Vol. 23, No. 30, Jul 27, 1959
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Toward the 1960 Elections" See Page 2 t h e MILITANT PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WORKING PEOPLE Vol. X X III — No. 30 222 NEW YORK. N.Y., MONDAY, JULY 27. 1959 Price 10c Nationwide Rally Steel Pickets Spearhead Answers Attack On Castro Gov't Fight for Labor's Future Cuba’s workers and peasants are rallying in reply to the heavy attack mounted against the Castro regime NAACP Rally at Polo Grounds in New York by U.S. capitalists, their press, and governmental servants Corporations Plan New as the sixth anniversary of<- Castro’s initial uprising against ing power in Cuba, with Cas the Batista dictatorship ap tro’s help. proached. At his July 15 press con Moves to Break Down On July 13, scarcely two ference Eisenhower chimed in, weeks before the July 26 an though more ambiguously, say niversary, Admiral Burke, U.S. ing that the U.S. was watching Hard-Won Union Gains Chief of Naval Operations, the whole Caribbean area. told the National War College On July 13 Cuban President By Tom Kerry in Washington that “the revo Urrutia joined the chorus in The men of steel are in an angry mood. lution is being used by the Havana, saying Communists "are doing horrible damage to The brazen demand of the steel corporations that the Communists and the danger is unionisurrender working conditions won over decades of still great in Cuba that the Cuba . trying to create a Communists will take over.” second front against the U.S. struggle has solidified the ranks of the Steelworkers as and in favor of Russia." Wall never before. * The next day the former Street had pinned its hopes of To the men in the plants, union conditions mean commander of Castro’s Air turning back the tide of the Force, Major Pedro Diaz, who Cuban revolution upon Urrutia. the difference between human dignity and crawling ser fled to the U.S., appealed be Castro energetically repulsed vility. There can be no compromise on this score. There fore the Senate’s Internal Se this reactionary offensive by can be no return to the preunion slave conditions in steel curity Subcommittee to charge formally resigning as Premier, that “Communists” were seiz- without a bloody struggle and, as an inevitable conse denouncing Urrutia as a near quence, a major social crisis. traitor, and calling upon the people to demonstrate for the The steel corporations are spearheading a general Cuban Unions revolution. Over one-half mil employer offensive against labor. The Steelworkers, noW lion responded in Havana, forc bearing the brunt of the attack, are labor’s front-line ing the president’s resignation. fighters. Castro designated a new presi Call National dent in his stead. As one union paper so aptly puts it, the “steel shut All week his supporters have down appears to be the start” of the big business offen Token Strike been preparing a vast mobili sive against labor. “The preliminary barrages have been zation of the peasants. They The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wound up its Golden Anniversary Convention July 19 with going on for a long time,” says the July 16 National The powerful Cuban Workers have been marching from both a mass rally at the Polo Grounds. Some 18,000 turned out in a demonstration of determination to wipe out racial discrimination. Maritime Union Pilot in a front page editorial. “This is Confederation has called a one- ends of the island for days to Heaviest applause went to Congressman Adam Clayton Powell when he denounced hypocritical Northern liberal Congressmen what the billion-dollar smear campaigns against labor hour nationwide work stoppage celebrate the sixth anniversary who speak for civil rights but refuse to do anything effective to help win them. for July 24 to back up Castro of the July 26 movement. have been aiming at.” The editorial concludes by em and demand his return as pre The anti-revolutionary ele phasizing that “the battle the steelworkers are in today mier. The labor confederation's ments are trying to halt the is the fight for the future” of labor. chief, David Salvador, urged application of the agrarian re The official convention call of the AFL-CIO, asserting workers to hold meetings dur forms and the expropriation of Humphrey Joins Network Drive that “the labor movement is under its heaviest attack in ing that work stoppage to hear American companies. The their leaders stress the impor agrarian laws provide that no more than a generation,” declares: “The very right of the tance of Castro's resumption of person shall own more than unions to survive is at stake.” office. 600-odd acres. The government To Destroy Freedom of the Air In this battle for survival, the boss-controlled political will soon take over 400 cattle The former premier was also machines are lined up solidly with the employers. Eisen ranches totalling millions of JULY 23 — Senator Hubert didate falls under this sweeping news since the stations could there was a feeling in Washing informed that the thousands acres, many of them owned by Humphrey of Minnesota has lent “news” category. not grant time to a legion of ton that politics had not been hower sparked the employers “anti-inflation” campaign upon thousands of peasants now American or mixed Cuban- himself as principal front-man According to Senator H um “crackpot” candidates, claimed totally absent from the de at the very beginning of contract negotiations. Since then streaming into Havana by train, American companies. ' Castro in the fraudulent drive of the phrey, Democratic majority lead the broadcasters. cision.'’ bus, truck and foot would stay the employers and their kept press have played variations has given the big sugar plant big broadcasting companies to er Lyndon Johnson has prom This hoax was used to justify The dispatch added: "One there until he withdrew his res on this theme in every key. ers a year’s grace before ex destory the federal "equal-time" ised him the bill w ill be acted the restrictive legislation intro thing is certain. None of the an ignation. The attempt to foist upon the Steelworkers responsi propriation. law. on by the Senate this week. duced into Congress. The H um nounced or unannounced Presi This demonstration of unity bility for inflation, induced in large measure by mo The landowners have run into Fully aware of the repercus The desire of the broadcasters phrey episode was staged to ram dential aspirants w ill vote between the workers and peas headlong conflict wtih the pea sions its act would have on Con to restrict free time to big busi the legislation through. against the revision of the com nopoly price-gouging, is a cruel hoax. ants is designed to set the stage ness candidates was given re sants and workers who are gress, CBS denied a ir tim e to In denying Humphrey the munications law that is sought As for labor’s “friends” in public office, they play for an overwhelming demonstra newed vigor by their thorough by the broadcasters." pressing Castro to proceed Humphrey on July 16 on the time, CBS deceitfully sought to their usual perfidious role. Following the ill-considered tion of loyalty to Castro and his ly dishonest exploitation of the without delay to implement ground that he is a candidate imply it would have the Vege This damming admission from, program on the July 26 celebra Federal Communication Com its own sources didn’t prevent proposal of David McDonald, they clamor for Eisenhower the radical measures of im for the Democratic presidential tarians and Prohibitionists at its tion. mission’s now celebrated Lar to invoke his powers under Taft-Hartley to set up a provement he has promised. nomination. This carefully door. But if the network had the Times from declaring in a Daly decision. The FCC had staged announcement came 24 granted Humphrey the time, the July 21 editorial that Humphrey “fact-finding” board to adjudicate the dispute. Eisenhower ruled that Daly, an America hours after the Senate Com most that would have happened was one of “the victims of this plays coy. Now is not the time, he says, there is no First candidate for mayor of merce Committee had unani is that other contenders for the absurdity” of the equal-time national emergency — yet! “ Self-Defense” Debated Chicago in 1958, was entitled to law. mously endorsed a bill to rip Democratic presidential nomi time after the incumbent en In this he follows the lead of the steel barons. They the guts out of Section 315 of nation could have put in their Nor did the fraudulent CBS joyed several appearances on are in no hurry. For months prior to the strike they piled the Federal Communications bid for equal time. And that stunt deter Humphrey from cyn TV newscasts that clearly ad up huge reserves of steel. Even if the plants reopened By NAACP Delegates Act. doesn’t mean any individual ically declaring: “If CBS wanted vanced his candidacy. to lobby for this bill, they didn’t tomorrow there would be little demand for steel. Wait This provision requires that who arbitrarily decides he is a By George Lavan The commission ruled in es have to lobby with me. I’m going when a candidate is granted ra candidate for the nomination. until accumulated inventories are depleted, then — then The official record of the NAACP’s Fiftieth Annual sence that news programs were to vote for it.” dio or TV time, equal time must In fact, Section 315 is already the time w ill be ripe for the “fact-finders.” Convention states that the delegates voted “unanimously” not exempt from the equal-time TV and radio time is almost be given to other candidates for statute.