As an example of the fusion of a number of small craft unions to form a great industrial union, we may take the organisation of the Petrograd metalworkers.
In this way, in place of large numbers of little unions organised upon a craft basis, there have come into existence the great centralised industrial (productive) unions, THE TASK OF OUR PARTY IN THIS CONNEXION IS TO HASTEN THE TRANSFORMATION, AND TO FAVOUR THE FORMATION OF INDUSTRIAL (PRODUCTIVE) UNIONS, EACH OF WHICH SHALL ENROL ALL THE WORKERS AND EMPLOYEES WITHOUT EXCEPTION ENGAGED IN A SPECIFIC BRANCH OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION.
According to the data made available by the statistical department of the All-Russian Central Soviet of Trade Unions, the membership of the unions was as follows:
In the first half of the year 1919, the membership of 31 All-Russian unions, excluding the Railwayworkers’ Union and the Water Transportworkers’ Union, was 2,801,000 — the rest of the workers were organised in local unions. If we add the 722,000 railwayworkers and the 200,000 water transportworkers, we find that the total membership of the trade unions was more than 3,700,000. They have 33 central executive committees. In addition, there are still quite a number of trade unions which have not yet been centralised. The statistical department estimates that the total number of organised workers (including the provinces occupied by the enemy) is 4,000.000. We must not forget that the workers belonging to the factories which are not running are still reckoned as workers of these factories, and remain members of their respective unions.