Summary
The Histadrut’s diamond-industry organ, established in November 1941 during the Pickel factory strike to challenge the PDMA’s restrictions and campaign for collective bargaining (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.168).
Details
- The Histadrut established the DWO after rejecting the four minority unions’ rapprochement with the PDMA, alongside schemes to recruit kibbutz workers to the factories, establish a Histadrut training school and subsidize workers’ accommodation, with trainees obliged to stick with the Histadrut (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.168).
- The DWO represented a third of the organized diamond labor force when, in January 1942, it obtained Ben-Ami’s promise that the striking nonaffiliated workers would not be harmed and persuaded the Supreme Committee to call off its strike (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.169).
- In June 1942 the Histadrut transferred strike management from the frail DWO to the Tel Aviv labor council (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.172).
- Its secretary was Pinchas Smagarinsky (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.176).
- In winter 1943 the DWO proposed giving the Histadrut control over selection of new apprentices in return for restraining the unaffiliated (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.177), and in early October 1943 it notified the PDMA it would not continue negotiations unless the June 1943 collective agreement was fully complied with (Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine, PDF p.180).
Where sources disagree
- De Vries names the organ the “Diamond Workers’ Union (DWO)” at its establishment (PDF p.168) and “the Diamond Workers’ Organization” in the January 1942 strike account (PDF p.169) — both namings are recorded as printed in Diamonds and War — State, Capital, and Labor in British-Ruled Palestine.