Resolution on Work Among the Unemployed(1931)-COMPLETE

[Reproduced in it's entirety, the following text is taken from The Communist, the theoretical journal of the Communist Party USA. It was published in September 1931, and represents the most coherent overview of the entire range of activities undertaken by the communists to organize among the unemployed in the years 1930-1933. -Ed.]

The following resolution was adopted by the 13th Plenum of the Communist Party, U.S.A. on the report of comrade Satchel.

1. Unemployment, already greater that at any time during the present economic crisis, continues to grow as a consequence of the still growing depth of the crisis and increasing rationalization, making work among the unemployed more than ever a "central and urgent task." The increase of part time employment and the growth of strikes against the sharpening wage cutting offensive of the capitalists, continually broadens the basis for, and makes more urgent the development of joint action of the employed and unemployed.

2. While we have made certain advances in our work among the unemployed, these have been mainly in the mobilization of the unemployed in demonstrations, hunger marches, etc., as a result of our overcoming our weaknesses in the putting forward of correct slogans and demand, resulting in the forcing of relief to large sections of the unemployed, through city and town governments, and private and semi-private charitable institutions. We have not yet succeeded in developing the every day struggles of the unemployed for their immediate demands and in building up organization among the ranks of the unemployed. This next task which we must now concentrate upon had been summed up in the R.I.L.U. resolution:

"To win the majority of the unemployed does not only depend upon the ability to correctly formulate slogans of agitation and action, but first and foremost on the organization of the everyday struggle of the unemployed in defence of their immediate demands."

3. The main reasons for our failure to develop the every-day struggles of the unemployed are:

• (a) too much reliance upon demonstrations and similar actions alone;
• (b) underestimation of the daily struggles for immediate needs;
• (c) the failure to adopt organizational forms which would make possible the development of the day to day struggles and the drawing in of the unemployed into activity;
• (d) bureaucracy in the leading of the unemployed activity from top to bottom, leadership through command, all decisions handed down from the top, failure to develop the initiative on the part of the unemployed.

4. The failure to build fractions and organize the work of the fractions has weakened the leadenhip of the Party in the unemployed organizations only a small number of unemployed Party members are active among the unemployed.

There also exists the tendency of the Party nuclei to carry on work among the unemployed directly instead of through the unemployed organization and exercise leadership of the movement through the Communists organized into fractions. In the center of all this an underestimation of work among the unemployed (in pratiCe) by the majority of Party organizations. The carrying through of the next tasks is only possible, through the correction of this underestimation an the activization of the unemployed Party members into the unemployed organizations and the setting up fractions to lead the movement of the unemployed.

5. Wherever the struggle for the every day demands was undertaken, despite the confsioon on this question, we succeeded in securing relief for the unemployed and in building the correct organizational forms. Particularly important are the experiences gained in the struggle against evictions. In a number of cities and towns we were successful in completely stopping evictions, and developing mass struggles around this issue. The development of the struggle in Chicago against evictions in which tens of thousand, of Negroes and white workers were mobilized, shows the way to organize the struggle of the unemployed in defense of their immediate demands. Through experience we learned the necessity to organize committees from among the unemployed to lead the daily struggles, around which are mobilized the masses of the unemployed.

In a number of cities the unemployed organizations were successful, through the dramatization of hunger and starvation, through bringing forward concrete cases of starvation and formulatIng concrete demands, to secure relief for groups of unemployed, thus demonstrating the correctness of this policy. But in more than a few instances, this form of activity which should have resulted in mass actions against the government, and mass demands for relief, was a owed to degenerate into "neediest cases" activity of a "social welfare" and charity character, in which the unemployed organizations became the agency between the individual unemployed worker and the relief agency, instead of the mobilizer of mass struggles.

In the organization of relief by the unemployed organization through their own collections, we have not yet sufficient experience. In only a few cases (Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit etc.) were kitchens organized and relief activity carried on directly by the unemployed organizations. In the main this activity thus far has achieved a certain stabilization of the leading cadres and unemployed committees, but this work has not yet assumed the character of actually assisting unemployed families who are starving and who are receiving no relief from the government and community institutions. Also this work catered mainly to the single and migratory unemployed, and was not even begun among unemployed families on a neighborhood scale. It is necessary to carry through the directives of the C.C. on this phase of the work. The W.I.R. can be drawn into the development of this activity.

6. The campaign for unemployed insurance which was developed, and in which more than half a million individual signatures and more than an equal number of collective endorsements were secured, and presented to Congress, has been allowed to drift. The signatures collected and placed in the hands of the districts were not utilized to further the work of the unemployed organizations. The state hunger marches in more than a dozen states were successfull from an agitational point of view, but the organizational results were only partially achieved. One of the main shortcomings was the lack of follow up work after the hunger marches.

7. In the development of joint action of the employed and unemployed, little progress has been made. While the unemployed workers have in almost all cases fought side by side with the employed workers in strikes, the mobilization of the employed to fight for the demands of the unemployed has made little progress. Only in the miners' strike did we put forward joint demands for the strikers and unemployed in the hunger marches organized. The fight for the 7-hour day, the struggle against rationalization and the stagger plan, has not been pressed forward. In the fight for the unemployed in only a few instances did we develop demands for part time workers. The fight against forced labor (which is increasing on goverment work) and the maintenance of union rates on all jobs, has received little attention.

8. The work among the unemployed has resulted in the mobilization of large masses of Negro workers, who play an important role in the unemployed organizations. The struggle for relief and particularly against evictions, was centered to a large extent in the Negro neighborhoods. The Chicago developments are a result of this attention to work among the Negro unemployed, and shows the militancy of the Negro masses. The main weakness here had been thfailure to put forward concrete demands against discrimination with regard to relief and employment. Also an insufficient struggle was carried on against the inequality of rents in Negro neighborhoods, the unsanitary conditions, etc.

With regard to work among women practically no results have been achieve in drawing the women workers and Wives of the unemployed, into the councils. Also no special demands were formulated for women, a large number of whom are homeless, and for whom no provisions are being made even to the extent that there exist municipal lodging houses for men. This situation must be remedied, and the basiS laid for work among women.

10. Young workers make up an increasing number in the army of the unemployed. No provisions are made for their relief by the government. Instea tHere is every effort made to utilize their lot for the purpose of forcing the young workers into the military organizations, and they are also told to remain at school and starve. In our work we have completely failed to put forward demands for the young unemployed and draw them into the struggle. 'Ve must put forward the demand for vocational training with full maintenance by the government for unemployed young workers.

11. A task that was almost completely overlooked is the struggle against discrimination, against the foreign born workers who are left to starve without any consideration, and this policy is being strengthened more and more. Also the mass unemployment causes disfranchisement of whole sections of workers because of migration, inability to pay poll tax, etc. We must develop the demands for the rights of all workers, against discrimination against the foreign born, Negro workers, migratory workers, etc. This campaign should be hooked up with the election campaign of the Party. A strulggle must be developed against the growing terror against the unemployed. The organization of Workers Defense Corps must be undertaken.

12. The fight against unemployment has been insufficiently connected With the struggle against war and in defense of the Soviet Union. Particularly is it possible to mobilize large masses for struggle on the basis of the conditions of the workers in the Soviet Union, and the system of social insurance in the land of workers' rule. The Hoover government which is carrying through a policy of war preparations against the Soviet Union through it's attacks on the Soviet Union, embargoes , etc., has been responsible for increasing unemployment.

13. The growing depth of the crisis on the one hand, and the growing struggles of the unemployed, side by side with the beginnings of strikes in a number of industires, has created a feeling of uneasiness in the camp of the bourgeoisie, and its agenst in the labor movement - the A.F. of L. and the Socialist party. The aim of the capitalists remains the same: to give as little relief as possible, and to crush the struggles of the unemployed and their organizations through terror. But in the light of the starvationthat is facing the tens of millions of the unemployed and their families, this, the third winter of the crisis, and the growth of the militancy of the unemployed, is compelling them to adopt new methods. While the Hoover government continues its opposition to any form of federal relief, and unemployment insurance in particular, the leaders of the Democratic Party (Wagner, Roosevelt, etc.) and the "progressives" (Pinchot, La Follette, etc.) are demanding federal aid and even a fake unemployment insurance.

This by no means signifies two different programs. It is part of one program of finance capital which controls the government and both the Democratlc and Repubhcan parties. It is merley a division of roles given to these parties and politicians of the borgeoisie. Which of the two "policies" that the government and finance capital will adopt depends upon the further development of the crisis, but primanly upon the mass struggles for unemployment relief and insurance, which we can develop. But the bosses unemployment insurance bill is a starvation bill, with the aim to defeat our genuine unemployment insurance bill.

The reactionary leadership of the A.F. of L. fully supports the Hoover program and the program of the Republican party. It stands opposed to unemployment insurance. It is in favor of the Hoover stagger plan, and the permanent lowering of the living standards of the workers. The A.F. of L. supports the Hoover program of war preparations and battleships under the guise of a public works program. The Socialist party program is the same as that of the Democratic party and Republican progressives. It supports the Hoover program of the stagger plan under the guise of the shorter work-day. It fights against a genuine unemployment insurance by supporting an unemployment insurance bill which limits the payments to a few weeks in the year, keeps the workers down to the starvation, discriminates against large numbers of the unemployed, and contributions to be made by the workers as well as the entire administration to be in the hands of the bosses government. The Musteites stand on the same platform as the Socialist party.

It is necessary to unmask all these proposals of the Republican, Democratic and Socialist parties, and the A.F. of L., and all kinds of progressives. This can only be achieved by unmasking the politicians, and bosses' agents, on the basis of concrete facts, and through our organization of the masses for struggle our demands for immediate relief and unemployment insurance. It is necesary to show the difference between our proposals for unemployment insurance for all workers, amounting to full wages, and to be administered by the workers, as agianst all the fake proposals.

We must prove to the workers, through their experience in struggle, that only through mass struggles can they force the enactment of a genuine unemployment insurance bill, and other concessions.

14. Both our own experience and the directives of the Comintern based upon world wide experiences, shows that the correct organizational forms for work among the unemployed are:

• (a) The setting up of committees from among the unemployed in the neighborhoods, as employment agencies, soup kitchens, lodging houses, elected by general meetings of unemployed at these respective places, regardless of race, nationality or sex, and no matter to what party or trade union these workers belong. The center of the work must be in the neighborhood.
• (b) All such committees in a given town, section of the city, or city, meet and elect an Unemployed Committee for the given territory, for leading the struggle of the unemployed in that territory. Such local committees must include representatives from the unemployed (shop unions, etc.) Every effort must be made to establish headquarters in all sections, and neighborhoods, as centers for the unemployed, and activity among the unemployed.
• (c) At the same time, to facilitate the work of the committee and to create a firm base for their work, the unemployed should be registered, a membership card may be given, but there should be no obligatory dues payments. There may be, however, voluntary dues and collections from unemployed, employed and petty bourgeoisie, for the purpose of raising funds to carry on the work. But there should be no special privileges for the registered as agaist the mass of the unemployed.
• (d) While not formally affiliated to the T.U.U.L., but organized on the broadest possible basis of the united front from below, the T.U.U.L. unions and revolutionary opposition in the old unions must take the initiative in organizing the work among the unemployed, and be the backbone of the unemployed organization, giving them leadership. Every effort must be made to recruit from the unemployed into the T.U.U.L. unions. There shll not be set up a center on a national scale but the leadership is to be exercised through the Party and T.U.U.L. centers. In organizing national actions, such as a national hunger march, etc., the T. U.U.L. shall take the initiative.
• (e) In carrying through the above organizational forms, care must be taken not to do this mechanically. Where individual mebership branches exist, the more active elements must be formed into committees, for the neighborhood, block, any municipal lodging house, soup kitchens, in the neighborhood, etc. Regular meetings to which all workers, unemployed and employed, should be invited, are to be held to receive reports of the work of the committee, etc. Such meetings are everywhere to form part of the regular work of the committee.

15. The work of the unemployed committees shall be as follows:

• (a) The unemployed committees organized in the neighborhood at the employment agencies, soup kitchens, etc., are to organize and lead the entire work in their territory. Similarly the city, town or section Unemployed Committee is to be in charge of all work in its territory. For the purpose of facilitating the work and carrying through the various phases of it, there should be set up auxiliary or sub-committees charged with the respective phases of the work, such as the struggle against evictions, the securing of food for children, for women and young workers, legal aid defense assistance during strikes, recruiting, press and agitation, regular publications of "unemployed papers," etc. The Unemployed Committees are to supervise all the work, and meetings of all workers are to be convened at which reports on these activities are made. Such meetings should be organized frequently and regularly. At such meetings, at which all workers who are unemployed, should attend, the workers may approve or disapprove of the work of the committees, decide to remove any member of the Unemployed Committee or decide to have new elections. In all these organizations, we must establish a genuine democracy and bring forward the initiative o f the unemployed, and develop cadres from the ranks of the unemployed. Special attention must be given to the development of hundreds of leading workers in all cities from the ranks of the unemployed. Without this no permanent and systematic work on a mass scale can be organized.
• (b) Only by organizing the struggle for minutest interests of the unemployed, and showing to the unemployed, through their own experience, how through struggle that can secure relief, can we enlist the mass of the unemployed around our organizations. Concrete demands are to be formulated for all the Unemployed Committees in their sphere. In the employment agencies, for Unemployed Committees are to put forward the demands for fare and lunches when coming for employment. At the soup kitchens the unemployed should put forward demands for sufficient and good food and fight against any form of discrimination. At the lodging houses, demands are to be put forward for clean beds, no limit on the time unemployed can stay, and similar demands. At all the institutions, the demand for the control and administration by the unemployed themselves, must be put forward. In the neighborhoods, we must demand free rent for the unemployed, free gas, electricity, water, etc. The committee must put forward demands for food, fuel, milk for the children, etc. Demands must be put forward for relief to the young workers. Such demands must be linked up with the struggle against the terror against the unemployed, discrimination, etc. All these demands must be elaborated, developed, and modified by the unemployed themselves on the basis of their experience.
• (c) In the center of our activity among the unemployed, and on the basis of the struggle for immediate relief must go the demand for unemployment insurance, amounting to full wages and to be paid to all unemployed through the period of unemployment. In the meantime, this demand must be made to the city, town and state governments. The fight for unemployment insurance must also be organized where possible on state lines, through the center of the campaign is the fight for federal unemployment insurance.
• (d) The fight for the 7-hour day, without reduction in the weekly earnings, and the fight against rationalization, must form an important part of the struggle of the unemployed, jointly with the employed. The fight against high prices and high rents, which must be developed, forms the further basis for joint struggle of the employed and unemployed. The fight against "forced labor" and for union scales on all jobs given to the unemployed, the fight against the Hoover-Green stagger plan is an important weapon to unite the employed and unemployed in joint struggle. Similarly, we must enlist the employed workers to fight against overtime, by demanding the shorter work day without reduction in pay and for wage increases.
• (e) At the same time, while intensifying the fight for relief and unemployment insurance, the Unemployed Committees must organize their own collection of relief on a neighborhood scale, and distribute it to the starving, unemployed through soup kitchens and commissaries. This work can serve to strengthen the work among the unemployed and if it is properly connected up, forms the basis for the extension of the fight for relief from the government and its institutions.
• (f) The struggle for relief and unemployment insurance can only be suCcessfully carried through on the basis of the organization of the unemployed. The Councils are to carry through this work by mass demonstrations at city halls, employment agencies, charity institutions, through local county and state hunger marches, through work in the unions of the T.U.U.L., through serious work In the A. F. of L. unions and peneration of all workers' organizations, etc. At all meetings of the government bodies, councils, legislatures, etc., unemployed delegations and demonstrations must appera with their demands. While we must fight against the tendency to minimize the importance of organization of militant mass demonstrations which should be the result of and lead to the organization of the unemployed.

The following is a summary of the basic demands upon which the struggle must be organized:

• (a) Unemployment insurance at the expense of the government and employers, securing to every wage worker his full wages when unemployed for any reason, to be administered by the unemployed workers organized in self-governing bodies on a territorial basis.
• (b) Immediate relief in lump sum from the government treasury of each unemployed worker with additional amount of each dependent.
• (c) Shortening of the excessive hours of labor on the basis of: 7-hour day for all workers without reduction of weekly earnings; 6-hour day for miners and dangerous occupations; abolition of child labor under 14 and a provision of vocational training with government support; 4-hour day for youth workers up to 16 and 6-hour day up to 20 years.
• (d) Prohibition of eviction of workers from their homes for non-payment of rent when unemployed for any reason. Free rents, gas, light, water, etc. for the unemployed at government expense. Free distribution of milk for all children of the unemployed.
• (e) The struggle against the Hoover schemes of public works which are designed as prepartions for war, as wage-cutting expiditions and systems of forced labor. Against the Hoover public works program we demand the inauguration of the program of building workers homes to replace the present horrible barracks inhabited by millions of underpaid and unemployed workers, building of workers' hospitals, nurseries, etc. All public bulding to be at union wage rates and the 7-hour day.
• (f) Absolute prohibition of all forms of forced labor or coercion of any kind in connection with relief and insurance.
• (g) Development of trade relations with the Soviet Union (including the demand for recognition of the Soviet Union, not only in a fundamental requirement of international working class solidarity, but also as a vital economic need of the starving masses). In order that the idle factories may work, fill the constantly growing demands of the successful construction of the workers' government and its Five-Year Plan.

The Communist Party demands the financing of all forms of insurance and relief by a diversion to this purpose of all military, naval and police appropriations, sharp reduction of official salaries, sharply graduated income tax on all incomes above $5,000, graduated capital levy on all fortunes above $100,000.

17. The immediate program of action shall conver the period of 4 months, September to December. In the center of this campaign shall be the fight for immediate relief to the unemployed and the part time workers. Demands for immediate relief shall be made upon the town, city, state and national governments. One of the main features in the fight for immediate relief shall be the demand for a fixed sum of winter relief ($150 for every unemployed worker and $50 for every additional depended.) At the same time the fight for unemployment insurance must be made a central feature of the campaign. This demand, together with the demand for winter relief, shall be made upon the national government at the time of the opening of the Congress December 2nd.

The following plan of action is to serve as the basis for the campaign. The dates set must not be observed literally, but are merely a guide to action to be adapted to the local situation and the present activities.

• (a) In connection with the reports of the C.C. Plenum, the District Committees and the leading Party and trade union functionaries are to be mobilized for the campaign.
• (b) Special meetings of every Party nucleus should take palace. At this meeting the entire program of action is to be taken up and discussed, and the tasks for the unit (street and shop) and for every member of the nucleus, decided upon. The nucleus shall select an unemployment work director who shall be charged with responsibility to the nucleus bureau for the unemployed council. All material (leaflets, outlines, etc.) are to be prepared during this period.
• (c) Mass meetings should be called in the neighborhoods at which discussion is to take place on the program of action, and committees elected. The existing brances are to be activated through the election of committees and the mapping out of a concrete program for the neighborhood. Similarly committees should be elected at the employment agencies, breadlines, factories, etc. These committees shall form in the larger sections, Unemployed Councils on a section scale and, in the smaller cities and towns, on a city or town scale. At all the mass meetings and agencies, etc., where the committees are elected, the unemployed workers should be registered, and some form of card designating their affiliation to the unemployed organization given to the unemployed. Those now holding regular membership cards shall exchange them for such cards. The unemployed councils and committees in the various sections of the city shall start meetings where all the unemployed and employed can attend and listen to reports of the activities, give their approval of disapproval of the recommendations, plans of work, etc. During this period steps must be taken to activize all the unions of the T.U.U.L. and the oppositions in the A.F. of L. unions, for the program among the unemployed. Special efforts must be made to form committees inside the A.F. of L. unions and utilize the fight against unemployment to develop the struggle against the A.F. of L. bureaucracy on the basis of the most pressing economic issues.
• (d) Unemployed demonstrations should be organized in the cities and towns and county hunger marches. The county marches provide a means of deepenmg the struggle, much more than was accomplished through the state hunger marches. Attention must be given to the preparation of the marches. During the month of October the program for immediate relief, winter relief, and the fight tor unemployment insurance, must reach millions of unemployed and employed workers. For this reason we must penetrate deeptr into the neighborhoods, into the workers: homes, at the factories, wherever the unemployed gather, in the A. F. of L. unions, the workers' fraternal organizations, etc. Resolutions favoring our program should be adopted wherever possible. In this work, we must utilize the more than half a million individual signatures demanding unemployment insurance, collected last winter and now in the hands of the district organizers.
• (e) The first two weeks in November must be used for the election of the delegates to the National Hunger March to Washington, timed with the opening of Congress. We must strive by this time to have so popularized our program and strengthened our contact with the masses of the unemployed, that hundreds of thousands of unemployed will participate in the meetings where the delegates are to be elected. The delegation, which shall be a mass delegation of from one to two thousand, must include Negro, unemployed, women and children of the unemployed, young workers an represetatives of as many unions as possible. The Workers International Relief shall be drawn on to help in the organization of the march, the collection of food, clothing, means of transporation, shelter at Washington, etc.
• (f) On December 2, the day of the opening of Congress, and the demonstration of the of the hunger marchers at Washington, there shall be organizaed nation-wide demonstrations in every city and town in front of the government bodies, to be preceded or followed by parades through the workers' neighborhoods and the largest factories. A conference of all delegates and hunger marchers shall take place in Washington in connection with the hunger march.
• (g) Both in their march to and from Washington, we must organize to reach the masses of the unemployed, For this purpose, organizers are to be sent out in advance of the line of march by the various Districts, to prepare for the commg of the delegates, the organizations of mass meetings, etc. Also in the organization of the march itself, we must take care to provide sufficient literature and experienced agitators. We must aim as a result of the hunger march not only to build organizations of the unemployed, but also to recruit members into the T.U.U.L. unions and Party.
• (h) Upon the return of the hunger marchers from Washington (from the first to the second weeks in December) there shall be organized first meetings by the Councils to hear the reports and the next tasks; and mass demonstrations (exact date to be fixed later but just before Christmas) at which the reports are to be given and the masses mobilized for the continuation of the struggle. Between December 2 and these demonstrations there should be prepared and ready the plan of work for the first three months in 1932.
• (i) In the entire period of activity when this program is being carried into eifect, it is necessary to connect up the struggle of the unemployed with the election campaign and to draw the masses around the platform of struggle of the Communist Party. It is necessary to connect up the struggle of the employed with the election campaign and to draw the masses around the platform of struggle of the Communist Party. It is necessary to draw the unemployed around the strikes now in progress and the developing strike struggles. In the struggle against the war danger, we must particularly aim to draw the masses of the unemployed into the November 7 demonstrations. This will only be possible if this work is developed on the basis of the concrete demands of the unemployed and the slogans properly fused. One of the major questions that must be brought to the attention of the unemployed is the fight against deportations, lynchings, and the general terror of the government and the fascists and social-fascists.
• (j) In addition special programs of tasks for each of the most important districts are to be worked out in consultation with the district leaderships.18. In order to carry through the above program effectively and to crystallized the organization of the unemployed, as a result of these struggles, and present weaknesses and shortcomings in the organizations and the methods of work must be overcome. The Party must through its membership in these organizations, see that this is effected in the shortest possible time. It is necessary that the District Committess look upon uneployment work as a central task and assume full responsibility for the work; that the Party nuclei be mobilized; that the fractions be built in the unemployed organizations; that experienced Party mass workers be assigned to work in the unemployed organizations and that every effort be made to draw in the unemployment committees to be developed, that we overcome the present sporadic actions and replace them by daily systematice work; that demonstrations shall be the result of organization, and not a substitute for it; that a broad agitation and propaganda campaign be developed among the unemployed and the unemployed organizations.