From International Press Correspondence, Vol. I No. 12, 29 November 1921, p. 100.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
Public Domain: Marxists Internet Archive (2019). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source.
The Executive of the Profintern (Red Trade-Union International) has issued the following appeal to the French workers:
The leaders of the Confédération Générale du Travail (General Confederation of Labor) are working for a split. They, who, upon arising in the morning and in the evening when going to bed, swear by the unity of the working class, are consciously shattering the unity of the trade unions and thereby disarming the workers of France who are face to face with the reaction. Min. Jouhaux, Dumoulin, Merrheim & Co. in their incompetency are making concessions to the bourgeoisie in all important questions. They are as unstable as a weather vane when they have to do with the government and the Bloc National. They are, however, firm, steadfast and show a surprising determination when
they have to do with the revolutionary workers. These men, who have been workers themselves, have only become great and have been placed in high positions through the French working class – these leaders at the head of the workers dictate to them and demand that they be obeyed. Their hatred of revolutionary workers is so great because they themselves once were revolutionary. The renegades, through their hatred and anger, shatter all the ideals that they themselves once had worshipped.
The French proletariat does not want to have them at the head of its organization. “So much the worse for the French proletariat” – is the decision of the trade-union bureaucracy. The same men who speak so softly in the commissions of the League of Nations and who in the conferences of the International Labor Bureau strike up songs of harmony – these same men betray with unheard-of cynicism the workers who are committed to their care. Thanks to their efforts the unity of the railwaymen’s organization is destroyed. The Federation of Employees has expelled the revolutionary trade-unions. The Federation of Clothing Workers has done the same. In several departmental federations, the slogans that the C.G.T. is advocating are being applied. Information Ouvrière et Sociale and Le Temps are satisfied – their tactics are being put into practice. The working-class is combatting an overwhelming offensive, which is being commenced by the bourgeoisie, it is permitting its agents to destroy the unity of the working class, in order to subject it to further injuries.
The working class of the entire world must decide between the revolutionary trade unions and the trade unions which adhere to the Amsterdam International. How often have the gentlemen of the Amsterdam International cried for “unity”! How many crocodile tears have they wept over it. Under the cover of this slogan “unity” they betray the interests of the working class. They are ready to sacrifice the entire organization of the workers, if the latter refuse to be tied to the apron strings of the bourgeoisie.
|
|
For the Executive of the Red Trade-Union International |
Last updated on 9 January 2019