7

p The present volume of the Recent History of the Labor Movement in the United States is a study of the struggle of American workers for economic and political rights during and after World War II; chronologically, it covers the period from late 1939 to 1965.

p The period under consideration was crammed with important historical events. The troubled thirties brought mankind to World War II. Germany, where the Nazis had seized power, allied with fascist Italy and militarist Japan and, supported by reactionary forces from other countries, unleashed a new world war. The United States, Britain and France offered no resistance to fascist aggression. On the contrary, their policy of non-interference only helped fan the flames of world war.

p The democratic forces of the world headed by the Soviet Union waged a strenuous struggle against fascism and the threat of war. They proposed and championed the idea of collective security and the formation of a popular anti-fascist front. But the British and French governments rejected collective security, and embarked on a course of abetting the aggressors.

p Under these circumstances the decisions of the Seventh Congress of the Communist International, aimed at mobilizing the people against fascism and the threat of war, were of 8 historic significance. But at that particular time the popular forces lacked adequate strength and cohesion. The absence of unity in the ranks of the world proletariat on the eve of World War II had an adverse effect on the course of international events. In the fascist states, the labor movement was smashed, and in the bourgeois-democratic countries the working class was split, with an appreciable part of it following the Social-Democrats, who in most countries came out against a policy of a popular front and joint action by working-class forces.

p As shown in Volume I of the present work, a similar situation prevailed in the American labor movement. It, too, lacked organizational and ideological unity. Most American workers were under the influence of isolationist ideas, and were politically disoriented by the opportunist leadership of the trade unions. As concerns the Communist Party of the USA, it was small in numbers and subjected to persecution. True, all difficulties notwithstanding, along with other democratic forces it succeeded in doing important work in defense of peace and in support of the anti-fascist movement that began to gain momentum in the United States on the eve of the war. But this movement could not alter the foreign policy of the Roosevelt Administration, which refrained from taking vigorous action against the fascist states.

p The American imperialist circles that had helped Hitler Germany in building up its war potential were counting on Germany and Japan being reduced to the status of second-rate powers as a result of World War II, and thereby removed as competitors in the world market. At the same time, they cherished the hope that a war between Germany and the Soviet Union would sap the strength of the latter, and the country of socialism would be destroyed or irreparably weakened.

p But these hopes were frustrated: the countries in the fascist camp were defeated. The historic victory over fascism, in which the Soviet Union played the decisive role, altered the correlation of forces in the world in favor of socialism. The capitalist system suffered a tremendous loss when several European and Asian countries in which People’s Democracies were established dropped away from it. As a result, the postwar 9 period saw the emergence of the world socialist system and disintegration of colonialism. Thus, following World War II and a number of socialist revolutions in European and Asian countries, capitalism entered the second stage of its general crisis.

p The primary driving force in the struggle against fascism was the international working class which made the greatest contribution both in battle against the fascist armies on the war fronts and in the Resistance movement in the enemy’s rear. It was through its efforts that weapons, ammunition, food and equipment were produced. And after the war, it was through its efforts that cities and towns were raised from the ruins and the riches of human society created. The political consciousness and activity of the workers grew; the Communist and Workers’ parties steeled themselves ideologically and organizationally, and the trade unions grew in membership and degree of i organization. Not only did new national labor centers emerge, but a World Federation of Trade Unions came into being, too.

p The American working class played a significant role in this general stream of the international proletarian movement. Its mass organizations did important work in preparing the country for entry into the war against fascism. During the war, the American proletariat’s democratic traditions and antifascist sentiment manifested themselves. But even during those years, the class struggle within the country did not stop. The workers continued to defend their class interests against encroachments by capital.

p After the war, American imperialism altered its foreign policy, switching from alliance with the USSR to cold war. As a consequence, Soviet-American relations deteriorated.

p The same trend came to underlie domestic policy, Roosevelt’s liberal course was rejected and political reaction intensified. This led to a campaign of persecution against democratic elements that was to reach sweeping dimensions during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations.

p The 1950s saw an upsurge of class struggle in the United States. The strike movement mounted. But the labor movement is something more than just the strike struggle. In 10 the broad sense, it embraces a number of other general and particular problems which will be examined in this book.

p The 1960s were marked by a further exacerbation of the domestic political situation, manifesting itself particularly in the actions of the working class, Negro riots, student unrest and political assassinations. During these years, the role and influence of the working class in the internal life of the country grew. Its political activity increased. At the upper levels of the trade union movement the struggle around the burning problems of the times became sharper. At the same time, the rank-and-file union membership and many union officials more and more openly displayed their dissatisfaction with the reactionary policies of the right-wing labor leaders headed by George Meany, further aggravating the conflicts within the labor movement.

p The struggle between two tendencies in the trade union movement—the democratic and the opportunist—still remains a factor influencing the American labor unions and the labor movement in general. Today, as in the past, the struggle between these tendencies is a characteristic feature of American history.

p The labor question in the United States increasingly attracts the attention of each successive administration, Congress and the American political parties. It draws the attention of public opinion in other countries as well. In the Soviet Union, there is wide interest in the problems of the US labor movement.

p Fundamental ideas and propositions from the teaching of Marx, Engels and Lenin formed the methodological basis of the present work. The authors gathered and studied a large body of documentary and statistical material and made use of publications put out by labor unions, the government and political parties, Congressional Records and proceedings of conventions of AFL and CIO unions and the Communist Party. They drew on materials found in the National Archives of the USA and the archives and libraries of the major labor unions, the Catholic University in Washington, Cornell University, and the universities of Wisconsin and California, as well as some materials in the archives of the USSR Council of Trade Unions and the Institute of Marxism-Leninism, CC 11 CPSU. The authors also drew on works by American and Soviet historians, economists and sociologists dealing with the class struggle in the USA.

p In the Preface to Volume I of the present work the chapters and authors were identified according to the Russian edition. Since in the English edition the structure was somewhat altered the authorship of Volume I goes as follows: G. N. Sevostyanov (Preface), I.M.Krasnov (Chapters I, II and III), Y. F.Yazkov (Chapters IV, V and XI), 1.1. Cherkasov (part of Chapter VI), N.V. Kurkov (part of Chapter VI and Chapter XIII), N.V.Sivachyov (Chapters VII, XIV and part of Chapter XVII), V.L.Malkov (Chapters VIII, IX, X, XII, XX and part of Chapters XVII and XXI), B. Y. Mikhailov (Chapters XVI, XVIII, XIX and part of Chapters XV and XVII), A. N. Shlepakov (part of Chapter XV) and S. M. Askoldova (part of Chapter XXI).

p The authors of Volume II are B.Y. Mikhailov (Preface, Chapters I, II, III, IV, VI, XVI and Conclusion), 1.1. Zhmykhova (Chapters V, IX, XIV and part of Chapter VI), V.A. Korolkov (Chapters VII and VIII), A. P. Medvedev (Chapters X and XI), P. A. Shishkin (Chapters XII, XIII, XV and part of Chapter XVI) and A. N. Shlepakov (part of Chapter XIII).

The next volume of the work, covering problems of the postwar period, is presently in preparation.

12