PROLETARIAN PARASITES.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 29, 22 September 1911, Page 18

PROLETARIAN PARASITES.

Who are proletarian parasites ? Well, men who arc employed in trades or industries, that are organised and are. not members of labor unions a I , © proletarian parasites. ' . ; The best definition pf a parasite ip one who gets something for nothing. The non-union man who reaps the results of the struggles of organised labor without any sacrifice on his part is certainly a person who gets something for nothing. Here-is a concrete illustration: The International Typographical TJ.uk/ai has spent over four million dollars in its strike for the establishment of the eight-hour day in the book and job printing industry in this country. The union printers who were not involved in the strike paid 10 per cent, strike assessments on their wages for over a year. Of course, the strikers lost millions of dollars in, wages and suffered all the privations and hardships incidental to a labor struggle. But at last victory was theirs. Then came the anai-ou n-ocment that the members of the Typothetae, the organisation of the non-union master printers, have "voluntarily" granted the eight-hour day to their employees. It is self-evident that this "voluntary ,5 action of the Typothetae was compelled by the glorioiis victory of the union. They knew that their employeces, if they be cod roe tent printers, would not be content with a nine-hoyr clay very long when the shorter workday was enjoyed by the majority of the craft. The same can be said about the painters, carpenters, cigar-makers, machinists, garment-workers, bakers, and, in fact, of every trade of organised workers. A union's strike for higher wages, shorter hours, and better conditions of employment is not only for its members,', but,, in the last analysis, for all members of that industry. Excuse mc, if I become personal. Are you a proletarian parasite?— Louis Kopoliii in "Chicago Daily Socialist."