Financial woes and Muste's departure Brookwood Labor College

1 financial woes , muste s departure

1.1 new labor union center
1.2 1932 financial crisis
1.3 departure of muste

financial woes , muste s departure

in wake of afl attack on brookwood, college s director, a.j. muste, began pushing abandonment of brookwood s strictly educational mission in favor of training strike organizers. caused split in brookwood faculty. muste began thinking of establishing organization, distinct both afl , communist party, organize workers industrial unions. muste s political views changing well, , moving leftward. 1931, muste believed going lead social revolt in united states not build new, militant labor movement lead violent overthrow of existing capitalist system , establishment of socialist workers paradise. board member fannia cohn , faculty member david j. saposs, both disliked muste s new political views, fought preserve brookwood non-political school.

a new labor union center

muste began leading brookwood controversy quietly enough. on february 23, 1929, endorsed proposal pittsburgh labor college called militant trade union labor party. muste moved beyond endorsement, , tried implement proposal. on march 2, muste outlined plan of action @ meeting of league industrial democracy. proposed establishing network of communications among progressive leaders, organizations, , other groups within american federation of labor, goal of creating militant though informal national movement. key network web, said. however, muste said, new organization must denounce communism.

muste s plans militant though informal network took concrete form on may 26, 1929, when 151 union members, labor leaders, , socialists meeting in new york city agreed form conference progressive labor action (cpla). @ meeting several brookwood directors , faculty, including budenz, golden, hartman, a.j. kennedy, lefkowitz, maurer, , muste. cpla s founders agreed use journal labor age advocate industrial unionism, labor militancy, five-day work week, , program of social insurance. cpla advocated planned economy , government ownership of national resources, , rejected communism. muste elected national chairman of cpla. on june 3, brookwood board of directors approved resolution supporting cpla, demanding more militant labor policies, opposing 2 existing political parties, , supporting progressive workers education. afl denounced cpla dual unionism.

despite action, many of brookwood s board members did not support muste or cpla, , majority of faculty opposed board s action , cpla trying do. muste s political drift leftward encouraged brookwood faculty take more radical stands. veteran faculty member arthur calhoun, had long held communist views, began advocating brookwood formally adopt communist philosophy exclusion of other views. alarmed, rest of brookwood faculty unanimously asked brookwood board of directors not rehire calhoun when contract expired in june 1929. calhoun (who had asked released tenure in 1927 pursue other jobs) denied member of communist party. when asked if communist views allow him continue serving on brookwood faculty while seeking destroy institution, calhoun answered would. on june 9, board declined renew calhoun s contract, ending employment school.

the brookwood board s strong support cpla , negative press associated public disclosure of dr. calhoun s political views led loss of support college. in august 1929, new york state federation of labor withdrew financial support brookwood after extensive , bitter debate. delegates felt evidence against brookwood overwhelming, , in end resolution implementing decision passed comfortable margin.

1932 financial crisis

in october 1929, brookwood college opened 6 full-time faculty full class of 37 students. faculty included muste (teaching foreign labor history, public speaking, , history), josephine colby (teaching english , parliamentary law), david j. saposs (teaching american labor history), helen g. norton (teaching journalism), , mark starr (teaching economics). instructors added needed correspondence courses, , celebrated author sinclair lewis agreed lecture during term. college began expanding year, offering first extension programs. tom tippett hired direct extension effort.

brookwood admitted 41 students in fall 1930 term. 24 of 41 overseas, significant change previous years. when these students graduated in may 1931, brookwood celebrated not tenth anniversary 200th graduate.

in march 1931, in middle of 1930-1931 term, brookwood labor college established national clearinghouse information on worker education. believed not first national clearinghouse of kind.

but there signs not @ brookwood. expansion coming great depression deepened. in addition, racial tension erupted @ school. in 1932, mark starr lead brookwood players theater group on trip through south. jim crow laws of southern states troupe visited required troupe s lone black student stay in racially segregated, substandard housing; eat in blacks-only section of restaurants (or use separate restaurant entirely); use racially segregated toilet facilities, , more. starr did not challenge these laws. white students complained bitterly muste starr s lack of militancy, , muste reprimanded starr jim-crowing black student.

a major funding crisis hit school in 1932. muste spending more , more time on cpla business , far less effort on raising money college. diverted college resources cpla activities. in 1932, instructed tippett write play dramatizing plight of southern textile workers, facing strikebreakers, employer-sponsored violence, , attacks national guard. play, mill shadows, taken @ brookwood expense on nine-day, 800-mile (1,300 km) tour of south. money raised did not return brookwood, rather donated striking textile workers in south carolina piedmont. lack of income , diversion of resources created $10,000 deficit ($175,537 in 2016 dollars), , brookwood closed. john dewey, sinclair lewis, , 80 others printed public letter in left-wing magazine nation in late november, pleading money. funds raised, , reducing number of faculty , cutting extension program crisis passed.

departure of muste

muste s evolving political views , increasing amount of time spent on cpla activities created dissent within brookwood faculty. shortly after creation of cpla, muste adopted marxism philosophy, caused major split among faculty. muste s pacifist views changing, , advocated qualified approval of labor union violence. in may 1932, muste proposed brookwood become training base cpla fighters . faculty rejected plan. many brookwood faculty feared muste s evolving political views heading toward trotskyism (a theory of marxism advocated leon trotsky), , drag cpla , brookwood communist political camp him. others feared brookwood lose nonpartisan reputation, felt biggest , best selling point.

as brookwood s financial crisis worsened in fall of 1932, political crisis on muste s activities emerged. @ meeting faculty on october 22, muste responded question asserting cpla work more important brookwood. 9 days later, majority of faculty signed letter addressed board of directors asking other faculty member take on director s duties , asking board reaffirm brookwood s nonpartisan nature. when muste learned of letter s content, accused signers of cowardice , refusing take part in emerging revolutionary movement .

the political crisis @ brookwood culminated in march 1933. board of directors called meeting @ phil ziegler presided. began march 2 , lasted 3 or 4 days. board cleared away business: maurer reelected president, , fannia cohn elected vice president. board , muste spent several days discussing future of brookwood labor college, cpla, economic situation, , best political response take depression. mark starr led group criticizing muste. many board members expressed criticism of tippett, muste had moved away commitment broad educational goals , toward concept of brookwood strike organizer training center nascent labor party , industrial union center. muste offered resolution have brookwood begin training revolutionary vanguard , board rejected measure 15 4. board passed resolution asking muste stay on director, if resigned head of cpla. muste refused, , both , tippett resigned on march 5, 1933.

muste s resignation crippled brookwood. 6 administrators , 19 of school s current class of 28 students walked out well. (another source says there 23 students.) constituted of administrative staff, , student body. among students walked out 3 of school s african american students. angry @ starr s role in opposing muste, , upset @ losing muste (who adamantly opposed racial discrimination).

the board appointed j.c. kennedy school s acting director while searched permanent replacement muste. appointment criticized many white , black students because kennedy believed african americans must improve economic status before being accepted equals whites or being accepted in white-only unions. in era of rampant discrimination against blacks, seemed position seemed senseless african americans. brookwood reopened on march 8 9 students.

on june 5, 1933, brookwood board of directors appointed tucker p. smith new director of brookwood labor college. smith said refocus brookwood on education, particular emphasis on semi-skilled , unskilled workers , unemployed. said brookwood return full educational program, involve not resident training field activities, chatauquas, summer institutes, , publications.