Show by WILLIAM C UTLEY GHANDI may have started the sit down M MAHATMA strike maybe it was the miners of hungary or wales or again it might have been french factory workers but it took americans to set it to swing music americas new strike technique as fostered by impress arios john L lewis of the committee for industrial organization and homer martin of the united automobile workers of america may be of grim purpose and persistent determination but it is also light ligh lichtin tin in spirit take a typical scene about a striking automobile body plant parked along the curbs and in the street outside the plant are scores of cars containing sympathizers with the workers or simply the idly curious have they come in the hope of seeing some excitement a riot perhaps no they have come to listen to one of the nightly concerts played by the strikers orchestra and as the closing strains of pennies from heaven or its delovely de lovely float out the windows of the shutdown shut down plant there is is a chorus of honking applause from the audience this is not an indication that the strikers are a bunch of loafers bent on having a good time it is actually one of the applications of big business methods to striking if organized recreation makes happier industrial workers so it makes strikers happier and more effective concerts are a part of an efficiently administered program of discipline and education which is a far cry from the conduct of strikes of the past long known in mines it is al also s 0 a far cry from the earliest sit down strikes which are misnamed mis named for the strikers do not actually sit down very much they only remain inside the plant in which they worked guarding the property against invasion by scabs until their demands are met perhaps john L lewis long 1 known in mine labor circles adapted this idea from a practice of miners over many years past A miner who was not being given enough timber to shore his place would squat and refuse to load any coal un until t il the timber arrived the superintendent usually lost no time in getting it to him the first stay in or sit down strike to gain wide attention was that in the mines of hungary in in 1934 miners down in the shafts refused to come up and even threatened to commit suicide en e n masse if their working conditions and pay were not improved A year later the same idea was adopted by workers in of wales strikers protect property in the united states it first received wide attention wh when en em aloyes of art and theater projects of the stayed in but refused to 10 work until their demands were met workers claim that when they strike inside a plant they actually protect the property but while they are there the company cannot put anyone else on their jobs company officials claim this is trespassing tres passing and illegal first act of the union when a sit down strike is called is to choose groups of pickets and captains to police the plant and grounds it is of considerable advantage if the plant is located on the street and not set far back from the gate for the success of the strike depends upon the workers control of all entrances and exits the way must be kept open for dispatches des patches of food and other supplies to come in if you can say an army marches on its stomach you can say a modern strike sits down on its stomach if a plant has windows which open to the street supplies may be passed in without the necessity of entering through one of the gates women are chaperoned strike leaders realize that to keep the sympathy of the public they must remain orderly mobs with an axe to grind do not remain orderly for long unless their minds are occupied unless there are means provided for expending the natural energy the their r bodies create for that reason to every striker is assigned some duty he may be given a certain area to keep clean a ce certain watch to patrol or a shift on messenger duty if there are women among the strikers they may be charged with information desks with preparing food mending clothing or even running impromptu beauty parlors to keep up the appearance of their colleagues chaperonage is usually of the strictest order and there have been cases in which the regular plant matrons matrona stayed in with the strikers to administer this important job the information clerks are often as not the liaison between the strikers and their families or friends outside wives often call at windows to see their husbands strikers are not nearly so uncomfortable for table as might be imagined in the automobile plants there are usually enough rear seat cushions at hand to provide plenty of soft beds while floor coverings make good blankets wives cook the meals barrels kegs and boxes serve for chairs and are fairly comfortable at that on steel tables the strikers play such games as checkers monopoly and poker food usually is cooked in a hall near the plant sometimes a chef from a restaurant in the town supervises ses the work the wives and sweethearts of the strikers do most of the actual cooking and pack the many tubs and baskets which official union messengers transport through the gates oro oi hoist up to the windows discipline in some plants approaches pro aches military standards the rules self imposed are rigidly obeyed the few infractions are punished swiftly and severely the orderly conduct of the strikers is aptly illustrated by one plant men alen do own washings A bugle call arouses the men from their slumbers at 7 a m some take advantage of the shower baths provided in the plant everybody washes well behind the ears and all forty five minutes later in the company cafeteria the breakfast sent in by the women folks is served fruit cereal milk coffee rolls and doughnuts for lunch there will be stew dessert and coffee at night meat potatoes vegetables coffee and dessert when they have finished breakfast the men patrol their assignments the plant is kept almost as clean as it is when there is no strike on they do their own laundry in some cases the conveyor lines resemble back yards on wash day some of the men of course send their laundry home time is not allowed to drag when the work is done the strikers may if they wish attend classes which are conducted under the auspices of the union officials propaganda with entertainment there are generally two important meetings every day the strikers executive committee meets and discusses the progress of the movement at noon later on there is a general meeting at which all the strikers are advised as to what is going on after dinner at night there is invariably community entertainment such as might be found in a boys camp radios provide music for community singing part of the time in addition a not half bad orchestra can usually be rounded up from the ranks of the strikers in the regular employed emp loyes meetings and parties when there is no strike on the company seldom fails to include propaganda designed to promote happier relations between employer and employed emp loye and in the parties of the strikers there is plenty of propaganda supplied by the leaders to keep up enthusiasm for the strike mixed in with the swing music and hillbilly hill billy songs is an occasional paraphrase of a familiar ballad a new lyric reminding the strikers of the advantages to be gained if they will continue to be persistently patient 0 western newspaper union |