Echoes from our past

John Keracher was a life-long friend to World Socialist Party of the United States' member, RAB. Both thinkers shared knowledge on a wide variety of subjects, including monist materialism, theology, and, of course, economics. Easily accessible and to the point for any reader, Keracher's writings have always been useful additions to any Socialist's library.

 From 1935, Keracher's Producers and Parasites:

 "...The Individual Worker and the Boss Some individual workers get ahead by allowing themselves to be used as tools against the others. The individual worker, however, who becomes militant and goes to the boss with his demands, if he is able to reach the boss at all, usually gets turned down and sometimes gets fired from the job altogether. When the workers go individually to the employer, hat in hand, they are met with the sharp interrogation “What do you want?” A tongue-lashing is often their reward for their individual efforts. It is more often the other way about when the workers bargain collectively. When the representatives of the workers enter the inner office of the capitalist they are not met with “What do you want?” The employers understand the power of organisation; that is why they fight the unions so hard. That is why they hire stool pigeons and struggle to obtain or maintain the open shop. When the representatives of the workers approach, the capitalists, aware of the thousands standing behind the leaders in the unions, use different tactics. Their attitude is “well, what can I do for you?” “Have a cigar.” “Sit down, let’s talk it over.” Negotiate – temporise – arbitrate – compromise; these are the weapons the capitalists are obliged to resort to. They know that the workers have one thing they can not take away from them. That is their numbers. Organisation is the greatest weapon that the workers have at their disposal. All that the workers have ever gained has been through the power of organisation...."