This newspaper describes the Tampa/Ybor City Cigar Makers Strike of 1931. The newspaper, The Daily worker, was a heavily left-leaning newspaper (it was directly affiliated with the Communist Party of America) that reported on labor issues throughout the 1930s. The paper mentions the need for the strike to branch out beyond its strongly motivated Latino base and encourage more black and white workers to participate. Additionally, it uses the strike as a vessel to advertise the Communist Party. In parts where the paper critiques the organization of the strike, they tend to also suggest following the lead of the Communist Party.
This paper provides documentation of the strike itself, but also shows how people outside the movement noted the strong support the Latino workers had for it. While the article criticizes some of the organizing strategies used by the strike, notably the lack of inclusion of black and white workers, it does note the strength of the Latino community that made up most of their supporters. This demonstrates how outside groups were able to both recognize the work being put into the organization of the strike as well as the importance the community built between Latino-Americans within the movement.
Excerpt from source
What is the role of the present political pro-
test strike movement in Tampa? The political
protest strike was undoubtedly the correct tactic
to like to mobilize the masses against the frame
up. Owing to certain historical conditions, and
the close association of the Spanish-speaking
workers with the anti-imperialist revolutionary
movement of Latin-America, they are more con
scious politically, more familiar with forms of
political action than most American workers. But can we say, since a political protest strike is a more advanced stage than a purely economic strike, that the movement is more advanced,
more revolutionary in Tampa than in the rest
of the country, that it has advanced “beyond the
stage of economic strikes”? No, it would be im
possible to say this. This would be a “leftist”
error of the worst kind. The movement in
Tampa cannot be carried forward indefinitely
on the basis of a series of protest strikes. It
has not yet rooted itself sufficiently in the every
day life of the workers. The workers have not
yet learned from experience that even the small
est struggle against the boss or for a crumb of
unemployment relief can wily be won through
revolutionary organization under the leadership
of the Trade Union Unity League and the Com
munist Party. Above all, the movement is still
limited largely to the Spanish-speaking workers
and has not yet drawn in the Native American
workers and the N—–s.
Higher quality image and full transcription are available at the linked website in the citation.
Source:
The Daily Worker. (Chicago, Ill.), 11 Dec. 1931. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Retrieved from Library of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020097/1931-12-11/ed-1/seq-4/