Tom Kerry Archive | Trotskyist Writers Index | ETOL Main Page
From The Militant, Vol. 12 No. 13, 29 March 1948, p. 4.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’ Callaghan for the Encyclopaedia of Trotskyism On-Line (ETOL).
The bitterly fought internal struggle for control of the CIO National Maritime Union will reach its climax with the bi-annual election of officers beginning April 1. With approximately 150 elective offices to be filled, balloting will be extended over a period of 90 days to permit men at sea to vote upon their return to port.
This will be the most hotly contested election in the history of the organization. It will be the first time in ten years that Stalinist control of the NMU has been seriously challenged. The opposition Rank & File Caucus, headed by President Joseph Curran, is running a full slate of candidates under the slogan: “Smash the Communist Party Machine.”
From the beginning the opposition has centered its attack on the bureaucratic methods and record of the Stalinist leadership. A number of democratic reforms were introduced by the Curran group at the September convention of the NMU and adopted over the opposition of the Stalinist delegates.
These reforms were designed to curb the power of the Stalinist-dominated National Council and vest greater control in the membership. It was during the course of this convention fight that the Rank & File Caucus took organization form. Following the convention the caucus set up an apparatus, appealed to the members for funds, began publication of regular bulletins and preparations for the election campaign.
Composed of diverse elements, the Rank & File Caucus was confronted with the problem of working out a policy that would hold the group together. All were agreed on the necessity of eliminating Stalinist influence and control, and restoring democratic methods as a preliminary step in revitalizing the union. But it was recognized from the first that this essential task would be complicated by serious differences over questions that could split the caucus.
In fact, the Stalinists have repeatedly attempted to exploit such differences in an effort to split the opposition. They have constantly attempted to divert the attention of the members by confusing the issue. Thus, for example, the Wallace question was injected into the union as the “real” issue which divides the sheep from the goats. Or the Marshall Plan! Or the Smith Case, etc., etc.
To avoid falling into this trap the caucus adopted the policy of refraining from committing the group to an official position on such questions. Each tendency within the caucus is free to express its own opinion on such questions in membership meetings, aboard ship and in the pages of the union paper.
The caucus is concentrating its fire on the sell-out policies and bureaucratic methods of the Stalinist leadership which have weakened and undermined the union. The Stalinist method of slandering and crucifying opponents is exposed. The Stalinists are attacked as a reactionary, demagogic and disruptive force in the union. The elimination of this cancer is advocated as the necessary prerequisite for the healthy growth and development of the union. The caucus announced it will dissolve upon completion of this task.
The Stalinist election, propaganda is aimed especially at the minority groups in the union. Among the Negro members they circulate the charge that the Curran group is anti-Negro. Among the Spanish-speaking section they pose as the sole defenders of that national minority. Among the aliens they hurl the charge that the Rank & File Caucus is anti-alien, etc. The result of this type of a campaign is a heightened tension between the racial and national groups.
Actually, the NMU, alone among the seafaring unions, has a splendid tradition of anti-discrimination. The tactics of the Stalinists tend to undermine this tradition and raise the danger of violent outbreaks which would victimize the minority groups and scandalize the entire labor movement. It is necessary to warn against this danger and fight any manifestation of prejudice engendered by this reckless policy.
It is apparent that the Stalinists are prepared to use any method to retain control of this important section of the maritime labor movement. But all indications are that the members of the NMU are turning against them in increasing number. Unless the Rank & File Caucus leaders commit some grave blunders between now and the end of the election the final tally of ballots will see the finish of Stalinist control of the NMU.
Tom Kerry Archive | Trotskyist Writers Index | ETOL Main Page
Last updated: 29 October 2020