Mahmud al-Askari (who was the general secretary of the General Union of Mechanised Textile Workers in Shubra Al-Kheima and Cairo) became the editor of the newspaper whilst Taha Saad Uthman (who was president of the GUMTWSKC) became the secretary of its editorial board.
The programme had a nationalist and anti-capitalist profile and called for the expulsion of all British troops from Egypt, land reform, and nationalizations.
Some prominent trade union leaders felt that the WCNL nucleus had excluded them from the founding of the new organization.
The organisation was reportedly offered a substantial sum of money if a government protege was appointed editor of ad-Damir.
[4] In December 1945 a textile workers strike broke out in Shubra El-Kheima, in response to an occupation by army and police forces of the area.
[5] The government crackdown on WCNL paralysed the organisation and broke the influence of al-Fajr al-Jadid in the trade union movement.