chapter 3 1928 and Beyond Establishing the United Front from Below The leading comrades at the International Propaganda Committee of Transport Workers wholeheartedly supported the claim of the beginning of a Third Period in 1928. itcnw Secretary Achkanov witnessed an “unrepresented inten- sification” and observed hitherto unseen increase in the number of disputes and strikes in the transport sector all over the world. In Germany, 25,000 Rhine water transport workers were on strike for over one month; in eastern India, some 14,000 railway workers were on strike for more than half a year and were backed by a solidarity strike involving 20,000 workers, followed by a strike of 10,000 employees on the South Indian railway. The docklands, too, were unruly in several countries. About 5 to 6,000 harbour workers went on strike in several ports in France, thousands of them were on strike in Antwerp, ten thousand in Australia. In Finland, the general strike of harbour workers lasted from June until winter 1928/ 29; in Hamburg, the harbour workers joined the shipbuilders’ strike; in Altona, the crews of the fishing boats went on strike.1 Most of the above listed strikes occurred during the latter half of 1928, i.e., after the introduction of the ‘United front from below’-tactic. The new tactic, in turn, had been discussed at the Fifth Conference of Revolutionary Transport Workers that summoned in conjunction with the rilu World Congress in April 1928. The shortcomings of the earlier United Front- tactic resulted in fierce (self-) criticism among the delegates. Above all, communist and revo- lutionary opposition groups were weak within the trade unions and disinter- ested in work among colonial transport workers. Not least, they had failed to launch effective international boycotts in support of national strikes and to block the transportation of war material to East Asia. Although the strategy of agitation and propaganda within the unions was claimed to have generated greater awareness of and support for the revolutionary opposition, few mili- tant workers had joined it. Consequently, the vision of a united front proved illusionary. The main reason for this was blamed on the lack of concrete action 1 Figures presented by Achkanov in Theses of Report on Activities of ipcaa of Transport Workers, Report by Comrade Achkanov, presented at meeting of the Executive Bureau of the rilu, 8.1.1929, 534/5/ 207, 10, rgaspi. Hereafter: Theses of Report on Activities of ipcaa of Transport Workers (8.1.1929). © Holger Weiss, 2021 | DOI:10.1163/9789004463288_007 This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license. Holger Weiss - 9789004463288 Downloaded from Brill.com10/02/2021 09:21:17AM via free access 1928 and Beyond 141 of the revolutionary opposition. The remedy, it was believed, was to focus on action when applying the new ‘United front from below’- tactic, encapsulated by adopting a new name for the organisation – The International Propaganda and Action Committee for Transport Workers or ipac- tw.2 Like its predeces- sor, work among maritime transport workers was given top priority. 1 The 1928 Conference and Its Aftermath The adoption of the new United Front from Below-tactic was publicised through a resolution. In contrast to earlier instructions, the 1928 Resolution also highlighted the importance to integrate the transport workers in colonial and semi- colonial countries in the global proletarian class struggle. The new policy was to be implemented by strike committees as well as by the revolu- tionary opposition within the trade unions. All transport workers were urged to demand for the abolition of overtime work and to organise the fight for shorter hours, particularly in those branches of the transport industry where intensive rationalisation was in progress. Besides, they should insist for social insurance, unemployment benefits, paid vacations and sick relief. Most importantly, they were compelled to rally behind the slogan ‘Equal pay for equal work’. The new credo of radical workers was anti- racist and anti- discriminatory and was com- mitted to anti- colonial international proletarian solidarity, the 1928 Resolution stressed. Therefore, the 1928 Resolution stressed the need to support transport workers in semi- colonial and colonial countries in their fight against capitalist and colonial exploitation.3 The 1928 Resolution listed several specific demands to be pushed forward by the radical maritime transport workers. Apart from the general demand for 7- hour working shifts above and 6-hour working shifts below deck, the 1928 Resolution ordered to struggle for the recognition of the ship committees. Addressing anti- racist, anti- discriminatory and anti- colonial international pro- letarian solidarity, the 1928 Resolution called the revolutionary mariners, i.e., the members of the sea and ship cells, to expose the exploitation of non- white members of a crew by the shipowners and to struggle for equal pay for equal 2 As outlined in Die 5. Internationale Konferenz der Revolutionären Transportarbeiter Abgehalten in Moskau im April 1928 (Moskau: Internationales Propaganda- und Aktionskommittee der revolutionären Transportarbeiter, 1928). 3 “Task of Militant Transport Workers. Resolution Adopted at the Fifth International Conference of Revolutionary Transport Workers, April 5– 11, 1928, Moscow, ussr,” Labor Unity 2, no. 8 (September 1928): 2– 5. Holger Weiss - 9789004463288 Downloaded from Brill.com10/02/2021 09:21:17AM via free access 142 Chapter 3 work both for white and non- white seamen. Most importantly, however, the 1928 Resolution instructed white seamen to get all seamen irrespectively the colour of their skin organised in the unions and to insist on the admission of non- white seamen into the unions on the same conditions as white seamen.4 The new Secretariat or Bureau of the ipac- tw discussed the implementa- tion of the new tactics immediately after the conference. It is likely that the body had existed already in previous years although I have not been able to find any information about who belonged to it. For the 1928 Secretariat, on the other hand, a photograph published by George Mink in the journal Labor Unity, gives a hint of its international composition. Some of the names were published in the caption, namely Walter (Germany), Shuesmith (Canada), Mink (USA), Foss (Norway), Dumay (France), Bulatsil (ussr), Achkanov (ussr), Bitov (ussr), while the Danish member can be identified as Richard Jensen. Others remain unidentified, such as an additional French member as well as the Bulgarian and the five Chinese members.5 About half of its mem- bers represented maritime transport workers’ unions, namely Dumay, Jensen, Mink and Walter, certainly also one of the Chinese. George Hardy’s name is missing from the list, which is surprising as he participated at the conference and was the key organiser in Britain. The Secretariat decided to put a special focus on work among maritime transport workers and outlined five impending areas of immediate action. Three of them concerned the activities in Britain, France and the USA, the fourth on invigorating the ‘United front from below’-tactic among the rev- olutionary nuclei, while the fifth was to reach out to ‘coloured’ and colonial seamen. 1.1 One Step Forward and Two Steps Back in Britain The most pressing needs for immediate action was the pitiful performance of the Minority Movement and the Communist Party in the United Kingdom in terms of organising the radical British seamen. Few of them were members of the Minority Movement or even party members. Consequently, the influ- ence of the communists was about nil in the National Sailors’ and Firemen’s Union, from 1926 the National Union of Seamen (nus), and its main rival, the Amalgamated Marine Workers’ Union which had been dissolved in 1927. The nus, in turn, was at loggerheads with the Trades Union Congress and the Transport and General Workers’ Union, whose leader Ernest Bevin pushed for 4 “Task of Militant Transport Workers,” 2– 5. 5 Mink, “The Marine Transport Industry,” 6. Holger Weiss - 9789004463288 Downloaded from Brill.com10/02/2021 09:21:17AM via free access 1928 and Beyond 143 the formation of a new seamen’s union.6 The ambition of the ipac- tw was to launch its own programme and organise a red seamen’s union in England, to start organising revolutionary nuclei on British vessels, and to hasten the establishment of Interclubs in British ports.7 The ipac- tw Secretariat appointed George Hardy as its representative and instructor in Britain. Hardy had joined the British section of the rilu after his relocation to Britain in late 1923, his chief activity being the organisation of the seamen’s section of the Minority Movement as well editing and pub- lishing its mouthpiece, The International Seafarer (apart from his sojourn in China in 1927/ 1928).8 Hardy’s task was to organise a secretariat for the ipac- tw in Britain as well as to supervise activities in Britain. His office was also responsible to create and maintain communications and contacts with the British Dominions and colonies.9 Hardy returned to England in August 1928 and immediately started to reorganise the seamen’s section of the Minority Movement. Together with Fred Thompson, they opened a small office at 27a, Grundy Street in Poplar, London.10 However, Hardy soon recognised that the prospects for a new militant seamen’s union were slim. Neither the nus nor the Trades Union Congress allowed double union membership, and Hardy rea- soned that only a few seamen would join a red union. Still, a red union might have chance, he wishfully noted, especially if it vehemently pushed for the abolition of the pc5- card and managed to attract unorganised and non- white seamen.11 Agitation and propaganda work among British seamen had also suffered, as the Minority Movement had not been capable to publish The International Seafarer for a long time.