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Forth International! "ecem#er $%&$

'( 'harles
)riorities and *nemployment

From Forth International! +ol(, No($-! "ecem#er $%&$! pp(.-%-.$$(
Transcription / mark-p0 Einde 1'alla2han for ET13(

4ith 567 of the war orders in the first year of the 8defense9! effort in the hands of 6:
corporations! with more than .-7 in the hands of six corporations! with these concerns
receivin2 priority in the allocation of raw materials! with non-military esta#lishments
#ein2 sht down or their operations crtailed de to lack of raw materials! the 2rim
pro#lem of priorities nemployment is facin2 the workers of the contry(
1n ;ly $6! $%&$! 3eon <enderson! )rice 'ontrol Administrator! painted a dark pictre
of 8factories made idle #y lack of raw materials to trn ot civilian 2oods= of men made
idle #y lack of materials to work with= of sin2le indstry towns #li2hted(9

'ases of )riorities *nemployment
The contry is >st #e2innin2 to enter into the period of priorities nemployment( All
indstries that se raw materials needed #y the war indstries are forced to 2ive way
#efore the inexora#le demands of armament( The present limited spply of steel is #ein2
a#sor#ed for 2ns! tanks and other military e?ipment! and less and less remains for
cars or refri2erators( The workers occpied in manfactrin2 cars or refri2erators find
themselves >o#less ntil the plants are retooled for defense! or ntil additional spplies
of steel are forthcomin2(
@esides steel! amon2 the other indstries affected are those that se alminm! iron!
copper! Ainc! #rass! nickel! r##er! tin! silk! cork and chemicals( )lastics! held ot to the
manfactrers as a s#stitte for the deficient raw materials! is itself #ecomin2 s#>ect
to priorities re2lation and allocation(
The fact that ships and trains are carryin2 the materials for war prposes means that
these facilities are navaila#le to transport material not >d2ed vital to the war effort!
and this acts to a22ravate shorta2es(
Tens of thosands of silk workers were thrown on the streets when the 2overnment
#anned frther imports of silk in an attempt to place pressre on ;apan(
)riorities nemployment affects not only workers directly involved in prodction! #t
also ever #roader circles of those workers employed in transportin2! sellin2 and
warehosin2(

Fears of )ost-4ar 'rash <amper )rodction
The shorta2es in spplies of varios raw materials can #e directly traced to the
economic crisis of $%,%! when no expansion in plant capacity took place in the #asic
indstries which were rnnin2 at a low percenta2e of potential capacity(
Even with the #e2innin2 of the armament pro2ram! and to this day! the varios trsts did
not and do not want to endan2er their monopoly profits #y a pro2ram of expansion( For
example! the Alminm 'ompany of America at the start of the armaments pro2ram
insisted that it cold prodce eno2h alminm not only to spply the war needs! #t
also civilian and @ritish re?irements( A few months later aircraft plants en2a2ed in
military work were limpin2 alon2 de to a shorta2e of alminm( 1f corse! alminm
workers prodcin2 articles for civilian se have #een made >o#less #ecase of lack of
raw materials(
The Fortne Ma2aAine of A2st $%&$! states0
8It is now o#vios that expansion of prodctive facilities for steel! electricity! alminm
and other essentials shold have #een ndertaken as soon as the defense emer2ency was
realiAed( @t the advisers closest to the 1)M ((( reflected the fear of their several
indstries that the creation of vast new plant capacity wold present a threat of post-war
competition(9 B1r emphasis(C
1n ;ly ,D! $%&$! the New Eork Times correspondent from )itts#r2h wrote that
8certain steel athorities still hold to the view that there really is no practical need for
wholesale increases in capacity(9
Mr( Thrman Arnold! Assistant Attorney Feneral! in a speech in @oston on 1cto#er 5!
asserted that there were concerted attempts on the part of #asic indstries to hamper any
expansion which wold interfere with their domination of indstry after the war(
As Fortne descri#es it! 4ashin2ton is divided into several factions0 the 8expansionists9
who want increased plant facilities and the 8non-expansionists9 who fear 8what is to
happen when the show is over and the nation faces ((( a new world with h2e capacities
and no notion of how to convert or distri#te them(9 Fears concernin2 the post-war
sitation harass the capitalist class(
The corse of the 2overnment is to tread catiosly #etween these two schools of
capitalist tho2ht= to set p new plants only after assrin2 the capitalists affected that
these new plants wold offer no threat to their profits at present or in the ftre( The
new plants are financed either with 2overnment aid or completely #y the 2overnment( In
those few cases that it keeps the ownership of the plant that it had financed! the
2overnment hands them over to the monopolies to operate at a s#stantial profit for the
latter(

Effects of 4ar Effort and )riorities
4ithot do#t the lon2 ran2e effect of the war effort will #e the concentration of
indstry in ever fewer hands( There are certain important technical factors that aid the
lar2e corporations in secrin2 war orders( Gmall firms are as a rle technically na#le to
handle defense work #ecase of lack of machines( These machines can #e secred only
from machine tool companies which have h2e #acklo2s of nfilled orders( The lar2e
corporations operate their own machine makin2 departments( The lar2e corporations!
with their own sorces of spply of raw materials! their own transportation and their
own plants! have no difficlty in continin2 operations( The small esta#lishment!
dependent on others for raw materials! e?ipment! etc(! often finds itself crippled(
Frthermore! lar2e corporations are a#le to #y p a lar2e part of the availa#le spply of
raw materials and to hoard this material( In the meantime! the small concern cannot
place its hands on any raw material(
In En2land! &-!--- small concerns went nder in the first $: months of the war( In the
*nited Gtates! defense officials have estimated! accordin2 to the 'I1 Economic
1tlook! that at least ,-!--- #sinesses may #e destroyed #y the dislocation of the army
pro2ram(
If the #elated pro2ram of expansion even now meets #itter resistance from the capitalist
class! the pro2ram of s#-contractin2 and there#y 8rescin29 small #siness faces the
same o#stacle(
The powerfl lar2e corporations do not want to save small #siness( 1n the contrary
they want to keep all the lcrative war work nder their control! and to freeAe the
independent #siness man ot( Accordin2 to Mr( Arnold Bin his already-cited statement
on 1cto#er 5C! this is a deli#erate scheme of com#inations which seek to dominate the
market(
A few crm#s will #e tossed to small #siness! #t on the whole! the li#erals will #e
even less sccessfl in their present limited pro2ram of s#contractin2 than they have
#een in their previos 8trst-#stin29 campai2ns(

<ow the 4orkers Are Affected
The ranks of the nemployed are swelled #y those na#le to find >o#s( It is estimated
that priorities nemployment will add from $!6--!--- to .!---!--- workers to the ranks
of the nemployed! #rin2in2 the total nemployed to #etween :!6--!--- and D!---!---
accordin2 to the most conservative estimates(
1n Geptem#er 6! $%&$! the New Eork Times correspondent in 4ashin2ton declared0
8Gome officials #elieve the total of idle may 2o as hi2h as ,!---!--- workers in the next
few months as material shorta2es force drastic crtailments in the prodction of non-
defense dra#le 2oods(9
Mr( 4alter @( 4eisen#r2er! exective vice-president of the National Association of
Manfactrers! asserted on Geptem#er ,.! $%&$! that nearly .!---!--- employees in
small non-military manfactrin2 plants face loss of employment within six months as a
reslt of priorities(
"rin2 the year endin2 ;ne $! $%&$! .!.:6!--- workers were re-employed in indstry(
"rin2 these months plants hitherto idle or on part time went into fll prodction(
Now capacity operation has itself #ecome a limitin2 factor in certain #asic indstries(
Alminm is rnnin2 at $-- per cent of capacity= steel at practically $-- per cent= there
is a shorta2e of copper as well as of other #asic commodities( Apart from sch
developments as the s#contractin2 of war orders to small plants! the rate of ftre
advances in prodction and re-employment depends primarily on the completion of new
plants( This means that increases in operation and employment will #e spasmodic=
employment will rise only as new plants are completed(
The workers now thrown ot of work #y priorities nemployment can #e rea#sor#ed
into indstry slowly( In the case of the #i2 corporations! with their lar2e defense orders!
the period of nemployment may #e comparatively short dependin2 on the time
necessary to chan2e the indstry from a peace to a war time #asis( In other cases! it will
#e many seasons #efore the workers made >o#less #y priorities nemployment will find
work( In the very process of losin2 >o#s in small plants and #ein2 rehired in lar2e-scale
indstry! a certain proportion of the workers will #e left ot of work! de to 2reater se
of la#or-savin2 devices in the lar2e-scale indstry( A 4)A research division estimates
that not more than $!6--!--- can #e expected to #e rehired drin2 the year endin2 ;ne
$! $%&,(
In addition to a decline in the income of the workin2 class de to increased
nemployment! a frther decline of livin2 standards is inevita#le #ecase of the soarin2
of the price of consmers9 2oods as the spply dwindles(

*nion )lans to Golve )riorities )ro#lems
@ro2ht face to face with the acte pro#lem of priorities nemployment! certain la#or
leaders have #een occpyin2 themselves with plans to avoid or alleviate priorities
nemployment and step p war prodction( )resident Mrray has formlated his 'I1
plan= 4alter Hether of the Ato 4orkers has issed a plan which was the center of
considera#le attention a#ot a year a2o= the *nited Electrical 4orkers has developed a
plan for their hard-hit indstry as has the Alminm 4orkers *nion= there are other
plans! incldin2 the @ffalo and Flint plans( )resident Freen has likewise proposed a
plan in the name of the AF3(
These plans have the followin2 featres in common0
Fovernment-employer-la#or #oards to rn the indstry=
Increase of prodction #y or2aniAation of the indstry as a nit instead of nmeros
independent plants=
Maintenance of seniority for workers now on the >o# when the shift is made over to war
work=
No crtailment of civilian work ntil war work is secred(
The Hether plan was amon2 the first proposed( @y the plan Hether hoped to alleviate
the seasonal character of the ato indstry and also hoped to avoid mass layoffs when
the steel for atos wold #e rationed( <is plan was #ased on the idea that ato workers
and the present ato plants cold #e sed in #ildin2 planes( Hether proposed to
achieve the prodction of 6-- planes daily in the "etroit area(
<is plan technically was #ased on two proposals0 $( That a srvey of the atomo#ile
indstry in and arond "etroit #e made to show the plant and machine capacity
availa#le for airplane work= ,( That the #le print of a plane shold #e #roken down into
its component parts and these parts #e assi2ned for mass otpt to the plant which the
srvey showed was #est a#le to handle their manfactre( Finally! the varios parts
wold #e assem#led in a central han2ar(
The cynical reception this meek plan met #y the capitalist class is extremely
symptomatic and revealin2( The or2an of the machine tool indstry! the American
Machinist! in its isse of April ,! $%&$ said0
8The 'I1 Hether B6-- planes a dayC plan to se "etroit capacity for aircraft has #een
definitely re>ected( It was re>ected s?arely on its essential featres! treatment of the
ato indstry as one firm with work parcelled ot in a semi-complsory fashion and
la#or participation in mana2ement! rather than on the rather irrelevant ar2ments as to
whether the plan cold actally prodce 6-- planes a day(9
'apitalist concepts of 8relevancy9 and 8irrelevancy9 speak clearly and lodly what the
war effort means0 )lanes may or may not #e prodced! #t the only relevant ar2ment is
that the ri2hts and profits of the capitalists mst #e assred(

Fallacies of *nion )lans
The fallacies in these timid plans are easily discerni#le( First fallacy is that they are
#ased on the misconception of the role of the 2overnment! which accordin2 to those
who drew p the plans! represents a netral 2rop representin2 the nation 8a#ove9 #oth
the workers and capitalists( @itter and lon2 experience has shown that the 2overnment!
far from #ein2 a netral in the str22le of the classes! is in reality a representative of the
rlin2 class( 3a#or will find itself a prisoner on these #oards! ca2ht #etween two
expressions of the same capitalist class I the capitalists themselves and their
2overnment I and wold #e otvoted on all decisive ?estions( Hecent experiences with
the National "efense Mediation @oard in connection with the miners str22le are most
edcative(
Gecond! the #i2 capitalists do not want to and will not or2aniAe indstry as a whole! they
do not want to s#contract work #t are coldly plannin2 to insre profits for themselves
with #i2 #acklo2s of orders= they want no interference with their mana2ement of
indstry= they are not interested in prodction #t primarily in maintainin2 their
monopoly position(
Fallacy nm#er three of these plans is that la#or wold take responsi#ility for
prodction for the war effort of a war fo2ht in the interest of imperialism! and from
which the workers have nothin2 to 2ain(
Gome of the formlators of these plans ima2ine that it is possi#le to have the war effort
and also maintain the level of consmers 2oods prodction( This is still another error of
the plans(
They demand that raw materials #e made availa#le to the plants now occpied in
prodcin2 consmers 2ood! ntil these concerns receive military orders( In the
meantime! if their idea were adopted the plants at present workin2 on war work wold
have to crtail expansion( They think that the war effort can stop or slow p at their
re?est or desire( This is an illsion(
The transition from peace-time prodction to war indstry is as irresisti#le in its
character as the transition from handicraft to manfactre and machine indstry( The
war is as necessary to decayin2 capitalism as the introdction of ever-improved
machinery was to capitalism when it was still pro2ressive( Modern capitalism cannot
exist withot inflictin2 hardships on the workers(
To #e sre! these plans are in many cases #ased on a healthy sspicion that capitalist
mana2ement of indstry is inefficient! wastefl and concerned solely and exclsively
with profits(
Marxists are very often o#li2ed to pass with the workers thro2h experiences! even
tho2h the experience itself is doomed to failre( This may #e the sitation in many of
the nions in re2ard to the plans( @t the workers can only 2ain from sch experience if
the Marxists in their ranks constantly explain their criticism and advance their own
pro2ram( The lo2ical corse to prse is therefore to advocate a pro2ram! not of
doctorin2 capitalist mana2ement! #t of replacin2 it with workers9 control of
prodction( From the sond idea that capitalism is interested only in its profits! flows
the pro2ram of expropriation of the lar2e-scale indstries(
The attitde of Marxists toward the war pro2ram incldin2 priorities nemployment! the
risin2 cost of livin2 and the nion proposals! is #ased on the fndamental idea that la#or
is not responsi#le for the war and its condct( 3a#or can defend its livin2 standards not
thro2h class colla#oration #t only #y continin2 the class str22le( 4e fi2ht for the
slo2an of the slidin2 scale of hors as an effective measre a2ainst nemployment= and
for the risin2 scale of wa2es so that the livin2 standards may #e maintained at least at
their present level! if not improved! in the face of nemployment and risin2 costs of
livin2(
At the same time! the pro#lem of priorities nemployment offers an excellent
opportnity for explainin2 to the workers or complete transitional pro2ram(

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