a. The district would consist of a number of economic units in the same or in an immediately related field of industry. For example, it might be formed of steel mills alone, or of machine shops and steel mills, or of machine shops, steel mills, and foundries. The decision on the matter of membership in the district would rest, first with the local economic units that united to form the district, and second, with the industries immediately concerned. The purpose of the organization would be to link together those economic units that were most dependent upon one another, and that therefore had the most interests in common.
b. When formed, the organization would apply for recognition to the divisional organization of its particular industry. If the district comprised manufacturing industries, it would apply to the divisional organization of the manufacturing industries; if the district comprised coal mines, it would apply to the divisional organization of the extractive industries. It would be to the interest of the divisional organization to recognize only such district organizations as did not involve the divisional organization in jurisdictional disputes.
c. After securing recognition from the divisional organization, the district organization would be the judge of its own membership, and would be in a position to add such local economic units as were to its advantage in pursuit of its general policy.
d. The control over the affairs of the district would be in the hands of a district committee, elected directly by the workers of the district, each group of workers voting by ballot in its own shop.
A. When the elections for membership of the district committee were held, the members of the plant committees, or of the shop committees where there were no plant committees, would be the candidates. By this means, only those of recognized standing in a local group could become candidates for the higher offices. At the same time, the local group, when it elected to local office would be nominating for higher office.
B. When a plant committeeman was elected to the district committee, his position in the plant committee would be filled by special election.
e. The district committee would be a large body, consisting of at least one representative from each of the plants or shops in the district.
f. The routine work of the district committee would be handled by the district executive committee, picked by the district committee from its own membership, and responsible to it as a board of managers.
g. Each district would have its staff of engineers, experts or inspectors, whose duty it would be to check up on the technical side of the activities in the district, very much as a county agricultural agent or a district sales manager checks up on the work of those who come within his jurisdiction. These experts would be selected by the district executive committee, subject to the approval of the district committee.
h. Where possible, important issues confronting the district would be brought to the attention of the workers in the district through one or a series of mass meetings. Where this proved to be impossible, newspapers, leaflets, and other forms of printed information must suffice.