As late as the 1930s, the vast majority of American workers were still not organised into trade unions. This was because the craft-union dominated American Federation of Labor showed little interest in trying to organise the unskilled and semiskilled workers in the new miss production industries such as cars, rubber and steeL These industries were the ones dominated by the large trusts, controlled by the most class-conscious and ruthless sections of the capitalist class.
Yet in the mid-30s, in the midst of a serious depression and mass unemployment, a series of major breakthroughs were made in untonssing these industries. These victories were won only by well planned organising drives, which directly involved the mass of the workers, Two strikes in particular marked the beginning of this period of struggle: the Toledo AutoLite strike and the Minneapolis Teamsters: strikes, Both of these broke out in 1934, and in both the issue of trade union recognition was central. Toledo Auto-Lite The workers at the Toledo Auto-Lite company struck in April of 1934, The company prompt ly got a court injunction limiting their right 1e picket and recruited 1800 scabs to do the work of the strikers, Howeven, due to the activity of a small group of revolutionaries, the unemployed workers in the area were very well organised. The AutoLeague and asked for their assistance, The League then sent a letter to the judge who had issued the injunction which said in part:
*On Monday morning May 7, at the Auto-Lite plant, the Lucas County Unemployed League, in protest of the injunction issued by your court, will deliberately and specifically violate They blocked the police attempts to escort the new shift of scabs through their lines and, after defeating the police, laid siege to the plant itself, from which they had come under attack with tear gas hombs and fire hoses. After 15. hours a force of 900 National Guardsmen (state militia) were called in to free the scabs still imprisoned in the plant.