by: John Clore | 3/25/2025 at 12:51 PM
The untold story of how communists infiltrated and funded early union movements in America’s motor capital.
During the early 20th century, Michigan’s burgeoning automobile industry became a focal point for labor activism. The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) played a significant role in organizing and establishing labor unions within this sector, advocating for workers’ rights and better working conditions.Marxists Archive
Early Efforts and Strategic Shifts
In the early 1930s, the CPUSA focused on building independent unions through the Trade Union Unity League (TUUL). However, recognizing the limitations of this approach, the Party shifted strategies around 1934, aiming to work within existing labor structures to foster industrial unionism. This change was pivotal in organizing auto workers under broader, more inclusive unions. The Anarchist Library
Key Figures in Michigan’s Auto Industry
Several CPUSA members were instrumental in organizing auto workers in Michigan:
Wyndham Mortimer: A drill operator at Cleveland’s White Motor Company, Mortimer organized his colleagues into an independent union, which later affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). By 1936, he was elected First Vice President of the United Automobile Workers (UAW), becoming the only Communist in the union’s top leadership. UW Departments
Robert Travis: A CPUSA member from Toledo, Travis played a crucial role in the 1936-1937 Flint Sit-Down Strike, a landmark event that significantly boosted the UAW’s prominence and bargaining power. Wikipedia
Nat Ganley (born Nathan Kaplan): After moving to Detroit in the mid-1930s, Ganley organized for the Trade Union Unity League and AFL locals, contributing to the formation of UAW Local 155 in 1936. He later served as the local’s business agent and edited its publication, “Common Sense.”
Wikipedia
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Communist Roots: Who Funded the CPUSA and What Did They Want?
While the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) played a pivotal role in labor organizing in the 1930s—especially in Michigan’s auto sector—the question of who backed the party financially and politically is critical for understanding its motives and reach.
Funding and Foreign Influence
During the 1930s and 1940s, the primary source of CPUSA’s funding was the Soviet Union, funneled through covert channels. According to declassified documents from the Venona Project and testimony from former party members during congressional investigations (notably the House Un-American Activities Committee – HUAC), the Soviet Union provided direct financial support to the CPUSA to promote Marxist-Leninist ideology and disrupt capitalist power structures in the U.S.
Joseph Stalin’s Soviet regime viewed American industrial labor as a fertile ground for ideological conversion. This was particularly true in union-heavy states like Michigan, where immigrant workers often faced exploitation and economic instability—making them more receptive to radical ideologies.
A key conduit for Soviet funds was Comintern (Communist International), an organization founded to coordinate global communist movements. Funds were often disguised as support for “international worker solidarity” or sent through shell organizations and sympathizers.
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Political Affiliations and American Allies
Despite their international backing, the CPUSA found some domestic allies—especially among progressive factions of the New Deal-era Democrats. While Franklin D. Roosevelt himself was not aligned with communism, his sweeping reforms and labor protections created political space where Communist activists could operate more freely under broader pro-labor umbrellas.
Within labor unions like the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the newly formed United Auto Workers (UAW), CPUSA members held key organizing roles. However, this often caused internal friction, especially with anti-Communist factions backed by mainstream Democrats and later, Cold War liberals.
After WWII, as anti-communist sentiment grew, CPUSA organizers were purged from many labor unions, especially under pressure from legislation like the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which required union leaders to disavow communism.
The Balancing Act: Labor Goals vs. Political Ideology
While CPUSA’s ultimate political goal was to usher in socialism through worker revolution, their involvement in labor organizing wasn’t always ideologically driven at the local level. Many organizers genuinely fought for better wages, safer working conditions, and union recognition—issues that aligned with the broader labor movement, regardless of politics.
That said, the Soviet-funded nature of CPUSA and their ties to authoritarian regimes led to increasing suspicion and eventual marginalization within American politics and labor circles. By the early 1950s, the Red Scare and McCarthyism had effectively dismantled the party’s public influence,
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