not contented with the corpses they piled up on the fields of all* countries dur- ing the world slaughter. They continue up to now to sentence to death hundreds of thousands of our best fighters allowing their families to perish. And all this is committed in order that the governing classes could increase their profits in order that they should not be disturbed by the workers in their hideous work. The world history has not known a period when an oppressed class fighting for its emancipation had given such a great amount of victims. Even the re- venge of the Versailles clique against the Paris Com- munars grows pa'e in comparison with the brutalities which the governing classes are committing day in 87 and day out upon the revolutionary workers and their leaders. In Hungary the brutal regime of Horthy the Hangman is still in full force. He has made up his mind to efface from the heart of the country every trace that would remind it of the Soviet regime. Each day brings along with it the disclosure of mutilated bodies of our comrades being thrown on the shores of the Danube. In Italy the Facisti, who are financed by the indus- try kings and land owners and backed up by the gov- ernment, attack the labor organizations, destroy hun- dreds of workers' clubs, cooperative buildings, mas- sacre or kill workers irrespective of party affiliation, carry out wholesale arrests and put to exile the work- ers' leaders whom they did not succeed to shoot from behind the corner. Many of them fell victims of these massacres and the first among them was Spartac Lavanini, the railwayman, who was killed in Florence in the offices of the local Communist Confederation at his secretarial desk; those who succeeded in escaping from the white guards were seized by the police and thrown into prison. Many thousands of workers have met a similar fate, their only crime being that they belonged to the exploited class. The old fighter, the anarchist Malatesta, 70 years of age, is at present in prison in spite of his years. In Spain the hired hang- men of reaction are snooting our brother workers and remain unpunished. According to information re- ceived not long ago Comrades Arlandis, Evelis, Boal, Antonia Follin, Jose Domingo and Rodrigues were shot by white guards in the street immediately after they left the prison. Thus the infamy of bourgeois justice has received its final touch from the criminal hands of the white hangmen. The prisons in Germany cannot take in the thou- sands of comrades who are sent there by decisions of the high courts. Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were treacherously killed. Eugene Levine was shot down. Silt was killed during an alleged fight. Max Helz was sentenced to lifelong confinement. Thousands of other workers have perished in painful death. And this happened in one of the freest countries, in the government of which social democrats and trade union leaders participate. And all this — in the interests of 88 capital — to protect the bourgeoisie against the legiti- mate demands of the working class ! In France, after the attempt has been made to break up the Communist organization and crush the youth- ful organizations by means of arresting their leaders and prosecuting them, a new act of class revenge has been prepared against the proletariat through the agency of exceptional; law known as the "Lois Scelerates." Those who remember the bloody reprisals of Thiers the Hangman against the defeated Commune will clearly understand what is being prepared by the gov- ernment of the renegade Briand for the French pro- letariat. The white guard governments of the small states do not lag behind their big brothers. We are informed from Latvia that, beginning with the Autumn of 1919 and up to the present time, seven mass arrests of people active in the trade union movement have taken place in the city of Riga alone, these arrests aggre- gating about 150 or 200 people. Most of them were exiled to Soviet Russia and some of them were shot dead at the border. On the eve of the International Trade Union Con- gress now held in Moscow the social democrats started a campaign of provocation in the bourgeois press by giving the names of the trade unions which have de- cided to adhere to the Red International, as well as the names of their leaders. Who^sale arrests and deportations of nearly all ar- rested and the shooting on June 9th were the result of the above. On the Russian border Comrade Kuperman, member of the Presidium of the Libau Central Trade Union Bureau, and Matheson, member of the Riga Central Bureau, were shot dead without trial. Comrade Miglan, member of the Executive Board of the Riga Metal Workers' Union, has also been sentenced to be shot, but he managed to escape from the shooting ground in his undergarments and crossed the frontier line. In Finland no less than 40,000 workers fell victims of the white terror after the civil war, about 80,000 people were taken to the concentration camps, under- 89 going there unheard of tortures and facing certain death. The trade unions were smashed, but even now the white guard hangmen go on with their atrocities, as if trying to outdo the feats of the Hungarian hang- man Horthy. New trade unions are being subjected to persecution. Many of their members and responsible workers were thrown into prison for long terms. Among them is Comrade Loukhenko, chief secretary of the Central Federation of Trade Unions in Finland. In Czecho-Slovakia after the general strike in De- cember thousands of workers fell into the hands of the white guards, hundreds of them were sentenced to long terms of hard labor and here also democratic court justice is doing the dirty work in the interests of bourgeois dictatorship. Men and women workers of the world! Countless and beyond description are the sacrifices that have already been made by the revolutionary proletariat. These sacrifices were for your sake, for you who are menaced by the same fate. The hatred of the exploiters of the working class awakening to a new life is bound- less. What is happening today to our comrades lan- guishing in the, prisons may happen to you tomorrow. Their death may tomorrow lead to your own destruc- tion. If the international gang of capitalists succeeds in crushing and annihilating the advanced champions who fight for your interests and your emancipation, you will be handed over to the mercy of your tor- mentors, and will have to go through unheard of sufferings without any defense. Workers and Comrades : We call upon you to hasten to the relief of your persecuted brothers upon whom hangs the threatening sword. Unite! Your present unions are insufficient. At the head of your organiza- tions are people who support your class enemies and persecutors. At the head of your trade unions which have joined Amsterdam are still those who have be- trayed you during the World War. Messrs. Dumou'an, Thomas, Henderson & Co. are sitting at Amsterdam and pretend to represent 30,000 000 workers, but in reality they have given up 30,000,000 workers to the destruction of the white, black and green gangs. How many workers' lives now perished would be spared but for the silent submissiveness to the bloody 90 terror on the part of the traitors of the working class as represented by the yellow leaders ! They have as yet not lifted a finger to resist the white guards, to organize for this purpose the militant forces of the working class. They have sold themselves to your class enemies. Mr. Thomas is plundering the seven mil(ion francs given at his disposal by Vanderbilt and the League of Nations. His friends are using all pos- sible means to fight the revolutionists. What do they care about your sufferings, your misery, what do they care that hundreds of thousands of workers will re- main without bread, that new hundreds and thousands of them will fall victims of the white terror? They are now partners of the firm which is called Interna- tional Capital. They are now the servants of the capitalist vampire that will bring new slaughters and new wars. They are responsib'e for the persecutions to which your brother workers are subjected in all countries. Workers of the World: Do not trust these leaders. Break the chains by which Amsterdam has fettered you. Close your ranks ! Join the ranks of the fighters, your brothers and sisters. Forsake the bloody ban- ners of the betrayers of the workers' interests. Leave in masses Amsterdam which has left you in the lurch at a critical moment and has always defended the interests of your enemies, the capitalists. Strengthen the ranks of our Red Trade Union International. It will bring you relief of the terror and horrors to which you are now subjected. At the same time, without losing a moment, organize and show a united resist- ance to the violators and murderers, impudent when left unpunished but cowards at the first solid setback. Down with the hangmen of the working c\ass ! Down with Amsterdam! Long live the revolutionary class struggle ! Long live the Red International of Trade Unions ! 91 MANIFESTO XV. To the Workers of the United Kingdom The Congress of the Red International of Trade and Industrial Unions sends you its cordial and hearty greetings. Especially do we desire to congratulate the one million miners of Great Britain who during stubborn struggle with the mine owners and the gov- ernment have shown such magnificent solidarity over a period of thirteen weeks. The delegates of this Con- gress, now in session at Moscow, have watched the various stages of the struggle with the keenest in- terest and admiration. We saw how near to final vic- tory the miners were when the full support of the Triple Alliance was definitely promised them, and shared your regrets when their support was withdrawn. We rejoiced when the perfect solidarity and discipline of the miners was in no way weakened in spite of the fact that the Triple Alliance, under threats of your gov- ernment, had refused the promised support. We fur- ther hope and believe that at the next attempt, which inevitably must be made under the capitalist system, to increase the economic pressure, together with the ruthless exploitation of the master class, we shall wit- ness a true spirit of brotherly solidarity on the indus- trial field. We a^o believe that the workers will aim directly at the complete overthrow of Capitalism and at taking the organization of industry in their own hands. We are aware of the struggle of the Ship Joiners and Cabinet Makers, which began on the first of De- cember last, and is still carried on against the wage reductions which the employers are trying to impose. We see that, notwithstanding the prolonged negotia- tions with regard to labor conditions in the engineer- ing industry, the employers still insist upon further wage reductions and that the million and a half of workers in the engineering and ship building industry are now confronted with a gigantic struggle, and this at a time when the unions' financial resources are aV ready subjected to an exceptional strain. The dele- 92 gates present at the Moscow International Congress of Trade and Industrial Unions hasten to send their greet- ings and offer their hearty encouragement to the work- ers battling for emancipation of labor. We ourselves are engaged in similar struggles in our respective coun- tries ; for the class struggle is world wide and cannot be otherwise, and it is the duty of all of us to conduct this class struggle in a scientific manner and in every sectional struggle that takes p'^ce to aim at leading the workers more and more definitely towards proper understanding of their true objective and to develop for future struggles working class solidarity. We also urge the absolute necessity of the workers refusing to identify themselves with the schemes and institutions of the governing class and taking no part therein. We see in all countries that governments are resorting increasingly to violence, imprisoning without trial those who dare to stand out courageously in de- fense of the Workers' Cause. In every country alike, even when they claim to be the most democratic, in old countries as well as in those newly formed as a result of the war and revolutions — everywhere the same methods : imprisonment of leaders and shooting of the rank and file are constantly resorted to. This limits the use of strike action and makes it imperative for the workers to prepare as a class for an organized class movement for the full realization of the Social Revolution. Here, in full view of what they have achieved, we, with them, send international fraternal greetings to the Workers of Great Britain and Ireland, assuring you of our deep concern for your we 1 fare. Casting aside national and racial prejudices, we ex- tend the hand of good comradeship to all and to the workers in the engineering and shipbuilding indus- tries in particular, and while appealing for organized opposition to the plutocratic employing class, we send our heartiest wishes for complete success. Long live Industrial Solidarity! Long live the Social Revolution ! 93 APPEAL XVI. To the Spanish Proletariat With deep emotion and great interest do we watch every phase of your struggle against the exploiters and their protectors — the military and governmental castes. With indescribable horror do we learn of the crimes of the white terror, of which the best of you fall victims. The horrors of the bourgeois power reached their climax in these bloody acts. By such means the bourgeoisie is trying to decapitate the Revo- lution and strengthen the foundations of the Capitalist regime, which is shaken under the incessant attack of the organized proletariat. One is filled with admira- tion in watching your heroic struggle against the ruth- less repressions which will become one of the most ignominious pages in the history of the bourgeoisie, and one of the most glorious pages in the history of the proletariat. Comrades, the rulers of today are showing you great honor, indeed. Because by putting you in prison, by exiling and murdering you, they clearly show their fear of the great danger that your class consciousness and your will to struggle threatens them with. If they deal you hard blows, that is simply because your blows strike them hard. And if the weight of reaction daily increases, it is a testimonial to the tre- mendous growth of your revolutionary advance. Be firm, Comrades ! In spite of the ignominious outrages perpetrated against you, do not give up a single inch of ground in your efforts to overthrow the bourgeois power and the entire bourgeois class. Remember those who have fallen in the struggle. They are dear to. us, but let us not weep — let us avenge them. In opening its session, the Congress of Revolutionary Labor Unions sends you its fraternal greetings and expressions of complete and close unity with you, in these days of hard trial, so courageously endured by you. We send you our advice to preoare methodically, to organize systematically, to fortify your militant detachments, so that you may, with a decisive blow achieve the vic- 94 tory over those whose remorseless and cruel yoke oppresses you. Take possession of all the means of production — land, factories; take into your own hands the entire mechanism of social construction, victorious'y protecting the achievements of the revolution! Long live the Spanish Proletariat ! Long live the World Revolution ! 95 XVII. Greetings to the Russian People The Constituent Congress of the Red International of Trade and Industrial Unions at which several hun- dred delegates representing revolutionary workers from forty-two countries have participated, nearing the end of its labors, expresses its great admiration for the Russian peop^ which for four years have beon fighting with unexampled bravery, persistence and self- sacrifice for the triumph of the world revolution. The Congress protests against the continuation of the criminal blockade, which contributes to the fur- ther deterioration of the economic condition sufficiently critical owing to natural calamities affecting a con- siderable part of Soviet Russia, thus causing starva- tion and threatening with death millions of human beings. The members of the Congress bind themselves to fight against the imperialism and banditism of the gov- ernments of their respective countries. They solemnly dec'are to be their bounden duty to advance the class education of the wide proletarian masses for the pur- pose of uniting them in the Red Internationa 1 ] of Trade Unions, and direct their actions against the dictator- ship of the capitalists and for the dictatorship of the proletariat all over the world. Sending its warm greetings to the Russian people, to their wonderful Red Army, to their revolutionary peasants and workers and to those leaders who have taken upon themselves the hard task of defending and organizing the revolution, the Constituent Congress of Red International Trade Unions, speaking on be- half of the International proletariat, is conscious of its revolutionary aims and declares that these aims wi',1 be attained by its own efforts in cooperation with the III International. Long live the unity of the revolutionary forces in the Red International of Trade Unions! Long live the Proletarian Revolution of the World ! 96 What Every Worker Should Read \\f The International Council of Trade and Indus- trial Unions, by A. 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