REPORTS 4 MILLION MEMBERS IN ACFL; 500,000 UNEMPLOYED IN SHANGHAI

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310655-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 12, 2011
• Sequence Number: 655
• Publication Date: June 2, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310655-0
_l
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDE%11~_-
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
HOW DATE DIST. Z Jun 1950
PUBLISHED Daily newspapers
WHERE NO. OF PAGES 3
PUBLISHED Shanghai; Hong Kong; New York
DATE
PUBLISHED 5 Apr - 16 May 1950 SUPPLEMENT TO
LANGUAGE Chinese REPORT NO.
COUNTRY ? China
SUBJECT Sociological - Labc: unions, unemployment
THIS 000UMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF ESPIONAGE ACT SO
Y. /. 0:. TI ANT 31, AS AMENDED. ITS TEANSYIS SION OR THE REVELATION
PRD?
R To
HORIZID PEN X151110 VTE WS INR[PRODUCTAKY IION OF THIS FORM IT PRON%RITED, IS
SOURCE
REPORTS 4 MILLION MEMBERS IN ACFL;
5 0,000 UNEMPLOYED IN SHANGHAI
REVIEWS 1949 WORK -- New York Rua-ch'iao Jih-pao, 16 May 50
'During the past year, important achievements have been attained in the
work of the All-China Federation of Labor. According to incomplete data, the
total membership is over 4,100,000. In large labor centers where labor unions
are organized, such as Tang-shan and Shanghai, the proportion of laborers in
the unions is over 80 percent. An actual majority of the provinces and munici-
palities have formally organized provincial and municipal general labor unions
or provisional organizations preparatory to formally organized general labor
unions.
Industries or occupations of national scope which have formally organized
labor-union national committees include the railroads, posts and telecommunica-
tions, and transportation. Groups which have conducted national conferences of
representatives and established provisional national committees for the respec-
tive labor unions are the seamen, textile workers, and coal miners. Working com-
mittees have been set up among electrical workers, iron and steel, foodstuffs,
munitions, machinery, and educational workers. The function of these working
committees is to make the arrangements for holding national conferences of dele-
gates for the establishment of national labor unions with national committees for
the leadership of the respective occupational unions.
There has been considerable progress during the past year in the emphasis
laid on the mass nature of labor organization and in correcting the mistakes of
the closed-shop policy. Within the past year, the democratic vitality of labor-
union organization has been greatly enhanced by promoting the idea of "every-
body push labor unions," and through the democratic election of all labor organi-
zation leaders. This greater vitality has also been realized through the Chinese
Labor Association (Chung-kuo Lao-tung.Hsieh-hui) as a group joining the All-China
Federation of Labor and simultaneously announcing its own disbanding, thus effect-
ing complete unity in the labor-union organization of, China.
STATE
ARMY
- 1 -
CONFIDENTIAL CO F1DENTIAt,
DISTRIBUTION
I I
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 20
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1950
/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310655-0
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310655-0
CONFIDENTIAL
Under the stimulation and leadership of the All-China Federation of
Labor, the Chinese working classes, preceding liberation, carried on the
struggle to protect factories from destruction by the KMT troops. After
liberation, they actively assisted in the work of checking the tally sheets
of equipment and stocks at the time of taking over the factories, permitting
enterprises that operated in the past on bureaucratic capital, as far as pos-
sible, to come into the possession of the People's government. The workers
also swiftly resumed production and continued the task of supporting the
military front.
The All-China Federation of Labor has carried on among working men a
widespread campaign of class education and education in current events, with
short-term classes, and discussion groups. It has aggressively raised the
political level of the masses of workers, and followed that by gradually elimi-
nating the influence upon the working classes of 20 years of KMT reactionary
propaganda. The federation quickly smashed the KMT's so-called special service
organization among party, corps, and labor-union groups. Later, in view of the
working classes' demand for formal cultural and technical education, the federa-
tion energetically pushed the formation of leisure-time vocational schools. 'Sta-
tistics show that in nine cities, including Tientsin and Shanghai, such schools
had a total enrollment of 220,000 workers. The federation intends practically to
abolish illiteracy among workers within 3 to 5 years.
SEEK RELIEF FUNDS -- Hong Kong Kung-shang Jih-pao, 6 May 50
Hong Kong, 5 May -- According to a recent arrival from North China, both
the Shanghai Municipal government and the East China Military Control Commission
are busily raising relief funds for the large number of unemployed in East China.
He said that Shanghai alone has 500,000 idle workers. To meet this situation, the
Shanghai Municipal government has already allocated one billion yuan, while the
Military Control Commission is taking the following steps to supplement the fund:
(1) urging all employed industrial and government workers to donate a day's wage,
and requesting members of various civilian and government organizations, school
children, and military personnel in East China to contribute as much food and
money as they can; (2) distributing propaganda to inform the people of the cause
of and remedy for this situation; and (3) establishing fund-raising committees,
and drafting an unemployment compensation law.
POST-LIBERATION CONDITION OF TRANSPORT WORKERS -- Shanghai Wen-hui Pao, 5 Apr 50
Peiping, 3 April (Hsin-hua) -- Immediately after the liberation, in many
cities the workers had a revengeful spirit and felt the time had come to settle
accounts with their employers. Some wanted to borrow grain from their foremen;
others made complaints to the labor union and to the authorities.
The feudalistic foremen at first employed many methods to retain their old
power, even being ready to toss hand grenades to break up labor meetings.
However, the labor movement gradually gained momentum in the larger cities
through discussion meetings, mass meetings, and delegates meetings. As the worker's
appreciation of the meaning of the labor movement grew, training classes were
opened. Those who took these courses became progressive stalwarts who campaigned
for members and strengthened the organization. As the movement became stronger,
the workers began to insist on certain demands.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310655-0
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310655-0
71
E T~.
They wanted to carry on a conflict with the foremen. With the support the
execu of the people's
, followed power they uofdtheeaccumulationsmarising from their
etn of others, by y confiscation txhe toot. In Ta nction,l,and arpolice restedasomerofltheamore pled the rominent. Innthisrway,
them m take any
the wicked extortionate foremen were deprived of their power.
However, their influence still persists, and in many places no system has
been devised to eliminate contract-labor foremen, assistant foremen, andcarriers'
foremen, or to institute a new system. Consequently, as8 teme are etion
still unanswered in the transport workersCe rgan. Tien is bribery and conflicts
Jurisdictional fights therauthorit es,s Sand even prison-labor gangs and the workers.
between the military, r
Shops and hd farmers handling their own goods get into trouble with them. Working con-
ditions and wages are unequal; some have plenty, others are hungry. In the Wu-han
area, practically half of the 26,000 dock workers are unemployed. In Nan-ch'ang,
the and lab wworkerswharvesreorganizedwere butlproper resultsswere not obtained. In selim omeiplacesagood the
results have been secured by:
1. Setting up transport companies to unify all transpportiactivities andthis.
coordinate transport labor forces. Tientsin, Peng-foul and
Wu-han and Nan-ch'ang are considering it.
een
2. Organization of transport laborers cooperatives. This mTheethoworkersd been
employed in Dairen, Tang-ku, Kai-feng, Suchou, and veg-
collectivized and divide the income equally with mutual regulation and distribu-
two methods have resulted in eliminating jurisdictional disputes
The above
and in providing an equitable distribution of income.
Another problem still unsolved in many areas is the matter of uniform and
reasonable rates for goods carriage. Consequently, in some places rates are
haverbeennestablished,ebut aednd Wu-psi, rate tables
A common phenomenon since the liberation has been an abundance of transport
workers and a paucity of cargo. In some areas, large numbers of farmers have-
flocked into the cities to augment the numbers of the already too-numerous cargo
handlers. However, in the Northeast only Ying-k'Ou has this diffic ty. snare 10
days'
Many Suchow, s in a month, the laborers enoughre many unemployed, some are be-
existing on beancake. In bantg
in sortsortss of n
ginning to take salt to the re country to sell and bring back various
to dispose of in the city. In Suchou, the workers are engaging
hawking enterprises in order to live. There is a great surplus of labor in many
cities.
, id
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/17: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600310655-0